Chapter 466 317. Forget the quiver.
As mentioned before, dwarves have many branches like elves. In addition to mountain dwarves, North dwarves and Zar dwarves, there is also a group of dwarves, one chosen for various reasons. Imperial dwarves who live alongside Imperial humans. This is also the reason why Queen Marest a while ago acquiesced to Enil and Druchi to massacre the dwarves in the Frostfall area, because those dwarves were all imperial dwarves, not a group of mountain dwarves.
Imperial dwarves are the second largest population in the human empire. These dwarves live together with humans in human towns and villages. Under the baptism of long years and specific conditions, the empire dwarf clan and the mountain dwarf clan have emerged. Big difference, Imperial dwarf clans are not bound to specific guilds. There is no imperial dwarf miner or weaponsmith clan. For example, a dwarf blacksmith living in a village may have two sons, but the two sons do not have to inherit their father's profession as a blacksmith. They can choose to be a stonemason in a nearby town, and the other two sons. One is walking in human society as a trafficker and a pawn.
Interestingly, a few years later, dwarves also appeared in Ulthuan. As Lothern opened the sea, these dwarves followed the humans by boat to the human gathering area of Lothern, and engaged in various activities under Asur's nose. Activities...
The current rulers of Middenheim are not the Todbringer family, which is the family of the White Wolf Elector Boris during the Imperial Calendar 2500, but the Kazberger family. Due to Middenheim's proximity to Lauren Loren, there was a large amount of Aenir activity in Middenheim. In order to alleviate the conflicts and tensions between elves and dwarves, the rulers of the Kazberger family created the Elves, Council of Interests of Dwarves and Halflings.
There are separate offices for elves, dwarves, and halflings in the council building, with staff for each race, and the council handles all complaints and issues from the city's non-human population. Commission staff spend much of their time keeping census data on non-human populations and writing esoteric academic papers on demography and history.
During festivals, the building becomes a place where cultural events are organized, and sometimes the Aenir use it as a dance hall, a pun in the Elvish language that means a night of drinking, listening to music, and dancing.
The person in charge of the affairs of the elves is a female Enil. She made up a very old-fashioned story for herself. She claimed that she was exiled from Lauren Loren and was a princess who was captured by bandits when she was a child. , and was saved by the Black Panther Knight. Now she needs someone to bring her back to Lauren Loren and inherit the glory of the princess, but no adventurer is willing to take this risk.
The strange thing is that when someone is willing to help, this Aenir will refuse, saying that she will not leave Middenheim until she has compiled a book about the history of the elves in Middenheim.
Listening to Genevieve's story about Darkus, I felt inexplicable, as if I had taken off my pants and farted. In fact, this Ainil who was active in the committee was not someone who was exiled from Lauren Loren. This Ainil I am the spokesperson of Queen Marist's interests in Middenheim. I belong to the dark side. Anyway, he has not seen any dark side methods.
This old-fashioned story is more of a casual interest, and if the check is passed, the Aenir will provide more information. The result is that Wren and Genevieve did get two pieces of information, one a cliche story similar to this cliché, and the other about the humble king of Middenheim.
Then Ren and Genevieve set out following the news and ran into a small group. The Shadow Hunters made a fuss in the territory of a human family on the outskirts of Middenheim, and finally set a fire to the human family's castle, and rescued an Ai named Naya Darin Frostlin. Neil.
Hearing this, Darkus understood. In addition to mediating the conflicts between elves and dwarves, that bullshit committee also imprisoned elves and dwarves in disguise. It was similar to a kind of registration, so that human administrators could know what the elves and dwarves were doing. Activity. The arrival of outsiders like Shadow Hunter eased the awkward situation, just like a crutch suddenly appeared when the left foot was struggling with the right foot.
The Frostwood family of Nayadarin lives in a secluded settlement on the edge of the Shower Zone. The Frostwood family is a noble bloodline that can be traced back to the early days of Kor Imamor's founding. In Aenir society, Belonging to the city-state kin, this bloodline has been guarding ancient elven artifacts for thousands of years. However, when she was a child, her family had withered away, and a terrible fire forced her to flee her native land. In the end, she was adopted by humans. The so-called adoption meant imprisonment, and she did not receive decent care.
