Dragonborn from Lord of the Rings

Chapter 282 Belief in Humanity

Not much is known about the dialogue between the Ragged King and Turka Aracano, and the occasional fragments of words are mostly confirmed to be spread by some ignorant peasants and old women in the countryside. Scholars have specially visited most of the relevant areas. Later, people regard it as nothing more than people's superstition and fear of the unknown, just like those weird, mysterious and charming bedtime stories that adults tell you before you go to bed.

However, in some areas, the mysterious existence of what we later called the Lord of Holy Glory, the King of Three Crowns and the Supreme Ismir in the Deep Day has indeed become the main belief after the Nine Holy Spirits, and Very popular.

This also makes scholars who specialize in this period feel extremely curious and excited. They work tirelessly to find out the traces of that existence in Tamriel, and to find out who this great What purpose did the gods have to leave such a strong trace in our history?

However, everything is just like our impression of this mysterious man. Everything about Turka Aracano seems to be plunged into a deep fog. Even the most knowledgeable researchers have spent their entire lives only digging out him. A small part of that magnificent legend. And this is the most fascinating thing about him.

It is said that though the hopes of the Tattered King are destined to be in vain. But what else could he do at that time? Duty and love for his people compelled him to come, knowing that such an action might have unknowable and dire consequences, but he came anyway, bringing with him a small army.

Mednach's words and attitude were so humble, and he did not look like a powerful figure who had just ruled the frontier territory. "I heard some strange rumors..."

"Oh?"

The expression of this powerful, mysterious, frightening... powerful being in front of him was just like the gods and Daedra princes in the higher realms that Mednach had heard about, cold and... arrogant.

"Someone said," an anger burst out in Mednach's heart, and his fingers turned pale as he pinched himself, because in this way he could prevent himself from saying something irrevocable, "the dead are resurrected! Well, although A master who is proficient in necromancy can indeed summon some beings between life and death, but we all know that that is not resurrection in the true sense!"

"The true resurrection is the return of a king like Nerevaine, the rebirth of a body like the immortal king Wulfhas, the powerful magic of Manimak and the shocking plan to deceive the gods..."

"What does this have to do with me?" Turka interrupted him, "I have indeed heard of your name, and I asked the boss here to entertain unexpected guests, but this is just out of respect. Maybe I will talk to my friends We were chatting with friends under the shade of the trees on a sunny afternoon, but don’t you think what we are talking about is too ethereal? Life and death?” He made a similarly inelegant gesture, and raised his eyebrows, “You Sure?"

Mednach was horrified, and his heart, shaken by anger, felt as if it had been poured through a basin of ice water. He groaned, twisted his stiff body uneasily, and was speechless for a long time. I saw a pair of sharp eyes exuding infinite majesty staring straight at him, and the words he spoke were like the coldest icy wind in the sky.

"Attention! What you want to say involves areas you don't understand. This arrogance may kill you!"

The ragged king's face turned blue and white, and anger and fear filled his heart at the same time. He nervously pressed the ring on his index finger, and there was a powerful spell attached to the ring. And as long as he gives the order, heavily armed soldiers will rush in. There are Crow Hags from the Stonetalon Tribe, Wardens from the Raging Palm Tribe, and Thornhearts from the Boneshaper Tribe. They are the most powerful professionals among the Reach people, the coldest warriors and sorcerers.

But every time he saw the majestic eyes of the person in front of him, which were as majestic as a god, Mednach cringed again.

"I know your purpose, human being." Here, the person in front of him used a word that made Mednach extremely frightened. "You use your own standards to decide who the gods should bless, but you don't know that you What you are asking for is a miracle that you have never understood!”

"Not to mention, you and your minions just barged in so rudely and broke into my... well, no matter what it is in this world," he said: "But you ignored my kindness and majesty—— "

"No! I didn't..." Mednach was so frightened that he almost bit his tongue, but as the powerful being in front of him suddenly shouted angrily, a ray of light appeared in the room like the sun rising suddenly, and the thorns surged like a tidal wave. It hurt Mednach's eyes.

"Don't lie!"

