Dawn of the Ash Tower

The old man by the fire couldn't stand everyone's booing, cleared his throat, and said.

Ah, let me tell a story.This story is not something I have experienced, it is just a story imprinted on a gravel in the boundless desert.All right, please find a place to sit down, we are going to start.

How big is this world?Do seas at the edge of continents lead to the edge of the world?We don't know. People in this world only know that the world in their eyes has a boundary. The Longji Mountains in the north separate the boundless ice sheets and fertile land.It is said that there are no creatures on the ice field, only dead bones and wandering spirits staggering in the ice and snow.This is the boundary between civilization and barbarism. The towering Longji Mountains are like a high wall, forcibly separating the two worlds.All the vigor and energy is in the south of the mountains, and in the north, there is only white snow.

But is it true?The Frost Guardian guarding the Dragon's Back Mountains has been spreading all kinds of terrible legends about the north since ancient times, among which there are many savages, dragons, magicians and the like.Under the white curtain of flying snow, what is hidden?However, there is an iron rule that has been passed down as a dogma in the generation of Frost Guards. It is said that every recruit of the Frost Guards must remember this ancient motto, which is more important than anything else.As for the content of this ancient teaching, it is probably like this...

When a man in a gray robe comes from the wind and snow in the north, don't deny him anything, never.

The Frost Guards have always had doubts about this ancient motto, but generations of commanders have insisted that soldiers remember this ancient motto. No matter how the generations in the south of the mountain range change, time on Longji Mountain seems to be a frozen crystal. Stay forever at a certain point in history.

The Peak of Dragon's Back is the name of a tavern. Of course, it is not built on the top of the Dragon's Back mountain range. However, it is said that its owner, the deceased former veteran of the Frost Guard, actually climbed there.Not long after, he broke his legs in an accident and had to leave his post as a frost guard and opened this tavern down the mountain.Because of the old man's legendary experience, and because he was a Frost Guard, no matter the residents of the small town down the mountain or the Frost Guards on shift, they are willing to order a large glass of ale here, chatting and bragging.It can be said that if you ask the town where you can see the Frost Guard, the people in the town will definitely let you come to the top of Dragon's Back.

And now, the owner of this tavern has become the granddaughter of the old soldier. People who often come here are used to calling her the proprietress. Although she is only in her twenties, she is already very capable. Everything is handled in an orderly manner.Coupled with red hair and a pretty face, the proprietress has become the dream lover of almost all school-age youths in the town, but because of the influence left by her grandfather, those frost guards watched her grow up and treated her very well. Like elder brothers or uncles, those with bad intentions, even if they wanted to pretend to be drunk to take advantage of the proprietress, were thrown out of the tavern one by one by these soldiers on vacation.However, according to rumors in the market, the proprietress is actually very skilled, perhaps because she has been mixed with these frost guards since she was a child. Some people claimed to have witnessed the proprietress knocking down two drunk frost guards with her bare hands.

The morning is always the time when the business on the top of Dragon’s Back is the slackest, and the general taverns are not open at this time, but since this is one of the few restaurants in the town, sometimes some farmers who leave early will come back to eat something around noon.So the proprietress will start packing the tables and chairs in the morning, and then check the inventory.Generally speaking, no one would come here at this time, and even the girls who came to work here would come to work in the afternoon at the earliest.But today, an unexpected guest disrupted the proprietress' plan.

"Hi, a cup of hot milk, and some food." A man in a black robe said standing in front of the counter.His voice was low, small, and somewhat hoarse.And his face was deeply buried in the shadow of the hood, making it invisible.

"Okay, please find a place to sit down first, and I will deliver the things there." The proprietress replied.Although she also has a certain degree of curiosity about this stranger, as a tavern owner, there are some things that cannot be shown.

The man nodded, and sat down at a table against the wall.While the proprietress was cooking the food, she couldn't help but look at this strange person out of the corner of her eye.I saw that the man in black robe sat down on the chair, lowered his head and stopped making any further movements, making it impossible to see whether he was meditating, in a daze, or simply resting.Very quiet, this man in black looks like a plant.Although his black robe was already damaged and covered with many stains and snow marks, he didn't look flustered or tired at all, and his gestures were elegant and calm.This is a temperament that the proprietress who has never left the Longji Mountains has never seen before.

