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This Little Light of Mine

Summary:

When Lumine came to, she was powerless and sibling-less. Her immortal powers and divinity were stripped from her by an unknown god and she was royally pissed off. Meeting both friends and foe, Lumine feels both at home and completely stranded as she makes her way through Teyvat to find her brother.

or

A novelization of the game that follows the Genshin timeline as closely as my canon allows it to where the traveler is most definitely not normal and it shows. No end game pairing as of yet but there will be romantic interactions with some characters.

Chapter 1: A Strange New World

Summary:

She finds herself stranded on an island. Who was she and what was she even doing here? And what was this empty feeling in her chest?

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

Stuck. She was stuck. There was something around her, forcing her to lie down on some unknown lumpy surface. Her eyes stung, her back ached, and every part of her body screamed as she tried to move. She managed to force her eyes open and stared up at the vast expanse of the sky, but immediately shut them as the bright light blinded her. Blinking to adjust to the sun, she turned to see what exactly was keeping her from moving, and her eyes widened at the sight of rocks and grass. Nature had crept up on her and she was firmly encased within some dirt and sand, moss growing along her limbs and in her golden hair. Some stone that looked like debris from the pillar a few feet away pinned her left arm down and her feet were caught in a large bush that decided to grow around her. Suddenly feeling extremely exhausted, she let herself fall back asleep. She could deal with this later.

The next time she woke, she felt a little better. Her muscles didn’t feel as stiff and the beginning of hunger pangs assaulted her. She flexed her right arm, the only real “free” appendage and loosened the dirt encasing it. With a burst of strength, she pulled her arm free with a spray of dirt, blinking rapidly to get rid of some sand that fell in her eyes, and rolled onto her left side to eye the stone slab sitting on her forearm. It was honestly a miracle that her bones didn’t break. 

She’d need to free her legs first to get rid of the stone without harming herself. With a pained groan, she twisted her body to free her hips and torso, dirt that caked around her crumbled and fell away. Her hips and thighs were free but her feet and ankles were firmly encased in roots. She tugged her feet, her calves aching at the sudden activity. After ages of pushing and pulling, the thick roots became loose enough for her to tug her feet out, leaving her mostly free. 

She curled up to gather her strength again and looked again to her left arm, shifting to move herself into a kneeling position. With a deep breath, she gripped the stone tightly with her right hand and lifted. Her right arm burned with exertion, but she kept at it, lifting it up higher. Quickly, she pulled her left arm out and let the stone drop with a thud. Free. She was free. With a relieved and exhausted breath, she curled into a ball and fell asleep again.

It was night when she opened her eyes. The pitch black didn’t bother her much, her kind could see just as well as they did in the day at night, a very useful ability used to travel the void of space. The hunger had come back again, gnawing at her stomach, forcing her to get up and forage for anything edible. She found that the island wasn’t that large and she could run the perimeter of it within an hour. There wasn’t much flora or fauna, only the occasional bird stopped by and none of the plants looked particularly edible. 

The island also had strange structures and a central altar of sorts. Pillars surrounding the area and everything looked like it had experienced the weather of time. Lumine had tried to figure out what exactly the structures did, but didn’t make any progress. Giving up, she started to focus on her own survival and wellbeing.

She had found a dull blade stuck into the sand as well as a few books in a language she couldn’t read, in a long abandoned campsite. She had kept those aside for later and tried to sharpen the blade as much as she could with some stones she’d found. It was horribly rusted and the girl sighed at the loss of her faithful blade that shined with light every time she swung it. 

She started. That’s right. She had a blade that she fought with. A brilliant, golden blade that was given to her by someone, and she in turn presented a blade to the other as well. She tried hard to remember who it was, but her mind failed her as the wisps of memory slipped from her fingertips. Who was it? Feeling a headache approaching, she ceased her train of thought and went fishing. The water was deep in some areas, and some fish frequented the area. Quickly making a crude fishing rod, she caught herself dinner and settled down by the fire, her fish roasting slowly over the open flame. 

Who was she? What was she even doing here? The girl looked at her reflection in a puddle, observing her golden hair and eyes that shone in the firelight. Her dress was horridly filthy and she hadn’t gotten around to cleaning it off yet. Dirt streaked her cheeks and her hair was matted. But something about her features felt familiar. Someone looked like her. An image flashed in her head, one of a boy that shared her face and wore his golden hair in a long braid. Her heart thudded painfully. Aether. That was his name. And she was Lumine. Aether and Lumine. 

She choked out a sob as memories started to come back in fragmented pieces. They landed in a new world and helped some citizens, people and creatures she had never seen before. They wielded energy like she and her brother did but drew it not from the light or stars but something that she didn’t recognize. But the land was war torn and the siblings knew they had to leave. 

Then something happened when they tried to move onto the next world. Things were a blur, but Lumine remembered crimson cubes and her brother getting swallowed up by something. Gone in a swirl of power, leaving Lumine alone with a woman who claimed to be a god. The last thing she remembered was amber eyes staring down in contempt before she knew no more. 

Her chest heaved with every breath and she looked hugged herself tighter. How could she possibly forget about her brother? How long had it been? Was her brother even alive? Panic gripped her and Lumine fainted, the stress too much for her body to handle. 

The next time she woke, determination gripped her soul and seeped into her being. Lumine would find her brother and she would lay waste to anyone who dare stand in her way. Steeling herself, she looked to the horizon. Vaguely seeing a faint shadow indicating land across the vast waters, she started putting together what little supplies she had. 

Normally such a distance wouldn’t be a problem. Her wings were usually at beck and call, aiding her in any situation unfalteringly. But since her awakening, her divinity was woefully nonexistent. The strength she and her brother used to travel between worlds was just gone and no matter how much she tried, she could only summon a little bit of power at her fingertips, a little warm to the touch. 

Gone was the fierce and blinding light that she wielded against any that stood against her and gone was the soft light that she healed her brother with. The loss of her wings devastated her, and it had taken her longer than she cared to admit to get over her newfound flightlessness. The feeling of being grounded and at the mercy of everything had made her feel weak. Very weak. Something Lumine wasn’t used to. 

She had been practicing since then, trying to tap into her powers again, but the most she had managed was to display the star maps her kind were famous for. Her people harnessed the power of light, including the speed of light. While travelling from world to world, they often took on the appearance of shooting stars and they had charted the furthest reaches of space. 

Finally after a few weeks, she was able to tap into her spatial powers and make the worn satchel she had found bottomless. Anything she put in it would remain in stasis in a pocket dimension until she chose to summon it out again. It had taken all of her strength, and she was asleep for days but it was well worth it. Now, that satchel housed some leftover rations and the books she had found on the island. With no references, she still couldn’t make out what it was about, but it could possibly come in handy later. 

The next order of business was to figure out how to get off this island. The distance she had to cross was very large and it wouldn’t be possible to swim the stretch of water. She would run out of stamina before she even made it halfway. However, there was a lone tree here and some long grass fibers. She supposed she could make a makeshift raft, but it would be very flimsy and if she hit some turbulent waves, it would be over for her. But what choice did she have? 

It took her another few days to chop down the tree with her sword and fashion the lumber into a thin, crude raft. It honestly looked like it would fall apart in any moment but it floated and that was all she needed. Lumine made a paddle with the leftover wood and steeled herself. It was time to go. Grabbing her satchel, she threw it onto the raft and pushed it into the water. Slowly, she paddled her way to the mainland. It was time to find her brother.

Notes:

While playing the game, there were so many moments that could have just been more and so a google doc was started up and filled with headcanons and small story snippets and interactions between Lumine and the other characters. So I decided to flesh some of them out and post them. This chapter has Lumine waking up on that unnamed island with the eye of the storm that you summon. Hope y'all enjoy!

 

Last Edited: 4/2/21

Chapter 2: Finding a Foothold

Summary:

Lumine found herself in a strange new land with strange new creatures. Not wasting any time, she did what she did best. Adapt. But the nights were cold and lonely, and she missed her sibling. But one day, she found herself catching something that was most definitely not a fish.

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

Lumine hefted another chest open. There were a lot of these around, and she felt a little bad when she looted them. But they’d looked like they were sitting there for a while and she doubted anyone would come back for it. 

It had been a few days since she reached the mainland and she had yet to see another person. Granted, she didn’t stray very far from the beach she found herself on. There were plenty of berries, some strange orange fruits and an occasional crab or fish found its way into her belly. It was nice to see that some animals looked and tasted the same as animals that she had encountered in other worlds.

Every now and then she’d find a small wooden chest or a reinforced large chest filled with some strange trinkets that seemed to give her more strength when she wore them. Some felt stronger than others and with a little bit of concentration, she found that she could merge them together to make one more powerful. Recently, she had taken to clipping a yellow flower, a brown bandana and a blue pot of some sort to her satchel. 

Sometimes she would find some pieces of white or red paper that seemed to look like instructions or tips but Lumine still couldn’t read any of them. Other times she would find pink crystals, some small and some a little bigger. They hummed with energy and Lumine knew with the way they reacted with her sword, she could use them to imbue her sword with its power, but she never figured out how to make them activate. 

Speaking of her sword, she went through a number of dull blades and some silver colored swords before finding a particularly nice emerald green sword. It was her current weapon of choice and it served her fairly well. 

Nothing ever really attacked her by the beach, but every now and then, Lumine could spot some weird blobs in the distance. They were colored differently and Lumine could vaguely make out sparks of electricity or frost particles when she got close, and she determined that they wielded the elements. They bounced around purple crystals and flowers, sending sparks into the air or freezing the water around them. 