At this point in time, Darkus appeared. By chance, Naya Darin broke into a secret treasure house filled with artifacts from elves. Through investigation, she discovered that the fire that year was actually the adoption of adoption. Her human place. Unable to do anything, she bribed a human who traveled between the castle and Middenheim, and the human told the news to the Aenir in Middenheim.
"Where is that human?" Darkus asked a key question after hearing this.
"Dead! Stabbed to death by that Enil."
Darkus nodded. In his opinion, it was heavy enough. Naya Darin was thoughtful and cruel at the same time. If the human was left alive, it would be a curse. He would have died a hundred times. After the humans went to investigate, they could not find enough evidence. In the end, they could only attribute it to an accident or a robber or something else, instead of leaving the tail to cause trouble for Enil.
Nayadarin's mission for the rest of her life is to retrieve the elven artifacts scattered in Elzin Alvin and restore the glory of her family. However, as Ersin Alvin is so big, he certainly cannot search everywhere. The subsequent establishment of an intelligence network and black market is inevitable. Thanks to Shadow Hunter's help, she regained her freedom and hit it off with Lane, reaching some agreements on intelligence and manpower.
The humble king who believes in Radnor, the trickster god, is the monarch of Middenheim's underworld and the absolute ruler of the streets. He runs all organized crime in the city, including chicken yards, drug dealers, casinos, Pickpockets, loan sharks, brokers and con men take a cut of the profits.
In the mouths of the human residents of Middenheim, this so-called humble king is very awesome. Although he has various titles, only a few people know the identity of the humble king. However, for Enil, who was active in Middenheim, it was not a problem to figure out the identity of King Bei. In Enil's view, this so-called King Bei was just a street thug who couldn't stand up to the stage.
Each mountain is higher than the other. With the help of the Shadow Hunters, an old man with pale skin full of wrinkles and silver hair, a shriveled and hunched old man was stabbed to death by Naya Darin. Nayadarin, who believed in Loic, replaced the old man who believed in Radnor and became the underground king of Middenheim.
Darkus was very satisfied. Although he had not read Renn's report yet, he was very satisfied with Renn's work results. In his opinion, Shadow Hunter's initial arrangement with Elsin Alvin was a success. What kind of bicycles are needed? Shadowhunters, who started from scratch, can't be spread all over Elsin Alvin.
In addition to Naya Darin, Genevieve also talked about other things. It sounded to Dacus that Ren and Genevieve were having a lot of fun. They visited various shops. Of course, these shops are all in Visiting on a dark and windy night, Renn brought back many strange antiques, such as pottery, rare books, stained glassware, jewelry from Cathay, Indy and the Southern Kingdom, and art from Lustria. Taste.
In addition to these useless things, the Shadow Hunters also visited the printing shop, the mint, the alchemy shop and the dwarven Engineers Guild to get the design drawings, rubbings and drawings of the printing press. Maybe it won't be long before Naggaroth Can clocks and printing flourish? These things are essential in life and systems.
With his hands on his waist, Darkus rode the big guy to a lush deciduous forest called Kane Valley. This was already the second day after Ren and Genevieve returned. He decided It's not like going out for a walk or staying in Jinchi all the time to be a pacifier. However, he only brought a small number of his companions, and the others stayed in the Golden Pond to continue repairs. The hedge wise man from Skoglag was also invited to the Golden Pond by Aenir.
Kane Valley is considered the hottest place in Lauren Loren. An ancient obelisk called the Bleeding Stone is constantly attracting the wind of Aksha. As the name suggests, Kane Valley is the place where Enil Kane's neighbor is located. This valley was consecrated to Kane a long time ago. In addition to Darkus' team, there is also a group of Enil activities here.
At the same time, there are many dryads and tree people in the Kane Valley. These existences were not here before, but migrated here one after another, nourished by the wind of Aksha gathered by the bleeding stones.
