Dolya’s hands emanated the same power that filled Veles’s fingers. What he could once do in full, she could do in half, having inherited the rest of her power from her mother.

And so her inherent nature, which was so very much like that of her mother, led her to the furthest tunnel of the Underworld. The roots of the trees combed through her hair, and sand fell on her shoulders as the ground overhead trembled under the footfalls of beasts. She had never been this close to the Surface before.

Dolya placed her hands on the black, damp ground as words started coming out of her mouth. She addressed the dome of the Earth, the Water that connects all, and the roots that entangled like a net.

The ground collapsed, the dampness subsided, and the roots parted, revealing a passage to the Surface. Dolya came out of the Underworld and looked back only once so that she could seal the passage behind her. She then took strands of her power and weaved a mantle that could shield her from Mokosh and Veles’s sight so that they would not disturb her.