The beating of the drums was under his skin now, the chorus of resounding skins passing through him, wave after wave of bass and rhythm. The crackling fire was yellow and gold and red, licking at the darkness above the circle and it warmed him, stood there as he was almost completely naked.

He closed his eyes, and began to listen for the moment that would herald the beginning of the dance, when all the drums would begin to come together in a kind of musical orgasm and then split away into many, many different parts, allowing him to latch onto one of the constituent beats and begin to dance his own spiral path towards the next crescendo. He quickly glanced around the circle; the other dancers were ready, each of them allowing their bodies to become entranced by the music, floating ready for the moment when the dance would come alive all by itself.

The peak was coming, he could feel the waves passing through him getting closer and tighter as the drummers started to nod to one another and so match their poundings.