Just being a dark elf in Warhammer

"I know you are in a hurry, but don't be in a hurry. Start from the beginning and go slow." After making a stop gesture to Elanor, Darkus said patiently to Gavino.

Gavino's sign language slowed down and was no longer like it was before. It seemed to be forming some kind of dazzling seal, and the flower hand seemed to be taking off. He was afraid that Darkus wouldn't understand, so he even started gesticulating eagerly.

Darkus was a little speechless. He felt that this was really noisy. I can obviously speak, but alas, I don't speak, I have to gesture. Fortunately, along the way, he had learned a few things intentionally or unintentionally. Anyway, he didn't need to be able to sign, he just needed to be able to read. It wasn't like he couldn't speak, and besides, these Asuryan believers weren't deaf either. He could feel that Elano was very anxious. Normally Elano would not go out of his way to look for him when he was fine. Since he was looking for him, something must have happened.

"You mean, you had a strange dream last night?" As Gavino's gesture slowed down, Darkus understood somewhat, and he asked tentatively.

Gavino nodded, looking very eager.

"continue."

"Phoenix? Or a four-winged phoenix?" Darkus said as he followed up with gestures. He crossed his hands, entwined his thumbs, stretched out his index and middle fingers, and retracted his ring and little fingers.

"This four-winged phoenix asked you to search for it? To perform some kind of ritual?" Darkus confirmed again. After seeing Gavino nod, he smiled, and then he comforted the agitated Gavino. "I understand, don't worry, I will take this matter to heart."

After seeing Darkus' promise, Gavino, who stopped gesticulating, bowed deeply to him, made a gesture of thanks and left. Elanor, who was standing there, shrugged helplessly, nodded to Darkus and left.

Darkus frowned as he watched Gavino's retreating back. Last night, Heglia told him a series of thirteen tricks. In the end, he was still confused. He still didn't understand where those strange spirits came from. Come. Moreover, Heglia acted very strangely. She acted like a mother-in-law, and she had a lot of love. As the chat progressed and the drinks went into her stomach, he learned a lot of other information from Heglia, such as the legendary battle. The dancer "Wild Dance" Vetier is Heglia's father, but Vetier did not come to the north, but went to the south.

Vetier is like the Minister of Etiquette. When Orion is reincarnated every spring, he is not only responsible for the entire ritual process, but also takes the lead in dancing to welcome Orion's arrival. He is particularly busy at this time.

In addition, Heglia said something else that caught his attention last night. Heglia told him that not long ago, while chasing a group of beastmen, he encountered a wood spirit who was talking to the beastmen.

Heglia had asked the right person about this matter. Darkus was familiar with the matter. He told Heglia about what he encountered when he was in Lauren Loren. Those Nurglings disguised themselves as wood spirits and walked in the forest. thing. Lauren Loren has demons, and Athel Loren probably also has demons. There's no reason why they don't exist, and they're hidden deeper than Lauren Loren's, making them harder to discover. At least the spirits, Aslay, and the Beast Council haven't found any real evidence. evidence of. Fortunately, Heglia was more stable than he thought. After drinking, he did not stand up impatiently on the spot and returned to the Forest of Deceivers to look for him.

In fact, the second half of the dinner was not pleasant. Aslay, who was at home, was preoccupied, which made the atmosphere of the banquet seem particularly depressing, but Darkus didn't take it seriously. After all, it was just a formality.

The most outrageous thing is that when Darkus was sleeping, he had a dream similar to Gavino's. But he didn't dream about a four-winged phoenix, but a big toad that looked like a hill. It was a big toad, not a Slann demon priest, but the strange thing was that while staring at the big toad, he felt a strange sense of intimacy from the big toad. There seemed to be some kind of connection between him and the big toad. There is a connection, the big toad is not a simple big toad, the big toad seems to be like a white deer, portending something, as for what it portends...

"I can see that your quiver is empty, and you have no feathers to make them. Therefore, it only takes me two cheerful songs to give you these arrows."

"But cousin, I can see that your spirits are high and your steps are brisk. My first song will make you dance with the wood spirits, and the second song can only be heard by the trees."

"?" Darkus stood there dumbfounded, listening to the incomprehensible conversation between the two Aslays in the distance. As the words ended, the two cousins ​​seemed to have reached a deal. The cousin gave the arrow to his cousin, and then the cousin began to perform impromptu without anyone else.

Darkus remembered what Liv seemed to have told him, and unlike Druch, Asul, and Enil, Aslay did not use any traditional form of currency. Currency is viewed by the Asrai as a mistaken invention of Ulthuan, who prefer to exchange items or services for what they need.

