The ruler of the Silver Empire sat quietly on the throne made of lost ancient technology. The holographic projection in front of the throne had dissipated. Her eyes crossed the air and fell aimlessly into the distance. She seemed to be lost in thought.
After a moment of thought, she gently knocked on the golden armrest of the throne. A stream of light flashed in the cables connected to her nervous system behind the throne.
The metal sliding door on one side of the control hall opened silently. A high-ranking maid in a white dress with tassels walked in lightly and bowed in the direction of the throne. "Your Majesty, you called for me?"
"Ask Master Velania to come to the control hall." Bersetia nodded gently. "I want to discuss the technical matters with her."
The Stellaris Temple was not only a sky fortress that served as the symbol of the empire's power, but also an important research facility and knowledge sanctuary. This magnificent city in the sky had large-scale laboratories and several archives. The Astromancer Association, one of the two major magic organizations on the continent, had its headquarters here.
There was a group of top researchers in the Silver Empire. Their teams were made up of the best mages, the wisest scholars, and the best master engineers. They buried themselves in the infinite knowledge contained in the Stellaris Temple and the relics of their ancestors, relying on the large number of research facilities in the Stellaris Temple to tirelessly delve into the mysteries of the magical domain.
Because of their outstanding contributions and high academic ability, they had an honorary title independent of their profession — Astromancer.
One of the most outstanding Astromancers, the great Astromancer Velania, who had served the empire for nearly 2,000 years, was summoned by the queen. She temporarily extricated herself from the vast number of data and drawings and came to the throne.
This wise and knowledgeable lady had a tall figure. Although she was no longer young, she still maintained a beautiful and mature appearance and elegant demeanor. She wore a lavender robe with silver edges. Her long blonde hair was tied up high, and several magic crystals floated around her, acting as her casting medium and recording tools. She bowed slightly in front of Bersetia, saluting and asking the queen's order, "Your Majesty, what can I do for you?"
"Velania, you are my best magic consultant." The silver queen nodded gently. "I need to make a decision now. I need to hear your opinion."
"Please speak, I'm listening."
"We have reestablished contact with the north of the continent. You should already know that," the Silver Queen said. "I just spoke to Sonia's messenger and saw Gwen Cecil. He is indeed resurrected."
"The resurrection of the dead has happened occasionally in history, but the 'perfect' resurrection of Gwen Cecil is indeed rare. This may be related to the variation of life forms," Velania said thoughtfully. "Do you want me to study the secret of Duke Cecil's resurrection? However, this is not my field of expertise. Researchers from the School of Life should be able to give you more suggestions … "
"No, I'm looking for you because Duke Cecil has a suggestion for me — about the technological cooperation between humans and elves."
"Technical cooperation?" Velania was a little surprised. She frowned slightly. "This … is an unexpected suggestion. The magic skills of humans and elves have never been compatible. Even in the Kingdom of Gondor, the academic exchanges between us and humans were mostly limited to the fields of culture and art. Occasionally, it involved supernatural powers, but it was only theoretical and academic discussions. But I think the 'cooperation' that Duke Cecil wants is not about that. "
If it was only about the above fields, the queen did not need to discuss it with her.
"They have found a way to decipher and control elven spells," Belsetia said flatly, but the content of her words made the astrologer's eyes widen. "Strictly speaking, they have found the mystery of all the known runes in the world. They have named it: Runic Logic."
Velania's first reaction was that it was impossible. There were many types of runes in the world, and the combinations of runes were almost endless. Even the most talented mortals could not sense the magic waves of all the runes, and it was impossible to control all the magic circles. What's more, the astrologer had to sort out a common pattern among the runic systems of different races. It was like an unruly legend. However, as a rigorous and fearful researcher, the astrologer suppressed her instinctive resistance and disbelief. She turned to the Silver Queen and asked, "Is this true? How did they do it? "
"Of course, Duke Cecil will not tell me the details, but they should have found a way, a way … different from the traditional way. We have confirmed that there was a magic device with elven characteristics in the war in the south of the Ansu. This should be evidence, "Belsetia said slowly." And Duke Cecil wants to cooperate with the Silver Empire on a technical level. He wants our anti-gravity technology, multi-layer rune stack technology, and various ancestral knowledge in the fields of machinery, engineering, and so on. In exchange, he is willing to share runic logic with us, as well as the knowledge they have obtained in the process of deciphering human spells and divine spells. "
"Our ancestral knowledge …" Velania repeated the words the queen mentioned softly, and her expression gradually became serious.
"We have never disclosed the knowledge of our ancestors to the other races. Even when we worked together with the human countries to build the Sentry Tower, what we took out was the 'sealed result' that did not include the construction process," Bersetia continued. "The heritage left by the original elves is the guarantee that the Silver Empire has stood strong to this day. Duke Cecil's suggestion … makes me hesitate."
The master astromancer did not give her answer immediately. She was just thinking quietly. The magic crystals floating around her suddenly stopped moving and began to flash in unison.
It was a sign that the master astromancer was deep in thought.
