Lann smiled and made assurances to the senior druid, then began to inquire about the possible identity of the traitor and how to find him.
Grayslate began to think seriously: "Druids will not stay in one place for long, and even scholars have to travel around the continent, so it is not easy to accurately find the traitor."
"But those barbarians who are willing to join the Svalblod sect must have shown signs of this in their daily behavior, not to mention that they captured our apprentice..."
Graysmith thought for a moment and decided to seek help from others: "I need to consult the seniors who often stay in Oak Ring for cultivation. They may be able to point us in the right direction."
"It's going to take a while, so you have to be patient."
Greysmith's tone was very steady, showing the demeanor of a druid.
This made Gerd, who was behind Lann, curl his lips.
And Lan smiled and nodded.
"During this waiting period, I think you could go visit King Bran. You two should be relatives, right?" Greysmith suddenly suggested, "He's in a little trouble... no, it should be said that he's in big trouble."
…
After not seeing each other for a few days, when King Bran appeared in front of Lann again, he was visibly much more haggard.
The once majestic and strong king of the islands has now become thinner, with deeply sunken cheeks; his once well-maintained beard is now dirty and messy, revealing his owner's poor physical condition.
King Bran was unaware of Lann's arrival; his attention was drawn to the bed in front of him.
Lying on the bed was the dying son of King Bran, Svanrige an Tursek.
He lay on an oak bed, cushioned by mistletoe and holly leaves, and the air was filled with incense that Lan could not smell.
Four candles were lit at the four directions of Svanregi, and a druid stood at the head of Svanregi's bed and chanted something. As soon as Lann stepped into the room, he felt the griffin emblem on his chest vibrate slightly.
The druid was performing their world-famous healing magic, and this was clearly not the first time in as many days.
But even so, Svanreji's condition was still much worse than when he was attacked by the giant bear a few days ago. At this moment, he was almost turning into a corpse. Only his weak breathing could distinguish him from the dead.
Even Lann judged that the injured person was still breathing by the slight shaking of the oak leaf placed in front of Svanridge's nose, rather than the rise and fall of his chest - because Svanridge's chest did not rise and fall at all, and his whole body did not move at all.
It is worth noting that even though his son was dying, only King Bran, the father, was in the room, while Birna, the mother, was nowhere to be found.
Lan looked around and had some guesses in mind.
…
In addition to Svanrige, King Bran, and the druid who was performing healing magic, there were several druid apprentices in the room as assistants. They were explaining Svanrige's current situation to Easter who was standing by.
Lann took a look and walked forward slowly. His appearance and emblem were so iconic that the druid apprentice slightly as a greeting when he saw him approaching, and simply explained together:
"Svanrej is dying. There's nothing we can do. The magic we have now is just to keep him alive as long as possible."
The first sentence made Lann and Easter frown together.
The druid apprentice said regretfully: "Our magic is 'healing', not 'resurrection'. And Svanrej was injured too badly."
"That was a full-strength attack from a Welka Berserker. It could have broken even a foot-thick oak door bolt, not to mention a human body..."
The apprentice sighed and said, "Svanrej practiced martial arts diligently and was wearing a thick bear fur cloak at the time. This gave him some cushioning and prevented him from dying on the spot... but that was all."
Easter gritted his teeth. He had a close relationship with his nephew and could not accept this result.
"Isn't he still alive now? He is just injured, he can definitely be saved." Easter spoke in an exceptionally humble tone at this moment, even with a hint of pleading.
The druid apprentice lowered his attitude: "We tried our best. Svanrej's injuries were too severe... Let me explain to you this way. When he was carried here, he even vomited a small piece of lung tissue. You are brave and good at fighting. You must understand what this means. We have done our best to keep him alive now."
Easter certainly knew what the message in the apprentice's words represented.
He took two steps back dejectedly and almost fell, but was caught by Lann.
The joy of having just wiped out the Svalblod sect was now completely gone.
