Chapter 132 "Arcanist" Brian (middle)
The world is white, not the wet, thick and cold snow of the North, but floating in an endless network woven by smooth silk threads blue mist.
These dark blue silk threads are large and small, winding and trembling. They are trembling endlessly. There is nothing but white and blue, no sky, no horizon, no castle, and no trees.
Brian looked up at the mysterious lady in the blue and white flames.
He saw the dark blue silk threads reflecting the white void, and the void seemed to be reflecting the threads, a blur that made the blue and white flames merge together.
The goddess of magic looked down at him with a smile in the void, and the void intertwined with blue threads seemed to be looking down at him.
Brian and the goddess looked at each other.
Her eyes were shining with gold, and all he felt was awe, but he did not flinch, nor did he say a word.
Mystra, the goddess of magic, is the goddess who manages the magic network.
It is said that she taught the first spellcasters in the Realms and enabled many races to use magic.
Presumably, she weighs and judges every new spell or magic item to decide whether to allow it into the Realms.
She is most revered by wizards and those who use magic or magic items on a daily basis.
The difference between her and Azuth is that Azuth is the god of mages - and to some extent all spellcasters - while Mystra is the essential force that makes all spellcasting possible goddess.
She supplies and manages the Weave, a conduit that allows mortal spellcasters and magical craftsmen to safely access the raw power of magic.
The goddess Mystra creates and oversees the Magical Network - in fact she is the embodiment of the Magical Network.
The existence of the Magical Network allows mortal spellcasters and magic item makers to safely use raw magical energy.
Mystra also controls all things related to magic, making her one of the most powerful beings in the world of Toril.
The goddess of magic in front of her is the third priest in history to hold the title of Mystical Lady and Mother of Magic since the rise of Netheril.
The first is Mythriel. Because the arrogant Grand Arcanist Karthus of Netherese tried to replace the goddess and caused serious damage, Mythriel sacrificed herself to save the magic network. .
The second mysterious lady established a large number of chosen people, including Elminster, Kelburn and the Seven Sisters.
In the Year of Turbulence, when she was trying to return to her kingdom of God, she died at the hands of the patron saint Heim who guarded the ladder.
When the crisis of the gods falling into the mortal world was over, a mortal wizard named Midnight inherited the name of Mystra and became the new goddess of magic.
Similar to Cyric, the god of murder, and Kranvor, the god of death, this new goddess also spent a lot of time adapting to her new identity.
It is said that since she took office ten years ago, she has been fighting openly and secretly with her old enemy Cyric. For a period of time, she even blocked part of the magic network to prevent Cyric and certain mortals from using magic. .
However, after almost being boycotted by the gods, she seems to have understood her role as a maintainer of balance and a neutral arbiter of the magical network.
Next comes the Year of the Blue Flame.
Cyric, the God of Murder, with the help and abetment of Shar, the Lady of the Night, sneaked into the Goddess of Magic’s Spell Heart to murder her, causing an unprecedented catastrophe: the Arcane Catastrophe!
Even though a hundred years have passed since the 'Arcane Catastrophe', the learned sages of later generations still regarded the destruction of the Magic Network in the Year of Blue Flame as the end of the old world and the beginning of the terrifying new world. sign.
Seeing the sudden appearance of the goddess of magic, Brian had already made a guess in his mind.
Obviously, she was attracted by her arcane fire and arcanist profession.
This is understandable.
After all, the main material of his arcane fire, in addition to the mysterious blue flame that represents the essence of magic, is also separated from the magic web, one by one, the white silk threads 'Strings of the Magic Network' that represent the number of each ring.
Seriously speaking, his behavior is no different from that of a thief.
Fortunately, the goddess of magic generally ignores this behavior of wizards as long as it does not harm the original power of the magic network.
The will of the Demonic Network usually only gives certain punishments and warnings symbolically.
This is like stealing something under the surveillance of the owner of the room. Although the owner will discover it through the surveillance afterwards, the other party will never hold you accountable.
However, this time, Brian not only committed a crime under surveillance, but also bumped into the owner of the room head-on.
In this situation, he was as embarrassed as he wanted to be.
If it hadn't been for his long-term training that allowed him to maintain a calm and calm expression at all times, I would have long been tempted to find a crack in the ground and crawl into it.
Otherwise, he would not have pretended to be calm and looked at the goddess of magic without knowing how to speak.
As for whether the goddess of magic would confiscate his arcane fire because of this, he was not worried at all.
Although the last goddess herself belongs to the good camp, she also understands that as the God of Magic, she must try her best to maintain the balance of the entire world of Toril.
