The Book of Hibernation

The first time Jin Ye taught Dong Ji to recognize arcane characters was when Dong Ji was about ten years old.

It's a bit late for human children, but for elf children... Jin Ye hasn't raised other children, so it's too unclear.She herself learned very late and has no reference value.

After teaching the basic characters, Jin Ye took out a small notepad and asked Dong Ji to read a line written on the title page.

Winter Thistle thought it was her mother who wanted to test him, but after a closer look, the lines were written in Common Language, not arcane words.

So he read out: "I swear before the god of arcane magic, I wish to respect magic as the only truth, and regard worldly interests as the second priority..."

In fact, there are several paragraphs behind.Jin Ye said that there is no need to read the next few paragraphs, because everyone has learned a different version, each school has a different version handed down, and each teacher copied a different version.

For example, the follow-up text of Hilda Academy is "The teacher turns into a beacon, the apprentice explores the long road, steps into the sea of ​​mystery, and the voyage will never end."Jin Ye's evaluation of this version is "sour text and fake vinegar".

The Guild of Elemental Mages is "Light the Lamp of the Elements with my own body".This version sounds even weirder, a bit deliberately pathos, and sounds like a description of a warlock who failed to cast a spell and died of spontaneous combustion.

Generally speaking, every version of the text starting from "Secular interests come second" and onwards is extremely nasty.Jin Ye's original words are "extremely nasty".

I don't know what the version of the necromancers is, maybe there will be a different style.

Refiners don't have their own unique version of the oath, because they cover everything, and it's not easy to summarize it in poetic language.

Gold Leaf told Winter Thistle that almost everyone who came into contact with arcane arts had to read this passage, parents or mentors would definitely make young people read it, and this had already formed a custom among spellcasters.

After the young apprentices read this sentence, they may have a question in their hearts.

When she was a child, Dong Ji really had doubts in her heart.He did ask his mother: We swear to the God of Arcane, who is the God of Arcane?

There are many gods in the stories handed down from ancient times. In addition to the three good gods, there are many secondary gods under them.But these are all legends and stories, and no one has found the miracle of the so-called lesser gods.So who is the God of Arcane?

Among the religious books he had read, Dongji had never read any records about this god, not even anecdotes from the countryside.

Jin Ye told him: In fact, there is no god of arcane magic. The god of arcane magic is you and me, all arcane researchers, and all spell casters.

This includes those who have died, as well as all those who will become spellcasters in the future.

Winter Thistle did not understand the words then, nor did she understand the Caster's Oath very well.

He believes that the essence of this oath is that spell casters encourage themselves to live with a certain attitude.

The state of life in the oath is difficult to achieve, and not everyone can do it.If a mage can do it, then he will definitely become an important stroke in the history of arcane research.If there is a person, he is willing to do anything for magic, and he doesn't care about love and hatred in the world... Such a person is definitely a ruthless character, he will be respected by spellcasters, and his reputation will be passed down through the ages, no matter whether the reputation is good or evil .Anyway, he certainly doesn't mind these things.

So the oath is calling out to other mages, telling them: You have to learn from such a person, and you can't care about the disturbances in life.

What the oath wants to express is probably such an encouraging attitude.

Years passed, and now recalling that sentence, Dongji gradually felt something else.

His understanding was wrong when he was a child, the spellcaster's oath didn't mean that at all.

The wording of the oath is restrained.It expresses a wish, not a demand.

Take, for example, the version of Hilda's College.They mentioned long roads and long voyages in the following text, and read them together with the previous wish. This describes that the mages have been exploring, but they have not been able to get what they want.

Take the version of the League of Elemental Mages again.They are going to use their bodies to burn and light the lamps, which is obviously more negative and more tragic.They seem to be trying to get something at the cost of life and soul.

Throughout the world, it has always been ambition first, then conceive of means, and then pay the price step by step.

According to various versions of the oath, it seems that the mages have been paying the price all their lives, and the means are their magic.There are costs and means, so where is the ambition?

Is it one or two particularly powerful spells?Obviously not.Is it an environment where you can do research freely?This is not a difficult goal, and a rich mage can do it.

So what exactly do they want?What is so hard to come by?

The answer is simple.Respect magic as the only truth, and regard worldly interests as secondary.This is the greatest ambition.

In other words, it is an illusory and beautiful wish.In other words, it is something arcane researchers have always wanted to do, but have never been able to do.

Whether it is a long road or an ocean, whether it is the body or the soul that burns, no matter what the researchers have won or lost in this life, no matter whether they have achieved fame or notorious deeds...they have never been able to achieve this huge goal. ambition.

