Gou is a dark elf in Warhammer

it's dark?
This was the first thought that came to Daxus' mind after he opened his eyes.

However, just one second later, he denied this judgment. The dark shadow in front of him was not the nightfall, but... dragon scales. He found himself lying on the ground, and the dark shadow covered with heavy textures not far from his vision was the dragon scales on Splinterwin's abdomen, which was radiant with a cold luster and as steady as a mountain.

Apparently, after what happened, he lost consciousness and fell to the ground, while Springtwine used his huge body to shield him from any danger.

When he turned over and sat up, looking around vigilantly, his movements were accompanied by the movement of Ryan. Ryan stood up instantly like a beast awakened, holding the Reality Blade in his hand across his chest, and turned around vigilantly to look around, showing his alert posture. It was not until he saw Daquus and the surrounding situation clearly that he let out a long sigh and his eyes relaxed.

"Splinterwin, it's okay!" Daxus shouted while trying to stabilize his body.

After shouting, he did not immediately go to support the spellcasters who came with him, because a real elf spellcaster must also be a warrior at the critical moment.

At this moment, just as he thought, Drusala, Alyssa and Salil, who were lying on the ground, turned over swiftly and neatly almost at the same time.

After hearing Dacus's voice, Splinterwin's mountainous body began to change. The scales were retracted, the bones were restructured, the power was gathered, and finally it turned into the dragon form again. He didn't bother to adjust the toga on his body, or even to adjust his own breath, but looked over at the first time and asked anxiously.

"What just happened?"

Before he finished speaking, he had already pulled out the dragon head hammer from his waist. The heavy weapon was as light as a feather in his hand. He took a posture ready to fight at any time, with an alert expression and a fiery gaze.

Dacus did not answer directly, but turned to look at his companions who had strange expressions. Their expressions revealed a deep emotion mixed with sadness and astonishment, as if they had just woken up from a nightmare, or just walked out of some kind of fantasy beyond reality.

"I returned to Saphision." Salir suddenly spoke, his voice low and slightly trembling. His eyes flashed with a mixture of memories and loss, "I saw my father, Menriel."

As he spoke, tears quietly slid down his cheeks.

Shedding tears and crying is a normal behavior for elves, not something sissy. Therefore, no one laughed at him, and no one questioned him, and at this moment, everyone could feel the heavy emotion behind those words.

Dacus was slightly stunned, with a hint of surprise on his face. These were the first times he heard Salir tell him about his life, his father, and the name that had been buried by time. But he did not ask any more questions, because he understood that these words were not meant for others, but were the way Salir let down his guard and faced himself for the first time after facing the illusion.

However, the name Menriel popped up in his mind like a bolt of lightning. He had indeed heard it somewhere before, it was very familiar, very important, but he could not catch the source of the memory for a while.

In the next second, his eyes lit up and he suddenly realized.

He finally remembered.

Saphision, before the White Tower of Hoth appeared, was the capital of the Kingdom of Saphire, a majestic sky city - like a dream, the ancestral home of the Teriolan family. And Menril was one of the guardians of that city, a famous wizard who was as close to Cyriol as a brother. He was extremely talented, but he seemed to have died in the Great Sundering... As for the specific cause and process of death, he didn't know.

But he got a lot of information from Salir's words. Obviously, Salir was a Safri. After the Great Invasion, he left Ulthuan like Serenity and Seranion and embarked on the road to Elsin Arwen.

The three of them were all heirs born in the Golden Age, and were the continuation of glory and hope, but their life trajectories parted ways because of the broken times, like a falling meteor, leaving three different streaks of light.

Serene was born in a fishing village in the Kingdom of Cosqui, a small village facing the sea and surrounded by fog. She was originally just an ordinary girl there, accompanying the tides and sleeping with the sea breeze every day.

However, the gears of fate turned quietly, and she was chosen by Matheran to become the vessel personally selected by the god.

Before she set out for Elsing Arwen, Matheran gave her an amulet. It was Matheran's amulet, a holy object infused with divine power. From that moment on, she was no longer an ordinary person.

As time went by and her power awakened, she gradually completed the sublimation of her identity. She was no longer just a girl from a fishing village, but the daughter of Matheran, a demigod, the purest and closest to the source among many incarnations. Her blood flowed not only with the obsession of mortals, but also with the will of God.

