Volume 3: The Land of Mist Chapter 21: Illusions of the Past
The high elves worship fire and fog as their faith.
The fire here refers to the Phoenix Holy Fire.
Deep within the Phoenix Palace, a golden holy fire burns forever. According to legend, it is the last remaining flame spirit of the elves' ancestors after they failed to ascend to heaven.
During the day, the elderly who have experienced the baptism of time and feel that their souls are empty will throw themselves into the sacred fire, using their souls and memories as firewood for the burning sacred fire; and at night, newborns will be sent to the sacred fire to receive blessings. The experience and skills of the deceased will warm the souls of these newborns and allow them to inherit from the past.
As for the fog, it refers to the thick, magical mist that lingers around Ava all year round.
It is said that the elf ancestors who once called themselves "sons of fire and fog" could no longer maintain their eternal and infinite existence in the world after failing to ascend to the realm of light. In desperation, they had to use mud and wind to reshape their physical bodies, and then, through the reproduction of sound, they gave birth to the infinite from the finite.
The original mist became another spiritual force that protects the descendants of the elves.
In ancient times, the first elf who learned to manipulate fog and weave illusions unified the entire Ava continent and became the first "Mist King". After that, until the emergence of real magic, calling and controlling fog were the greatest reliance of the rulers of Ava continent to resist foreign enemies and consolidate their rule.
"It's getting foggy."
Remedios muttered to herself as she leaned on the railing and looked into the distance.
At this moment, she was at the highest point in the entire Ava Continent - the Fire Tower in Moon City. According to legend, when the elf ancestors tried to fly back to the Realm of Light on the phoenix, they set sail from the top of this tower.
Although the truth of this legend remains to be discussed, according to research by archaeologists, this charred tower is indeed the oldest known building in Ava.
Normally, Remedios could have . But now, even with her high-level elf vision, she could only see the outline of the coastline through the thick fog.
If I had to describe it, the entire Ava continent is now like a crucible that is constantly steaming boiling water. Thick fog covers the entire archipelago and spreads to the distant sea.
"Before the impeachment results come out, using the authority of the continent master to evoke the fog blockade is not a wise choice."
A stiff and serious voice sounded behind Remedios. She turned around and saw a monk of the Takma Order in a simple linen robe who had just walked to the top of the tower.
The other party nodded slightly as a greeting, and then he continued:
"The blockade of the fog is not as strong as the storm from the Moon Realm. They cannot really stop the Imperial Fleet. But the young man from the Fengge family will definitely use this as an excuse to pull people from other city-states against you."
"Their opposition will not affect the overall situation. I summoned the fog to blockade the area. In addition to delaying the invasion of the Imperial Fleet, the more important purpose is to prevent those higher-level beings from interfering."
The monk was silent for a while, then said:
"So, you still believe that the storm in the Broken Sea stopped because of the will of the Eighth Holy Spirit?"
Remedios did not respond to his question, but turned her head to look at the sea level shrouded in fog in the distance.
"You and I both know that the concept of the Holy Spirit is just an unrealistic fantasy of humans. No Holy Spirit can truly influence the development of the world with their own will like the kings of the Moon Realm. They have no will. The so-called blessing or manifestation of holiness is just another form of magic."
Seeing that the other party did not answer his question, the monk of the Takma Order continued.
In the magic model constructed by the Takma Order, blessing or manifestation of the Holy Spirit are just another form of magic. All the power of the Holy Spirit must be manifested in the world through the will of mortals.
“That’s where I was…”
Hearing his words, Remedios suddenly pointed to the distant mist and spoke:
"I was there that year, and I shot an arrow through that man's head. I saw the flame of life go out from his eyes. Even now I can still remember the feeling of the bowstring trembling."
"The mortal named Terra Riel died at your hands."
The monk of the Takma Order said without any emotion.
"Yet he was resurrected and, decades later, was declared to be enthroned as the Holy Spirit."
Remedios paused for a moment, then continued:
"There is no magic in this world that can bring people back to life. Immortality or not will always be the dividing line between mortals and gods."
"So this is why you summoned the fog to blockade Ava Continent? You were worried that the Eighth Holy Spirit would directly interfere with the outcome of the war, so you used the fog to cover her vision in advance?"
asked the monk of the Takma Order.
Ava Continent is the only country that has never been affected by the invasion of the Moon Realm in history. As for other places, there is no need to say much about the Vic Continent. On the Damon Continent, the Moon Realm Sect is now as rampant as it was at the end of the Golden Age of the Vic Continent. As for the Osis Continent, there is no need to mention it. That place that once had a great civilization was completely submerged three thousand years ago because of the Moon Realm belief of the whole people, and became the ruins of Osis today.
The reason why Ava has never suffered an invasion from the Moon Realm is that, on the one hand, the life and death cycle of every high elf is under the protection of the Phoenix Holy Fire, and it is difficult for those beings in the Moon Realm to pry open their spiritual protection; on the other hand, the magical fog that permeates around Ava has the function of concealing the power of those high-level beings.
The power of the Holy Spirit is difficult to take effect in this fog, and the power that the Void Kings of the Moon Realm can project onto Ava Continent is also extremely limited.
Seeing Remedios nod and admit the reason why she summoned the mist, the monk of the Takma Order reminded her:
"Your act of using your continent master's authority to summon the mist without permission will likely cause you to lose your position as continent master tomorrow. Regardless of whether you are defeated by gods or mortals, the final result will be surrender."
"I will not lose this war without divine intervention."
Remedios said calmly.