It reminded Lumine of some monsters named wizzrobes she had found in another world. They too, wielded the elements, summoning thunderstorms and shooting icy winds at her and Aether, and the two had great fun in killing them, stealing their elemental wands in the process. They had always come back when the moon turned red, and Lumine wondered if that would happen in this world as well. In any case, she resolved to not fight them until she could defend herself better, and avoided them whenever they burst from the ground. 

Whenever she ventured further inland, she would also see these creatures that stood and seemed to talk like humans but they wore masks and danced around fires. She had never seen anything like them before in her travels, even if they behaved like the typical monster. Lumine found them extremely amusing, especially when an animal got close and they would chase it into the forest. 

She had thought they were friendly, mainly because when she found a white one wandering around, it had greeted her and gave her a cabbage before diving into its suitcase and disappearing. The encounter caused much confusion, especially when the brown and red colored ones took to charging at her the second she found herself in their vicinity. The scorch marks on her dress were still present.

Occasionally, she would see a great shadow in the sky and a muted roar echoing from the distance. It was one of the main reasons she didn’t stray from the safety of the beach and the surrounding area. Something was in the forest beyond the beach and it didn’t sound or look very friendly. 

Lumine lived out her days trying to draw out a map of the area around her. Using some of the cliffs to get a ley of the land, she mapped out the beach and some of the surrounding cliffs and parts of the forest. She got as far as a lake with some sort of statue in the center of it before deciding she wasn’t ready to go further.

About 7 sunsets had passed and Lumine found herself in a mind numbing routine. She would scavenge in the morning and parts of the afternoon. The rate at which berries and fruits grew was abnormal in this world. She would pick some one day and find more within another couple days. Lumine would spend the rest of her day either adding details to her map, practicing harnessing her powers again or training with her sword. It was monotonous and Lumine could feel loneliness slowly creeping up on her. 

  Sometimes when she did something in particular, she would remember pieces of a memory. She would remember her brother’s face or the way he laughed. The way he liked to fight with his upper body rather than his lower body like her and the way he stretched like a cat. Lumine and Aether did everything together and she couldn’t remember when she was alone for this long. 

It stung. She missed her brother. Some cold nights, Lumine couldn’t find sleep, overcome with worry for her sibling. She was the more resourceful one, making their meals and camps while he hunted for game. Would he be okay without her? Those nights, she often cried herself to sleep or just cried till dawn greeted the land.

But life continued, and Lumine felt herself gaining her strength back and her skills with the blade renewed themselves. Today, she was sitting on a rock, fishing for lunch when she saw a strange lump floating along the water. She could make out some sort of circlet and pink and white clothing. It floated straight into her rod’s hook and she could feel it catch. Her curiosity peaking, she reeled it in with a sharp tug. It sent the lump flying into the air and it landed at a heap at her feet. 

Lumine looked at the small creature. Was it even alive? It had white hair about as long as hers and there was a black star shaped clip in the waterlogged strands. The circlet she saw didn’t seem to be attached to the thing but it followed the movements of the creature’s head as Lumine nudged it with her foot. 

The dress(?) it wore was indeed white and pink and it puffed up around the creature’s body. The sleeves extended all the way to to its hands and a dark blue cape with stars dotting the fabric extended behind it. The outfit was completed with some boots that reached just under its knees. 

It looked like a human, but it was so small. Was it a child? Was it a monster in disguise? Before she knew it, Lumine was crouched low and her face was close to its face. It didn't seem like it was breathing and it felt cold to her touch. Well, if it was dead, Lumine could eat it couldn’t she? There was no harm in that, was there? She DID catch it and it was nearing lunchtime. This thing probably was the one who scared all the fish away and Lumine was hungry. 

Grabbing her sword, she brought it above her head to start carving it up. But just as she was about to swing, the thing’s eyes opened. Dark blue eyes snapped to her golden ones and the two stared at each other for a moment. It looked at her, then at her sword ready to stab it and screamed. Startled, Lumine dropped her sword and shrieked as well, scrambling away from the weird thing. It wasn’t dead?!

The thing was chittering away, annoyed and Lumine couldn’t understand a word it was saying. It shook itself off and wrung out its dress before just casually starting to float. Lumine rubbed her eyes and pinched herself. Nope. Still floating. Well, wasn’t this thing just full of surprises?

Notes:

So Lumine finally meets Paimon! There were some things I wanted to sort out because Lumine isn't from this world and she shouldn't be able to read or talk to Paimon. I'm assuming that the twins didn't really stick around on Teyvat for long so they probably don't know much about the world. There's definitely going to be some learning Lumine has got to do and I have some fun plans regarding her learning curve. Let's just say during her short time in Teyvat with her brother, she met a certain race of people and learned some customs that's gonna shake up a certain character ;)

 

Last Edited: 4/2/21

Chapter 3: A New Friend

Summary:

Her Emergency Food was suspicious but also a very welcome distraction.

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

Lumine huffed as the floaty thing, she’d taken to calling it emergency food in her head, said something slowly, trying to get her to understand. They’d been at it for a while now, trying to communicate. It took some convincing for the emergency food to realize she wasn’t going to kill it anymore, but a nice roasted fowl with mushrooms seemed to placate the imp like thing. Since then, it seemed to stick around her, peering curiously over her shoulder as she drew her map and eating its way through Lumine’s supplies. Honestly, where did all the food even go?

Lumine was also extremely wary of it. The decorations that adorn its dress and the star clip in its hair reminded her too much of the place she and her brother were separated. It could possibly just be coincidence but Lumine wasn’t going to put all her trust in this thing just yet.

Even if the emergency food was suspicious, it was a welcome part of her life. Lumine could breathe easier around it, the imp’s cheerful disposition kept the loneliness at bay. Its antics were welcome in her otherwise mundane lifestyle. She now had to cook for two instead of one (arguably it could be cooking for ten people with how much this thing puts away) and it seemed to have a running commentary on everything even if Lumine couldn’t understand it. 

It definitely wasn’t human, that was for sure. It liked to pop in and out of existence, somehow accessing its own pocket dimension to hide away in, and it floated freely. Lumine didn’t know how exactly it accomplished flight without wings, but she had never once seen it with its legs on the floor. It was awfully cute, trying to eat the large apples with its tiny hands and Lumine often found herself cutting it up into pieces like she would do for a child. 

Lumine didn’t know why she felt such fondness for it. She often didn’t interact with the people of the worlds they visit, choosing to keep to herself and prevent any attachments from forming. Her brother was often the more personable one, making friends everywhere he went. She supposed it was the loneliness and fear that she was going to be left behind again, but she couldn’t care less. Not when she had a companion now.

Soon enough, it became apparent that they weren’t going to part anytime soon, thus making the predicament of communication apparent. They had been able to “talk” about basic actions like eating or sleeping through gestures, but if they were going to be travelling together, Lumine needed to learn the language of the world they were in. Thus their little sessions began, and frustratingly, they had made little to no progress. 

Lumine sighed when the creature huffed in frustration, miming stomping in the air. It seemed to get an idea and it smacked its hand to its chest before saying a word. “Paimon.” It repeated the motion and the word, before Lumine understood. It’s name was Paimon. Smiling, Lumine pointed to herself and spoke slowly, “Lumine.” 

It repeated her name, sounding it out carefully before cheering and flying around her in excitement. It’s joy caused Lumine’s lips to stretch into a grin as she laughed. It really behaved like a child didn’t it? From there, Paimon would point to things and presumably say it’s name. Lumine learned that the weird orange fruits were called Sunsiettas and the fruits she thought were apples, were in fact called apples in this world as well. It was interesting how some things stayed constant even if the worlds were lightyears away from each other. 

It took a few weeks for Lumine to string broken sentences together, and have proper conversations with Paimon. While Paimon did know how to speak, she didn’t seem to know how to read. Lumine had shown it the pieces of paper and books she had collected, but the imp just shook its head in disagreement. Looks like they were both in the boat of illiteracy. 

One day, she sat down and explained what happened to her as best as she could. Lumine drew in the sand and acted out scenes, when she couldn’t find the words to describe what happened. 

“So, what you’re trying to say is that you fell here from another world? But when you wanted to leave and go on to the next world, your path was blocked by some unknown god?”

“God took brother. Sealed powers. Trapped here.” She stated, letting Paimon know of her situation. Since then, Paimon seemed to be more protective of her, never letting her be sad and always keeping an eye on her. It was nice to be cared for again and it was nice to have someone to cry on during the sleepless nights. True enough, they had grown fairly close during their time together. 

The pair had spent more time teaching Lumine how to speak and mapping out more of the land. She had seen a city with high walls and windmills and Paimon and called it “Mondstadt”. She supposed it was best to head there as they didn’t have anything left to do in the area.

“Go. Monstadt,” Lumine spoke carefully, guessing that her grammar was probably atrocious.

“Yay! They have really good food! Paimon thinks you’ll like the Stick Honey Roast! Wait! Before we go, do you want to see the Anemo Statue of Seven?” Lumine guessed that Stick Honey Roast was probably some kind of food, seeing how excited Paimon was about it. But what was an Anemo statue? Her question must have been reflected in her eyes, because Piamon took her hand and started to lead her in the direction of the lake. 

It clicked in her head what Paimon was talking about, and she made her way down to the water and swam across it. Paimon floated across and excitedly flew up to the statue. “Touch it and pray! Maybe the Anemo archon will help you find your brother.” Paimon spoke, while miming touching the statue and then holding her hands together with her head bowed. She recognized that stance, it was something other worlds did when they prayed to a god. That meant this was a worship statue to some kind of god.

“This is the Anemo Archon’s statue. His name is Barbatos and he’s the God of the Winds and one of the seven major gods of Teyvat. The people of Mondstadt worship the Anemo Archon and you’ll see a few of these statues scattered throughout the land.” Paimon explained, gesturing or drawing something out in the sand when Lumine didn’t understand a certain word. 

