In the year 776 of the Faith Calendar, the royal stargazers of the Morning Star Empire named the year the Year of Aoki in the order of new leaves and shimmering flowers. It symbolizes that the people of the empire have lived and worked in peace and contentment during the past three years, and the comprehensive national strength has flourished, just like growing from a seedling to a towering tree, and the next step can be turned into a forest and shade all directions.

At the beginning, the players also discussed for a long time, if the twilight era did not come, what should be called the year 777 of the faith calendar, some people say that it is called the year of firewood, some people say it is called the year of dead wood, among which the "year of the shade" proposed by Mu Yan was once elected as the best answer, until the "lifetime year" of the birth of a shaker appeared, everyone felt that this was the answer closest to the correct answer, and even broke the dimensional wall, a pun.

At the end of level 70, there are quite a few daring Rogue players who go to the archives of the Royal Stargazing Observatory to peek at the files and try to find the standard answers.

After paying a heavy price, they received a ridiculous answer: the lazy stargazers were all terminal procrastination, and the names of Shinye, Shimmer, and Aoki had been improvised towards the end of the previous year, and had not even had time to be reviewed by the ceremonial department.

So it's enough to imagine how happy these guys were when they heard the end of an era in 777 and changed from faith to dusk—finally don't have to think about the names that are "simple and timeless", "royal and profound", and "catchy and noble".

I have to say that this is a very ironic thing. Charles III was more enthusiastic about these false names than any king before him.

Since the Jialan Association broke away from the Morning Star, this ancient and huge empire has been going downhill compared to its neighbors, like an old man who has passed middle age, his steps are slow, and he stops from time to time to catch his breath.

But the nobles of the Morning Star did not notice this. They believe that those wrinkled and gray hair are a symbol of nobility and antiquity, an accumulation, and a heritage.

Today is January 25th of the Year of Aoki, and it is also the tenth day of the audition for the Thorn Flower Challenge. In 10 days' time, the sixteen winners from Jialan and Turing will arrive at the Morning Star for the final battle in Liberty Square.

While the contestants weren't all there yet, a steady stream of viewers from all over the Muma Plains flocked to Morning Star to breathe new life into the magnificent city, which had been renovated four times, survived several coups and bloody repressions, and still stood for nearly a millennium.

Putting aside the turmoil and law and order pressure caused by this, the rising figures on the financial statements alone were enough to make Charles III smile and look at his third son, Loren Morningstar, with a little softer.

"If you put aside those small actions in the secret, he is still a good heir, but it's a pity, tsk." Charlemagne often shook his head and sighed like this.

He thinks that a wise monarch can not be clever enough, or even stupid, because in the current situation, the space for a king to exert his power is very small without starting a war, for example, after he took the crown from the Pope of the Holy Word, he did not feel that life was any different compared to being a prince.

But don't be smart. Too much self-righteousness can lead to disaster, and even destruction, and the countless teachings of historians have taught him this.

Unfortunately, Loren Morningstar is such a smart man.

Now he accompanied the two guests on a walk in the park near the sacred lake, with the guards walking far behind him, accompanied only by Wood.

The guest was introduced by the Element Tower. A man and a woman, the man was tall and never took off his cloak, and occasionally a looming copper mask appeared under the hood. The woman has a good figure, silver hair and a shawl, beautiful and dignified, and a pair of talking eyes that shine with a cunning look.

But Loren always felt that she looked familiar.

"Maybe there are too few silver-haired human women, so I always think they look the same." The third prince explained in his heart.

Four months ago, Wood, who had been ordered to go to Ashendale to find Surya, returned with good news and bad news. The good news is that Sulia has been found, and the Morning Star's Rose has returned to where she grew it. But the bad news is that Surya isn't alone.

In addition to Brando and Wynne, the two guys who are always against him, his fiancée also brought back an inexplicable "sword teacher". (Mu Yan, or Xia Mu's presence is so low that none of the insiders mentioned him)

Loren thought that the Edwards family had found some hidden master to deal with him, after all, they had a close relationship with the mysterious Orientals, as can be seen from the Misty Wine Shop. At that time, His Excellency Crito, the guardian of the Morning Star royal family, had not yet left, so he asked Crito to come and test it. Unexpectedly, the result disappointed him - Lord Crito not only told him that this Shansi identity was fine, but also implicitly advised him to give up the marriage contract!

Just kidding......

Are you kidding!?

I, Loren Morningstar, the Third Prince of Morningstar, a strong contender for the throne, the initiator and head of the Thorn Flower Challenge, want to swallow this humiliation because of a country man who doesn't know where he came from?

Although he thought so in his heart, Luo Lan knew very well that he could not show a trace of dissatisfaction in front of His Excellency Crito, because this black-clothed sword saint who had guarded the Morning Star for more than 400 years was deeply trusted by Charles III (specifically, by almost every king), and it was not an exaggeration to say that his words could sway the prince's position.

Therefore, Loren rarely stopped for a while.

When Crito left Morningstar a day earlier to return to his territory in the southern Goral region, Loren knew his chance had come.

