Chapter 600 451 Beast Council (with Popular Science)

Self-symbolism?

Deer was born in the wilderness and can be seen everywhere, symbolizing the lower class people. In the changing era of the old and the new, the deer is in a very difficult situation. It may die from the trains and muskets of modern civilization, or in a living environment that has become increasingly polluted and exploited.

Moreover, the stag is the role that protects the group from harm. It has huge antlers and becomes the killer of enemies. This is also Arthur's role in the gang. In essence, the stag is still a kind and gentle herbivore, which also implies that Arthur is still a good person in essence.

Arthur is more like a struggling stag. From the beginning to the end, he just wants to protect his tribe and spends his whole life to protect the tribe. However, due to the arrival of a new era, the situation is finally over.

"That's wrong." After thinking for a moment, Darkus came to a conclusion. He thought the matter couldn't be that simple, and then he thought of another possibility.

In Ulthuan, Qunos is widely worshiped in the Kingdom of Charis, which occupies a large area of ​​​​the forest. Of course, it is also worshiped in other places, such as the eastern Kingdom of Nagaryth, which borders the Kingdom of Charis. In some less prosperous areas, Kurnoth is also widely recognized, and the wilderness and primitive worship have not yet been replaced by Asuryan and other elven gods.

"Shadow King" Aris Anar loved hunting when he was young. He often walked alone in the mountains in his family's fiefdom. There is a cave in the mountain with a large number of stalagmites and stalactites. These sparkling stones resemble the pillars of a magnificent temple.

The floor inside the cave is littered with dead leaves, and the walls are painted with hunting scenes, with predators chasing their prey. Some of the paintings are old, from ancient times and faded, and some are brighter and more recent.

Dozens of skulls of wolves, foxes, bears, deers, eagles and rabbits danced in cave niches, some plated with gold, others carved with elaborate runes expressing thanks or prayers. The skulls were gifts to Kunos, and the cave was one of his shrines.

Of course, this is not important. What is important is that Aris encountered something when he came out of the cave and returned home. When he stooped and emerged from the cave, he stood motionless in astonishment. In front of him appeared a thick fog that had never appeared before, and in the thick fog stood a huge white stag.

The white stag's shoulders were much taller than the tall Aris, and its antlers were wider than Aris' outstretched arms. Except for a black mark on its chest, its fur was white and flawless. It looked at Aris with dark brown eyes, showing neither attack nor panic.

After regaining his strength, Aris slowly straightened up and stared at the stag that lowered its head, shook its antlers, and paved the ground with its hooves. He was sure it was some kind of signal from Kunos, but he couldn't understand what it meant.

Suddenly the stag became excited, threw back his head, hooted, and when Aris stepped forward and held out his hand in a placating gesture, he looked to the west and then jumped into the forest.

Aris turned his gaze to where the stag had looked and saw a figure under the treetops. The figure rides a black horse and is covered with a black feather cloak. The figure's head is covered so that he cannot see his face. Instinctively he reached for his bow, turned his head and drew the arrow from the quiver.

However, when Aris looked back, the rider was gone. The arrow was on the string and he had to fire it, so he shot an arrow at the position where the rider was before. The arrow passed through the open space and reached the position where the rider was staying. But the strange thing is that there are no traces on the ground, and the frosted pine needles have not been trampled.

Aris was disturbed by these two strange sights, and he glanced around the rest of the clearing, but saw nothing. He put away his bow and arrows and ran away, towards the house, completely forgetting the thought of continuing hunting.

After returning, Aris did not talk about this matter to his family, because he knew that his family was experiencing worse things and would not consider a young man's fantasy story. This experience gradually faded into his memory, so much so that he wasn't even sure if it really happened or if it was some kind of daydream.

Many things happened after that, and the political situation in the Kingdom of Nagaries became increasingly turbulent. In order to relax, Aris walked into the mountains with his bow as before. Frustrated and annoyed, he sat on a stone by the river and looked at the sky. At this moment, his eyes were flashed by a white light. He turned around and found that it was the bird outside the shrine of Kunos. White stag seen.

The stag was standing at the lower reaches of the stream not far from Aris drinking water. Aris immediately picked up his bow and arrow and walked slowly along the stream, while constantly ducking away from the stones and into the bushes to hide himself. When Aris moved, the stag no longer drank water, but stared upstream of the stream, looking in the direction of Aris, and then it began to walk slowly into the forest in the mountains.

Aris was not prepared to get too close. He was worried about scaring the stag. He followed the stag eastward, passed through the pine forest, and slowly came to an open space that he had never been to before. He kept an eye out for any signs along the way. What could be considered a signpost, but he was disappointed. He was relieved when he reached this clearing. Here he could clearly judge the position of the sun. When he returned, he only had to go west.

