Equipment Printing School Mage

"Isn't it okay if it's not spread out?" Yin shouted dissatisfiedly.

8. Unexpected Invitation

"...Huh." The Archdruid of the Sharptooth Forest looked at the clear sky and let out a light breath.

In the dense Sharptooth Forest, open spaces are rare, and the old trees here are extremely fierce in their competition for sunlight, often obscuring the sky to almost no light at all.

However, in front of her, there was such a wonderful open space - flowers and grass leaves were intertwined on the ground, and together with shrubs that emitted fragrance, they surrounded a shining light gate.

She has been looking after this light gate for some time. Ever since the light gate was brought back to light, strange phenomena have occurred here.

The lush vegetation is only superficial; there are more hidden and less obvious effects.

For example, a slight disturbance of time.

One day, upon waking up, Fenwei suddenly noticed a wrinkle at the corner of her eye, and she was horrified. She was already an Archdruid, and her body had changed ten times faster than an ordinary person. She shouldn't have felt the passage of time for a long time, especially since she wasn't old enough to do that.

She had briefly thought that the time gate had caused the people around her to age. But before she could recover, she realized she had shrunk a few centimeters, as if she had returned to her twenties, when she was still an apprentice druid.

Fortunately, the various effects mentioned above will not last more than ten minutes.

Only then did she realize that the time gate was just indiscriminately disturbing everything around it.

And today was the darkest day since she became a druid.

She, the Archdruid, the master of the Sharptooth Forest.

When he transformed into a raven and was patrolling in the forest, he lost his focus for some reason and bumped into a tree, knocking himself unconscious.

——It was simply incomprehensible. No matter how you looked at it, the probability of this happening was zero. Even if she was truly distracted, the forest should have warned her.

But she did such a shameful thing.

Even worse than this, when she finally woke up, she found Emiya and Yin watching her.

...I'm afraid that none of the embarrassing things she has encountered in her life is as serious as this one.

Fenwei struggled to get up, not knowing what to say for a moment.

In front of her, Emilia also looked embarrassed and no one knew what she was saying.

An archdruid knocked himself out in his own forest?

She might as well resign now and continue to be a wandering druid.

In this awkward silence, Emiya finally gritted her teeth and said, "Fenwei, you should know that we are planning to set off to ten thousand years ago."

"I know." Fenwei immediately said after finding an opportunity to change the subject. "After that, my care work will probably come to an end. I guess all the strange things I've encountered recently are related to it."

At this moment, Yin suddenly said, "There's no doubt it's related to it—life, flowers, time, fate, all sorts of wondrous fluctuations are spreading around this space-time gate, and anyone nearby may be affected. I'm afraid you were just affected by the power of Tyche."

"……I see!"

Fenwei finally regained some spirit.

After all, the humor and strangeness of an archdruid having an accident in his own forest is almost as great as a great wizard not being able to calculate how much one plus one equals.

If it was influenced by the god of fate, Tigra, then it would seem reasonable.

Fenwei gathered his thoughts and asked, "So, when are you leaving?"

"...More than that." Emiya said with difficulty, "You should have guessed it? My teacher and Yin can't go."

"As expected, right?" The Archdruid nodded. "Even though I don't study time, I can guess that two people from different time periods can't exist at the same time."

"So..." Although Emilia wasn't a particularly eloquent person, it was very rare for her to be so hesitant as she was today, "We... I need help.

"The forest can't transcend time." Fenwei didn't react at first. "Besides, you don't lack anything by now, right?"

"Material resources aren't a problem. Although we can't use future money and supplies to buy anything, we can still get things locally and trade with others." Emiya shook her head, "So... we... are short of people."

"I see." Fenwe nodded, thinking he understood everything. "So, what about the massive Halruaan army coming soon? A short stop should be fine—and please slow down the airship. Don't rush through the Sharptooth Forest at speeds ten times faster than a bird."

"Uh, no. Not too many people can go, otherwise they will be deported immediately." Emiya took a deep breath. "Also, Mars can't go. The environment there is chaotic, and if the spirit in his body is disturbed by time, various problems may arise."

Silver turned his head away and muttered softly, "Not only does he have to be very strong, but he'd also have to be close to us, so we can ensure he won't act on his own. Furthermore, he'd have to have a strong connection to nature—that's when the elves are active."

