Arcane Journey

Chapter 154 The Supreme King of the Shadow Empire
Wrath was not enough to wash away the humiliation of Hajhorna, Hand of the High King.

"Mokou Town!"

Fleeing back to the tower in embarrassment, he spat out the name angrily, like poison on his tongue.

The battle that he thought he was sure of was defeated, and he was defeated so thoroughly that even he himself could not believe it.

This feeling is as if every spell that I am proud of weaving is countered by the enemy and bounced back, so that I burn myself.

And his opponent is just a lowly little lord, he thought unwillingly.

In the life of Haj Horner.

Since he learned the first trick, he has never had such a humiliating defeat.

Recalling the ancient silver dragon from the Silver Moon Alliance, he felt that his IQ and strength were all rubbed on the ground,
Nearly a hundred ghost mages survived, but less than ten survived. These are the few survivors left on the entire battlefield.

What hurt him the most was the input of more than 200 constructed golems and more than 500 gargoyles.

Not only did these constructed creatures that could crush Mokou Town not play any role, they were even used as spoils 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 be this group of Constructed Golems.

Hajhorner suppressed the anger in his heart, and after sorting out his appearance, he took out the emblem that symbolized his identity: a silver winged poisonous snake on a black background, and a gray stone tower among the coils of the poisonous snake.

The puffs of mist from the sigil reminded him that he must answer the call of the High King.

The moment he activated the spell of the emblem, a slightly glowing channel appeared in front of him.

Hajhorner walked into the magic passage without hesitation, and appeared in a huge hall.

This hall may be somewhere in the floating city of Sultanza, maybe in a corner of the Shadow Plane, or even in some distant and unknown plane.

At this moment, many ghost mages stood around anxiously, waiting patiently.

While they waited for the High King to appear, they also sized up their companions with cautious interest.

Some hadn't been seen since training together at the Arcane Academy.

Because Arcanists always like to hide their magical secrets and serve the power and honor of their loyal Prince of Shadows.

Status is everything, even in the society of arcanists.

Glittering emblems are prominently worn, while those shadow mages not so traditional wear magical jewels.

Hundreds of gemstones shimmered in the hall, and the colorful colors reflected on the skin of the magic black cloak worn by all wizards.

Some mages also bring their own entourage: shadow cats, shadow bats, constructs, and even imps from Baator and the Abyss.

As the ghost mages entered the magic house 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 of Sultanza. This powerful force is enough to destroy any kingdom and alliance on the mainland.

Hajhorner ignored the group of ghost mages, but chose to go straight to the "table hall" that only core personnel are eligible to enter.

That is the hall of High King Telamant Tanshul, a wide circular room with walls of obsidian and no decoration.

There are four tall and narrow windows in the hall, facing the empty starry sky in the southeast, northwest, and west.

In the center of the hall is an oak table carved from a huge plank, from which the Hall of Drawing Tables is named.

This was the golden age of the ancient Netheril Empire, built by the order of the High King.

The 'Map Table' was over fifty feet long, about half that length at its widest point, and less than four feet at its narrowest point.

The alchemists of Netheril carved out mountains and forest plains according to the shape of the territory of the Arcane Empire, and no part of the whole table was straight.

The desktop depicts the appearance of the Enook Desert as a green land, all the rivers and mountains, fortress cities, lakes and forests of the Arcane Empire period. The details are exhaustive, glowing with the magical aura accumulated over dozens of centuries.

This is the most precious possession of the High King Telamant Tanshul, because he has always dreamed of restoring the Ennook desert to the scene before him.

Hajhorner scoffed at that.

In his opinion, this city lord has not yet emerged from 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 the City of Shadows suspended in midair, allowing you to have a panoramic view of the tabletop.

"Hey! Isn't this Haj Horna, the Hand of the High King?" Haj Hona had just entered the hall when a strange voice came into his ears.

Grand Prince Rivaran Tanshul.

Even if Haj Horner didn't check deliberately, he knew who the other party was.

