When Gwen walked into Office No.1 of the Government Hall, Heti, who was reviewing documents, immediately noticed that something was wrong with him. The 'Chief Butler of Cecil' looked up at Gwen's face and asked, "Ancestor, did you not rest well yesterday?"
"… A little insomnia." Gwen found it difficult to explain to Heti that he was woken up in the middle of the night by the alarm from the satellite, and then he saw what seemed to be a Giant Dragon flying into the distance. So he could only wave his hand tiredly. "It's okay. I'll be fine after some rest."
For a powerful Extraordinary, fatigue caused by insomnia was not a big problem. But Heti could not help but be a little worried. "Do you need some sedative? The Pitman should have some … "
"That's not necessary." Gwen immediately waved his hand. He then looked at the documents on Heti's desk and quickly changed the subject. "Is there any news?"
To be honest, his mind was still filled with the images he observed through the space surveillance last night, the mysterious silhouette that swept across the stars, and the countless thoughts that came with it. But he also knew that he did not have the conditions to conduct further investigation, at least for now. The power of the government office was useless at this moment, and the daily affairs of the Empire still had to be dealt with.
Heti looked at Gwen again, as if to confirm the health of the ancestor. After confirming that there was nothing wrong with him, she flipped through the top few documents. While sorting out her thoughts, she replied, "Yes, we have received feedback from the leaders of several countries and regions, including the Auglay tribal nation, the northern city-states, the Silver Empire, and so on. There is also a reply from the Kingdom of Dwarfs. From the feedback, the leaders of the countries are very interested in the 'Community Union' that you have called for. "
"As expected." Gwen smiled. This was good news, at least it washed away some of the bad mood caused by the insomnia. "These countries are either already in the Cecil Settlement Area, or will soon join the northern continental route, or have technical exchanges and close ties with us. The bridge has been opened, and it is inevitable that the relationship between countries will become closer."
"As you say." Heti nodded and then took a document that was placed separately from the side. "In addition, this is a long-distance letter just forwarded through the Sentry Tower this morning. It is from Her Majesty Bersetia Morningstar of the Silver Empire. It is a personal letter specially sent to you."
"Bersetia …" Gwen froze for a moment. The memory of seven hundred years ago came to his mind. It was a lively figure who always followed him and caused trouble in various camps during the conference of the Covenant of the Pioneers. But soon he shook his head and put the memory aside. He reached out and took the letter from Heti.
This letter was, of course, not the original. It was a "copy" transmitted through the communication link of the Sentry Tower and the magic net communication system. Although the copy was slightly distorted, the handwriting on the letter was still clear and familiar. The handwriting of the Silver Queen had not changed much compared to seven hundred years ago, but it was more mature and beautiful.
"To His Majesty the Emperor of Cecil, and Uncle Gwen whom I have not seen for a long time."
After seeing this unique opening, Gwen raised his eyebrows subconsciously. He then lowered his eyelids and carefully read the letter.
A few minutes later, he put down the letter. Heti looked at him curiously. "What did the Silver Queen say? Ah, of course, if it's a private matter, I won't ask … "
Gawain glanced at Heidi with a strange expression. For some reason, he felt that Heidi's words sounded a little strange. Then, he shook his head and said, "It's no big deal. It's just some daily greetings and a personal response about this meeting … She'll come in person."
Heti was startled for a moment before she realized what "in person" meant. She suddenly widened her eyes in surprise. "In person? You mean the Silver Queen is going to Outpost 112 in person to participate in the conference? "
She was surprised. She had a reason to be so. The conference was expected to be held in the Month of Recovery this year. In principle, the leaders of all countries were invited to the conference. However, in reality, the situation of the countries on the Lolun Continent was complicated. Many areas had not been opened for long. Therefore, countries that were far away or had just joined the Cecil Settlement Area not long ago were actually going to send the king's deputies or court officials with considerable authority. The Silver Empire was located at the southernmost tip of the Lolun Continent. It was separated from the northern countries by the entire Gondor wasteland. Coupled with the revered status of the Silver Queen, who rarely left the country for hundreds of years, almost everyone thought that the distant ancient empire would only send an ambassador. Heti did not expect the Silver Queen to come in person.
