The ruler of the Silver Empire sat quietly on the throne made of long-lost ancient technology. The holographic projection in front of the throne had dissipated. Her sight crossed the air and fell aimlessly in the distance, seemingly right in front of her. Immerse yourself in thought.
After a moment of thinking, she gently knocked on the golden armrest of the throne, and a fleeting light emerged from one of the cables connected to her nervous system behind the throne.
The metal sliding door on one side of the control hall (control hall) opened silently, and a high-level maid wearing a white fringed dress walked in lightly and walked towards the control hall. Bowed in the direction of his seat: "Your Majesty, are you calling me?"
"Please invite Master Wilania to rule the hall," Belsetia nodded lightly, "I want to discuss the technical field with her. "
The Star Temple is not only an aerial fortress that serves as a symbol of the empire's power, but also an important research facility and knowledge sanctuary. This magnificent aerial city has large-scale laboratories and There are several archives, and the "Astromancer Association", one of the two major magic organizations on the mainland, has its headquarters here.
The Silver Empire has a group of top researchers. Its team is composed of the best magisters, the wisest and most knowledgeable scholars, and the most outstanding engineering masters. They are buried in the Temple of the Stars and various ancestors. Among the infinite knowledge contained in the relics, relying on the large number of research facilities in the Temple of the Stars, they tirelessly delved into the mysteries of the magic field.
Because of their outstanding contributions and extremely high academic abilities, they have an honorary title independent of their own professional system - Astromancer.
One of the most outstanding astromancers, the great astromancer Velania, who has served the empire for nearly two thousand years, was summoned by the queen. She temporarily escaped from the numerous data and drawings and came to the throne of domination. forward.
This wise and knowledgeable lady has a tall figure. Although she is no longer young, she still maintains a beautiful and mature appearance and elegant demeanor. She is wearing a lavender dress with silver trim. Wearing a traditional robe, her long golden hair was tied up high, and several crystals filled with magic floated beside her, acting as her spell-casting medium and recording tool. She bent slightly in front of Belsetia, saluted and Asking the Queen's will: "Your Majesty, what are your orders for summoning me?"
"Vilania, you are my best magic advisor," the Silver Queen nodded lightly, "I We need to make a decision now, and we need to hear your opinion."
"Please tell me, I'm listening."
"We have reestablished contact with the north of the mainland. You should already know," the Silver Queen said, "I just spoke with the Sonia messenger and saw Gawain Cecil - he was indeed resurrected."
"...The dead are resurrected. It happens occasionally in history, but a 'perfect' resurrection like that of Duke Gawain Cecil is indeed rare. This may be related to the mutation of life forms," Villania said thoughtfully, "You want me to study Cecil. The secret of Duke Cyr's resurrectionWhat? But this is not my area of expertise. Researchers of life factions should be better able to give you advice..."
"No, I came to you because Duke Cecil made a suggestion to me - about Technological cooperation between humans and elves. ”
“Technical cooperation? "Villania was a little surprised, she frowned slightly, "This... is an unexpected suggestion. The magical skills of humans and elves have never been able to blend together. Even in the era of the Gondor Empire, most of the academic exchanges between us and humans were limited to the fields of culture and art. Occasionally involving extraordinary powers, they were only theoretical and academic discussions. But I think the 'cooperation' Duke Cecil is asking for should not be referring to these. "
If it is just communication in the above-mentioned fields, there is no need for the Queen to discuss it with herself.
"They have found a way to decipher and control the elves' spells," Belsetia Said calmly, but the content of this indifferent words made the great astrologer's eyes widen, "Strictly speaking, they found the secret of the laws of all known runes in the world - they named it: Runic Logic . ”
Villania’s first reaction was “This is impossible”, because there are many types of runes in the world, and the possibilities of combinations and arrangements of runes are almost endless, and even the most amazingly talented mortals , it is impossible to perceive the magic fluctuations of all runes, and it is impossible to control all magic arrays, not to mention the huge differences between the rune systems from different races and to sort out a common law. This is like An uninhibited and strange story, but as a rigorous researcher who fears the unknown, the great astrologer finally suppressed his instinctive resistance and disbelief, and turned to the Silver Queen for confirmation: "Is this true? How did they do it? "
"Of course Duke Cecil will not tell me the specific situation, but they should have really found a path, a path...that is completely different from tradition. We already have intelligence confirming that there were magical devices with elven spell characteristics during the war in the southern border of Ansu. This should be evidence," Belsetia said unhurriedly, "and Duke Cecil He hopes to start technical cooperation with the Silver Empire based on this - he wants our anti-gravity technology, multi-layer rune stacking technology, and various ancestral knowledge in the fields of machinery, engineering, etc., and in exchange, he is willing to share it with us Runic logic, and the knowledge they gained in the process of analyzing human spells and divine magic. "
"The knowledge of our ancestors..." Villania repeated the words mentioned by the queen softly, her expression gradually becoming serious.
"We have never disclosed our ancestors to foreign races. "Knowledge, even if we worked together with human countries to build the Sentinel Tower, what we came up with was an 'encapsulated result' that did not include the construction process," Belsetia continued, "The legacy left by the original elves is the reason why the Silver Empire stands today. The guarantee made by Duke Cecil... makes me hesitate. ”
The great astrologer did not immediately give her answer. She just thought quietly about those floatingThe magic crystal beside her, which was constantly rising and changing slightly, stopped at some point and began to shine in unison.
This is a sign that the great astrologer is deep in thought.