Barbatos. The last god in this world wasn’t kind to her and she hoped this one would be more caring. Hesitantly, she stepped up to the statute, her hand stretching out towards the base of the stone structure. Suddenly, it lit up in response and Lumine felt the energy bubble up and rise within it. Vaguely, she heard Paimon gasp loudly, the sounds of her movement distracting Lumine for a split second. She didn’t know how she could have possibly missed its power before. It wasn’t searing hot like her light, which burned through her veins and made her feel invincible. It was warm and gentle and it floated about her in waves. She felt something in her respond to the power, and for a brief moment, she felt her light return to her. But just as fast as it came, it left. 

Feeling some hope for the first time in weeks, she placed her palm on to the statue and prayed for the archon to hear her. “Please, if you can help me, grant me the power and strength to find my brother.” It seemed that the archon was in fact listening, because a tinkling laugh echoed in her mind. 

Her head snapped up when she heard it, looking around for the owner of the voice when a floating teal orb of some sort coalesced in front of the statue and flew towards her. It looked solid, but the wisps flowing of it broke the illusion of it being tangible. A design that reminded her of wings was depicted in the front and it floated in front of her, as if to ask her permission.

“Lumine! He heard you! Barbatos heard you! Accept his blessing!” Paimon urged, her enthusiasm conveying to Lumine exactly what Paimon wanted her to do. She touched the orb and the power dispersed, flowing into her. She felt an energy settle into her and almost instinctively she let wind gather in her hands, pressure building before letting it go, launching a sharp blade of air into the space in front of her. It had taken quite a bit of strength but it was powerful, judging by the large gash it left into the dirt in front of her.

“That’s weird. You didn’t get a vision. Is it because you’re not from this world?” Paimon asked. 

“Vision?” Lumine repeated, confused. 

“Yeah, it’s a stone that people are blessed with when they earn a god’s favor. It gives them elemental abilities like what you just did with Anemo!” Paimon explained drawing the symbol that she saw in the orb surrounded by a circle and some designs surrounding the circle. It looked like a pendant or amulet. So this thing was a symbol of power, interesting. “You just got Anemo because Barbatos is the God of the wind. The other six are Geo, Electro, Hydro, Dendro, Pyro and Cryo” Paimon placed down a rock and drew a lightning bolt, some squiggles that looked like waves, a sapling, flames and a snowflake before drawing another symbol under each one. 

Lumine understood what Paimon was getting at and hummed in understanding. So she was blessed with the powers of the wind but others had other elemental powers from other gods. “If we keep going East, we’ll reach Mondstadt. I’m sure someone there will know something about your brother!” Paimon spoke, flying in the direction of the large city. Lumine took a deep breath, and followed the fairy. She was one step closer to getting her brother back. 


Elsewhere

Venti stopped composing his latest piece when his power surged in response to something. Vaguely he heard the whispers of a prayer in an unknown language as he strummed the strings of his lyre. “Please, if you can help me, grant me the power and strength to find my brother.” Oh ho ho. Wasn’t this interesting? 

He hopped down the tree branch he was lounging on, and laughed as the wind ruffled his hair. Even in all his time as an archon, he hadn’t felt a presence like this before. An outlander. He knew immediately that the person requesting his help was not of this world, but he granted them his strength regardless. There was resolve and hope in their prayer, and who was he to deny them that feeling? 

Something snapped in place for him when the person accepted his blessing and for a brief moment, he felt overwhelmingly hot. Searing light enveloped his vision before receding, leaving him on his hands and knees, eyes blown from the power he felt. Gasping, he flopped down and turned to look at the sky and laughed freely. Something interesting indeed. A new force had come to Mondstadt and he was excited to see what kinds of wind they would bring.

Notes:

So this was Lumine getting more personable and building a bond with Paimon, and learning how the world works. I always imagined that Lumine was very lonely and she'd latched onto Paimon when she showed up and built a close bond because of that loneliness. I also like to think that Paimon is protective of Lumine and Lumine is motherly to Paimon. Cuz let's face it, Paimon might be annoying sometimes but she's also super cute. I'm thinking of making some Paimon and Lumine scenes exploring their relationship a lot more than what the game showed us, because there's definitely a close bond there. The bit with the Anemo statue was a headcanon of mine. The beginning cutscene said her powers were only sealed so I can imagine that seal slowly breaking as she gains powers. They might not be her own powers, but it's a step up to get strength to break the seal herself :)

Last Edited: 4/2/21

Chapter 4: Blue Dragons and Red Girls

Summary:

Lumine finds a sick dragon, a possible god and finally makes it to Mondstadt with the help of a bunny girl.

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

Lumine’s heart thudded against her ribcage as she pressed herself to the tree trunk, trying to make her presence as small as possible. The shape she’d seen in the clouds was a dragon. This world had dragons. It was a hulking blue beast with horns, feathers and three pairs of massive wings that created strong gusts every time it flapped them. And it was just a scant 100 meters from her hiding spot. 

Paimon and Lumine were a couple hours into their journey to Mondstadt and had made fairly good ground. Every now and then they’d come across a camp of the two-legged masked creatures, which she learned were called hilichurls, that she would destroy. Paimon had also told her that the blobs were called slimes and Lumine laughed at that. These bouncy things were slimes? The ones she had seen in other worlds were disgusting and looked more like ooze than actual creatures. But she wasn’t going to complain about something that was to her favor. 

After each battle with the monsters, she would raid their little settlement and pick up the masks, horns and jelly they left behind. Sometimes they had a cooking pot that Lumine made some meals in for later and other times, they guarded some chests which had some fairly decent loot. 

Her satchel was slowly filling up with the odd trinkets and monster parts she collected and she was glad that she made it bottomless from the get go. She came across some more of the objects that made her stronger and they seemed to be better in quality overall. The flowers were softer and had more petals and the headpieces seemed more elaborate and weren’t as worn down. 

Fruit and animals were also more plentiful the further inland they went. She had come across lots of Berries, Sunsiettas and some flowers that tasted sweet and apparently were aptly named sweet flowers. She also had hunted several squirrels and boars and occasionally stoned a small bird. She had a lot of fun figuring out different recipes and Paimon had just as much fun eating her creations, even if some of them looked suspicious. 

She was snapped out of her thoughts when a gust of wind nearly blew the flower ornaments out of her hair. She panicked and smacked her hands down onto her head to keep it in place. Those clips were a gift from her brother. They were a rare type of flower from their world that only bloomed once in every few centuries and Aether had managed to find two of them before they left to travel. He applied his stasis powers onto the blooms and since then, they have had a permanent home in her hair. 

Peeking back at the dragon, she was startled to see a figure that was extremely close to the beast, their hand extended, reaching out to touch it. She squinted at the person. He? Or was it a she? Lumine couldn’t tell from the distance she was at. She could however, make out the green cape, hat and puffy shorts. And were those leggings? The person’s legs were too white for it to be just skin. They had dark hair that faded to a shade of blue and the front sections appeared to be braided. 

But that was none of Lumine’s concern. She was more astounded by the sheer amount of power this person emanated. It was clearly put under lock and key to make sure they escaped notice but Lumine could see their aura bursting at the seams, threatening to escape their confinement. The power was familiar and she realized that it felt like the statue when it blessed her. Her eyes widened when she realized that this was probably the anemo archon, Barbatos. But didn’t Paimon say he wasn’t seen in hundreds of years? 

She turned her attention to the dragon. It had the same kind of energy as the person but it felt sick. Something else was inside it, slowly taking over the gentle energy and corrupting it. She followed the tendrils of malice and found it leading to a crystal horn on the dragon’s back. It oozed something and looked disgusting and Lumine felt her powers unconsciously reach out to try and help. Panicking, she tried to reign her anemo energy back in, but the dragon had already noticed her presence. 

It let out a bellowing roar and flapped its wings, starting to flee the area. She saw the person turn, revealing a youthful face that was decidedly masculine and bright greenish blue eyes. “Who’s there?” He snapped out, looking around for her before backing away, dissipating into energy and leaving the scene as well. 

She let out the breath she didn’t know she was holding and relaxed as the winds settled. Faintly registering the pain from her head, she turned to see Paimon tugging at her hair. “That was close! Paimon almost got blown away! Luckily Paimon managed to grab ahold of your hair! Thanks!” Lumine glared at the cheeky smile Paimon wore and grumbled, smoothing her distressed strands. “Just what was that? Paimon thought we were going to get eaten. It definitely has something to do with that weirdo who was talking to that dragon…”

“Archon.” Lumine spoke, “Barbatos.”

“What, you think that weirdo was Barbatos?” Paimon exclaimed. 

“Powerful anemo energy.” Lumine elaborated, letting her own anemo powers linger around her.

“Hmm...maybe he is? Oh, wait what’s that? There’s some kind of shiny red thing on the rock over there.” Paimon floated over to a crystal in the grass. It felt gross and unnatural, making Lumine hesitate before touching it, but it didn’t do anything particularly harmful to her. “Paimon’s never seen a stone like this before, so Paimon can’t tell you what it is. Maybe it’s best if we hold onto it for now.” Lumine gave a hum of agreement and put it into her satchel. 

“Let’s go.” She spoke, climbing down the rock and turning to follow the path to Mondstadt again. They had made it out of the forest and could see the huge bridge that led into the city when a voice stopped them in their tracks.

“Hey you! Stop right there!” It called out to them from the trees and Lumine looked around before hearing footfalls coming from her left. She turned just in time to see a red clad girl take a great leap off the ledge, rolling into a landing in front of them. 

