Chapter 153 The High King of the Shadow Empire
Rage is not enough to wash away the humiliation of Hajhorna at the hands of the High King.
"Mokou Town!"
He fled back to the tower in embarrassment, spitting out the name angrily, as if it was poison on his tongue.
The battle he thought he was sure of was actually lost, and he was defeated so completely that even he himself could not believe it.
This feeling was as if every spell I was proud of was countered by the enemy and bounced back, setting myself on fire.
And his opponent is just a small lord with low strength, he thought unwillingly.
In the life of Hajhorna.
Ever since he learned the first trick, he has never suffered such a humiliating defeat.
Recalling the ancient silver dragon from the Silver Moon Alliance, he felt that his IQ and strength were all being pressed to the ground and rubbed,
Of the nearly a hundred Yinhun mages, less than ten survived. This was the only survivor left on the entire battlefield.
What made him heartbroken the most was the investment of more than 200 constructed golems and more than 500 gargoyles.
These constructed creatures that were enough to crush Mokou Town not only failed to play any role, but were even used as trophies of victory by the enemy.
He could almost imagine that when he decided to attack Mokou Town again, the first thing he would encounter would definitely be this group of constructed golems.
Hajhorna suppressed the anger in his heart, straightened his appearance, and took out the emblem that symbolized his identity: a silver winged viper on a black background, and among the coils of the viper was a gray stone tower. .
The bursts of mist sprayed from the emblem made him realize that he must answer the call of the High King.
The moment he activated the spell of the emblem, a slightly shiny channel appeared in front of him.
Hajhorna walked into the magic passage without hesitation and appeared in a huge foyer.
This foyer may be somewhere in the floating city of Sultansa, perhaps in a corner of the shadow plane, or even in some distant and unknown plane.
At this moment, many ghost mages were standing around uneasily, waiting patiently.
While they waited for the High King to appear, they also looked at their fellow travelers with cautious interest.
Some people have not been seen since they trained together at the Arcane Academy.
Because Arcanists always like to hide their magical secrets to serve the power and honor of the Prince of Shadows who they are loyal to.
Status is everything, even in arcanist society.
Gleaming badges are worn in the most conspicuous places, while those less traditional wraith mages wear magical jewelry.
Hundreds of gems shimmered in the hall, and the colorful colors reflected on the outer skin of the magic black cloaks worn by all the mages.
Some mages also bring their own followers: shadow cats, shadow bats, construct beasts, and even imps from the Baator Hell and the abyss.
As the ghost mages entered the house of magic one after another, the hall soon became full of people, and the atmosphere became more silent and profound.
These hundreds of talented ghost mages are the core force of the floating city Sultansa. This powerful force is enough to destroy any kingdom and alliance on the mainland.
Hajhorna ignored this group of ghost mages, but chose to go straight to the 'Tu Table Hall' that only core personnel were eligible to enter.
This is the hall of High King Telamant Tansur. It is a wide circular room with walls made of obsidian and without any decoration.
There are four tall narrow windows in the hall, facing the empty starry sky in the southeast, northwest and west.
There is an oak table carved from a huge wooden board in the center of the hall, which is why the Picture Table Hall got its name.
This was the golden age of the ancient Netherese Empire, built by the order of the High King.
The ‘Map Table’ is over fifty feet long, about half its length at its widest point, and less than four feet at its narrowest point.
The alchemists of Netheril carved mountains and forest plains according to the shape of the territory during the Arcane Empire, and no part of the entire table was straight.
The desktop depicts the appearance of the desert of Ainook or the land of green. All the rivers and mountains, fortress cities, lakes and forests from the Arcane Empire period. The details are complete, and they are filled with the accumulation of dozens of centuries. Magic aura.
This is the most precious item of High King Telamant Tanshur, because he has always dreamed of restoring the desert of Haenorok to the scene before him.
Hajhorna scoffed at this.
In his opinion, the city lord has still not been able to get out of the shadow of the golden age of the Arcane Empire.
There is only one table and chair in the entire hall, which has been carefully designed to correspond to a palm-sized model of Haunted City suspended in mid-air, allowing the table to be fully visible.
