Dragonborn from Lord of the Rings

Chapter 280: Multilateral Interpretation of Security and Multilateral Desire for Security

Whether it's a king's palace, a lord's fortress, a wizard's tower, a farm surrounded by stone walls or fences, or just a small, ordinary room behind the stairs of a shabby tavern. , each of us has spent a lot of effort creating our own little kingdom. From the grandest castles to the most humble corners, from the arrogance of nobles to the humble needs of the poor, most of us have one most basic need in our hearts, and that is ownership, or at least management. right. We want—need—to find our place in this chaotic and overwhelming world; in a world that seems too big and too uncontrollable, only in that little corner can we have a sense of normalcy. .

So we create, we draw boundaries, we build walls and lock them, and we pick up swords or pitchforks to protect our space. We long for peace and tranquility as a reward for all our trials when we reach the end of our chosen path. But this does not mean that peace can be achieved by simply separating a place from the outside world with a fence or a high wall.

The greatest king who has the largest army stationed in the strongest fortress does not necessarily feel at peace.

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Soft light spreads evenly into the room through a single window on the ceiling, and a fire is blazing in the fireplace. The heat brought by the fire dispels the coldness of the sky, giving people a sense of lazy comfort. There was a wooden table and two chairs in the room. On the table was a jug of fine mead, which the owner respectfully brought up and thoughtfully poured a full cup. The thick orange-yellow wine syrup makes your mouth fluid. In addition, at the other end of the room there are seats covered with plush blankets and fluffy thick cushions. There aren't any murals on the walls, nor any carpet on the floor. But there is a large bookshelf in the left corner. The bookshelves are filled with books and scrolls. Many of the books have the same appearance - dark blue covers and silver fonts. Or the black covers and blood-red fonts. Medernachi even recognized some of them, such as "A Brief History of the Empire", "Queen of the Wolf Heart", "The Life of Barenziah", etc. Next to the bookshelf are two large boxes and some other furniture.

This is a study room that is quite comfortably furnished. At least that's what it seems on the surface.

Mednach's strong body was as straight as a spear. He leaned his back on the chair, placed his hands naturally on the armrests on both sides, and spread his legs slightly. He looked a little shabby, but his warmth-keeping function was still trustworthy. His boots stepped on the stone floor of the hotel, and the slush on the soles of his boots slowly turned into mud under the warmth of the bonfire in the fireplace, seeping into the gap between the two floors.

If you open your eyes and look carefully, you can even see some slightly red and black dirt in the thin ravines! That was brought about by the riot that ended not long ago...

Of course, maybe it was something they left behind before?

After all, most people in Skyrim like to drink alcohol! For the people living in this cruel land, this is almost a kind of degenerate and beneficial behavior - some people may think this is a logically self-contradictory statement, but this is a living reality! Alcohol can make people living in this land covered by snow and ice for most of the year temporarily forget the cold and bring warmth - and those who drink too much always like to start fights over trivial things, using The blood of others or one's own will prove how stupid everyone is.

Too impulsive.

Mednach used a calm expression and a serious demeanor to conceal his anxiety and uneasiness. He rashly came to the other party's territory without even knowing what kind of person he was. This was very rare for Mednach, who was always cautious and suspicious. But his desire - or the Rich people - is so urgent that even a great man like Mednach cannot make a completely rational judgment on these ridiculous legends that should exist among rural farmers.

According to the intelligence obtained these days, it is an existence that cannot be ignored at a glance - this information is so disgustingly crude that Mednach even thought for a time that his men were fooling him - all the people living in Macca Citizens of Sri Lanka for decades have said that no one had seen 'him' before, and no one had heard of 'him'! It's as if 'he' appeared overnight! But before that, what 'he' had done, where he came from, and even what race he was, were all like mist, mysterious and disturbing...

Some say 'he' is a traveler who lives in the Silver Blood Hotel;

But some people say that 'he' is the incarnation of Talos in the world, and he came to Markarth to save all the people who were innocently involved in this terrible war. The reason is that someone heard some earth-shattering sound that night. Terrifying Roar [1] - Mednach felt extremely ridiculous and disdainful of this piece of information at first, but at the end he fell silent again. Because he remembered the white deer he had seen that night and the terrible sight of the earth being shaken by some force.