Lumine felt a crackling sort of energy around her, different from the gentle anemo that she held. Searching the girl’s figure, she found a red amulet hanging off the newcomer's belt. It had long red feathers decorating it, the yellow tips grazed against the girl’s knee and danced in the breeze. She took note of the flame symbol imbued in the gemstone and deduced the girl held the power of pyro. A bow was strung across her back and strangely there was no quiver in sight. 

Her ensemble was practical if a little excessive. Her belt had many pouches and her attire unrestrictive. Long brown hair was tied back by a bandanna which stood up on end making it look like she had bunny ears and her reddish brown eyes glinted in the sun. Leather armor protected her hands and torso and her jumpsuit ended mid thigh. The girl had surprisingly worn thigh high boots with heels and Lumine couldn’t fathom how she adventures in those. Though she could hardly be commenting, seeing as she also wore small heels to make her appear taller.

Lumine let Paimon do most of the talking and just took her time trying to understand the conversation. From what she gathered, the girl’s name was Amber and she was a knight of some sort. What did she say exactly? Knights of Favonius? Lumine introduced herself quietly and motioned to Paimon and said “Emergency food.”

Paimon huffed and stomped her feet, “That’s worse than being a mascot!” Amber had laughed and gestured at the two of them, “I see that you’re traveling partners. There’s been sightings of a dragon around these parts, so I’ll personally escort you to Mondstadt. Both to ensure your safety and make sure that you’re not suspicious. Ah, wait i’m not really supposed to say that am I? Apologies strange...yet respectable travelers”

“That apology sounded so fake!” Paimon exclaimed.

Amber shifted, embarrassed, before changing the subject, “So what brings you to Mondstadt?” she asked, starting down the path to take them to Mondstadt. Paimon let Amber know that Lumine was a traveler, how she was looking for her brother and the two chatted away while she observed the city from afar. 

Mondstadt was on an island in the middle of the lake, the only way in and out being a stone bridge that connected the city to the rest of the world. High walls surrounded the area and she could see huge windmills, turning leisurely in the wind. At the very end of the city, she could see an ornate building, with tall towers and was that a bell she heard faintly in the distance? Every now and then, she could see red roofs peeking up over the walls. In all, it looked to be a very fortified city and it had a certain charm to it. 

Lumine was snapped out of her thoughts when Amber suddenly pulled out her bow and pointed it at something further down the road. Squinting, she could see the shape of a hilichurl and readied herself for battle. She turned in time to see an arrow made of fire form itself onto the string of Amber’s bow, the flames licking the glowing red wood but not scorching it in any way. She watched transfixed as the arrow gained more energy, the tip essentially becoming a fireball ready for combustion. Amber let the arrow sail and it found its way home into the mask of the hilichurl, causing a small explosion that knocked it off its feet. 

So you could imbue weapons with elemental energy? Lumine pondered the implications of that. Does that mean she could send wind blades every time she swung her sword? Amber had also created arrows from her powers, could Lumine do that too? Could she create a literal blade made of air? It was definitely grounds for experimentation and she couldn’t wait to try some things later.

The smoke from the attack dissipated and the hilichurl chittered angrily before summoning it’s friends over, one of which was a great big mitachurl carrying a ridiculously sized axe. Before Amber could even ready an arrow, Lumine launched herself into the fray. It had been a while since she had a challenge and she was excited to fight the large creature. 

Lumine and Paimon had only ever seen them from afar and they were never in the camps that the two passed by. The only other monster she fought besides hilichurls were what Paimon called samachurls. They were shorter, more stout and carried a great big staff, either summoning tornadoes, thorns or rain. They weren’t much of a fight, especially if you got close to them and Lumine often lamented the lack of a struggle in her battles. She wasn’t going to let the chance to fight a mitachurl slip by her now. 

Launching a tornado at the crowd, another trick she had figured out on the road, she danced around her opponents, her blade making whistling noises in the air as she spun and cut down the small fry. Finally, the crowd thinned, leaving on the lone mitachurl who seemed extremely ticked off. It pulled out a pyro slime hiding in the ground and mercilessly popped it, smearing the scalding slime onto its axe which began to glow a deadly orange. 

Lumine felt a grin stretch across her lips and she launched herself at the beast. Ducking under its swing, she slashed its back before jumping back when it slammed its axe into the ground. When the mitachurl struggled to pull it out of the ground, she sent a wind blade at it, causing it to stumble away from the weapon. From there it was laughably easy to subdue the beast. When it charged at her, she sidestepped before plunging her blade into its back and twisting. The creature dematerialized and left behind its mask and a chipped horn. Lumine picked them up and tossed them into her satchel, adding to her little collection of monster drops. 

She turned to see Amber gaping at her, her bow hanging limply, pointed to the ground. “Wow, I gotta say, you surprised me a little with your moves there. My task for today was to clear out the hilichurl camps near the city but with you coming along, I might be done before sundown!” 

“Hilichurls aren’t the type to come so close to the city like this.” Paimon pondered, tapping her chin in thought.

“Ever since Stormterror, the dragon, started terrorizing Mondstadt, the hilichurls have been getting braver and migrating closer to the city. The Knights of Favonius have been working overtime to make sure that they’re being pushed back. Not to mention the damage that has to be repaired each time an attack occurs and the injured we have to take care of. The knights really have the hands tied.” Amber explained, walking towards another camp in the distance. 

They continued for another few hours, tracking down camps and destroying them and the structures they put up before Amber declared that they were done and the other knights could handle the rest of the cleanup. It was sunset when Lumine finally got to the city and Amber vouched for her when the guards at the front gate asked for her identification. 

Stepping into the city, Amber turned with a flourish, gesturing to the area ahead, “Let me formally introduce you to the city of wind, dandelions, and freedom. Travelers under the protection of the Knights of Favonius, welcome to Mondstadt!

Notes:

So Lumine can sense energy, it only makes sense for her to know who's a vision holder as well as who's a flipping god. She gets to see Venti and Dvalin and knows something is wrong. Yay! Plot advancement! I also made her a little bloodthirsty cuz I like the idea of a slightly feral but sophisticated Lumine. Amber also shows up and meets Lumine, I might have an interlude chapter for her soon, exploring what she thinks of Lumine.
I love reading all of your comments, it makes me really happy and excited to write the next chapter for y'all. I also went back and edited the previous chapters a bit. Nothing too major, just some minor changes to make the story flow a little better. Nothing lore-wise was added and if it was I'd point it out for y'all.

 

Last Edited: 4/2/21

Chapter 5: The City of Freedom

Summary:

Lumine gets to the city, empties her wallet for Paimon and saves a kid.

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

Lumine lounged on the windowsill of a room in the Knights of Favonius headquarters, watching the empty streets outside of the building. Amber had taken them straight here to get identification papers because they technically weren’t allowed to be in the city without them. 

She thought that this would happen, as it had been the case for some other worlds she visited as well. Maybe not as organized, but there was always a meeting with some sort of authority when she and her brother were found out. But Paimon said she had been here before, so how was she able to get in if she didn’t have them as well? It was another one of the mysteries that her companion created and Lumine had yet to solve any of them.

Lumine knew her friend was also not normal, judging by the way the natives reacted as if they’ve never seen anything like her. But she was friendly, and if she had some secrets, Lumine wasn’t one to judge. As long as Paimon doesn’t harm her, she found that she didn’t particularly care what her companion did. 

Speaking of Paimon, she had gone out to get some local delicacies she insisted that Lumine had to try. Taking Lumine’s little pouch of coins, she zipped off and Lumine hadn’t seen her since. A lot of the shops were empty, so she supposed it was hard to find anything at the ready. 

Amber had told them the dragon had really scared the people and no one ever came outside these days. A lot of the merchants had also left, killing the city’s trade and the frequent attacks had left their mark on Mondstadt itself. Lumine spotted a lot of hastily patched buildings and areas where the stonework was ruined, as if something pulled them out of their foundations. It felt eerily quiet for a place that was meant to be buzzing with activity and Lumine could see the sadness in Amber’s eyes as she gazed at her desolate city. 

But even amidst all of this depression, Amber smiled and assured her that their Acting Grandmaster, Jean, would be able to save them all from the threat. It was the first Lumine had heard of this Jean, but she seemed to have a lot of authority in the city. Her name popped up several times when Amber was talking about getting her settled and Lumine could definitely sense some hero worship coming from the pyro user. 

She figured that she should probably meet the woman herself if she got the chance. Jean might know something about her brother’s whereabouts and if she didn’t, maybe she’d know someone who did. It was certainly worth a shot, and anything was better than what Lumine had at this point.

The door slammed open, startling Lumine enough to make her fall ungracefully from her perch. Rubbing her tailbone, she glared at Paimon who floated in, struggling under the weight of a takeout bag and a little stack of papers clutched in her hand. “Lumine look! I got you a whole bunch of stuff and when I told them you were a traveler, some of them were even kind enough to give me recipes! That way you can make them all the time for Paim- I mean, for us!” Lumine rolled her eyes before accepting the recipes, resolving to learn them once she could read.

She watched as Amber followed Paimon in, carrying some more bags in one hand and a huge stack of papers in the other. The two set the bags down and Lumine helped them arrange the dishes out on the table. “Join us?” Lumine questioned Amber who looked at the food a little longingly.

“I suppose I could, considering you have enough to feed an army and we have a lot of work to go through today,” Amber quickly reasoned, plopping down on a chair and setting the papers to the side. 

“Amber told me on the way that you need to be registered as a citizen of a country before you go travelling anywhere, so she has a bunch of questions to ask you!” Paimon explained, already ripping through some sort of roast with frightening speed. Lumine supposed that all of her coins were gone with how much her friend brought back, but she didn’t really have any use for them yet so it didn’t matter. 