"Hey! Isn't this Hajhorna, the Hand of the Supreme King?" Hajhorna just stepped into the hall, and a strange voice came into his ears.
The great prince Revaran Tansur.
Even if Hajhorna didn't check deliberately, he knew who the other party was.
He is the highest priest and spokesperson of the Lost Lady Shar in the City of Shade. If High King Telamant is the leader of the arcane masters, then this great prince is the spiritual leader.
The prince presides over the affairs of the Lost Temple and preaches Shar's will to his followers.
It was the prophecy of Prince Revalan that allowed the High King to finally guide the City of Shadows back to the main material world.
Here, the Lost Lady hopes that the power of the City of Shades can overturn the long-standing balance between her and the Moon Goddess Selun.
At the same time, Revalan is also Hajhorna's biggest competitor, just because he is the spokesperson of the High King, nothing more.
This made him have to be cautious at all times. After all, Prince Revalan's enemies all had a bad habit: they liked to disappear.
The ghost prince Revalan wears a luxurious priest's robe, has dark skin, and still looks very young. Every move he makes has the aura of a majestic superior.
On the sagging of his priest's robe is embroidered the emblem of the Lost Lady Shar: a purple outer ring and a black disk.
Under the disc, an additional pair of curved dark purple goat horns are added.
The distance between Hajhorna and Revalan is less than five steps.
For a powerful spellcaster, at this distance, they have countless ways to easily kill the enemy.
If we simply compare the two sides' magical attainments, there is no doubt that Hajhorna's strength is not as good as any of the twelve ghost princes.
Especially the spokesperson of the Lost Lady, as the supreme high priest, Prince Revalan, can backhand his mortal enemy to disappear from this world forever.
However, Hajhorna never felt any fear, because he knew it in his heart, and Prince Revalan also knew it well.
If he dies or disappears here, what awaits Prince Revalan will not be benefits, but trouble.
Just thinking about the possible reaction of High King Telamante after he noticed this was enough to make Prince Revalan dare not act rashly.
"It's really him, I almost didn't recognize him." The speaker was a young warrior wearing dark black armor. His appearance was as sharp as a sharp knife, and his dark eyes were always cold.
"I witnessed with my own eyes that he was chased and beaten by an ancient silver dragon. The embarrassment he looked in was simply indescribable." The young warrior said sarcastically without mercy.
For a moment, the princes in the hall couldn't help laughing.
Hajhorna unconsciously clenched his fists and then slowly loosened them, his inner hatred for Mokou Town aggravated again.
Yada Tansur.
The second prince of Shadow City, he is the right-hand man of the eldest prince Revalan. He has no arcane talent. As a powerful warrior, he started as a soldier in the army of Shadow City. After obtaining the position of captain, he became Sha Your dark guardian.
The current second prince Yada is dedicated to his divine cause and is the supreme commander of the Dark Knights and Black Guards in the Lost Temple.
His personal mark is a silver giant sword on a black background. The round end of the hilt is the emblem of the lost goddess Shar.
The forces in Ghost City can be roughly divided into three groups.
The most powerful force is undoubtedly the Prince of Shadows, headed by High King Telamante, who are committed to restoring the glory of the Arcane Empire.
Then came the princes, headed by the First Prince and the Second Prince, who served the Lost Lady's priests and Blackguards, fighting against the Moon Goddess Selun and the Magic Goddess Mystra.
Finally, there are neutrals like Desud, who remain silent and rarely express their opinions.
Although Hajhorna is the spokesperson of the High King, he has never thought about restoring the glory of the Arcane Empire. He only lives for himself.
He grimaced angrily, looked at the two of them coldly, and remained silent.
“I think what we should be most concerned about right now is the real reason for the failure of Hajhorna, so that we can prepare for it in advance.”
The neutral ghost prince Desude said: "After all, the Kingdom of Cormyr is the richest kingdom among our targets, and it is also the kingdom with the greatest threat."
After listening to Desude's words, Hajie There was an unreasonable anger in Horner's heart. If he hadn't ignored it, he wouldn't have ended up in such an embarrassing situation.
Now, this old guy, who is pretending to be serious, is still helping him out and preaching in a condescending manner, which is simply hypocritical to the extreme.