Some people may mistakenly think that they have already done it, or are very close, but they have not.They haven't even touched its edges yet.

The key point is how to define "worldly interests" and how to understand the so-called "only truth".

Some people think that this means telling mages not to be greedy; Most things are cumbersome, researchers must be alone, and be an ascetic monk in the arcane field... After careful consideration, these ideas can be counted as correct, but they are not necessarily true.

Therefore, every beginner in the future must continue to take the oath and continue to join the vast team of losers.

Just hoping that one day, someone might catch the scraps of this ambition and tell others what he saw.

Winter Thistle just wanted to understand what the oath really wanted to express, that's all.On this basis, he can't do more.

He is very self-aware and knows that he too is one of the losers.

Now in the gem forest, between the necromancer and the city-state party, Winter Thistle would occasionally recite that oath silently.

He said to himself: Although I can't touch the wish in the oath at all, since I made the oath at the beginning, then I will do what I can and do something.

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Three days later, the necromancer and the city-state exchanged hostages for the second time.The process went smoothly.

The city-state brought a group of prisoners and returned them to their fellow necromancers.In contrast, the Necromancer also released a group of hostages.The hostages were all in a coma and transported to the appointed place by the golem.The necromancer did not show up in person.

These hostages were all local civilians and traveling merchants, and there were no caravan members of the Carlos family.Of course, there must be no Delise, Dorrin, and the captured knight.

The returned hostages carried letters with them.The letter said that by the time of the last exchange they would release all the remaining hostages.At that time, they will take away Wuyun, or take away Wuyun and Kanai.

The place of exchange remains unchanged, still at the current place next to the Khiva River.At that time, it will be up to Winter Thistle to decide the exchange time, that is, the time when his spell will be completed; and it will be up to the Necromancer to decide how to release the remaining hostages.

Of course, the city-state has no objection.

After the second hostage exchange is over, Winter Thistle can change places of residence.He finally left the underground tunnel completely.

When leaving, the necromancer covered his head with a bag as usual, brought him to the surface, and let the golem bird show him the way.Then Winter Thistle came to the place where the temporary laboratory was being built, and it was also the place where the hostages were exchanged last time.

The location is very close to the Khiva River, a short walk to the ice.It was the first time Winter Thistle saw this river. The river was wider than he had imagined, and there was always fog gathering nearby, making it almost impossible to see the north bank clearly.

The lab workers camped far away, probably out of fear of the Khiva.They only come to work in the morning and at noon, and they stop work when the sun shifts slightly in the afternoon.

Workers nod politely at winter thistles.Most of them were Sandenians, and they all seemed to know the status of this half-elf.

The temporary laboratory needs to be built with wood, and it has not been completed yet, and there is still a little bit of work to be done.Winter Thistle lived temporarily in a nearby tent until the lab was completed.

He now has enough spell-casting materials, and can use spells to control the temperature in a small area, so even in such a cold deep forest, the temperature in the tent is suitable.

Winter Thistle has gone to see the thin wood boards used to build the laboratory. The wood itself is very cheap, but the finished board is not ordinary.The side of the board facing the interior is covered with special paint, which contains compound magic potion ingredients, which can better isolate noise and preserve temperature.

This paint is not a new thing, many spellcasters will use it in their own houses.For example, it is found in Kanai's laboratory, also in the Western Suburb Workshop, on the walls and domes of the underground street of the almshouse, and in the magic item store where Winter Thistle worked, but the store is too old, and the effectiveness of the paint has been reduced. Attenuated.

Necromancers didn't ask for this kind of paint to be used in laboratories, probably they didn't think it was necessary at all.The paint must have been arranged by Ardine.Although Aldin doesn't know how to cast spells, he has been with more than one mage for a long time, so he understands some basic common sense, and also knows how to use many magic potions and consumables.

In addition to the painted boards, there was a whole lot of stuff for winter thistles near the tent.There are experimental equipment and daily necessities, all of which are still packed in the box and have not been placed in time for the time being.

The workers did not dare to touch them casually, and Winter Thistle was not in a hurry to clean them up.These items are just better than nothing, and they are not necessary for that important spell in the future.

What you really need for a winter thistle is not complicated, not expensive, and easy to find.

Whenever he needs something that can only be provided by the necromancer, he passes the message through the golem bird.

In the beginning, he didn't have control over the golem bird.But if he wants it, he can have it.

After leading the way for Winter Thistle the last time, the Golembird returned to the Necromancer's hideout and stood on his master's hand, spitting out a ball of messenger wax from its mouth.

As if fearing that necromancers would not use such props, an explanatory note was pasted on the wax pill.The owner of the bird turned pale with fright, dropped the bird and ran away, not daring to touch these things casually.