After a while, the proprietress brought food and milk to the man on a tray made of oak.

"Thank you," said the man, and proceeded to eat without taking off his hood.

"Strange, did he speak so softly just now?" The proprietress returned to the counter with the tray in her arms, frowning and whispering to herself.

The man in the black robe ate very quickly, but he didn't make any sound. The proprietress guessed that he must have received a good education, probably from a family of businessmen or scholars.As for the nobility, our poor town has not had a decent nobility in years.Soon, the man finished the food in front of him, and he walked silently to the counter.

"Ah, there are three Urals in total." The proprietress suddenly raised her head and said after seeing the person in front of the counter startled.

After hearing this, the man took out a silver coin from the inside of his robe and put it on the counter.The baggy robe covered his hands, and the proprietress missed the last detail that could guess his identity.

"You don't need to look for it." With that said, the man in black left the tavern on his own.

"Um..." The proprietress stared at the silver coin on the counter for a long time. She knew what kind of currency it was, but as far as she knew, the value of this silver coin had far exceeded three Urals. I can't believe anyone would pay for a simple tavern meal with one of these coins.However, after a brief surprise, she hurriedly put away the silver coin, and nervously looked around to prevent anyone from seeing this scene. She had already made up her mind to return the silver coin to this person the next time she saw him. .However, many times, when you make up your mind to do it next time, next time, you will often not be given a chance, will you?

The proprietress put away the cutlery on the table and went to the door of the tavern to check the time, but when she got to the door, she only saw a sky full of dark clouds.

"Blizzard is coming." The proprietress looked at the sky and murmured.

………………

Byan is a Frost Guardian.The Frost Guardians are not affiliated with any country or religion. They are the legacy and watchmen of history.Legend has it that in a very ancient generation, there was a king in the north. The king led his army of ice to the south, turning all the places he passed into frozen soil, and the defeated people retreated behind the Longji Mountains , With the help of this natural danger, he repelled the king's attacks again and again.After that, it was a see-saw attack and defense.The documents that have been handed down no longer know how long the attack and defense lasted, maybe a few years, decades, or hundreds of thousands of years.In short, one day, the dark clouds over the Longji mountain range suddenly dispersed, and the wind and snow stopped. After that, no one saw the king and his army again.But those who dared to explore north never came back.The permafrost in the north has never thawed, but the weather is indeed much better than before.People gave up recovering the lost land and turned to concentrate on managing the land in the south. Only those people who used to live in the north of the mountain range and did not want to go south remained on the Longji Mountain.They don't want to stay away from their hometown. They believe that one day the frozen soil in their hometown will thaw out, the curse of the king will dissipate, and they can return to their homeland.They watched, watching their hometown, while also guarding against the king's comeback.Over time, Frostguard became their name.Longji Mountain became their territory.Now all the species of the South, whether Men, Elves, Dwarves or Giants, call them-Northerns.

As a northerner, Bian is proud to be able to join the Frost Guard. In fact, over the years, the work of the Frost Guard has been far less dangerous and laborious than in the past. The fortifications dug by generations of guards almost run through the entire dragon spine. mountains.The guards only need to maintain these outposts regularly, and then watch in shifts.The northerners watch the north of the mountains with their tenacity and perseverance. Even though the years have changed, they are still waiting, waiting for the thawing of the hometown of their ancestors, and waiting to return to their homeland.

"Huh..." Breathing out a breath of white cold air, Bai'an looked at the dark cloud-covered sky. Anyone who is familiar with the north knows that this is a harbinger of the coming blizzard. The curse made everyone never forget his existence.Even here, if the children don't sleep at night, their parents will move out the king to scare the children.

I looked at the candles in the sentry tower next to me, and it was very close to the shift change time.Today's dinner is ready to go to the top of the Dragon's Back. Well, I want to order a whole piece of grilled deer steak with a large glass of ale. The deer steak should be poured with honey and then smeared with the special barbecue sauce made by the tavern.

"Si Liu" unconsciously swallowed a mouthful of saliva, Bai'an stopped his delusions.And at this moment, he seemed to see something in the north.At first, he thought that he was wrong, but soon, when the flame rose into the sky, Byan was sure that he was right. What was it?What sent a fireball into the sky?He hurriedly took out the binoculars issued by the army, looked towards the source of the fireball, and then he saw a figure.One, a figure in a gray robe.

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