Therefore, although she extremely hates spells and magic items that are contrary to her philosophical ideas, she will not stop these spells and magic unless they directly threaten the magic network and magic itself. Development and manufacturing of items.
This is just like when Karsus, the great arcanist of the Netheril era, was researching and performing the twelve-ring magic that led to the destruction of the empire, the first goddess of magic Mythriel not only did not stop it, but I am also curious to know what effect this magic will have.
As you can imagine, Misril ate the melon and got it on herself. From then on, the rules of the magic network were completely changed.
Besides, his arcane fire is not something evil.
So, this is also the first time he has met the goddess of magic on such an occasion in this life, which is a bit intriguing. Mysterious The lady said quietly, her voice was like singing, and her eyes were mysterious and unpredictable,
"A long time?" Brian looked at her doubtfully, "When does the so-called long time refer to specifically?"
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"The ancient evil thing that destroys the world, the Death Star." She smiled slightly, raised a tender and translucent jade hand, and suddenly a ball of flame appeared out of thin air, emitting a blue-white light.
Looking at the familiar flames, Brian was shocked, and suddenly found that the arcane fire that had been fused with his soul had just disappeared, and was quietly stripped away by the goddess of magic with a raised hand.
He forced himself to remain calm, recalling what she had just said.
The other party said that he had noticed him since the ancient evil Death Star.
At this point in time, he must have been reborn in the small world, and combined with the will of the plane to perform a powerful magic ritual to temporarily divert the attention of the ancient evil that threatened the small world, and delay time to save the world.
At that time, as the threat of ancient evil things temporarily disappeared, this small world that was originally not connected to the magic network was sensed by the will of the magic network, so that the wizards in this world could learn and master the simplest zero-ring tricks. .
"This flame carries the power of the magic network. If it is not used carefully, it will definitely lead to a big mistake." The blue-white flame shined in the palm of the mysterious lady. She looked at Brian, "If a mortal has the right Power is a very pleasant thing, if you have too much power."
"Let's put it this way." Brian mustered up his courage, interrupted her words, and looked at her challengingly, " Are you afraid?"
He didn't think that the other party would be afraid of something trivial.
“So, may I ask, what is too much power?”
He continued to ask, "Or does mastering powerful magic mean evil? After all, with powerful power, it is easy to condone the evil of mortals."
"No." The mysterious lady said to him in a soft voice : "I just hope that before you master this power, you must carefully consider its true use. Let me ask you, is a sword evil?"
"No." Brian was stunned for a moment. , replied: "Because the sword itself cannot think."
"Yes, although the sword is not evil, it can be used by evil people, and the same is true for this flame."
Bu Ryan frowned, feeling unhappy in his heart.
The mysterious lady looked at him and continued, "If I gave this flame with the original power of the magic network to some other kind-hearted wizards, would you have any objections?"
Hearing this Brian suddenly felt very angry. This was undoubtedly stealing his own research results.
The aloof magic goddess in front of her seemed to treat him as a fool and a toy. She could kill him with a wave of her hand, but here she was toying with him like this.
"Madam, please forgive me." He took a deep breath and said calmly:
"What you are doing is undoubtedly stealing other people's research results. If you insist on Choosing to do this will undoubtedly push a spellcaster who pursues arcane truth into the abyss of evil."
He knew that as a good-aligned goddess who was also in charge of the magic network, she would never be so lowly as to steal something from a mortal spellcaster.
In other words, there must be a deeper reason for this, perhaps simply to test him.
“For a young man, your words are sane and calm.” The mysterious lady said softly, “Most young people and most spell casters think that they are naturally smart and capable of anything. "
"Madam, you should know that I am a spell caster from another world."
Brian's expression softened slightly, "Wandering in a place threatened by ancient evil things. world, I need to use the power of arcane magic to save the harm caused by ancient evil things to the world.”
"What if magic can't save your world?" the mysterious lady asked softly.
"If I can't fight against fate, then I can only try my best to be an explorer in pursuit of arcane truth." Brian answered truthfully.
"Then will you make yourself the master of the world?" The mysterious lady looked at Brian with interest.
"I shouldn't be considered a good ruler."
Brian thought seriously for a moment and shook his head slightly, "Because I can't have so much energy to distract myself. If I can meet someone who is truly suitable to rule the world, I will stand firmly behind the scenes and provide guidance and advice to build the ideal magic kingdom. I think this is what a spellcaster should do."
After hearing this, the lady smiled sweetly, and her whole body radiated a dazzling light.
Brian felt a sudden surge of infinite power in the air, surrounding him with a buzzing sound, causing his hair to fly in the wind, and a slight numbing electric feeling to pass through his skin.