Indeed, he is not only hypocritical, but also callous, the Hand of the High King thought angrily.
His hypocritical emotions make people think that his goal in life is just to resurrect his dead wife, but he is so cold-blooded that his two daughters want to kill him.
"Yes, I think so too." An elegant gentleman wearing a black cloak added.
On his left chest, there is a unique pattern composed of three mountain peaks and a moon-like silver ball embroidered with gold and silver threads. Anyone who sees it will be deeply impressed.
The skin of this ghost prince is dark brown, he looks quite young, but his eyes are wise and he looks like a scholar.
He waved his cane to disperse the two ultra-small constructs suspended in mid-air, playfully blocking his sight, and said unhurriedly:
" I witnessed the entire battle in the tower. The High King's defeat was not worthy of sympathy at all. Through this battle, I observed his dark character, conceited, arrogant, and arrogant, and even the identity of his opponent. No one has studied it carefully. Such a stupid person deserves to be defeated. It is a shame for the Arcane Empire. It is just a pity for those soldiers who died due to command errors."
As soon as the words fell, all the princes unanimously chose silence, without even a few words of conversation.
In the spacious hall, even the air seemed to be solid, so still that it was suffocating.
Brennas Tanshur.
The youngest prince in Ghost City, he is also the prince with the highest arcane talent, and he is also the most favored little prince by the Supreme King.
As a child, Brennus was discovered to be an arcane genius of exceptional intelligence.
He has been tutored by the best arcane tutor in the city.
Although Breenas quickly fulfilled the family's expectations of him in the arcane arts, his arcane mentor discovered that he had a greater talent for history.
Under the instructions of the High King, his arcane mentors focused the prince's education on the history and legends of the arcane empire, and Breenas grew rapidly in this regard.
Now he has become the City of Shade's leading expert on Netheril's past.
It was he who discovered another floating city in the Sea of Fallen Stars, and sent an expedition team to dig out the wealth and knowledge left there, salvage it, and fly into the sky again.
Prince Brenas also claimed that there is a mysterious power from the creator race hidden in the Aino Oak Desert. As long as you master this power, you can complete your ambition to revive the Arcane Empire. In Hajhorna's impression, the prince always seemed very gentlemanly and in line with etiquette when in contact with other people.
However, when facing him today, he did not leave even a trace of mercy, unceremoniously exposed his sore spots, and made him lose face in front of all the princes.
While he was angry, his heart also felt slightly cold.
On the surface, he is the spokesperson of the Supreme King, known as the 'Hand of the Supreme King'.
But the person who had the most contact with the High King was actually Prince Brenas. From his attitude towards himself, it can be seen that the High King was already very dissatisfied with him.
At this moment, extremely loud, monotonous, and regular footsteps approached from far away, breaking the silence.
High King Telamant Tanshur walked out of nothingness and stood in the center of the hall.
As usual.
He wears ancient and traditional black armor that symbolizes the dominance of the Netheril Empire, paired with a dragon-winged cloak, fixed-style gauntlets, and dark purple robes.
His personal mark is a lion-like creature with dragon- or bat-like wings depicted in black outline on a blood-red background.
It is said that the High King possesses more magical equipment and weapons than most Shade Princes will ever see in their lifetimes.
Although two wands hung conspicuously on his belt, no one suspected that he had more weapons hidden on his person.
However, the High King's most deadly weapon is his graceful and slender hands, which can outline death magic with great dexterity, and his brilliant mind, which has allowed him to reach the pinnacle of arcane magic.
In the entire City of Shadows, only the Supreme King has the authority to convene such a gathering.
Known as the High King, the Netherese arcanist is one of the most powerful spellcasters in the material world today.
Thousands of years ago, he was once known as Shador. As one of the survivors of Netheril, he ruled the city of Shade with absolute authority.
Already more than two thousand years old, Telamant uses powerful spells, such as wishes, to continue his life.
However, since he was no longer human and became an alien creature, this method became simpler.
Although the natural life limit of a ghost is many times that of an ordinary person, Telamant was disgusted to find that his alien body was no longer suitable and needed more powerful methods to continue to maintain it. his life.
