Chapter 237 (1/2)
A similar, gargantuan World Gate stood in the deep void of space, but this World Gate was much, much quieter..
As the Petrachelys materialised, there were no other accompanying spacecrafts. It did seem like the ones that were beside them had been transported into other universes. The MDT then set the ship on cruising speed. After that, it displayed the view at the back of the ship, which was captured through the ship’s rear sensors and cameras. Hao Ren saw a slightly smaller but no less magnificent structure behind him, and not too far away was the “Sovereignity Hub”. However, there was only one in this area. It seemed like this part of the universe was much… poorer and desolate compared to where he came from.
The ship’s public channel was still open and capable of receiving any transmissions within one light year away. But, the channel in this area barely received any signals at all; some came from the local navigational facilities while some were from ships passing-by. No one knew what civilisation they were in, but for sure, these signals had nothing to do with with the objective Hao Ren and his group had.
“This area here sure is… empty.” Hao Ren quipped as he looked towards the surrounding space. There were a star cluster that he had never seen before, and in the middle of space, he saw a faint, brown light. The top left corner of the screen displayed another group of star clusters, and as he focused on them, the system automatically reported that the cluster were at least a million light years away. Such was the scale of things in space.
The MDT was confirming the next navigation route as it heard the announcement. “The Macro World has a lot of desolate or unhabited areas. They were part of the rapid sphere of expansion a hundred thousand years ago. That time, there was a calamity in the void and many worlds simply turned to dust. Only regions protected by the three great pantheons, the Xiling, the Galacticus and the Xylon had survived the calamity. We were forewarned of the situation and had sent out legions of scouting drones to look for new worlds, and to bring them into the Macro World’s network. Most of these new universes are simply just registered, and left there. Most of them were not even developed until today. Of course, some parts of the galaxy simply had no value to them. With the void this vast, no one had the time to totally claim it.”
Hilda was engrossed looking at the stars outside the ship. The star map in the region were however foreign to her. “How long more to my home?”
“…Quite the distance I’m afraid. I’m still trying to plot our course.” The MDT sounded a little unsure. “What sort of place did your kind lived in? The navigation map sent by the Space Administration is rather straightforward, but when I scanned the area, there’s nothing along the path, just the empty space.”
Hilda took a deep sigh. “That’s right, an empty space. That’s where my homeland lies.”
The MDT did not respond and activated the hyper lightspeed engine. The area outside distorted again as the hyperspace bubble formed. Hao Ren knew that they could only wait now. The next time the ship appears in real space, they will probably be at the doorstep of Hilda’s homeworld. Vivian noticed the constant change of expressions on Hilda’s face. It was a mix of excitement, unease, yearning and fear. To pull her attention away, Vivian broke the silence. “Hilda, tell us about your home. You never did tell us much about it.”
There were some hesitation in Hilda’s eyes, but she at last nodded. “My story can be rather long… I’ll start from the origins of the Aerym Elves. Hopefully I can cover that in this journey…
As the Elven Queen narrated the story of her people, Hao Ren came to know of the tale of life and fate in a galaxy far far away.
Aerym, in Hilda’s mother tongue, meant ‘bountiful land and plants’, and a more literal translation would mean be akin to a garden.
When her ancestors named the planet, they named her so to sing praises to her bountiful grace.
The begining of the story was a time of peace, a time of bountiful harvest, a time of gentle suns, fertile lands, lush forests and flowing rivers. A time of the Aerym Elves.
Long ago, the Aerym Elves lived in the forest, congregating around the various lakes as they set up home. Their lives were full and joyous. They were a peaceful, united, and intelligent race, equipped with the drive to better themselves. They were the first to explore the posibilities of knowledge, created tools and words, while co-existing with nature. Through this peaceful existance, they found a path to advance their civilisation.
Aerym’s forests held a bounty of food, and energies flowed freely in the air. The basis of their world were very conducive for basic spellcasting. Under ther guidance of the ‘Spirit of the Stars’, a animistic religion, the elves built cities using magic and arcane technologies, and rapidly advanced their civilisation. Most importantly, this rapidly advancing race still held reverence towards nature as they climbed the steps towards the stars. This trait was not found in many other races. It seemed that the elves knew from birth that everything they have, were from the grace of nature, and they put much focus into conservation and recycling. A trait that they kept till today.