41. Light and shadow
Viren came quickly.
The Prophet flew in less than 1 hour aboard the Forbidden Ship, one of the only three Draenei ships.
The Atama Crystal is a sacred relic given by the ancestors of the Draenei people, each piece has a peculiar ability, and for the Draenei people who are now struggling to rebuild their civilization, each Atama crystal has a special meaning.
After hearing that the Empire of Mankind had found a gem suspected of being "Brilliant Days", the Prophet had a premonition that the lost gem might give new hope to the oppressed camp of the undead... It's slim, but it's a hope worth pursuing.
"This..."
In the secret chamber of the White Tower Harbor, the dusty Draenei prophet Viren looked at the few fragments of gems that exuded a rich darkness on the table, his star-like eyes shining with doubt and regret.
"This is indeed one of the Atama Crystals we have lost, representing the Radiant Dawn of Endless Light and the True Meaning of the Holy Light, but... But why did it become so evil, and... Why is it broken? ”
"Prophet, it was Tyrion who broke it."
Gianna explained in a low voice:
"We found this crystal among the loot after our battle with Tyrion in the Dragonbone Wilderness, and Arthas believes that the magic sword Ember Messenger in Tyrion's hand was forged from the main body of this dark crystal, and he senses the aura of that sword, which is very similar to these crystals."
The Prophet ignored Gianna's explanation, he glanced back, and the Grand Garrison Marlad, who had come with him, stepped forward at once, and the powerful paladin, who had also fought Tyrion head-on, stretched out his hand, closed his eyes, and skimmed his finger over the crystal shards.
The magic of the darkness clashed with the light within Malad, and when his fingers skimmed over each crystal fragment, a cloud of light and shadow erupted, like a spark of lightning that had been ignited, and it was important that everyone in the chamber watched the process, and once the source of the crystal was determined, perhaps they could work out a way to counter the evil weapon of the King of the Dark Blades.
"That's right, Prophet, while the residual energy is thin, it does resemble the aura of Tyrion's sword."
Malrad took a step back, and with some shame he said to the Prophet:
"I'm sorry I didn't find out about that at the time, otherwise, even with all we can, we'd have left Tyrion in Northrend, what the Bright Stars mean to the Draenei... It's so important. ”
"No, it's not your fault, Malrad."
The Prophet looked at the remaining crystal shards on the table, closed his eyes in pain, and said in a somewhat dejected state:
"I didn't even find it, so don't blame you... The Bright Stars are clearly polluted, and while we don't know what caused it, unfortunately, we may have lost it forever. ”
The Prophet's expression of pain made everyone look at each other, and the humans did not understand the significance of the Atama Crystal to the Draenei, but it was clear from the Prophet's expression that this thing must be important, so after a few seconds, Fao asked His Majesty:
"My parishioners, the Light teaches us not to dwell on the wounds of the past, but to draw strength from them and move on... While the destruction of your relics is a deplorable thing, the young kings and I believe that these remaining relics fragments will most likely help us find a way to fight against the Lord of the Blades..."
His Majesty looked at the Prophet and said in a deep voice:
"We need your help, Catholics, and we all need to know about this crystal."
Fao's voice woke Viren from his grief, and the latter let out a sigh of relief, he looked at the replica fragments on the table, and after a moment, he nodded:
"You're right, parishioners, indeed... It's a painful thing to do, but we can't afford to dwell on it and lose hope for the future, and since you want to know, let me tell you. ”
As he spoke, Arthas himself brought a chair for the Prophet, and the tall Veren sat on the chair, he stretched out his fingers and stroked the surface of the dark gem, the dark power escaping from the gem stimulated Viren's fingers, making him feel a slight tingling, but the Prophet didn't care, he touched his white beard hanging down his chest, and between the glimmer of the seal of the leader of the Draenei on his forehead, the Prophet told a distant story.
"The Atama Crystal, this was once the embodiment of the Holy Light, the holy relic given to our ancestors by the powerful Naru, the name of that Naru is no longer verifiable, but the crystal he left behind has become a beacon to guide the Eredas to the light, you can never imagine how sacred and brilliant the realm of holy light is reflected when the complete Atama Crystal shines in the sun."
Viren's eyes sparkled with nostalgia, and he seemed to have returned to that good old time, and his deep voice echoed through the chamber:
"The Atama Crystal has all kinds of magical effects, for tens of thousands of years, it has been guiding the direction of the Ereda civilization, but the arrival of Sargeras destroyed all this, in despair, I took the people who were unwilling to let the demons succumb to embark on the path of escape, and the fall of our civilization also shattered the Atama Crystal, I don't know if it was the divine will that disappointed us, or fate, in short, it was broken."
"The seven broken crystals still have their own peculiar functions, in fact, in the 25,000 years that the Draenei have fled, we would not have been able to find a way to survive in the stars without the protection of the Atama Crystal, the shadow of the leaves in the path of the stars will keep our ship from being detected by demons, and the kiss of fortune will allow us to avoid every ambush and trap against the Draenei."
The story of the Prophet captured the attention of all the kings, especially the wonders of those atama crystals, which made everyone wonder about it.
