Chapter 542 393 Kislev Nesting Dolls (Optional)
"I'm a little curious now... Can you answer my confusion?" Darkus, who broke away from his thoughts, looked at William III sitting opposite and asked.
"Of course, my friend, if only I knew."
"Do you or the Sigmar sect know that the world we live in is round? We live on the same planet." After William III agreed, Darkus asked a very interesting and fulfilling question. In his stereotype, this kind of religious group similar to the state religion does not welcome science, technology, celestial bodies, astrology, etc., just like someone who was burned at the stake, like the male thieves and female prostitutes in some novels, except for the saints Everyone else has problems with the Church of Light.
"My friend, you have been to Altdorf University, but due to the unfortunate experience of Altdorf University, you may not have been able to investigate clearly. You must know that there are many scholars there, some of whom are engaged in astronomical research. Altdorf has always been an open city. , Tolerant city, was it before, is it now, maybe will it be in the future? As for the Church of Sigmar, there are some things that it is not convenient for me to comment on as a high priest.
As you know, those scholars are all believers of the goddess of wisdom. Usually witch hunters will not do anything. At most, they will conduct surveillance or secret investigations, unless a scholar really has a problem. You know what the problem I am referring to. . "
William III was speechless and touched his forehead with his left hand to prevent him and Darkus from looking at each other. In his opinion, what Darkus asked was too...but he could understand it. Because he encountered this kind of thing more than once. He also encountered similar problems with nobles, villagers, Sigma believers, and even his colleagues. The problems were similar, but they had a certain direction. He knew the words of Darkus. He had a hidden meaning, and after a moment he said with a wry smile.
"I like to deal with smart people, wise men!" Darkus nodded and complimented William III. He then said, "Okay, after my curiosity is satisfied, let us continue to discuss what we just discussed. question and the following questions, it’s important for you and me to know this.”
“The Twin-Tailed Comet is a very popular symbol within the Cult of Sigmar, with similar motifs found on architecture, religious mosaics, artifacts, weapons, and medals. In Sigmar theology, the Twin-Tailed Comet represents destiny and Sigmar’s influence on the world… ...Especially Sigma's anger towards Mordheim." William III smiled flatly at Darkus' compliment, and then he said slowly, while pointing to the twin-tailed comet decoration on his chest.
The so-called double-tailed comet is a comet with two tails. Everyone is not blind or stupid. There is no reason not to notice the comet when it appears. Various clans have observed comets passing by from the ground many times in history. Double-tailed comets always herald great or turbulent events. As for the others, there is a question mark. No one can figure out whether the double-tailed comets are in the same orbit, approaching a single object in the medieval world with a periodicity, or whether they are continuously observed. separate objects.
The appearance of a twin-tailed comet is often considered a sign of the growing power of Chaos, but sometimes comets are also associated with those who oppose Chaos. Aldorf Professor Frederic Wade speculated that the comet symbolized the rise of a heroic figure in times of conflict, the "Champion of Light" destined to face the servants of darkness.
"As far as I know, the first recorded double-tailed comet was 3248 years ago, which is 1200 years before the founding of your empire. I can tell you clearly that the "Conqueror" Alkadiza was crowned at that time. As the king of Khemri, under his extraordinary charisma, he unified the entire land of Nehekhara and conquered the ancient city of Ka-Sabai of the desert tribes. Under his leadership, Nehekhara Prosperity again.
I see confusion on your expression. I know you are very unfamiliar with this name, so unfamiliar that you don’t even know who it is, but don’t be confused first, you will know next.
Alkadiza learned about the existence of Nagash through some documents and research, and knew that Nagash was still alive. As a result, the war broke out. The first he defeated was the cursed city of Lahmia, which he razed to the ground, and then he defeated Nagash's army. Here’s the key point. The general who first led Nagash’s army was called Vashanish. Of course, he also had another name that you are familiar with, Vlad! "
"He? Him! Him?" William III's pupils shrank again, and he murmured incoherently. Just like Darkus said, he didn't know who Akadiza was, but he knew Nagash, Sigma and The battle of Nagash was recorded in the history of the Empire and has been passed down to this day. The other is Vashanish, Vlad in Darkus’ mouth. Countless emotions surged into his heart, making him unable to control it. He heard the conversation between Darkus and Vlad that night, and heard Vlad telling some things about Nehekhara, but at that time he I have no idea about this, after all, Vlad did not tell about what happened thousands of years ago.
