"May I ask your name, Your Excellency?"
Within the island of Dawn, Marian quietly asked the little dragonling that floated beside her.
At this moment, for convenience, Garon had reduced his size to appear as a harmless dragonling. Upon hearing the caster's inquiry, he calmly replied, "Garon Aurelian, just an ordinary member among the dragons."
Ordinary.
"If Your Excellency Garon is considered ordinary among true dragons,"
"Then what kind of dragon would be considered truly exceptional? Perhaps only those dragon gods," Marian replied.
Although Marian had never heard of Garon's name before, his effortless annihilation of three legendary sea monsters, and his display of power that left all casters on the island at a loss, were enough to reveal the unfathomable depths of this true dragon from another dimension.
Next.
Marian took Garon on a tour around Dawn Island.
Garon observed as the island, recently ravaged by legendary sea monsters and storms, was rapidly rebuilt under the spells of various casters.
Giant winds gathered debris, flames melted soil and metal, and new structures rose swiftly. Fields devastated by the storm were revived with a mere breeze, bringing the dead crops back to life with vibrant energy.
Noticing Garon's gaze.
Marian smiled lightly and said, "We, the Alfa people, provide for ourselves through magic, creating food, shelter, and more. Even in remote places like Dawn Island, the residents live comfortably."
The little dragon flapped its short wings, hovering in mid-air.
Garon turned to Marian and pondered for a moment before asking, "In your empire, what about those who do not possess magical talents?"
Marian chose her words carefully and responded, "Most citizens of Alfa possess some magical ability. As for those without magical talents, their duty is to serve those who do."
"In the history of our empire, all kings and great heroes have been unparalleled casters."
With a matter-of-fact tone, Marian continued, "In the tradition of the Alfa Theia Empire, those without magical talents are honestly considered worthless. But even the slightest magical ability is enough to become a noble."
Garon nodded thoughtfully.
In this regard, the Alfa Theia Empire was similar to Netheril.
Both were empires built entirely on magic, where the status of casters was supreme. Possessing or lacking magical ability determined one's place in the empire.
In such a magical empire, ordinary people without magical talents, however unwilling, could not resist the power of casters and were left to drift along, manipulated at will.
"If that's the case, I guess your empire must have two sets of laws."
"One for casters and one for ordinary people."
Garon slowly said.
Marian looked at the small silver dragon with surprise and asked, "How did you guess that, Your Excellency Garon?"
Garon shook his head and calmly replied, "As a traveler, I have visited countless dimensional worlds and seen empires similar to yours."
"Similar to our empire?"
Marian curiously asked, "I wonder how the magical empires you mention compare to Alfa Theia."
After careful thought, Garon said, "Your empire is stronger overall, but when it comes to creativity and specific applications of spells, you are inferior to that magical empire."
The wind and fire spells of the Alfa Theia Empire, as Garon observed, were primarily destructive.
By contrast.
The arcanists of Netheril were much more versatile, their spell system encompassed everything, and any problem could be solved with magic. If old spells did not work, they created new ones.
At the very least.
Spells like ascension, which casters of the Alfa Theia Empire could not invent, were a mark of the other empire's superiority.
Hearing that Alfa Theia was inferior in some respects to other magical empires, Marian instinctively wanted to argue but was interrupted by Garon's inquiries.
Garon looked up at the sky beyond.
"Do those planets orbiting this world also belong to the Alfa Theia Empire?"
Marian also looked up, her gaze unable to reach beyond the sky.
However, she understood what Garon was referring to.
Being able to directly see the satellite worlds before Garon, Marian became even more solemn.
She answered, "Yes, those are the empire's eighteen satellite worlds, many of which house magical academies. I studied wind magic at a magical academy on one of the satellite worlds."
"As for the planet you are currently on, it is the empire's main star."
Marian was now a caster located on a small overseas island.
But she was not a native of Dawn Island.
Dawn Island was a small territory assigned to her by the empire's relevant departments upon her graduation from the magical academy.
"The magical academy? Tell me more about it here."
"I am also a caster and have studied a lot of magic.
Perhaps, I could go there for an exchange and learn more."
Hearing Garon's words, Marian softly replied, "As you wish."
Then, she led Garon into a still-intact grand hall, ordering the island's residents to present drinks and delicacies, while she began to describe the magical academies.
"In our empire's culture, magical academies hold significant importance."
"Nearly every caster, including the great emperors, spends an important period of their growth in a magical academy."
As she spoke, Marian peeled a spiky black fruit, offering the tender white flesh inside to the little dragon.
This gesture, akin to that of a maid, showed great respect to Garon.
Garon did not hesitate and ate it in one bite.
The taste was sweet and crisp, juicy and quite pleasant.
Meanwhile, Marian continued, "There are many magical academies in our empire, but they all fall into two categories."