What did matter, however, was the fact she had to presumably answer detailed questions to be registered as a citizen and if those papers were important, sign them in some form to make them valid. How could she possibly do all of that when she didn’t even know how to speak properly? She wondered how exactly she was going to tell Amber that she didn’t know the language well enough and the both of them couldn’t read or write.

Oblivious to Lumine’s internal torment, the group ate in a comfortable silence, only speaking when Paimon or Amber explained what a dish was to her. Lumine found that she particularly liked the dish named Pile ‘Em Up and the Mushroom Pizza. It had been a while since she had cheese or anything like it.

Finally the moment of reckoning had come. Amber had put her tableware aside and brought the stack of papers to the table, the action causing Lumine’s palms to start sweating as the brunette began to say something. Lumine had never felt so stupid. She and her brother always made sure to learn the language of the area they stayed in and it was the first time she felt so unprepared

“Okay, these forms are a bunch of questions about you and any family you have. The ones here are about your previous places of residence. These are about-”

“Umm, Amber...Paimon can’t read or write.” Paimon started hesitantly, looking toward Lumine who only ducked her head in embarrassment, the tips of her ears turning red. 

“Well, can’t Lumine fill them out for you and you can just sign your name?” Amber answered, looking to Lumine for confirmation.

“Lumine doesn’t know either. Paimon just started to teach her how to speak the lingua franca, Teyvatian!” Paimon said proudly, her face tilted up and hands at her hips. 

“Oh! Is that why you don't speak much? I’m so sorry! You seemed to understand what I said and I thought you were just quiet!” Amber spluttered, trying to apologize to Lumine, but she just sheepishly waved her off. “Well, that definitely is some cause for concern. While I can fill out the answers for you this time, you need to be able to read when you’re on your own...I know! Miss Lisa is the resident Librarian of the Knights of Favonius, she knows not only common Teyvatian, but also some of the Liyuen dialect too! I’m sure if we ask her, she’d be happy to teach you!” 

Lumine smiled and nodded gratefully at Amber who brought a quill and some ink. “Well to begin with, we need to figure out how to spell and write your name. How do you normally write it?” Amber asked, trying to find a starting point to work with. 

Lumine pondered on how to answer that question. She had many names in many worlds, all written and spoken differently. Her people were born with celestial names, the name of a constellation that formed when they were born. She and her brother were born as Viatrix and Viator respectfully, the names quite fittingly meant travelers or voyagers. This celestial name was given extreme importance and was only shared and used amongst kin and loved ones in private. 

The siblings had given themselves secondary names of Lumine and Aether when they first began to travel worlds, during the time when they were worshipped as gods in a realm that was entirely made of light. It was one of the only worlds they spent entire lifetimes in, and they had adopted the name, paying homage to their time there and the people who had treated them well. While they took on several other names as they travelled, they had always strayed back to Aether and Lumine. 

While the pronunciations stayed generally the same, the way she wrote it varied in every world and she wasn’t sure which one she should pick. FInally, she settled on the original way it was taught to her and summoned the tiny lick of power onto her hands. The ball of light was pathetic and barely shone, but it was present and flickering. 

Concentrating on what made her Lumine, she projected the feeling onto the light and watched as it danced, ebbing and flowing as if it was talking. The pattern repeated itself and Lumine looked to Amber who had long forgotten the quill that was steadily dripping ink onto the paper. She seemed transfixed, and reached out to touch the light, which shrunk away from her before continuing its dance. 

“Wow,” Amber breathed. “When you said you were a traveler, I thought you would have been like the others who traveled the seven nations. But I have never seen anything like this before, from anywhere in Teyvat.”

“Not Teyvat,” Lumine spoke, extinguishing the light. “From stars,” she finished, taking a sip of some sort of purple juice. 

Amber’s eyes widened comically, “From the what?!” she exclaimed, slamming her hands on the table and standing incredulously. But before Lumine could reply, she felt a sickly presence above the city, it’s power building. Running over to the windows, she threw them open to see the darkening sky, winds starting to whip furiously, picking up dirt and leaves. 

“Dragon.” She spoke gravely to Amber who watched the skies beside her with a frown. 

“We have to evacuate the citizens. Stay here until I can escort you!” She ordered before jumping out of the window. Lumine yelped, trying to catch the brown haired girl from falling a decent distance when her breath caught in her throat. Brilliant blue wings suddenly unfurled from Amber’s back and slowed her descent, allowing her to gently float down to the street. Immediately, Amber took off running, barking orders to the guards, oblivious to the state she left Lumine in with her stunt. 

Lumine’s hand was still outstretched, trying to hold onto nothing as she tried to process what she saw. Amber had wings. People here had wings. It didn’t seem to lift and carry Amber like Lumine’s did, but the people here traversed the sky as much as they did the land. The thought of even being able to go back into the sky made a thick lump form in Lumine’s throat. Would she be able to get them too? 

Now that she thought about it more, they didn’t seem to be a part of Amber herself. Faint Anemo energy wafted from the wings, energy that most certainly wasn’t Amber’s, and the wings had unfurled from a little pack strapped onto Amber’s back. So it was artificial flight, more like gliding to be honest. Disappointment gripped her heart, but the excitement to be able to even glide overshadowed the negative emotion. 

Just as she was about to close the windows, and make her way to the lower floors of the building, she spotted a child who looked like he was separated from the crowd. When she was about to yell at a guard to let them know about the boy, vicious tornadoes slammed into the ground, ripping up stone and twisting sign boards around. 

Without a second thought, Lumine hauled herself out the window and scampered down the side of the building, sprinting toward the child. Making it to the small boy in record time, she picked him up and hauled him over her shoulder, trying to outrun a tornado that had strayed a little close to her. 

Thankfully, a knight was nearby and immediately took the boy off of her. Relieved, she stopped for a moment to catch her breath. However, that split second was all the tornado needed. Lumine was a relatively small person, and her meager weight did nothing to stop the raging winds from starting to pull her off her feet. 

She gave a strangled cry, trying to find anything to anchor herself to, but she was in the middle of the street with nothing around her. Lumine felt herself get lifted up and into the tornado, and she closed her eyes in grim acceptance. She knew she wouldn’t die from the winds even if her powers were gone, but she was definitely not going to walk away from it unscathed. 

“Lumine!” A voice screamed, and Lumine opened her eyes to see a dark shape hurtling toward her. Grabbing a hold of it before it could whip past, she looked at Amber on the ground, the missing lump on her back and immediately understood. Quickly working out how to put it on, she shrugged the straps on and prayed for the stars to guide her. 

Right when she found herself close to the center of the tornado where the winds were the weakest, Lumine snapped her arms out, pulling the wings out of confinement. Immediately, they lurched, painfully pulling at her shoulders and upper arms. Lumine thought the contraption would break, with how much the feathers of the wings fluttered about, but they had held strong. Lumine felt herself get lifted up and out of the tornado by the air currents and soon she found herself above Mondstadt, looking down at the chaos. 

It was eerily calm high above the city and she found herself savoring the sensation of being in the air again. Feeling a sudden sense of exhilaration bubble up and out of her, Lumine laughed as her hair whipped around in the wind. This feeling of being in the air, being free. She had missed it so much. Even as the world below her slowly fell to ruin, Lumine took a deep breath and closed her eyes. The sun on her skin and the biting cold air had never felt so good. 

Notes:

So Lumine finally gets to Mondstadt, starts to hear some important names and Amber begins to think that her new friend isn't exactly from this world. Do y'all have any sugestions for the language name? Teyvatanese was the best I could do but I'm sure you guys have heard better names for it. Drop them in the comments and maybe I'll switch it out if I find a particularly good one. Lingua franca essentially means the common language, for us its English, it's not a common phrasing so I thought I should specify here.
Things are going to start picking up next chapter with the Stormterror arc and as a fair warning, I won't be going too into depth with the actual plotline because there are other factors about Lumine I want to highlight during the story. I have a rough idea but nothing's set in stone so we'll see how it goes. She's finally going to meet some other characters which I'm super excited for!
I love reading all of your comments, they make me so excited to keep writing even though I have a bunch of midterms I should be studying for lmao.

Chapter 6: The Start of Something New

Summary:

Barbatos is intrigued by this new outlander and Lumine meets a familiar stranger.

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

Barbatos chuckled as the winds carried the screams of excitement and joy over to him. He was perched on the cathedral rooftop, legs dangling, observing the ensuing battle in the air between the outlander and Dvalin. He’d spotted the golden eyed traveller as soon as she entered the city, following behind Amber, taking in the sights and sounds. Normally, he would skip over her face as travelers often came and went from Mondstadt, but his blessing forced him to take a second look.

Usually, the chosen drew powers from their vision, elemental energy concentrated where their gemstone was located. Those who chose to strengthen their vision through trials and tribulations had brighter, more powerful amulets, while those who led passive lives had dimmer ones. As an archon, he could easily tell where chosen vision holders kept their vision, which archon had blessed them and how strong they were. 

The outlander was very different. His blessing seemed to course through her entire body, radiating energy and leaving behind traces of her power as she walked. It was mesmerizing to watch to say the least. Anemo energy curled around her, passively prodding at objects she walked past and curling around her body possessively. 

Barbatos watched her as she went into the Knights of Favonius headquarters, appearing in a second story window as she looked down at the streets. There was a somber air about her, something timeless, ancient even, and his curiosity peaked. She had reminded him of the rocks for brains archon in Liyue with how her eyes gazed at nothing and everything at the same time, and Venti hoped she was more entertaining than that grandpa. 

He had sensed Dvalin’s approach the same time the traveler did, and watched as the city fell to chaos once more. It was excruciatingly painful to hear Dvalin’s grief at being abandoned as he attacked the city he once protected. Every mournful cry struck another deep gash into his soul and for once in his life, Barbatos cursed his powerlessness.

