Equipment Printing School Mage
Page 283
The shadow was silent for a moment, then said, "The journey from the material plane to Arvandor takes some elves hundreds of years, but for some of her kind, it only takes a moment."
What he meant was that even this opportunity was the result of hard work.
"...So, who are you?" asked Alestria.
The shadow replied, "You are the one closest to you, yet the most distant. The feelings we share are the most profound, yet the most illusory. Your appearance at this time was commissioned by the two goddesses, but their willingness to undertake such a sensitive and potentially taboo act is indeed due to my contribution."
Having said this, he shook his head:
"But we've strayed too far from the topic... In short, Elastrid. Your family is over—both its history and its culture. It's completely over. This maze cannot be erased, but you are destined to find no trace of it. The fact that your Moon Blade doesn't remember any information about your family is proof of that. This is part of the deal."
At this point, he was silent for a moment, and couldn't help asking: "...You really don't know me?"
"This is our first meeting, and you were here ten thousand years ago..." Alastrid asked bewilderedly, "I really don't know you."
Having said this, she paused: "...and you are now completely a shadow. I really can't recognize you..."
"Shadow?" The messager was stunned for a moment, lowered his head and looked at himself, and couldn't help but take a deep breath, as if he suddenly understood. "So that's how it is. She was so easy to talk to, and left in such a hurry just now. It turns out she secretly buried a trap here."
He patted his head in annoyance: "It's already ten thousand years later, how can I repay..."
At this moment, his voice suddenly died in his throat.
His gaze slowly fixed on two women, one tall and one short, in the crowd.
Metatron and Silver.
"……what?"
The always elegant and noble phantom's breathing became disordered for a moment: "Why are you standing here so naturally!?"
The others here turned around in confusion and looked at Metatron almost instinctively.
Even if most people here have some background, they are essentially just mortals. The only one who can have some connection with this wonderful existence is Metatron.
Metatron was also completely baffled: "...I'm sorry, I don't know you?"
"That's because..."
The shadowy figure waved his hand heavily. He stretched out his hand, pondered for a moment, and suddenly laughed. "Ah, I understand. In that case, I won't reveal all the answers here. In short, Elastrid, you have an unfortunate life, but you don't have to pursue your enemies anymore."
"Although I never intended to pursue an enemy from ten thousand years ago...but why?"
The shadow sighed. "At this point in time, the enemy that destroyed your family should have disappeared and been destroyed in the last great disaster in Faerun. This is why you appear at this point in time."
Emiya was stunned for a moment, then said in disbelief: "...You mean, Elastrid was sent from ten thousand years ago to the future by her own family because her enemy just fell in the Arcane Calamity!?"
Judging from Alestria's age, she was born almost a few years after the Arcane Calamity. If this was a time teleportation spanning ten thousand years, then this teleportation was extremely perfect.
He couldn't help but glance at Yin.
No matter how you look at it, this kind of thing is seriously suspected of time manipulation!
"The most sensitive thing is the past, because touching the past will endanger everything." Yin said meaningfully, "The future is relatively better - it just kills yourself."
The shadow was clearly truly averse to this topic. He shook his head. "In short, Elastrid, you are a free, newly born life—this is the final blessing your parents give you. Every Star Song hopes to embrace the world without hindrance, but ultimately, every Star Song is a kite in the sky, the string always tied to them... You will be the first and last Star Song. The vast world belongs only to you, and I offer you only sincere blessings."
Having said that, he looked at Yin deeply and said, "If you really want to know something else, go here."
As he spoke, the phantom opened a spherical phantom in front of him.
It was the shadow of Toril.
Tens of thousands of years is long enough for humans, but it is still too short for a planet.
The last time the territory of Faerûn changed significantly was the First Sundering, caused by the elven high magic twenty thousand years ago, and the terrain has remained roughly constant since then.
The shadow just moved slightly in the sphere, leaving an important point on the globe of Faerun.