"Yes, Vlad lived for a long time, longer than you can imagine. So, we should be honored to attend his funeral? After all, as elves and humans, we can celebrate a being who has lived for more than three thousand years. Funerals are a rare thing?
In addition... Nehekhara not only conquered Ka-Sabai, but also many places. When Nehekhara's territory was at its most extensive, it extended to what is now Sylvania. At that time, Vlad was still a Nehekhara army. A member of the expedition.
In fact, there are more than these things and characters. We can extend it with Vlad as the anchor point. Although Lahmia was destroyed by Alcadizaar, those high-level officials survived. Those high-level officials are still active in this world. That night, Valachi Haken was killed by my human formation in the battle, or he can be called Volach, it doesn’t matter, anyway, they are all one person. He also has a brother named Luther Haken, who was captured by me in the war of the mysterious continent a few years ago. I made him immortal because I put him in a coffin and threw him into the sea.
However, these brothers were only second-level characters in the Lahmia period, like guards who could only stand aside? They were disciples of Abhorash. Abhorash should have been positioned as a guard officer in the Lahmia period? And Vlad was the ruler.
I can tell you clearly that Abhorash is also still alive, living on the other side of the Gray Mountains. He was defeated by Gilles. You should know who Gilles is? As for the rest, there is no need to tell, those are too unfamiliar to you, sorry for going off topic, now, let's get back to the topic just now. "
The first appearance of the double-tailed comet was in the year 1220 of the Imperial Calendar. The second time was well known, it appeared in the year 30 of the Imperial Calendar. That night, no one rejected anyone, no one hurt anyone, no one had tears on their faces, no one got drunk for anyone, and no one broke up. That night, Sigmar was born. 30 years later, the double-tailed comet appeared again. That year was the year 1 of the Imperial Calendar. Sigmar was crowned as the emperor of the empire.
The double-tailed comet is a world-wide observable event. The old world can observe it, and there is no reason why the new world cannot observe it. The stone tablet with the prophecy of Sotek was discovered in Chakua. When the prophet made a speech on this event, the double-tailed comet happened to pass over the continent of Lustria. From then on, the Sotek sect began to rise and spread to the entire continent of Lustria. .
Just as the Empire believed, different races also held different views on the double-tailed comet. When the Sotek Cult rose, the Lizardmen called the double-tailed comet "Sotek's Forked Tongue". The appearance of the comet was equally important to the Lizardmen. The appearance of the comet marked the rise of Sotek and the Lizardmen's victory over the Plague Clan in the war that lasted for centuries, and the final victory of the war, although the Lizardmen paid a heavy price.
The ancient Nehekhara described the double-tailed comet as forked like a venomous snake's tongue, and they believed that it might have some connection with their god Asaph. Similarly, the elves are also good at astrology and astronomy. In the Alsalin language, the double-tailed comet is called "a dragon with two tails". The elves regard the arrival of the double-tailed comet as a sign of what is about to happen.
Then, it was 1999, the year when aliens invaded the Earth... No.
Long story short, many astronomers predicted that Sigmar would return like lightning and eventually arrive in Mordheim. The fact is that those astronomers' predictions were accurate, and the double-tailed comet hit Mordheim, the capital of Ostermark, but Sigmar did not return like lightning, and Mordheim has become a cursed city since then.
When Mordheim became the cursed city, it became a place full of fear and paranoia. The news about a mysterious stone that arrived in the city with the double-tailed comet also spread, and the electors of various provinces participated in the competition, including the one in Westerland and of course the one in Sylvania. In the end, Vlad obtained the mysterious stone. Stones, stones are not mysterious, they are dimensional stones. Vlad used these dimensional stones on that night full of death. The dead of Sylvania responded to his call and crawled out of the graves, and the Vampire War officially kicked off.
Then it was in 2300 Imperial Calendar. The elves and humans' understanding of the double-tailed comet was correct in some ways. Many major events happened during that period. Duruchi attacked Ulthuan, and finally the Battle of Finuvar Plains took place. As for the Empire, Magnus, who was not yet the emperor at the time, regarded the arrival of the double-tailed comet as a sign of the coming of Sigmar, just like the sympathy between heaven and man. With Magnus' efforts, the Age of the Three Emperors ended. Under his leadership, the Empire was unified again and marched north to face the invasion of Chaos.
The last time the double-tailed comet appeared was in 2519 Imperial Calendar. When Archaon put on his helmet, the double-tailed comet appeared in the sky. He became the thirteenth and last Eternal Chosen, and heralded the official opening of the End of Time. The lizardmen initially regarded the appearance of the double-tailed comet as a good sign, until Lord Mazdamuddi saw the illusion of fire and death and announced that the great plan had failed.