War dancers travel between kin and tribes, performing spectacular, wild dances in exchange for entertainment. Vaal priests create elaborate metal artifacts in exchange for food and water, as they do not have time to gather food themselves.

As the team was preparing to set off, the Aslays kept trading. Darkus gradually discovered that Aslay's exchange system was different from traditional commerce, because transactions were not based on the objective value of items, but instead required the evaluation of both parties. demand, and determine value inversely.

Very abstract, like an Asrai on the verge of starvation can get food cheaply, while a well-stocked Asrai can expect to pay a higher price for food.

A more abstract explanation is that a poor Aslay only has ten dollars, while a rich Aslay has one hundred dollars, but there is no difference between ten dollars and one hundred dollars in Aslay society. They are all calculated as percentages. of. If you want to buy a steamed bun, the poor Aslay needs to pay 10%, which is one yuan. The same is true for the rich Aslay, who needs to pay 10%, which is ten yuan.

In a normal society, the wealthy Aslay would definitely not agree to this deal, but here in Athel Loren, everything seems so natural.

Asrai culture's rejection of materialism has made theft almost non-existent in traditional Asrai society, with stealing and hiding considered one of the most serious crimes because it disrupts the balance of the overall exchange.

In Darkus' view, this economic system can effectively prevent individuals from hoarding resources and ensure that everyone's basic needs are met, but that's all.

"It's hard for me to imagine what I saw. What are you going to do next? I personally don't think Lauren Loren's approach will work here." Maranur, who was ready to go, came to Dakwu Beside Si, Aslay, who was watching the transaction in the distance, muttered softly.

Darkus shrugged. He thought there was nothing wrong with what his cousin said. The two looked the same and there was no difference. There are many differences, however. Asrai usually wears practical clothing made of linen spun from wild plants, paired with leather armor. Except in the coldest winter and the special Artivis collar, Aslay usually does not wear cold-weather clothing composed of animal skins and furs. The intricate weave of Aslay garments makes them soft like velvet, yet strong, durable and protective.

Fabrics are often dyed with pigments of plant origin, such as roots, berries, bark, leaves, wood, fungi and lichens. This allows Aslay to wear clothing that matches the season and blends in with the forest environment. Even the decorative attire had only subtle embroidery, and Ulthuan's finery was considered gaudy and excessive by Asrai.

Unless there is a family inheritance, a complete set of metal armor is rare. Most Asrai possess only a piece of metal armor, such as a helm, vambrace, or breastplate, which is generally not conducive to swift and stealthy movement.

Asrai prefers elegant weapons such as swords and bows to the cumbersome axes and warhammers used by humans and dwarves. Arrowheads are often designed in the shape of leaves, curved, slender and razor-sharp. Even the most common swords are extremely well made, with an emphasis on strength, sharpness, and flexibility rather than weight, and are often engraved with spiral patterns or runes.

Each Aslay family maintains a home garden that is either integrated into their residence or planted on earth terraces. Although these gardens are small, they are harvested multiple times a year, tended by magic and song, and their fruits and vegetables are often shared freely with larger neighbors or tribes.

There is a stereotype that Aslay does not eat meat, but he actually does. The forest provided all the plants and roots needed, but Aslay could not achieve a balanced diet solely on greenery, especially in winter.

Hunting has always been an important custom in the Asrai culture. However, the difference is that the Asrai will only hunt the animals they need according to the agreement and use all parts of the animals as much as possible. The bones are also used to make needles, Items such as pins, combs and flutes. Although they hunt, they do not raise livestock, which they view as abominable and barbaric, and raising is prohibited by protocol.

From a distance, there is no difference in the dress between Aslay and the Aenir Woodland kin, but up close, there is an essential difference between the two. Lauren Loren's model does not apply to Athel Loren. Asrai's social operating model is completely different from Aenir's social operating model. To put it bluntly, Lauren Loren's group of city-state relatives who have the right to speak in society are the remnants of Ulthuan, the descendants of colonists, and Aslay, who is also a descendant of colonists, is more primitive and returns to nature.

"Let's wait and see what happens. Let's try to solve the problem of the Ulthuan mission first. This is the main purpose of our coming here. As for these so-called Asrai..." Darkus sighed, just like him As he said, the Ulthuan Mission has always been his main mission, and Asrai is just a side mission, a side mission. He was not in a hurry about the issue with Aslay. After all, if he really wanted to fall out, he wouldn't be able to transfer the lizard people over now. Moreover, there were some forces that he hadn't seen yet, so he was still holding the lute and half-hiding his face.

As for trade, it was completely out of Darkos's consideration. Not to mention Aslay's social operating model, there was no way to trade even if he wanted to. There are rivers, the Grismeri and Brienne winding through Athel Loren and then through Bretonnia before emptying into the Great Ocean.

