Chapter 32: Meeting the Emperor of the Ivory Empire
When he passed through the portal with its wobbly space, what greeted him was a large room with a giant formation in the center of it. He felt awe because he finally understood why it was called a teleportation station.
"Because the real teleportation formation is here." Initially, he felt strange because, from the way he saw it from the outside, the mechanism of the teleportation station seemed more like fast travel using folded space or wormhole, not how teleportation usually works. But it puzzled him why they had to build the teleportation formation inside a different space using a space formation. Wouldn't it be more effective to build it outside? So he asked Eleine.
"Because it's a preventive measure. There were cases in the past where the teleportation formation collapsed, causing everyone using that teleportation station to arrive at their destination scattered hundreds of meters from the supposed coordinates. This space acts as a cage for the teleportation formation, so if something goes wrong, they will still teleport here, just in this room, and not randomly outside."
Aldrian also finally understood why they chose teleportation over utilizing folded space like a wormhole. Teleportation is more stable than using folded space. If there's a malfunction in a wormhole portal, the effect is more catastrophic than just being scattered randomly. One could be trapped in a space void or a spatial storm, and losing their life is certain. This is what they relied on long ago before the teleportation station was founded.
When he stepped on the teleportation formation, he was suddenly in a different environment. It was still inside a room, but he knew it was a different room based on the aura. He then walked past the portal to see the other side, and what he saw could be described as a beautiful forest city. The wooden and root structures intertwined between tall trees, and many elves were going about their activities. However, he didn't see any other races here or at least not yet, which he already had a reason for from Elthar. The differences were apparent from Balin, so he was quite surprised.
"Let's go. I already informed his majesty about your arrival," Elthar said.
They got into a golden green carriage that was already waiting for them, pulled by four golden-horned horses that moved with elegance. Aldrian was already wearing a formal white noble attire that he had bought from Balin, which suited him greatly and even added to his charm on his disguised face, while Eleine wore her formal white-green dress.
From inside the carriage, Aldrian looked outside to enjoy the view. He saw many elves looking in their direction, knowing that this was the imperial family carriage, so they were curious about who was inside. Of course, they couldn't see inside because it was one-way glass. He could also see the giant world tree, which was far bigger and taller than the world tree in Balin.
The new environment and fresh atmosphere made him feel relaxed and refreshed, but there was one little thing that made him uncomfortable.