Coincidentally, before he could figure out how to do it, someone from the Elemental Tower suddenly came to the door.

The person who came was His Excellency Chris Coldwind, the High Priest of Ikari, the Lord of the Elemental Faith, who was originally in the Turing Empire and was blessed with a devout belief in the Lord of the Streams, so he was sent to the Morning Star with more believers. He was still in good spirits at such an advanced age, so that Loran couldn't help but feel the magic of faith, and at the same time, he couldn't help but complain that His Excellency the Word One, whom the Morning Star royal family had always believed in, had never sent down an oracle.

Chris told him that two powerful guests had arrived at the Elemental Tower, and that he admired the leader of the Thorn Flower Challenge.

Loren curiously asks how "powerful" he is, and Chris hints that he is comparable to the Black-Clad Sword Saint.

So the two hit it off, and Loren took time out of his busy schedule to turn into a tour guide and take the two distinguished guests around the Morning Star, which is what he is doing now.

……

"His Highness Loraine." The woman spoke, her voice clear and a little smart. She pointed to the statue of a nun in the center of the lake and said, "Can you tell me about the origin of this statue?" ”

When she said this, she glanced at the man next to her, intentionally or unintentionally.

Lorain didn't notice this, and he immediately bowed slightly, "It's my pleasure, Miss Lilith. ”

"The lake dates back more than 700 years, when it was called 'Dahimir', which is said to be 'the star that rises in the morning light' in the Cragon language, which the scholars of the Silver Candle Society explain as the origin of the 'morning star'."

"Hmph." The man let out a cold snort of disdain.

"Mr. Leo seems to have another opinion?" Loren asked with a frown. Although he was a little angry, he didn't want to lose his demeanor in front of the lady.

Lilith hurriedly explained: "His Royal Highness Luo Lan doesn't need to care about him, he is the person who doesn't like history the most, and thinks it's all 'pictures scribbled by the victors'." ”

Loraine's eyes lit up. "Mr. Leo is right, and I agree with that."

Leo couldn't help but be a little surprised.

Lorain thought that the opportunity to perform had come, and the previous dissatisfaction with him disappeared. He cleared his throat and said, "I just explained it along with the statue of the lake nymph." We all know that the founding monarch of the Morning Star was His Majesty Leorik, but people tend to overlook another person. ”

"What does Your Highness mean?"

"Lancelot Morningstar." Lorans looked admiring. "I think this is a hero who deserves it. As Mr. Leo said, history is a picture scroll that the victors scribbled at will, and to put it mildly, I think that Lord Lancelot is the one who was deliberately hidden by the victors. His Majesty Leorik, who was the victor, spent too much time glorifying himself and neglecting the real heroes. ”

The atmosphere suddenly became solemn, and the cold made Luo Lan shiver.

Seeing this, Lilith hurriedly changed the topic and said, "Then what does he have to do with this lake and this statue?" ”

"Lake Dashimir was renamed the Holy Lake because it was where Lord Lancelot's adoptive mother, Sister Oumar, slumbered. She is also known as the Nymph of the Lake, and according to legend, she is Mia's handmaiden, so Lord Lancelot is also known as the Divine Servant. ”

"Hmph." The man hidden in the canopy let out another cold snort.

"Does Lord Leo have anything to say?" After hearing those words, Luo Lan had a different opinion about the tall and mysterious man in front of him.

Lilith didn't say much this time, and looked at Leo with the same interest.

The latter clenched his fists and looked at the statue and exhaled.

Even though the air is dry and cold on the shore of the lake in January, the air exhaled by Leo is even warmer and white.

"The name 'Morning Star' has nothing to do with 'Dahimir'. The reason why it is called the Holy Lake is only because it is in Morning Star City, which is the center of the Horse Plain, and there are not so many messy metaphors and meanings, and Morning Star City at that time was also called Holy City. ”

Leo's voice was thick and vicissitudes, like dusty wooden furniture.

"Leorik was not a victor, he was also a forgotten man of history, just as he was not in the reliefs of Liberty Square."

In the middle of the two hundred steps of Liberty Square are carved kings after Leoric, and it is indeed as he said.

Luo Lan was intrigued by Leo's words, and hurriedly asked, "Your Excellency Leo also likes historiography?" Maybe we can talk about ......"

"Your Highness," Lilith interrupted with a smile, "he just happens to know this history, and knows nothing else. ”

"That's right, but Mr. Leo seems to be a man with a story." Loren then changed the subject. "Actually, I still know a lot about the legend of the Holy Lake and Lord Lancelot......

"Let's go." Leo suddenly turned away without giving face.

Lorraine's polite smile suddenly froze on her face.

Lilith threw him an awkward, apologetic smile and turned to follow.

Just as Luo Lan's silent invective was about to be passed through his mouth, the other party's thick voice came from his ears.

"Chris said you're in trouble, if you need it, you can come to the Elemental Temple to find me."

The third prince's face suddenly became cloudy.

When did I say this to Chris?

……

On the way back, Leo strides after the meteor, and Lilith chases after him very hard, as if there is an invisible chain between the two.