Gwen was not as surprised as Heti. He even seemed very calm. "This conference will redefine the structure of the entire world. Its long-term impact is no less than that of the Pioneers' Covenant. For the Silver Empire, this kind of thing is worthy of being witnessed by their queen. And … "
Heti asked curiously, "And?"
Gwen looked down at the letter in his hand. His eyes fell on some of the paragraphs.
"… Many years ago, the elves lost the favor of the God of Nature. Our scholars and theologians have been discussing this for many years … I myself have been particularly concerned about the changes in the northern part of the continent in the past two years. In my correspondence with Sonia, I also learned about the improved Church of Holy Light and the transformation of the churches in the Cecil Empire …"
He looked up and said thoughtfully, "The elves may become the first alien members of the Theocratic Council. This is something I did not expect."
Heti listened to Gwen's words and quickly understood. "… The Silver Elves … Yes, their original mainstream belief was the God of Nature. But since the fall of White Star three thousand years ago, their belief structure has changed a lot. The Empire's national religion gradually turned into a purely academic organization that studied druid technology in the last few hundred years. The clerics who split off from the Empire led a small number of believers to establish scattered religions based on primitive nature beliefs. However, I heard from Sonia and Solderin that these religions that spread in small areas of the forest didn't cause any waves. Nature divine arts never appeared in the world, and no new gods responded to their prayers.
"Until now, there is still no unified, recognized mainstream belief in the Silver Empire. The Elven Royal Family is nominally the supreme leader of the Druil, and the Silver Queen is nominally the supreme priestess. But this is only a ceremonial and traditional symbol. Most elves no longer believe in Amoun, and a small number of elves have been influenced by the human countries. Some believe in the God of War, some are shallow believers of the Goddess of Magic, and a few believe in the Holy Light …"
Gwen's face twitched. "… Then it seems that the situation of their belief is not optimistic …"
Heti thought about it carefully, and a strange look appeared on her face. "… That's true."
"Let's put their belief dilemma aside for now." Gwen exhaled and brought the topic back. "All this time, my attention has been too focused on the northern part of the continent, on the humans themselves … The Silver Empire has been in contact with us for so long, but they have always been in my 'blind spot'. Now it seems that there is a huge 'sample library of the influence of the gods' hidden in the warm jungle. The special situation of the Silver Elves … may be able to push our research forward a lot. "
His eyes once again swept across Bersetia's dignified and beautiful handwriting, but his thoughts seemed to have crossed the vast wasteland and landed on the elven kingdom at the other end of the continent. He thought of the situation described by Heti just now. In the 3,000-year journey of the Silver Elves' "search for faith" … he faintly perceived many places that could be connected to the mysteries of the gods.
After a short moment of thought, he temporarily put the matter of the elves at the bottom of his heart and began to think about the situation on another line — Tarlonde.
After last night's' insomnia, 'the figure in space had been lingering in his mind. Although the shape of the thing he saw was very strange and had even been modified to the extent that it was impossible to recognize its original appearance, Gwen still saw a trace of the appearance of the "Giant Dragon" from its general outline. And it was this little clue that made him unable to help but think about Tarlonde since this morning.
After thinking in this direction, he thought of the Duchy of Holy Dragon and subconsciously asked, "The Duchy of Holy Dragon should have received our invitation a long time ago … Has the Dragonblood Archduke responded?"
"I was just about to tell you this," Heti immediately said. "The Duchy of Holy Dragon's reply has also been sent, but … I feel a little strange."
Gwen frowned. "Strange?"
"Grand Duke Balogel has not replied. The letter was sent in the name of the Council of Dragonblood and Sir Golos Hickel." Heti pulled out a document from the table and handed it to Gwen. "They were very polite in their wording, but said that they could not attend the meeting in the Month of Recovery because they were busy dealing with some 'special situation in the country.' Of course, they did not mention the specific details. "
Gwen took the document and quickly browsed through it after opening it. The content was basically what Heti said. It was a perfectly worded official letter, politely and appropriately expressing rejection and apology, and at the same time did not reveal any real information about the internal affairs of the Duchy of Holy Dragon — other than that, there was nothing to see.
