Shadowlands is a place where time flows very slowly and changes very slowly.
This is not an exaggeration. This Demiplane special Rules greatly hinders the flow of time, so a day here is only one-tenth of that in the outside world, or even slower.
In other words, even a dying person can live ten times longer as long as he can enter Shadowlands. However, it is not what it seems on the surface. This is not a blessing. At least for the creatures living in Shadowlands, it just means that they will suffer more Torment.
Ten times longer Torment!
This is not a good place for any creature. The unique shadow and Mists will penetrate into the body of every creature that breaks in here, quietly transforming their bodies without them realizing it. Garm is an example.
After it stayed with Helya in this Demiplane for tens of thousands of years, it was almost completely transformed into a Shadow Creatures. Even its own power system was It is extremely biased toward shadows and darkness. In fact, if Garm hadn't faced off against Dick at World of Order, it would never have been defeated so miserably, and even lost its life.
Garm is biased towards the party being transformed. It has become like that here willingly. There are also some guys who would rather die than obey. What they receive here is real torture.
For example, those Valarjar captured Spirit are tied to this place by Helya. They don't even need shackles or imprisonment. As long as they stay in Shadowlands and use their own will to continue to fight against this place, they will feel the annihilation and Pain from their souls.
That is almost eternity. As long as they do not give in, they will not get Redemption and relief. As time goes by, the will may still be as firm as steel, but other things, such as memory and thinking, will be completely worn away by this ubiquitous Rules.
They wandered around in the Shadowlands sewage blankly, attacking everything that could be attacked. These Wanderers are the most dangerous creatures in this country, even Kvaldir's Mists Warriors are not willing to provoke them, but those who fall into Shadowlands's Mortal are even worse than Spirit.
It was in this situation that Anduin became sober.
When he woke up, he found that he was trapped in a Iron Cage. The shape of the cage was like a birdcage with railings. He leaned on the railings. The moment he opened his eyes, a musty and rotten smell rushed into his nostrils. Anduin's eyes suddenly widened.
His vision gradually became clearer, and the world in front of him stopped shaking. He let out a groan and felt that all the bones in his body were aching. He looked at the railing in front of him, which was full of Bronze-colored Rust, as well as uneven burrs. It hurt just to look at it. He suddenly understood where the Pain in his body came from.
Anduin stood up from the cage with difficulty. His shoulders and back, which were leaning against the railings, were covered with little blood stars. They were not Pain, but numb. It seemed that he had been unconscious here for a long time.
Little Prince's last memory was that he was pulled back into the shadows by a tentacle full of fishy smell, and there seemed to be Anveena's scream. He stood up from the cage, looked at the sky, which was definitely not a kind place, and thought about everything about this place.
But... it's blank.
Except for the pain behind him, everything was blank.
Mists was rolling outside the birdcage, but would never invade it. Anduin looked around and soon discovered that there were more birdcages to his left, in which either Vrykul, who was as tall as Gavincente, was restrained, or simply a pile of Bones. The ground below the birdcage was full of bone stubble and mixed filth. This damn place was simply the real Hell!
The sight was shocking for anyone to see. Anduin simply turned around and stopped looking. He stretched out his hand and examined the drawing to find the opening of the birdcage fence. But just when his hand was about to touch the birdcage, a voice stopped him.
"Don't touch it"
Anduin subconsciously retracted his fingers, then turned his head and saw an old Vrykul leaning on the birdcage. He didn't look like a Warrior. Judging from the silver he was wearing, Judging from the white robe and the Fel Runes on his face, this should be a Mage. He had his eyes closed and seemed to be taking a rest, but he didn't care about the barbs on the birdcage and allowed it to pierce his body.
He also seemed very tired... It was hard to tell whether it was due to physical exhaustion or mental exhaustion. At least within 5 minutes of waking up, Anduin already felt the oppression of this world.
"Who are you?"
Little Prince asked, and the answer was silence. It was not until a few minutes later that Vrykul Mage answered,
"Is there water?"
This question stunned Little Prince, and then he tried to open his Bag of Holding, but found that it was very difficult to penetrate his spirit into the ring, just like putting his will into a rock crevice. It took him five times longer than usual to take out his water bottle.
That is an exquisite glass bottle. Thanks to the teachings of Dick, Anduin and Bag of Holding are almost full of these things that other nobles think are "meaningless". Food and drinking water, as well as the necessary Potion ointment. According to Dick, Fate will give you a surprise at any time. All we can do is to be prepared at any time.
Now, Dick's words and deeds are working.
But Little Prince soon discovered that the moment he took out the bottle, the water in the bottle became turbid at a speed visible to the naked eye. Little Prince put it in front of his eyes and observed it carefully. As a result, the old Vrykul cursed mercilessly.
"Idiot, give it to me! Quick!"
Anduin immediately did as he was told, not because of fear or other reasons, but because Vrykul looked really anxious. He passed the glass bottle through the railings of the birdcage. Old Vrykul took it in his hand, twisted it open, and without saying a word, drank up the water that was already covered with Gray.
His chapped lips became moist as a result, and the running water stained his beard, making him feel hearty. After drinking, Vrykul threw the bottle away, and then said to Anduin,
"This is the first lesson. In Shadowlands, you get a bottle of clean water. The only thing you have to do is to drink it into your stomach before it is completely corrupted by Rules and becomes undrinkable... Ah, it's so refreshing. I haven't tasted the taste of water in probably... well, Thirty years. Thank you, rookie."
"Three...Thirty years?"