The stag was leisurely basking in the sun in the open space. When Aris approached cautiously, he saw the black pattern on the stag's chest for the first time. The pattern was actually the shape of a rune representing Kunos, which meant that the stag was actually a messenger sent by Kunos or some kind of miracle.

The last incident happened again. The stag suddenly jumped up without warning and ran to the north. When Aris began to chase, the stag disappeared in the blink of an eye. When he looked around angrily, he found a figure hiding in the shade of the tree on the west side. He immediately drew his bow and shot an arrow. The figure shook and disappeared, and his arrow also disappeared in the shadow of the leaves, but it didn't take long for the figure to reappear there.

Aris immediately fired another arrow, but it still missed this time. When the arrow shot over, the figure seemed to merge with the shadows around it. When he was about to shoot again, the figure stopped him.

The figure slowly walked out of the bushes. It was a pale-skinned, disheveled black-haired man. He raised his hand to show that he had no hostility. Facing Aris's defense, he pointed out Aris's identity in a low and calm voice and introduced himself. He claimed to be the Raven Messenger and a servant of Molaig Heg. He said that before Aris was born, Molaig had appeared in his dream and asked him to come to the mountains to find Aris one day.

Then, the figure told Aris some other information, such as Aris would be the chosen one of Kurnos in the future, and would become the king in the shadow and control the Kingdom of Nagareth in the future. After seeing that Aris didn't understand, he talked about the present, Malekith was back, and was ready to take back Tal Anlek, etc.

The curtain of the Great Division was opened.

The question is... Daquus was sure that he didn't see any Kurnos emblem on the chest of the white stag, more like a spirit?

Spirit is a noun, a general term. Treemen, tree spirits, tree demons and wood spirits are all spirits. In addition, there are some ancient souls, which are similar to the will nurtured by the forest.

Darkius remembered that the running group team he sent out in Laurenloren had done a big job. Tolandir summoned Engidu in an ingenious way. The ancient sage of driftwood, Engidu is a huge stag, exuding a shimmering amber glow and wrapped in the wind of Gur.

Engidu claimed that he appeared long before the elves arrived. He also admitted that it was the arrival of Enil that made his mind active, and he dedicated his power to Laurenloren.

In addition, Laurenloren has some other ancient souls. Marest once told Darkius that the existence in the wishing forest of Tor Litanel is an ancient soul, which is related to dreams. It’s just that this ancient soul never comes out to see people, and Enil will not go in. At most, he will make a wish. The two are in a delicate stage of peace and tranquility.

The Rainbow Falls of Tor Litanel, where the priests of Val work, also show signs of ancient spirit activity, including the primitive girl Vidag, the water fairy, and the otter Kapa. They are ancient spirits, not animals in the zoo. They will be driven to the visiting area by the keepers during the day. Daxus didn't encounter any of them when he went there. However, when the restart ceremony was held in the Pool of Tears, he saw an ancient spirit, the dragon-like natural spirit Niseg, guarding the pool to prevent intruders.

Since Lauren Loren has it, Athel Loren must have it too, and it will be more and stronger. Daxus doesn't think there is any connection between him and Kunos. After all, he still has some grudges. That time in the Chaos Demon Realm, everyone who should come came, but Kunos didn't come. And some things are just as he thought before. Athel Loren is the garden of the ancient saints, not the domain of Kunos. It was previously occupied by the cuckoo, and now he is here, this matter needs to be explained.

"Are you two also spirits?" Dacus lowered his head and reached out to touch the head of a weasel and asked. Hegria just said that one was called Mormo and the other was called Mauro. As for who was who, he didn't know. In his opinion, weasels before they were crowned as lolita all looked the same, so just touch them.

Mauro, who was touched by Dacus, closed his eyes. He felt Dacus's palm gently brushing his head, and a warm feeling came along his hair. Facing Dacus's question, he and Mormo nodded slowly, and his movements clearly expressed his response.

Tyrandor Duskstar felt his body stiffen. He turned his head slowly as if falling into an ice cave and looked at Liv, whose expression was somewhat calm. Liv, who felt his gaze, turned her head and looked at him. Liv shook her head calmly at him as if she knew what he was asking.

The moment Liv shook his head, Tyrandor felt the blood in his body rushing to his head. Unlike Dacus's blind guess, he knew what the white stag represented. Liv's shaking head broke his last fantasy. He knew that he was in big trouble, and he was inadvertently involved in the vortex of trouble.

The face behind Heglia's mask kept twisting. She looked at Dacus interacting with Mormo and Mauro. At this moment, she knew that what her father said was true. The master of this forest is back. Thinking of this, her body trembled, no longer the elegance and wildness of the dragon dance just now. She took two steps back and stopped there. Then she bowed to Dacus tremblingly.

