Chapter 554 — The Duty of the Sacred Covenant
Blade of Dawn · Page 1 of 4
The situation at the Great Wall was even graver than Duke Pei Yi had first imagined.
The elves were an ancient and proud race—proud, not arrogant. A long cultural heritage and formidable innate powers had made them as confident as the humans of Gondor in their day, and filled with a certain sense of responsibility. Ever since the fall of the Gondor Empire, when half of the continent's civilizational bipolarity had collapsed, the Silver Empire—driven by the sense of duty that befits a great power—had become the guardian of the Great Wall and the watcher over the Wasteland. For seven hundred years they had scrupulously discharged the duties set down in the Sacred Covenant. Duke Pei Yi knew very well that unless something truly catastrophic had befallen that barrier, the proud elves would never have sent envoys to warn the nations—and to ask for help.
The Grand Duke watched Emperor Luo Yan's expression, and from His Majesty's face he knew the Emperor had already confirmed the truth of the elves' words. He turned to Shiva. "Your plan is to reinforce the barrier—but how, precisely? And what, precisely, do you need from us?"
"We intend to install amplification devices near several of the principal Sentinel Towers," the elven envoy said. "We have the technology for such devices, but not enough hands or resources—and even with enough hands and resources, we would not have the time to distribute them along the entire Great Wall. The Wasteland across the middle of the continent blocks all transport; coming from the Silver Empire to the north of the continent requires a long detour. We reached this place within half a month only by riding giant eagles—but giant eagles cannot be used to haul large quantities of goods."
At this, Luo Yan Augustus finally spoke. "Tifeng is glad to go and repair that barrier—it is our lifeline as well, after all. But what of the other nations?"
"We have already sent messengers to every human kingdom," Shiva said. "The messenger sent to the Augurey Tribal States should have arrived days ago. The messenger sent to Ansul set out earlier than we did, and should have arrived by now as well."
"The Augurey Tribal States have kept watch on the Great Wall for many years; they will likely respond to your warning swiftly. But Ansul..." Emperor Luo Yan said in a low voice. "That country is mired in civil war. I do not know whether they can still fulfill the duties of the Sacred Covenant."
"...We had received word of that," Shiva said after a moment's silence, his tone regretful. Thanks to the Great Wall communications network, the elves were reasonably well informed about the whole continent, and news of the Ansul civil war had reached the Silver Empire as early as half a year ago. "We are grieved by it. The descendants of former allies should not stand so opposed to one another... But whatever is said, the safety of the Great Wall concerns the life and death of civilization. They ought to know... this is no time to continue a civil war."
"As you say, the people of all four human nations are descendants of the Gondor Empire. The ancient glory of our forebears should not be tarnished by prejudice and short-sightedness. I believe that glorious blood still flows in the veins of the Ansulish—so long as they have not wholly forgotten all of this, they will know what must be done," Luo Yan Augustus said gravely, then rose to his feet. "And as for Tifeng... we will fulfill the duties of the Sacred Covenant and go to repair that barrier."
The elven envoy rose and bowed low before Emperor Luo Yan. "You are worthy of the name Augustus."
Luo Yan nodded. "Please, envoys, go and rest for now. I must discuss the specifics of supply movement and personnel arrangements with my advisors."
The elven envoys withdrew under the attendants' guidance, and for a time only the Emperor of Tifeng and Duke Pei Yi remained in the reception chamber.