Anduin was stunned, while Vrykul waved his hand. The large bottle of water just now seemed to restore some of his energy, and even his dull eyes became gleaming. Looking at Anduin's surprised expression, Vrykul chuckled,
"You probably don't know where this place is yet, right? Is there any water? A... no, half a bottle of water is a problem! Fair enough, right?"
"Water and food, okay?"
Little Prince was a little confused. It wasn't that there was not enough water, but he remembered what Dick said. In this environment, water is always more precious than food, so he decided to use food in exchange for information. Vrykul shrugged indifferently.
"Anything is fine! But I'll give you a suggestion, don't ask stupid questions. Before your food reaches the bottom, you'd better understand your situation, otherwise it will be difficult to survive, especially in this damn place."
Anduin didn't reply. He took out a large piece of beef wrapped in oil paper from Bag of Holding, tore it into half, and quickly handed it to old Vrykul. He also sat cross-legged on the ground, ignoring the smell that was slowly getting worse, and quickly started to bite. Seeing this scene, old Vrykul nodded invisibly.
Only smart people can live longer in Shadowlands. It is obvious that the kid in front of you is a truly smart person.
He smelled the aroma of beef and bit off most of it in one bite, chewing and talking at the same time.
"First question, ask it."
"Where is this? Can I get out?"
Old Vrykul glared at Anduin who had swallowed the last bite of beef with difficulty, and raised his eyebrows, "Those are two questions, but forget it, just for the sake of the glass of water just now, this is the country ruled by Shadowlands, Death Helya, you see There are only two types of creatures here, Kvaldir who surrenders to Helya, and idiots who don't want to obey her. As for getting out, I'm sorry, I've been here for so many years... I've never seen anyone who can get out, not even Valarjar."
Anduin lowered his head and thought for a moment, took out another glass of water, took a big sip himself, and then handed it to old Vrykul,
"Tell me about Helya."
Old Vrykul drank the water again, played with the glass in his hand, and looked at Little Prince playfully. A meal of food and drink completely restored his energy. He moved his shoulders and stretched out a finger.
"Give me another piece of meat. It's a long story."
Little Prince gritted his teeth, but in the end reluctantly threw a large oil paper bag to old Vrykul. The latter took it in his hand, put it to his mouth, sniffed it, and nodded with satisfaction.
"Well, the pastrami is cooked just right. It seems that your elder is a knowledgeable guy and knows what is most important to you... Okay, where to start, Helya, she was originally the adopted daughter of Odyn, by the way, you should know Odyn, right?"
Anduin nodded. Before arriving at Broken Isles, Gavincente specifically told him the legendary story of Odyn and Vrykul, so He knows that Odyn means to Vrykul what Holy Light means to mankind, and Anduin also has a good Mentor.
Dick told him more than once that Odyn is also Titan Keepers and one of the two leaders of Guardians.
Seeing him nod, old Vrykul continued,
"At the beginning, Odyn first built Spirit Legion. He selected the heroic Vrykul from all things in the world, but there was a problem. After Vrykul died, his soul would return to Shadowlands to wait for the next life. Although Odyn was powerful, it was not omnipotent, so he found Helya, his adopted daughter who was proficient in magic, and went deep into the world with Helya Shadowlands, after thousands of sunrises and sunsets, Odyn finally understood the Rules of Shadowlands, so he asked Helya to help him transport the most heroic Vrykul from Shadowlands. Helya fulfilled his promise. For this reason, Odyn gave her the glorious Val'kyr form, and she was also the first Val'kyr Queen to be blessed."
"You probably don't know that it is a supreme honor for all Vrykul women, just like Vrykul men becoming Spirit."
Old Vrykul put the last bit of tasteless minced meat in his mouth, savored it for a moment, rubbed his belly, and continued to tell the story of Helya,
"This process lasted for tens of thousands of years, and it was the most perfect tens of thousands of years. All Vrykul who died bravely in battle will become Spirit, living in the most glorious Valarjar. But as told in all stories, people's hearts are always greedy, and the same goes for Deity, who has been exposed to Shadowlands for a long time E's twisted Rules, this triggered the greed in Helya's heart. She was not satisfied with sending the great soul to Valarjar, but intercepted some of them and used them as her private army. She stole some of Spirit's secrets, and these are those guys!"
Old Vrykul pointed at the looming Mists Warriors outside Mists, his tone full of contempt, "Kvaldir, the death that returned from Mists The "Spirit" of Helya is filled with Evil and darkness, but they are much weaker than Spirit, even a Vrykul Warrior can also defeat them. As more and more souls are trapped, Helya begins to start a war in the originally quiet and peaceful Shadowlands. This is the meaning of war. As a result, the Kvaldir army occupied the entire Shadowlands, Helya became the queen of the dead, and then started a war against Odyn."
"The eternal Deity war... continues to this day."
Vrykul There was a hint of sadness on the old man's face, "Odyn was also hurt by Helya, his adopted daughter's Betrayal. He no longer easily believes in Mortal. Only those souls with his permission can enter Valarjar again. However, more war dead were kidnapped here by Helya, and I am one of them... but it doesn't matter."
He glanced at Anduin, then ended his story and closed his eyes,
"Have a good rest, kid. This hellish place is not without its benefits. Don't waste your precious water and food. Here, a full meal can last for at least a week. Take advantage of this period to get used to the Rules here. By the way, remember what I said... Never step out of this birdcage, unless you want to lose everything about yourself."
"But... but this is a cage!"
Anduin shouted, "We can't live like prisoners!"
"It's much better than your death, and here, even if you die, your soul will not be free... You can choose for yourself, whether to succumb to Helya, or to live and fight half-dead like this. No one Vrykul will give in, but my kindred are all too Recklessness. I am waiting for an opportunity... but it may never come."