The golden light of dawn had barely kissed the highest spires of the Royal Palace of Eldoria, yet the vast square below already teemed with life.
E.g. ：I just found out my own mother sold my childhood home behind my back.
- 1、The King's Solemn Procession
- 2、A Disruptive Presence
- 3、The King's Revelation
- 4、Whispers of Old Magic
- 5、The Keeper's Burden
- 6、A Kingdom's Fate
Hundreds of nobles, bedecked in their finest silks, and thousands of commoners, dressed in their Sunday best, gathered.
Anticipation hung thick in the air, a palpable hum that vibrated through the grand white marble steps and ornate fountains.
This was no ordinary day; it was the Rite of Whispering Ancestors.
A desperate plea to ancient powers, a solemn ceremony initiated by King Theron to lift the encroaching blight that choked Eldoria’s crops and tainted its rivers.
His kingdom was suffering, and the King, outwardly resolute, inwardly bore a crushing burden of desperation.
The King's Solemn Procession
The rhythmic beat of ceremonial drums began, deep and resonant, signaling the King’s emergence.
Royal knights, astride towering warhorses, their armor glinting, formed a formidable escort.
And then, framed by fluttering royal banners, King Theron appeared.
He was a middle-aged man, yet lines of worry etched around his stern eyes spoke of burdens far beyond his years.
Draped in a magnificent royal robe, embroidered with the golden lion of Eldoria, he moved with a grave dignity befitting his station.
His crown, a heavy circlet of gold and emeralds, seemed almost to weigh him down, a symbol of a power that felt increasingly inadequate against the kingdom’s silent foe.
A Disruptive Presence
As the procession slowly advanced, a ripple of unease spread through the crowd near the central aisle.
An old man, frail and ragged, with a wild mane of disheveled white hair, stood directly in the King's path.
He clutched a gnarled, worn-out wooden cane, seemingly oblivious to the grand spectacle or the imminent danger.
His clothes were little more than tattered scraps, a stark contrast to the opulence surrounding him.
Two royal guards, tall and imposing, their spears held sternly, moved swiftly.
"Back off! Back off now! The King is here!" one soldier bellowed, his voice sharp with command.
The other guard roughly shoved the old man's shoulder.
He stumbled, nearly falling, but did not resist, his gaze calm, fixed somewhere beyond the approaching King.
Murmurs of shock and pity spread among the onlookers.
Some averted their eyes, expecting the old man to be seized and dragged away, perhaps even punished for his perceived disrespect.
The King's Revelation
But King Theron, even from a distance, had seen it.
As the old man stumbled, a faint, sun-shaped scar, barely visible beneath the grimy skin, flashed on his wrist.
And the cane—it was not just any worn wood; its distinctive grain matched descriptions from ancient Eldorian texts.
A cold dread, swiftly followed by a surge of overwhelming hope, seized the King’s heart.
The procession paused, not by command, but by the King's abrupt stillness.
His eyes, which had been stern moments before, widened, then softened with an emotion the court had rarely witnessed.
He stepped forward, leaving his royal guard momentarily bewildered.
He walked past his stunned soldiers, past the gasping crowd, directly towards the old man.
The king’s gaze locked with the wanderer's.
The old man’s eyes, deep and knowing, held no surprise, only a profound, ancient calm.
Whispers of Old Magic
King Theron had chased whispers of an ancient prophecy for years, secretly pouring over forbidden scrolls in the royal archives.
The blight, the famine, the failing sun – they were signs, according to the prophecy, that Eldoria had lost its way, forgotten its true patrons.
Only the recognition of the "Last Weaver of the Sunstone," a hidden guardian of Eldoria's primal magic, could avert total collapse.
The Weaver, the texts claimed, would appear in times of gravest peril, bearing a sun-scar and a cane carved from the First Tree, living in humble disguise until the true King, with a heart of genuine humility, sought them out.
His pragmatic advisors had scoffed, dismissing it as archaic superstition.