Through chatting, Darkus learned that these Enils were here to obtain some holy oil. It was now the end of summer, and the bleeding stone would exude liquid Aquisha, and the liquid Aquisha wind used as holy oil was applied on it. When the weapon is loaded, the weapon will fire.
What makes the Druchis a little confused is that the painting style of the Kane priest is completely different from the Kane sect of Nagaros. There are no human sacrifices, and there are no messy, woo-woo, flashy things, and there is no The crazy wizard spirit is dancing like a great god. In front of the bloody stone altar, Priest Cain wore a blood-red robe and exuded a solemn atmosphere. There were no messy runes or complicated ritual props on the altar, but simple and calm instruments.
Priest Khaine holds a ruby-encrusted dagger in her hand, her eyes deep and thoughtful. The atmosphere of the entire ceremony was full of solemnity and solemnity, without the noise and glitz of the past Kane sect. Around her, there were no crowds gathering and no cumbersome sacrificial movements. She stood in front of the altar, closing her eyes and reciting ancient prayers silently, as if having a conversation with Kane.
The altar and the bleeding stone were surrounded by light red mist, as if a mysterious atmosphere filled the air. The Enirs from Kane's neighboring country played bursts of melodious music. This was not a noisy drum music, but a melody that made people's soul peaceful. Likewise, this is not the strange note familiar to Druchis, but more like a blend of the sounds of nature and the sounds of the soul.
"Master, this is a master!"
Darkus, who looked confused, had an illusion. This priest of Kane of Enil seemed to pay more attention to inner contemplation and spiritual purification? Rather than some stimulating potions and blood. The ritual seems to pay more attention to harmony with nature, and it is not seeking the blessing of Kane. Kane is more like a carrier, and more about the peace and balance of the soul?
While confused, the behavior of Kane's priests also gave Darkus more to think about. The mental fluctuations of tens of millions of people will cause countless ripples and countless fluctuations of the same nature in Isil, which is the subspace. Under the influence of each other, a powerful energy vortex will be formed.
The energy vortex will resonate with the creatures in the physical universe. If the existence of Isil responds with violent and homogeneous energy, the energy vortex will be connected with the physical universe, instilling power into the creatures, allowing the creatures to obtain transcendental powers. Divine power, that is, divine choice and the like.
This makes the religion of the mortal world completely different from the religion of Darkus' previous life, because the so-called gods are real and not illusory. This has also led to a very strong religious atmosphere in the world. To put it more extreme, the more fanatical believers are, the more favor they will get, and the more twisted and extreme the believers are, the stronger they will be. This is true of the followers of the Chaos Gods, as well as the followers of other gods.
Darkus thought about Malekith again. He knew that Malekith did not believe in gods at all, and even hated those gods and religions. Like him, Malekith had never gone to the temple to pray, nor participated in any praises. The rituals of the gods, in Malekith's words: Those gods have never favored Nagaris and me, and I have no reason to bow to them. Malekith, who did not conduct the Ascension Ceremony, was not interested in engaging in the scam of divine right of kings, and believed that the elves could live a better life without those gods.
As for what Malekith did after the Ascension Ceremony, it was another matter. He failed to let the cult breed in Naggaroth. The existence of Heliben made the Cain sect extremely powerful, and then he claimed that his It's Cain's choice. This is a complete scam of the divine right of kings. Fortunately, Heliben pinched her nose and admitted it, so she didn't make Malekith look bad, otherwise it would have been a lot of fun.
In Darkus' view, religion is still necessary to exist when there are gods and the Four Gods of Chaos cannot be eliminated. You can't destroy all those gods. Doing so would be fatal. You will have to go through a period of severe labor pain similar to the End of Time. However, even after the End of Time, the current elves will become the elves and gods of the next reincarnation. Religion and belief still exist, because the framework is fixed unless the framework is re-established, but this... he thinks it is a bit nonsense, after all, the four gods of chaos are there.
In the case where religion is bound to exist, it is necessary to strictly manage and formulate certain relevant measures to strictly restrict those priests who want to get their hands into politics, just like Alandrian did in Esso Talarian, while not Let the sects of the underground gods become the cults that Morathi ran wild on Nagaryth.
