Chapter 887 — New Rules
Blade of Dawn · Page 2 of 4
"Yes, Master Morgan was a member of the former royal mage association and the astrologers' association of Saint Sunil, and served the old royal house as astrological adviser for decades. He is an expert in astrology, astrometry, and planetary natural history; he once calculated the rough distance between our planet and the sun, and accurately predicted the dates of two asteroids passing through the sky. His learning is trustworthy. After the Siege of Saint Sunil, the observatory tower of the old royal capital was severely damaged in the fighting and has yet to be fully restored, so this 'expert of the stars' accepted Master Kamael's invitation and came south. Later, hearing that a new observatory based on modern technology would be built in the Paramere Highlands, he volunteered."
"Scholars like this are the Empire's treasures; they must be treated with care," Gao Cen said, nodding as he listened to Hedy's account. "In addition, we can add a second phase of funding for the Paramere Observatory—it sits in one of the best 'windows' in the Empire as calculated by Kamael, and the sooner it is put to use, the better."
"Yes," Hedy acknowledged at once, then could not resist glancing at Gao Yang a couple of times, a hint of a smile showing. "Patriarch, you truly do place great importance on Master Kamael's plans for establishing observatories and observing the stars."
Gao Yang's mind could not help conjuring his earlier conversation with Metzen and Noretta, and those impressions concerning the Vipulanton Observatory and the glorious technology of ancient Gondor. Though many of the memories were not his own, the regret and emotion that seeped through as he traced them back filled his heart truly and unmistakably, and he could not help sighing softly. Looking at Hedy, he said gravely: "Research projects concerning the starry sky are important—though in the short term they may not show the enormous economic benefits of railways and mines, in the long run they may brew all kinds of technological achievements that change the world. And even setting aside such distant matters, curiosity about the unknown and the far-off is the greatest driving force behind mortal progress—Hedy, the most mysterious and secret-filled place in this world is right above our heads, in that starry sky."
"I understand what you mean," Hedy said with a smile, a trace of happiness in her eyes. "Patriarch, don't forget—I am a mage too. I can no longer lose myself in research the way I once did, but I am still a mage, and mages are the most eager to explore the unknown."
Gao Yang looked at the smiling Hedy before him, and after a few seconds, he smiled too.
"In the ancient Gondor age, humanity had already grown curious about the starry sky above. Observatories and star-watching stations of every kind spread through the 'windows' across the land, and our scholars observed the cosmos through the natural channels woven by the ripples of magic in the atmosphere, divining the secrets of our world itself. That was a glorious and thrilling age... yet before they could truly develop, the magic tide wiped it all away.
"Now, perhaps it is time for part of our gaze to return to the stars."
……
Malm Duniter, clad in robes of gold and crimson, lowered his eyelids and folded his hands before his chest. The gold bead strings and pendant talismans wound around his wrists hung down, glimmering faintly in the lamplight.
Amid his devout prayers to the God of War, his heart gradually grew calm. As the faint, almost imperceptible voice at his ear—a voice that seemed to hold inexhaustible knowledge—faded into the distance, the burly, powerfully built old man slowly opened his eyes and looked at Matilda Augustus standing before him.