He hadn't yet decided which method was best, but the return of Haunted City to the material world offered a host of possibilities, including transformation into the undead.
Telamante went to great lengths to preserve what he considered the best elements of Netherese society and fuse them with the traits necessary for survival in the Shadow Plane to form A magical society full of lawfulness and strict control.
Here even the most mundane problems in daily life have to go through layers of procedures before they can be implemented. In this form, class has always been preserved.
More importantly, the continuity of the ancient Netherese civilization was preserved as the centuries passed.
As the proverbial final arbiter of the City of Shade, Telamant is in many ways the city itself. His subjects see him as the living embodiment of their customs, beliefs, and values, and that is what Telamant is. view of oneself.
Those who met the High King agreed that he was a man who had a thousand ways to hide his true thoughts and feelings.
Telamante is as hard to understand as he is to be deceived, and even his son rarely knows what is going on beneath his father's unfathomable mask-like, ice-like calmness.
Although Telemante looks cold and expressionless on the outside, he is always active on the inside. In his heart, he is a complete dictator.
His determination to lead the city stems from the powerful belief that no one else will be as successful as he is.
Despite his advanced age, Telamante remains tall and energetic.
Whether seated on his floating throne or presiding over a ceremony in the city streets, his image is unforgettable.
“For the entire continent, our appearance is not traditional, and we are even regarded as a public enemy.”
High King Telamant’s voice was as soft as a spider, so that everyone had to Listen quietly, "The people of the Arcane Empire never care about other people's opinions and opinions, because we just want to get back what belongs to us."
Hajhorna noticed that the High King A glance at him made him feel frightened. He fully understood that his failure had caused him dissatisfaction.
“The Lost Lady’s oracle has been delivered.”
He glanced at the eldest prince Revalan and continued to say in a soft voice, "Most spellcasters believe that the source of their magic is due to the magic network, which seems to be a matter of course."
He paused for a moment and raised his eyebrows slightly, possibly to strengthen the irony in his words, "However, the source of our spellcasting is the Lost Lady's Shadow Demonic Network. If necessary, the Shadow Demonic Network can also replace the Magic Network. ”
The whispers of excitement and fear echoed in the secret hall of the floating city.
The High King raised one hand, a simple command gesture, and the Prince of Shadows and Hadjhorna all fell silent.
"If necessary."
He repeated resolutely, "The Shadow Demonic Network will completely replace the Demonic Network. Our task is to wait and observe, and finally cooperate with the Lost Lady to complete this plan."
After the High King finished speaking, he looked at the big man Prince Revalan.
"Reporting to the High King, I have successfully penetrated my power into the Sambia royal family." The eldest prince responded to his father and said respectfully, "When the time comes, our army will be able to Completely conquer Sambia."
The Supreme King nodded slightly, looked at Hajhorna, and smiled, "The location of the ceremony has been selected, located in the swamp where Cormyr and Sambia meet: Guangze. The Lost Lady is the goddess who guards secrets. She doesn’t want anyone to know or interfere with her plan. You should know what to do, my Hand of the Supreme King.”
See this familiar smile. , Hajhorna looked startled and broke into a cold sweat. He quickly promised: "Don't worry, the Supreme King, I will take down the Kingdom of Cormyr as quickly as possible!"
After saying that, he glanced at the calm Desude subconsciously.
"That's not necessary." A faint smile appeared on the lips of High King Telamante.
“I said, our task is to wait and observe. The accident in Mokou Town was self-defeating, and people from the Dragon Worship Cult also participated. What is even more gratifying is that the Zhentarim Society also Because of this accident, we focused on the Valley and Comanso, which undoubtedly created opportunities for us."
"I understand, wait patiently and observe," Hajhorna secretly relaxed. Take a breath.
"Just understand." The High King nodded slightly, and then his expression suddenly became serious, "Then, you and Desude will be responsible for the matter regarding the Felin Demon Kui for the time being."
Felin magic sunflower!
As soon as these words came out, the ghost princes all looked shocked.
Obviously, they did not know the news about the birth of the Felin Demon Sunflower.