Creatures are sentient, and even those skinks that emerge from hatchlings worship Sotek or the Old Ones. The same is true for elves with more delicate emotions. It is better to believe in Assati than to believe in Slaanesh. As for how to believe and the way to believe, there are particularities and explanations. The immortality of elves is a blessing and a curse at the same time. A long life will make elves fall into spiritual emptiness. Long-term laziness will make elves seek some solace. The pacifier music from the gossips of powerful people is one of them, which is even more outrageous. It means indulging oneself in indulgence and enjoyment. At the beginning, it is just food and wine, or reading some strange books and poems, and this is the beginning of corruption. Then two paths appeared for the elves to choose, one was the embrace of Slaanesh.
The other one is Assati. The elves in the classical era just had nothing to do. At that time, there were no Druch and no enemies. With Morathi's operation, more and more spiritually empty elves have joined the sect that promotes depravity, using the power of taboos to seek vent through blood sacrifices and twisted rituals.
These sects provide believers with pure and primitive sensual pleasure. Many elves have lost their usual serious or dignified and virtuous shells and lost themselves in fanatical and primitive enjoyment. Even in Ulthuan now, there are still a bunch of evil believers hiding in secret corners. These believers either believe in underground gods or believe in Slaanesh.
The most intuitive thing is that the hall is filled with purple-blue mist, which rolls out from the brazier made of unknown animal bones. A group of elves are anesthetized and intoxicated by the smoke. They have many identities in society, and there are classes. Next to the nobles may be peasants or servants, but in the hall, they are all of the same virtue, full of depravity. They writhed and rolled on the red carpet, cried in nightmares that only they could see, laughed hysterically, and gasped in pure joy.
"Do you have a lustful group here? They are... believers in Assati." Darkus, who had come back to his senses, whispered to Lindyalok beside him.
"Yes, there is one in my territory. There is a valley of desire in the Silver Mountain. In the spring, the gentle slopes will be covered with hyacinths, and the neighbors who indulge in lust will collect those attractive white flowers." Lindyalok said After finishing, he looked at Darkus, and then showed a teasing smile and continued, "My compatriots usually ask Isa in the spring, and then go to indulge their neighbors... just like this."
" Those white flowers?" Chatting Darkus asked following Lindyalok's words. Halfway through the question, he probably guessed what those white flowers were used for.
Lindyalok did not respond to Darkus with words, but showed a lewd smile that you know.
Darkus first showed a surprised expression, and then also showed a smile that you know. Praying to Isha is a formality, and seeking white flowers from your indulgent neighbors is a necessity. If it is true, those white flowers will be made into something similar to aphrodisiac by the indulgent neighbors, and maybe they also have the function of delivering children.
"Religion? Neighbors? Ways? Guilds? Corporations? Senate?" While Drusala was studying the mechanism of the bloodstone, Darkus kept thinking about it. There was always an unformed feeling in his mind. The idea is that maybe these things can be pieced together to form an effective system.
On the third day, Darkos came to the Valley of Memory. Although the name is beautiful, this is the collective cemetery of elves. Perhaps because of the Middenheim device, this place has now become a forest famous for its hidden glades and shadowed ravines. Walking in it becomes dark, the roads lead to each other crookedly, and time moves on. A strange form flows, and he always has the illusion that he has turned a corner here, and then sees another person in the distance turning a similar turn. Fortunately, he has a guide, so he is not really lost in this place. In the boundless twilight forest.
The Valley of Memory buries all the elves who died during the War of Revenge. At that time, there was no magic to turn the souls of elves into tree spirits. The surviving elven spellcasters cast a spell on the countless dead elven soldiers during their retreat. One of the spellcasters was Asanok. This spell prevented the bodies of the dead from rotting and their minds from wandering around. Into death, until the elves return again and bring these corpses back to Ulthuan to return to their roots.
