Book 11: Chapter 63: Pact of Star and Moon

“Prompt: Apostle 70053, you have formally intervened in the founding process of the Silver Marches with the plot identity of the Saophila Elf Prince. According to Star Void calculations, this action has a more than thirty percent chance of causing the future Gleaming Moon Court to form an alliance with the Silver Marches.”

“Prompt: Apostle 70053, your team has significantly altered the original plot of the Toril World, generating the Apostle interactive plot ‘Pact of Star and Moon,’ which is classified as a Legendary plot below the Epic tier.”

Pact of Star and Moon (Lieutenant Colonel tier): Due to the schemes of the Zhentarim, the founding process of the Silver Marches encountered a crisis. The original successor of the Anke Elf Court—Saophila Elf Prince Firal Moonlight—formally intervened in this event, publicly expressing the intention to ally with the future Silver Marches.

Objective One: Apostle 70053’s plot identity holds a formal meeting with Lady Elastor of Silverymoon and gains recognition from the Silver Marches’ Lord Council. Achieving this objective will complete the task at the minimum level.

Objective Two: Apostle 70053’s plot identity reaches a verbal alliance agreement with Lady Elastor of Silverymoon and conveys it to King Thanequalas, obtaining an opportunity for further negotiations.

Objective Three: The Anke Jingling Court and the Silver Marches form an official alliance, spreading the news throughout Faerûn.

Basic Task Rewards: For each objective achieved, all team Apostles’ Soul Life Limit increases by 20 points. Apostle 70053 receives an additional 10 points to their Soul Life Limit and obtains a personal token from this world.

World Exploration Degree Rewards: Distributed based on the contribution of team members during this task. After completing at least objectives one and two, the team will receive a team world token.

“Qin Lun, did you do this?” Rand’s surprised voice came through the Team Channel.

Looking at the prompt from the Apostle Soul Mark, Qin Lun and Hill felt a hint of pleasant surprise. They really did not expect this outcome.

“Interactive plot?” Qin Lun looked at the new term in the prompt and could not help but laugh. “This should be a new historical plot born from the influence of Apostles, something that did not exist before in the Toril World. It’s probably our first time, right?”

“No, it’s your first time. I completed one before,” Hill said cheerfully. “It was a Low Magic World. I enlightened a future saint there, which resulted in the birth of a new religious sect with original doctrines…”

“You really are a born cult leader!” Qin Lun said, not knowing whether to laugh or cry.

“Only a thirty percent chance of forming an alliance, still a bit low,” Hill said, looking at the task prompt with some regret.

“Not low. Our actions this time did not receive King Thanequalas’s acknowledgment. Although I personally think the Anke Elf King would be happy to see it happen, there are too many variables on both sides. A thirty percent success rate is quite good,” Qin Lun said with a smile.

“However, we probably can only complete the minimum first objective. As for the second objective, we might only know the final result when we return. The third objective is even less realistic unless Star Void gives us more than half a year to stay and witness the moment the two sides formally sign the alliance.”

“Qin Lun, if Elastor agrees to let you reveal your identity, will it affect our subsequent plans?” Rand pondered and asked.

“It will indeed have a big impact. If the Silverymoon City Lord lets me participate in the celebration as an Elf Prince, I will probably be under strict surveillance. She cannot afford the price of a Saophila Elf Prince dying in her palace. Additionally, I have to explain the matter of Angelo to her.”

Qin Lun sighed and said helplessly, “This way, even if Elastor lures the Zhentarim assassins into a trap, it probably won’t involve us anymore.”

“Never mind. With our strength, facing a Legendary Powerhouse two tiers higher is too risky. Let’s leave it to that Silverymoon City Lord,” Hill said, feeling no regret at all, and spoke cheerfully. “After the celebration, we still have about half a month left. Should we find something else to do?”

The previous plan of the three, Qin Lun and the others, was not only to thwart the Zhentarim’s conspiracy but also to gain huge benefits by killing the Zhentarim’s Legendary Powerhouse. Although the equipment and skills dropped by the Assassin class would be hard for them to use, they were, after all, items from a Legendary Powerhouse, and could be exchanged for other things.

Moreover, do not forget that Hill still owed the other two Serial Killers a large debt.

In fact, the three did not yet know what impact the future Pact of Star and Moon would have on Faerûn.

Although King Thanequalas had integrated the Winter Forest and Thornwood over the past few months, forming the rudiments of the future Gleaming Moon Court, the growing Moon Elf race also made the nearby human kingdoms wary.

Due to geographical factors, the future Gleaming Moon Court was situated within the encirclement of several human kingdoms.

Not to mention the Kingdom of Saispaits where Ank Forest was located, to their east was the Qiongdus Kingdom, and to the south, across the Steam Lake, was the Kingdom of Xia Ya. To the west were two powerful human kingdoms, Calimshan and Tethyr. Only the north was relatively safe, with the vast Snowpeak Mountains acting as a northern barrier for the Moon Elves.