King Bran and Easter could be said to be the two most prestigious people in the islands. Seeing these two warriors who could be written into poetry showing such an attitude at the same time, even the druid apprentice could not bear it.
He consoled her, "We have also contacted the priests of Goddess Freya. Although the treatment methods they currently have are helpless, Lord Dona and High Priestess Sigurdlifa have been praying in front of the statue of the Virgin Mary for many days. Maybe a miracle will happen soon."
Only a desperate person would regard a miracle as the only hope.
But this is exactly the only hope of King Bran and Easter at the moment.
…
An unknown amount of time had passed before the druid who was casting the spell slowly opened his eyes. The aroma of the herbs in the house reached its peak at this moment, even to the point of being choking.
And a hint of redness flashed across Svanreji's pale face for a moment, like an illusion.
…
Inside the house were the dying Svanregi, the worried druid, the sad-looking King Bran, and the sighing Easter.
Only Lan's expression and aura were out of tune with them.
He had a plan in mind.
He glanced at King Bran, but didn't dare to tell him directly what he was thinking. Lan quietly pulled Easter aside and whispered.
"Uncle, you have lived with Aunt for so long, you must know that our bloodline contains special powers, right?"
Easter's face was still filled with worry as he frowned at Lan, wondering why his proud nephew had brought up this topic at this time.
But then he thought of something and showed an incredible look of anticipation.
East asked tentatively, "You mean... the ancient blood? If that's what you mean, then I know. That's why I don't have children with your aunt."
"But she doesn't seem to have awakened the power within. She can only glimpse it from history books and... Pavetta. She is very repulsive to this power."
Queen Calanthe failed to awaken the Ancient Blood, and she herself hated the power brought by the elven blood. On the contrary, her daughter, Pavetta, Ciri's mother, awakened at her own coming-of-age ceremony.
Unfortunately, Pavetta died unexpectedly later, and Calanthe attributed her daughter's death to the misfortune brought by the ancient blood.
In fact, if you trace the bloodline of Calanthe, you will find that every bearer who awakens the ancient blood has many twists and turns in life, and some even die because of it. From this perspective, Calanthe's understanding of the ancient blood cannot be considered wrong.
Of course, there are also some awakeners who only have a vague understanding of the power of blood, or even fail to fully awaken but only touch the edge. Unlike Lan En, who has the dual blessing of the system and Mirror Master.
Even Ciri in the original novel, as the first blood bearer in history to fully awaken the ancient blood, has fallen into many dangers because of this power. In a sense, the damage that the ancient blood brought to Ciri far exceeded the gains.
Easter's eyes were filled with anticipation. "I heard from Mossak that you seem to have fully awakened the power of the Ancient Blood, which is why you are able to display powers beyond our comprehension on the battlefield."
"Could it be that the ancient blood also has powerful powers in the field of healing?"
In response to East's question, Lane nodded and then shook his head.
"That's not the power of healing, but more like a one-time... rebirth?" Lann chose his words carefully, but it was exaggerated enough. "I can only use it once on each person, and only with this one time, no matter how serious the injury is, it can be healed, and even hidden injuries and old injuries on the body can be removed at the same time."
What Lann was referring to was naturally the contract [follower].
Upon hearing this, Easter immediately became excited and grabbed Lann's hand, ready to move closer to King Bran: "Once is enough!"
But Lann quickly grabbed Easter and stopped him from telling King Bran the news too early.
Because Lann has no skill points left.
In addition to adding skill points, Lann would only save one skill point for emergencies. If he encountered a follower he particularly wanted to contract, or if an important person around him was dying, he would use this skill point to play a role.
And just now, he has used this skill point to contract Bill, an alien berserker and grassroots hero.
He had not expected that Svanregi was in such a bad condition, and King Bran had never mentioned his son's condition to Lann. Lann had always believed that he could get proper help in the Oak Ring.
If King Bran had explained the situation to Lann earlier, whether from a practical point of view or considering their close relationship, Lann would have used this skill point to save Svanrej.
