Gou is a dark elf in Warhammer

There was no pattern on the third mural, only a whole paragraph of densely written text in Lizardman language.

There are no pictures, no symbols, no guiding signs, just pure text.

There was no translation or retelling. Everyone present, except Springwin, could understand the meaning of the text.

Dacus stood there, staring at the sunken stone surface of the mural, reading the strange yet vaguely familiar words line by line. He read very slowly, as if he was recalling or verifying something.

The next moment, he took a comb and began to scrape his scalp with the teeth, trying to use this physical stimulation to activate a dormant memory deep in his mind.

"No, I found it in the ruins of one of their cities. I saw how it worked, and how it utilized a magical structure beneath the surface of reality. This text holds the secret of the Maelstrom, and I saw how I could use it to save the world, which is what I want to do. By the way, how long has it been since I died?" (Chapter 185, true, with a source)
This memory, like an activated seal, quietly emerged from the depths of Daxus' mind.

He found it, he got it back, the conversation between him and Caledo that spanned space.

However, the recovered memories did not bring any answers. Instead, they seemed to have driven another nail of confusion into his heart.

The middle section of what Caledor says corresponds to the text on the wall, about how to harness the magical structure beneath the surface of reality, how to activate the Maelstrom, and how to use it to save the world.

But it doesn't match what happened before, Caledo said he discovered these secrets in the ruins of one of their cities, but what about him, Daquus?

He was found in a space rift.

This doesn't match. It doesn't match at all.

There is no such thing as homophones in the Elsalin language, and the pronunciations of the two words "ruins" and "space rift" are completely different.

He once thought that Caledo had visited here, or at least entered this folded space and discovered the secret of the Great Whirlpool.

But now it seems that was just an assumption he imposed himself.

The place of discovery described by Caledo is obviously not here.

Unless - Kaler has been senile and demented for many years, his memory is confused, and he makes mistakes and slips of the tongue.

But Dacuus denied this possibility. He didn't think Caledo would be so confused.

Or maybe I remembered it wrong?
He frowned and asked himself, but quickly shook his head.

No, he was not mistaken. His memory was always accurate, and more importantly, there was no reason for such things to be tampered with, and there was no motivation to "beautify" them.

This wasn't some embarrassing episode, nor was it a trauma he needed to escape from.

Then, there is only one possibility left, that Caledo did obtain the information from another place.

That means that Caledor has visited Lustria or been to Albion, and that Albion still has secrets that he has not discovered.

Or... somewhere in Ulthuan, there are relics left by the Ancients, a Lizardman ruin that is so deeply hidden that no one has discovered it.

"Do you know anything about Ulthuan?" Daxus turned and asked Salir.

This question popped up suddenly, with a strong sense of purpose and urgency.

"What do you mean?" Salir was stunned for a moment and did not immediately understand what Dacus meant.

"On my way to the Isle of Albion, I passed through the sea off Ulthuan." Dacuus spoke calmly, but his tone was extremely steady. "That night, I met Caledor..."

Then he repeated Caledor's words word for word, completely, clearly, and with almost no deviation.

As Salir listened, his expression gradually became more solemn. His eyes were no longer wandering, but gradually filled with heavy thoughts.

After a few seconds, he shook his head and spoke softly.

"Perhaps... the answer you want is in the White Tower of Hos."

The White Tower of Hoth, one of the most ancient repositories of knowledge among the elves of Ulthuan, contains countless taboos and unsolved mysteries.

Dacus nodded without saying anything more. He knew that there were no more clues to follow up on this matter for the time being. He turned around and slowly moved towards the fourth mural.

The pattern appears again, still in the familiar abstract style.

It's just a circle, and more circles.

Big circles and small circles are like a depiction of some mysterious celestial phenomenon, but these circles do not overlap or fit one within another. Instead, they are distributed relative to each other in an unexplainable order, just like stars quietly arranged in the night sky, with some incomprehensible but subtle rules guiding their positions.

"Is this... a spell?" Drusala moved closer and frowned as he looked at the mural, his voice filled with hesitation and curiosity.

"Yes." Salil took over the conversation in a low voice, as if responding softly to an old dream in his memory, "I saw the spell to activate the Great Whirlpool in the library of Saphision when I was a child. It is exactly the same."

Having said this, he sighed, a trace of distant reminiscence flashed across his eyes, and his tone became gentle and distant.

Before the White Tower of Hoeth was built, Saphision was the heart of the Kingdom of Saphir, the ancestral home of House Teriolan, and the gathering place for all Saphir spellcasters.

The head of the Teriolan family, Serio, was a very special one among Caledor's disciples. He did not participate in the establishment of the Great Whirlpool. He undertook another extremely important task that must be undertaken by someone, which was to ensure that after the Great Whirlpool was established, the elves' spellcasting system could be continued and would not be forgotten because all spellcasters participated in the activation of the Great Whirlpool.