"One is called the Academy of the Glory of the Void, which studies wind magic. I graduated from one such academy."
"As for the other."
"They are called the Academy of the Universal Truth of the Blazing Dominion. Those irritable and hot-headed fire mages, whose brains seem burnt out by flames, come from the Blazing Dominion."
Marian then lifted a purple, faintly glowing scallop, revealing the squirming, seemingly panicked tender flesh inside.
"Your Excellency Garon, this is a Screaming Shell, a specialty delicacy from the seas around Dawn Island."
"Please, try some."
Garon looked at the twitching shell meat, resembling gentle sea waves, and took the Screaming Shell from Marian's hand, bringing it to his lips. His dexterous tongue flicked out, slurping it into his mouth.
Squeak!
As if terribly frightened, a sharp, piercing sound echoed from Garon's mouth.
The shell meat was delicious, and the screaming during chewing added a unique flavor.
"It tastes good."
Garon praised.
Marian smiled and said, "I'm glad you like it."
Then, as Garon enjoyed the delicacies, Marian continued talking about the magical academies.
"Castors from the Academy of the Glory of the Void are also called Wind Worshippers."
"Those from the Blazing Dominion are called Fire Worshippers."
."
Gradually, Garon learned more about the magical academies of the Alfa Theia Empire.
Notably, through Marian's stories, Garon keenly observed that the Academy of the Glory of the Void and the Blazing Dominion, rather than being mere educational institutions, resembled a sort of doctrinal creed, a special religion or sect believed in by casters.
Calling them academies, they bore a religious-like pattern.
Casters like Marian, proud of their own academies, also harbored a strange sense of superiority and looked down on the other type.
"I hear in your tone that you seem to have certain prejudices and hostility towards the Blazing Dominion."
During a pause in Marian's narration, Garon spoke.
Marian's voice faltered slightly, then she seriously said to Garon, "Your Excellency, if you had in-depth interactions with fire mages, you would know that everything I say is true."
"As wise casters, they only tend to blow up or burn away anything that's in the way, just a bunch of brainless brutes."
Garon remained noncommittal.
"The Academy of the Glory of the Void has an ancient heritage, being the first casters of the Alfa Theia Empire and witnessing the empire's rise from nothing, with a history of nearly ten thousand years."
"The entire star system, including the main star and satellites, originally a cold and dead vacuum, now filled with breathable winds, allowing the empire's space fleet to travel freely, all thanks to the great wind magic."
"Compared to that, what have the fire mages done?"
"The Blazing Dominion has only emerged for a few hundred years, and their actions, apart from competing with our Academy of the Glory of the Void for students and occasionally causing trouble, have contributed nothing else to the empire."
Mentioning the opposition between wind and fire, Marian became somewhat radical.
Even in front of Garon, a profoundly inscrutable guest, she couldn't help revealing her subjective emotions, directly criticizing fire mages.
Previously, Marian appeared to Garon as a rational and relatively gentle caster.
"Religion-like academy factions. The influence on these casters is already apparent."
Even Marian, a rational and gentle caster, expressed strong emotions when discussing fire mages. The attitudes of more radical casters toward opposing factions were even more evident.
"The future downfall of the Alfa Theia Empire, I'm afraid, cannot be separated from these deeply ingrained, religion-like academy factions."
Garon silently thought.
Without leaving this remote island, Garon, combining what he knew of the future with what Marian had told him, saw the great hidden dangers lurking beneath the empire's brilliant faç
ade.
Like solving a puzzle.
The more information Garon gathered, the closer he felt to uncovering the true cause of the Alfa Theia Empire's downfall.
"But with such severe opposition between the magical academies, the imperial family must be aware of it."
"So, the question arises, what is the spark for the war of annihilation between wind and fire?"
Garon composed himself and looked at Marian, asking, "What about the Emperor of the Alfa Theia Empire? Is he an heir of the ancient wind mages?"
Marian's expression froze.
After hesitating for a moment, she somewhat reluctantly said, "The infinitely wise Emperor Alphax is one of the honorary deans of the Blazing Dominion School and graduated from the Blazing Dominion as a fire mage."
After demeaning the opposing academy for so long.
It turned out that their own emperor was what Marian described as a brainless fire mage. In Garon's slightly strange gaze, Marian hurriedly added, "Emperor Alphax is wise and powerful, completely different from ordinary fire mages."
"You don't know, before Emperor Alphax, all previous emperors were wind mages."
"We, the wind mages, unanimously believe that Emperor Alphax chose to study fire magic just to appease the newly emerging fire mages."
"And although Emperor Alphax graduated from the Blazing Dominion and is a fire mage, he has never publicly declared support for the Blazing Dominion, treating the Academy of the Glory of the Void and the Blazing Dominion equally."
It sounded somewhat reasonable.
However, the more Marian explained, the more Garon felt that this fire mage emperor might not be as impartial as she described.
