In the third week of the Moon of Resurrection, the dragonborn from the northern kingdom stepped into Cecil City.
This is the first time that the Dragonborn have visited a human country in an official and public manner since the second expansion and the establishment of human countries in the four borders of the continent.
The imperial flag with blue background and gold pattern fluttered in the wind on the spiers of the towers, colorful ribbons fluttered in the streets and alleys, the sound of horns came from the direction of the north bank, and large-scale magic projections appeared in the streets and alleys. The scene of the dragonborn entering the city was broadcast in real time on the Internet. Excited children were running around on the roadside, scrambling for the falling ribbons and petals. Citizens gathered on several streets that were allowed to watch the ceremony, carrying With full curiosity, he watched the envoys sitting in the open-top magic car heading towards the palace along the Pioneer Avenue.
Elite Steel Rangers wearing black light armor rode war horses to guard both sides of the convoy. Their ceremonial spears pointed high into the sky, separating the enthusiastic crowd and maintaining order.
Sir Gorosh and Asarena sat in the second magic car together, looking at this human city full of vitality and vitality, with incredible "magic technology" everywhere, He couldn't help showing a hint of surprise on his face: "This place is...much more prosperous than I thought."
"...It's also a bit beyond my imagination," Asarena said to the roadside A child who cheered at her waved and whispered calmly, "You must not believe what it was like when I left here twenty years ago... There were no humans at the foot of the Dark Mountains at that time. Living..."
"...I'm starting to worry about one thing now," Sir Gorosh frowned slightly, with a strange tone, "I'm worried that the experience you accumulated during your travels in the human world will be lost here. Can the new human empire still be of use..."
Asarena turned her head slightly and glanced at Sir Gorosh: "Your Excellency, please do not question my ability as a consultant - human beings Although society is changing rapidly, many customary and ritual things will not change in twenty years, and although there are many new things in this city, they are not completely beyond me..."
Halfway through what the Dragon Seal Witch was saying, she was suddenly interrupted by a scream mixed with buzzing coming from high in the sky. She and Sir Gorosh raised their heads in surprise, and saw in surprise. In the sunshine near noon, in the clear and cloudless sky, there are more than ten strange machines that look like steel cones with wings flying in a neat triangular formation from west to east.
Below those buzzing machines floated shimmering ring devices, with strange structures extending on both sides that were reminiscent of dragon wings. They were obviously some kind of man-made objects, and they were flying. The stability of the posture and the skillful cooperation were breathtaking. When this wonderful "flying queue" was about to arrive directly above the mission, several of the aircraft suddenly opened some kind of magic device hanging below, accompanied by streams of light. High in the sky, a huge magic projection appeared in the field of vision of Sir Gorosh and Asarena.——
On the magic projection, welcome words were written in both human common language and dragonborn characters. They floated over the city, and their scale exceeded any illusion fireworks that a mage could create.
The magic projection should be produced by a device similar to the "Magic Network Broadcasting Device" seen on the streets. The Cecil people installed them on the aircraft, and the effect produced was particularly shocking. .
It took Sir Gorosh a while to look away. He glanced at Asarena beside him: "Ms. Asarena, is this thing beyond your imagination?"< /p>
"...I really never thought about this..."
"Human beings have actually created this kind of flying device...and it seems that it can be mass-produced," Ge Sir Roche couldn't help but look up again, "Is this also a 'magic technology'?"
"It seems that what we gain here will be far beyond imagination," Asarena said softly , "And I don't know if you have noticed, Sir Gorosh, the 'wings' extending from both sides of the aircraft... are very similar in shape to dragon wings."
"I noticed." Sir Gorosh Nodding, somehow, his daughter, who had been away from home for many years, suddenly appeared in his mind.
Maggie...should be in this city. I don't know how she will react to his arrival.
While thinking, Sir Gorosh’s expression became complicated.
......
"Unit No. 1 has completed the projection task. After twenty seconds, the projector will shut down and prepare to cruise back. The rest of the crew will follow."
"Two Unit No. 3 understands. "Unit No. 3 understands." "Unit No. 4..." The wingman's response continued to come from the communication device, and Maggie, who was sitting in the co-pilot position of the captain's aircraft, breathed a sigh of relief. , but couldn't help but look through the transparent observation window diagonally below and look at the convoy of the mission driving through the street at a constant speed below.