He also fulfilled his responsibilities. During the Golden Age of Elven civilization, he became the mentor of a new generation of magic apprentices, passing on Caledor's theories and spellcasting methods from generation to generation.

Therefore, there is strong evidence to support Salir's statement that Saphision did leave behind the spell and related knowledge to activate the Great Vortex.

And the anchor point in this mural appears!

Once the anchor point appears, the fog in the chaos begins to peel off automatically, and everything seems to become clear.

The eight huge circles in the center of the picture undoubtedly correspond to the eight energy stone pillars below the whirlpool; and the small circles distributed around them are the positions of the spellcasters when the whirlpool is activated.

This mural describes the beginning of that magnificent ceremony - how to start the great vortex, how to activate the eight stone pillars, and how to use them to start the world-shaping engine in the space rift.

The position diagram of these elven spellcasters also indirectly explains why Caledor only left a few disciples in the end. Because, from the diagram, the number of spellcasters required for the ritual is capped, not too many people are needed, and there are also strict requirements on strength.

If those who are not strong enough participate, they will only become the weak link and bring risks to the whole.

It was obvious that although Cyriol had shown amazing talent in spellcasting, he had not yet truly grown into a strong man capable of shouldering heavy responsibilities.

If a spellcaster is accidentally interrupted, injured, or even dies during the ritual, the consequences will be devastating: at the very least, the casting structure will be unbalanced, and the pressure will be instantly transferred to other spellcasters; at worst, it will directly lead to the failure of the ritual, the collapse of the vortex, and the destruction of the world.

Combined with the scene that Dacreus saw in the illusion - the scene of the final battle between Aenarion and the bloodthirsty demon, many mages had already fallen, and there were only a few left in the battle.

At that time, only Caledor and a few great wizards were still performing the ceremony. They did not leave or flee. They gritted their teeth and persisted, carrying the wishes of the dead on their shoulders and shouldering the fate and hope of the world.

After Aenarion defeated the bloodthirster, the figures of the great wizards disappeared. Caledor's body was also reshaped, torn, and sublimated in the energy, and finally dissipated in the wind, but his soul did not leave.

His will remained and continued to operate the ritual.

And just when Aenarion thought all was lost, a miracle happened.

The dead mages returned to the ritual one by one in the form of their souls. Their souls floated from all over the world like light, quietly falling into the vortex, like stars blending into the night, burning out, and illuminating to this day.

These departed souls are no longer individuals. They have completely sacrificed themselves, weaving their essence into the great spells they have constructed, and becoming one with the magical structure of the Maelstrom, until eternity, until the end of time, until the Maelstrom collapses.

It was for this reason that Kane made that bet with Asuryan.

Thinking of this, Dacus' admiration was beyond words.

The near-zero probability of success was miraculously realized with the elves' persistence. The plan of the Old Saints was finally successfully implemented, Asuryan's persistence was proven to be correct, and Cain... failed.

He sighed softly, collected his thoughts, and turned to walk towards the fifth mural.

The murals still have patterns and spells.

In the center of the pattern, there were still eight circles representing the eight stone pillars, but the number of circles surrounding them had increased. At the same time, the spell had also changed significantly.

Dacus curled his lips. He didn't like this feeling. He was annoyed by the feeling that he had understood something, but there were still more things waiting for him to slowly unravel. However, he also clearly realized that he had found what he wanted.

If the fourth mural tells how to activate the great vortex, then this one tells how to increase the "level" of the great vortex.

This is like a sophisticated machine. The first stage is just to get it running, while the second stage is to "speed it up", "expand its capacity", and even make it run more stably and powerfully.

He stopped for a moment, but did not stay long and turned to the sixth mural.

Like the previous two paintings, the mural is still a combination of patterns and spells. The eight stone pillar symbols are still in place, but there are more circles around them, the station diagram is more dense and complicated, and the spell has been adjusted again.

A familiar sense of ridiculousness emerged in his mind. These three murals gave him the impression... that they looked like electric fans?
The electric fan has three wind speeds.

The fourth mural is "A Wind Block", activated.

The fifth picture is "Second Wind Block", which increases speed.

The sixth one is "Three Wind Speeds", operating at full power.

Then the seventh painting...could it be "Swinging Wind"?

“They’re really using the whirlpool as an electric fan…” Daxus complained in his mind, then took a step and walked towards the seventh mural.

The result is not...

He had seen the contents of this mural before, not once or twice, but many times. In Obian, in Lauren Loren, in the City of Lenses…

It tells the story of how to start a variant of the Shaping Engine.

This is exactly why he doesn't like this feeling. It is clearly a major discovery, but it is accompanied by a familiar and eerie sense of déjà vu.

