The carriage wrapped in gold and copper walked on the road, moving forward at a gentle and uniform speed, with few bumps.
This is the main road within the empire. The road surface has been rectified and maintained by the nobles of the past dynasties, and it has become very smooth and smooth.
The white screen swayed slightly behind the car window. Through this curtain, you could see the scenery of the fields outside. Large tracts of golden farmland were distributed on both sides of the road, and occasionally one or two cottages stacked with stone bricks could be seen.
Inside the carriage, two young girls sat opposite each other. One of them had a small dragon horn and was resting on the tabletop, while the other was flipping through the poetry collections published by the Empire in recent years, occasionally looking out the window.
In this collection of poems in hand, the poets describe the power changes in the empire in recent years in a dramatic form, mainly about the poignant love between the heroic commoner knight and the noble girl, and mixed with many surprises. The plot is widely circulated among the folk and the aristocracy.
Although there is a big gap with the real reality, we can't bear that everyone likes to read such romantic stories. Now that culture and entertainment are relatively poor, such poetry collections can be described as classics.
People don't want to believe that the empire's total defeat on the battlefield is more willing to believe that this is a short-lived trough like a classical poignant opera.
Yes, it has been prosperous for hundreds of years, and once it has declined, how can people accept it in peace? It must be difficult for many people to calm down.
Combing the hair on the side of her ear, the girl gradually put on a book, leaned against the car window, and looked at the peaceful and beautiful scenery outside the window.
The eastern plains of the empire are still as peaceful and peaceful as they were before the war.
———
in the emerald forest.
A line of elves unfolded their emerald transparent butterfly wings and shuttled in the shade of a near-tall tree. Their wings swept across the silhouette of the summer sun, and reflected the gradation of colorful colors.
This is the place where the forest elves live. Many forest elves are distributed in this vast forest and mountains. The area is sparsely populated, and it often takes a long time to see the huts in the woods gathered in groups.
Compared with the changes in the outside world, there is still a peaceful life here. Some elves ride high-horned deer to walk through the forest trails, patrolling this quiet world.
But the changes in the world are also slowly affecting this side of the world. Mechanical bows have begun to appear on some cruising elves. Some of them will also use three-dimensional mobile devices to shuttle through the forest at high speed. The boots made of leather have foldable pop-up The short blade, and even the new waterwheels can be seen in many rivers.
Although the roaring and noisy scene of industry and mechanization did not appear, the elves also began to slowly accept changes from the outside world in their own aesthetic way.
"It's been a long time since I came back. The forest has changed a lot." Athey walked through the tall forest under the shade of trees, drawing a long and fast S-track in the air.
"Her Royal Highness did miss a lot of things, but it's not necessarily a bad thing. Her Royal Highness Atheia has complained to me all these years. At that time, it was just me who went to the east." A young female elf accompanied Athey. Fly sideways and answer the elf princess who just returned to the forest.
'I feel like that guy is very relaxed and happy in the East.' Although the two places are far apart, Athey's sister can still vaguely know her sister's emotions.
Born as twins, the twin elves, Athesi and Atheia, showed great talent since childhood and became princesses of the elves decades ago.
The princesses in the forest elves are candidates for queens. They are usually selected from the blood of the royal family, but more depends on their personal strength. In fact, after so many years of reproduction, nearly one-third of the forest elves can say that they are branches of the royal bloodline, and the bloodline theory has not been paid much attention within the elves.
"It was indeed a very interesting time." Aitesi recalled the trip to the Eastern Continent. In the past ten years, she has visited many famous mountains and rivers, and she has seen a completely different cultural landscape from the empire, which made her exclaim. Enjoyable.
If she hadn't vaguely sensed her sister's depressed mood in the last few years, she wouldn't have rushed back.
"Okay, can you tell me about the current situation in the forest now?" Getting closer and closer to the sacred tree garden in the middle of the forest elves, Athey couldn't hold back her curiosity.
"This, alas..." The female official in the elf sighed, and then began to speak slowly.
"The Age of Rebirth"
"The first is the change within the empire, allowing the elves to return to the past and curl up inside the forest."
"Although we are strong enough, we cannot easily interfere in the internal affairs of the empire, so as to avoid stimulating the sensitive nerves of human beings, such a bad thing will set off hatred between the two races."
"Currently, the Western Continent is undergoing rapid changes. Many elf scholars have brought back the theories and classics of Crancia, causing a lot of discussion in the forest."
"Some elves agree to embrace ideas and technology, some think that only the technical part of them should be absorbed, and some elves say that we should follow the heritage from ancient times and maintain a pure and natural way of life."
"Several parties started arguing at the meeting, and Her Majesty the Queen maintained a cautious attitude for a while, and did not express her position lightly."
"In addition, several great nobles have begun to contact us, wanting to know our attitude and standing. It can be expected that the civil war in the empire is inevitable." This is the part that makes the elves nervous and hesitant, which is why , Some elf nobles began to implement new technologies to arm the elves.
Seeing that Atexi was still a little puzzled, the elf noble woman continued to explain.
"Those imperial nobles not only represent themselves, but behind them are the shadows of the four dukes. At a time when the royal family is weakening, the four dukes are no longer the ones we can easily offend."
Except for the Red Dragon Duke Baska's family, which has gradually dissipated, the other three dukes still have over 100 million people and vast fiefs. The decline of the empire does not mean their decline. After the failure of the expedition, they still maintain a strong strength.
Change and stand in line? Aitesi briefly summed it up in her heart.
"Okay, okay. I'm not the kind of elf who is good at politics and strategy. Don't tell me this, it'll give me a headache." Athey shook her head, her golden hair swaying in the wind .
Through the falling vines, the golden moon flowers in full bloom, the blue lake, the tall garden surrounded by three tall sacred trees gradually revealed in the branches and leaves.
These three sacred trees go straight into the sky, the top of the tree canopy is surrounded by clouds and mist, and below are the elf palaces of different sizes, which are scattered around the lake and under the trees, like a beautiful crescent moon.
"Finally back." Athey descended slowly, her body was wrapped in a sphere surrounded by wind, and she lightly stepped on the lawn by the lake.
"I can't predict what kind of situation the elves will face."
"But at least, I hope I can stick to my responsibilities, protect everyone in the forest, and maintain this peaceful home."
"Take me to see Her Majesty the Queen, I can feel that my sister is already there waiting for me. Maybe I am thinking about how to scold me at this moment."
Ai Tessie smiled, and then lightly pressed her chest. The dress that was easy to move on her body grew and stretched like vines of flowers, elegant gold leaf cuffs, a long skirt with semi-transparent petals, and a small golden crown of gold silk. Also present in the hair room.
"Then, welcome back, my esteemed princess."
As the voice fell, the elites of the jungle holding life-size long swords also knelt down on one knee, and then gave way to the pure white road leading to the central sacred tree.