Mystra, the goddess of magic, waved her hand gently, letting Brian's arcane fire float in the air.
She walked up to him leisurely, "Brian, will you get down on your knees and swear to surrender to my method?"
The words of the mysterious lady made Brian feel like Being hit hard and at such a close distance allowed him to clearly see how beautiful and dangerous she was.
Her eyes and hair sparkled with magic.
He was so suppressed by this force that his whole body trembled, his legs trembled, and he couldn't help but want to kneel on the ground. Brian gritted his teeth, stood up straight with difficulty and effort, met the mysterious lady's shining golden eyes, forcibly suppressed the awe in his heart, and mustered up the courage to say: "I don't want to."
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The mysterious lady was slightly startled, with a hint of dissatisfaction in her words, "Do you want to disobey my will?"
"Yes!" Brian nodded firmly and said to her:< br>
"There are two things in the world that can shock a person's heart: one is the lofty moral standards in the heart, and the other is the brilliant starry sky above his head. Everyone wants to reach out to the night sky to catch the stars that belong to them, but But very few people know exactly where their stars are.”
In fact, he knows what this means, but he also knows one sentence very well: all gifts given by fate are in the sky. The price has been marked secretly.
In the torrent of history, the goddess of magic has many voters, the most famous of which include Elminster, Kelburn and the Seven Sisters.
But none of these voters met a happy end.
The human archmage Elminster, known as the greatest mage among mortals, was burdened with a heavy burden the moment he became the chosen one of the goddess of magic.
This archmage not only has the responsibility of taking care of three of the seven children left by the goddess of magic in the material world and letting them reach adulthood, he also needs to travel around the mainland to solve countless problems caused by the distortion of the magic network. disaster.
Finally, in the battle for the magic net with the Night Goddess Shar, they were jointly besieged by five ghost princes.
In this battle, Elminster's mage tower was reduced to a pile of ruins. He himself was seriously injured and escaped into the Baator Hell. He was controlled by a powerful devil king and carried out fancy tricks. Torture, just to get the secret of Silver Fire.
Khelben Blackstaff Orosan, the masked lord of Waterdeep, under the instruction of the Goddess of Magic, tried to rebuild the City of Hope on the High Wilderness, and ultimately sacrificed his life.
The seven sisters of the North, the biological daughters of the goddess of magic, are no exception.
The eldest sister Shiron died protecting the Valley of Shadows from the red dragon.
Alustriel, the former Lord of Silvermoon City, gave his life to prevent the ascension ceremony of Larok, the elder of Netheril, a lich who had lived for thousands of years.
Northland Ranger Dove Hawkhand, when the magic network was torn apart by Shar followers, he was on his way to Shadow Valley for support, and died together with a ghost prince in Shade City.
Kuilu, the smallest drow elf, followed the dark girl Eilistraee during the Battle of the Spider Queen.
After such a simple analysis, it can be seen that while the chosen ones of the Magic Goddess gain powerful power, they also accept a heavy responsibility.
At best, they are called the chosen ones, the spokesperson of the goddess of magic in the material world. At worst, they are the goddess's servants who are always at your call.
So, this is not what Brian wants.
Think rationally.
If he really becomes the chosen one of the Goddess of Magic, he believes that he will definitely become the focus of the City of Shadows and try every means to nip him in the bud.
He has no time to develop at all, and his freedom will be restricted by the countless annoyances brought about by this heavy responsibility.
To say the least, none of the above conditions pose any problems to him.
But he knew that the goddess of magic also had a special hobby when testing whether a person would become a voter.
Women have no influence at all. If you are a man, you must transform into a woman during the test and observe the world and understand everything from a woman's perspective.
In other words, even if he agrees, he will not gain powerful power immediately.
This is naturally impossible for him, because he simply does not have time to do these tedious things.
"So, you know where your own star is." The mysterious lady's words were full of curiosity.
"That's right." Brian nodded again and said in a more firm tone, "My goal is to explore the truth of arcana and the eternity of eternity."
"That's who I am. The sect of all laws, the only arcana in the field of magic." The mysterious lady snorted displeasedly and continued to ask, "Then, what is your inaudible eternity?"
"Excuse me. I'm offended, madam."
Brian took a deep breath and met the deep eyes of the towering goddess of magic.
He knew that what he said next might offend the goddess, but he couldn't help but want to say it.
“I admit that mortal life is very short and knowledge is very limited. It is obviously impossible to use such limited knowledge to exhaust the eternal mysteries. After all, there are still many unknown things in the world. "A lot." He sighed and said with empathy: "The torrent of history runs through hundreds of years, and a person's short life is only a few hasty summers and a few tiny winters. We mortals look up to the mountains. , they are called eternal, because they seem to be like this.