The Silver Queen did not disturb the chief advisor's thoughts. She merely sat quietly on the throne, using her soul and nerves to listen to the low roars and murmurs of the ancient machines in the city in the sky. She listened to every engine, every reactor, and every artificial intelligence node as they slowly walked towards destruction, her expression calm and tranquil.
"Your Majesty," the master astromancer finally raised her head and broke the silence. "Did you know that 1,300 years ago, I was the deacon of the Royal Academy. I was responsible for teaching the young elites advanced arcane magic skills and the most advanced knowledge in the field of arcane magic in the empire?"
"I've heard of it." Belsetia nodded slightly. "Many members of the Astromancer Association were your apprentices."
"Yes, most of them were taught by me 1,300 years ago," Velania said and took a deep breath. "Six days ago, I went back to the Royal Academy to visit a friend. On that friend's bookshelf, I saw their teaching materials today … They were still the content that I taught them 1,300 years ago."
Belsetia's eyes focused, and she quietly looked at the master astromancer in front of her.
"Your Majesty, the Silver Empire has been stagnant for thousands of years. It may still be the largest entity in this forest, but its internal structure has gradually decayed during the thousands of years of stagnation. We excavated the knowledge left by our ancestors. In the first few thousand years, we used the knowledge to build a huge empire, but in the many thousands of years after that, we did not make any progress. All of our technical achievements were based on a few small fixes in a few existing fields. The products we made with those ancient drawings were more and more delicate, more and more durable, and even improved some of the efficiency. But … in the basic fields behind these drawings, we have never made any progress.
"Your Majesty, we are at the end of the road. We need a second way. The hope of finding this way alone is slim, but there may be a chance in front of us.
"Human magic skills may have suffered a heavy blow because of the destruction of the Kingdom of Gondor, but they are a smart and versatile race. They are good at learning from various fields and developing quickly. Their knowledge is useful for us. What we need is this kind of 'reference.'
"This is my suggestion, Your Majesty."
Belsetia listened to the master astromancer's suggestion quietly. After a few seconds of silence, she said, "You're right. We should seize this opportunity.
"Master astromancer, please go back and rest. Tell the other master astromancers to get ready and wait for my summons."
Velania bowed her head deeply and said, "Yes, Your Majesty."
Velania left the hall. The Silver Queen was silent for a moment. Then she knocked on the armrest again and summoned her maid. "Ask Valentin to see me."
A moment later, Valentin Kingu, the tall, thin, and serious Grand Secretary of the Empire, wearing a mithril crown and a red robe with golden edges, entered the hall. The high elf, who was the queen's confidant, bowed deeply before the throne and asked, "Your Majesty, what are your orders?"
"The Principality of Cecil in the north will start a high-level technical cooperation with the Silver Empire. In exchange for their control of rune technology, the empire will open up part of the ancestral knowledge to them," Belsetia said calmly. "I want to gather the council and all the master astromancers to discuss this matter. There will be many opponents. Unnecessary modesty and pride will make many elves refuse to open up their ancestral knowledge to humans. "
Valentin, the Grand Secretary of the Empire, maintained his unchanging cold expression. "What about your orders?"
"I want the proposal to be passed in two days."
"Yes."
Soon, the hall was silent again.
In the spacious hall where the attendants had left in advance, Bersetia sat alone on the throne. Only the occasional buzzing of various instruments and equipment broke the silence in the room. The silence lasted for more than ten seconds before a sigh came from the throne.
"I hope this is really an opportunity."
…
At the same time, in the northern part of the continent, Ansu.
In an ancient palace deep underground, a room was brightly lit.
Bertilla stood in the room, quietly watching several followers in short black robes checking the magic devices in the center of the room.
They were two black stone pillars, almost as tall as a person. The surface was engraved with dense runes and pale golden arcane lines. There were also fine crystals and expensive magic materials inlaid between the runes and lines, shining faintly. The two stone pillars stood on the ground, less than two meters apart from each other. On the ground where they stood, there was an extremely complex large magic circle that almost covered the entire floor. The magic circle was obviously in a half-activated state. Countless runes and lines were shining faintly, and the crystals inlaid in the magic circle were also full of energy.
The Twin Elves stood beside Bertilla and looked at the two 'stone pillars' in the center of the room with great interest. They sighed in unison. "The Eternal Sleepers have some interesting ideas. They can even think of projecting people's thoughts into the distance, and even directly cross the Great Wall …"
"Unfortunately, this may be the last time we work with them," Bertilla said faintly. "In the end, they rejected the path of the great evolution and chose the false spiritual world."
"They think their path is right, and we think our path is right." The Twin Elves chuckled and walked around Bertilla. "What about you? Priestess Bertilla, do you have your own opinion of the new world? "
"I don't like your hobby of talking in circles." Bertilla unceremoniously avoided the Twin Elves' entanglement and stepped into the center of the room. The followers who were checking the magic circle had retreated, and the two black stone pillars were glowing with a constant light. "If you don't want to help, at least don't choose to add to the trouble."
"Ah, of course we are here to help," the Twin Elves said in unison and followed Bertilla to the stone pillars. "We have a lot to say to our companions on the other side of the barrier."
The magic circle in the room was activated, and the light on the two black stone pillars suddenly became extraordinarily bright.
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