It was normal for him to be spooked - the golem was behaving out of its preset pattern, which was a very dangerous sign.

The mage called other people, and everyone studied around the golem bird, and found that the control of the golem had not been overridden, nor had any monitoring or spying spells been placed. The only change was that a temporary order, and had it deliver the wax pellets and notes for summons.

March was not surprised by this.Based on her knowledge of Winter Thistle, it was very easy for Winter Thistle to do this kind of thing.If he doesn't do it, either the conditions are insufficient, or he is just timid.

From then on, Winter Thistle continued to use the Golem Bird naturally.Anyway, the necromancer couldn't cancel his authority.

On this day, Dongji summoned her back and made a different request than before.

He needs a corpse.In order to avoid damage during the experiment, it is also okay to give him two corpses.

It was not difficult to prepare the corpse. The necromancers had just lost several companions and hostages a while ago, and the corpses were still in the cave that was attacked.

The difficulty is how to get the body across.It is absolutely impossible to rely on people to carry it, and it is also impossible to cast spells on the corpse to make it walk by itself.Because there are dead hunters wandering in the forest.So far, hunters won't spare winter thistles and workers, but they certainly won't spare necromancers and moving corpses.

So Winter Thistle proposed a plan: Are the corpses still stored in the cave that was raided last time without moving them?If this is the case, please tell me the coordinates of that location, and I will find a way to get it myself.Anyway, you have already given up that hiding place, and the coordinates have already been exposed, so it doesn't matter if you tell me.

There is nothing wrong with this proposal.The only worry is that it sounds too brave... not brave enough for a refiner to do.

In short, the necromancers agreed with Winter Thistle's proposal and told him the coordinates of the burrow.

After getting the coordinates, Dongji immediately went to find the workers who built the laboratory.It was afternoon, and the workers had already finished their work, so Winter Thistle went directly to the place where they camped.

He went straight to the foreman's tent, and sure enough, he found people he knew very well: two strong young men, one with red hair and the other with black hair.

I haven't seen each other for more than a year. The black-haired young man just politely said hello and said nothing else, but the red-haired one was very excited.They invited Winter Thistle into their tent, and there was no one else around, and they could finally talk normally.

These two people used to be the private soldiers of Aldin's family, and they are both foremen now.This identity is not a pure disguise, after all, they do know some crafts, and they usually need to do real work.

Winter Ji took out a small blueprint that he had just drawn, and said that he wanted to ask them for a favor to help him make the things in the picture.

The drawing shows a skid.Hunters who rely on mountains to eat often use this kind of thing, using it to transport wood and large prey.The style of the sled is very simple, and it can be made of wood. The wood does not need to be too good, and the branches can be cut casually, without too fine craftsmanship.

Orion usually does not need to entrust others, and can make it himself. Dongji cannot do it by himself, so he can only ask for help.The black-haired young man said that this is not difficult, the two of them can do it, and it will be done tonight at the earliest.

The red-haired youth asked what the sledge was for, and the black-haired youth kept stopping him with winks, but he insisted on asking.

Dongji didn't hide anything, and directly said that he wanted to find some corpses from the necromancer.But he didn't mention the burrow.

The red-haired young man smacked his lips, regretting asking about it.He stopped talking and went out to pick wood.

Winter Thistle stayed in their tent, reading and waiting.The two men kept their promises, and actually finished the sled that night.

The sledge was ready, but they both doubted whether the winter thistle would work well.Manipulating this thing requires skill. Although using a sled is lighter than moving things directly, it also requires a certain amount of strength. Can a weak mage really use it?

Soon they knew that this worry was unnecessary.Winter Thistle held the spell material bag in one hand, and fumbled on the sled with the other, probably casting some spells.

At last he put the straps on his body and dragged the sledge, which was like a sledge, smoother even than a sledge, leaving no marks on the ground as it passed, as if the ground it passed had become a smooth metal plate.

Winter Thistle left the workers' camp with the sledge.He had no doubt that the two youths would tell Aldin about his sledging and dragging of corpses.

No matter whether they went back to report in person, or sent someone more inconspicuous to interrogate, in short, at noon tomorrow at the latest, Aldin would definitely know.

Maybe Aldin can guess what he wants to do...even the necromancer may not be able to guess.Necromancers can only guess in the direction of studying spells. They can guess dozens of possibilities, all of which are reasonable, but none of them are right.

Aldin doesn't know how to cast spells.But Dongji felt that maybe he could guess it instead.

That's okay too.Even if he really guessed right, it wouldn't hurt what happened next.