Chapter 50
She paused, feeling a warm flush on her face, thinking it was presumptuous to speak to the Elemental King like this, but her eyes couldn't help but drift towards Xerath. However, Xerath didn't show any reaction, clasping her hands together and resting her chin on them, deep in thought while staring at the decoration on the table. Only when she couldn't hear her voice did she raise her head and urge, "What's wrong? Are there unfamiliar words?"
Sylas shook her head and refocused her attention on the book.
"...the sweetness is like this:
Listening to your enchanting laughter, my heart
Beats restlessly in my chest,
When I gaze at you, Polokh, my lips
Cannot make a sound..."
Incredibly, these words seemed to possess a magical power, and a strange tingling sensation flowed through the depths of her heart, seizing her tongue and making her lips tingle. This was the first time she had read such a poem, yet she almost immediately understood what "beats restlessly" and "cannot make a sound" meant.
This short poem is only sixteen lines long, but it's completely different from the poems she had read before that described scenes. It felt like she had been reading for ages, as if she had exhausted all her energy. When she finally saw the period at the end, she was sweating profusely and feeling dizzy.
"It's really good. I like your voice," Xerath praised at the right moment.
A voice has three characteristics: pitch, volume, and timbre. Pitch and volume can be easily imitated, but timbre is unique.
Sylas recalled the words Xerath had once told her, and her face started to burn again.
Wanting to be unique and loving uniqueness.
"It's an honor," she murmured in response, feeling that the familiar figure that used to be so comforting was now dazzling. She couldn't even bring herself to look directly at it, just kept her eyes lowered, staring at the ground.
Xerath's voice softened slowly, "Would you be willing to read another one for me?"
"Yes, of course!" She suddenly straightened her back, gazing at those gray eyes filled with ashes. She noticed that Xerath had relaxed. His elbow rested on the armrest, supporting his chin as he leaned back in the chair. He had no expression, but he certainly wasn't displeased.
"He was as happy and carefree as a god in the sky.
He can stare at you with his eyes.
He can sit and listen to you talk and talk.
..."
This poem is much more peaceful and happy. For those who often read love poems, it's just a normal and common image, carefully depicting the feelings of being lost in love. But Sylas, reading love poems for the first time, discovered a strange resonance that words alone couldn't accurately describe.
Her voice echoed in the empty hall, taking a long time to fade away completely.
Her eyes, filled with glowing embers, flowed with light, finally resting on her.
"Sylas..." Xerath's voice was a bit hoarse, but she didn't cough like she usually did. With this slightly hoarse voice, she asked, "...Do you like them? These poems."
"... Yes, I like them. They feel nice to read." Sylas, as if enchanted, daringly met Xerath's gaze.
"Yes... The original text was in Gaboran language, but after the decline of the Gaboran civilization, these pleasant rhythms were absorbed by Setis language. What else have you discovered?" Her voice was slightly lower and huskier than usual, creating a dreamy illusion.
"Actually..." Sylas took a small step forward, words dancing on the tip of her tongue. But instinctively, she felt it wasn't right. She lowered her head again, looking at her book. The words she wanted to say twisted in her mouth, transforming into unrelated and more restrained phrases. "Some of the landscape poems we've read before described certain feelings that arise from seeing the scenery, such as feeling awe-inspiring, magnificent, and sublime..."
Flames flickered and burned on her face, as if they had already consumed the top layer. "But these are different... These words and phrases have clear owners, owners who express their emotions straightforwardly. The scenes they see also become completely colored by their emotions."
Her heart pounded in her chest. Sylas was certain Xerath knew why she had these unusual emotions, but instinctively, she felt she shouldn't ask those questions.
Sylas lowered her gaze, and the gray disappeared from her line of sight.
"...An interesting discovery. Are you tired?"
"No, I'm not tired. I can recite a few more for you."
"No, it's not necessary." Xerath finally revealed a faint smile, genuine and brightening the remnants in her eyes. The gray turned into a radiant silver. Outside the window behind her, the center of the storm faintly shimmered with a bright yellow light. Thunder rumbled across the land, sounding strangely distant in her ears.
"It's late. Let's go to sleep. I'll walk you back." Xerath rose from her chair, and Sylas followed her out of the library. As the supporting Illumination Spell faded, the library quickly darkened. The only light appeared as Xerath passed by, guiding Sylas into her bedroom. She watched Sylas obediently lay in bed, giving her forehead a kiss before leaving.
The archmage sighed and was about to enter the stairwell when they heard a slight noise behind them.
"Shh, shh, Xerath!"
It's Virgil, and her butler is following behind her. She gestured for Virgil to come out and speak, standing in the slightly breezy staircase hallway. Xerath asked, "What's wrong, is there something you need?"
"Are you angry? Did I bother you?"