He is the High Priest and Speaker of the Lost Lady Shar in the City of Shade, and if High King Tyramante is the leader of the Arcanists, then the Grand Prince is the spiritual leader.

The prince presides over the affairs of the Lost Temple and preaches Shar's will to the faithful.

It was Prince Revalan's prophecy that allowed the High King to finally guide the City of Shade back to the Prime Material World.

Here, the Lost Lady hopes that the power of the City of Shade can overturn her long-standing balance with the goddess of the moon, Selun.

At the same time, Rivaran is also Hajhorner's biggest competitor, just because he is the spokesperson of the High King, that's all.

This made him have to be cautious at all times, after all, Prince Ruivalan's enemies have a bad habit: they like to disappear.

The ghost prince Rui Valan wore a luxurious priest's robe, with dark skin, and still looked very young in appearance, and his gestures and gestures carried the aura of a majestic superior.

On the droop of his priestly robes was embroidered the emblem of Shar, the Lost Lady: purple outer ring, black disc.

Under the disc, there is an additional pair of curved dark purple goat horns.

The distance between Hajhorna and Ruivalan was less than five steps away.

For a powerful caster, at this distance, they have countless means to easily put the enemy to death.

If one simply compares the attainments of the two sides in magic skills, there is no doubt that Hajhorna's strength is not as good as any of the twelve ghost princes.

Especially the spokeswoman for the Lost Lady, Prince Revalan, the High Priest, can make his sworn enemy disappear from this world forever with a backhand.

But Hajhorna never felt any fear, for he knew it well, and Prince Ruivaran knew it too.

If he dies or disappears here, what awaits Prince Ruivalan will be trouble instead of profit.

Just thinking about the possible reaction of the Supreme King Telamante after he noticed this incident was enough to make Prince Ruivalan not dare to act rashly.

"It's really him, I almost didn't recognize it." The speaker was a young warrior in 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. It's indescribable how embarrassed he was." The young warrior sarcastically said mercilessly.

All of a sudden, the princes in the hall couldn't help laughing.

Hajhorner clenched his fist unconsciously, then slowly loosened it, and the hatred for Mokou Town in his heart intensified again.

Yada Tanshul.

The second prince of the City of Shadows, he is the right-hand man of the eldest prince Ruivalan. He has no talent for arcane arts. As a powerful warrior, he started as a soldier in the army of the City of Shadows. After obtaining the position of captain, he became Sharon Er's Blackguard.

The current second prince, Yada, devotes himself to his career as a god, and is the supreme commander of the dark knights and black guards in the Lost Temple.

His personal mark is a greatsword of silver on a black ground, with the pommel of the hilt bearing the emblem of Shar, the Lost Goddess.

The forces in Shadow City can be roughly divided into three groups.

The most powerful force is the Shade Prince headed by High King Telamante, who are committed to restoring the glory of the Arcane Empire.

Then there are the princes headed by the eldest prince and the second prince, who serve as priests and black guards of the lost lady against the moon goddess Su Lun and the goddess of magic Mystra.

Finally, there are centrists like De Soud, who remain silent and rarely speak out.

Although Hajhorna is the spokesperson of the Supreme King, he never thought of recreating the glory of the Arcane Empire. He only lives for himself.

He sulked his face 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 Haj Horner's failure, so that we can prepare for it in advance."

The ghost prince De Sud of the neutral faction said: "After all, the Kingdom of Cormyr is the richest kingdom among our goals, and it is also the kingdom that threatens the most."

After listening to Dessoud's words, Hajhorner's heart surged with anger for no reason. If he hadn't ignored him, he wouldn't have ended up in such a mess.

Now, this old man who pretends to be deep, is still helping him out and preaching with a high-handed look, which is hypocritical to the extreme.

Indeed, he is not only hypocritical, but also ruthless, the Hand of the High King thought bitterly.

His hypocritical feelings make people think that his goal in life is to resurrect his dead wife, but he is so cold that his two daughters want to kill him.