"Here is a secret, and also a reward. It's a reward for your courage and perseverance, Elastrid, and for your friends," he said. "But you must value it. Unless you truly face a problem that you must solve, one so difficult that even the gods are helpless, do not use it. It will not come at a heavy price, but it is so precious that squandering it would be a terrible waste that is absolutely intolerable."
However, after seeing where the ball landed, most people present fell silent.
——Most of the people present had been to this point before.
"...this...Mr."
Emiya said bitterly.
"You want us to go to... the Sharptooth Forest? We are quite familiar with that place, and we have never heard of any secrets in that forest."
...If it is said that such a large forest has never had a druid circle, and it grows alone in the uninhabited wilderness, it does not count.
The shadow replied, "Because it is not a treasure, but an entrance."
At this point, he glanced at Silver and Metatron silently: "...Although that entrance should be priceless to you ten thousand years from now. But now, this entrance may have a special meaning... This is probably fate."
"I must remind you that this entrance carries incomparable risks and rewards. It's not a ladder to heaven that will take you to the next level, but rather a lifeline when you're truly at your wit's end. If you do step inside, remember: don't touch it, don't change it, you're just a passerby."
"Unless the person who receives you gives you permission, absolutely, absolutely, absolutely do not do anything without permission!"
Epilogue (Part 4) New Guests in the Sharptooth Forest
The Sharptooth Forest is extremely restless today.
They had already prepared for the entire forest to turn into a sea of fire, not to mention the roars coming from the direction of Candlekeep, which the druids could faintly hear from hundreds of miles away. This made the tense and uneasy atmosphere become like thunderclouds in the sky. It was only a matter of time before the thunderstorm arrived.
However, miraculously, after a while, the roar gradually stopped.
Has Candlekeep triumphed, or has the fortress become yet another victim of Larloch and Shar's tyranny?
All the questions were answered by the forest's response: Emiya and his group arrived at the outer side of the Holy Forest of the Sharptooth Forest safely.
The Archdruid of the Sharptooth Forest curled her lips, silently transformed into a raven, and flew into a sacred tree. When she reappeared, she had already reached the treetop behind Emiya and the others. Then, she shouted, "Who are you? How dare you come to the Sharptooth Forest so brazenly?"
Whether or not a druid uses their natural voice when transforming is entirely up to the druid themselves. Therefore, at this moment, Emya had no idea which druid had discovered them. It had been a while since Fenwë took over, and it was entirely possible that new druids had joined—it was normal not to recognize them.
Furthermore, now that Halffont has changed his appearance to become a normal day elf, and Metatron has returned to his Asmoan humanoid form, the team is even less recognizable.
He could only say honestly: "Hello, we are..."
Emiya hesitated.
Their team actually doesn't have any name yet.
All he could say was, "Please inform the Archdruid that Team Emya from Lunya has arrived. We have something important to discuss with Archdruid Fenwe."
"Hmph." The raven had no intention of reporting. Instead, it lowered its head and used its beak to preen its feathers. "The Archdruid is very busy. How could he possibly meet a stranger?"
"We are friends of the Archdruid..."
"Ha, that's what everyone who comes here says," the raven cackles. "Tell me where you're from, and what do you want to discuss?"
"We're here from Candlekeep," Emya sighed. "We won a hard-fought victory. We came to the Sharptooth Forest for three reasons: first, to deliver victory news and some spoils; second, to discuss the issue of prisoners of war; and third, to discuss some secrets related to the Sharptooth Forest. Sorry, we can only discuss the latter two matters with the Archdruid in person."
"Victory?" Raven's eyes lit up. "It looks like you've won a great victory? You don't even have any scars on your body."
"It's better to say that at this stage, even if the body is torn into pieces, it can be restored to its original state with timely help."
The most typical example is Metatron of Emiya. Even though she was tortured to the point of death by Shar not long ago, after using some divine power to heal herself, she only lost some color on her face.