Dakeus looked at Heglia who bowed deeply to him inexplicably. He could feel Heglia's awe and respect for him. Then he looked around at the Asrai present. After shaking his head speechlessly, he looked at Tolandil and signaled Tolandil to do something to break this damn atmosphere.

After receiving the instructions, Tolandil stood up helplessly. He picked up the lute on the side and went to the center of the hall to play.

Dakeus sat down and waved to Heglia who was still standing there, signaling him to come over. He was sure that he had just said something very great to the Asrai, but the Asrai's behavior... He didn't like it. He didn't like this state of riddlers.

"If you can, would you like to talk about it in detail?" As Tolandil played, the banquet returned to its previous atmosphere, but the Asrai were in a more depressed state. Dacus waved to Aidan, picked up the wine glass and wine pot and poured wine for Heglia. As he poured, he asked.

"Satis..." After a glass of wine, Heglia regained a little calmness and then told the story.

In general, Dacus believed that this group of monkeys living in the forest had evolved their own religious system. The spirits were worshipped by the Asrai as servants of the elven gods and independent sub-gods. The spirits of Athel Loren were different from those of Lauren Loren. They had an independent beast council to make decisions on behalf of the forest and coordinate relations with the Asrai.

These powerful spirits were called "Bruid" by the Asrai. Each spirit had a say. They had their own independent language system, and only the Asrai who were proficient in the language could participate. Orian and Ariel were the few who mastered these languages. They were ambassadors representing the elves and expressed the Asrai's concerns to the forest.

At the beginning, the elven settlers established settlements within sight of the edge of the forest. Later, in the year -1125 of the Imperial Calendar, the Asrai reached an agreement with the spirits, and the Asrai culture and religion began to take shape. The Forest Agreement provided them with access to powerful magic from the sacred places in the forest, allowing them to go deep into the forest.

Each independent Asrai realm is defined to some extent by its Forest Agreement, which is now the Twelve Bottom Elves. Usually, the Bruyds grant the Asrai hunting rights and magical knowledge in exchange for services... or sacrifices.

The Asrai believe that the Bruyds rule this magical forest. Since these spirits vary in appearance and behavior, there has been no consensus on the origin of the Bruyds. Some Asrai priests believe that these spirits are divine servants or parts of Aisha and Kunos, and there are also ancient custom keepers who believe that spirits are the reincarnation of the Old Saints. Some more extreme people believe that spirits are another form of demons. In short, there are all kinds of opinions.

The relationship between elves and Bruyds can sometimes be tense. Some spirits have always disapproved of the Forest Agreement and are staunch opponents. Orlean has had fierce conflicts with Bruyds many times. Occasionally, the Asrai's faith in the Bruyd is tested when Chaos Demons disguised as Bruyds or divine incarnations are revealed.

There are many Bruyds, including Durthu, Adanhu, and Cordiel, but they have withdrawn from the Beast Council for various reasons. In addition, the Forest Dragons were also members of the Beast Council in the past, but they have gradually stopped participating. The former is now in a different bed with the Asrai, Adanhu is dead, Cordiel is crazy, Durthu is on the verge of half-madness, and the Forest Dragons only keep in touch with individuals in the Asrai.

Now, there are only some strange existences in the Beast Council. The white stag that Daxu saw was Satis, who had the greatest influence in the Beast Council. He negotiated with the Asrai and formulated the initial hunting rules. After all, no matter how delicious the Averring fruit is, the elves still need to eat meat, and the elves' physique is not so strong that they don't need oil and water. According to Asrai folklore, hunters who fail to abide by the rules will be cursed by him and suffer from rheumatic fever.

Many Asrai believe that Satyrs and the White Deer in Athel Loren are the same entity. The White Deer in Athel Loren is a great animal of great nobility and elegance, and is considered the immortal embodiment of the forest. It neither ages nor dies, and cannot be hunted. The White Deer rarely appears, and the Asrai believe that the elves who see him are blessed by the forest. More importantly, when Orion's mortal incarnation transforms every spring, he must be recognized by him! This is an essential part of the ritual.

So... this is why the Asrai reacted a little too excitedly after Dakwus told about his encounter with Satyrs. He was blessed by the forest, and now is the time of winter and spring. In the eyes of the Asrai, it is nothing for him, as an outsider, to see Satyrs.

"No." Dakwus always felt something was wrong, but he was missing some key information. And what impressed him most was the look in Satyrs' eyes when he looked at him. It was completely confused, shocked and bewildered. His appearance was completely incredible to Satyrs, and Satyrs almost said it was impossible.

(This chapter, emmm, read on, remember the toad and the four-winged phoenix, and the abilities of the messenger) (End of this chapter)