Chapter 1046 — Waking from a Great Dream

When Gao Yang walked into Office No. 1 of the Government Hall, Hedy, who was reviewing documents, immediately sensed something slightly off about him. This "Cecil's chief steward" looked up at Gao Song's expression. "Ancestor, did you not rest well last night?"

"...A bit of insomnia," Gao Yang said. It was hard to explain to Hedy his state of mind after being jolted awake in the middle of the night by an alarm from the satellite, then watching what looked like a mechanical dragon blaze across space and speed off into the distance. So he could only wave his hand with a trace of weariness. "It's nothing. I just need to adjust."

For a powerful Transcendent, fatigue from a bit of insomnia was naturally no great problem, but Hedy could not help feeling a little worried. "Do you need some calming medicine? Pi Yun should have some over there..."

"That really won't be necessary." Gao Shao waved his hand at once, then looked at the neat stacks of documents on Hedy's desk and swiftly changed the subject. "Any new messages?"

To be honest, his head was still full of the images he had observed last night through the space surveillance, still full of that mysterious silhouette streaking across the stars and the countless tangled thoughts that came with it. But he understood very well that he was in no position to conduct further investigation—at least not at this stage. The power of the Government Hall was of no use here, and the Empire's daily affairs still had to be handled.

Hedy looked at Gao Song's expression again, as if confirming the health of the Xuanmai Sect, and only after making sure the other party truly had no problem did she flip through the top few documents. Organizing her thoughts as she went, she answered, "Yes, we have received replies from the leaders of several nations or regions—including the Aurgel Tribal Nation, the Northern City-States, the Silver Empire, and also a reply from the Dwarf Kingdom. From the feedback, the leaders of these nations are all quite interested in the 'Community Alliance' you proposed..."

"As expected." Gao Rong's spirits lifted; this was at last good news, enough to dispel some of the bad mood brought on by insomnia. "These nations are either already within the Cecil settlement zone, or about to join the Northern Ring Continental Route, or else have technological exchange and close ties with us... The bridge has been built. Closer ties between nations are an inevitable trend."

"As you say." Hedy nodded, then took up a document that had been set aside by itself. "In addition, this is a long-distance letter forwarded this very morning through the Sentinel Tower—from Her Majesty Belanthea Morningstar of the Silver Empire. It is a private letter addressed specifically to you."

"Belanthea..." Gao Yang was briefly stunned, and memories from seven hundred years ago rose unbidden in his mind—a lively figure, always scrambling along behind him and causing trouble, flitting from camp to camp during the pioneer covenant meetings. But soon he shook his head and set aside this memory, outdated by seven hundred years, reaching out to take the letter Hedy handed him.

This letter was of course not the original, but a "copy" forwarded through the Sentinel Tower's communication link and the Magic Net communication system. Though the copied image was slightly distorted, the handwriting on the paper was still clear and familiar. The "Silver Empress's" script had not changed much from seven hundred years ago—only a little more mature and elegant:

"To His Imperial Majesty the Emperor of Cecil, and to my Uncle Gao Yang, whom I have not seen in so long—"

Seeing this distinctive opening, Gao Song's eyebrows rose instinctively. Then he lowered his eyes and read the letter through carefully.

A few minutes later, he set the letter down, and Hedy cast him a curious look. "What did the Silver Empress say? Ah, of course, if it's private, I won't ask..."

Gao Yang gave Hedy an odd look, somehow feeling her words sounded a little strange, then shook his head. "Nothing much—some everyday pleasantries, and a personal response regarding this meeting... She will come in person."

Hedy was stunned for a moment before realizing what "in person" meant, and her eyes went wide with surprise. "In person? You mean the Silver Empress will personally travel to Outpost 112 to attend this meeting?"

Her surprise was well founded. The meeting, slated for the Month of Revival this year, had in principle invited the leaders of all nations, but in practice the situation across the Loren Continent was complicated, and many regions had opened their doors only recently. Thus some nations that were far away or had only just joined the Cecil settlement zone were in fact preparing to send the king's deputy or court officials of considerable standing. The Silver Empire lay at the southernmost tip of the entire Loren Continent, separated from the northern nations by the whole of the Gondo Wastes, and moreover the Silver Empress was held in such reverence that she had rarely left her own country in several hundred years. Almost everyone assumed this distant ancient empire would send only an ambassador—Hedy had never imagined the Silver Empress herself would come.

Gao Yang was less surprised than Hedy; he even seemed calm. "This meeting will redraw the shape of the entire world, and its long-term impact will be no less than that of the pioneer covenant of those years. For the Silver Empire, this is the sort of occasion worth their Empress witnessing in person. And besides..."

Hedy asked curiously, "And besides?"

Gao Yang lowered his head and glanced at the letter in his hand, his gaze falling on certain passages:

"...Many years ago, the elves lost the favor of the nature gods, and our scholars and theologians have debated this for many years... I myself have paid particular attention to the changes in the north of the continent over the past two years, and in my correspondence with Soyu I have also learned about the reformed Cult of the Dark Luminary and the Cecil Empire's restructuring of the various churches..."

He looked up and said thoughtfully, "The elves may become the first non-human members of the Theocratic Council. That I did not expect."

Hearing Gao Song's words, Hedy quickly caught on as well. "...The silver elves... yes, their original mainstream faith was the God of Nature, but ever since the fall of the White Star three thousand years ago, their belief structure has undergone great changes. What was once the empire's state religion gradually became, over a few hundred years, a purely academic institution devoted to the study of druidic techniques, while the priests who broke away led small groups of believers and founded one scattered sect after another based on primitive nature worship. But I have heard Soyu and Suojilin say that these sects, spreading on a small scale through the jungles, have almost never stirred up any trouble—no nature divine arts have ever manifested, and no new god has ever answered their prayers...

"To this day, there is still no unified, universally recognized mainstream faith within the Silver Empire. The elven royal house is nominally the supreme leader of the druids, and the Silver Empress herself is nominally the supreme high priestess, but this has become merely a ceremonial and traditional symbol. Most elves no longer worship Amorn, while a minority, influenced by the human nations, some believe in the God of War, some are shallow believers in the Goddess of Magic, and a few believe in the Holy Light..."

Gao Yang's face twitched. "...Then it seems their current religious situation is not promising..."

Hedy thought it over carefully, and her expression turned odd as well. "...Indeed."