The origin of Seranon is slightly different. He is also a Cosqui, but was born in a farmer's family in the middle of the kingdom. He stepped on the soil and carried the plow on his shoulders. Before his destiny was revealed, he was one of the thousands of ordinary elves.

But fate did not forget him.

When he arrived in Elsing Arwen, he gradually gained the recognition of Edrezer and became the chosen one of the Lord of Blades. (Chapter 746)
If Daxus's judgment is correct, then Salir's trajectory is quite similar to that of Seranon. Both were chosen by the gods after arriving in Elsin Alvin. However, there are essential differences between the two. Seranon was chosen by the gods, while Salir was the incarnation of the gods. The gap at this level is as different as heaven and earth.

Near Tal Litanel, there is a dense and deep forest of fir and larch, known as the Dream Forest. It is a holy place worshipped by the believers of the dream god Salir from generation to generation.

This kind of relationship between gods and mortals is a bit like the warband setting in World of Warcraft.

The role played by the gods is the player, while the avatar and the chosen ones are the characters in the game. The avatar is the protagonist, the "big account", while the chosen ones are the "semicolon" that occasionally goes online.

Take Aisha for example, her "main" is the Everqueen of Ulthuan, and her "sub" is Ariel of Athel Loren. As for those beings like the Sisters of Thorns and the Sisters of Avelorn, they are characters who don't log in once in 800 years, but they will log in when necessary.

Of course, this is just an abstract metaphor. The actual operating mechanism is thousands of times more complicated than this. The logic is entangled in divinity and order and cannot be easily deconstructed.

After confirming that the surrounding environment was completely safe, Ryan and Alyssa looked at each other, with an indescribable emotion intertwined in their eyes. It was not until Daquus's eyes were cast that Ryan spoke, his voice slow and solemn.

"We saw our ancestors, and we ... walked through the forests of Charis. He told us that he loved us and was proud of us, and we talked for a long time."

Dacus nodded gently. He did not ask more questions, nor did he trace who the ancestor Ryan mentioned was. He had studied the affairs of the Takaia family carefully. The ancestor Ryan mentioned was the one who witnessed Aenarion enter the Holy Fire and fight the Great Invasion, but did not participate in the Battle of the Maelstrom, and then witnessed Bel-Shana being chosen and entering the Holy Fire.

He lived through the Classical Age, the Great Invasion, and the Golden Age, ultimately perishing at the beginning of the Great Schism.

A life filled with glory but also with regrets.

It's none other than this man. Only the Elves who died in Ulthuan can the younger generations have the opportunity to see him. The souls of the Elves who died outside Ulthuan, Laurent-Loren and Athel-Loren usually report to Hades or Slaanesh, unless they died in a place with a guidestone.

The descendants of this ancestor came to Naggaroth with Malekith, and the Takia siblings had no chance to see them.

Obviously, what the Takia siblings experienced was an extremely rare soul echo.

At this moment, Drusala suddenly spoke, her voice gentle and with a hint of expectation.

"My dear, do you remember what you said to me when we were resting at Jinchi?"

"I've said so much to you, how would I know which one?"

Daxus didn't say this out loud. His EQ was not that low, but he really didn't know what Drusala was referring to. He had said too many things to Drusala.

"Prophecy..." Seeing that Daxus didn't react for a while, Drusala gave a hint.

"Desert?" Daxus said tentatively after thinking of something.

Drusala nodded, his expression calm but with a hint of heaviness.

Daxus also nodded slowly. He knew what Drusala had seen.

Drusala did not see the past, did not see Drusala as her ancestor.

Because that legend, who spent his entire life gambled with fate, eventually died in the pyramid of Nehekhara, the price of teaching Nagash the dark magic backfired, instead of dying in Ulthuan, in the kingdom of Arion where he lived as a child. (This is mentioned in chapters 308-309)
"I saw the existence you told me about, and I fought him." There was a hard-to-disguise resentment and unwillingness in Drusala's voice. It was a confrontation that penetrated the soul. It was not just a fight of flesh and blood, but also a conflict of belief and destiny.

"What's the result? Did you win?" Dacus' tone suddenly became urgent.

"I woke up halfway through." Drusala spread her hands, a helpless yet slightly funny expression appeared on her pretty face, as if she was also speechless.