[1] Roar/Tum is considered to be the unique power of the ancient Nordic heroes, and the one who is recently known to people in Skyrim and even Tamriel to master this skill is the legendary First Empire Emperor Tiber. Septim is Talos among the Nine Holy Spirits. There is a precedent in Nirn for the gods to come to Tamriel in some form.

Yes, if even homeless little bastards like Omuruha and Hashrasiu who live on the streets have heard the rumors about the resurrection of the dead, then Mai, the latest ruler of the fallen city of Markas, How could a hero like Denage not pay special attention to this absurd, shocking and doubtful news? After all, there were not a few people who saw Turka and the others crossing most of Markas that night.

What role do we play in the game of the gods? Mednach felt sad in his heart, just because he thought of the countless fellow tribesmen who died that night, the huge mountains that were destroyed, and the beautiful elk...

But soon he cheered up again. He had to find out whether that rumor was true or not. After all, resurrecting the dead, well, this was an extremely powerful ability in any world.

In fact, most scholars in Tamriel believe that this is the authority of the gods - there are many examples to prove this - but we know that Mednach was not a devout believer.

A living god? Mednach gritted his teeth and tried his best to stop himself from thinking those too frightening thoughts.

But only he knew clearly that he hated the gods.

Even Hircine.

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"I hope I didn't keep you waiting too long." A pleasant voice sounded. At that moment, Mednach seemed to see an unknown forested area, where there were elm trees and beech trees, but they were not towering trees. There were also a few chestnut trees with white flowers. There is a large area of ​​fragrant and lush exotic flowers and plants under the forest, and the cheerful singing of nightingales makes people forget to leave.

Turka lowered his head and crossed the door of the study. His giant-like body cast a huge shadow on the ground and wall under the illumination of the wall fire. He looked at Mednach with a smile on his face, like a hospitable host.

"Ah," the vigilance of the spellcaster suddenly woke up Mednach. He was confused that his protective spell was not effective, and at the same time he was shocked that he had fallen into the opponent's illusion so easily. He stood up and spoke in as calm a voice as possible. He said: "No, on the contrary, I hope you can forgive me for being presumptuous. It was not my intention to come so suddenly."

Well, how should I put it, Turka's first meeting with Mednach was somewhat dramatic.

First of all, in Medernach's eyes, the owner of the voice was extremely tall, almost as tall as a forest troll, which made people wonder whether he had giant blood; secondly, he had a handsome face that was absolutely unforgettable. Her long hair is as black as the shadow before dawn, and she wears a silver hoop on her hair, which is decorated with fine diamonds and precious stones. It is so exquisite and gorgeous that it makes people suspect that only the king is worthy of using it; because she is always concerned about the lover and the land in her heart. , but his golden eyes are not as cold and ruthless as other cold-blooded species, but contain the light of stars...

Wait, his eyes are the same as those of the Argonians in Black Marsh. Mednach opened his mouth in surprise, and the thumb of his left hand stopped. Previously it was pressed involuntarily on the ring worn on the index finger of the right hand. A diamond-shaped gemstone was embedded on the surface of the ring, which shone with a magical aura that only certain powerful magicians could see.

Perhaps because of the busy government affairs and meetings, Mednach was still in the same outfit as when he entered the city. It couldn't be said to be dirty, but it was definitely wrinkled. Moreover, due to not taking care of it for many days, Mednach's eyes were sunken at this time, his beard and hair were disheveled, and he was as tired as an old miner who had worked hard for many days. However, because Mednach has a hook-shaped nose and sharp eyes, people know at first glance that this is a guy who is not easy to mess with. Not to mention, he also has a pair of warrior-like broad shoulders and thick and powerful limbs - it can be said that the first impression of everyone who sees Mednach will definitely not associate him with a spell caster. .

But Turka did not ignore the movements of Mednach's hands and the rich magical aura of this new ruler of Markas...

Something has changed in Turka since his many life-and-death battles with Molag Bal on the spiritual level.