The Grismery River is approximately 965 kilometers long and draws its water from the west side of the Gray Mountains. Because the river flows through the northern edge of Athel Loren, many Bretonnians believe that the river has some mysterious magical power. The river flows through a vast lowland basin between the Gray Mountains and the Oka Mountains, heading north to the Gisoluk Gorge, where it joins the Oïs River and continues westward to the sea. Upstream on the Oïs River, the Grismery allows large barges to navigate to Palaion, but sea vessels can navigate downstream and on the wider, deeper Oïs tributaries.

In fact, Darkus had been to the Grismeri River, as early as the Haxiya trial voyage. At that time, the Bitter Winter stopped at the mouth of the Grismery River at the junction of Bordero and Mousillon, just to take a bite of Bretonnia's specialty trout and swamp snails.

Trade seems unrealistic. It would be easier to change ships. The places that can only be accessed by barges can be modified to allow sea ships to pass. The beasts and greenskins in Oka Mountain are not too big of a problem, right? The most disgusting thing is the political and economic problems. The Grismery River flows through the kingdoms of Palaion, Quinaris, Bastogne, Montfort, Gisoleo, Bordero and Mousillon. The tax issue is noisy enough.

This kind of matter must be solved in the secular world. What will happen if Lilith comes forward? What will the group of gentlemen who believe in ladies think about it. But this is all a matter of the future, hundreds of years from now, and it may not be what will happen then. Maybe the Kingdom of Bretonnia will be disintegrated due to various problems. After all, the elves have a claim to Bretonnia, and Bretonnia has mostly fertile land. The small-scale peasant economy directly beats the manual economy next to the Gray Mountains.

The length of the Brion River is about the same as the Grismeri River, running through Athel Loren and the southern part of Bretonnia. The river is quite wide, and ships entering the river from the entrance to the Kingdom of Brion can sail directly to Quinaris. The capital of the kingdom, the section further up to Athel Loren is relatively shallow and requires flat-bottomed barges.

The entire river is fed by numerous large tributaries and is densely covered with swamps. Feeding the kingdoms of Briogne, Quinaris and Carcassonne, its tributaries can reach across the Black Mountains to Tilea. Facing the blockade of the city-state of Magritte, Bretonnia and Tilea can communicate through the tributaries of this river, which is somewhat similar in concept to the Rhine and can bypass Gibraltar.

In addition to the Grismery and Burian rivers, there is actually another. Underneath the Black Mountains is an underground river called the River of Echoes, along with the empire's Wesen Territory and the southern city-states of Tyrell.

This river is considered by man to be the greatest wonder of the Black Mountains and is the source of the Sole and Tilea Cristallo rivers. It is 480 kilometers long, with an underground town in the middle, connecting Tilea's trade route with the Empire, just like Glenburg in Reik's land.

As for Darkus, he didn't know the specifics. He was planning to go there and have a look when he left Athel Loren. If nothing unexpected happens, he will go to Miragliano to see what the Mathian, which can also be called the Mantan Cathedral, looks like, and then board the ship there to return to the New World. In addition, There is an account that has not yet been settled, but he has not thought about it yet.

Maranur left, and the team was preparing to set off. When Darkus was in trouble, he was still busy with the affairs before departure. When he walked away, Liv came to Darkus' side.

"You are not that dedicated as a tour guide, madam." Darkus asked casually while looking into the distance.

"Sorry, I didn't expect that. I was shocked. You know, I don't have much contact with the Beast Council. The white deer has never appeared in front of me in various forms." Facing Darkus' vague accusation , Liv's expression remained calm.

"Okay, let's talk about something else. How much do you know about the four-winged phoenix?"

"Know a little bit..."

When it comes to the four-winged phoenix, we must mention Windrich. This is one of the twelve lands of the wood spirits. It has the title of "Pine Cliff" and is ruled by the woodland lord Fendo and Lady Evelyn. Harassed by the greenskins of the Gray Mountains, it was a heavily fortified area, and from the outside its steep slopes looked as undefensible as the rest of Athel Loren. Only when invaders get under the canopy do they discover that Pine Cliffs is actually a vast fortress. Here, the elves shaped the sky-crown oaks into castles and strongholds, weaving rock thorns into endless tangled walls.

These facilities have fought off the orc Waaagh many times! and the invasion of dwarves, the Fendor lords and their kin who rule this territory are extremely eager for war, and they take pleasure in killing the greenskin and dwarf invaders who often break into this territory.

In addition, although the Twilight sisters are Ariel's maids, they are not active in Tasern, which is the King's Forest, but are active in the Pine Cliffs. Sesin-Hal's Dragon's Nest and Gwendalor's Eagle's Nest are both there. Even though these two sisters are Darkus's little fans, they will kill the intruders without mercy.