Although the Mir Forest in Calimshan, the Wealdath Forest in Tethyr, and the Qiongda’er Forest in Qundas showed signs of further merging with the Gleaming Moon Court, they were still in a weak position under the powerful military forces of the human kingdoms.

In the Toril World without Apostles, the Gleaming Moon Court was never truly established. The elves’ supreme holy land would later be the Sun Court on Evermeet. King Thanequalas’s ideal of unifying the ancient Kaeldomo Moon Elves was never realized. Except for those on Evermeet, the elves of Faerûn always lived under the shadow of human kingdoms.

However, after the Apostles entered this world, the situation became completely different. First, Qin Lun, as the Saophila Elf Prince, participated in retracing the Ancient Path, which expanded the influence of the Anke Elf Court and greatly accelerated King Thanequalas’s integration of the Winter Forest and Thornwood.

Second, this Pact of Star and Moon made the human kingdoms along the Sword Coast hesitate to blatantly threaten the Anke Elf Court with military force.

The last major influencing factor was the return of Dwarf King Bruno Warhammer from Icewind Dale, who re-established the later Sannata Dwarf Kingdom, uniting most of the dwarves on the continent under one banner.

Because Elastor formed an alliance with Bruno in the future, the Snowpeak Dwarves in the central part of the continent stood on the side of the Gleaming Moon Court during several crises, confronting humans and helping the nascent Gleaming Moon Court finally gain a firm foothold.

Changes in the prime material plane led to changes in the elven divine realms. The split between the Sun Court and the Gleaming Moon Court caused the Sun Elf Divine King Corellon to weaken, forcing him to share authority with the elven life goddess Angharradh. Moreover, due to the gradual strengthening of the Gleaming Moon Court, he eventually lost his divine throne.

In fact, after Qin Lun disappeared from the Toril World for the last time and took his lover Iristin with him, many Moon Elves believed that this Moon Elf Prince was the incarnation of a Moon Elf deity, appearing in the prime material plane specifically for the rise of the Gleaming Moon Court. Some even thought he was the reincarnation of Kaeldomo’s King Tethyr.

…

“Iristin, Idria!” Emily, wearing a white princess dress, lifted the hem of her skirt and ran towards the two, hugging Iristin’s neck, jumping and giggling happily.

“Emily, you seem… to have gained weight!” Idria smiled, looking at the former tomboy, and pinched her cheek.

“Stop it!” Emily blushed and slapped away Idria’s mischievous hand.

After returning to Silverymoon for a few months, the previously thin tomboy had indeed filled out quite a bit. Even her flat, airplane-like chest had begun to show two small mounds. It seemed her mother had been taking good care of her.

“Emily, long time no see,” Qin Lun greeted with a smile.

“Prince Firal!” Emily hurriedly bowed, finally realizing that besides Iristin and Idria, there was also an Elf Prince who made her somewhat fearful.

“Don’t be afraid of him. If Firal dares to bully you, I’ll help you beat him up!” Idria shook her fist at Qin Lun, comforting Emily.

“Hehe, come with me. I’ll show you around. Mother’s castle palace is very big and beautiful,” Emily said, laughing, holding one hand of each and pulling Iristin and Idria towards the end of the corridor.

Elastor’s Palace of the High was right next to the northern city wall of Silverymoon. It was a castle-type palace with many spires.

The castle was built from thick stone blocks, with white jade visible everywhere. The crenellated battlements were carved into the shapes of Unicorn heads, and the various halls had high arched domes. There were faintly glowing jade floors, plant vines hanging from pillars, tapestries, and relief walls carved with depictions of flowers, vines, ferns, and trees.

The central spire of this palace was called the Moon Shield. Passing through the Unicorn arch on the west wall of the Moon Shield, Qin Lun and the others ascended the Silver Stairs to the Greeting Hall. A large door behind the hall led to the Hall of Glory to the east. Behind two more luxurious copper doors was Elastor’s Silver Throne.

Many spires were connected by suspended parapet corridors, looking like numerous floating bridges from a distance. Between the spires on the ground level, there were flower beds and fountains everywhere. Small rainbows spanned above the fountains, and the competing beauty of the flowers made everything here a feast for the eyes.

The white jade pillar corridor displayed many busts and full-body statues. Their exquisite craftsmanship left Qin Lun and the others in awe. Although Qin Lun often prided himself as an artist, he still felt the pinnacle of beauty in the presence of these genuine art treasures.

A tense warrior ready for battle, a kneeling philosopher in deep thought, an astrologer gazing at the stars—each statue was vivid and lifelike, as if telling the stories of their era.

This palace was protected by a Mythal Barrier, a type of Magical Array device that had become extremely rare in Faerûn. The barrier was spherical, extending upwards into the sky and downwards into the ground, enclosing the Palace of the High and the Star Court, the two most important buildings.

Unless attacked with Magic Crystal cannons or a Forbidden Spell, this Mythal Barrier was almost unbreakable.