However, in the long river of time, the world changes, mountains rise and fall, rivers change their paths, stars fall from the sky, and great cities disappear. Wang Yang, even the gods will change life and death.
How can you be so confident in claiming that you are the sect of all magic, the only arcane in the magic field?"
In fact, in his opinion, smart people who understand this truth are sometimes more crazy than ignorant people.
They will take risks at all costs just like him in order to break through their small self in the limited time and space.
After all, the world is changing, and in the long river of time, no one can see where they come from and where they are going.
Even though Brian knows a lot about the multiverse, he still needs to explore in an attempt to understand the nature of everything.
In this case, he may not be able to fully see through it until he dies.
This was the real reason why he chose Arcanist in the first place.
After all, a person is very small in both time and space.
In the long history and the starry sky of the universe, a legend of destiny and even the gods seem insignificant.
So, if you want to understand the multiverse, you must have enough knowledge, so much that you can't learn it all in your lifetime.
So, his pursuit of the mystery of the universe is not for the pursuit of so-called eternity.
To use Eastern terminology, it means: jumping out of the Three Realms, not in the Five Elements!
After a long silence, the goddess of magic Mystra sighed softly, "As expected of a descendant of Netheril, your tone of voice is so similar to the great arcanists of the past"
"Please forgive me, madam."
Brian looked at her apologetically, "After all, there are too many unknown things in the world. Facing nature and the long history of time, in fact, we There is no difference between mortals and ants, they are all equally insignificant. I don’t want to let myself be addicted to the past, that’s all. This is the truth of my exploration of arcana.”
After saying these words, He suddenly felt that his goal had become much more determined.
"Madam, I regret my disrespect to you."
Brian looked at her steadily and bowed, "I swear in the name of arcana, I will still respect you as before. I'm afraid of you, I'm afraid of you and I love you."
Mystra, the goddess of magic, looked at him for a moment, and couldn't help but smile, with bright eyes, "I haven't seen someone as interesting as you for many years."
However, her face soon became solemn again, her eyes were clear, and she said in a low voice:
“If you love magic itself, don’t just regard it as something that can be transformed at will. Weapons of the world. Remember that magic is more than just a technique, so that true wisdom can be revealed.
Remember, the more powerful you are, the less you use magic, because the final manifestation of magic is often very different from the expectations and hopes placed on it.
Magic is an art, a gift from the goddess to mortals, and those lucky enough to possess it enjoy the highest privileges.
Remember the above teachings, you should be modest and prudent in dealing with others, and avoid arrogance. Use this art wisely and effectively, never recklessly. Always pursue learning and creating new magic. ”
Brian felt himself being lightly touched by the goddess of magic.
Then immediately, tens of thousands of flames burned around him, lightning and thunder thundered, violently. Hitting his heart.
He felt as if he had fallen into Baator Hell. He subconsciously wanted to scream, but it was stuck in his throat and he couldn't.
He seemed to be thrown into the bottomless abyss by a powerful force, and fell hard to the ground, his whole body covered with pain.
The darkness invaded again in an instant, and Brian couldn't help but bump into it, as if he wanted to break out of this endless illusion. However, the darkness was so hard, like a copper wall.
He couldn't bear it anymore, and his consciousness gradually became blurred.
Finally, everything went dark and I fainted completely
Gradually, the surrounding area cooled down, and Brian slowly woke up.
He subconsciously looked around to see if the fierce flames were still burning, but found that his consciousness had already returned to his body and he was in the study.
Although it was quiet and dark all around, he felt that magic power was still vaguely surging in the air. Although it was invisible and intangible, the power kept spreading.
"I wish you always have a kind and humble heart. If you have the opportunity, please go to Shadow Valley to find a bard named Storm Silverhand."
Trance , Brian heard whispers coming from around him.
Just when he was confused, the clear and sweet system prompt echoed in his heart:
"Advanced to "Arcanist" successfully! ”
“The Arcanist profession has been upgraded to level 1! ”
“Acquire professional features: extraordinary arcana, spell mystery, and spell master! "
"The sixth level of Arcane Fire's magic network has been opened! ”
"The arcane imprisonment has been lifted!"
"Successfully contacted the deep magic network structure!"
"Successfully connected to the magic network in the arcane circuit!"
"The magic network Feature copy successful! ”
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I would like to ask if book friends don’t like reading this kind of brain-burning chapter. If so, I will try to avoid it in the future, mainly because it gives me a headache to write it.
(End of this chapter)