However, as the war progressed and time passed, the soil covered these elves who were neither alive nor dead, and the thriving trees penetrated and covered their bodies. Over time, the place became what it is now. It was invaded by the dreams of dead elves on the verge of death.
In the Valley of Memories, Darkus met Naiadarin, the humble king of Middenheim. This was a tall, muscular female Aenir with long hair covered by a ceremonial crown and elaborate His hair is held in place by a braided braid, and his face bears the criss-crossing ritual scars that overlapped after being burned in childhood.
Naya Darin's clothes are different from other Enils, more fashionable and gorgeous, with a kind of vulgar gaudiness. In the words of Lindyar Locke, her experience of living together with humans has distorted her worldview.
During the chat, Darkus learned that Naya Darin came to the Valley of Memory because of family inheritance. When she comes here, she will search for past knowledge. Those elves who are still buried underground will dream of things they remembered during their lifetime. Ancient elven cities, transactions with humans and dwarves, as well as terrible things during the Great Schism and the War of Revenge, as long as the visitor's spirit is strong enough, many useful clues can be obtained through these dreams.
In order to thank Darkus and Shadowhunter for their generosity, Naya Darin gave Darkus a piece of Ulthuan's songstone from the classical period. It is said that the songstone is actually a gem-like jewelry. At the same time, she told Darkus some useful information. For example, Hecate also has extraordinary items, and there are more than one. Hecate has eight rings, and each ring is infused with a magical wind. Due to endless disputes, these rings are scattered in the world, and two of them are in Ersin Alvin. There is no way to know where they are.
It seems to Darkus that he and Naya Darin have some similar interests. They are looking for things from elves and lizardmen. After some reconciliation, Naya Darin agreed to help him find things scattered around. Elsin Alvin's Lizardman Items.
When they parted, Nayadarin gave Darkus something else, an inexplicable map. It is said that some humans boarded dwarf flying devices and traveled around the world to investigate wonders. A few years later, a man came back, speaking a language that sounded both primitive and somewhat refined. At the same time, he brought back an inexplicable map. People thought this man was crazy. What is interesting is that after this man died in midsummer, Altdorf poured salt water for three days and three nights. There is no trace of the map, it was forgotten, and it finally found its way to the humans who imprisoned Naya Darin...
In fact, this map shows the location of the last living Sky Titan...
in Darkus While wandering around, three dragons from Blood Island came to Cavalok, the "Skymark Wilderness" in the south of Athel Loren. In addition to the woodland lord Indra, a special Asrai also appeared there. After some exchanges, Asrai followed the three dragons and sent north.
On the fourth day, Darkus came to the source of the Demster River. There was a deep lake called the Pool of Tears. The Aenir believed that there was a path leading to El at the bottom of the lake. Zin Alvin's portal, but no one can tell exactly where it can be transported. Some Aenir believe that the portal connects Lauren Loren and the elven gods, while others believe that the underworld can be reached through the portal. There are some spellcasters in the world who attribute Lauren Loren's gradual decline to the slow loss of the lake's magic.
After Darkus saw what Ren, who was following him, seemed to have discovered, he communicated with the dragon-like natural spirit guarding the tear pool. After receiving no effective information, his thoughts kept swaying. After all, the Enils The stuff passed down is really too evil. Whether it is the elves, gods or the underworld, it points to Isil, which is the subspace. If it is really Isil, it will be exciting. He doesn't want to do it in a short time. I went there again within a short period of time, and he was still swollen to that point.
After wandering for a while, Darkus was still ready to find out. He had two purposes for wandering around. One was to find Bajir's lair. There were some things that he didn't explain clearly last time. He wanted to talk about it again. Besides, Bajir also invited him. Being a guest, it's not like that if he never goes. The other is to look for the Ancient Saint device south of Lauren Loren. He hopes in his heart that there is indeed a corresponding Ancient Saint device south of Lauren Loren, not the one under Middenheim.
Standing on the lake, Darkus used the Trident of the Sea to guide the water. Under Ren's guidance, he discovered the key to the Tear Pool. There was no portal in the Tear Pool, but a room similar to Tal. ·The Ancient Sanctuary of Litanel.