The silent silence lasted for a long time in the reception room. Dacus was in a daze, leaving time for William III to digest, and William III was thinking as he expected.
"You... don't want to know from me when the next double-tailed comet will appear, right? My friend, please don't do this, stop when you are satisfied, if I really know, then maybe I shouldn't sit here? But somewhere else?" After a long time, Dacus interrupted William III who was hesitant to speak, and hesitant to speak. In a sense, he is no less than Liv's prophet, but there are some things... he is not good at saying, and it seems useless to say it?
"But... but... I can tell from your expression that you know when the next double-tailed comet will appear..." William III, who was hesitant to speak, finally asked the question in his heart.
"How do you know? What do you know? It's one thing to know, and it's another thing not to know. I never place my hope on prophets and omens. In my opinion, this is unreliable. The process is ours It is made and made through struggle. Do we have to lie at home and wait for the prophecy to happen after we know it? Since we don’t stay at home, what if we know or don’t know? I tell you, and then you write it down on the parchment? Leave the so-called hope to future generations? The question is... I will come to the empire again, what will my companions and humans think when they see the parchment?" Darkus said calmly, he had no need to hide it? Well, William III had already seen through it anyway, but he just didn’t tell William III.
"My friend, instead of these, let's talk about something useful, more practical, what you need at the moment. I'm curious, as you have been along the way, from the past to the present, has Sigma responded to you?" See After William III didn't know what to say, Darkus changed the topic again.
"Sigma... only once, not long ago." William III nodded hesitantly, then shook his head and murmured.
"I see a lot from your expression and eyes. As a high priest of Sigma, you shouldn't be like this. My friend, this is a very serious religious and political issue. Of course... the empire's religion and politics have nothing to do with me. What a connection, at least now." Darkus shook his head and said after a brief moment of thought, he continued, "I know, I know, you want to get some kind of answer from me, you put me there. It’s too much to think about…but you are right, I do know, and I can tell you what I know and what is useful to you.”
"It can be said with certainty that Sigma has indeed become a god. This is unquestionable and undeniable. But unlike other gods, such as Tal and Ulric, his situation is somewhat special. Speaking of this special ...Well, let me think about where to start...
The world we live in is connected to another world. If our world has physical rules, that world has spiritual rules. I can tell you responsibly that for some reasons I have been there once and eventually died there, but I There, using the power of my spirit, without the help of any other external force, I resurrected myself! "
“I know you are shocked, but don’t be shocked yet, maybe you can do it in the future, but first you have to believe in yourself.
You must know that there is a transformation process from mortal to god, similar to... ascension? Yes, the Ascension Ceremony, Sigma ascended, but he did not go to that world. "Dakeus said to the stunned William III in a mysterious tone. Then he leaned on the sofa, holding his raised knees with his hands as before and looked up at the ceiling. He continued, "He fell into the trap. Being trapped, I can definitely tell you that as a god, he never went to that world.
He has been in our current world, in the Imperial Twin-Tailed Comet, and has some sort of connection to Sigma, which is accurate, but not quite so. "
To make a long story short, Sigma is from a certain perspective the first protagonist of the medieval Warhammer, the founding emperor of the empire, and a macho man descended from the sky. He appeared in what is now Reikland. The twin-tailed comet streaked across the sky on the day he was born. The blood he was baptized with came from the orcs, and he was born with strange strength and killed the orc warriors before he reached adulthood.
When he was fifteen years old, Sigmar rescued the Dwarf High King Kurgan Ironbeard. In order to express his gratitude, the High King gave him the powerful dwarf rune hammer Gail Maraz. It is said that this hammer killed Kaler. The powerful hammer later became the symbol of the empire.
When his father died at the age of twenty-two, he succeeded his father as chieftain and subsequently unified the various tribes through diplomacy and war, such as the Treaty of Middenheim as mentioned before. Atul, the chief of the Don tribe, started a championship showdown. In despair, Artur pushed him into the Holy Fire. As a result, the White Wolf Holy Fire did not do anything to him, but instead made him the choice of Yurik.
Stir's coins bear the image of a woman, and during the Age of Sigmar the tribes in what is now Stir's territory had no male chieftains and were ruled by this fierce and powerful woman.
At the age of twenty-nine, Sigmar put this woman to sleep through diplomacy. Later, he unified the various tribes and organized a coalition to help the dwarves defeat countless greenskin armies at the Blackfire Pass. After the war, at the age of thirty, he was crowned Emperor of the Empire, and the High Priest Ulric personally placed the crown on his head. At the age of thirty-two, he canonized the chiefs of various tribes as nobles.
