Book 8: Chapter 72: Silver Marches |
“What was wrong with him?” Iristin came from behind and asked with concern.
“Let me take a look!” Idria pulled Lorlin aside and laid the thin Elr across her knees. “Ghosts are good at mental attacks. Some of Goddess Loviatar’s divine spells might save his life!”
Idria loosened Elr’s magic robe so he could breathe more easily. The magic apprentice’s chest was wrapped in thick white bandages. The female knight began to unwrap the bandages, and immediately a pair of small, round, tender breasts bounced out from under the bandages.
However, the female knight seemed used to this sight. She directly placed her milky-white glowing right hand on Elr’s fair and tender chest and began the treatment.
“She… Elr is a girl?” The little dwarf who had been accompanying the magic apprentice widened his eyes and looked at the others in disbelief. But the rest of the people looked normal, not surprised at all. They had long seen that Elr was a girl; only Lorlin, who lacked experience, couldn’t tell.
“This kid is a girl?” A very inappropriate voice chimed in.
“Firal, don’t tell me you couldn’t tell either?” Milleras looked at Joey in surprise.
“Why should I have to tell? That kid Qin Lun had thoroughly studied two female bodies, and he didn’t notice either!” Joey shook his head awkwardly and muttered to himself.
With Idria’s divine healing, Elr’s pale face soon regained color. She groaned and woke up. After waking, Elr immediately noticed something was wrong with her body. She screamed, blushed, and covered her chest.
This incident didn’t affect the group’s mood, but Elr no longer wanted to stay so close to Lorlin. She timidly followed Lace. There were only a few females in the team. Pakunoda always had no expression and was considered an alchemical puppet. Idria was a follower of Goddess Loviatar and usually remained silent.
Iristin would have been a good companion, but after seeing the Lich that Joey had turned into a bone flag totem, Elr really didn’t dare get too close to the young man. So, the only one left to accompany her was the lively and cheerful elf archer.
“Elr, is that really your name?” Lace rolled her lively big eyes and asked with a smile.
“No, it’s not! I’m sorry for deceiving everyone!” Elr blinked her long eyelashes. This made her face, which had looked like a handsome young boy, now clearly appear feminine. No wonder everyone except Lorlin and the somewhat slow Qin Lun had recognized the magic apprentice’s true identity.
“I am Emily, Emily Silverhand. Everyone can just call me Emily!” Elr—no, the girl who should now be called Emily—shyly lowered her head, her slender neck slightly red.
“Silverhand?” Milleras up ahead suddenly frowned and looked back meaningfully.
“What is it, Milleras?” Joey’s perception was very sharp, and he immediately noticed Milleras’s small action.
“Haha, the term ‘Silverhand’ originally belonged to a noble surname in Far East City. But after the Year of the Floating Star (Vale Calendar 760), it took on the meaning of ‘Chosen One’ in the common tongue of the continent. Not many humans use it as a surname, and I happen to know a great figure in the Northlands who goes by that surname. Her ancestors were the true origin of ‘Silverhand’ having the meaning ‘Chosen One’.”
Milleras said with a flicker in his eyes, “If this Emily is related to her…”
“Oh, can you tell me who that great person is?” Joey’s eyes flashed. He did know that Qin Lun had suspected this magic apprentice’s identity, and now it seemed the truth was about to be revealed.
“That great person is called Elastor Silverhand. She was once the ruler of Silverymoon and also the first Supreme Mage elected by the people of Silverymoon.” Milleras frowned slightly and spoke slowly.
“Supreme Mage? That title sounds quite arrogant. Even the great elven mages known for their magic don’t dare call themselves Supreme Mages!” Joey sneered without a real smile.
“Haha, you’ve misunderstood. Supreme Mage is just a code name; every ruler of Silverymoon has this title.” Milleras waved his hand and explained with a smile, “Silverymoon believes in the Goddess of Magic Mystra, and Mystra also has the title Supreme Lady, so her chosen ones are often given various ‘Supreme’ titles.”
“Mystra’s Chosen? An interesting term. Aren’t they believers?” Joey asked curiously.
“No, although Mystra’s Chosen also believe in the Goddess of Magic, they are somewhat different from ordinary believers.” Milleras shook his head. “The Goddess of Magic Mystra once foresaw the coming of the Time of Troubles, so she bestowed a portion of magical power upon mortals so that her successors could find eternal allies. These mortal mages favored by the goddess are called Mystra’s Chosen.”
“A relative of a city ruler, possibly even a daughter—so Emily is a noble girl!” Joey curled his lip. Compared to the several princes in the team, this identity wasn’t very impressive.