He had never wished to be an archon. When he was a mere wind spirit, he enjoyed riding the breeze from land to land, making and losing friends along the way. It was pure circumstance that he came across the power that made him into something greater. Unfortunately, the responsibility that came with that power was something he could never uphold, and so, he delegated the four winds and let Mondstadt flourish on its own. 

Splitting his duties up had greatly weakened his authority as an archon, but that didn’t really mean anything to him. He was content to live out his life in the manner he wished to. This lifetime had him taking on the form of his dear friend Venti, a talented bard who had fought bravely in a bloody struggle for the prize of freedom. 

However, at a time like this, Barbatos wished he could do anything to relieve his dear friend of the poison that coursed through his veins, and console him through his grief at being left behind to rot. But no. He was stuck, not even strong enough to keep the poison from harming himself. Which is why when he saw the outlander in the air, he made the decision to have her fend off Dvalin in his stead. 

Barbatos honestly wouldn’t have done it if it was anyone else, but he got the feeling that the traveler would show him something special, and she most definitely did. Sending up the power of a thousand winds to keep her afloat, he had expected her to just keep Dvalin busy enough for him to lose interest in the city. Instead, he was greeted with a lightshow as the two tried to outfly each other, shooting anemo energy to knock the other out of the sky. 

What was most surprising, was not the traveler’s impressive aerial feats, but how much the traveler seemed to enjoy their morbid little game of hide and seek. The two darted in and out of clouds, simultaneously chasing and hiding from each other. Any wrong move could send any one of them to death’s door, but all Barbatos could hear from the winds was the traveler’s exhilarated laughter as she flew. 

Barbatos smiled bitterly as he watched Dvalin retreat from the city, taking his storm with him. His power and choices may have brought joy to a stranger, but it also had brought grief to a dear friend.


Lumine landed gently in front of a large winged statute, stretching out her sore arms and shoulders as she waited for Amber and Paimon to catch up to her. “Archons! Are you alright? Does it hurt anywhere?” She fretted, turning her around to inspect Lumine for any injuries. 

“Lumine! Don’t you ever do that to Paimon ever again!” Her companion looked close to tears, her eyes all misty and her lip quivering. Lumine smiled softly at the two of them, touched by their concern, and drew Paimon in for a hug. 

“I hoped that you would figure out how to use the glider quick enough to at least try to land safely, but I didn’t expect you to take to it like a fish in water! How did you stay afloat? Not to mention all of those sharp turns and twirls?! I could barely keep up with you!” Amber gushed, clearly impressed with Lumine’s prowess in the sky. 

Lumine thought back to when she was in the air. A voice had echoed in her head, telling her that they were keeping her afloat, and that she had to drive Dvalin away from the city. It sounded very similar to the laugh she had heard back at the statue and Lumine could only guess that it was Barbatos that spoke to her. She didn’t know exactly what was going on, but Lumine needed to survive, so she listened to the voice’s directions.

 She had thankfully gotten some time to get used to how the glider functioned before the dragon noticed her presence. They obviously weren’t as responsive as her old wings and it showed when Lumine had to control every little movement to turn and dip, but she had gotten the hang of bending her arms, releasing and drawing the wings back up to get the maneuverability she wanted in the air. Confident, she flew closer to the approaching dragon and began a highly dangerous game between the two of them. A game that she was pleased to say that she won.

Before Lumine could start explaining to Amber what happened when she got tossed up by the tornado, footsteps and slow clapping echoed behind her. She turned to see a mocha skinned man walking up to the trio. He had long navy blue hair that was short in the front and long in the back, bunched into a side ponytail that draped across his front. Some lighter blue strands covered his eyepatch, framing his angular face. Fur covered his right shoulder, smoothly transitioning into a white cape that trailed behind him. 

A dark blue and white collared shirt and vest combination covered his upper body, but exposed a triangular section of his chest, the hard planes of muscle peeking out from under his clothing. The sleeves of his shirt were rolled up to reveal his forearms and his hands were adorned with fingerless gloves. The shirt and vest were tucked into dark pants and he wore knee high boots that looked like they’d seen better days. The entire ensemble was completed with various metal pieces that lined his clothing, shoes and gloves. 

The stranger had a calm stillness about him, an aura that didn’t seem to be present, but was there when you looked hard enough. Lumine distinctly felt elemental energy emanating from him and caught sight of the ice blue vision hanging off his belt. Cryo. He didn’t decorate it with anything like Amber had, and it shone brighter than the bunny girl’s. At the same time, Lumine noticed something else beneath the elemental energy, something the others didn’t have. Something familiar. Lumine had definitely felt it before, but she couldn’t put her finger on exactly where she had felt it from.

The newcomer walked closer, looked her up and down for a moment and started to speak, “You’ve actually got the power to go up against the dragon. Are you a new ally?” His gaze snapped to hers and Lumine’s breath caught as she saw beautiful blue star shaped pupils. “Or a new storm?”

Oh. Lumine knew those eyes. She had met people like him when she was here with her brother. People who didn’t wield energy like the others and lived toeing the line between danger and safety as war brewed. People with beautiful, shining, star shaped pupils. People that hindered their eyesight in some form because if they gazed into the abyss head on, it would gaze back into them. 

Before she could give him the proper greeting she was taught, Amber had cut in. “Kaeya, Sotrmterror’s attacks have been getting too dangerous. We have to put a stop to this! Lumine, you came at the right time! We must-”

“Hold on, Amber. Are you forgetting to introduce us?” The newly dubbed Kaeya cut in smoothly, his sauve manner of speaking raising several red flags in Lumine’s head. This kind of smooth talker she had seen many times, in many worlds. They were all the same, words as sweet as honey, and their strike as deadly as a viper’s. He certainly fit the image, his handsome features illuminated in the setting sun, but Lumine wouldn’t judge too harshly just yet.

“Oh...right! This is Kaeya, our Cavalry Captain. These two are travelers from afar, Lumine and Paimon.” Amber introduced, Lumine and Kaeya giving a nod to each other while Paimon waved. The pleasantries they exchanged were polite, but Lumine knew that Kaeya was sizing them up. His smile was soft, and his gaze sharp and suspicious as Amber began to tell him about their circumstances.

“I see. Welcome to Mondstadt, though you haven’t arrived at best of times I’m afraid. I understand the anguish of being separated from family.” Lumine could see the underlying sadness in those words no matter how much he tried to mask it, and she could only wonder about what happened to the kingdom that took her and her brother in. 

“I’m not really sure why you’re looking for the anemo god, but everyone has their secrets, right?” He continued, the last sentence digging a bit harsher than the rest and Lumine’s hair stood on end. Immediately, Kaeya softened, falling back as he continued to speak, a fake chuckle passing his lips. “Relax! I won’t press you for more. First and foremost, on the behalf of the Knights of Favonius, I would like to extend my thanks to you for your help just now.”

“Happy to help.” She responded, giving him a tight smile, unsure of what he thought of her. He gave her a plastic one in return and started to speak again, “Your fight to defend the city against the dragon just now was witnessed by no small number of citizens. The Acting Grand Master of the Knights of Favonius is also very interested in meeting you, and formally invites you both to our headquarters.” 

Lumine knew a command when she heard one. It was very well phrased, and to Amber, it had sounded like a cordial invitation, but Lumine could hear the subtle threat and assertion in his voice when he said it. She didn’t have a choice in the matter. Nodding silently, she and Paimon followed the two knights back to their headquarters, and hoped she didn’t get into too much trouble.

Notes:

I decided to do Venti's point of view for that air battle cuz I thought I could work with it more this way by delving into his character and I'm happy with how it turned out. Lumine finally gets to meet Kaeya and I'll explain more about him and the customs of his people as the story unfolds cuz I don't wanna spoil it :)
I opted for a more suspicious Kaeya who looks out for his friends first and foremost. He always gave me the vibe of someone who would smile and stab you once your back was turned if it meant it protected someone else. I also want the relationships between the characters to go through more development rather than the blind trust they have in game.
Sorry the chapter is a bit late, I intended to upload a little earlier but I barely had time to write the past few days. Taking 22 credits in college is not it guys. @_@

Chapter 7: Mondstadt's Protectors

Summary:

Lumine meets Mondstadt's most important figures and learns a bit more about the world she's in.

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

Kaeya had brought them to another section of the building she was previously in, and opened a grand door that led into an office. Lumine spotted a large wooden desk with documents strewn about and a raised platform where shelves of books lined the walls. 

The grandfather clock chimed as Kaeya shut the door decisively behind them, trapping Lumine in with the Knights. “Jean, I’ve brought them.” He informed, leaning casually on the door jamb, preventing any chance of escaping while watching the entirety of the room.

Lumine fidgeted under the weight of the blonde woman’s gaze, whose eyes snapped to Lumine’s when Kaeya spoke. It was silent for a moment as they looked each other over. The blonde woman, Jean, seemed like she had an anemo vision as well, with how her energy felt similar to Lumine’s but slightly different at the same time. It felt more welcoming and gentle than Lumine’s, as if it would protect her. 

She tried searching for Jean’s vision, but it didn’t seem to be at her hip or anywhere visible from the front. Her outfit was mostly white with some leather protecting the sides of her torso and a blue overcoat covered her shoulders and hung down to her knees in the back. The outfit was completed with white and gold high heel boots and dark blue gloves with metal knuckles. 

Golden decorations lined her blouse, belt and coat and her light blonde hair was done up in a ponytail. Jean held herself with a grace and strength that Lumine respected, and she could see why Amber would look upto this person. Jean’s very aura itself was very reassuring and she felt like a dependable person.