Oh, oh, oh.

Finwe thought for a few seconds.

Then, I stopped thinking.

After a long while, she raised her finger in disbelief: "...So, the people who were invited...

Aimed at his cheek.

"…It's me?"

-----------------

Candlekeep.

This castle of the Xingyong family has stood for thousands of years.

The Xingyong family is not considered a wealthy family among the elves - the history of this race is far longer than this.

However, this family had always been lucky—the elves possessed a powerful military force, and several elven kingdoms had frequently fought each other over the past few thousand years, leaving incomparably striking scars on the land of Faerun. However, their kingdom of Santa Othriel had always been able to stay out of the conflict.

That is why they built their family's foundation on cliffs as steep as if they were cut by an axe or a knife, and used indestructible mazes to keep the elves going up and down away from unnecessary dangers.

They like adventure, but do not encourage unfounded nonsense - although the boundaries between these two goals are often intentionally or unintentionally ignored by members of the Xingyong family.

However, no elf could have imagined that just one generation later, the Crown War would break out again.

This time, Santa Osril, which had successfully stayed out of the world war for thousands of years, finally became the center of the war.

Standing opposite them was the kingdom of Ilythri, which occupied eastern Faerûn.

The main body of Santa Osriel is the gold elves and silver elves, while the main body of the Kingdom of Ilysri...

It's a dark elf.

They worshipped the long-exiled goddess Rose and launched a frenzied attack on the Kingdom of Santa Osriel, which still adhered to the orthodox Shiradrin. Unfortunately, while Candlekeep, home to the Xingyong family, wasn't the primary target, it was still a frontline.

As a result, all kinds of news are coming to the castle like snowflakes.

"Lord Ewald Starsong."

In the heart of Candlekeep, in the largest reception room of the entire fortress complex, the patriarch of the Starsong family clutched his forehead in pain as he listened to the incessant chatter of the messenger before him. "The kingdom has determined that the offensive launched by Ilythri is highly unusual. The kingdom has resolved that each family must send at least ten priests and one high elven mage to the capital to participate in the common prayer."

"The power wielded by the fallen Ilythri is corrupt and beyond imagination. We cannot defeat them with our own strength. We must receive the personal divine intervention of Lord Corellon to have any hope of a counterattack. Any efforts beyond this are futile."

The Xingyong Family's patriarch took a deep breath and asked, "Will the Xingyong Family also send people?"

The messenger, dressed in an expensive silk robe, replied, "That's right. Each family must fulfill their quota. The Xingyong family has both the maze and the castle, so they can certainly complete this task."

Patriarch Ewald suddenly stood up and roared, "But the Starsing Family is devoted to the way of swordsinging! If the king recruits swordsingers, our family will send out thirty swordsingers without blinking an eye? But priests and high elf wizards? Among our family members who still remain in Candlekeep, there are only sixteen priests in total!

"And now, the only high elf wizard in Candlekeep is my wife, who just gave birth the day before yesterday!!!"

He strode to the window and lifted the heavy velvet.

The next second, the sky-high and earth-shattering flames shone into the castle through the window.

Elves love nature, and the elven kingdom is naturally filled with forests and fertile fields.

Therefore, the first step of the Ilysri Kingdom's attack was to summon fire.

"Right now," the clan leader said, suppressing his anger, "the wall of fire summoned by those dark elves stretches across half the world, thousands of kilometers long, hurtling towards my family. In seven days at most, the flames will engulf Candlekeep. At this point, does the kingdom require me to evacuate my entire family?"

"In that case," the golden elf messenger said indifferently, "The king recommends that you abandon Candlekeep and relocate your entire clan to the capital—the Xingsong family's great adventure can begin now. Otherwise, since your clan has the resources to meet the remaining balance, you should act immediately."

"What—" The patriarch was furious, squeezing the teacup in his hand until it creaked slightly. After a long moment, he finally said, "So, how long will this great prayer last?"

"The Kingdom believes this attack is of immense magnitude and cannot be underestimated. Our counterattack must be matched in strength," the messenger replied. "Therefore, we estimate this conscription will last no less than fifty years."

"Oh!"

The Xingyong family generally loves adventure.

People who like taking risks are generally not the kind of people who will swallow their anger and endure humiliation.

