Chapter 35 The Journey of the Sage and the King
"My order is to find the Dark Witch Maleficent!"
In the open space, the three big dogs looked around and sniffed left and right after receiving the order from their master.
After finding nothing, all three dogs lay down weakly, stuck out their tongues, and looked pitifully at their owner, Rhine, who was holding a tinder box in front of him.
"Sure enough, the dark witch Maleficent must be far away, far beyond the search range of Tinderbox Dog."
"Of course, even if Maleficent is nearby, she may have a way to hide herself from magic and other supernatural forces."
Rhine dismissed the dogs and threw the tinder box back to Aurora.
The two walked back to the palace and flipped through a large stack of papers on the table.
"This is the information compiled by His Majesty the King and the witches, about the origin of the Black Witch Maleficent, where she may go, and other clues!"
This information points the way for the journey he and Aurora are about to embark on.
According to these intelligence records, the black witch Maleficent was not born in the Kingdom of Rose. Instead, she traveled to the kingdom from another country and settled here for a long time more than ten years before Aurora's baptism ceremony.
No one knows how long she lived and where she learned the terrifying witchcraft.
People just discovered that Maleficent practices terrible black magic, is proficient in curses and torture techniques, can summon dark creatures to serve herself at any time, and can even transform into a giant dragon.
Moreover, Maleficent's magical attainments seemed to be more sophisticated than other witches in the kingdom - of course, it was not until after that disastrous night that people truly realized her power and terror.
According to intelligence records, Maleficent once mentioned that she had several "sisters" outside the kingdom.
Of course, they are not real sisters, but witches who study black magic with her.
Maleficent and her "sisters" occasionally meet together or communicate with each other through magic to discuss new dark witchcraft and how to refine new potions. The materials they use to make medicine are naturally weird and scary things like frog eyes, spider webs, toad saliva, dead baby umbilical cords, etc.
"The coven of black magic witches seems to be something quite remarkable."
Rhine frowned slightly.
If you have to face multiple opponents as powerful as Maleficent, you will be desperate just thinking about it.
In this continent where many stories are mixed, who are the witches who can form a gathering with the dark witch Maleficent?
Rhine couldn't help but think.
He continued to read the text at hand, and his attention fell on one of the lines.
This passage says that Maleficent once boasted to the Violet Fairy that there was a witch in the gathering who was not human, but a sea hag who lived in the deep sea and was good at refining weird potions.
This sea hag lives in the kingdom of mermaids, which lies beneath the great waves. Because they rarely go ashore, Maleficent and she communicate with each other using magic mirrors. For this reason, Maleficent complained twice.
"The sea hag who lives in the kingdom of the sea. Maybe it can be our breakthrough!
"If Maleficent is still in contact with her, this sea hag may know where Maleficent is now.
"According to the historical documents of the kingdom, under the sea on the south coast is the kingdom of mermaids!"
Having clarified the direction of the first destination, Rhine and Aurora had one last task before officially embarking on the journey——
Say goodbye to the King and Queen.
……
Deep in the palace complex, behind many walls and buildings.
There is indeed a palace made of brass, where the legendary beautiful princess lives.
——In fact, it is just an abandoned palace left by the previous dynasty. Most of the time, the Brass Palace was empty.
But today, perhaps for the first time in 10 years, the beautiful princess in the kingdom's legend really came here.
To say goodbye to her parents.
The old king nodded gently.
The monarch of the kingdom showed a vicissitudes of life smile, took off the crown on his head, and slowly moved it to Aurora's head.
The elderly monarch took off his crown and hung it on the head of a 10-year-old girl. This action looked really funny.
——The old king handed over the kingdom to the warrior who could save the country and regarded him as the new king of the kingdom. This was the promise the old king made to the magician ten years ago.
The old king made gestures on the princess's blond head, as if to see if the size of the crown matched her:
"My daughter. I am too old. When you and the sage return from your journey, this crown will truly belong to you."
After the old king finished speaking, he took back the crown.
Aurora nodded gently, used the court etiquette taught to her by her etiquette teacher, and gave an elegant salute to the king and queen:
"Goodbye, father and mother.
"I will embark on a journey with Lord Sage, heading abroad to search for traces of the Black Witch Maleficent. We will find the Black Witch, defeat her, and end the dark clouds that have enveloped this country.
"One day, I will return to the kingdom with the Sage and succeed you as the king of this land, my father.
"During this journey, I will work hard to learn how to become an outstanding warrior and an excellent king."
The queen, who was also old, picked up a handkerchief and wiped the tears from the corners of her eyes, but said nothing.
Next to him, the little magician wearing a spacious wizard robe and a classical wizard's dress smiled and nodded, and said to Aurora: "Let's go, my future Queen."