"That's right, I think so too." An elegant gentleman in a black cloak continued.

On his left breast placket, there is a unique pattern composed of three mountain peaks and a moon-like silver ball embroidered with gold and silver threads. Anyone who looks at it will be impressed.

The Prince of Shadow has dark brown skin and looks quite young, but his eyes are wise and he looks very scholarly.

He waved the cane he was holding to disperse the two ultra-small constructed creatures that were floating in mid-air and mischievously blocking his sight, and said unhurriedly:

"I witnessed the whole process of the battle in the tower, and the defeat of the Hand of the High King is not worthy of sympathy at all. Through this battle, I observed his dark character, conceited, arrogant, arrogant, and even the opponent Whoever it is, no one has studied it carefully. This kind of stupid person deserves his defeat, and he has completely lost the face of the Arcane Empire, but it is a pity for those soldiers who died due to command errors."

As soon as the words fell, all the princes chose to remain silent, not even a single word of conversation.

In the spacious hall, even the air seemed to be frozen, so stagnant that it was suffocating.

Brenners Tanshul.

The youngest prince in Shadow City, the prince with the highest arcane talent, and the little prince who is most favored by the High King.

As a child, Breenners was discovered to be an arcane genius of exceptional intellect.

He has been tutored by the best arcane teachers in the city.

Although Breners quickly embodies the family's expectations of him in the arcane, his arcane mentors find that he has a stronger talent for history.

Under the instructions of the High King, his arcane teachers focused the prince's education on the history and legends of the vast arcane empire, and Brennus also grew rapidly in this regard.

He is now 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 to dig out the wealth and knowledge left there, salvage it, and fly back into the sky.

Prince Brenas also claimed that there is a mysterious power from the creator race hidden in the Ernook Desert, as long as he masters this power, he can fulfill his ambition to revive the Arcane Empire.

In Hajhorner's impression, when interacting with other people, the prince always appeared very gentlemanly and in line with etiquette.

However, when facing himself today, he did not leave even a trace of affection, unceremoniously exposed his sore spots, and made him lose face in front of all the princes.

While he was angry, his heart was also slightly chilled.

On the surface, he is the spokesperson of the High King, known as the 'Hand of the High King'.

But it was actually Prince Brenas who had the most contact with the High King. From his attitude towards himself, it could be seen that the High King was already very dissatisfied with him.

At this moment, extremely loud, monotonous, and regular footsteps approached from a distance, breaking the silence.

High King Telamant Tanshur emerged from nothingness and stood in the center of the hall.

as usual.

He wears the ancient and traditional black armor that symbolizes the dominion of the Netherese Empire, with a dragonwing cloak, fixed-style gauntlets, and a dark purple robe.

His personal signature: a lion-like creature depicted in black outline on a blood-red background, with dragon-like or bat-like wings.

It is said that the High King possesses more magical gear and weapons than most Princes of Shade have ever seen in their lifetime.

Although two wands hung conspicuously from his belt, no one suspected that he carried more weapons on his person.

However, the High King's deadliest weapon is his graceful, slender hands, with which he can draw death magic with great dexterity, and his brilliant mind, which allows him to reach the pinnacle of arcane art.

In the entire City of Shadows, only the High King has the right to call such a party.

The Netherese arcanist known as the High King is one of the most powerful spellcasters in the physical world today.

Thousands of years ago, he was once called Shador, and as one of the survivors of Netheril, he ruled the city of Shade with absolute authority.

Already more than 2000 years old, Telamante uses powerful spells, such as wishing, to continue his life.

However, since he was no longer human and became an outsider, this method has become easier.

Although the Shade's natural life limit was many times that of a normal human, Telamante also found with disgust that his outsider body was beginning to no longer fit, and stronger methods were needed to continue his life.

He hasn't decided which method is best, but Shade's return to the physical world offers a plethora of possibilities, including transformation into the undead.