Daxus was amused by this expression, and his tense mood slowly relaxed.

"Although it's only halfway done, it gave me a clue. I know how to deal with that existence." Drusala's eyes became firm. It was a kind of clarity after experiencing a storm, and it was the decisiveness of a warrior after obtaining key intelligence on the battlefield.

"It was worth the trip." Daxus nodded with a smile.

"The existence you are talking about refers to..." At this moment, Salir wiped away his tears and took advantage of the gap in the conversation between the engaged couple to carefully interrupt.

"Nagash!" Daxus responded bluntly, with a hint of coldness in his voice, as if he was gritting his teeth to say a name that had long been engraved in his bones and blood.

Salir nodded thoughtfully, and his eyes became deep.

"How long has it been since the incident occurred?" Daxus turned his head and asked Springwin.

"Half an hour? An hour?" Springwin groaned for a moment, his tone uncertain. "You know, I can't feel the passage of time here. I only know that when a gust of wind blew, you stood there motionless, as if your body was still there, but your soul had been pulled out, and your eyes were very empty...really very empty."

When he said this, his voice trembled slightly. It was a fear of the unknown. Even a powerful dragon would feel uneasy in the face of incomprehensible power.

"When I realized something was wrong, I took out my hammer and stood guard."

As he spoke, he subconsciously raised the hammer in his hand. It was a heavy hammer made entirely of gold, with his own dragon head carved vividly and majestically. It was not a weapon truly used in combat, but more like a scepter that symbolized status and majesty, a treasure that Drusala had made for him personally.

"I laid you down, gathered you together, changed my form, crouched over you, alert, waiting."

"Ah~ Thank you, my friend, I..."

Darkus was about to recite something, expressing his gratitude in his usual exaggerated and dramatic way, but was interrupted by Springtwine.

Then we get back to the point.

"You haven't told me what happened to you."

As soon as he said this, Springwin realized that he might be a little rash. He paused for a moment, then immediately changed his tone to a tentative and cautious one. "Can you tell me? If not, just pretend I didn't ask."

"Nothing is hidden." Daxus responded, taking out a cigarette case naturally, "But are you sure you really want to know?"

Just as he finished speaking, he paused, froze for a moment, frowned slightly, and then closed the cigarette box with a snap.

There was a certain number of cigarettes in the box, he remembered it very clearly. In that scene, he took out a cigarette to share with Caela, and smoked another one for himself. Now, there were two less cigarettes in the box, really less. And this was not an illusion, nor a psychological suggestion, but a real physical loss.

"A couple of times."

After muttering, he took a deep breath. After his companions looked at him with concern, vigilance, or curiosity, an indescribable strange expression appeared on his face.

"I saw Kaela..." He deliberately drew out his tone, as if he was slowly unveiling a curtain on a stage.

As soon as these words came out, the faces of the elves around them changed instantly, as if they had heard some taboo name. And Springwin looked confused, as if he was wondering if the name Kaela meant anything, whether it was a place name, a type of wine, or an elven god that he had forgotten?
Alyssa stretched out her hand and made a quiet gesture, her brows solemn, signaling Daquus not to continue.

"Yes, He is here. I talked to Him for a long time, like a friend?" Dacus spread his hands in a light tone, as if talking about a harmless encounter. "But from the looks of you, you don't seem to want to listen?"

At this moment, he was sure that he was still himself, not cursed by Kane, nor was he infected with madness, he was still himself. Kane seemed to be genuinely and simply chatting with him, talking nonsense, not doing anything else.

The confused look in Springtwine's eyes disappeared. He was able to survive the War of Vengeance because of his cunning, while Malok was able to survive because of his strength. The other was neither strong nor cunning, so he died.

He knew when to ask and when to keep quiet. Seeing the elves' faces were not right, he immediately realized that this Kaela was no ordinary being. If he guessed correctly, his companion must have encountered an extremely dangerous entity, perhaps a terrifying god.

He stepped forward to smooth things over and ease the tense atmosphere.

"Should we continue on our way, or rest here for a while?"

Dacus did not respond immediately, but lowered his head, opened his backpack, and searched for a while. The bottle of grape juice and can of beef he had brought were also gone. These items, like the two cigarettes, had indeed disappeared from reality.

He nodded thoughtfully.

"I'm fine. I'm safe now."

In the end, everyone decided to continue on their journey.