A huge magical power that made everyone feel desperate enveloped the inside and outside of the inn. Mednach pinched his fingers desperately, trying to cast a counter spell, but found that he couldn't even move a finger. Subconsciously, Mednach shouted the name of his god.

"Human prayers have turned into a bargaining tool!" A voice said mockingly in the light. "Isn't this what you want? Ask the gods for forgiveness of death!"

At this moment, Mednach was shocked by Turka Aracano's speech. He considered himself not a devout believer, but he never thought that someone could so clearly describe human greed, ignorance and the indifference of the gods. , arrogance and arrogance were so harmoniously unified, but these words seemed to have some strange magic power, making his whole body tremble like a thunderbolt.

“God will never tell you what to do, but God will give you the wisdom to make the right decision and the strength to follow through.”

※※※※※

Omuruha and Hashrasi looked at the crowded tavern uneasily, hesitating whether to continue. The spells of the high elves lingered in their hearts, and they carried the corpses over and over again. The squeaking axle of the carriage was the only sound among them. The work was so arduous that it was not until the day was completely over and the last moment before dawn that we were finally able to stop. Don't get me wrong, the bodies were far from being cleaned up, but the men had not completely lost their humanity. The replacements came and they took over. Omuruha and Hashrasiu's work until the arrival of the next shift.

So, the two of them were in a trance, followed their inner impulse, and staggered in the dark to the tavern mentioned by the magician, for reasons they themselves did not know.

Maybe they know.

But neither Omuruha nor Hashrasiu would admit it.

Ah, humans.

Spells amplify their desires, but they don't create them out of thin air.

At least the elf mage can't do it.

Whether it was out of love or for whatever reason, the two listened to the voice in their hearts and came to the tavern they had agreed with the high elf.

As a result, the two of them discovered that the Grass Trough Tavern in the Old Stable was actually surrounded by guards. A Sheriff with a hooked nose and a stern face was holding a torch and said something to Boss Doom at the door. He first yelled a few words loudly, and then walked into this shabby tavern in the slums.

Boss Doom stood at the door at a loss.

"What happened?" the big man said timidly.

Harshlash shook his head desperately, too frightened to speak. The two of them just huddled in the shadow, shivering.

After about ten minutes, the sheriff came out again. The Sheriff gave Boss Doom a few words of advice, and of course, maybe a threat. Due to the distance, Omuruha and Hashrasiu could not hear clearly. Then the Reach guards left, leaving the tavern owner and waitress shivering in the cold wind.

The footsteps of the guards gradually faded away, but the two friends huddled motionless in the shadows. They stayed in the cold wind for a long time, until both of them were almost frozen, Hashraxiu said to his companion tremblingly: "Oni, are we sure we want to go?" Omuruha looked at The sky was starting to get dark, and when I heard the faint rustling sounds coming from several houses not far away, I felt an inexplicable impulse well up in my heart. "Hash, even if there is even a glimmer of possibility...even a tiny bit..." he said dryly.

Hashrashu remained silent.

Eventually the older of the two children burst out of the shadows and ran towards the hay trough tavern in the old stables.

Hashraxiu looked at his companions who were leaving, gritted his teeth, and followed him.

It seemed as if they had been waiting for them. Just as they ran to the closed tavern and were hesitating whether to go in, the door opened. "You are here." The high elf's yellow and thin face appeared in front of the two of them.

The two children were in a trance for a while, like puppets, and walked into the tavern under the soft smile of the magician.

I don’t know how long it took, but a figure appeared in the corner where the two children had been hiding.

"Interesting." The one-eyed assassin rubbed his chin playfully and muttered to himself. "Two people who cast spells... came to Markas at this time... and specially found two little kids..." The assassin's black single eye turned around, and the curiosity in his heart was only his own. The urge to know made him want to find out the secret.

Finally, the figure disappeared, just as he arrived, leaving only a faint whisper in the howling cold wind.

"I'm starting to look forward to the next development of things..."

※※※※※

The Tattered King and his men left the Silverblood Inn in disgrace. According to what some brave guys said afterwards - there are always people who are not afraid of death and dare to peek at things that they cannot and should not be curious about - some people saw the faces of these Forsworn people looking very strange when they left, as if they were attracted by something. Chased by the terrifying thing, everyone ran away from the Silver Blood Inn without even daring to look back. The speed was staggering.

