Victoria first used a very general description to describe the way the Violet Kingdom selected talented people to give Gwen a general impression in his mind. After listening, Heti said, "I have heard of this kind of 'selection,' and I also heard that this kind of 'selection' has not always happened. In ancient times, the Violet Kingdom was more closed off than it is now. There was no tradition of selecting talented apprentices from the Loren Continent to guide them. It was not until about six hundred years ago that an enlightened Prince of Arcanum set this precedent."
"Yes, that was six hundred years ago." Victoria nodded. "It was the period after the Ansu was established and stabilized. The Violet Kingdom, which was highly closed off, suddenly announced that they would open their magical knowledge to the outside world. According to them, it was in their own way. After that, the Violet Scholars and 'guides' began to appear publicly in the north of the continent.
"According to our family records, these masters of profound magic skills caused a lot of commotion in the north, especially among the group of extraordinary people who pursued the mystery of magic and ancient knowledge. As we know, when the Kingdom of Gondor collapsed, the human magic civilization was hit hard. The magus system, which was extremely dependent on the Deep Blue Well, disappeared overnight. The surviving spellcasters urgently needed to rebuild a reliable magic system without the Deep Blue Well. However, for the traditional mages who relied on experience, trial and error to improve their knowledge, how difficult was it to build such a system? So, in the hundred years after the Ansu was established, the human mages were like groping the stone wall in the dark, unable to find a solution. "
Indeed, Gwen thought to himself. Although he had only experienced a brief memory of the first ten years when the Ansu was established, what he saw and heard in those ten years was enough for him to understand the scene described by Victoria. In fact, the Cecil family's ancestral motto, "Knight is better than the mage," was said in that era because Knight was indeed better than the mage.
After all, except for a few freaks like Snow Werder, the mages at that time were basically half-dead.
Victoria did not know what was going on in Gwen's mind. She just continued, "It was under such circumstances that the mages of the Violet Kingdom suddenly appeared in the north of the continent. Their appearance allowed the human mages of six hundred years ago to see a new possibility — new magical knowledge, the mysterious and ancient Violet arcane system, various self-sustaining magic circles that could operate without the Deep Blue Well. For the human magic system, which was still broken after a century of repair, the knowledge brought by the Violet mages was like a miracle.
"It was also at that time that the Violet Kingdom began to 'communicate' with the Luolun Continent. According to them, it was a 'communication of the mages'. It was obscure, secretive, and adhered to ancient rules and traditions. It passed knowledge like a trickle and created a new inheritance system for the mages. They selected talented apprentices from the north of the continent — most of them were humans, but occasionally there were a few races such as elves and dwarves. They brought them back to the island to teach them and let them leave with selected knowledge. At the same time, they kept sending travelers to the human world. Some of these travelers became VIPs of various mage organizations in the north in later generations, while the rest were basically recruited by the royal family and nobles to become 'foreign consultants' of the Royal Mage Association of Ansu.
"Whether you like to admit it or not, these messengers from the Violet Kingdom and the magical knowledge they brought with them greatly changed the pattern of spellcasters in the north. It had a long-term impact on the reconstruction of the magic system in the Ansu Kingdom and the small northern countries. In the following six centuries, this influence gradually spread to the entire human world and other countries that had closer ties with the human countries.
"And this further established the influence of the Secret Spell Society among the spellcasters. This mysterious mage organization, which was far away from the Lorien Continent and almost never revealed its true identity in front of the Lorien Continent, had the same high status as the Astromancer Association of the Silver Empire. Because it was more mysterious, the Secret Spell Society's' charm 'in the eyes of the spellcasters was even greater than the Astromancer Association. Your Majesty, you know that mages … like this kind of mysterious feeling."
At this point, Victoria paused as if she was sorting out her thoughts. Then she continued, "Today, traces of the influence of the Violet Magic System in the modern magic system of Lorien can still be seen everywhere, such as the traditional communication spells, the improved anti-gravity spells, the old-style self-charging magic circles, and so on. Although most of these things have been improved by the Rune Research Institute and the Institute of Magical Engineering, their original forms are actually closely related to the Violet Kingdom."
