Winter in the Northland always comes early, and just after the autumn harvest, frost falls on the upper reaches of the Veres River, and flakes of thin ice float on the surface of the river, meandering through the Pellen Canyon, reflecting the afternoon sun like a silver-scaled python. Pen | fun | pavilion www. ｂｉｑｕｇｅ。 ｉｎｆｏ

"In fact, the word 'Veres' does have the meaning of 'python' in the ancient language of the Far East, and it is said that Veres is the god of the earth, the waters, and the underworld in Far Eastern mythology, in the form of a giant serpent with horns and a long beard."

The two horses galloped along the riverbank, and Lyudmila lifted her cloak and told Roland about the customs and legends of the Northland with a smile.

Roland tightened the reins, and the horse slowed down, and the sound of hooves was drowned out by the sound of gushing water.

"Mira, I'm interested in the myths of the indigenous people of the Far East, do people still believe in those ancient gods?"

"Yes, yes, but there are very few of them, it is said that only we Kitlanders still have some ancient god beliefs, when you get to the Northland Fortress, I will accompany you to visit it, and you may be able to find the intact Villas Temple." Lyudmila said lightly.

Roland couldn't help but wonder when he heard the indifference in her words, and then asked her, "You don't seem to be very interested in the traditional religion of your hometown, is it because you converted to Sindra, or is there something else?" ”

Lyudmila shrugged: "What should I say about this...... In fact, I was only two years old when I left the fortress, and I can barely remember, so how can I tell if a belief is good or bad? But even in that naïve and vague memory, there is no good impression of the ancient gods of the Far East and their priests, those guys rely on the power of the temple to make a fortune, crazy to accumulate wealth, and do not treat the common people as human beings at all, and when the dragon people and bandits invade and cause chaos, they are all cowardly as rats, hiding in the temple and not daring to show their faces, only forcing the people to fight with the enemy, these priests are so hateful, how can people have a good impression of the gods they worship? ”

The giant girl licked her plump lips, and then said: "If it is just a blessing, it is not necessarily worse than those priests of the Assanian Empire in the Fort of Atonement, but the priests of the ancient gods of Kitland are not only greedy and cruel, but also their personal abilities are even more unbearable, listen to Genia, in the past century, the old gods have become more and more stingy, and rarely give divine skills, if the priests do not have divine skills, they will not be able to maintain their superior status, they do everything they can, even at the expense of holding cruel blood sacrifices, hoping to please the ancient gods, However, this is of little use, and to this day, the old gods hardly answer the prayers of the faithful......"

Roland frowned slightly. He heard from Lyudmila's account that the situation of the fortress of Kitland was more dangerous than he had thought.

The northern hunting tribe of the Kitlands was known for its ruggedness and savagery, and did not have a well-established mage lineage, and the power of the tribe was mainly in the hands of the magic casters.

Historically, the Lucia Mountains were once the domain of the Druid Order, but as early as the end of the Arcane Empire, the Druid Order was defeated by the priesthood of the Far Eastern gods such as Veres and Perron, and was forced to withdraw from the Kitland Fortress and split into several small Druid groups.

Now the priests of the ancient gods are also facing the dilemma of prosperity and decline, losing their divine skills, it is difficult for them to continue to maintain the power in their hands, even if no one below rises up to rebel, the "dragon's eye" will not make them happy.

Roland scratched his head. If you think about it, the rapid decline of the belief in the Old Gods, while unexpected, is also reasonable.

The world of Varess can be divided into four epochs since the beginning of written records.

The first era was the "Age of the Flood." The terrible Flood completely buried the civilization of the previous era, and the ancestors of human beings and intelligent races such as elves, dwarves, halflings, and gnomes each built arks according to the revelation of the guardian gods, or moved to the top of the mountains and paradises to escape this catastrophe and multiply.

The second era is the "Age of the Dragon". The Great Flood destroyed the homes of the earth's creatures, but did not hinder the dragons, on the contrary, the flood caused a change in the climate, which greatly benefited the dragons to flourish and grow, and for the next ten centuries, the entire world of Varess was under the control of the dragons.

However, the dragon camp is not monolithic, Tiamat's colored dragon descendants and Bahamut's metal dragon believers have irreconcilable contradictions, the two dragon groups broke out into war, the war is like a snowball rolling bigger and bigger, and finally almost all the world's intelligent creatures are involved, if you refuse to stand on Tiamat's side, you can only choose Bahamut's camp, there is no other way to survive.