Air force commander Jin Na, a first-term dragoon cadet, sat next to her in the driver's seat. The young girl from a family of gryphon knights took a deep breath and calmed down her slightly nervous mood. Emotionally, her face was slightly red with excitement as she performed such a special task for the first time. After confirming that the task had been generally completed without any mistakes, she turned to look at Maggie: "Miss Maggie, thank you for your hard work this time... ...Miss Maggie? Are you feeling uncomfortable?"
"Ah? No, it's nothing." Maggie suddenly woke up and waved her hand, "I just thought about something. "
"It's so rare," Jin Na said, shaking her head, "that you would be distracted while performing a task."
Maggie showed a slightly stiff smile at the corners of her eyes. His peripheral vision once again glanced at the observation window diagonally below, and his expression became complicated.
When I was preparing for the flight in the morning, I found out that my father was among the envoys this time. But in fact, such information should have been sent to His Majesty the Emperor's case many days ago, and the news was suppressed.After taking so long to tell herself...it inevitably made Maggie wonder if His Majesty was playing a nasty joke on her.
But Maggie quickly shook her head vigorously, throwing this unreliable thought out of her mind - His Majesty Gawain Cecil is a majestic and wise man, and he has the entire empire on his shoulders. He did not have such a bad taste in carrying out the heavy burden of the mission. The reason why no one came to tell him the details of the mission in advance was either due to the need for confidentiality or because His Majesty was usually too busy to pay attention to these details.
Miss Dragonborn, who ran away from home, quickly convinced herself and continued to worry about what might happen next.
......
The place to entertain the envoys is still in the banquet hall of Qiu Palace.
After finishing the sightseeing trip from Pioneer Avenue to the Autumn Palace, Sir Gorosh finally met the ruler of this new human empire-Gao Luoshen in a brightly lit and rather grand hall. Wen, Hetty and several senior officials of the Government Affairs Department stood in front of the steps of the Qiu Palace Banquet Hall, watching the dragonborn dressed in foreign costumes come to them. When the attendant responsible for issuing the announcement read the name of the envoy loudly, , the rather serious-looking middle-aged man, accompanied by a red-haired woman, came forward and handed over a handwritten letter from Grand Duke Baloger.
"Salute to you, His Majesty the Emperor of Cecil, salute to you, knight among knights, pioneer among pioneers...the founder of the old country of Ansu and the new country of Cecil, "Sir Gorosh looked at the "pioneer" in front of him who had legendary stories in the human world and even created the miracle of resurrection from the dead. He did not show any excessive curiosity or prying. He spoke with a solemn expression and spoke according to etiquette. In the opening remarks, a long list of titles and standard rhetoric came right out of the mouth, "I have brought the ruler of the Far North Mountains, the guardian of the dragonborn kingdom, the lord of rock and ice... the powerful and wise dragon-blooded Duke Ba His Majesty Loger’s greetings, and the friendly wishes of the Holy Dragon Principality”
“Welcome to Cecil,” Gawain’s response was much simpler and more straightforward, “Cecil and the Holy Dragon. The Principality has always been a friendly neighbor, and we will always welcome visitors from the Far North Mountains."
At the same time, he was a little surprised - it had been a long time since he heard such a standard, with a long tone. This was the beginning of a series of honorary titles and flattery. This dragon-born messenger came from a world that had been isolated from the human kingdom for many years, but his words and sentences were surprisingly quite ancient.
It seems that in the far north, many dragonborn's impressions of humans are still stuck in the past Anzu era.
——In order to prevent conflicts in etiquette and culture, and to ensure the standardization of the ritual process, the envoys had already been familiar with Cecil at Winter Castle in the north before coming to Cecil City. They followed some etiquette regulations and adapted to the interview process in advance with the help of Victoria. However, although the process was rehearsed in advance, the words and phrases used by the envoys for their audience were drawn up by the Principality of Shenglong (Duke Victoria only confirmed some of these words. No taboos were violated).
Now, some of these rather classical words even made Gawain feel a little bit dumbfounded.
Of course, he remained calm and indifferent on the surface, without revealing anything.