Teramante took great pains to preserve what he believed to be the best elements of Netherese society and blend them with the qualities necessary to survive in the Shadow Plane, forming a lawful and tightly controlled society. magical society.

Here even the most mundane problems of everyday life have to be put into practice through layers of procedures, and in this form class is always preserved.

More importantly, as the centuries passed, the continuity of the ancient Netherese civilization was preserved.

Known as the final arbiter of the City of Shade, Telamante is in many ways the city itself, and his subjects see him as the living embodiment of their customs, beliefs, and values, and this is how Telamante sees himself.

Those who have met the High King agree that he is a man with a thousand ways of hiding his true thoughts and feelings.

Telamante was as difficult to read as to be deceived, and even his son rarely knew what was going on beneath his father's unfathomable mask, ice-like calm.

Although Telamante looks cold and expressionless on the outside, his heart is always active, and as far as he is concerned, he is a complete dictator.

His determination to lead the city stems from a powerful belief that no one else has been as successful as he has been.

Despite his advanced age, Telamante was tall and energetic.

Whether sitting on his throne floating in the air or presiding over a ceremony in the streets of a city, his image is unforgettable.

"For the entire continent, our presence is unconventional and even considered a public enemy."

The voice of the Supreme King Telamante 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. s things."

Hajhorna noticed that the High King's eyes glanced at him, which made him startled. He knew full well that his failure had caused him to be dissatisfied.

"The oracle of the Lost Lady has been delivered."

He glanced at the eldest prince Rui Valan, and continued to say in a soft voice, "Most spellcasters believe that their source of magic is due to the magic net, which seems to be a matter of course."

He stopped talking for a while and raised his eyebrows slightly, probably to strengthen the irony in his words, "However, the source of our spellcasting is the Shadow Demon Net of the Lost Lady. If necessary, the Shadow Demon Net can also replace the Magic Net."

The whispers of excitement and fear echoed in the secret hall of the floating city.

The High King raised a hand, and with a simple gesture of command, Prince Shade and Hajhorna fell silent.

"If necessary."

He repeated resolutely, "The Shadow Demon Net will completely replace the Magic Net. Our task is to wait and observe, and finally cooperate with Miss Lost to complete this plan."

After the High King finished speaking, he looked at the eldest prince Rivaran.

"Reporting to the Supreme King, I have successfully infiltrated my power into the royal family of Sembia." The eldest prince responded to his father and said respectfully, "When the time comes, our army will be able to completely conquer Sembia. "

The High King nodded slightly, looked at Hajhorna, and smiled, "The location of the ceremony has been selected. It is located in the swamp at the junction of Cormyr and Sambia: Guangze. The Lost Lady is the goddess who guards secrets. Her The plan does not want to be known and disturbed by anyone, you should know what to do, my Hand of the High King."

Seeing this familiar smile, Hajhorner was taken aback and broke out in a cold sweat. He quickly assured: "Don't worry, the High King, I will definitely take down the Kingdom of Cormyr with the fastest speed!"

After speaking, he subconsciously glanced at the calm Dessoud.

"That's not necessary." A faint smile appeared on the lips of High King Telamante.

"As I said before, our task is to wait and observe. The accident in Mokou Town was self-defeating, and people from the Dragon Worshipers also got involved. What is even more gratifying is that the Zhentarim Society also turned their attention to this accident because of this accident. The focus is on Vale and Comanso, which definitely creates opportunities for us.”

"I understand, wait and observe patiently." Hajhorner secretly heaved a sigh of relief.

"Just understand." The Supreme King nodded slightly, and then his expression suddenly became serious, "Then, for the matter about Felin Mokui, you and De Sud will be in charge for the time being."

Felin Mokui!

As soon as these words came out, the ghost princes all showed shock.

Apparently, they didn't know about the news that Felin Mokui had been born.

"Don't worry, Supreme King, I will try my best to find out the real purpose of Felin Mokui." Hearing this, Hajhorner was so frightened that he almost collapsed on the ground.