Subsequently, Sigmar fought against Nagash, who came to the Empire to try to regain his crown. In the Battle of the Reik River, Nagash and his army were completely destroyed by him. Just like someone rushing to deliver food, Drakfels, who was entrenched in the gray mountains, attacked the emerging empire one after another. In the end, Drakfels was pushed to the ground and hammered by him. He then defeated the Skaven entrenched in the central mountains.
When Sigmar was sixty years old, the usurper attempted to usurp the Empire by making a pact with the Chaos Gods. The daemon legions nearly crushed the empire, but the Chaos Gods grew bored on the eve of victory and withdrew their armies, leaving the usurper to be slain by Sigmar
When he was eighty years old, Sigmar's fifty-year rule ended. He gave up his power and chose to travel in the clouds. In the process, he obtained godhood, but was deceived by Tzeentch and was eventually trapped in the Maelstrom.
After Sigmar left, a religion that worshiped him as a god appeared in the empire. It was weak at first, but became stronger and stronger. In the 73rd year of the Imperial Calendar, John Hestrom was elected to lead the growing Church of Sigmar, which later became The largest sect in the empire.
Then nothing happened, and now Sigma is staring at each other in a drum-type washing machine with the elf spellcasters headed by the dragon tamer Caledor, and the likes of Nakari. Perhaps Caledor was very confused. At some point, a human barbarian suddenly appeared from the maelstrom?
"I know what you want to ask, and I can tell you clearly that he is in the maelstrom." After seeing William III's expectant and anxious expression, Darkus directly poured a basin of cold water on him.
"Maelstrom? Maelstrom...what is that?"
"Didn't those elves tell you about this?" Halfway through, Darkus saw William III's blank expression. He thought for a moment and understood. Then he shrugged and continued, "That's right, they have no reason. Tell you."
"My friend, I know you have a lot of questions and a lot of confusion. Now, we still have some time, I..." Darkus stood up mid-sentence because he found William III not far behind him. There is a very ordinary, but very magical item. This item is so magical that it can be used in the following conversations.
Darkus, who was standing in front of the shelf, did not touch the items immediately. After all, this world is crooked, there are too many weird things, and there are too many examples of being tricked. After carefully observing for a moment, he felt that there seemed to be no problem, unless the person calculated that he would come here and touch this thing, but this probability? And he felt that this thing was just an ordinary handicraft, and the craftsmanship was just that, barely passable. Most of the things that could be placed in this room were gifts from envoys or national gifts in the form of diplomacy. Send each other off.
Darkus, who came back again, put the items on the coffee table, pointed at the items and looked at William III.
"This is? A Matryoshka doll from Kislev. This object has been placed there since I was qualified to enter here. Of course, if you like..."
"No, no, no. This art form is too abstract for me," Darkus quickly waved his hand and refused. The reason why he had been observing the matryoshka doll for a while was not only to prevent any clues, but also to prevent it from being discovered. The appearance of this matryoshka doll is too abstract and a bit strange. It seems to be related to some kind of folk custom in Kislev, but he can't tell the specifics. It is too unfamiliar to him, witch? Beast elemental incarnation? A Thing in the Woods? After thinking for a moment, he shook his head and stopped thinking about it. This was not important to him, what was important was the matryoshka doll.
"The reason why I came to this land from Naggaroth is because I have a lot of things to do. As you said not long ago, there was a small island surrounded by mist not far from the old world, and some people appeared there. problem. But I also played a very important role in it. In a way, I saved the world once without knowing it. Of course, this was not part of my plan. It was unplanned, but it was still a plan. Things within.”
William III was a little confused, but he didn't ask, because he knew that Dacus would continue to say more, and he knew that he would get the answer he thought of from Dacus.
"This coffee table." Darkus said and knocked hard. As he knocked, a thin layer of frost condensed on the surface of the coffee table. Then he said, "It's not a coffee table now. You can put this The coffee table is understood as the world we live in, our planet.
One day, the orbit of this world was deflected by the arrival of some extraterrestrial visitors. To put it bluntly, our world became closer to Sol. Those extraterrestrial visitors not only deflected the orbit of the planet, but also transformed it. The planet's environment has melted and become more livable and comfortable.