The ancient sage showed the second path without reservation and paved the way clearly, but the problem is that this road is difficult and dangerous, and it is difficult to cut and sort out. It is the sorrow of separation, and there is a special taste in the heart...

The classic left foot and right foot move.

It felt like Dacus thought he had obtained a complete standard answer, but when he opened it, the ancient sage gave him a reference answer and asked him to solve the problem in his own way and according to his own choice.

The ancient sage gave him an idea, but did not give him a corresponding solution. And now, he did not intend to solve the problem immediately, because he could not solve it.

To raise the vortex from a one-wind block to a two-wind block is not an easy task, but a major project that requires meeting multiple prerequisites.

First, a sufficient number of spellcasters must be assembled. They are not half-baked magic apprentices, but real elite wizards with strong strength, firm will, loyalty and reliability.

More importantly, they can't do anything weird!

For example, a spellcaster who hides his identity actually believes in Tzeentch and is Tzeentch's chosen one. During the crucial second-gear ritual, he suddenly defected and did something terrible - the consequences would be disastrous.

In the worst case, the entire whirlpool will disintegrate in an instant, and Ulthuan will fall directly into the sea, with the elves collectively feeding on the fish.

Then Dacus will also become the Idonis of this era.

perhaps……

Could he play Queen Azshara and transform the elves into naga?
The question is, what about N'Zoth?
Secondly, there was the issue of building the Shaping Engine. It was now very obvious that the second circle of pedestals he had just seen was actually an area specially reserved for upgrading the Great Whirlpool.

At present, although lapis lazuli is rare, there is still enough of it, and the replication technology of the Shaping World Engine has matured and does have the production capacity.

But the problem is, the world-shaping engine in the whirlpool and guide stone system is not a roadside stall, nor is it a magic boiler that can be placed wherever you want, nor is it a mechanical toy that can be started by just twisting it.

Its installation and activation must be coordinated with precise nodes and the surrounding energy environment. Even if one link goes wrong, it will cause unpredictable catastrophic consequences.

Before the second gear is activated, a large number of guide stone networks need to be laid. Ulthuan, Lustria, Orbion, the core of the World Pool, and Elsin Alvin, these major continents and key nodes, all need to be fully laid and maintained.

This is not the end. Folding spaces like Altov also need to rebuild the world-shaping engine. The situation of Itaza, the core of the World Pool, and the Great Stomach is still a mystery, and the situation is still unknown.

All of this, even if you know the direction and method, still requires time and resources to accumulate, and more importantly, precise and firm will to execute.

The process of constructing the entire system is becoming more and more like a grand construction project, even more complicated than a building. He must first conduct a survey and careful analysis before he can start a precise design.

This was not simply about digging a tunnel or building a tall tower; it was a large-scale global miracle project, a true miracle - if he had not seen it with his own eyes, he would not have believed that he would be involved in such a thing in his lifetime, and that he would be the one in charge of it.

He likes to build spectacular buildings, but this is... too spectacular.

Space elevator? No, it's more like Ringworld!

But the problem is not over yet.

Another major variable in this massive project is the resurrection of the first generation of Slann Demon Priests.

When should this be chosen?
Should the two masters be resurrected after the project is complete? Or should they be resurrected first and allowed to participate in the entire process and take on the core part of the project?

The pros and cons were complicated, and it was not easy to make a decision. This was a big deal, a big deal that would determine the world, and it was not something he could decide alone. He needed to call together the top leaders of both the elves and the lizardmen to hold a formal meeting for systematic consultation and discussion.

This directly leads to a geometric increase in difficulty. The original problem of 1+1=2 has suddenly become an N-order multivariate equation system.

It's the classic case of left foot tripping over right foot.

There are many clues, but no clue at all.

The maelstrom and the guide stone are a complete system that must complement each other and operate in coordination. Once any link in the system is out of balance or off track, the consequences will be catastrophic.

He didn't want to be the leader of this disaster, and the worst case scenario was that he would watch the disaster happen without being able to stop it. That feeling... was too strange.

If it really comes to that, he will never be able to raise his head in front of Tzeentch, and Tzeentch will laugh at him for ten thousand epochs!

Imagine that Tzeentch and Khorne are arguing, and before Khorne can say a few words, Tzeentch says: "Skarbrand stabbed you in the back!"

Must kill!

As for Dacus, Tzeentch only said: "As a savior, you blew up this world!"

Double kill!

Thinking of this, the corners of his mouth twitched slightly, revealing a speechless bitter smile.

Then, he shook his head, gathered his thoughts, and walked to the eighth mural. What he had to do now was not to solve the problem, but to finish reading the entire test paper, read through the remaining murals and stone tablets, and then make an overall judgment.

The eighth mural still has circles, but unlike the previous ones, there are only nine circles this time.

