Volume 4: The End of the World Chapter 19 Before the Throne
Contrary to many people's stereotypes, Bone Castle, the capital of Ravenwood, is not located on the World Tree. In fact, it is not a natural growth like the traditional tree house of the forest elves. Instead, it is a traditional building made of bricks, stones and metal. From the appearance, it has some style of ancient high elf architecture.
Not allowed to use wood as raw material or equipment, not allowed to utilize fire, and not even allowed to use the power of the World Tree, the ancestors of the forest elves relied purely on a large amount of manpower to build this magnificent white castle that was no less magnificent than any other capital city on the continent. In a place that emphasizes coexistence with nature and does not allow the private construction of buildings more complex than tents, the rulers would use this method to demonstrate their superior status.
After all, so-called privileges are manifested when those in a higher position do things that ordinary people are not allowed to do.
But in the past, this privilege of the supreme ruler was also restricted by the alliance of major hunting tribes, forest druids, and tree spirits. After all, although the Duke of the Holy Tree is nominally the supreme ruler of the entire Ravenwood Forest, in essence, this position is just a spokesperson nominated by various forces in the Jade Province.
However, ever since this woman came to power, nothing has been the same.
Fularo Cain, the first and only ruler in the history of Ravenwood who did not inherit the legacy of the "Father of the Wilderness". She was originally chosen as the incarnation of the "Great Mother" and the next bride of the "Father of the Wilderness", but she challenged the "Father of the Wilderness" to a duel on the night of the divine wedding. After defeating the opponent, she openly announced that according to tradition, she should become the new Duke of the Sacred Tree.
After being rejected without a doubt, she used her own strength to take back what she deserved - she turned the entire Jade Province upside down by herself, and went to war with all the forces in Ravenwood. In the end, she forced all the forces to recognize her dominance.
"Kneel down here, kneel down before the glory of Lady Floral. Whether you are the leaders of the major tribes, or the priests serving the 'Big Mother', or even the tree spirits who have gained divine wisdom, kneel down before the glory of Lady Floral in this hall. Thank you for her kindness, and be grateful for her rule. Now the fate of Ravenwood hangs in her hands, and prosperity or destruction is also in her hands. So kneel down, express gratitude from the bottom of your soul, praise, and gather here, descendants of the forest."
The clerk with a wolf face tattoo on his face spoke solemnly while holding the list in his hands.
Behind the clerk, the terrifying woman who reigned over Ravenwood was lazily sitting on the withered throne that was intertwined with dead wood and new branches, looking at the subjects who were kneeling in unison below the stage with some boredom.
Looking at the huge crowd in front of her, she said nothing. The people in the audience knelt down in fear, and no one dared to raise their heads.
After a while, the woman raised her hand slightly, as if to indicate that it was okay. The clerk who had been watching her actions hurriedly announced loudly:
" Thanks to the Duke's kindness, please excuse me."
As soon as these words were spoken, an atmosphere of relief spread throughout the venue.
"Thank you for your grace, Your Excellency the Duke."
Everyone - including several tree spirits emitting a faint emerald green light, expressed their gratitude in unison as they stood up.
The clerk holding the list frowned at this time.
He saw that when several people stood up, expressions of reluctance, anger, and even hatred inadvertently appeared on their faces, as if these customs that originated from human beings had trampled on their dignity.
Although the expression was fleeting, the clerk saw it clearly.
These ungrateful things...
He thought so.
Dare to show such an expression in front of the throne of Ku Rong, dare to show such an expression in front of Lady Fularo, this in itself is a kind of disrespect to her supreme glory. But now he can't get angry, because compared to the disrespect shown by those rubbish, Lady Fularo hates discussing things that are not related to the topic in the meeting, which slows down the progress of solving the problem.
So, after silently memorizing the names of those people, the clerk continued:
"You can present your demands in order, but please keep in mind that you only have the power to present your demands. Whether they will be recognized depends on the will of the Lord of the Throne of Withering. After the meeting, do not presumptuously make the final judgment on behalf of the Duke, otherwise the end of Hobien Ebony will be your fate."
As the clerk finished speaking, the entire hall fell into a restless silence, as if one heard the sound of cockroaches crawling in a tidy kitchen.
After a long time, an old man whose whole body had turned into a tree and looked like he had difficulty even walking normally, stood up tremblingly and said:
"There is... about the matter of opening the Eighth Order Church in the Holy Tree City. I would like to ask Lady Flora to think twice... Recently, the protection of the 'Great Mother' on our people has been weakening... If we welcome another pagan god at this time, I am worried that this will cause the 'Great Mother' to be angry again..."