"No, not at all, just say what you want, you're not one to beat around the bush."
"You look angry! I know you well, don't I, Hyectra?"
Hyectra shrank back, determined not to get involved in the war.
"Virgil, do you want me to resort to force to make you speak about important matters?"
"No, no, I'm just a little worried about your little monster. Why don't you take her out to meet some new friends? She's not really a contract demon, she just needs to listen to you at home and follow you around. You understand that to live comfortably in this world, it's not enough to just have a teacher, even you as an archmage are protected by your senior brothers and sisters."
"You care about her, don't you."
"Of course, no matter how she changes, it is my responsibility..."
"I'm worried that she'll think I don't want her if I let her go to boarding school."
"Then you can wait until she's a little older... Before exams, she should go to school to learn, but just in a different order. Usually, people go to school first, then to the tower. But she can go to the tower first, then to school."
Xerath was about to speak when something suddenly came to mind. Pointing sharply with a bright silver light towards Virgil, she said, "I doubt that you would worry so much. Is it because of something Diego told you?"
Virgil's forehead broke out in a cold sweat, and he didn't immediately deny it. Instead, he replied with a smile, "Well, we are only strongly suggesting, not commanding you. It's up to you to decide. We've given you scattered arguments and evidence. If you're not happy, I won't mention these words again."
"I am considering it, but I'm afraid the foolish people at school will corrupt my little beast. At least I have to teach her all the basic skills."
Virgil was very skeptical, "What do you mean by 'basic skills'...?"
"I mean those things that ultimately prevent you from graduating."
"What! So you want to keep her locked up for the rest of her life? That's too much! It's either yes or no, we should be honest with each other. Why play this kind of sneaky game? Xerath, you've learned bad things..."
Xerath couldn't help but laugh, "Virgil, don't be nervous, it was just a joke."
"Me too," Virgil quickly replied calmly, "just kidding. When do you think it will be? I think you should be mentally prepared for it."
"What about when she... summons the water lord? No, we still have to wait until she truly understands how to distinguish right from wrong."
Virgil shrugged, "In the end, it's your decision. Diego and I are just meddlesome relatives. It's all up to you and her."
Xerath sighed noncommittally, "There are many things I can't teach, like world history, at least not the stuff on exams. Oh, and of course, practical lessons."
"Things to study are always troublesome. I understand that." Virgil's expression became strangely heavy, as if he had suffered a loss.
"Alright, Virgil, how long do you plan to stay?"
"As soon as the weather gets better, I'll leave. I have a client who invited me to appraise a recently excavated dragon bone on the west side of the desert. I'm just stopping by the nearest supply point to take a rest."
Indeed, Aimekotes is right in the middle of the Elemental Gate. In fact, if it weren't for this supply station, Virgil wouldn't dare to venture into the desert. Only creatures like Xerath can live here.
"Remember me if there are any dragon products."
"I always think of you! Don't worry! I will do it cleanly."
He said this because dragon bone excavations belong to the third category of excavated treasures under the Continental Convention. Whatever is dug out belongs to the excavator, not the country it is found in, regardless of whether there are any cultural relics above or below it. If Virgil wants to bring some back for Xerath, he can only buy or steal it.
But dragons are treasures all over their bodies, from scales to blood, and are coveted by various guilds. Dragons and wizards are essentially the same. Dragons live on the Sky Island of La Paladine Archipelago. Dragons who live alone and are not protected by the dragon group will surely become prey. And if a wizard becomes a Lich, defects from the guild, refuses the protection and constraints of the guild, they will also immediately become targets for hunting.
The Elemental Gate was not like this from the beginning of creation, but because of a battle fought by a huge dragon here. The five-colored dragon used too much elemental power, causing the elemental channels here to be filled with holes. Sand and soil from the Elemental Realm fell down, gradually forming the desert and burying the dragon's bones underneath.
Although this history was recorded, the Elemental Gate is a place with a very bad climate, and ordinary people can hardly set foot there. Occasionally, when the wind blows away the surface, the eerie bones underneath are exposed, but the next storm will cover them completely.
"It's not strange that one or two were dug out, but what's strange is that it's only happening now."
"Is it on the edge of the desert?"
"Yes, speaking of this, it's also related to Keatler Elemental Chaos."
Xerath said strangely, "What could be the connection?"
Virgil also looked strange, and proudly said, "This goes back to our little wild beast."
"My little wild beast."
"Alright, yours. Your little wild beast once caused a riot near Doloru Town, directly blasting a very old dam on the lake, causing all the water from the mountain to flow into the Vasa River, pushing the dry line of the Vasa River ahead by fifty miles. Now that area is filled with oases. Oases, moist, rainfall, plants. Oases, moist, rainfall, plants, the desert has been stabilized, and a small pond uncovered dragon bones, so now a group of adventurers went to dig."
