I Am Louis XIV

  Chapter 395 Gayola's Dream (Part 1)

  Marie Mancini was awakened by a strange cry.

The first thing that jumped to her mind was the term siren, the sea-flying human-faced bird that was common around Fort Mancini on Gayola Island when she was a child. It is also her favorite kind of magic bird. Later, because one of her cousins ​​was continuously attacked by this bird for no reason, the wizards of Gayola Island carried out an encirclement and suppression of this bird, but within a few years, she could only use the potion raw materials. You can see traces of this bird in the storage room or the taxidermy, or on the hat of the mad wizard.

Surprised that she wasn't dead, or badly injured, cursed, or unconscious, she sat up, realizing that this wasn't her room in the Bastille, no, it was her What she thought she had long forgotten—on Cayola, in Castel Mancini, belonged to her... wait, she jumped out of bed, walked barefoot to the window, made of thin lead and stained glass The assembled Merlin figure moved when she saw her approaching the window, giving her a large transparent field of vision so that she could see what was outside.

  Mary stiffened, she remembered where this was, this should belong to her father, or more correctly, the room belonging to the head of the Mancini family. As a daughter, even if she received the most favor from her father, she has only been here a few times, but the impression left on her here is particularly deep, so deep that she can immediately recall every detail.

There was a warm, fluffy touch under her feet, and without looking down, Mary remembered that her father used the fur of a gryphon to make a rug, which, when enchanted, would emit soft heat in winter, and her toes curled between the fur. At the same time, the voices that had awakened her were leaving, black shadows swept across the glass, and Mancini's daughter looked up to see hordes of nightmares descending.

It is not surprising that a family such as Mancini has Nightmare, but in Mary's impression, the self-proclaimed father and uncles never ride the Nightmare directly, and only choose the carriage pulled by the Nightmare when they travel. There are also Mancini here. Chiney's wizards no longer have the confidence to control the nightmare - the nightmare is a kind of violent temperament, powerful magic, likes flesh and blood (especially the wizard's flesh and blood). Someone else acts as the driver, and the carriage is also a strong barrier, but ride directly... If the Nightmare detects the rider's weakness or timidity, they will throw him off the horse, trample his chest, tear his throat, pain Indulge in a blissful feast.

Marie subconsciously grasped the bag and wand she used to cast spells as one of the strongest nightmares, ornately decorated with horse gear, hovered over the grassy slopes, she didn't know when they appeared. , but she could clearly feel that it was not her father, uncle, and cousin who had come, but somehow another slight joy and anticipation rose in her heart, prompting her to lean towards the window, her face against the cold glass .

   She saw it, someone...

   That was her husband, E. Dieudone-Bourbon of Gayola.

  ———

Archduke Gayola leaped down from the Nightmare, which was supposed to be taller than a normal horse. The Nightmare's shoulder height was almost the same as Louis's height, and the wizard skillfully grabbed it from the cloth bag hanging by the saddle. Some rum-soaked fish was stuffed into the mount's fang-filled mouth, and Nightmare chewed it contentedly, letting the frightened entourage take it away.

Before Louis ruled Gayola, sorcerers preferred to feed their nightmares with mortal flesh—puppets that died from overwork, soulless corpses, and the like—to terrorize enemies and satisfy their own ulterior lusts. Louie doesn't like these tricks, and in fact the Nightmare doesn't really like mortal flesh - they only like wizards, and if there are no wizards, then magic beasts or deep sea fish - long ago, the island was still full of When they are monsters, they can be self-sufficient as much as possible, but as there are fewer and fewer wildernesses untrodden by humans, magic is fading and leaving, and their prey is less and less, and ultimately they have to rely on the support of wizards.

  Louis also had a headache with their feed for a while, until a huge deep-sea fish was swept up on the island.

Nightmares eat fish, or in other words, they like all magical flesh and blood, but they can't hunt in the deep sea. Wizards can. In addition, there are more magic residues in the deep sea than on land, and there are more magical creatures. . A thousand sorcerers under Louis hunted day and night in the lightless depths, and they gave Gayola's Bourbons a legion of air cavalry that no family in the world could resist.

It is said that this ambitious latecomer is still planning to build a Chimera army galloping on land, but Chimera's appetite is three times that of griffins or nightmares, and he is not too interested in fish, so this is still an idea for the time being. - But as long as Archduke Gayola can find a way, he can always find a way, and the world will usher in another catastrophe.

  His enemies were full of hatred and jealousy towards him, but on the island of Gayola, Archduke Gayola was as respected and loved as Merlin. He has changed this island that used to be highly hierarchical, where mortals were regarded as livestock, vampires and werewolves were regarded as animals, and ordinary wizards were regarded as the cornerstone. Courage, resourcefulness, and strength.

The patriarch of the Mancini family has probably never had such a wild guess - it took Louis twenty years to go from a mortal who knew little about the inner world to Gayola or the uncrowned king of a third of the inner world. It's time to come, even if he was once a king. The wizards of Mancini still didn't think he would be much of a revered being—perhaps because he was dying at the time.

The Mancini family colluded with the bishop of Mazarin, who really controlled France, and out of selfishness, they did not want to see a strong-tempered king sitting on the throne, and they concealed the fact that the king was able to recover from a deadly curse , managed to put Louis' younger brother Philip on the throne, now Philip VII.