The years of war have changed the climate of the world of Vares, and it has also destroyed the vitality of the dragons, and the mortality rate of the colored dragons and metal dragons greatly exceeds the birth rate, and finally the end of both ends up. With the end of the Dragon Age, they also withdrew from the center of the stage of history.

Today, the geography and atmospheric composition of the world of Varess have changed dramatically, subtly altering the dragons' genes and greatly reducing their fertility rate. Two epochs ago, a dragon couple could have an average of 10~15 baby dragons, and under the care of their parents, two-thirds of the baby dragons could grow up smoothly.

In contrast, the average fertility rate of female dragons has fallen below 1.5, which means that every two female dragons can only give birth to an average of three young dragons in their lifetime - it is not that male dragons do not work hard, but that there are no eggs if they work hard, and the fertilization rate between the same species is too low, and the result of working in vain is always inferulent eggs.

If you count the infant mortality rate of young dragons, the dragons are obviously far from being able to maintain the minimum fertility replacement rate of the race (taking the human race in the 21st century on Earth as an example, the basic population replacement fertility rate of a race resisting the dilemma of aging is 2.1, that is, a couple must have at least 2.1 children to maintain your nation from sliding to aging and even extinction), what are the consequences of this low and terrible fertility rate for the dragons? There are only two words - despair!

Today, the dragons of Varess are still strong, but their numbers are pitiful, and no matter how strong their individual strength is, they cannot make up for the decline of the population, let alone dominate the world.

The Third Age is the "Arcane Age", from which humans began to become the protagonists of the world of Vares.

In the Fourth Age, which is now known as the "Age of Light", Pastor Perrault became the leader of the human race, and the Light faith was everywhere.

So in what era did the ancient god beliefs in the Far East originate? In fact, they are the "remnants" of the lost civilization that preceded the Flood Era, or more literary, the "Dominators of the Old Days."

Now that three full epochs have passed, the faith of the world of Varess has been divided among the newly rising gods such as Pero, Kord, St. Cusbert, Flanen, Bocab, Heronis, Hextowe, Eresnu, Vijeunes, Alona, Obaihai, Moradin, Corellon, Geush, Garsh, Naraku, etc., where will there be room for the dry bones in the graves such as Veres and Perron?

"The refusal of the ancient gods to respond to the prayers of believers is probably not because they are stingy, but because they have more than enough heart." Roland secretly speculated, "These old guys who failed in the Divine War, even if they haven't gone to the astral realm to lie down, I'm afraid the situation is not much better, and the priests of the ancient gods who are still obsessed with it today are destined to not end well." ”

Thinking of this, Roland turned sideways and asked Lyudmila: "The most important task of our visit to Kitland Fortress this time is to contact the people in power in the fortress and seek cooperation with them, but I just heard you say that the ancient god priest family seems to be about to fall, so which big man should we go to contact us?" ”

"King Beowulf, of course!" Lyudmila replied without hesitation, "He is not only the contemporary lord of the Kitlanders, but also represents a new power in the Northlands. ”

Roland pondered: "I have long admired the name of Lord Beowulf, it is said that he returned from a trip to the New World ten years ago, won the championship in one fell swoop at the Kitland tournament, and then won the throne with the support of his people, and is a legendary hero known to everyone in the Lucia Mountains, but what do you mean when you say that he represents a new force?" ”

Lyudmila smiled slightly: "This new force, to be precise, is the Kode faith that Beowulf brought back from the New World, Genia said that the young people of the fortress today are proud to be the fighters of the god of competition, and Beowulf himself is the Chosen of Kord, the chief priest of the god of competition in the Far East. ”

"Kord, the god of competition, this belief is in line with the national spirit of your Kitlanders, who love competition, and it seems that King Beowulf is not only a legendary fighter, but also a venerable wise man." Roland groaned, and then asked her, "But then again, Beowulf has introduced a new faith and touched the interests of the followers of the Old Gods, and the latter can bear this breath?" ”

Lyudmila was stunned for a moment, shook her head and said, "I don't know about this, why don't you write a letter at night and ask Genia?" ”

Roland nodded and asked her again, "Who is the leader of the Old Gods cultists' camp?" ”

This time Lyudmila did not hesitate and replied with a look of disdain: "General Sergei, a despicable and shameless fellow." ”

"What, he has a grudge against you?"

