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 nodded 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.
他没有想到斯凡瑞吉的情况如此糟糕，布兰王也从来没有跟兰恩提起过自己儿子的情况。兰恩一直以为对方能够在橡木之环获得妥善的救助。
如果布兰王早一点把情况跟兰恩说明，不管是从实际的角度出发还是看在亲疏关系上面，兰恩都会把这个技能点用来救斯凡瑞吉。
也怪兰恩没有早一点跟两人说明自己的能力。只是他身上的秘密实在太多，也从来没有跟别人将自己的能力全盘托出的习惯。
此刻，他只能够跟伊斯特解释道：“上古之血的根基是魔法，也是因此我需要足够多的混沌能量来施展这个能力。一般来说，我需要寻找一些魔法物品来吸收里面的混沌能量，以此来发动我的能力。”
其实兰恩之前从镜子大师那里也收集到了不少的符文、魔法宝石的，但是那些都已经被他给了莫斯萨克和杰隆做魔法研究，有一部分干脆已经变成了自己装备上面的附魔和注魔，他身上已经没有能够时刻转换成技能点的东西了。
而施展能力需要魔法物品中的能量，这个也在伊斯特的理解范围内。他觉得很合理，一般施法者如果想要施展一些大威力的法术，往往要通过特殊的道具、地形、天候、乃至于日食一类的天文现象。
伊斯特沉思道：“这个没有问题，图尔塞克家族有不少的收藏，我立刻写信……不，让这里的导师帮忙开传送门回小史凯利格岛去找。”
“但是我需要的魔法物品比较特殊，并不是所有的都符合这个要求。”兰恩解释道，“如果不行的话，那么我还能够从……呃，猎杀魔物，或者帮助他人完成一些特定的愿望，从中获得力量。”
兰恩好悬没有说出“惩戒邪恶、扶持弱小”这些用来忽悠侍从的官话来。
哪怕如此，也让伊斯特露出了匪夷所思的表情。
因为这已经完全超出海上骑士的认知了，没有任何一种已知的施法者是这种提升力量的路数。
但是很快伊斯特也露出了思索的表情：“‘兰尼斯特，一诺千金’，这就是你当初在辛特拉到处给人帮忙的理由吧，因为你能够从中获得力量？”
兰恩点了点头：“我不知道斯凡瑞吉还能够撑多久，是不是来得及……”
说着，兰恩瞟了一眼自己距离满值不差多少的经验条，说不定比起到处寻找魔法物品，在橡木之地随便找个任务完成了还要更快一点。尤其这种情况下整个图尔塞克家族的士兵都会帮助自己，效率绝对高。
伊斯特听了兰恩的理由，思忖道：“那么我现在就让家族的士兵帮助你去……帮助他人。然后我也同时去找德鲁伊开传送门回家族找你需要的魔法物品。先不告诉布兰这件事情，免得他的情绪大起大落，只希望斯凡瑞吉还能够撑住……”
兰恩点头认可。
但是紧接着他一拍脑袋，突然想起来自己之前是不是还在弗蕾雅花园里面获得一条狼牙项链来着，就是那条能够制造出不死狼人的古朴魔法道具，那貌似也是个魔力之源来着。
这种新入手的东西总是没能及时在他的记忆中出现。
之前为了带回去给莫斯萨克破解上面的奇妙符文兰恩一直没有把它吸收，但是现在看来正是使用它的时候了。
兰恩赶忙拦住风风火火的伊斯特，左手一翻，正想将狼牙项链从【物品栏】中取出吸收掉，一个声音突然在他的背后响起。
“我已经知道这件事情了，兄长，还有兰恩。”
那是布兰王的声音。
为了避开布兰王，兰恩和伊斯特此时特地离开了给斯凡瑞吉疗伤的屋子。
他们也以为布兰王这样的状态是接收不到外界的信息的。却没想到布兰王的状态看上去悲痛而哀猝，实际上但凡有一点关于儿子的信息，周围出现“斯凡瑞吉”这个音节的词语响起，他都能够准确地接收到。
给斯凡瑞吉疗伤的德鲁伊也和布兰王一起并肩走出屋子，用一种长辈独有的慈爱、好奇夹杂的眼神看着兰恩。
“你是兰恩吧？莫斯萨克跟我提起过你，说你有很多神奇的能力，但是为了保护你的秘密都没有细说。我对于斯凡瑞吉只能够做到现在的程度了，他的伤很重。”