Listening to Victoria's narration, Gwen subconsciously curled his fingers and rubbed his chin. He summarized the information in his mind and gradually abstracted it into a macroscopic picture. He gradually frowned. "I always thought that the Violet Kingdom was isolated from the world and had a very distant connection with the Lorien Continent. I didn't expect that they had such a profound influence on Lorien. It sounds like a long-term and comprehensive infiltration. In theory, the Violet Kingdom could even establish a force on the Lorien Continent that was enough to compete with the local government. Even if they didn't do this, they would be enough to choke the lifeline of many local mage organizations."
"You're right. In fact, you're not the only one who has such concerns. The royal family of the Ansu era, the Mage Association of Typhon, and some famous scholars in history have expressed similar concerns. But here's the problem: 600 years have passed, and the Violet Kingdom has really been living in seclusion until today. Except for small-scale coastal trade and those traveling mages, they really … really did not cross the line."
Gwen raised his eyebrows subconsciously, but he did not speak. He just listened to Victoria continue.
"Of course, the northern countries are not blind. Many people have been paying attention to the Violet Kingdom's mages' every move, including our family. But those mages look like they are really here to travel and spread magic. Except for academic exchanges and short-term employment, they do not participate in politics, do not intermarry, do not accept military employment, do not establish any organizations affiliated with the Violet Kingdom, and do not develop any personal forces. And as soon as a certain period of travel is up, they will leave immediately. Even if the royal family of a country once tried to recruit them with an eternal title and a large piece of land, none of them could stay …"
"This … is really a bit impressive …" Gwen could not help but mutter. "It makes people more suspicious …"
"Yes, but whether they are suspicious or not, this is their style of doing things." Victoria nodded. "Of course, some people speculate that they are good at disguising and hiding their purpose. But for 600 years, countless eyes have been watching, and the mages from the Violet Kingdom did not give themselves away. This in itself is equivalent to some kind of 'irrefutable evidence.'"
"This only shows that their goal is indeed not to interfere with the forces of the Lolun Continent. However, it's hard to say if this goal is really limited to traveling and studying. This country is too mysterious … to the extent that people are afraid of it," Gawain said solemnly, stroking his chin. Then, he suddenly looked up at Victoria. "Can you tell me more about your childhood in detail? How were you selected? What method did they use to receive the selected 'talents'? "
"The process of selecting seeds of the Violet Kingdom has always been a mystery. They have never made the specific criteria public," Victoria shook her head. "You know, for spellcasters, the City of Thousand Towers is like the heaven in the hearts of believers or the temple of the Goddess of Magic. It has an extraordinary status. To be selected by them is the lifelong dream of many mages. This means that they have a 'must pass' to the higher order or even the legendary.
"No matter how mediocre the mages who return from the City of Thousand Towers are, they will start from the higher order when they come back. So, there have been people who have been trying to find the selection criteria of the Violet Kingdom. Some secret societies have even racked their brains to open up a channel to send apprentices to the Violet Kingdom, but no one has succeeded in finding this rule. Their selection seems to give priority to spellcasting talent, but there have also been cases where mediocre farmers suddenly met a 'receiver' in the fields. Most of the time, they only select young people, but there will also be older people who will enter their apprentice list. There are even rumors that they will take away kobolds and wild goblins from the wilderness … Of course, these rumors are not credible.
"All in all, I don't know why I was selected. I only remember that one day, a mage suddenly visited Winter Fort Academy. My father received him. The mage took out the mark of the Violet Kingdom and a 'Grand Library Admission Certificate' waiting to be signed. My father and mother talked for a long time with the mage, discussing some details of the admission and the contract content. In the end, they asked for my opinion. After I nodded, I became a preparatory apprentice."