It was also Lan's fault for not explaining his abilities to the two earlier. It was just that he had too many secrets and never had the habit of revealing all his abilities to others.
At this moment, he could only explain to Easter: "The foundation of the Ancient Blood is magic, which is why I need enough chaos energy to use this ability. Generally speaking, I need to find some magic items to absorb the chaos energy inside to activate my ability."
In fact, Lann had collected a lot of runes and magic gems from the Mirror Master before, but he had given them to Mossak and Geron for magic research. Some of them had simply become enchants and infusions on his own equipment. He no longer had anything that could be converted into skill points at any time.
The ability to cast spells requires the energy in magic items, which is also within the scope of East's understanding. He thinks it is reasonable. Generally, if a spellcaster wants to cast some powerful spells, they often need to use special props, terrain, weather, and even astronomical phenomena such as solar eclipses.
Easter pondered and said, "That's no problem. The Tuersek family has quite a few collections. I'll write a letter right away... No, I'll ask the instructor here to help open a portal back to Little Skellig Island to look for them."
"But the magic items I need are rather special, and not all of them meet this requirement." Lann explained, "If that doesn't work, then I can also gain power from... uh, hunting monsters, or helping others fulfill certain wishes."
Lann almost didn't say the official language "punish evil and support the weak" to fool his servants.
Even so, Easter had an incredible expression on his face.
Because this is completely beyond the knowledge of the Sea Knights, there is no known spellcaster who can increase power in this way.
But soon, East also showed a thoughtful expression: "'Lannister, a promise is worth a thousand gold', this is the reason why you helped people everywhere in Cintra, because you can gain strength from it?"
Lan nodded: "I don't know how long Svanreji can hold on, whether it's too late..."
As he spoke, Lann glanced at his experience bar, which was not far from the maximum value. It might be faster to find a task in the Oak Land and complete it than to search for magic items everywhere. Especially in this case, all the soldiers of the Tuersek family will help him, so the efficiency is definitely high.
After listening to Lann's reason, Easter thought: "Then I will let the family soldiers help you to... help others. Then I will also ask the druid to open a portal to return to the family to find the magic items you need. Don't tell Bran about this for now, so as to avoid his emotional ups and downs. I just hope Svanregi can still hold on..."
Lan nodded in approval.
But then he slapped his head and suddenly remembered that he had obtained a wolf tooth necklace in Freya's garden before. It was the ancient magic item that could create undead werewolves. It seemed to be a source of magic power.
These new acquisitions never appear in his memory in time.
Lann had not absorbed it before in order to bring it back to Mossak to decipher the mysterious runes on it, but now seems the time has come to use it.
Lann hurriedly stopped the impetuous Easter, flipped his left hand, and was about to take out the wolf tooth necklace from the [Inventory] to absorb it, when a voice suddenly sounded behind him.
"I already know about this, brother, and Lan."
That was King Bran's voice.
In order to avoid King Bran, Lann and Easter left the house where Svanregi was being treated.
They also thought that King Bran couldn't receive any information from the outside world in his current state. But they didn't expect that King Bran looked sad and miserable, but in fact, he could accurately receive any information about his son, as long as the word "Svanrej" sounded around him.
The druid who was treating Svanrej's injuries also walked out of the house side by side with King Bran, looking at Lann with a look that was a mixture of kindness and curiosity that only an elder could have.
"You are Lan, right? Mossak told me about you and said that you have many magical abilities, but he didn't tell me in detail to protect your secrets. I can only do this for Svanregi now. He is seriously injured."
The druid was not afraid of dignity or face, and always prioritized healing. "So if you can do anything, Lan, just do it. Do you need the help of the magic of nature? There is an oak tree in the center of the Oak Ring, which connects the magic of the entire island. Perhaps it can help you."
King Bran waved his hand to stop the druid's proposal, then lowered his head and took out an antique necklace from his neck.