Emiya hesitated for a moment, then turned around and asked, "...Teacher, can those [things]... really be used as gifts?"
"No problem," Metatron said confidently. "If it were those demigods and quasi-gods, this kind of loot would indeed be risky. But Shar is a truly powerful god. To her, it doesn't matter whether she has this item or not. It's just a matter of whether she wants to or not. As long as she wants to, she will definitely be able to do it. There's no point in taking precautions."
"What's the point of being so nervous about spoils?" The raven sneered. "This is a druid forest. Even a rampant dragon has to consider whether its military might is sufficient."
Then, Emiya silently raised a necklace and gestured in front of Raven: "This is a trophy from that battle. Although it has no practical value, it is quite commemorative."
"What does a druid need stones strung together with metal?" Raven tilted his head.
"No, so it's just a souvenir. The important thing is not what it is, but who its original owner is."
"What relationship could the original owner have with the Archdruid?"
"It's very relevant." Emilia replied, "...Please tell Archdruid Fenwe that the previous owner of this necklace came from her previous...faith."
"Oh, you're so noble," the raven snorted. "You're a great druid, and yet during this battle, you got into a huge fight with the Shadow Spirits of Shade City and nearly came to blows with your neighbors... In the end, you just picked up a necklace from the corpse of a Shar believer on the battlefield and sent him packing."
Emiya tilted her head in confusion.
Why do the speaking habits of this raven sound more and more familiar?
Finally, he gritted his teeth and said, "The so-called coming from faith does not mean coming from believers, but from the root of faith."
"What's the origin of faith? I don't understand." Raven nodded. "The origin of the church's faith, isn't that..."
Then, the raven froze for a moment, and for the first time, its voice began to stutter: "You...you don't mean to say that this necklace is...is..."
Emiya nodded. "We... destroyed Shar's avatar. This is the trophy we found from her remains... Of course, unfortunately, her power comes entirely from divine power itself, not some magical item. So this necklace is of commemorative value, but it's just commemorative value."
Fenwei almost went crazy when he heard the first sentence and fell off the branch.
She flapped her wings and transformed back into her original form in mid-air, grabbing Emiya's shoulders. "—Don't brush that matter off so lightly! What do you mean by destroying the incarnation of God?! A god descended during the Battle of Candlekeep?! No! Destroying the incarnation of God? Shar's incarnation?"
That raven was indeed transformed by Fenwei!
Emiya clapped her hands in annoyance. "...I didn't see it with my own eyes, but I did see the debris left behind when Shar's incarnation collapsed: a strange black sand that reflected no light at all. But no one dared to touch that kind of thing. I only gave it to you because I was sure it was just a decoration."
It is said that the shells he fired successfully broke through the layers of defense of the gods, and the silver fire and moon fire on them successfully damaged the incarnation of Shar, creating an invaluable fighting opportunity for his teacher.
Unfortunately, the battlefield of that stunning battle had already returned to the Shadowfell Underworld, and he didn't even have the chance to replay it. He had no way of confirming which point in the sky above Candlekeep was the place where Shar fell.
Fenwei's cheeks flushed slightly as she carefully took it, but then she took a few steps back cautiously: "...This kind of gift as a meeting gift? What exactly do you want to tell me next?"
She glanced warily at the crowd behind Emilia. Then she easily came to the conclusion:
There are more beautiful females.
"...Wait." Fenwei suddenly pointed vigilantly at Haverfonte in the crowd. "...Isn't this the prisoner we captured not long ago? Why is she following your team, and without any restraints at all?"
"That's the second question," Emiya said somewhat awkwardly. "Through our efforts, we've separated her and her people from the City of Ghosts. Now, there are about a hundred Shadow Spirits in the material plane who need a place to stay. I can guarantee that they no longer have any connection with the City of Ghosts."
At this point, Haverfont also reacted. While observing the forest environment, he replied, "Our relationship has always been bad, and we have no psychological burden to leave the Ghost City."