One of the circles is in the center, obviously an "anchor point", while the other eight circles are evenly distributed around it, like some kind of ring structure.

Then there is no more.

There are no accompanying text instructions, no accompanying spell formulas, just circles, circles, and circles.

"What's this?" Daxus muttered, and then waved to his companions who were still observing the first few murals, "Come and take a look at this."

"Do you have any ideas?" After a while, seeing that the spellcasters had not spoken, he asked.

"Big whirlpool?" Alyssa's tone was a little uncertain. "The eight circles on the outside represent the eight stone pillars. The circle in the center..." She stopped here.

She was not suddenly speechless, but hesitated. She thought that this guess might be right, but it might not be completely right.

Because it doesn't make sense. If her guess is correct, the content of this mural should not appear here, but should be placed in the order of the previous murals.

"Guidestones?" Sarir walked over to the mural and pointed at the circle in the center that looked like an anchor. "This circle refers to where we are now? And the eight circles around it are ruins? They are spread across Ulthuan and serve as guidestones?"

"Hidden in the crater?" Drusala immediately stated her speculation.

Dacus nodded, thinking seriously. He thought that Salil and Drusala's guesses were more likely to be correct. Otherwise, could it be that the points were set in the sea? Or far away on other continents? In that case, how to explain the dot-line structure on the second mural?

Of course, it is not ruled out that this guess is wrong at all, and Alyssa's guess is the correct answer.

But if that is the case, then why is this information placed in the eighth mural? Shouldn't it appear at the beginning as the starting point of the whole system?

And what is the significance of this information?
Is it a settlement? Or is it showing the ultimate picture after the completion of the Great Vortex?
The problem is that it's all too abstract.

"Map." Daxus decided not to let these vague assumptions linger in his mind anymore and to approach it from a different perspective. He needed evidence.

Drusala and Alyssa quickly worked together to unfold the blurred map, and he was at one of the three points in a straight line on the map.

"Back off." Daxus glanced at the map and raised his hand to gesture to retreat.

"stop."

"A little further."

"stop!"

This time the map is not the previous half-world map centered on Ulthuan, but a more detailed map of Ulthuan itself.

After checking the map, Daxus turned his gaze to Sarir, and Sarir, who met his gaze, immediately realized something.

"Here." He raised his hand and pointed to a location on the map - Tal Ivresse.

"Silverstone?" A gleam flashed in Salir's eyes, and he said in a hesitant but very inspiring tone.

The Silver Guards are tasked with guarding the waystone of Tar Yvresse. It is not a group of waystones, but one, a strange, special waystone that contains amazing energy. Therefore, this unit is called the Silver Guards.

Daxus said nothing more, but nodded silently, and continued to stare at the map. If the Silver Light Stone is really the anchor point, then Drusala's guess is correct. The other points are likely hidden in the craters and deep forests in Ulthuan.

Combined with Salir's speculation, those points were most likely the guide stone nodes that had been arranged in the ancient times, rather than the temporary structures erected by Caledor later to activate the Great Vortex.

Perhaps Caledor had visited one of these points and gained inspiration for the activation of the Great Vortex. And one of these eight points happened to be in the heart of the Caledor Kingdom, in the Dragon Spine Mountains.

A guide stone is not the same as a guide stone.

Just like there are different grades of steel, steel produced using a traditional blast furnace is also steel, but can it be used to make arresting cables for aircraft carriers?

No! Absolutely not!
But it is steel.

The same is true for guide stones, which appear similar on the surface but are actually very different.

However, all of this is just speculation at present. There is nothing on this mural except the nine circles. There is no text description, no accompanying spells, and it cannot serve as an anchor reference like the space rift in Aldolf.

Unless he personally visits one of the points and finds the anchor point, he can then logically deduce the locations and specific functions of the other seven.

But then again, if this conjecture is correct, it at least means that he has one more idea for solving the problem.

"Perhaps... the White Tower of Hos has the answer you want." Salir added again, with a hint of caution in his voice.

"I am looking forward."

After saying this, Dacus waved his hand, signaling to put the map away. Then, he walked towards the ninth mural.

He had seen the content of this mural before, and more than once.

There is no text on it, only a constellation pattern.

The last time he saw the constellation was in the space of the Temple of Asuryan. At that time, when he was about to leave, the constellation map suddenly appeared on the stone wall, like a deliberate guide.

He thought it was a hint from Asuryan.

It seems to be related to the guiding stone, and may also be related to the heart of creation.

He stared at the constellations in silence for a moment, his thoughts swirling rapidly, then he asked Ren to take out the half-world map centered on Ulthuan again.

This time, he got the answer he wanted very quickly. And this time it was so fast because he had two anchor points, and not just one!
"No wonder..." (End of this chapter)