There is a reclusive Aslay noble named Xiannos in Wendrich. He is an eccentric character who is close to madness. He also has four wings behind his back that can flap. Under various influences, he secretly opposed the rule of Athel Loren's rulers Orion and Ariel.

Xi'anos and his kin had long isolated themselves from Athel Loren, believing themselves to be superior to the others. They called themselves "Alva", meaning the Children of the Sky. While worshiping Anes Lema, they also worshiped the Great Eagle and Amphion, abandoning the worship of the traditional elven pantheon. He even proclaimed himself king despite Orion's disobedience, and the Twilight Sisters were active in Windrich to keep an eye on him.

Xiannos even convinced his followers to enter a giant bird-shaped cage, where they would be burned alive as atonement for their sins. He believed that Aslay was guilty, and in doing so, he could strengthen Amphion and bind Amphion to him. This is how the four wings on his back appeared until he had the strength to expel Aslay from Aesor. Loren, restore the forest to its original glory.

"Isn't this a cult? Orion and Ariel don't care about it?" Darkus asked curiously. After seeing Liv shaking his head helplessly, he continued, "After talking for a long time, you still answered my question. Fionn’s specific situation.”

"He is a member of the Beast Council, and I don't know anything else. But... according to Xiannos, he is trapped and can only return to the forest by accepting sacrifices in his name."

The key information came, and unlike White Deer, Darkus pieced together the clues to Phoenix. The phoenix in this world has a lot to do with Asuryan. What the hell is that Xianos?

This world is about rituals, and the steps and methods must not be wrong. Xi'anos obviously has the wrong method, such as a real rebirth from the ashes, or he has not been approved by Amphion or Asuryan at all, otherwise he would have betrayed Four wings will not grow on it.

As the team progressed, Amphion may have sensed the existence of him and Gavino, so he appeared in Gavino's dream to give him inspiration. After all, Gavino was an upright Asuryan anointed.

Just when Darkus was about to say something more, Tyrandor Evenstar appeared riding an elf warhorse.

The name Evenstar comes from the greenskins of Tyrandor who used the cover of darkness to infiltrate Athel Loren by surprise attack from high altitude. If he spots any greenskins from above, he will swoop down on the back of the great eagle Gwendor Blackwing and attack without mercy.

In the normal future timeline, Tyrandor will lead the Asrai army to help the Empire and search for traces of the vampire army in the dark pine forests of Sylvania. However, the army encountered an ambush, and at the expense of Aslay's army, the vampire's army was exposed.

The Aslay troops fought in the rearguard, and many Aslay were able to escape under mutual cover. Tyrandor held off the vampire hordes in the sky until he was surrounded by carrion birds and severely wounded. When Aslay escaped, no trace of him was seen and he was thought to have been killed. But it didn't happen. Gwendor rescued him at the critical moment and brought the injured man back to Athel Loren to receive Ariel's magical treatment.

In the year 2506 of the Empire, something happened. Agrim Ironfist, the Butcher King of Karak Kaderin, led a large army to fight against the greenskin army on the edge of Athel Loren. After Tyrandor saw the righteous deeds of the dwarves, he led an army of Asrai to the aid of the dwarves. The greenskin army quickly retreated under the double attack. At the moment when they were about to win, the dwarves attacked Aslay with axes, trying to repay the thousand-year old grudge.

Tyrandor vowed to avenge the loss of his people and retreated, and the following year, the Asrai forces under his leadership laid siege to Karak Kaderin's outworks and defenses. Just like the battle of revenge a thousand years ago, the elves gnawed at the tortoise, unable to eat, and the siege lasted for a year. However, during this period, Aslay surrounded the point for reinforcements and repeatedly repelled the dwarf army trying to relieve the siege, which made the dwarves suffer a lot. When he thought the damage done a year earlier had been repaid, he ordered Aslay's army to retreat.

In addition, the spear in Tyrandor's hand is very strange. It was made by Dais, and the spear is called the "Spear of Dais". The spear actively blocks attacks, allowing the wielder to block without being in a defensive stance or even aware of the attack. The spear shaft is engraved with a mysterious spiral pattern, and the hard copper spearhead is engraved with eyes, giving the spear its own will.

After some blending, the team set off in a mighty way. In addition to Darkus' team, Tyrandor brought his relatives, and there were also war dancers following Hegria.

Darkus had a strange feeling. Tyrandor didn't go to visit the ceremony, but seemed more like he was going to fight?

Soon, the team heading south came to the Grismeri River. Here, Darkus met a strange being who had been waiting for him. (End of chapter)