Hogwarts wizards who signed in to Middle-earth.

Chapter 187 Grey Harbor
As the last rays of the setting sun fall upon Grey Harbor.

The giant eagle carried Dui to this place.

Grey Harbor is located at the mouth of the River Lune in the Bay of Lune. The entire Bay of Lune is like a giant arrow, piercing straight into the mainland, interrupting the Blue Mountains, and pointing towards the Eliado region.

Grey Harbor is also the terminus of the East-West Avenue of Eliado, facing another terminus, the Valley.

The buildings in Grey Harbor are located on the cliffs on both sides of the harbor and are mostly constructed of huge stones. Lighthouses are located on both sides of the harbor and are the tallest buildings in Grey Harbor.

As night falls, the lighthouse emits a bright and warm light that can penetrate the fog and guide ships at sea thousands of miles away.

The harbor is filled with many ships, from tall sailboats to delicate little boats, swaying gently in the bay, creating a unique landscape.

Dui surveyed the entire Grey Harbor from the air before letting the giant eagle land on the main road outside the harbor.

The elves in the Grey Harbor had already discovered the presence of the giant eagle, but since the giant eagle was the messenger of the King of Valar and a friend of the elves, no one was afraid. Instead, some looked up at the visitor with curiosity.

This place is where all the elves who want to go to Valinor, the land of the undead, gather. It is one of the most concentrated places of elven activity in the entire Middle-earth, and it brings together elven races such as the Noldor, the Sindar, and the Silvan.

The giant eagle flapped its wings, dispelling the fog in the harbor, and the moored ships swayed incessantly in the undulating waves.

Dui jumped off the giant eagle's back and landed on the ground.

A silver-haired elf stepped forward and asked in human language, "Guests from afar, what brings you to the Grey Harbor?"

Duy returned the greeting with an Elven greeting and replied in Elven: “I am the wizard Duy, from Hogwarts Castle at Windrise, here to pay my respects to Lord Cildan.”

The silver-haired elf suddenly realized what was happening, and returned the gesture with an elegant bow, switching to Elvish and politely saying:

"It turns out to be the Lord of Amonsur (Wind and Cloud Peak) who has arrived. The elves who traveled west brought your legend. Seeing you today, I can see that you are indeed extraordinary!"
"I am Gardor, Lord Cildan's secretary. However, you've come at an inopportune time. Lord Cildan recently sailed to the Blessed Lands with a group of elves and has not yet returned."

"Qildan isn't here?" Dui asked, somewhat surprised.

"That's really unfortunate!" Dui said with some regret. "Lord Elrond entrusted me to deliver a letter to Lord Cildan, but I didn't expect him to be away."

Upon hearing that Dui had a letter from Elrond, Gardo paid even more attention to Dui.

“Wizard Duir, there’s no need to rush. You can stay in Grey Harbor for a while longer. At the usual pace, if there are no unforeseen circumstances, Lord Childan should return within about a month.”

"Then I'll have to bother you!" Dui said.

Although he was unable to meet Kildan immediately, he was not too disappointed.

After all, his main mission was to find the Spirit Mercury, and his second priority was to visit Cildan.

Therefore, whether or not Qierdan is present or not has little impact.

At Gardo's invitation, Dui entered Grey Harbor, a seaside port city.

Grey Harbor boasts towering walls, constructed from massive stones or carved directly from the mountainside, making it difficult to traverse. Elven fortresses are also situated atop the cliffs, making it easy to defend and difficult to attack.

The harbor has a wide expanse of water that can accommodate many ships.

However, the outlet channel is relatively narrow, leading to the waters of Luen Bay. Fortunately, there are lighthouses on both sides of the harbor to guide ships in the harbor to safely exit in sequence.

The harbor is shrouded in mist year-round, giving Grey Harbor an air of mystery.

Gardo led Dui to a cliffside building called "Boat House" to rest.

The entire boathouse was carved and hollowed out directly into the cliff face, and it contains many floors and rooms.

It is a temporary residence for elves traveling to Valinor.

The house is not large, but it is simple and elegant, with an elfin architectural style, and it also has a large terrace that overlooks the ships sailing below and the vast sea in the distance.

As night fell, Dui did not rush to search for the Spirit Mercury. Instead, he sat on the terrace, enjoying the sunset and the sight of the elven sailors returning by boat.

As for the giant eagle Sorondo, Dui didn't need to worry about it; it simply flew to the nearby Blue Mountain cliffs to rest.

The elves of the Grey Harbor are mainly the Tyree, who have close ties with the sea and are particularly skilled in shipbuilding and navigation. Cildan is a prominent example, known as the "Shipbuilder," who has long been responsible for preparing ships for the elves crossing the sea to the west.

Similarly, the Taylor people are also skilled in music and poetry, with beautiful singing voices that often echo the sounds of the sea, full of rhythm.

Dui sat on the terrace, listening to the beautiful melody that blended the sea with the songs of the Taylor elves, as if hearing heavenly music.

The next day, Dui strolled to the dock.

Elven ships come and go here, with elven sailors navigating their vessels to the open sea or transporting supplies to the ports of Falmond and Harold on the other side of the Bay of Lune.