"My father ......" Lyudmila shook her head, obviously depressed, "Forget it, I don't know much about my parents' generation, you better write to Genia yourself to inquire, anyway, she treats you as her own son, and she won't hide anything from you." ”

Roland heard that she was insincere, so it was difficult to continue to ask.

Looking ahead, the cliffs of the Perrun Gorge stand tall and the Veres River flows endlessly, like a microcosm of the long river of time.

The ancient myths of the Kitlanders are no longer verifiable, and the belief in ancient gods is also unsustainable, but there are still traces of prehistoric mythological times in the Far East, such as the "Veres River", the largest river system in the Far East, originating in the snow-capped mountains of the Lucia Plateau, meandering westward, crossing the Great Plains of the Far East, crossing the national border, until it joins the harbor near the city of Shephey, the capital of the sea blue; Another branch vein flows westward, passing through the mountains and mountains, and finally joins the North Sea, where the river and the sea meet to form a harbor, which is the famous trading city "White Gull Port" in the North, the land home of the sea elves.

The safest route to travel in the northern mountains is to follow the banks of the Veres River, so that you will not lose your way and you will not have to worry about a shortage of drinking water. In the woodlands along the river, where the water flows are abundant, there is a wide variety of wildlife, and adventurers who are good at gathering and hunting do not have to worry about going hungry.

Roland plans to travel north along the Villas River, across the Perren Canyon to Kitland, a giant fortress, and will be able to reach his destination in a maximum of two months if nothing happens on the way.

In fact, he could have chosen a quicker way to travel, such as when Mage Merlin offered to teleport them directly to the mountains of Lucia.

Roland would rather spend more time traveling on horseback, both to see the magnificent mountains and customs of the Northland, and to draw a more accurate military map by hand.

So far, he is very satisfied with his travel plans, how can he appreciate the rapids of the Veres River and the steepness of the Perren Canyon if he has not seen it with his own eyes?

Perun is a god of Far Eastern mythology, a goddess with the same name as Veres, this princess has a thunder and lightning and a short temper, and legend has it that the Pellen Canyon, which stretches for hundreds of miles, is the scar caused by the great god who threw a bolt of lightning when he was angry.

Walking along the river in the Grand Canyon, the eyes are full of primeval jungle and greenery, such a pure natural scenery makes Roland, who was born in the post-industrial era, like it very much, and he does not feel tired of trekking through mountains and rivers.

Behind him came the sound of a boar's grunting gasp, Bloom wore a full set of +2 Adamantite plate armor carrying a dwarven hammer on his shoulder, and a dazzling +2 Adamantite heavy shield behind him, sitting on the saddle with a solemn face and a straight waist.

Considering that Young Master Bloom has the title of "Prince of Icewind Dale", he should be a rich and handsome template, but he was born in the dwarf clan, his absolute height cannot go up, his face is full of beard and lacks a bit of handsomeness, and he is riding a fierce boar instead of a handsome white horse under his crotch, and he can only highlight the temperament of a local tyrant with a high-end equipment worth tens of thousands of dollars.

"That's why reincarnation is very important." Roland sighed secretly.

At this moment, a long sound suddenly sounded in the distance, interrupting his thoughts.

Following the prestige, a black hawk hovered in the air, which was Lyudmila's animal companion, exploring the way ahead for everyone.

Smoke seemed to rise from the place where the black eagle circled, accompanied by a long, mournful sound, which made him feel a sense of foreboding.

"Mira, what's going on?"

"Wait a minute...... The female ranger hurriedly pulled out a map scroll from her saddle bag, unfolded it and examined it for a moment, looking up at Roland, her eyes could not hide her uneasiness.

Roland guessed just by looking at her expression, and simply picked it out directly: "Is there smoke coming from the lumberyard?" ”

"Well, it's the lumber yard town where Pastor Dmitry made an appointment to meet, and Blackie found that the people there weren't normal......"

"Hey! Big guy chick, can't you talk a little crisper? How are the people at the lumberyard abnormal? "Are they on strike, or are they getting drunk and running naked in the open air?" ”

"No, they're all dead." Lyudmila's face was gloomy.

(4000 words of the big chapter sent, ask for collection, recommendation)