Free Web NovelChapter 231: Chapter: 230 The four stationary continents.[2]
The Four Stationary Continents had surprisingly simple names.
The left continent of the triangle was known as Eastreach, the right one was known Northreach, and the base of the triangle was known as Southreach,
At the center of them all lay Heartreach, the smallest of the five landmasses yet also the most important.
Surrounded by the vast inner sea and positioned between the other continents, it stood at the heart of the world like the center of a great kingdom.
Long ago, all four continents belonged to a single race.
The Zlycons.
Every native born upon the Stationary Continents carried their blood.
At first glance, they resembled humans closely enough that an outsider might mistake them for ordinary people.
However, the resemblance only lasted until one looked more carefully. Their ears were long and elegantly pointed, extending from the sides of their heads in a manner that gave them a naturally noble appearance.
Their foreheads were slightly wider than those of humans, creating a subtle difference that many found difficult to describe yet impossible to ignore.
Their skin was perhaps their most distinctive feature. Unlike humanity, whose appearance ranged through countless shades and complexions, the Zlycons shared a remarkably consistent tone.
Their skin possessed a unique blend of brown and gold, as though sunlight had permanently settled beneath it.
It carried a warmth and vitality that made even the oldest among them appear radiant.
Under the light of the sun, that golden undertone often seemed to shimmer faintly, giving the race an appearance that many poets throughout history had attempted—and failed—to properly capture with words.
Their beauty was equally famous. Without exception, every Zlycon was considered attractive by human standards.
What the Zlycons themselves considered below average would often be regarded among humans as exceptional.
Their facial features appeared naturally balanced and harmonious, their eyes bright and expressive, and their physiques carried a sense of effortless elegance that seemed woven directly into their bloodline.
Their bodies were also significantly larger than those of ordinary humans.
The average adult stood well over six and a half feet tall, and even the women commonly reached heights that many human warriors would envy.
Their frames were broad, their muscles naturally defined, and their physical strength far exceeded what their graceful appearances might initially suggest.
A Zlycon warrior could easily tower over a human knight, while a Zlycon noblewoman often possessed a presence capable of intimidating entire rooms simply by entering them. freeweɓnovēl.coɱ
Yet despite all these traits, none of them were what truly set the race apart.
The most unusual characteristic of the Zlycons was their method of birth.
Among them, it was extraordinarily common for women to give birth to two children simultaneously.
Humans naturally referred to such births as twins, but the Zlycons rejected that description entirely.
According to their oldest legends, the progenitor goddess of their race had once given birth to two children at the same time.
One was a daughter who inherited her divine beauty and appearance, while the other was a son who resembled his mortal father.
Because of this ancient tale, the Zlycons never viewed such births as twins.
Instead, they considered them a sacred inheritance, a blessing carried within their bloodline from the very beginning of their existence.
Every pair of children born together was seen as a reflection of the first divine siblings who had shaped their race.
According to Zlycon records, every member of their race could trace their ancestry back to a single individual.
The progenitor.
The legendary founder from whom all Zlycons descended.....the son of the goddess.
This was not merely a figure of speech. In a very literal sense, the entire race was one enormous family.
Although countless generations had passed and their bloodlines had spread across the continents beyond counting, every Zlycon alive still carried a fragment of the progenitor’s blood within them.
Among these descendants, however, one bloodline stood above all others.
The Solarian Family.
Unlike the countless noble houses that had emerged throughout history, the Solarians were direct descendants of the progenitor’s first wife.
Their bloodline remained the purest and most prestigious among all Zlycons. For this reason, they occupied a position that no other family could challenge.
The Solarian Family ruled from Heartreach.
For tens of thousands of years, they had stood at the center of Zlycon civilization, governing all four Stationary Continents from the continent that bore the title of the world’s heart.
Ancient records claimed that the progenitor himself had fathered one thousand children.
Five hundred sons and five hundred daughters.
To outsiders, the number sounded absurd enough to belong in mythology rather than history. Yet among the Zlycons, it was accepted as fact.
Those thousand children became the foundation upon which an entire civilization was built.
As they matured, they established families of their own, spreading throughout the newly formed continents and creating the countless noble houses that existed today.
Over time, their descendants multiplied until the population expanded beyond measure, transforming a single bloodline into an entire race.
In the earliest days, however, the population had been far too small to sustain itself.
To solve this problem, the progenitor turned to the surviving humans who remained on the Stationary Continents after the Great Separation.
These were the people who had failed to escape to the Three Floating Continents during the ancient upheaval that shattered the world.
They became the foundation upon which the young Zlycon race expanded.
Yet simple expansion was never the progenitor’s goal.
He desired excellence.
Again and again, he traveled to the Floating Continents, personally selecting women from powerful noble lineages and ancient clans.
He brought back daughters of kings, heirs of prestigious families, and women whose bloodlines contained extraordinary talents.
Through these unions, he sought to strengthen his descendants and ensure that future generations inherited only the finest qualities available.