The moment the messenger pushed further, the entire cup of hot tea in front of the clan leader was flipped upside down in his face. The scalding tea poured directly onto the golden elf's face, and the clan leader roared: "In less than a month, Candlekeep will be engulfed in flames, and I don't even know what the Kingdom of Ilythri's true attack will be! In this situation, not only will I not get any help, but the kingdom still wants to uproot my family?"

"Watch your words! This is simply the obligation you promised to fulfill when you swore allegiance to the king!"

The quarrel in the living room naturally spread to the bedroom next door.

Fiona Xingyong, who had just given birth, could only gently rock the crib while murmuring softly, "Little Elastrei, what will become of our lives?"

Then, she concentrated a little, trying to recall the defensive strength of other fortresses near Candlekeep to reassure herself.

Then, Fiona, who had just become a mother, turned paler and paler.

She found that she could no longer remember any information about her neighbors.

Their clan name, strength, and specific location had all disappeared from her mind, leaving no trace.

She could also name the fortresses and even the mythals used by some of her closest families.

However, the elves protected by the maze have completely disappeared from her memory.

The Last Day of Nine Stars

"You will regret this!"

"If the kingdom is so desperate, then send a large army. Perhaps they can just meet up with the Ilythri army!"

"Oh!"

The elves usually behaved in a graceful and calm manner, neither hurried nor slow. But now that the war had broken out, they were too anxious to care.

The nobles of the two kingdoms quarreled like wild elves, their faces red and ears red, and finally parted on bad terms.

Only after he watched the messenger ride onto the Lion Trail and out of his sight did he finally breathe a sigh of relief. After ordering the tribe members to step up their defense, he ran all the way back to the bedroom and only felt relieved when he saw that his wife's complexion had recovered a little.

"...The messenger left? You must be very unhappy."

"At least they don't know yet that the Xingyong family has converted." Ewald replied.

This is the biggest reason why the Xingyong family cannot respond to the call.

They certainly did not deny the intention of the Elven God Corellon. But now, the statue of the Goddess of Fate Tyche has been added to the Candlekeep Cathedral, making this goddess stand on the same level as Corellon.

——Even in the current elven kingdoms, this god is almost unknown.

However, her belief still conquered the Xingyong family: the ups and downs of fate, pursuing the future in the unknown, and looking for changes in a boring and long life.

It was a perfect match with the Xingyong family.

But in any case, it was obvious that the priest of Tyke could no longer attend the prayers of the priest of Corellon, which was simply murder.

As for High Mage, Ewald hadn't lied—High Mage was the most difficult and challenging skill to learn among all the elves. Even an elf often studied from childhood to middle age before achieving great accomplishments. Under such circumstances, High Mage was extremely difficult to improve.

The Xingyong family generally... or all of them, find it hard to endure such a miserable life. As a result, the only high-level mage in the family is the wife married by the patriarch from outside.

They were neither willing nor able to obey the call.

Ewald Starsong sighed deeply and stepped into his wife's bedroom, but saw that his wife's face looked very ugly. However, his infant daughter, Alestria, was smiling very happily.

After confirming that Elastrid was alright, he stepped forward and took his wife's hand, "Don't worry, the messenger has left."

"...That's not what I'm worried about." Fiona took a deep breath and bit her lip. "Ewald, we should have neighbors in Candlekeep, right?"

"Of course." Ewald said matter-of-factly, "We are at the border of the kingdom, and the barriers here are naturally as numerous as the stars in the sky."

Then, he said very naturally: "But, it is true that there is only one of us."

"Only us?" Fiona closed her eyes in pain. "Candlekeep is built on the riverbank. Of the Xingsong family, there are less than a hundred people left. How can we defend the border alone? Do we have the ability to do so?"

"...Not really..." The words flowed out of Ewald's mouth naturally, but his mind was frantically alarming, "There are still many fortresses along the border, each protected by a maze, but there's no one...manned...?"

The people of the Kingdom of Santa Osriel are not crazy. No one would build a castle city in vain, or even use a large number of high-level wizards to protect it, and then let it weather away in time!

For the first time, Ewald's teeth clashed.

He is not a coward. Swordsingers are all fierce warriors who dance on the edge of the enemy's sword.

However, this scene really frightened him.

Something had happened that he couldn't understand, but he could only perceive it rationally.

All the families east of Candlekeep were wiped out from his knowledge.