Chapter 1209 — Meeting Again
Blade of Dawn · Page 1 of 5
In the last glow left by the setting sun, the great eagles of the Silver Empire beat their enormous wings and descended onto the Pioneer Plaza near the city center. These proud and well-drilled giant raptors stood solemn and orderly, lowering their bodies on foreign soil to let their riders dismount, while the final trace of sunset slipped away almost at the same moment from the rooftops around the plaza, and night fell upon the imperial capital.
Yet darkness did not arrive as expected — the mana-crystal lamps had already been lit, their bright radiance pouring down from the tops of the tall iron posts, making the plaza and the surrounding streets as bright as day. The welcoming party came forward from both sides; at the plaza's edge, immense holographic projections leapt into the air, gleaming with brilliant streams of light and welcoming addresses written simultaneously in two languages. Joyful music echoed above the plaza — a human melody, yet interwoven with elven-style variations.
Azmor climbed down from the eagle's back. Before he could carefully observe this human imperial capital, the lights and sounds flooding his eyes and ears made him pause; only then did he slowly adjust, his gaze sweeping over those humans dressed in "modern attire" quite different from his memory, looking spirited and vibrant; over the bright, orderly street lamps and the towering buildings at the plaza's edge; past the giant holographic projections floating in the air, to the faintly glowing crystal towers and mechanical clock towers in the distance, and further still to the flying machines patrolling the sky, and even dragons on night flights.
The eyes gifted by the gods let him see farther in the night, and what he saw now were details impossible to discern when gazing down from the sky.
The oldest living druid sage widened his eyes somewhat in surprise — he still remembered the splendor of the old Gondor Empire, and the nations built by pioneers who had hacked their way through thorns after the magic tide. Yet all of it... was utterly different from what he saw today.
"This is... that 'Cecil Empire' risen from the ashes?" he murmured in astonishment. "I thought..."
"You thought it should be rougher, more like a military empire drunk on arms and conquest, yes?" A woman's voice, tinged with amusement, came from behind, startling the old druid. "As so many rumors say."
"...I hold no such prejudice, Empress. I know that a military empire devoted only to arms could never build an alliance uniting the strength of an entire continent," Azmor said slowly, shaking his head. "But I truly did not expect it to look like this... The humans in my memory lived shorter lives than elves, yet carried themselves more gravely than elves do. And in Xuanque City — everything grows wild and free."
He used the phrase "grows wild and free" to describe the Xuanque City he saw, for what he beheld was indeed different from what others saw — through those god-given eyes, he could see the veins formed by "life" and "vitality," could see the surging power behind those seemingly cold buildings, could see the entire city wrapped in a vast, living energy field. At the same time he could see the "resonance" formed by countless minds — a positive, high-spirited, confident and mighty resonance of souls covering the sky above the city. And such a powerful, vivid, cohesive force he had not seen for many centuries.
"Xuanque City gathers twelve different intelligent species, and they in turn contain dozens of peoples from every corner of the world. Here are dragons from Talongde, elves from the Silver Empire; dwarves come here to do business, and gray elves study abroad — on occasion, you might even meet sea sirens from the deep," Belantia said with a smile. "I know what you mean by 'grows wild and free'... Though I lack your eyes, I too can see how immense a power gathers on this land."