Chapter 634 - v4c19 -The Holy Lance of Heaven(1) (1/2)
The Holy Lance of Heaven(1)
The world called him the Silver Storm.
One of the twelve leaders of the male mages of Deroura, his fame had spread across the land even before Aouine had been established, and his legend was even older than the bards’ songs.
All the kings of the world trembled before him, and even the four Holy Cathedrals would retreat in the face of this pale old man. He was the pinnacle of the Silver Mountains, before whose pride even the dragons bowed.
There was only one person who was capable of all this, and his name was William Pist.
The folk prints depicted that image of the Archmage. Frozen in those prints, he wore the silver-colored Robe of Skies with wavy edges, holding the ‘Draka’. The staff that symbolised ‘Ruler of the Skies’ in runic language, and the figure who had once read the Twelve Articles of the Buga to the monks in the Sacred Shrine of Lionheart, appeared in flesh and blood today before everyone.
Makarov, as well as everyone else, froze. The Emperor of the Kirrlutz was already considered of insurmountable status to the n.o.bles of Aouine. But William Pist was on another level; he was someone that only existed in storybooks, in legends.
In the Year of Chaos (1517), the Sanctuary of Light threatened the male mages so they would not partic.i.p.ate in the Holy War, and though Buga practiced isolationism anyway, the mortals’ threats sparked their anger. Three months later, in the midst of the War of the Moon of Flowing Fire, the Bugas returned the favor with three Floating Cities.
The result of that war was what the folk prints depicted, when the Silver Storm had swept through the White Book Cavalry, the highest fighting force of the sanctuary. He had killed his way into the Sacred Shrine of the Lionheart alone, read the Twelve Articles of the Buga to the Seventh Pope, and forced Farnezain to bow down and confess his sins.
That awe-inspiring battle remained in everyone’s hearts, to this day.
“I never thought it would be you who came. Master William.” Brendel got up and smiled weakly. It was as if he was the only one left in the room who could still speak. He joked, “What a surprise, I thought the Silver Candle had been monitoring the movements in the wilderness south of Madara, I didn’t think the male mages would be so idle.”
William paused and looked at him deeply. Then with a small smile, he said, “Little friend Brendel, it seems as if you know a great deal about what is going on in the skies above Vaunte. And here my mulish men still believe that mortals know little about them, they think they can keep that ridiculous mysteriousness of theirs alive.”
It was the Buga mages’ pride made them boast of being the overseers and controllers of the skies of Vaunte. The runic staff in William’s hand was the Draka, the staff of mystery, whose existence signified the authority to rule the skies; it was one of the most powerful authorities of the Silver League.
Mortals could not reach the skies, and so naturally, they would not offend these Silver Folks. The Dragons might be a bit vocal about this, but the naturally lazy race would not necessarily be spurred into action for a mere street.
Besides, the Silver Folks did not fear them.
“To the mortals, you are very mysterious indeed,” Brendel replied smilingly, “It’s just that I happen to know the world of mages quite well, I had heard long before that the Silver Candle would build a fortress south of Aouine for surveillance, it’s called Naioch right? Are you going to make a move on Madara?”
“You don’t have to beat around the bush to fish for information, you little imp. The Silver Folks don’t get involved in mortal wars. We’re spying on something else. Besides, surely those skeletons would not be able to stop you.” William was not actually angry at Brendel’s probing. Instead, he replied straightforwardly with a slight smile, “The reason I came this time was because you uncovered something remarkable.”
Speaking of the Azure Lance, Brendel quieted down as well. That’s a majestic thing. The Holy Lance of Heaven was indeed considered a piece of artifact that the Azure Knights used to shatter the very skies. Mortals, and even players, had always thought that it was just a legend, but who would have thought that it actually existed in the world.
But Brendel knew better than the others present that this leader of the Deroura Male Mages was not here because he was interested in the Azure Lance.
Indeed, William continued, “But I’m more interested in the reason for its appearance. The Mercury Staff……we’ll put that aside for now, and the reaction you caused. The fact that ancient artifacts have appeared on the earth piece by piece has drawn the attention of many.”
Brendel listened in silence, for he understood that a time of future turmoil was coming, beginning with the rise of Madara. Vaunte would be plunged into a time of prolonged warfare.
Everything that he had done at the Loop of Trade Winds was to prepare for the coming war. Many, including the princess’ followers, had been quite vocal about the compromise they had made to the king’s eldest son this time, but Brendel quite admired it.
Like him, the princess could see the violent clouds of war breaching the horizon.
If they only looked at the civil war at hand, Aouine would be completely toppled in the stormy turmoil that would follow. This was the lesson learnt from history, and Brendel certainly would repeat those mistakes.
“Hmm?” William seemed to sense what Brendel was thinking and asked, somewhat surprised, “Do you know something, little one?”
Brendel gave William a glance. This was his second meeting with the silver-robed Archmage leader, and in his past impressions, as the leader of the Deroura Mages, the Silver Storm was the very image of an NPC with immense authority. But seeing him in the flesh, William Pist gave an impression of an extremely kind elderly man.
Although they did not know each other, the Archmage had been of no small help to him. The last time he fought Anderla, as well as this time when he had won the war of Ampere Seale, it was also thanks to the help of Buni’s Concealment Cloak that the other party had given him.
Of course, Brendel knew it was because of William’s affection for his past friends and Aouine, but he had always been a man who returned the favor, and he wasn’t used to owing people. In the future the Bugas would be involved in that long war as well; the Slate War involved so many forces that even the Silver Folk would suffer from it. With that in mind, he raised his head and uttered a warning to William.,
“The Holy War is coming, and the land are destined to be caught in the clouds of war. In the meantime, I’m sure the mages of Buga have already observed the upcoming Great Demonic Wave. Master William, the rise and fall of the magic tides have influenced the history of Vaunte for thousands of years, and this time will be no exception. There will always be omens of chaos before the times of turmoil come. I believe history has already sounded that alarm to all of us.”
William had not cared when Brendel spoke of the Holy War of the mortals. Mortals and the Silver Folks were of two worlds, with the exception of that one arrogant provocator in the Year of Chaos. The Holy War between the Four Holy Cathedrals and the Holy Cathedral of Earth had never affected Buga. But when Brendel mentioned the Great Demonic Wave, the mage leader frowned.
“Brendel, do you think Vaunte will see a repeat of the War of the Holy Saints?” He turned back and asked solemnly. Brendel had also been upgraded from ‘little one’ to his real name, which meant that at this moment, the mage leader saw him as at least in some sense an equal to himself for discussion.