Although compared to Camille, Stevan gave an exceptionally mediocre feeling. But as the Patriarch of House Ferros, Stevan wasn't unfamiliar with the family's traditional unique skills.
House Ferros was born in the eastern part of the Shuriman continent, making their fortune by excavating and tomb raiding. Later they accidentally discovered Hextech Crystal veins, which gradually made them rich, and the experience of tomb raiding was whitewashed into historical research.
The birth of Hextech Crystals remains a mystery until now—in previous versions, these were crystals produced when the Brackern slept. The prosperity of the entire Piltover was all built on the pain of the Brackern. Skarner the Crystal Vanguard could hear the wails of his clansmen ground into crystals day and night, so he swore to defend his clansmen to the death and longed for revenge.
It was just that the version had a major overhaul later; the current Skarner has become the elemental demigod of Ixtal.
And there were also many sayings about the birth of Hextech Crystals in this world, among which included the Ascended origin theory, believing they were formed after the energy dissipation of Ascended who died in battle during the great collapse of Shurima. And the interests of the entire family were highly bound with Hextech Crystals, so Stevan naturally knew much about this.
Hearing Stevan's words, some dignitaries present showed a thoughtful look, but some were still full of bewilderment.
The history of Shurima belonged to a thing of the past. Except for some people born in Shurima who would record some related legends, it was rarely known in other regions of Runeterra.
Among them, the main reason was that in the past three millennia, that is, the millennia after the fall of the Shuriman Empire, wars were simply too frequent. From the Darkin War, Rune War, Warlords' chaotic wars, adding occasional Void invasions in the process. This made the entire Runeterra very fragmented. Let alone understanding the situations and history of other regions and city-states, it could even be considered knowing nothing at all.
In contrast, the warring empire Noxus, which seemed the most annoying, was instead the force that understood the situations of various regions of Runeterra the most. After all, this country disguised as a war machine had ambitionists from every region.
Feeling everyone's incomprehension, a smile also appeared on Stevan's face.
He quite enjoyed this situation where his wisdom and knowledge surpassed everyone else's. Thinking this, Stevan explained the legends about God-Warriors and the anecdotes of Ascended.
And hearing that Stevan actually knew things related to Ascended, a look of surprise also emerged on Emistan's face, but then she chuckled and nodded, saying: "Yes, it seems House Ferros has a deep understanding of this."
Hearing Emistan's words, the smile on Stevan's face grew wider. He then followed Emistan's thoughts and said: "Shurima's Ascended God-Warriors are indeed powerful, but they are legends from thousands of years ago after all. I wonder what method Legion Commander Emistan plans to use to deal with Faen by suddenly bringing them up?"
Hearing this, Emistan nodded, then said leisurely: "After the great collapse of Shurima happened, Shurima's last emperor Azir perished in the final Ascension ritual and disappeared. The golden bloodline commanding all Ascended was severed. Although up to now there are still people in the Shurima region claiming to possess the golden bloodline, according to our investigation, they are just swindlers bluffing under the banner of the golden bloodline."
"Losing the guidance of the golden bloodline, these Shuriman God-Warriors also no longer controlled the desires in their hearts. Thus, Runeterra entered the Darkin Warlord era. The entire Valoran continent and Shuriman continent, except for a very small part of the regions, other areas all became the territories of these Ascended warlords. Also precisely at this time, because the Ascended began to implement tyranny no longer controlling their desires, people's address for Ascended changed from worshipped God-Warriors to feared and disgusted 'Darkin'."
"And after the event called the 'Twilight of the Gods', all Darkin were sealed into their respective weapons. Among them, there is a Darkin sealed at the bottom of today's Zaun."
Saying this, Emistan raised a finger and said: "That is the Darkin Harp, Styraatu."
"Thousands of years ago, she was once a general of the Golden Legion of the Shuriman Empire, leaving illustrious military exploits in Runeterra. Even among countless Ascended, she also possessed extremely astonishing destructive power. According to legend, in the battle with Icathian rebels, she single-handedly burned an entire mage troop to ashes, and the cities ignited by her were countless."
"As long as her seal is lifted, then whether Faen or Zaun, both will suffer heavy casualties in an instant." Emistan's face hung an undisguised cruelty: "And what we need to do is just to reactivate the seal at the appropriate time, and then we can descend upon Zaun as saviors, putting the Twin Cities back on their original track."
Hearing Emistan's plan, everyone showed surprise. But also in the next moment, Stevan on the side said: "Legion Commander Emistan."
"Hmm?"
"There is a problem here." Stevan said after thinking for a moment: "Because of Zaun's behavior during this period, a large number of Zaun sympathizers have appeared in Piltover Academy and the citizen class. If we release Styraatu rashly, it might cause the number of these sympathizers to intensify. If we don't handle this problem, even if we liberate Zaun from Faen's tyranny, I'm afraid it will plant many hidden dangers in Piltover, leaving Zaun with the possibility of a resurgence."
Hearing this, Emistan frowned slightly—this was indeed something she hadn't known about. But looking at Stevan's expression, the subsequent Emistan chuckled lightly, then said: "This indeed needs to be treated cautiously... I wonder if Patriarch Stevan has any profound insight?"
"Haha, what profound insight? Just some of my own shallow views."
Hearing the solicitation in Emistan's tone, Stevan felt a burst of joy in his heart, but still smiled calmly and said: "We only need to let her appear in Piltover first when releasing Styraatu, then we can naturally announce to the citizens that this is a terrorist attack continued by Zaunites."
Hearing Stevan's proposal, Emistan's eyes lit up, then she said: "Indeed a good plan, but what if Styraatu goes to Zaun afterwards?"
"That's of course because Zaunites outsmarted themselves? So Styraatu launched revenge actions." Stevan said with a smile: "At that time, we can announce rescuing Zaun regardless of past grievances at the appropriate time! As for the location of the attack... what does everyone think about the Piltover Wardens?"