Finally, their impromptu staring session ended and Lumine felt like she passed some kind of test when Jean’s eyes shone with a hint of approval. “Mondstadt welcomes you windborne travelers. I am Jean, Acting Grand Master of the Knights of Favonius. That is Lisa, our resident Librarian.” She spoke, gesturing over to the side where Lumine noticed another woman.

Lumine felt her hair stand on end with how much energy this person was surrounded with. It crackled and snapped out, and was very clearly electro energy. Spotting the purple vision on the woman’s choker, it was as bright as Kaeya’s, and the woman herself looked very unimposing, leaning casually on the railing of the platform.

She was dressed in a revealing purple corset dress that had slits coming up to her thighs on both sides. The only thing that she wore beneath her dress was a set of black, netted stockings that covered her pale legs and led into pointed black heels. A golden rose sat at her hip, attached to a belt that looked like it had a miniature book hanging from it. 

Like Jean, she too wore a purple overcoat but it didn’t have a collar that stood up like Jeans, instead it hugged her neck, emphasizing her slender figure. A large, pointy hat that partially shadowed her eyes sat on her head, and she wore dark, leather gloves. The woman was objectively beautiful, with a coquettish expression, large bright green eyes and loosely tied brunette hair that framed her face. 

A deadly flower, Lumine surmised. Beautiful to look at, but poisonous to the touch. It seems like Jean and Amber were the only transparent ones in this little group. Amber probably because of her naivety, and Jean due to her unwavering confidence in her own abilities. 

“Hey cuties, are you here to help us? The two of you are just so adorable~” Lisa purred, resting her face in her hand, head tilted while giving Lumine an expression that made her flush. She nervously looked away from the flirtatious woman and back to Jean, hoping she would say something else to continue the conversation. 

“Regrettably, you’ve come at a bad time. With the dragon attacks, we’re not exactly in the state to let outsiders into our city walls. We ask that you stay in headquarters until your papers are fully submitted and processed. As the Acting Grandmaster, I cannot allow any more possible threats inside the city easily, but I also cannot turn away refugees. I hope that you understand the situation and comply with no resistance.” Jean spoke, an apologetic but stern expression present on her face.

Lumine let Paimon whisper what Jean said to her in layman’s terms and nodded in acquiescence. She didn’t like it, but it made sense for Jean to protect her own people first. And house arrest wasn’t too bad in retrospect, she’s had much worse welcoming parties before, including but not limited to immediate execution and experimentation. 

“Jean, we still have that job we need to do.” Kaeya spoke, glancing at Lumine, purposely keeping things vague. 

Jean groaned before the knights gathered in a little huddle, muttering to each other about something or the other. Lumine shuffled awkwardly, looking at random objects strewn about the office space before they finally broke apart.

“My apologies, because of the city wide evacuation, we don’t exactly have anyone that can watch you here at headquarters and all of us have urgent tasks to attend to. Therefore, I would like you to accompany Lisa while she does her work. She can keep an eye on you while completing her task easily. I’ve heard you can defend yourself well from Amber, so going into a domain shouldn’t be a problem for you.” Jean continued, packing up some things in a satchel while explaining. “When things settle down, we can fully consider the options you have and get you assimilated as a citizen of Mondstadt if you choose to.”

Lumine shuddered as Lisa playfully waved at her and she turned her gaze to Amber for help, only to frown in dismay when the pyro user only giggled and shooed her off. 

You’ll be fine, ” Amber mouthed before walking out, headed to her respective job.

Kaeya lingered for a second, exchanging a gaze with Lisa that Lumine couldn’t quite decipher, giving Lumine one last look before turning around. He grabbed a beautiful silver sword with a glowing blue blade, strapped it onto his belt and left, toying with a coin on his way out. 

“Alright cutie, time to go!” Lisa giggled, taking Lumine by the arm and Paimon by the hand before leading the two out. Lumine prayed to the stars to make sure she came out of this ordeal in one piece both mentally and physically. 

It wasn’t a very long walk to the large doors that glowed an eerie red, and thankfully Lisa hadn’t initiated any conversation along the way. Lumine didn't know if she could handle any more flirty expressions and remarks.  “Domain?” Lumine asked, turning to look at Lisa.

“Got it in one cutie~ They’re areas where the celestial energy created pocket spaces, separate from our own dimension. They have their own rules and environments and more experienced adventurers can challenge some of them to prove their strength. Some even have celestial trees that can give you artifacts, like the ones clipped to your bag, or materials to feed your vision to help you get stronger. The temples of the four winds are domains themselves and unfortunately monsters have taken over them since their abandonment.” Lisa explained, but most of it went over Lumine and Paimon’s head. 

Seeing her perplexed expression, Lisa chuckled, “Ah, I’m sorry cutie! I forgot you’ve just started learning how to speak. Amber told me about your situation while you and Jean were talking. If you stop by the Knight of Favonius Library, I can get you started on learning the language properly and maybe we’ll even get to the Liyuen dialect.” 

“Paimon taught Lumine how to speak a little but Paimon doesn’t know how to read and write.” Her friend explained to Lisa.

“Well then, I’ll just have to teach both of you everything you need to know” Lisa smiled, grabbing Lumine’s hand. 

Lumine nodded hesitantly, reluctant to spend more time than necessary with the bold female. She was never good with the more mortal desires between different genders and the advances people made towards her. Her brother and her always stuck together and while Aether had taken on some lovers occasionally, Lumine had never thought of it during her travels. 

“Well, in any case, we’re here. Just stay behind me, I just have to clear this domain out and we can be on our way back to the city.” Lisa said, putting her hand on the doors. Both the gate and Lisa’s vision glowed in tandem before the doors swung open with a creak, revealing the cosmos in its entirety. Lumine looked at the entrance in awe, the stars were nothing like Lumine had ever seen before and the darkness was so deep it almost looked purple. 

“Paimon doesn’t like how this place feels, Lumine. I’m going to go away for a bit. Tell me when you’re done with the domain.” Her companion muttered, before popping back into her little pocket dimension. Lisa’s eyes widened, but that was the extent of her surprise. She looked at Lumine calculatingly before the smile reappeared. Turning, Lisa stepped through the doorway, making the sky ripple and Lumine quickly followed before she could get left behind.

The domain was interesting to say the least. Besides the structures in the domain, nothing else seemed to exist. There was no sky, no ground and nothing surrounded the platforms and buildings they walked on. It was just all empty space and Lumine wondered if she would fall forever if she stepped off the edge of the floating platform they were on. 

True to Lisa’s word, monsters were at every turn of the domain and she had started to bring her sword out of her bag when Lisa motioned for her to stay back. Electro energy gathered at the woman’s hands and Lumine watched transfixed as the little book at Lisa’s hip grew to a large grimoire. It crackled with purple energy and Lumine watched as Lisa expertly shot lightning at the monsters, the ancient book floating behind her, pages leisurely turning. 

Lumine could feel the electricity even from the distance she was at, and realized that this was why Lisa had motioned for her to stay back. While the electro user can target a monster at a time, she liked to concentrate her energy and release a storm of electricity around her, taking care of groups quickly. She didn’t want Lumine to get in her way or get shot at. At one point, her book even conjured something that looked like a lamp that shot electricity anything that came close.

It was chilling to watch to say the least. Lumine always took pride in her weapons mastery and light powers, but when powerless and faced with such strength, goosebumps raced along her arms. Lisa’s face never changed from the bored expression she wore when dispatching the monsters, even yawning when there was a lull in the battle. Jean was right in saying Lisa could battle monsters and keep an eye on Lumine at the same time. The Librarian was scary.

They quickly traveled from room to room, riding updrafts to different sections of the domain and taking care of the challenges that allowed them to progress. It seemed like Lisa’s electricity reacted to the environment just like regular lightning did, as she watched some pyro slimes explode violently or some hilichurls get easily shocked in the water. Lumine trailed behind, collecting the drops Lisa didn’t bother with.

The woman only seemed to collect the slime jelly that was left behind and touched them to her vision. Lumine gasped when she watched them seemingly disappear into the vision, the gem glowing for a moment before going back to a dormant state. “Oh, have you never seen a vision? But Amber said you wield Anemo. Speaking of which, where’s yours?” Lisa asked, circling around Lumine, prodding at her. Lumine shuffled away from Lisa, blushing and shook her head in a negative.

“How fascinating. You have anemo powers but no vision. This definitely needs some research when I get back. Well, a vision is used by the chosen to draw on their elemental powers. In terms of mysticism, I suppose you can call it a ‘magical lightning rod’ in my case. Visions use different materials to get stronger and they essentially “eat” the energy out of those materials. The more you fight monsters, the stronger you can get. But to be this in the dark about visions...where exactly are you from?” Lisa asked, as they entered a large room.

Lumine shrugged as they entered and Lisa didn’t pry any further. The woman walked up to a glowing green crystal and Lumine knew it was made of very strong Anemo energy. It was something she felt before. “Barbatos? No, dragon.” She muttered when she figured out who this crystal belonged to. 

“Yes, how did you know?” Lisa asked, curious as she charged an attack. 

Lumine watched as the crystal shattered, waiting for the energy to settle down before responding. “Felt it.” 

“Interesting,” Lisa whispered before gently grasping Lumine’s chin. She looked at her face for a moment, observing her intently and Lumine could feel the heat starting to pool in her cheeks again. “You’re just so fascinating,” Lisa breathed before letting her go. 

“Dragon of the East, Lion of the South, Wolf of the North and Falcon of the West. They are the four winds of Mondstadt, associated with the Anemo god archon, Barbatos. The Dragon of the East, Stormterror, it’s real name is Dvalin. Though most of Mondstadt has seemed to have forgotten that.” Lisa mused as the exit formed in front of them. “There’s a book that’ll help you understand Mondstadt’s history in the Library if you’re interested. I can let you borrow it while you’re on house arrest.”