"The Shield of Naru protects our flagship, and even the mightiest demon warship cannot breach its protection, and the Eye of the Storm gives us the power to fight back, even among the cold stars, it can summon the elemental power that destroys everything, and the Heart of Fury... You've seen it, and in the light of that crimson light of courage, the brave Draenei warriors have always been able to fight the pursuing demons until the last moment. ”
"The Song of the Soul allows me to show fragments of the future, to find temporary places for my people to settle down one after another in the complicated fate, and the Bright Dawn, it is the most important thing, the endless holy light it emits can keep us away from death, even the most serious injuries, under the light of the Bright Dawn, we can quickly recover... A large part of the reason my people were able to survive the long flight to the end was because of the protection of the Bright Sun. ”
The Prophet picked up a black gem and put it in front of his eyes, and he sighed again:
"And the light that shines in the Bright Hour is peculiar, and when the believers of the Light are bathed in the light of the Bright Hour, we can always feel that the erratic Light is right before our eyes, and it never leaves us... It's the source of our faith, can you relate to that? ”
No one answered, and the Prophet did not need to answer, and the lost one was put back on the table by the crystal shards filled with darkness, and he said:
"The Bright Stars were lost in the war, like other crystals, it was a nightmare, and I don't want to mention those painful pasts, but now, the Bright Stars, which originally represented endless hope, are shrouded in darkness, and remind me of something that I have overlooked."
The Prophet's expression became puzzled, and he rubbed his forehead as if to remember something.
"Hundreds of years ago, when we arrived in the world of Draenor, we encountered a difficult forced landing, and a Naru who was with the Draenei sacrificed himself to protect us, and it was called Kara... Kara's body remained among the stars of the world of Draenor, the first time I saw a Naru die, and it did not disappear, but became a source of shadow that devoured all light in the convergence of the endless light. ”
"That's Naru's endless reincarnation, Kara told me that there is no need to grieve, it's Naru's fate, from the brightness that fills with endless holy light, to the shadow that devours all light, it tells me that this is also the essence of light and shadow, and this situation is very similar to what happened to the Bright Dawn at the moment."
As he spoke, the Prophet looked at the contemplative Fao and said:
"I've heard, Catholic, that during the recent war, you also recognized the existence of priests who practiced the Way of Shadows... This is good, it means that you have finally taken the step towards a deeper understanding of the Light, in fact, there are priests who walk the shadows in the Draenei community, but I concealed this in order not to offend you. ”
"Well, light and shadow, this is indeed a huge research topic."
His Majesty Fao nodded, and to become Pope represented His Majesty's own deep knowledge of theology, and he said to the Prophet:
"The Chaldean Bishop, a devotee of the Light, who has been researching the subject of light and shadow for the last few years, is a trusted brother, and the Shadow Priest has indeed contributed to the Empire... Of course, we can talk about this later, my parishioners, do you know what I have learned from your story? ”
"I'm listening."
The Prophet whispered, and then the crowd saw the old Fa'o Crown stretching out his hand and holding the dangerous Dark Gem fragment in his hand, and he looked at the others, and he whispered:
"If light and shadow are real truths, then does the gem's fall from light to darkness mean that it is part of the transformation of light and shadow, and if it can change the nature of its own energy, then does it mean that this transformation is a two-way street? Viren, you've seen Naru die, and you've heard from them about the cycle they believe in... So, let's try it out for ourselves. ”
As he spoke, the pure and huge light in Fao's body flowed down his fingers and poured into the dark gem, which made all the kings stand up in shock, and Arthas shouted even more:
"Nope! Your Majesty, this is too dangerous, it's up to us to do it, drop it! ”
But it was too late, and the holy light shining all over his body under the crown was so bright, as if he himself had become an existence like a point of light, and everyone could only cover their eyes with their hands in that scorching light, as if they were witnessing the revival of a golden sun.
In that light, they heard Fao's low, gentle voice:
"I'm very old, kids..."
"Buzz"
The dark magic of the dark gem pinched by Fao's fingertips escaped frantically at this moment, and even formed a black hole above the table that swallowed all the light, and the only prophet who did not close his eyes was staring at the black hole, he could feel that with the holy light in Fao's body constantly being swallowed by the black hole, the fragments of the Bright Dawn that had turned into dark things were also undergoing some strange changes.
"I'll help you, parishioners!"
Viren stood up, the staff of the redeemer in his hand was on the ground, and the power of the faith that the prophet had believed in for tens of thousands of years flowed out of Viren's hand like a rushing waterfall of holy light, pouring into the holy light of Fao in front of him.
"Boom"
On this night, in the night sky of the Thousand Needles Stone Forest, a brilliant pillar of golden light rushed into the sky like a long sword, as if it had set the buildings of the White Tower Port on fire.
This pillar of light lasted for a full 3 minutes, causing countless believers who saw the pillar of light to cry out for miracles.
And at the moment when the light dissipated, in the exclamation of Viren and Fao, the young kings rushed forward and looked at the center of the table that had been melted by the holy light, and those few crystal shards that were originally filled with darkness had become complete holy relics... The surface of each of them shone with a breathtaking golden light, and in the midst of the gem, the golden liquid light slowly flowed under the action of mysterious power.
Just from the outside, you can see the endless divine perception that this crystal shard possesses.
"The Light is above! It's restored! ”
Viren gripped the palm of Fao's hand, the old prophet was like a happy child, he carefully reached out and placed the crystal shard in his hand, he felt the energy coming from the gem, and he let out a sigh of relief.
"The holy relic, the holy relic..."
"But, but what are we going to do with it?"