As a result, traces of numerous ancient bloodlines became woven into Zlycon society.
Descendants carrying fragments of the Hayes bloodline could be found among them.
The blood of the Thornes, the Valentinas, and even the royal family of the Holy Empire flowed through various branches of the race.
Countless noble houses from the ancient world had unknowingly contributed to the creation of the Zlycons.
As centuries passed, the race flourished beyond anyone’s expectations.
Their population grew rapidly. Their territories expanded. Their civilization prospered.
Eventually, there was no longer any need to rely upon humans at all.
Ironically, despite using humanity to help build his race, the progenitor never thought highly of them.
According to surviving records, he frequently described humans as a race of cowards.
In his eyes, they were people willing to bow before anyone so long as they believed there was something to gain from it.
He viewed them as opportunistic and weak-willed, lacking the pride and conviction that he valued above all else.
The contradiction was impossible to ignore. His own father had been human.
Yet that fact never seemed to soften his opinion.
Even so, there were a handful of humans whom he genuinely respected. A very small number had earned his admiration and affection throughout his long life.
Among them, one stood above all others. frёewebηovel.cѳm
His first wife. The woman he loved more than anyone else.
The mother of the Solarian bloodline.
While the progenitor fathered countless children and took many wives throughout his life, none ever occupied the place she held within his heart.
It was because of that love that her descendants received a status unlike any other branch of the family.
Even after countless generations had passed and the original bloodline had expanded beyond imagination, the descendants of that woman remained the rulers of Heartreach.
They sat upon the highest throne in the world.
The Solarian Family.
The descendants of the First Queen.
The closest bloodline to the progenitor himself.
And the undisputed rulers of the Four Stationary Continents.
*****
"Quite the interesting story, wouldn’t you agree?"
Two hooded figures stood near the entrance of a small village located in the eastern region of Heartreach.
The village itself was modest. Rows of wooden houses stretched along dirt roads while vast fields surrounded the settlement from every direction.
The land had recently been plowed, leaving dark furrows running across the earth.
It was the season of sowing, and nearly every field appeared prepared for the coming harvest.
Under normal circumstances, farmers would be working from dawn until dusk, children would be running through the roads, and the village would be filled with the sounds of daily life.
Yet none of those sounds existed. A wooden sign stood beside the entrance.
Timberwood Village.
The two figures paused before it, their long black robes swaying gently in the breeze.
"Right."
The reply came from the smaller of the two.
Judging from her height and slender waist, she was most likely a woman. Her face remained hidden beneath her hood, but her voice was soft and feminine.
She continued staring at the signboard for a few moments before speaking again.
"So what’s the plan?"
The man beside her remained silent.
His gaze drifted over the village while he considered the situation. After several moments, he finally stepped forward and began walking through the entrance.
"We can’t move freely without changing our appearances," he said. "The problem is that ordinary transformation methods won’t work here. Any high-ranking Zlycon would notice them instantly."
The woman followed after him, her footsteps nearly soundless upon the dirt road.
"So we need something better?"
"We need to use the same method the Zlycons use to alter their appearances." The man replied.
The woman’s eyebrows rose beneath her hood.
"Do you know how that spell works?"
The man did not answer immediately.
Instead, his eyes slowly scanned the village around them.
The silence felt wrong. Not a single child could be seen.
No farmers worked the fields, no villagers walked the roads. The entire settlement appeared abandoned.
Yet it wasn’t empty. The feeling was unmistakable...someone was watching them....no....many people were watching them.
The sensation came from every direction.
From behind windows. From cracks in doors. From darkened corners hidden behind curtains.
The man could feel countless eyes tracking their movements as they walked through the village streets.
A strange tension lingered in the air.
The silence pressed against the skin like an invisible weight, creating the unsettling impression that the entire village was holding its breath.
Neither of the hooded figures reacted. They simply continued walking.
Roughly a hundred meters ahead stood the largest building in the village. Unlike the surrounding homes, it possessed a fenced yard and a wide front porch. A wooden board hung beside the gate.
Village Chief John Free.
The two figures approached without hesitation. As they reached the entrance, the woman glanced toward her companion.
"You never answered my question."
The man stopped before the gate.
Then he finally replied.
"I know how the spell works."
The woman’s eyes narrowed slightly.
"However," he continued, "we need real Zlycons." Without waiting for a response, he pushed the gate open and stepped inside.
The hinges creaked loudly in the otherwise silent village. There was still nobody in sight. Yet the feeling of being watched had only grown stronger.
Their footsteps carried them across the courtyard until they stopped directly before the front door. The man raised his head. Then he shouted.
"Village Chief John Free! Come out!"
His voice echoed across the village.
The sound was strange.
The words themselves were correct, yet the tone felt wrong, as though he were forcing the language through a throat never meant to speak it. Every syllable carried an awkward strain that was unlike how the humans spoke.
"We have come in response to your request!" His gaze remained fixed upon the closed door.
"Now come out and explain the situation!"