After that, many important things happened in this world, many of which happened before the birth of human civilization and before the transformation from nomadic tribes to agricultural civilization. for example? Big invasion? The army of Chaos has invaded the world. All races in the world are using various methods to fight against the army of Chaos. In addition to guarding important cities, the lizard people have sent troops to fight against the army of Chaos. The same goes for the elves.
As for the dwarves? You have to ask them. They adopted a protracted battle similar to a defensive counterattack, using fortresses to deal with the Chaos army. But the nature of chaos is somewhat different from the rules of our world. They are more like projections. As long as there is energy, they will still appear immediately even if they are exiled, and when they appear again, they will be stronger than before, because They have memory and a constant supply of energy.
In the end, the elves established a maelstrom in the inner sea of Ulthuan. With the joint efforts of all races in the world, the Chaos army was repulsed. "
"After that, a lot of things happened in this world. To give you a rude example, it is your previous lung disease, but compared to your lung disease that can be cured, the situation in this world is more serious, just like incurable cancer. , this world has experienced repeated resistance and suicide attempts over the long years, and it has continued intermittently until now.
I can tell you clearly now that the current situation in the world is not good, otherwise Sigma would not respond to you. Is that strange? No! Not surprising at all. The world now is very different from before. Since the world was connected by the gates at the North and South Poles, a steady stream of abilities from that world came to this world through the gates. This energy was called the wind of magic by the elves and lizard people.
Before the big whirlpool appeared, the air was filled with all kinds of energy. When these energies come together, they can do many things, such as moving mountains and reclaiming seas? The sun you saw before was ordinary for its time.
After the emergence of the maelstrom, everything became different from before. Now the Slann magic priests can still move mountains and reclaim seas, but they need to pump the energy in the spiritual vein network, just like what you saw that night. The appearance of demons in this world is essentially a projection of energy. Without energy, they are nothing. The more powerful the existence, the stronger the energy required. Otherwise, they will not be able to maintain their form in this world for a long time unless they find some other means. Method, just like that...
To put it bluntly, due to the existence of the Maelstrom, the world has changed from an era of high demons to an era of low demons. "Darkus said mindlessly. After finishing speaking, he picked up the ink in the bottle and poured some ink on the coffee table where the ice disappeared. He smeared it on the coffee table with the tip of the pendant placed on the table. stand up.
"Now, we are looking at the world in another way. You can understand this place as Altdorf, the intersection of six spiritual vein networks. In addition to Altdorf, there are various spiritual vein nodes on the land where humans live. These The nodes intersect together to form a network, and eventually these lines lead to the maelstrom with the networks of other continents. If you don't understand, you can understand the maelstrom as the heart of the world, and these spiritual vein networks are the blood vessels in the human body. The gates between the north and south poles are the energy needed by the human body, such as food and water.
Now, the heart and blood vessels are aging due to various reasons. You can think of these continents as limbs. Some limbs can still move normally, while others are faltering and dying of old age. Here, in the mysterious continent, due to the existence of the lizard people, the spiritual network there is still functioning well, but the situation cannot be said to be good or bad. This is not possible in other places, such as your continent. This is why the Elf Mission is here at this time. They want to launch an investigation.
And I'm doing the same thing as them, but my approach is a little different from theirs. Although there are some differences in approach, there is essentially no conflict. This is why I am willing to tell you this, because you can let the high-level officials of the empire Understand what this world is like, why wizards appear, and why those wizards should be formalized.
The world we live in is tied to that world. This is a foregone conclusion and cannot be avoided. The connection between the two cannot be severed in some form. This world needs food and water, and that world also needs it, but He The food and water we need is our faith and spirit. So... Confrontation is eternal, that's why I hand this manuscript to you, and that's why I'm willing to tell you this, a strong empire, an empire that can fight against those who cause impact and damage to the world . But having said that, chaos and corruption will also breed within the empire, just like the connection between the two worlds, this cannot be avoided.
Everything I do is related to repairing this world, because I want this world to continue, instead of being blown up to ashes while I am eating or chatting with friends, and my soul becomes a plaything of those evil gods. But it is very difficult to do it. "Dakus babbled to the end, took out the first layer of the matryoshka doll and placed it on the coffee table.
"This one belongs to you, representing a powerful empire, and this one belongs to me, representing a reunified elf society. Of course, this is just the simplest one." Darkus paused at the end, that second level The nesting doll represents the reunification of King Ulthuan and the elves, allowing Druch, Assur, Aenir and Aslay to respond to a call. Although it is difficult to do, in his opinion, this is indeed the most important thing. simple.
The next matryoshka doll is no less difficult than climbing to the sky. (End of chapter)