They walked along the forest path, and every step seemed to be stepping into some invisible enchantment. The wind became stronger and stronger, cold as a knife, and the whispers of the dead were like spells crawling out of the soil, passing by their ears. With every step they took, the whispers in their ears became denser and denser, like invisible voices weaving a net, trying to pull them back to a forgotten world.

When they were about to pass through the edge of the forest, the view in front of them suddenly opened up. However, it was not a plain leading to the sun, but a group of small-scale tombs, arranged in an orderly manner, like a city of the dead abandoned by time.

"I should call my cousin." Daxus took a look and said with a sarcastic tone in his voice.

"Call him when we go to Ta Ulishain." Drusala smiled softly, "I saw many pyramids with strange shapes there."

"Isn't this bad? What's the difference between this and a mouse getting into a granary?"

Knowing what Daxus was saying, Drusala and Takia burst into laughter.

In the context of Elsalin, what Ta Ulishain refers to is the dry and mysterious desert land in the south.

"I remembered our first time, an unforgettable experience." Ryan looked at the tombs, an indescribable complex emotion flashing in the depths of his eyes.

"Yes, it's an unforgettable experience." Daxus nodded in agreement.

The time that Ren was talking about was the ancient tomb they found beneath the Thorn Family Manor, where they found the Soul Dagger, and thus opened the prelude to the end of Malus and Morathi.

Dacus did not intend to expand on this matter. He did not want to discuss this past here. After all, among the companions at the scene, only he and the Takaya siblings had truly experienced it. Drusala had only heard him talk about it, and Salil had only heard of the name Soul Dagger, but did not know the whole story.

As for Sprintwin…

The funeral customs of the elves are varied and complex. In Ulthuan alone, the Asur are bound by countless generations of tradition. The treaties and rituals known as the Ancient Rites are like invisible chains, entwining their lives and deaths in the same ancestral web.

There are huge differences in the form and process of funerals between each kingdom, and even between each noble family, which cannot be ignored, and sometimes they even conflict with each other.

Usually, the elves from the Kingdom of Itain would choose a very romantic way to bid farewell to their heroes. The remains would be placed on a gorgeous funeral ship, which would be pushed into the inland sea after a series of complicated ceremonies. It had no sails or oars, and drifted with the current until it reached its destination, perhaps a distant island or reef, or completely disappeared at the end of the sea, leaving endless reverie and awe for future generations.

In the Kingdom of Caledor, funerals are more direct and solemn. The remains of heroes are cremated in a grand ceremony, and in the flames, the soul is quickly released from the mortal body and carried by the wind to the guide stone. The elves living in the Kingdom of Caledor believe that the flame is the purest purification, which not only burns away decay, but also burns away sorrow, just like the breath of a dragon.

The elves of Cosqui are more practical, living by the sea, accompanying the waves day and night. Their traditions are more primitive, and the bodies of the deceased will be carried to the reef and offered to Maselan, the sea beasts and sea dragons with the tide.

This is not only a sacrifice to the sea god, but also a part of the cycle of life in their minds: they make a living by fishing during life, return to the belly of the fish after death, and use their flesh to feed the giant beasts in the deep sea to achieve balance.

Of course, this tradition only continues along the coast of the Kingdom of Cosqui. Farmers and hunters living inland would not throw the bodies into the sea to feed sharks. They prefer traditional burial methods. After all, there is no sea in the inland, only land.

In other kingdoms of Ulthuan, many Elves still believe that the dead should be reunited with the land. They dig great stone tombs underground, seal them with thick slabs of marble, and let the members of each family snuggle together in the quiet and solemn shadows, waiting for the wind of history to blow away the dust on the tomb walls.

The two busiest days on the Island of the Dead are the days when the whirlpool appears and collapses. On weekdays, it is quiet and almost no one sets foot in it. Therefore, these tombs are neither luxurious nor majestic, but ordinary, without magnificent buildings or gaudy carvings.

Although it is usually peaceful, in the past six thousand years, the Phoenix Guards and White Lion Guards would occasionally come here to bury the remains of the dead Phoenix King.

Yes, according to tradition, after the death of the Phoenix King, his body must be sent to the Island of the Dead for burial.