Now, Turka can clearly see the magical aura attached to a person or object, and feel the majestic bones of Nirn everywhere. He can reconcile and stir the power that makes up everything, and let the world press his Reorganize and change his will - simply speaking, he can cast spells.

Therefore, Turka was polite enough to the other spellcaster, but also showed a hint of vigilance and curiosity.

"I didn't expect there would be guests." Turka came over, and Mednach felt great pressure from his giant stature. "So I got busy and forgot the time. I think I should apologize to you." He walked Went behind the table and sat down. His body was so huge, but his movements and words were as elegant as those of the oldest nobles, which made the already nervous Mednach's eyes twitch even more.

The other party raised his hand to signal, his attitude was sincere and friendly.

A stiff smile appeared on the corner of Maidenaqi's mouth. After hesitating for a moment, Maidenaqi bowed deeply and sat across from him.

"Ah~" Turka laughed happily and picked up the pot of wine that was said to come from a winery in the imperial capital of Cyrodiil with a century-old history of brewing wine. "It seems that Boss Kleibo has already entertained you. Yes, it’s something he’s treasured for a long time. Maybe we should have a drink.”

Some kind of instinct is madly reminding Mednach that the 'person' in front of him is extremely dangerous! It was some kind of impulse of fear and hatred! It was the same feeling Mednach felt that night when he magically saw that beautiful elk.

The humanoid creature in front of him, who had the appearance of an ordinary person, smiled and poured himself a glass, then raised it in a friendly manner and toasted Mednach.

Mednach raised the glass of wine on the table with stiff fingers and drank it. He began to believe that the rumors of the resurrection of the dead might be true. In front of me is a ferocious ancient dragon covered in human skin!

He can destroy you at any time! Like destroying an ant!

Mednach's instincts screamed and shouted deep within him. The fingers of his left hand placed under the table involuntarily tightened, and the nails dug into the palm of his hand.

But Mednach didn't notice at all.

He was thinking and evaluating, if this monster was finally confirmed to be the enemy of the Reach people, would he have enough manpower to ambush outside?

As if he was aware of the dark thoughts deep in Mednach's heart, Turka showed a playful smile. He unconsciously raised his left hand, clenched it into a fist, and pressed it against his body, which was as handsome as a god in the sky. Perfect on the left side of the face. His right hand was playing magic with the wine cup, which was like a child's toy to him. "Aha, please forgive me for saying this. It's not that I don't like guests, but I think we didn't know each other before, right?"

Mednach's eyelids twitched, and he slowly loosened his clenched fists.

Outside the Silverblood Inn, rows of fully armed Rich soldiers, as if in sync, slowly retreated under the command of a sturdy general wearing thick steel armor. Their pets neighed and growled impatiently, as if complaining about why their masters did not allow them to rush in and enjoy the food inside.

Farther away, on the roof of a residential building with square eaves, a monster with bird wings and feet but a humanoid female face hissed and retreated into deeper shadows. middle.

After hearing the scream of this monster, similar shrill screams were heard from multiple directions with the Silver Blood Inn as the center, and on the roofs of many houses in Markarth City.

In the inn, the Claypool family hugged each other nervously. The child was frightened and sobbed softly. But he was soon stopped by the woman who comforted and threatened him. In the next room, the person involved in the rumor had a solemn gaze. He patted his frightened old wife comfortingly, but what he was thinking about was another thing.

They all heard the noise outside, and everyone who had escaped from the edge of life and death was once again gripped by fear. But this time, what even they didn't know was that some faint hope lurked behind the fear. They murmured to themselves the names of the gods they believed in, but their eyes couldn't help but look towards the second floor.

"Please forgive me." Mednach stood up and put his hand on his chest, "Mednach is willing to serve you."

Turka laughed, "Yes, yes, now we are considered acquaintances." He seemed to realize that his posture was a little too impolite, and finally sat up straight. "I thought, you know who I am?"

Looking at the majestic and cold eyes of the Arda dragonborn, Mednach's thoughts changed rapidly. He used all his strength to suppress his urge to cast a certain spell. He nodded slowly.

"Very good," the other party said arrogantly: "Then, what can I do for you? Mr. King."