Harlington and Flint are seaports on the northern and southern coasts of Lune Bay, belonging to Harlington and Flint respectively.

Harrington and Frington both belong to the Kingdom of Lindon, located west of the Blue Mountains to the north and south. They were once ruled by Gilgalad, the High King of the Elves, but after his fall in the final Alliance War, they came under the control of Cildan.

However, Cildan retained the title of Lord of the Harbor and did not become king, so he was only the lord of the Grey Harbor and Linton region.

Grey Harbor, as the only stronghold connecting to Valinor in the west, holds extraordinary significance, carrying the Elves' last lingering affection and memories of Middle-earth.

This longing and memory, though intangible, has undergone a qualitative change over time and countless epochs of sedimentation. Dui squatted on the circular steps by the dock, looking at the silvery water before him, and reached out to scoop some into his hand.

The seawater was clear and transparent in his hands, but Dui could feel the intense emotional fluctuations it contained, including a variety of complex emotions such as reluctance, longing, memories, and hope.

"The elves board the ship here. Only by letting go of all attachments to their homeland can they reach the blessed land on the other side with ease," Gardo said slowly, appearing beside Dui at some point.

"Therefore, for thousands of years, Lune Bay has carried the last longing and memories of the elves who crossed the sea to the west for their homeland, and gradually the waters of this bay have been tinged with silver."

He sighed and said, “When my heart longs to go on my journey in the future, I will leave my memories of the Middle Kingdom here, and then sail to the Land of Blessings without any burden.”

Upon hearing this, Dui couldn't help but marvel at the wonders of creation.

He gazed at the silvery seawater, his eyes bright.

This was the purpose of his journey. The seawater carried the spiritual beliefs of countless elves and was the source of one of the three elements used to create the Philosopher's Stone—spiritual mercury.

Of course, it doesn't mean that simply filling a bucket with seawater will allow you to create the Philosopher's Stone.

Although this silver seawater contains spiritual power, it still needs to undergo an extraction and purification process to obtain the purest spiritual mercury.

That is one of the materials that can be used to make the Philosopher's Stone.

Dui then explained his purpose to Gardo:

"Secretary Gardo, would you mind if I extracted spiritual essence from the waters of Luen Bay to create a magical material?"

Gardo was somewhat surprised to hear this, but then smiled and shook his head to indicate that he didn't mind.

“Wizard Duir, please proceed. The emotions in this sea are too intense, and they are also a problem for us elves. If you can alleviate them, we will be grateful to you.”

With Gardo's consent, Dui was naturally relieved of his burden.

He faced the sea, plunged his wand into the water, and chanted a spell.

An invisible magical force spread outwards from the tip of the wand in the water, forming invisible ripples.

The emotions and memories of countless elves, deposited in the water, coalesced into silver starlight, converging towards the tip of Dui's wand, and finally transforming into a wisp of silver thread.

Dui took out a crystal bottle and put the silver thread into it.

The silver threads, like flowing mercury, shimmered with starlight, giving them an extraordinary appearance.

This is the mercury of the spirit.

It is the pure, materialized form of spiritual power.

Spirit is an intangible thing, and only in a special place like Grey Harbor can such a strong spiritual force accumulate.

This will allow Dui to collect enough spiritual mercury.

Of course, this single wisp of spiritual mercury is far from enough to create the Philosopher's Stone.

Therefore, he still needs to collect more spiritual mercury.

This is a time-consuming and tedious task.

At the same time, the surrounding seawater, from which Dui had drained his spiritual power, quickly lost its silvery color and returned to the appearance of ordinary seawater.

Alga was also very surprised and delighted to see this.

The silvery seawater is beautiful, but it is filled with intense emotions. If a fairy accidentally falls into the water, she will be affected by these emotions, becoming sentimental and even giving up her desire to cross the sea to the west.

Now that Dui has drained the emotions from the seawater, even if it's only a small part, the effect is still remarkable.

Alga offered Dui a small boat so he could travel in the bay and easily extract spiritual mercury.

Dui did not refuse Alga's kindness and accepted a delicate little white swan boat.

But he refused the elven sailor's help and sat alone in his little white boat, using magic to control the vessel as it sailed across the water.

He leaned against the boat, dipped his wand into the water, and stirred the surface as if playing with it, chanting incantations. Every now and then, he would pull out strands of silver from the water and put them into a crystal bottle.

The passing elf sailors all looked at him with curiosity but restraint, but none of them went up to disturb him.

Dui didn't stop working until sunset.

The little white boat moves automatically without wind, like birds returning to their nests heading towards the dock.

After a busy day, Dui had collected a shallow layer of spiritual mercury at the bottom of the crystal bottle in his hand.

At the current efficiency and speed, it would take about one or two weeks to collect enough for a whole bottle.

However, Dui was already quite satisfied with this.

After all, if it weren't for Grey Harbor, a natural "meditation basin" that preserved the emotions and memories of countless elves from different eras about Middle-earth, it would have taken him forever to collect the spiritual mercury.
(End of this chapter)