"What about the Church of Shar?" Fenwei asked.
Emiya shrugged. "The bishop of the Shar Church excommunicated them on the spot."
Haverfont interjected, "—I'm afraid that fellow Rivaren has long wanted to drive us out of Ghost City. Ultimately, the growth of the Shar Church is not as important as their family's control over Ghost City."
Fenwei did not reply, but instead shifted his gaze between Haverfont and Emiya.
Emiya was puzzled and replied, "I am definitely not being held hostage, and I am not an illusion."
"No, I'm observing the relationship between you two." Fenwei pursed his lips and finally turned to Emilia. "Whether I agree or not is secondary...whether your new friends agree or not."
The Archdruid said dissatisfiedly, "If they want to open up this forest and transform the Sharptooth Forest into farmland... I cannot agree to that. The limit of our tolerance is that outsiders can create a small, clean clearing in the forest. Fires are allowed in this clearing. In addition, they can hunt, but they must not waste anything."
As if that weren't enough, the Archdruid casually tossed a handful of berries over and said, "There are no merchants passing through here. Your main source of food, besides meat, will be the fruits and vegetables from the forest. Get used to it."
The Shadow Spirit illusionist, who had always lived in the Shadowfall Underworld, curiously picked up the berries. His dexterity wasn't particularly impressive, and he accidentally spilled some berries on the ground. However, Haverfont's frugality surprised everyone present. Without the self-consciousness of a Nine-Ringed Mage, the illusionist carefully picked up the berries that had fallen to the ground, cleaned them with magic, and then carefully placed them in his mouth.
"...It's dull, isn't it?" Fenwei waved his hand. "If you want to stay in the forest, you have to endure this kind of hardship..."
Before she could finish her words, she jumped back in fright.
The great wizard just put the berries into his mouth and rubbed them with his mouth, then he was stunned. Then he threw the rest of the berries into his mouth in one breath like a hungry tiger pouncing on its prey.
Then, tears fell.
"...Ah?" This scene shocked everyone present.
The Archdruid leaned over to Emya in shock. "...What's going on? The Church of Shar won't feed its own people? My God, no wonder their faces are so puffy from hunger! I thought it was just makeup!"
Emiya felt sweat on her forehead: From what we can see now, Haverfont has not been in the material plane for long, and has been carrying out various tasks. He is probably eating the dry food he carries with him all the time, and has no chance to live a normal life in the material plane.
She did eat a few prison meals, but the monks of Candlekeep were all ascetic, and the food they prepared was probably only to maintain vital signs.
Fenwei was probably giving her her own snacks—druids are just picky eaters, not incapable of taste. How could the berries in a Ninth Ring Archdruid's three meals compare to cabbage boiled in salt water?
"We're in Ghost City, how can we have extra food?" Halffont nearly burst into tears, wiping his eyes as he spoke. "I can't even take care of my own quota of spell materials, so how can I be qualified to enjoy the expensive food of the Ghost City princes?"
"I'm willing to stay in the Sharptooth Forest! If anyone disagrees, I'll make them remember the earthworm powder in the Shadowfall Underworld!"
-----------------
"To be honest, I didn't quite agree at first... but I never imagined that there would be outsiders who would treat our druids' godberries as delicacies." Fenwei whispered as he pinched the necklace on his chest lovingly.
"So you know outsiders can't eat it!" Emilia complained.
The Archdruid had already put the souvenir given by Emya on his chest. The two were walking in the sacred forest.
Shar was an extremely vain goddess. The black sapphire inlaid on the necklace that originally belonged to Shar was as pure as a black hole, but it occasionally shone with a little luster under the reflection of her skin - even if you put aside its background, this was also an extremely precious jewel.
However, wearing it as is would inevitably lead to misunderstanding. At Fenwei's insistence, a large silver star-shaped diamond was added to the top of the black sapphire, confirming its status as a trophy and its owner's identity as a follower of the Magic Goddess.
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