They regretted it soon after, and although the king's younger brother Philip became the new king, his brotherhood with the original king Louis XIV was not destroyed, and Louis Dieudone Bourbon was not lost because of the loss of the world. The throne of the king, bewildered in a strange and hostile environment, he quickly found his place - at first, people were not very wary of him - of course, also because such an awakening as Louis Later, wizards awakened under the catalysis of foreign objects rarely show strong magic power. Blood discrimination is much stronger among wizards than among mortals.

In the first few years, Louis seemed to be proving this. He lacked a wizard. They meant that wizards born and raised in the inner world had an innate understanding and trust in magic, and his clumsy spellcasting made people laugh... However, the Mancini family still gave him a parliamentary seat and a huge mansion. In any case, he is still the brother of the king of France. Even if Philip VII is for his brother, he must ensure that the Mancini family is in his place. The court and the court have an undoubted prominent position.

No one knows since when, Louis Dieudonne Bourbon became the middle and low-level wizards, the objects of worship and submission by those young, keen and enthusiastic wizards, they are like subjects serving the king. Serving Bourbon, the huge and dangerous magic power that this outsider revealed at the last moment has become a weight that completely overwhelmed the situation.

Philip VII, who was in Paris at the time, and his brother launched a war against the world at the same time. All the members of the Mancini family and their vassals who were in Paris were admitted to the Inquisition. The flame dragon incarnated by Louis was devoured by his wizard servants, killed or arrested—but even if they were arrested, they would inevitably die in the end—the only thing they can be thankful for is that since Louis came to power, wizards were used to build walls behavior is terminated.

  The only members of the Mancini family who are safe and sound are Marie Mancini and her and Louis' children. .

But this is not surprising, Marie Mancini thought while sitting on the bed, she is Louis's wife, and his general and spy, she has never been confused or hesitant - from the time Louis stayed in the world for her From that moment on, she vowed to dedicate everything to him. If he lost a crown, she would give it back to him.

   she remembered.

Louis was in power for twenty years. As a just and strict ruler, with the support of Philip VII, he not only succeeded in replacing the dominance of the Great House and the Council of Magic among ordinary wizards, but also appealed to Cayola. The outside world has launched a challenge, which makes some old-fashioned guys feel embarrassed and dissatisfied - unlike the usual conservative practices of wizards, Louie's character is more open and bold, and he strives to let every wizard go out, not Trapped in Gayola, they fought each other, and the wizards who went out were welcomed and accommodated by Philip VII. They represented the resources of the world, and the magic of the world blended with each other like a stream of water. The rules and laws that were violated became a dead letter in front of the two brothers.

Of course, not to mention the big families in the inner world, even the Roman Church was furious because of it, and they even threatened Philip VII not long ago to excommunicate him - but the Archduke of Gajola (although this title is temporary It has not yet been recognized in the watch world) Louis' sword immediately pointed to Rome - the Roman Church does hold a part of the power of the inner world, and it also has contacts and transactions with the wizards, but I don't know when it started, the Archduke Gayola and the three The chief judge of the Inquisition secretly reached a covenant - and several other inquisitions also maintained a wait-and-see and neutral attitude... The most troublesome thing is that, unlike Philip VII and Duke Gajola, the Church of Rome was reluctant to let Their congregation knows and touches the real inner world.

   This may have something to do with their upper class, from the pope to the cardinals, almost all of them are mortals - they have finally taken power from the wizards, how can they be allowed to easily take it back? Their hesitation finally struck a delicate balance, and they negotiated with Archduke Gayola to get everything back as they were, but wondered on their knees that it wasn't possible.

The world of    is indeed rich and special, but it is real, that is to say, resources cannot be always scarce. After the population of wizards swells to the limit, the world cannot maintain the original calm and isolation.

First to be hurt, persecuted and expelled are the monsters that were here, then families like the Inquisition priests (surprisingly, but they do share the same place with their enemies), then werewolves, vampires, and finally ordinary wizards , while the class is becoming more and more distinct, everyone can get less and less things... At the same time, the big family among the wizards is trying their best to find a way out (when only they are, they are also suppressing and restricting ordinary wizards Connectivity with the outside world - because the latter is their fuel and bargaining chip, without them, those high above the small land are nothing but gadgets.

The reason why Archduke Gayola is admired and supported by ordinary wizards is also because he is not so greedy and so short-sighted, he has never limited himself to a Gayola island - he is as good as every great king. Makes necessary and worthy sacrifices, he was also a king, so he has no strong vanity, no interest in titles or glory, and he values ​​substantive interests above all else, which makes all the tricks the Church of Rome played before. hard to do...

  What kind of concessions the Roman Church made, Mary is temporarily unknown. She remembered that she was pregnant, so she stayed on the island to recuperate, rather than expedition to the lowlands with her husband and master.

It took a few minutes for the voices outside the door to be chaotic and noisy until it was quiet. Louis must be surrounded by many people who need his wisdom, his guidance, his protection and his surname—not Mancini, but It's Bourbon. But at such times, Louis would send them away gently, and he always paid attention to personal space, and would not bring flattery and hypocrisy into his room with Mary.

   "Mary."

   Archduke Gayola walked into the room, and Mary suddenly remembered that she had a husband who loved her very much. They did not separate the two rooms according to the tradition and always slept together, even if Louis became Archduke Gayola.

"Lucy..." Mary asked, "Where's Lucy?" She vaguely remembered that her eldest son with Louis should have another name, but in the end she remembered that their eldest son was Luciano, he was an adult, before Expedition with Louis.

   "He stayed with Philip VII," Louis stroked her hair: "Rest assured, all is well, and the king's side is always safest."

   (end of this chapter)