The Silver Queen did not disturb the chief advisor's thinking. She just sat quietly on the throne of control, listening with her soul and nerves to the roar or whisper of the ancient machines in this aerial city. Listening He listened to the sound of each engine, each reactor, and each artificial intelligence node slowly heading towards destruction, with a calm expression.
"Your Majesty," the Great Astromancer finally raised his head and broke the silence, "Did you know that one thousand three hundred years ago, I was the instructor of the Royal Academy, and I was responsible for teaching arcane arts to those young elites? Advanced skills in magic, teaching them the empire’s most advanced knowledge in the arcane field.”
“I’ve heard of it,” Belsetia nodded slightly: “Many members of the Astromancer Association are you. "Yes, most of them were taught by me thirteen hundred years ago," Villania said, taking a breath, "And I was there in six days. I once went back to the Royal Academy to visit a friend - on that friend's bookshelf, I saw their current textbooks... still the same content I taught thirteen hundred years ago."
Belsetia's eyes condensed and she looked at the great astromancer in front of her quietly.
“Your Majesty, the Silver Empire has been a giant beast that has been stagnant for thousands of years. It may still be the largest individual in this forest, but its interior has gradually deteriorated during these thousands of years of stagnation. Decay. We mined the legacy of our ancestors for knowledge, and in the first few thousand years we used it to build a vast empire, but for many more millennia we made no progress. Technical achievements are all based on minor repairs in several existing fields. The products we use those ancient drawings to create are becoming more and more refined, more durable, and even improved some efficiency, but... in these drawings We have always stood still in the basic field behind it.
“Your Majesty, we are at the end of our road and we need a second road - the hope of finding this road alone is slim, but perhaps before us. There is a chance.
“Humans’ magical skills may have suffered a heavy blow due to the fall of the Gondor Empire, but they are an intelligent and changeable race. They are good at absorbing knowledge from various fields and developing rapidly. Their knowledge It is of reference significance to us - what we need is this kind of 'reference significance'
"This is my suggestion, Her Majesty. "
Belsetia listened quietly to the great astrologer's suggestion. After a few seconds of silence, she spoke: "You are right, we should seize this opportunity.
"Great Astromancer, please go back and rest, and let other great Astromancers prepare and wait for my call."
Villania lowered her head deeply: "Yes , Your Majesty."
Villania left the hall, and the Silver Queen was silent.After a moment of silence, she knocked on the armrest again and summoned her maid: "Let Lord Valentian come to see me."
After a moment, she wore a mithril crown and a red dress with gold trim. Valentian Kanaya, the tall, thin and solemn chief minister of the empire, wearing long robes, entered the control hall. This high-ranking elf who serves as the queen's chief confidant bowed deeply in front of the throne: "Your Majesty, what are your orders?"< /p>
"The Principality of Cecil in the north will engage in high-level technical cooperation with the Silver Empire. In exchange for their technology in controlling runes, the Empire will open up part of their ancestral knowledge to them," Belsetia said calmly. , "I will convene the Political Council and all the great astrologers to discuss this matter. There will be many opponents, and unnecessary reserve and pride will make many elves refuse to open their ancestral knowledge to humans."
Waren, the chief minister of the empire Dean maintained his ever-changing stern face: "What about your order?"
"I require the bill to be passed within two days."
"Yes."
Soon, the hall fell silent again.
In the empty hall where the attendants had been dismissed in advance, Belsetia sat alone on the throne. Only the occasional buzzing sound produced by the operation of various instruments and equipment broke the silence in the room. This silence lasted for ten years. After a few seconds, there was a sigh from the throne.
"I hope this is really an opportunity."
...
At the same time, in the northern part of the mainland, in Ansu.
In the ancient palace deep underground, a room was brightly lit.
Female Priest Bertila stood in the room, quietly watching several believers in black short robes inspect the magic device in the center of the room.
They are two black stone pillars, nearly a person tall, with dense runes and light golden arcane lines engraved on the surface. There are also fine crystals and expensive magic materials inlaid in those runes and lines. There was a faint light shining between them. Two stone pillars stood on the ground, less than two meters apart from each other. On the ground where they stood, you could also see an extremely complex large magic array that almost covered the entire floor. , the magic array was obviously in a semi-activated state, countless runes and connections were shimmering, and the crystals embedded in the magic array were also full of energy.
The Elf Twins stood next to Bertila, looking at the two "stone pillars" in the center of the room with great interest, and sighed in unison: "The Eternal Sleeper really has some very interesting ideas—— They can actually think of projecting people's thoughts far away, and can even directly cross the magnificent wall..."
"Unfortunately, this may be the last cooperation with them," Bertila said lightly , "They ultimately rejected the path of great evolution and chose the false spiritual world instead."
"They think their path is correct, and we think ours is correct," Elf The twins chuckled softly and walked around Bertila, "What about you? Dean Bertila, do you have your own unique insights into the new world?"
"II don’t like your hobby of talking around others,” Bertila unceremoniously dodged the entanglement of the Elf Twins and walked towards the center of the room - the believers who were checking the magic circle had already retreated, and the two black stone pillars A constant light is shining on the surface, "If you are not willing to help, at least don't choose to cause trouble. "
"Ah, of course we are here to help," the Elf Twins said in unison, and followed Bertira to the stone pillar. "We have nothing to say to our companions on the other side of the barrier. Less. ”
The magic circle in the room was activated, and the light swimming on the surface of the two black stone pillars suddenly became extremely bright.