“Haha, Elastor Silverhand is more than just a city ruler. Currently, she has resigned from the position of Supreme Mage and instead works to unite most of the sapient races in the Northlands, forming a Silver Marches alliance with Silverymoon at its core.” Milleras sighed.
“And she has achieved some success. Adbar, Felbar, Dead Snow Town, Everlund, Quaervarr, Silverymoon, and Sundabar… The entire Silver Marches is built on lands of ruins. This area once had the ancient elven empire of Eiellûr centered around the Supreme Forest, then the Sannata Dwarves’ Kingdom of Darrow, and the human-founded Netheril Empire.”
“The Silver Marches is larger than any of them but doesn’t occupy the entire region. Colonies and borders from different eras intersect here. Humans, dwarves, elves, half-elves, half-beings, gnomes, and even some orc tribes have joined. We speculate that within thirty years, the Silver Marches will become a semi-unified nation—the Silver Marches Federation.”
“By then, Elastor Silverhand will be the leader of the Federal Council. If Emily is really related to her, it’s not just being a noble girl; she should probably be called a princess!” Milleras said with a bitter smile.
“No wonder Angelo was willing to stay behind to let her escape danger.” Joey raised an eyebrow, understanding now. He twitched his lip and asked Milleras, “You Sun Elves chose to migrate away from Cormanthor Forest. Could it be related to this Silver Marches too?”
“Hmm, I knew I couldn’t hide it from you!” Milleras gave a bitter laugh. “But the specifics are very complex and can’t be explained quickly. I’ll tell you slowly when we have time.”
Seeing that Milleras didn’t want to say more, Joey didn’t bother to ask. Relationships between nations are always extremely complicated. The Silver Marches population is thirty percent elves and half-elves, and they inherited some cultural legacy from the Eiellûr Elven Empire. It would be strange if their relationship with the Cormanthor elves wasn’t complex.
Elves live long lives; ten thousand years is only a dozen generations. The Faerûn elves have experienced thousands of years of war and ups and downs. Now, what they desire most is a peaceful and quiet life. Evermeet is a good choice for ordinary elves, and the multiracial nation of the Silver Marches, mixing humans, dwarves, and elves, is another option.
As a Sun Elf prince of Cormanthor, it would be strange if Milleras didn’t pay attention to the Silver Marches. Although the Evernight Desert filled with magic creatures lies between Cormanthor and the Silver Marches, it’s still much closer than migrating all the way to Evermeet thousands of miles away.
In other words, the multiracial Silver Marches turned out to be another competing power for elven people besides the Moon Elf Court.
After realizing this, even Joey couldn’t help but feel amused.
No wonder the Cormanthor Elven Court voluntarily initiated the Ancient Path—their racial foundation was already shaky. Losing leadership to the Moon Elves was one thing, since they’re all family. But if they were to be ruled by a union of other races, the proud Sun Elf nobles with their great elven pride couldn’t bear it; they’d rather die.
While thinking, the group finally finished the stone stairs from the ground to the first underground level. The space ahead opened up. But the light from the Serthel elf sword was too dim, not illuminating far, so everyone couldn’t see clearly.
“Tch!” Joey took a torch from his Storage Space and lit it. The bright flame illuminated the area.
“Hiss…” After seeing the scene before them, everyone gasped uncontrollably, their eyes filled with shock.
Ahead, rows of ancient and elegant bookshelves stretched out like a forest, neatly arranged before everyone. Huge bookshelves about twenty meters high were stacked layer upon layer, filled with large dusty books arranged densely. It was an incredibly spectacular sight at a glance. Even a rough person like Lorlin felt filled with elegance and poetry in his heart.
“How many books are here? Ten thousand, a hundred thousand, or a million…” Lorlin muttered, “By Sanda, there are more books here than ores in the Snowpeak Mine!”
“Uvaeren’s library!” Milleras’s eyes lit up. As if bewitched, he slowly approached a bookshelf and reached to take out a large book.
“This…” But the Sun Elf prince’s simple action didn’t succeed. As soon as the book was halfway out, his fingers dug deep into it, and a stream of fine sand leaked from between his fingers.
“Swish!” With a faint sound, the bookshelf in front of Milleras quietly collapsed. A cloud of dust swallowed him whole. The seven-story-high bookshelf directly turned into a pile of dust.
However, that wasn’t the end. As this bookshelf fell, the nearby shelves seemed affected, collapsing one after another. A large empty space suddenly appeared before everyone, and the library was filled with flying dust.
“Uvaeren’s library!” Milleras’s voice came from the dust again. Compared to his previous joyful tone, the Sun Elf prince’s sigh now was full of pain and sorrow.