Rusalki dwell within the watery depths that belong to Veles's domain — as lord of the dead and ruler of the underworld waters, his sovereignty extends over these restless spirits of drowned women.
⚠ No primary text explicitly places rusalki under Veles's authority. The connection is inferred from Veles's role as lord of the dead and the aquatic underworld, since rusalki are spirits of drowned women.
The Vodyanoy commands the rusalki as master of his rivers and lakes — the drowned maidens serve as his subjects in the underwater realm, dancing at his will and luring victims to enrich his watery kingdom.
During the Kupala festival, rusalki leave their waters to dance in the rye fields by moonlight, and where their feet touch the grain grows lush and green — villagers wove wreaths and cast them on the water to appease the spirits before driving them back beneath the surface.
Each year during Rusalka Week, the drowned maidens rise from Nav through river and lake to walk among the living — the boundary between the underworld and the mortal world thins, and the restless dead dance in fields and forests until driven back beneath the waters.
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