Sitting on the throne of withered glory, Flora, with her face hidden behind a black veil, did not speak a word, and did not even look directly at this old man who was dying in every sense.
The one who answered him was the clerk holding the list.
"I need to remind you, Lord Enso Oak. It is the basic national policy of the empire to convert the forest elves to the Holy Spirit faith. Welcoming the eighth Holy Spirit into the shrine has long been determined. The discussion on this issue ended several years ago. Today we are discussing those things that are still uncertain in the future. Please don't waste all of our time."
The clerk with a wolf face tattoo said angrily.
Seeing that the lord sitting on the throne did not express his opinion, the old man named Oak continued tit-for-tat:
"What about the residents of Holy Tree City, no, the entire Ravenwood? Without the blessing of the Great Mother, how can we solve the problem of feeding hundreds of millions of people? And, Gareth Wolf, who do you think is responsible for this? If you hadn't failed to fight for the interests we deserved at the Senate meeting, how could we have fallen to this point?"
Because the Empire still required the Emerald Province to produce wine according to the standards of normal years in the years of famine, nearly 40% of the cultivated land in Ravenwood was planted with grapes in early spring. Coupled with the spread of the blight, the basic survival of the forest elves is now in jeopardy.
With the blessing of the World Tree, the Emerald Province was the least affected by the years of famine and corruption. However, since the Duke of the Holy Tree came to power, the strength of the blessing of the Holy Tree Mother to the entire Ravenwood Forest has been gradually weakening.
The combination of these two factors has resulted in the most fertile land in the entire continent now suffering from a food crisis.
"Complete the order with the Platinum Palace. This is the condition for the Empire to develop magic education in the Emerald Province. It is precisely because we rely too much on the blessing of the Holy Tree Mother and have never taken control of our own destiny that we have come to this situation today..."
“So, are you going to tell these people who are going to starve to death in the future?”
The clerk and the old man continued to argue, neither of them being able to say anything, and then...
"Quiet."
A crisp sound like the collision of porcelain sounded, although the sound was not loud, but it immediately stopped the two people who were arguing. They turned to the person who made the sound and bowed respectfully.
"Lady Flora..."
At this moment, the woman sitting on the Kuruo throne finally spoke.
"I'll say this one last time, Enso Oak. No matter how many shrines of the Holy Spirit we welcome, the blessing of the World Tree to our race will not be ineffective. There is no causal relationship between the two. The blessing you feel is weakened because the disaster of the Year of Famine and Corruption is getting stronger and stronger."
Flora said this in a flat voice.
In response, the old man named Enso subconsciously refuted:
"But, sir, there has never been a time before..."
"You don't understand what 'say it one last time' means, and you want me to repeat it again?"
"…your will,"
Hearing this, the old man from Forest Druyin immediately lowered his head and retreated back into the crowd, his dead wood-like hands slightly clenched in his robe.
To repeat it once more, I'm afraid it would be to repeat it using the magic medium in her hand.
Witch, poisoner, liar...
Enso muttered to himself.
It was sheer lies to say that the blessing of the World Tree would never be invalidated by a pagan shrine. Ever since this woman came to power, all the forest druids could feel the power of the Great Mother beginning to decline.
Seeing that the situation had calmed down temporarily, the secretary named Gare continued expressionlessly:
"Next."
The one who stepped out of the crowd this time was a Wild Hunt commander. He immediately knelt on one knee and said respectfully:
"Your Excellency the Duke, the member of the Blind Sisterhood that you had arranged for us to capture and who was wanted by the Empire has been brought back by us. Also brought back was a human female who was suspected to be her bodyguard. Judging from her attire, she seems to be an executor of the Eighth Cult."
"There's no need to report this kind of small matter at a meeting of this magnitude. Now that you have the situation under control, the next thing to do is..."
The clerk said with a frown.
But the commander shook his head and interrupted:
"I'm very ashamed, but we don't have control over the situation right now. The person who is suspected to be the executor of the Eighth Order is very powerful. She was persuaded to cooperate with us only after she defeated two of our Wild Hunt troops and two Forest Druids. Then she came back with us."
"Cooperation? What cooperation?"
Flora, who was sitting on the throne, asked doubtfully.
"It's like this. They were previously in the Treetop Temple and happened to be involved in a case that accused the Imperial ambassador of using necromancy to kill fellow forest elves. Now they want us to investigate the case thoroughly."