"This? Moonfire Longbow?" Darkus, with a question mark on his face, took the bow in his hand and observed it.
The sanctuary belonging to Ancient Saint Axel Belin contains the Ancient Saint device that Darkus saw before. If it is as he guessed, the Ancient Saint device south of Lauren Loren is in the Pool of Tears, in Demus. The source of the river Te, not in Middenheim. In addition to the ancient holy device, there is a bow in the sanctuary, and there are no stone slabs.
The bow in Dacus's hand is like a mysterious cosmic masterpiece. It is a typical long-rein bow, similar to the design of Eastern Rome in the fourteenth century. The bow body was made of an unknown special magical material. It was not wood, but more like some kind of strange metal. It was completely different from any metal he had seen before. It seemed to come from the depths of the universe or other unknown places. The mysterious metal surface shines with stunning blue firelight, as if it contains the power of the universe. From time to time, the firelight falls, forming particles like stars, and then mysteriously dissipates in the air.
Under the longing gazes of the Enils, Darkus concentrated on pulling the bowstring, which was also made of unknown materials. The magical wind threads on the bow string vibrated with his movements, like a magical dance in the wind, exuding an intoxicating melody, as if telling a mysterious story of the universe. The strange melody penetrated the silent night sky and echoed in the ears of the elves.
As the bowstring was pulled, an arrow appeared in Darkos's hand. This arrow exuded a strange light, shining like a star with the mysterious power of the universe. He aimed at the sky, and at that moment his eyes seemed to penetrate the dark clouds in the sky and connect to the vast universe. He released the bowstring, and the arrow pierced the night sky, leaving a flickering trail, its light even more dazzling.
The arrow finally disappeared into the sea of stars, like a meteor streaking across, leaving behind a peaceful night sky.
Darkus glanced at Drusala and Colonia, and after seeing the two metal casters shaking their heads, he studied the unknown bow in his hand, which seemed to be similar to Aris' Moon Bow. Similar, but actually completely different things. In his opinion, this bow was as fancy as the previous cloak. The sound it made when it was pulled and the arrows it shot had no concealment at all. It was more like being used in public, such as on a mount?
After studying for a while, Darkus shot another arrow. At the same time, he triggered the Kodi breastband to summon the power of thunder and lightning. As the arrow flew into the sky, the arrow's trajectory began to flash with electric light. Forming an arc of lightning that blends into the night sky.
Darkus handed the bow to Lindialok next to him again. As a result, Lindialok did not shoot the arrow like him. A somewhat disappointed Lindialok tried it a few times and then handed the bow to him again. Elano, it turns out the same is true for Elano.
"Is there any restriction? The Ancient Saint Axel Belin left it to me specifically? Other existences cannot be activated?" The more Darkos thought about it, the more something was wrong. He always had an illusion, as if the Ancient Saints knew that he would come. Same, and then the way was paved for him, and all he did was search for it. Then...he thought about his resurrection in Isil again. Didn't Sotek's abstract reminder come from the future? But from the past?
Darkus took over the bow again and started experimenting again. This time he took a pressure test. He wanted to see how many arrows he could shoot. After a series of rapid fire and the blessing of life magic, he shot After sixteen arrows, I couldn't shoot anymore. In the end, I just shot for the sake of shooting, and my movements were out of shape. But he kept pulling, not believing that empty pulling would damage this magical bow. After repeated pulling, he shot another weak arrow.
Darkus could feel that the last arrow shot should have been generated later. After thinking silently for a while, he shot another arrow. At this moment, he had a clear judgment. There were about fifteen arrows. The sixteenth arrow should have been generated when he shot it. One arrow was generated every two minutes on average. In his opinion, it was completely enough. It is enough to be used almost infinitely and can be continued continuously. After all, it is basically impossible to shoot all the arrows in a short period of time.
Forget the quiver!
Darkus finally named this magical bow "Infinite Renewal". No... the name was abandoned and he named it Star Bow, corresponding to the previous cloak.
After the transition, I will go to Altdorf tomorrow...
(End of this chapter)