德鲁伊并没有忌讳什么尊严、脸面，一切以治疗优先：“所以如果兰恩你能有什么办法的话，就尽管去做吧。你是需要借助大自然的魔力吗？橡木之环中心有一颗橡树，沟通着整座岛的魔力，或许它可以帮助你。”
布兰王却摆摆手阻止了德鲁伊的提议，转而低头，从自己的脖子里面取出一枚古朴项链。
“这是为了救我的儿子，没有让大师们付出代价的道理。”
说完，布兰王转向伊斯特，露出了歉意的目光：“抱歉，兄长，这项链……”
没等他把话说完，伊斯特直接打断了自己的弟弟：“斯凡瑞吉的安危最重要。”
接着伊斯特主动拿过那条项链递到兰恩的手里，解释道：“这是我们图尔塞克家族族长的标志，由我们先祖传承至今的宝物。它本该是一件强大的宝物，但是我们一直不知道如何催动它，只希望现在可以用它来挽救斯凡瑞吉的性命，也算是先祖保佑了。”
……
史凯利格是一个浪漫的民族，神话和传说贯穿了他们的文化，也融入了他们的政治。
在岛民的传说中，他们有着一个共同的祖先——汉姆多尔。据传他穿着比太阳还要耀眼的金色盔甲，带着鹿角头盔，挥舞着能够劈开黑夜、带来黎明的长剑，强大到可以凭借着肉身移开群山、翻涌大海。
根据诗歌的记载，这名神话中的英雄能够猎杀连神明都束手无策的怪物，但是却淡泊名利，一直隐居于自己的狩猎小屋之中。直到某一年的夏至，他在海边遇到了女神海琳，女神对于这名比神明还强壮的英雄也仰慕已久，于是一人一神迅速陷入爱河。他们来到了史凯利格，在那里亲密了整个夏天。
但是秋天来临时，海琳非离开不可。最终海琳为汉姆多尔生了六个儿子来延续血脉，这六个儿子也是群岛七大家族的祖先。
而海姆多尔在将自己与女神的六个儿子培养成人之后，也陷入了沉睡。
他没有墓碑，也没有人知道海姆多尔最终去了哪里，但是群岛人相信海姆多尔终将归来。
……
“最后的纪元，会有一头巨狼吞噬太阳，月亮会产生月蚀，接着世界踏入白霜纪元，而人类面临一个仿佛将冻结所有的严冬。一艘长船名为纳格法尔号从霍摩尔岛启航，船身以死人的指甲搭建而成，船内载满由妖灵和恶魔组成的军队。”
史凯利格人极其重视这个传说，直到今天，他们的葬礼都会剥下亡者的指甲，防止它成为邪灵造船的材料。
“有位英雄站在他的狩猎小屋里看着长船到来，他就是汉姆多尔。这时，金鸡坎毕会开始啼叫，直到啼血死亡，它的啼叫将会警告汉姆多尔长船的来到，接着汉姆多尔会踏上彩虹桥，吹响腰间携带的号角，号招所有曾英勇战死的史凯利格人拿起武器，加入这最后一战。这场战役将会决定世界是否会被永恒黑夜笼罩，或者迎来一个全新的黎明。”
伊斯特极其严肃地背诵着这个故事，说道：“我知道上古之血也有类似的关于世界末日的预言故事，卡兰瑟的王室藏书之中就有。”
“而我们岛民就是汉姆多尔的后代，我们建设群岛，就是为了迎接英雄的归来，成为他的军队。”
“图尔塞克家族是汉姆多尔之子——提尔的后裔。这枚项链就是提尔曾经佩戴在身上的宝物。”
兰恩接过伊斯特递过来的项链，它以植物的藤条和金属一起编制而成，雕刻着古朴而复杂的符文。
但是似乎因为时间过了太久，这些符文看起来就像是死板的石雕。若不是伊斯特的提醒，根本不会有人认为它是一件蕴含着魔力的宝物。
而事实也是如此，到了如今，它只是图尔塞克家族族长的信物了，不再有什么奇妙的作用。
好在兰恩的系统适时地给出了提示。
【发现魔力之源】
在伊斯特和布兰王期盼的眼神中，兰恩点了点头：“能用，有它就足够了。”
随后他抓住项链，发动系统。
一股宛若冬日暖风的热流从项链之上涌出，淌进兰恩的身体里面。
【技能点＋1】
【技能点＋1】
【技能点＋1】
【技能点＋1】
这个不知道已经存在了多少年，居然提供了足足四个技能点！
拥有这么多的魔力，却连上面刻画的符文都催动不了吗？不愧是神话中英雄传承下来的宝物，难以想象在它刚刚被制造出来的时候，又会有怎样的威能。