At this moment, Marian also noticed her emotional agitation.
She gave Garon an apologetic look and said softly, "Your Excellency Garon, I apologize for my behavior. Every time I think about what the fire mages have done, I can't control my emotions."
Garon waved his little dragon claw, unconcerned, and said, "It's alright, your reactions help me understand the level of opposition between the wind and fire casters."
Then.
Marian paused in her narration and presented Garon with a small, oval, brown fruit.
"What is this?"
Garon sniffed the unique, faint aroma on the small fruit. Strangely, despite its clarity, it was highly enticing.
"Brown coffee fruit, currently popular on the main star and all satellite worlds. Many casters love to inhale the fragrance released when this fruit is crushed; it invigorates the mind and sharpens thinking. Would you like to try it?"
Garon:.
His gaze shone faintly as he looked at the brown coffee fruit in Marian's hand.
The composition of this fruit, under Garon's eyes, which could discern the rules of all things after his ascension, was not hidden.
In an instant, the light in Garon's eyes subsided.
"It can lead weak-willed casters to addiction."
"Are you sure it's not some kind of prohibited substance?"
Marian shook her head and said, "The imperial family specifically has a brown coffee fruit industry. Even the high nobility enjoys brown coffee fruit; there's no problem with it."
With the ability to manipulate magic, the Alfa Theia Empire was rich in resources.
This also led to casters only needing to occasionally use magic to solve problems, thus fostering a sense of emptiness, which the brown coffee fruit filled with its magical power.
According to Marian, most officials in the Alfa Theia Empire approved of the circulation of brown coffee fruit.
Even many nobles held banquets to enjoy brown coffee fruit with friends and family.
This had become a cultural phenomenon in the Alfa Theia Empire.
"Is this the decadence of a brilliant empire at its peak?"
Garon shook his head slightly, thinking to himself.
Those in the game are lost; to an outsider, what seems normal to Marian might appear as thorns hidden under the empire's brilliant surface to Garon.
Time slowly passed.
Garon stayed on Dawn Island for about a week.
Through his interactions with Marian, Garon gained a deeper understanding of the Alfa Theia Empire.
He came here with two main objectives.
One was to satisfy his curiosity about how this once supremely powerful magical empire was destroyed by internal strife.
The other was to collect the heritage of fire mages to develop his own fire mage lineage.
With these goals in mind, Garon conceived an idea.
In the gentle sea breeze, the silver dragonling lay half-reclined on the beach at the edge of the island, basking in the pale golden sunlight.
After some thought, Garon turned his head to the caster beside him and inquired, "Marian, would your empire's magical academies accept a true dragon as a teacher?"
Upon hearing Garon's words, Marian's eyes lit up, and she said, "Of course, the empire respects
all intelligent beings with magical abilities."
"If you wish, you could even apply to become an official citizen of the Alfa Theia Empire."
Garon smiled, saying, "That's good."
The magical academies held a high status in the Alfa Theia Empire and were a key factor in the war between wind and fire. Moreover, as academies, they certainly possessed magical heritage.
Thus, Garon planned to visit a magical academy first.
Marian looked at Garon and said softly, "The Blazing Dominion Academy is not suitable for a wise dragon like you. I can recommend the Academy of the Glory of the Void where I graduated. The wind mages there would welcome your joining."
As a member of the wind mages.
Marian naturally recommended the Academy of the Glory of the Void.
Garon shook his head, neither agreeing nor refusing, and slowly said, "I am not interested in the conflict between your wind and fire mages."
Marian realized that this mysterious true dragon had his own decisions, so she said no more.
"If you don't mind, I can report your situation to the imperial envoy."
"We have a department specifically for visitors from other worlds."
"Because like you, many visitors interested in magical academies have already set precedents, the envoy will guide you to choose a suitable magical academy based on your situation."
Garon nodded and calmly said, "That's fine."
Most extraterrestrial visitors, upon hearing about such a department envoy, would be wary and fearful, but Garon was different. His simple response revealed strong confidence.
"By the way, on Satellite 10 at the Academy of the Glory of the Void and on Satellite 7 at the Blazing Dominion Academy, there are members of your species serving as deans."
"They joined the empire and are also among the three thousand supreme laws of the imperial council, ranking quite high among all supreme laws."
Marian told Garon.
Hearing this, Garon's gaze flickered.
"What species are they?"
Garon asked.
In the Alfa Theia Empire's supreme laws, ranking high most likely meant they were demigods.
Marian thought for a moment and said, "I'm not sure, I only know these two true dragon supreme laws are quite special. They are said to resemble a rainbow in splendor and are adept at wielding the magic of light."
Rainbow-like splendor.
Light magic.
Just two simple traits, but when combined, they caused Garon to ponder deeply.
"Could they be Iridescent Dragons?"
He thought to himself.
___________________
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