"Don't worry, High King, I will do my best to find out the true purpose of Felin Demon Kui." Hearing this, Hajhorna was so frightened that he almost collapsed on the ground.
He thought he could perfectly conceal his encounter with the Felin Demon Kui, but who would have thought that the High King would still know about it.
He saw that the High King's eyes turned to the ghost prince Desude again.
"I'm very sorry, Supreme King." Desude looked at his father, who had no blood relationship with him for a long time. He hesitated for a moment and said slowly:
"I met The arcane bottleneck, so I don’t want to be involved in any incident. Of course, I will hand over all my power as a punishment for staying out of trouble.”
The revelation of the High King frightened Hajerhorna. chuckled, "Do you know what this means?"
"Of course I know, but I don't regret my choice." Desude met the High King's gaze and said firmly .
As soon as these words came out, everyone fell silent.
After a long silence.
The High King sighed softly and said to Desude, "So, you have already been to the Dire Forest. In this case, I respect you. The choice you made, my child.”
When everyone mentioned the taboo place name of ‘Ferocious Forest’, everyone showed uncontrollable surprise and shock.
Because it is the place where Karsus, a great great arcanist, fell during the Netherese period.
As a mortal, Karthus was the Grand Arcanist of the Psychic School. He created Karthus' Apotheosis, a 12th-level spell that permanently changed the workings of magic.
This incredible spell is the only 12th-level spell ever created.
It is designed to temporarily steal the power of a god and make the caster temporarily a god.
When Karthus unleashed his spell, he foolishly chose Mythrael, the goddess of magic, as his prey.
In ambitious minds, knowledge always trumps wisdom, and Karthus is no exception.
After the Grand Arcanist unleashed his spell, his body was swollen with a sudden influx of divine power, and his mind was filled with unimaginable knowledge.
Karthus immediately realized what a terrible thing he had done.
However, he also knew that no matter what he did, he could not stop this fate.
The divinity that the Grand Arcanist stole from the goddess was the very priesthood of the Weave that needed her constant repair—Netheril and its misuse of magic constantly threatened to dismantle the Weave.
When Mysriel lost her ability to keep the Ley Line intact, Karthus was unable to take her place.
The Leyline began to fall into violent turmoil, and Netheril and beyond was flooded by a primal magical flood, rising and falling with greater power and devastation than ever before.
Mysriel sacrificed herself to save the Weave before the damage became irreversible.
This self-sacrifice temporarily halted the interaction of the ley line, causing all magic to cease functioning for several minutes.
Without the stable injection of magic power, the floating city of Netheril suddenly fell to the ground.
Karthus was killed instantly when Mythril sacrificed herself, as her actions severed the magic that bound him to her.
After Karthus died, his body filled with divine power immediately turned into a red-hued stone, and the instant god also fell from the top of his floating city to the earth.
When his body fell, the divine vision he was temporarily given replayed over and over again in his mind the scene of the city of Netheril falling into the earth and shattering into pieces.
His heart was broken as he realized that his greed for the power of the gods had single-handedly caused the destruction of his home, his family, his friends, and his people.
Even after his death, his heart still bled.
Due to the magic of the Dire Forest, Karthus was trapped in an eternity of torment, reliving over and over again the moment he finally realized his folly.
Therefore, he was named the God of Transience.
The sect that worships Karthus, the ephemeral god, declares:
The destruction of Netheril was the result of the angry gods punishing the stupidity and arrogance of the human race. Karthus destroyed Netheril in his hubris, but the specific act that caused Netheril's destruction transformed the Grand Arcanist into a being that coexisted with humanity and divinity. Karthus, they firmly believed, would lead the human race into a new era of magic built on the ashes of the old.
As a result, Karsus' followers performed endless rituals to awaken their god.
It is said that their rituals were inspired by 'dreams' of the cult's leaders, similar to those that led the Netherese to Karthus' mortal form.
However, so far, no one has been able to truly awaken Karsus.
Desude bowed slightly to the High King and said nothing.
"As the top person in charge of the Spiral Tribunal, I hope that you will complete the unsolved case before leaving." The High King said to the ghost prince Desude.
"I will carry it out, High King." Desude secretly breathed a sigh of relief and bowed again.
(End of this chapter)