He originally thought that he could perfectly conceal the fact that he met Felin Mokui, who would have thought that the High King would still know about it.

He saw the High King's gaze turn to Dessod, Prince of Shadows.

"I'm very sorry, Supreme King." Desude looked at the father who had no blood relationship with him, he hesitated, and said slowly:

"I have encountered a bottleneck in arcane art, so I don't want to participate in any incidents. Of course, I will hand over all my powers as a punishment for not doing anything."

The High King gave a chuckle that terrified Haj Horner, "Do you know what this means?"

"Of course I know, but I don't regret my choice." De Sud 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 De Sud, "So, you have already been to the Dire Forest. In that case, I respect your choice, child."

Hearing the mention of the taboo place name 'Fierce Forest', everyone showed unconcealable surprise and shock.

Because it was the place where Karthus, a great arcanist, fell during the time of Netheril.

As a mortal, Karthus was the Grand Arcanist of the School of Psychic, and he created Karthus Apotheosis, a 12th-level spell that permanently changed the mechanics of magic.

This incredible spell is the only 12th level spell ever created.

It was designed to temporarily steal the power of a deity, making the caster temporarily godlike.

When Karthus unleashed his spell, he foolishly chose Mystril, the goddess of magic, as his prey.

Knowledge always trumps wisdom in ambitious minds, and Karthus was no exception.

After the Grand Arcanist unleashes his spell, his body is swollen with a sudden influx of divine power, and his mind is filled with unimaginable knowledge.

Karthus immediately realized what a terrible thing he had done.

Yet he also knew that no matter what he did, he couldn't stop what was destined.

The divinity the Archmage stole from the Goddess was the Weave priesthood that demanded her constant restoration - Netheril and its misuse of magic constantly threatened to unravel the Weave.

When Mystril lost the ability to keep the Weave intact, Karthus was not enough to take her place.

The Weave began to fluctuate violently, and the lands of Netheril and beyond were flooded with a primordial flood of magic, surging tides of magic far greater and more destructive than ever before.

Mystril sacrificed herself to save the Weave before the damage became irreversible.

This self-sacrifice temporarily halted the interaction of the Leyline, stopping all magic from working for a few minutes.

Losing its stable magic power injection, Netheril's floating city suddenly fell to the ground.

Karthus was killed immediately upon Mystril's self-sacrifice, as her actions severed his magic from hers.

Immediately after Karthus' death, his body full of divine power turned into a red-toned stone, and the instant god fell from the top of his floating city to the earth.

When the body fell, the temporarily granted divine vision played back over and over in his mind the scene of the city of Netheril falling into the ground and being smashed to pieces.

His heart was broken when he realized that his greed for the power of the gods had single-handedly brought about the destruction of his home, his family, his friends, his people.

Even after he died, his heart was still bleeding.

Trapped in eternal torment by the magic of the Dire Forest, Karthus relived time and time again the moment when he finally realized his folly.

Therefore, he was named the God of Moment.

Cults of Karthus, the fleeting god declare:
The destruction of Netheril was the result of the angry gods punishing the human race for their stupidity and arrogance.Karthus destroyed Netheril in his arrogance, but this particular act that caused Netheril's destruction transformed the arch-arcanist into a being who was both human and divine.Karthus, they believed, would lead the race of humanity into a new age of magic built on the ashes of the old.

As a result, Karthus' followers performed endless rituals to awaken their god.

It is said that their rituals were inspired by the 'dreams' of the cult leaders, similar to those that led the Netherese to find Karthus' mortal form.

However, so far, no one has been able to truly awaken Karthus.

Desu had to bow slightly to the High King, but said nothing more.

"As the highest person in charge of the Spiral Court, I hope that you will finish the trial of the unresolved case before you leave." The High King said to the ghost prince De Sud.

"I will carry it out, Supreme King." Desude secretly breathed a sigh of relief, and bowed again.

(End of this chapter)