"According to the intelligence I have learned, even according to the most optimistic calculation method, the strength of the Imperial Expeditionary Force is more than three times that of Ava Continent. This is not a realistic gap that can be made up simply by courage or strategy."
In response to this, the monk pointed out the problem directly.
He was absolutely right. The population of elves was extremely sparse. Even if we only counted the high-ranking combatants of both sides, there were only three people in the entire Ava Continent who had reached the divine realm, including Remedios. And one of them was the keeper of the Phoenix Holy Flame and could not leave the temple to fight.
As for the Imperial Expeditionary Force, it has been confirmed that four powerful men from the Divine Realm will participate in the war - not to mention the masters who may be hiding in the dark. The most conservative estimate is that there will be at least five powerful men from the Divine Realm who will participate in the war.
but……
"If you can choose to support Ava, then all this will be reversed."
Remedios said.
After hearing her words, for the first time, an expression that could be called a smile appeared on the monk's face.
"Ms. Yueying, you know the teachings of the Takma Order. We will never directly participate in any war. Of course, if you wish, you can also choose to swear an oath, put on a linen robe and join us. At that time, the Order will be able to guarantee your safety."
Remedios shook her head and was about to say something, but her expression suddenly changed and she turned to look into the distance in the fog.
"dragon?"
…………
The dragon disappeared?
Feeling that the black dragon, which could have lasted at least a minute, suddenly disappeared, William immediately became alert.
Being able to make an adult black dragon disappear silently in one encounter is extremely rare in the entire world. And the ones William can think of now are all beings that even he has to work hard to kill.
So what's in this fog?
"Did you encounter this kind of fog when you went to Ava Island before?"
Thinking of this, William hurriedly asked Captain Hobbs.
The other party nodded, and then said:
"Ava means the Land of Mist in the Elven language. This level of fog is a normal phenomenon near Ava..."
As he spoke, a very confused expression appeared on his face, and then he continued:
"But I've never encountered such thick fog so far from Ava Island. It will take at least three or four days to travel..."
William interrupted him and continued:
"Have you ever encountered anything strange in this fog before?"
"What do you mean by strange things?"
the captain asked back.
"Like a huge and vague outline, a strange sound, a fishy smell... or something else."
When describing it this way, William's mind involuntarily emerged a famous giant green creature with an octopus head and bat wings on its back in a fictional myth.
Thinking of this, William quickly put the brakes on his mind.
This style of painting is not right.
On the other hand, William's question made Hobbes silent. After a few seconds, he spoke:
"Although I haven't encountered it...but the elves we do business with did mention a precaution for foggy days. They told us that if we encounter a ship that is obviously not of this era in the fog, we must ignore it. No matter if the people on the ship are calling for help, threatening, or even attacking, we cannot respond at all."
"Why?"
William asked immediately.
Hobbes looked at William with a strange expression on his face.
"Because if we don't respond, then they are just illusions, but once we respond, then they will become our own reality. So... everyone please don't respond to any of their actions, now everyone should do what they should do..."
Hobbes lowered his voice and raised his volume, ensuring that people around him could hear him without being suddenly provoked by him.
After seeing the expression on Captain Hobbs' face gradually change from weird to fear, and realizing that he was not looking at him but at the side string behind him, William pretended to turn his head casually and looked behind him.
Then he saw...
A huge warship emerged from the thick fog and sailed side by side with the Whalebone. Compared with it, the medium-sized three-masted sailing ship like the Whalebone seemed as small as a small boat.
Because the ship was too tall and very close to the side of the Whalebone, William had to crane his neck and look up to see the dragon sword emblem printed on the sail.
And the huge black dragon collapsed on the deck.
That was the black dragon that William had summoned earlier through the divine-level illusion [Shadow of Truth].
As an existence materialized by illusion, it should disappear instantly after death, as if it had never existed.
But its body fell intact on the deck.
A man with gray hair, silver-gray eyes, a bronze crown on his head, and a ruby sword in his hand stood beside the corpse of the black dragon.
William was not unfamiliar with the image of this man. He had seen the image of this man in countless sculptures, murals, books, and paintings.
Terra Riel.
The man who claimed to be his reincarnation was also the founding emperor of the current Riel Empire.
This huge warship is probably the legendary flagship of the Imperial Navy eight hundred years ago, the Crown, which sank in the final battle when it encountered a huge storm during the attack on Ava.
William was looking at the ship intently. Hobbes came over and put his hand on William's shoulder. He said in an exaggerated tone:
"Don't stare at the sky. You can't see the sun in this foggy weather. Hurry up and help drive the wind to speed up the boat."
Then he whispered into William's ear:
"Don't look at that ship. It's just an illusion. Just ignore it as the elves in Ava said."
At this moment, William, who was far away in the Blackwater Swamp, had already gone to the Library of the Dead inside the Treasure Hall and asked the Archiver to find information about the mist of Ava Continent.
After skipping over a long section of descriptions of myths and legends about fire and fog, William finally found what he was looking for.
The fog in Ava is actually a strange magical phenomenon. As long as you are in this fog, the illusions of the past will continue to play out. Once the witnesses interact with it, they will change from simple illusions to real illusions for the witnesses - this is very similar to the principle of illusion spells.
According to the author's speculation, this may be related to the so-called ancestral spirits of the elves. As the first maintained close ties with the Realm of Light at the beginning of creation, and therefore still retained a strong plasticity rather than a solid reality.
In other words, the black dragon that he had summoned earlier was killed by them directly because it was also an illusion?
Thinking of this, William couldn't help but take another look at the situation on the deck of the Crown.
And this glance happened to meet the gaze of Terra Riel.