"Hey, can you slow down?" The girl finally couldn't help but shout, and the voice made the passers-by next to her look at her a few more times.

"This is your punishment, Yoni's descendant." Leo paused, and an invisible barrier enveloped the two of them.

"I have a name," Lilith said dissatisfiedly, "It's rude that you're full of the names of your ancestors!" ”

"Yes, Miss Grace, was you polite in what you just did?" Leo asked rhetorically, "Deliberately let that kid mention that person in an attempt to provoke me?" ”

"You are wrong, Lord Leoric." The quirky girl twisted her silver hair that hung down. "I think Loren has a point. There is an old Kragon proverb that says, 'Ruthlessness is the most emperor', and isn't it a good proof that Lord Lancelot has done so much to help you without being recorded in history? ”

Leorick didn't answer her question directly.

"We are the dead, and the dead should not be remembered. People are always forgetful, and what can they do in history, just as they now lack a long sword on their banner, only thorn flowers. ”

"What about you? Since the dead shouldn't be remembered, why do you want to come back? Why are you still bringing me? Nearly a year after returning to Lokan, Grace mustered up the courage to ask the question for the first time. What else do you have to do besides find that little girl? ”

"Not every curiosity can be satisfied, and some people are full of curiosity until they die." Leorik threw out a faint sentence and walked away.

……

On a bench on the shore of the sacred lake sat Principal Wynne and Lancelot, the latter gazing at the statue in the lake with a serene expression like water.

The statue of the nun in the center of the lake was built more than 700 years ago, and the base below is engraved with a circle of sword flower imprints, long swords erected, and thorns woven into a crown around it. Apparently, the craftsmen forgot about it when they renovated the city.

Wynne had always been curious about the age of the person in front of him.

As a veteran scholar and white-robed mage, he had always been confident in his eyesight, but this time he encountered a problem.

Counting the three months of travel, it has been more than half a year since he contacted the other party, and he can't see through what kind of origin this Mr. Shansi came from, let alone age, he can't even judge where the other party is from, or even which country.

As far as he knew, the gentleman had mastered the retro rituals of at least seven city-states, three empires, and more than a dozen languages, each of which he was as proficient as a native speaker. Coupled with Brando's statement that "only he can't name him, there is no swordsmanship that he can't know", and he really can't figure out where the other party is from.

If it weren't for the gray hair and the fact that his appearance was far from the portrait of Lancelot he had seen, he would have fantasized about whether this was the famous Lord Lancelot.

"Principal Wynne."

A warm voice broke his musings.

"Hmm, Mr. Shans?"

"In what year was the Sword Flower Banner revised to the Thorn Flower Banner?"

"It was proposed in the year 547 of the Faith Calendar and amended the following year." Wynne was curious, "Why did Lord Shansi suddenly ask this?" ”

"It's just curious." Lancelot smiled. "And the reason? Does Principal Wynne understand? ”

Wynne thought for a moment and bowed slightly, "The sword and the flower symbolize war and peace, and the people of the Elemental Tower say that necromancers are becoming more and more rampant because of the excessive wars between the three kingdoms, which have led to the death everywhere. Therefore, as the most powerful nation in Lokan, there should be no violence in the sign of the Morning Star, and with the protection of the Lord of the Elements and the Word of the Word, we just need to open our hearts and embrace each other. So the sword representing the war was removed. ”

"The Blessing of the Lord of the Elements." Lancelot scoffed, "When did Ikali protect the humans?" ”

Hearing this, Wynne couldn't help but frown and reminded, "Mr. Shans, it's not good to blaspheme. ”

"Just kidding, but Principal Wynne, as a mage, when did he have faith?"

"Faith? How can a mage have faith. Wynne shrugged. Of course, the mage has made it his mission to seek the truth, and I have befriended Lord Chris of the Elemental Tower only because of the many things he has done to Morrowind. ”

"That's it."

Lancelot sighed, and then said no more, looking at the sword flower cut in the distance.

His mind seemed to go back to that sunny and high-spirited day more than 700 years ago.

……

"Brother Leo, why Sword Citi?"

The twenty-year-old First Swordsman of Lokan stood tall and stood straight on the flag at the top of Morning Star Castle. He looked down at Leorick, who was looking into the distance.

The rugged man with a beard on his face took a sip of wine, waved the big sword in his hand, and said with a radiant expression:

"The sword represents battle, a symbol of courage and faith rooted in oneself. The flower represents honor and symbolizes the hard-won stable life, I hope this flag can always be vigilant to our future people, never forget, all good things come from unremitting pursuit! And not the gift of others! ”

"Then why the Thorn Flower?"

"The thorn flower represents resistance and unyielding, and those who hurt me will be punished! Is there a more bloody symbol than it! One day, I will let the sword and the fiti be planted in every corner of the Horse Plain!! ”

A gust of wind blew, and the sword and flag hunted sounded, and drifted into the distance with this bold statement.

……

"Until now, I thought that was what a 'divine servant' should do."

Lancelot muttered in an inaudible voice.

Because of all kinds of messy reasons, I've been changing it lately, and I'm too tired to break the chapter. Save up the manuscript first.