The sage and the future king bid farewell to the current king and left the palace made of brass.
Walking among the royal palaces, Aurora looked at the mountains in the distance:
"Teacher, I think when we come back, I will become the king of this country, and you will become the legend of this country."
In the past, a special grammar teacher taught Aurora complex and gorgeous grammar and exquisite rhetoric, and the little princess also learned them all very cleverly, so her words were like the crafted sentences in the mouth of a poet
"My father told me that ten years ago, after you helped him, you asked your father to spread your story - spreading the story of the magician must have a special effect on you.
"So, after I become the new king, I will do the same thing.
"Teacher, I will tell your story, record your deeds in the annals of history, and hire craftsmen to make a statue of you.
"I will invite scribes to write down every story on our journey, weave these stories into a book, and ask painters to draw the most memorable scenes on the journey into color pictures - so that they will not be forgotten, Ask the bard to tell these stories between the fire and the well water
"Many years later, what we experienced during our journey will eventually become a popular legend and a collection of fairy tales beside every child's pillow.
"Imagine this scene, it's really exciting..."
The girl raised her head and looked at the blue sky and snow-white clouds, with a light of hope in her eyes.
Aurora looked again at the silver-haired boy in front of her who would never grow up.
——When she was a baby, her teacher was still the same as she is now. Now that she is getting taller and taller, her teacher has not changed. Time seems to have stopped on the little magician.
The girl stretched out her hand to measure her height, making sure that her head was just as high as Rhine's shoulders, and said with a smile:
"Teacher, you won't grow up, will you?
"It is estimated that in two or three years, I will be taller than you before the curse is completed.
"Even if I am old and gray-haired, you will still be the same as before?"
Rhine didn't speak, just walked quietly.
He could imagine this scene, but he was a little surprised that a 10-year-old girl would think so far ahead.
"Who knows what will happen in the future?"
After being silent for a long time, Rhine said.
Aurora once again cast her sights on the distant sky, her thoughts flying in the clouds, her smile like a flower:
"Teacher, one day, I will become a white skeleton and a handful of loess. And you will still walk on the earth like this.
"At that time, the earth will be full of legends about you.
"During this journey, I am going to learn how to be an excellent king, and strive to become the greatest king in the history of the Kingdom of Rose, and my name will go down in history.
"In this way, after I pass away, people will say that there once was a great queen in the Kingdom of Rose and spread my deeds.
"In this way, the length of my story can try to catch up with your life itself - although it is impossible to catch up, at least it will not be thrown away too quickly.
"Even many centuries later, when you walk on the earth, you can occasionally hear the people of that era telling the stories of our journey.
"In my story, people will say that many years ago, the king of the country was given 13 blessings when she was born, and she was given a great mission. She was raised by a wise and learned woman. , a legendary magician who knows the future and has many magical abilities.
"Oh my gosh, this sounds so epic! Just like those epic legends I've heard before."
When Aurora said this, her eyes became more profound and profound.
Like King Arthur and Merlin... Rhine thought.
"You are good at philosophy and grammar. Your perspective is quite unique." Rhine was surprisingly quiet today, trying to look more mature. "It seems that I did not invite those teachers to teach you in vain."
Rhine looked away from the girl and looked at the snow-white clouds on the horizon.
The clouds are like gentle sheep, walking leisurely in the vast pasture called the blue sky, lazing in the sunshine.
He had been looking forward to this journey for a long time.
The world is big, very big. There are countless countries like the Rose Kingdom in the entire western part of the continent. What's more, if you keep going east, there is an even more beautiful and mysterious Far East.
As an immortal species with eternal lifespan, Rhine knew that he was destined to never stop in this tiny place.
If you repeatedly fulfill the same person's wish many times, the effect will be greatly reduced. Generally, a "Protagonist of Destiny" can only provide two significantly effective prayers.
Rhine knew that if he wanted to become a legendary magician matching the epic story, he must find more protagonists of destiny during his journey.
Suddenly, the silver-haired boy felt a burning desire burning beside him. He knew that this was Aurora's wish.
"Learn to become an outstanding warrior and an excellent king on the journey, defeat the black witch, and end the curse of the kingdom."
This is the heaviest and hottest wish that the magician of wishes and miracles has taken over since he came to this world.
The kingdom's former sage leads the future king, gradually drifting away.
Since "Sleeping Beauty" and "The Tinderbox". The next major story is "The Daughter of the Sea".
There are obviously more elements and characters involved, and it also involves the development of the world view and the preparation for subsequent stories, so the volume will be significantly larger. More like one big chapter. There are also characters that connect multiple stories.
(End of chapter)