"Amber." After a moment of thought, Gwen turned his head and said to the air beside him, "Is there any corresponding information?"
As soon as he finished speaking, an intelligence director appeared in the air. Miss Half-Elf jumped to the ground and quickly said, "We did not infiltrate many intelligence personnel in the Duchy of Holy Dragon, but we have some useful information: Grand Duke Balogel has not appeared in public for many days, and as the capital of the Duchy of Holy Dragon, Dragon's Arrival Castle has recently been under martial law. There are rumors that the Dragonblood Archduke's health has suddenly deteriorated, and he is unable to move in public. There are also rumors that he has left the Duchy, but in any case, the Council of Dragonblood and the Duchy of Holy Dragon do not seem to have fallen into panic. They are controlling the situation, and the Duchy of Holy Dragon is peaceful — only the Grand Duke is missing.
"Ah, yes, there is another piece of news: It is said that the residents living around Dragon's Arrival Castle once saw a huge silver dragon hovering over the mountains and flying straight to the north. The local merchants think that this is most likely a rumor, but I suspect … this is related to the sudden disappearance of the Dragonblood Archduke. "
The information was very scattered, but the conclusion seemed to be obvious.
However, this conclusion was still not enough for people to speculate about the real situation of Tarlonde.
Gwen frowned and guessed what had happened in the far north. At this moment, a special magic network terminal beside Heti's desk suddenly rang.
Everyone in the room focused on the machine that was emitting sound and flashing light.
This was the special line of the empire's Great Governor — it would only ring when there was a special major event at the border, or when the other two Great Governors were in urgent contact with the imperial capital.
"Connect it," Gwen said to Heti as he walked to the desk.
Heti quickly connected the communication terminal, and with the shaking and emergence of the holographic projection, Victoria Werde's figure appeared in front of Gwen and Heti.
"Your Majesty, and Great Governor Heti," the Ice Duchess looked particularly serious, and as soon as the communication was established, she said in a hurried tone, "The Eternal Storm has disappeared."
Heti did not even react for a moment. "… What did you say?"
"The Eternal Storm has disappeared," Victoria said patiently. "It's the giant storm in the northern sea. The last visual observation this morning has confirmed that the cloud wall formed by the storm has completely disappeared, and the monitoring station near the north port has confirmed that the ocean currents and the flow of magic in the atmosphere are changing."
Speaking of this, her eyes fell on Gwen, and her tone was unprecedentedly serious. "Your Majesty, beyond the borders we know, there may be other major events happening in this world."
Gwen did not immediately respond to Victoria's words. He just looked up subconsciously, and his eyes suddenly fell on the large map hanging on the wall not far away, the north of the map.
…
When the giant sun in the polar day once again swept across the lowest point of the horizon and slowly rose to one-third of the sky, a sea breeze blew from the land of Agundor, carrying the smell of the sea and smoke into the distance.
Melita Pânia woke up from a deep sleep, feeling that she had a very long, strange, bizarre, and terrible dream.
In the dream, she was armed into a bloodless and tearless war machine, fighting with an iron will against an enemy more difficult to defeat than natural disasters. In the dream, the gods she once respected and feared had become devastating disasters, sweeping across the land and swallowing everything. In the dream, she saw the glorious and magnificent mountains of Agundor collapse, the towering palace walls and pavilions of the council fall from the top of the mountain, and the ancient and crowded city of Tarlonde below into ruins. The dragon lair that she had carefully taken care of for thousands of years collapsed along with the mountain, and everything in the lair was burning in flames …
She was immersed in this dream, but she couldn't wake up, nor could she think freely. It was as if her spirit was frozen in a piece of turbid amber. She could only coldly watch everything flow before her eyes, but her mind was as if it was dead and there were no ripples.
But suddenly, she heard the whistling of the wind and felt the cold blowing across the land.
In the ruins of Agundor, the scarred blue dragon opened its eyes.
"… What the …?!?!"
The dream is real.jpg.
(End of Chapter)
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