Therefore, after being crowned, each Phoenix King would begin to build a dedicated funeral ship for his or her return journey. This ship would not set off immediately, but would quietly anchor in the harbor of the island where the Temple of Asuryan was located.

When that day comes, there will be no need for wind to push the sails, nor for a tiller to control the direction. The ship will follow the energy and tides flowing in the inland sea, slowly moving forward, crossing storms and whirlpools, no one can stop it, nothing can stop it. Afterwards, there will be an escort ship loaded with Phoenix Guards and White Lion Guards, forming a funeral procession, following solemnly behind to see the king off.

Because of this, the ships used for sea burials in the Kingdom of Itain would eventually drift to the vicinity of the Island of Death and gather in this sea that symbolizes solidification. Over time, this area of ​​water became a true sea of ​​the dead, a mobile, unsealed cemetery, although the Asurs did not think so.

It is not difficult to understand why in the final battle, so many undead warriors were summoned by Tyrion, crawled out of the sea and walked onto the Isle of Death.

It was truly a joke from hell. What was even more ridiculous was that in the next era, Tyrion became...

Daxus glanced at the mausoleum. It was called a mausoleum complex, but in fact, the number of Phoenix Kings buried in this sleeping place... was not many. There were so few that it was even a little distracting.

Finnubar? I'm afraid it's a no-go.

The body of the first Phoenix King, Aenarion, is missing, the third Phoenix King, Caledor I, disappeared at sea, and the ninth Phoenix King, Morviel, was burned to ashes in the sacred fire of Asuryan.

and so……

Here are only the tombs of the second Phoenix King Bel-Shana, the fourth Phoenix King Caledor II, the fifth Phoenix King Caradrell, the sixth Phoenix King Tesiris, the seventh Phoenix King Bel-Hades, and the eighth Phoenix King Edis.

As for the tenth Phoenix King Bel-Hathor, his body still remains in the Kingdom of Safri and has not yet set off to the Island of the Dead.

Everqueens? They are never buried with the Phoenix King.

There was no such thing as a joint tomb. There had never been one. Just as their relationship in life had been cold and evasive, so too had their relationship in death. The Phoenix King was the Phoenix King, and the Everqueen was the Everqueen. Even if they had once shared the same palace, they had never truly stood side by side.

Beneath the surface of Eden Valley, a labyrinth of emerald and amber is the final resting place of the Eternal Queens. After their death, their bodies are taken to this underground palace, which will never be exposed to the outside world. They are buried in the depths of the crystal light, surrounded by her maids who not only served the queen in her life, but also continued to serve as guardians after her death.

The existence of these tombs in front of us is the direct source of the prefix "tombkeeper" that Kaela said.

After looking for a while, everyone remained silent and finally decided to continue on their way.

They passed through the deep forest and walked into a vast black plain.

This small plain turned into obsidian on the day the whirlpool appeared. The texture of the earth was burned and melted like glass. What is left now is a dead but sharp mirror-like wasteland.

Lightning-like fog gathered silently above the plain, spinning rapidly, forming a never-ending vortex of fog that roamed around the edge of the plain. It was not a naturally formed mist, but a gathering of pure energy and soul fragments. Crackling energy lines wandered freely in the depths of the fog, and each one seemed to be able to cut through steel and even tear apart the soul.

Pillars of light shot up from the core of the roaring fog, like cracks between heaven and earth, piercing through the dark sky.

The air was filled with strong energy. Under the pressure of this force, Daxus moved forward slowly. He could feel his blood boiling, as if he was attracted and incited by this pure energy. He couldn't wait to absorb it, to integrate into it, and to be reshaped in some greater and more dangerous way.

His body was trembling, not out of fear, but an instinctive excitement of being summoned. The power was in front of him, and he could touch a brand new form by reaching out his hand.

They continued to move forward, stepping on the cold surface of obsidian, passing through the fog composed of high-density energy, and finally - the great vortex appeared in front of them.

It was exactly the same scene that Daxus had seen not long ago, where reality and illusion intersected.

Then, he began to move, sometimes looking up at the huge vortex, sometimes looking down at the remains of the towering stone pillars. He was searching, searching for the coordinates of the scene in his memory.

When he walked half a circle, he finally stopped at a certain place.

Here, in the scene where he fought, talked, and separated with Caela, he slowly leaned over, and when his eyes fell on the ground, he saw what he wanted to see. (End of this chapter)