Gwen looked at the archduchess in the holographic projection with some surprise. "On one hand, it was the heir of the Duke of the Northern Region, and on the other hand, it was a foreigner who suddenly came and said that he wanted to recruit students. And the following learning process would require him to go to a distant place and be isolated for management … Your parents agreed? Isn't this a little too hasty? "
"Because this kind of thing has happened more than once," Victoria said faintly. "In the past six hundred years, five members of the Wilde Family have become apprentices of the City of Thousand Towers. Although the 'admission' of the Violet Kingdom is a very rare opportunity for the entire mage community, if we look at the history of the Northern Region and the history of the past few centuries, this kind of thing has actually happened many times. We are not unfamiliar with it.
"Secondly, the 'selection' of the Violet Kingdom is not compulsory. In fact, compared with the traditional process of selecting apprentices, the invitation from the City of Thousand Towers is unbelievably gentle and relaxed. You can refuse and regret at will. Even if you are already in the territory of the Violet Kingdom, as long as you want to go home, they will immediately send you back. In addition, they have a very, very detailed … According to our current terminology, it should be called the 'Admission Agreement', which specifies in detail the standards of accommodation, health insurance, travel time, and course content of the freshmen, and … "
Victoria carefully thought about how to express it and finally spread out her hands. "It's very formal, very formal."
"Formal … Well, I still think it's not right. There's a big problem here." Gwen sighed. "But you can go on. What happens after the 'admission'? How do they bring the apprentices to the City of Thousand Towers? "
"It is said that the Violet Kingdom's receptionist will pick up the selected apprentices with a flying ship that shuttles between dreams and the sea of stars. When all the crew members are dreaming, the ship will sail over an invisible horizon and fall into a cave shrouded in aurora. The next morning, it will arrive at the courtyard of the Prince of Mithril …" Victoria said with a slight smile. "It's a very romantic and 'magical' fantasy, but unfortunately, the reality is much simpler than that.
"They use ordinary passenger ships to pick up the apprentices, which are much more advanced than our current magic-powered warships. The apprentices usually gather in a small town in the north. After boarding the ship, it takes less than half a day to cross the small strait between the Violet Kingdom and the Loren Continent. The food in the ship's restaurant is not bad. I still remember that.
"After crossing the straits, the ship full of apprentices will dock at a coastal city. The exact location of the port is different every time. I remember that I arrived at a small town called 'Prandell'. That place is always cloudy and rainy … It's not a common weather in the north.
"After a short rest, we met the messenger of the City of Thousand Towers. I remember that she was a very kind old lady. She was responsible for guiding the new apprentices to the hinterland of the Violet Kingdom. I remember the old lady said that it was the 'real, eternal Violet Kingdom.'"
"The real, eternal Violet Kingdom?" Gwen immediately noticed these unusual words. His eyes became serious. "Why do you say that?"
"She didn't explain it. Maybe she explained it later, but I don't remember." Victoria shook her head. "But I still remember her emotional expression when she said this. It was a deep and nostalgic tone, as if she was not talking about a thriving kingdom, but a destroyed place that could only be remembered forever."
"This is a very important clue. I'll keep it in mind for now." Gwen nodded. "What happened after that? You were taken to the City of Thousand Towers? How did you get there? "
"We were taken outside the city. There was no road leading to the hinterland of the kingdom outside the city. There was only endless dense forest and fog in the forest. The old lady told us that the road of the Violet Kingdom does not extend in reality. It connects the cities in a higher dimension. If you want to go to the City of Thousand Towers, the only way is to find the hidden path in the fog."
Heti, who had been silent all this time, finally could not help but say, "So, the apprentices have to face some kind of test when they come to the Violet Kingdom. Only those who pass can really go to the City of Thousand Towers?"
"No, only the local apprentices need to take this test. We can go directly because we paid extra tuition. This is what the old lady said."
Gwen was speechless.
Heti could not help but twitch her mouth. "And then?"
"Then she took us through the thick fog. That's all I remember."
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