And this has become one of the many unsolved mysteries in the city of Markas many years later.

The old farmer walked into the study. He looked hesitantly at the man leaning lazily on the chair, his Adam's apple twitching, as if he was considering how to speak.

"What do you want to say?" At this time, Turka had already returned to his original appearance. He said to Dandis Savius ​​kindly: "Is there something wrong with your body?"

The old farmer seemed to have thought of something while he was deep in thought, and he shivered shuddering. He shook his head hastily, "I'm fine... Oh no, it's not... I mean, no one has ever experienced this kind of thing, and I don't know." Is there something wrong... Ah, I didn't mean to accuse you..." The old man was a little incoherent, and his meaning was confusing and illogical. But Turka understood, and he smiled: "So I guess this means we can maybe celebrate?"

Dandis also smiled.

"Indeed." He said, "It feels good to live again!"

They all laughed. The Dragonborn and the old farmer sat on the bench with a blanket and started talking.

"Those are the rebels..." The comfortable chair cushion made Dandice Salvus feel like he was sitting on a ball of feathers. He said, "Ah, I mean, they are from this war..." The old farmer said Poor, he didn't know how to describe the relationship between the two parties. It's out of stance and hatred and stuff like that. Turka expressed his understanding and said bluntly: "Yes, they are the winners, at least on the surface they are!"

The old farmer was silent for a moment and sighed, "It doesn't matter. Isn't this the case? You kill me and I'll kill you. War can bring nothing but death!"

"So, do you have any doubts?" Turka said. But he knew in his heart why the old farmer came here. Turka did not mind a more patient attitude toward the mortal, out of recognition of the fact that the farmer had helped him.

Dandis Savius ​​thought for a long time before carefully wording his words: "I know that big men like you always have your own plans and will. I am in awe of this and have no objection!"

Turka said nothing and just smiled.

The old farmer glanced at him boldly, confirming that this noble being was not angry, and then continued: "But, why do you need them? I mean," Dandis swallowed, "human beings can still use you. value?”

Although the old farmer placed Turka Aracano in a very high position in his words, his speech was still very surprising and even terrifying, because not only was he deeply offended - based on the attitude of the gods in this world towards mortals Talking about - a living god, he also revealed that Turka's previous use of magic to freeze Mednach and all the men he had ambushed outside the Silver Blood Inn was for a certain purpose.

"Human beings are very complex creatures." The smile on Turka's face faded, but he was still lifeless. He looked at the old farmer thoughtfully and spoke: "Unpredictability and unpredictability are the key factors. You are a great example of complexity. Sometimes people's actions and decisions amaze me. Even they themselves are not very good at predicting or controlling their own behavior. Human nature shows up very differently in various circumstances and situations. The appearance is so unpredictable that we don’t even need to explain it. ”

Dandis lowered his head and said nothing. This wise old man - well, judging from the human lifespan - has been through a lot, which Turka thinks he can understand.

"But that's not what I want to say." The alien dragonborn said indifferently: "The reason why I am willing to forgive their offense is because, as you said, I need them to do something for me. After all, they are the ones responsible for this game. The winner of the war, and the winner always has more privileges.”

"Can I ask what it is?" The old farmer suddenly raised his head and asked respectfully.

"Why do you want to know?" Turka asked.

"Because..." Dandis Savius ​​trembled, knelt down on one knee, lowered his head, put his hands on his chest, and said enthusiastically in a pious tone: "I hope to contribute to your cause. !My master!"

Turka smiled dumbly at first. He knew that the old farmer had misunderstood and thought he was going to do something... But then, he was stunned again.

Because, he felt that as the old farmer pledged his loyalty to him, an inexplicable thing with some strange qualities that made him feel suddenly emerged from Dandis Savius' body and turned into a line of sight that could be seen with the naked eye. The missing thread flew into his spiritual sea.

This is!

After Turka carefully and roughly touched this thin thread, he was shocked to discover that this was actually the power of faith! And, as he followed this thin line that was invisible to the naked eye and projected his consciousness onto this human being, he discovered that the old farmer's consciousness and even everything in his soul was opening up to him!