Elden: Ring of Calamity

Chapter 122 Ember Fire
In the early morning of the 29th, deep in the Arctic ice sheet.

The sky here is filled with misty snow and fog, and the ground is covered with ice and snow that has not melted for a thousand years. No matter whether it is up, down or around, it is an endless paleness.

People in the Yatan area often make fun of the northern residents who are silent like frozen stones. They don’t know that even if they just exhale hot air in the northern border, it will turn into falling ice crystals in a blink of an eye. The perception of the tongue, how could the people there be active?
Having said that, although the Golden Dynasty has ruled over the Arctic Ice Field for more than ten years, in the thousands of years earlier, this land has never been a territory that humans can set foot on.It once belonged to the Pamirs and the "Ice Dragon God" Bolelius they worshiped, but most of the time, those flame giants bathed in magma and flames were the only overlords of this ice and snow country.

When the angle of view is extended again, you will see a tall dark palace standing at the end of the horizon. This stalwart building made of obsidian is like the only gap in a pure white prison. It is incompatible with the surrounding environment, but it is out of thin air Sitting on a domineering arrogance.

Flame Temple - the highest holy place of the flame monks, it is located in the northernmost part of the territory of the Golden Dynasty in the traditional sense, even the nearest civilian town is thousands of miles away.

In addition to its important position in the field of belief, it is also the most important cultural center and military center under the entire flame monk system. At least four of the seven flame archbishops are usually resident here, not to mention there are more than [-] proficient in gold. The martial arts monks who practiced combat skills and prayed with flames served as the standing army of the Holy Land.

Since the end of the giant war, these monks who sacrificed their gold faith and devoted themselves to the flames have become the first barrier to curb the restoration of the giant's remnants, and their important status is even more important than that of the northern army.

However, at this moment, the monks who have stood firm for a whole year in the snow and bitter cold also ushered in a rare time of rest. Except for a few monks who are on duty in shifts, most of them choose to drink and have fun during the holidays at the end of the year. In this way, he rewarded his body and soul that had been tortured in the depths of the ice sheet, and even those high-ranking bishops were no exception.

The corridors of the sanctuary echoed with dance music played by musicians, and the warm firelight illuminated a large black stone wall as dark as iron. The monks took off their heavy and cold armor one after another, and danced happily around the long table full of food and wine. Some people even took the Wangdu newspaper that was sent here by the horse a few days ago, and bet on the candidate for this year's champion according to the list of battle festivals above.

It is also rare for seven archbishops to gather here, six of them delivered New Year's greetings to the monks, but the chief archbishop Pirac was alone.

After drinking for three rounds, the second archbishop Hiron grabbed two cowhide wine bags and searched around. It took a long time to find Pilak on the windy terrace at the top of the church.

It was an old man over sixty years old. His body was bloated far beyond ordinary people due to his constant exposure to the inhuman fire of evil gods, like circles of stacked stone circles. The unmistakable Fire Emblem would almost make people mistake it for a nobleman who had defected to the Golden Dynasty.

However, at the same time, there was no sign of "laziness" or "laziness" on his body. In the cold wind like a sharp blade in the depths of the ice sheet, he was only wearing a thin bishop's robe, But the body stands upright like an eternal mountain, as if it will never be shaken despite all the wind and rain from the outside world.

"I said, are you a fool!" Xilun complained angrily and amusedly, "Everyone is waiting for you to have fun and find no one, but you come here alone to blow the cold wind, and you still hate your Penance is not pious enough, is it?"

As he said that, he threw a wine bag directly at the back of Pilak's head, and the latter grabbed it casually. With their decades of acquaintance, Pilak was already very familiar with similar behaviors of old friends.

"Penancery is not the goal, Hiron." Pilak pulled out the cork and took a sip of the strong wine, exhaling a hot breath that seemed to be laced with flames, "Faith is."

"Faith is what we should stick to the most. Losing faith means losing control of power and instinct, and will only fall into the abyss in the end, from which we can no longer extricate ourselves."

Xilun Yaoyao raised his wine bag and said helplessly: "In the past year, you have used these things to spur your colleagues and subordinates hundreds of times. It's a day off, let everyone's ears rest."

Seeing his old friend's hob-like appearance, Pilak just smiled wryly and said no more.

In recent years, the flame monks' attitude towards flames has become more and more loose and conceited. He has long been aware of the signs of this trend and has been committed to changing it—but perhaps the fire of the evil god is also subtly influencing while bestowing power. No matter how hard Pilak tried, everything was still slipping in the direction he didn't want to see day by day.In this case, just saying a few more words is really useless.

"Tell me, now that the New Year's Eve is approaching, what will Rodel's scene be like?" He said suddenly.

"What else can it be?" Xiron shrugged, "The princes and nobles drank happily in the palace and watched the dancers with a few rags wrapped around their bodies dance for days and nights. The common people wished to live in the arena. Looking through the magic projection, those fighters whose brains are full of muscles are beaten to the point of bleeding. How many years, isn’t it always like this?”

Pilak took another sip of the spirits, shook his head and said with a smile, "You probably forgot that I haven't been back for many years."

Xilun was slightly taken aback. He suddenly realized that the old guy next to him seemed to have really not left the northern border for many years. When was the last time he returned to the capital to report on his duties, 12 years ago or 13 years ago?

At this time, Pilak said again: "I don't know if you still remember, Rodel was not like this when we were young. At that time, only knights and even nobles with innocent backgrounds could participate in the gladiatorial arena, and everyone wore masks. The mask of identity, fighting heartily with honor as the only goal, sometimes even His Majesty will join us, he knocks everyone down with just a pair of fists, and then laughs and pulls everyone up from the dust, using A king's robe binds the wounds of the wounded warrior."

"Boys and girls at that time dreamed of becoming swords and shields that defended the kingdom and opened up borders. Then they grew into men and women, and each of them really became what they dreamed of when they were children. We used to joke Those ancient dynasties and aristocratic clans that have been passed down for thousands of years are proud of their unity and purity. They have never heard of the new party and the old party, the golden tree doctrine and the fundamentalism of the golden law. Different nobles, commoners, Rodels, border People, even humans and hybrids, there is no difference between them, they are just simple 'golden people' - that's all."

Afterwards, his voice became lower and lower, as if he was about to blend into the whistling morning wind, but Xilun, who was standing by the side, unknowingly suppressed the careless smile on his face, and remained silent as if It was to blend in with the obsidian wall beneath his feet.

"Of course I remember," he said softly, "How many people who have experienced it can truly forget those days?"

"But, everything can't go back."

"Yes, we can't go back."

Whether it is the great king who is as supreme as the Eternal Queen in the hearts of all the people of gold, or the Eastern Legion that gathered most of the elites of the dynasty and symbolized the strongest force and wisdom of the golden tree, they are gone forever. The people below have also been gradually worn away by the mottled years, and turned into a look that they no longer know.

Among those who have not forgotten those days, how many can still retain a trace of their original intentions?

Hiron couldn't give an answer, and neither could Pilak.

All he can do is to try his best to leave a little bit of fire for the dying golden age in the way of his heart, and hope that those last lights will illuminate as much as possible for the people who come later the way forward.

It's just that the Golden Dynasty is too big, even if he exhausts his eyesight, he can only guard a corner of the northern border.

"Old friend, I hope you can survive this round." Pilak closed his eyes in the wind, and murmured from the bottom of his heart.

　ps.3/60
　　
　
(End of this chapter)