After submitting his credentials, completing the necessary audience ceremonies, mutual introductions, and completing all agreed procedures, Gao Wen did not let the guests from afar go through more red tape, but went directly to the island. The main part of Searle-style hospitality is announcing the start of the banquet.
When the dazzling food was displayed in front of the guests, a light and sweet melody echoed in the hall, and the waiters began to guide the guests to their seats, Sir Gorosh approached Asarena and couldn't bear it. Zhu whispered: "Although I learned a little about it in advance, the etiquette and rules of the 'Cecil Empire' still seem to be much simpler than I imagined... It doesn't seem to have as many rules and cumbersome etiquette as the human kingdom mentioned in the information. Ah."
Asalena tilted her head slightly and glanced at Sir Gorosh: "Then do you like simple procedures or cumbersome rules?"
Golosh? Sir Shi smiled slightly when he heard this: "Personally, of course I prefer this - simple and straightforward communication is more to my taste."
Asalena smiled, but did not Say anything more.
In her impression, human beings like to use complicated etiquette and rules to show their "orthodoxy" and "inheritance". This is very different from Dragonborn. Although Dragonborn also values tradition, , abide by the rules, but it is more of a respect for tradition and "obedience" to ancient admonitions, while human beings' insistence on etiquette and rules is an unnecessary "external decoration" in the eyes of the Dragonborn. Rather than having any actual meaning, it is more like covering the body with decorative feathers, etiquette for the sake of etiquette, and rules for the sake of rules.
It is precisely because of this cognition that dragonborn have been quite prejudiced against the human world for a long time: in their view, a race with a short life span such as humans is too much. The pursuit of "orthodoxy" and "inheritance" seems to be nondescript.
Asarena never thought that in just twenty years, humans would have changed in this regard.
A young and heroic but careless mercenary leader appeared in her mind, and then the figure turned into a general with a neglected beard and a body covered with medals and ribbons.
It is only twenty years.
Humans... are such interesting creatures.
The banquet has begun.
After entering the period of free activities and communication, the guests began to move around the banquet, take food and talk to each other. Sir Gorosh would naturally first contact Emperor Cecil, Asha. Reina walked around the hall casually with three points of curiosity.
Her "consultant" will play a role in analyzing the data later, but she is very free at this moment.
In using various understandings or not understandingsIn the process of casual conversation with people passing by, a small figure suddenly ran past nearby.
It was a girl who looked like she was underage in a light yellow dress. She was holding a large plate full of food in her hands, with a happy smile on her face, and she was happily moving from one place to another. The long table full of food ran to another table.
Asarena frowned subconsciously - a child?
She was curious about why a child appeared here, but soon realized that this should be a child of a royal family member or a high-ranking empire official, who was running around with a plate full of food. His appearance was very different from the "atmosphere" of the others in the hall, but Asarena couldn't help but laugh.
At this moment, she saw that the cheerful girl's feet suddenly slipped. She seemed to have lost her balance while running, and was about to fall to the ground in a panic.
Asarena calmly raised her fingers slightly, and an invisible force lifted the girl's body, allowing her to quickly regain her balance.
This was just a casual favor, and no one should have noticed it. Asarena smiled and shook her head, and was about to turn around and walk away, but she didn’t expect the girl in a light yellow dress. He immediately looked over and walked towards this side.
This child has such a keen sense of magic!
As soon as Asarena had such exclamation in her heart, the girl had already walked up to her. She bowed politely without opening her mouth, but there was a sound coming from somewhere behind her neck. A slightly mechanical voice: "Thank you~ma'am~~"
"You don't have to be... you're welcome," Asarena looked at the girl in front of her in surprise. She was sure she hadn't seen the child just now. Open your mouth to speak, "You...are you talking?"
"Yes! But I use 'it' to speak~!" The girl said happily while turning around, showing The strange metal device on the back of his neck, which looks like a flattened silver-white spine, is fitting obediently to the back of the girl's neck. "This is called a nerve thorn. By the way, madam, are you a Dragonborn? I heard Today we are entertaining guests here, guests from the Holy Dragon Principality. I know a sister named Maggie, she is also a dragonborn...ah, by the way, I haven't introduced myself yet, my name is Pea..."
Asalena: "...?!"