"This is to save my son. There is no reason to make the masters pay the price."
After saying that, King Bran turned to Easter and looked at him apologetically: "I'm sorry, brother, this necklace..."
Before he could finish his words, Easter interrupted his brother: "Svanreji's safety is the most important."
Then, Easter took the necklace and handed it to Lann, explaining, "This is the symbol of the head of our Tuersek family, a treasure passed down by our ancestors. It should be a powerful treasure, but we have never known how to activate it. We only hope that we can use it to save Svanregi's life now, which can be regarded as a blessing from our ancestors."
…
The Skellige are a romantic people, with myths and legends running through their culture and incorporating into their politics.
In the legends of the islanders, they have a common ancestor, Hemdall. It is said that he wore golden armor that was brighter than the sun, a helmet with antlers, and wielded a sword that could split the night and bring the dawn. He was so powerful that he could move mountains and overturn the sea with his flesh.
According to the poem, this mythical hero could hunt monsters that even gods could not defeat, but he was indifferent to fame and fortune and lived in seclusion in his hunting lodge. Until one summer solstice, he met the goddess Helene on the seashore. The goddess had long admired this hero who was stronger than the gods, so the man and the god quickly fell in love. They came to Skellige and spent the whole summer together.
But when autumn came, Helin had to leave. In the end, Helin gave birth to six sons for Hemdor to continue his bloodline. These six sons were also the ancestors of the seven major families of the archipelago.
After raising his six sons with the goddess to adulthood, Heimdall also fell into a deep sleep.
He has no tombstone, and no one knows where Heimdall eventually went, but the people of the islands believe that Heimdall will eventually return.
…
"In the last era, a giant wolf will devour the sun, the moon will have a lunar eclipse, and then the world will enter the White Frost Era, and humans will face a severe winter that will freeze everything. A long ship named Naglfar will set sail from the island of Holmore. The hull is built with the nails of the dead, and the ship is full of an army of ghosts and demons."
The people of Skellige take this legend so seriously that to this day they peel off the nails of the deceased during their funerals to prevent them from becoming material for evil spirits to build ships.
"There is a hero standing in his hunting lodge watching the longship approach. He is Hemdall. At this time, the golden rooster Kambi will begin to crow until it cries blood and dies. Its crow will warn Hemdall of the arrival of the longship. Then Hemdall will step onto the Rainbow Bridge and blow the horn carried on his waist, calling on all the Skelligers who have died bravely to take up arms and join this final battle. This battle will determine whether the world will be shrouded in eternal night or usher in a new dawn."
Easter recited the story with great seriousness, and said, "I know that the Ancient Blood also has a similar prophecy about the end of the world. It is in the royal collection of Calanthe."
"We islanders are the descendants of Hemdor. We built the archipelago to welcome the hero's return and become his army."
"The Tursek family is the descendant of Tyr, the son of Hemdor. This necklace is the treasure that Tyr once wore."
Lan took the necklace that Easter handed over. It was made of plant vines and metal, and was engraved with ancient and complex runes.
But it seems that because too much time has passed, these runes look like rigid stone carvings. If it weren't for Easter's reminder, no one would have thought it was a treasure containing magical power.
And this is indeed the case. Today, it is just a token of the patriarch of the Tursek family and no longer has any magical effect.
Fortunately, Lane's system gave prompts in time.
[Discover the source of magic]
In the expectant eyes of Easter and King Bran, Lan nodded: "It can be used. It is enough to have it."
Then he grabbed the necklace and activated the system.
A warm current like a warm winter breeze flowed out from the necklace and flowed into Lann's body.
[Skill Point +1]
[Skill Point +1]
[Skill Point +1]
[Skill Point +1]
I don't know how many years this has been around, but it actually provides four skill points!
With so much magic power, can't even the runes engraved on it be activated? It is worthy of being a treasure passed down by heroes in mythology. It is hard to imagine how powerful it would be when it was first created.
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