Lumine nodded as they walked out of the domain and Lisa smiled in return. “It’s nice to see someone so eager to learn.” Her expression turned mischievous and Lumine felt dread at her coming sentence, “And of course, I’m more than happy to teach you,” she purred, bending down to meet Lumine’s face. She blushed violently before quickly stepping away and started down the path leading back to the city, away from the Librarian’s echoing laughter. Goodness, she really needed to get a hold of herself.

Notes:

Okay so before anyone says anything, Lisa is NOT interested in Lumine in a romantic way. I just imagined her character to be very flirty because she enjoys it and the reactions people give her. I want her to be a more scholarly person, one who doesn't really want to fight, but will cut down anyone if she needs to and typically only if Jean orders her to. I thought of Lisa to be the more laidback side of the Knights, her demeanor being the thing that cuts through any tension. Like a deceivingly gentle person only lets out her claws if she wants to.
I used this chapter to give more insight on Lisa's character, a little introduction to Jean and an explanation to how domains work in my interpretation of Teyvat. The reason why Lumine isn't really in the know about what the crystal is and what the knights were doing is because she's an outsider. It didn't really make sense to me from a story telling perspective that the Knights would just let her in on information about what's going on so easily. So I diverged from canon a bit to make things more realistic. The plot will generally progress in the same way as the games, but the sources Lumine gets information from will be different.
I did end up changing Teyvatanese to Teyvatian, thanks to InlustrisNRobin and MunTiller for giving me the idea!
Next Chapter has us meeting Venti !!! ᕙ(^▿^-ᕙ)

Chapter 8: A/N

Summary:

OMFG THAT ARCHON QUEST

Chapter Text

GUYS IM LITERALLY SHIVERING FROM EXCITEMENT AFTER THAT ARCHON QUEST HOLY SHIT. I won’t say any details cuz people might not have done it yet and please don’t look at the comments if you haven’t, just in case there are spoilers down there.

I literally woke up 4 in the morning to do this quest and now I’m just itching to write cuz mihoyo gave me some very juicy lore. It was actually surprising cuz some of the details they made official were things I assumed for myself so I’m happy things worked out nicely. I’m also low key crying cuz I thought that last cutscene would be more heartfelt or angsty but it’s ok. We can do that in this story 😈.

I also wanted to make a point about future content and this story. I kept a few things purposefully vague so that it can be easy to no back and correct details as canon lore comes out. Most of it is the twins’ time before they were separated and some details about Khaenri’ah. Hopefully when more story content quests come out, things won’t change too much but if they do, I’ll try to keep it as close to canon as possible while keeping the original flow of ideas the same. So In the very end, there might be some differences with the game, but I’m trying to keep their lore the same as much as I can.

comment down below what you think about the new quest and to fangirl/boy with me! I’m so excitedddd!!!!!

Chapter 9: Diplomats and a Bard

Summary:

Lumine gets introduced to the Fatui, brings out the strange red crystal and meets a godly bard.

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

Lumine stared at the homework assigned to her by Lisa, completely unmotivated to do anything. It wasn’t very difficult, just writing the alphabet and practicing pronunciations, but Lumine found her mind wandering. 

Aether had always been the one to teach her languages. It was something that carried over from when they were young. He had picked up their native tongue faster and ended up tutoring her, and since then, he’s had the responsibility of teaching Lumine whenever they landed in a new world. It felt very odd to not feel him smack her lightly on the shoulder for screwing something up or hear his tenor voice say things slowly for her to repeat. 

Deciding that she couldn’t concentrate on the task right now, she got up from the desk in her room and jumped onto the bed. After making it back to the city, Lumine saw that people had begun to return and more knights were patrolling the area, already beginning efforts to repair any damages to the city. Lisa had taken her back to headquarters and true to Jean’s word, she was housed in a room as soon as she got back.

She wasn’t allowed to roam the streets of Mondstadt without an escort, and the only time she was allowed on her own was inside the headquarters, walking the path between her room and the library. Amber was the one who mostly followed Lumine around, unofficially assigned to Lumine to be her escort, and Lumine couldn’t be more relieved. 

Kaeya didn’t seem to trust her and Lumine didn’t want to walk on eggshells every time she was around him. Lisa...was too much. Lumine figured out that it was just the woman’s personality to be so forward when she watched the electro mage flirt with everyone she saw, so it was a weight off her shoulders to know that it wasn’t anything serious. But Lumine still didn’t want to talk to the librarian any more than necessary.

The house arrest wasn’t necessarily bad, as Lumine had a lot to learn about the world she was in. Lisa had started giving her language lessons whenever she had the time, and Lumine found her to be an amazing teacher. Lisa seemed to know exactly how to make her understand the inner workings and rules of Teyvatian and Lumine found herself picking it up quite fast. In addition to Teyvatian, Lisa had told her more about domains, visions and the archons. How monster drops, gemstones and natural materials made visions stronger and how the artifacts and skill books from domains worked. 

It seemed like certain artifacts worked together to boost certain aspects of people's powers. Lisa had a purple colored set strapped to her belt called Thundering Fury and she said it made her electro stronger and had gifted Lumine with a Berserker set, saying that she would score more effective hits on enemies if she wore these. So now, the newer artifacts took their spot on her satchel straps. Lisa had also shown her some leather, silver and gold books that hummed with energy, saying that they made attacks stronger once the vision absorbed them. They had talked for quite some time before Lumine decided it was enough for now, making her way to her room with her assigned homework for the day. 

Feeling bored, she decided to head to the library again to see if she could find a children’s book to practice reading with. Grabbing her satchel from the floor, she made her way down the familiar path to the library. When she was about to walk into the main hall, she felt an unnatural energy. It felt like Amber’s vision, but more...empty. There wasn’t any life to it and it seemed to lay dormant unlike all the other visions she’s felt. 

Peeking around the corner, she saw a figure dressed in purple and black with a sort of beaked mask covering their face and a hooded figure in red and black a few paces away, seemingly standing guard. The hooded figure seemed to be the one who held the lifeless energy but Lumine couldn’t spot exactly where it came from. 

“What are you doing?” A voice called, making Lumine squeak and quickly turn. Thankfully it had only been Paimon, who peeked around the corner herself to see what Lumine was looking at. 

“It looks like Jean is talking to someone, but she doesn’t seem very happy about it.” Paimon observed, moving over when Lumine joined her companion to spy on the little group in front of Jean’s office. She carefully eavesdropped on the faint voices, trying to get an idea of what the conversation was about. 

“-put an end to the monster-”

“Monster? I’d expect a more professional attitude from your diplomats. Yet here you are saying you want to 'put an end' to one of the Four Winds of Mondstadt?”

“It’s not as crazy as you make it sound. Fine. That’s enough negotiation for today. At this stage it’s simply...an amicable exchange in constructive opinions, no? I’ll be sure to make… thorough notes...”

With that, the pair of strangely dressed people left the building, leaving Jean to exhale harshly and make her way back into her office, the door shutting with a resounding thud.

“Enjoy the show?” A voice spoke right next to her. Lumine and Paimon shrieked together as Kaeya seemingly materialized from the darkness, flipping a coin in his hand as he looked down at them. “Though I must ask why our little guest is sneaking around corners, listening to conversations that aren't any of their business.”

Lumine floundered for a moment, trying to find the words to placate the man when Paimon cut in, “Were those the Fatui?”

Kaeya’s gaze sharpened at that and Lumine knew that was the wrong thing to bring up. “What do you know about the Fatui?”

“Only that they’re super famous. Wait, infamous is more the word...They follow the cryo archon don’t they?” Paimon explained, moving to hide behind Lumine as Kaeya met her eyes. 

“Yes, well, they’ve been quite bothersome these days. I sure would hope that they don’t have any moles or spies in our midst with how much information they seem to know.” Kaeya drawled, catching his coin before resting his hand on the hilt of his sword. 

Lumine shook her head quickly before pointing to the library door. “Go to Library.”

“I see...well I’ll leave you to it.” Kaeya turned around to leave when Lumine remembered something important. 

“Wait,” she called out, reaching into her bag to bring out the crystal the dragon left behind when she first saw it. Kaeya turned and his lone eye widened as he saw the scarlet gem glowing in her hands. “Dragon left it.”

“You didn’t think this was important enough to bring up earlier?” He asked her somewhat harshly as he checked around to see if anyone was watching. 

Lumine met his gaze head on and resolutely spoke, “Forgot.” 

“You’re just as insufferable as him,” he muttered under his breath before motioning her to follow him. Not bothering to knock, he threw open the door to Jean’s office and strode inside. “We have a lead!” 

Jean looked up to see Kaeya looking somewhat annoyed, with the traveler following close behind, holding a glowing red gem. Sighing, she put away some papers and pulled at a cord that was handing next to the wall. Within moments, a knock sounded on the door, opening momentarily to reveal Lisa. “You called?”

“It seems like Kaeya has got something for us.” Jean explained, motioning toward the cavalry captain.

“Not me, our esteemed guest has something to show us.” He deflected, moving to reveal Lumine more clearly. “It seems like Dvalin had left her a gift.”

She held out the crystal for them to observe and watched as Lisa immediately took charge of the discussion. “Hm...It’s a crystal embedded with some kind of power. I can already see some impurities in the crystal where the energy has been corrupted by something. Give me some time and I can take a look at the Library’s restricted section to figure out exactly what it is.”

“Right, I’ll leave the research to you then.” Jean responded.

“Understood. I’ll notify you all if I make any progress.” Lisa affirmed, reaching out to grab a hold of the crystal to take it with her. However, when her hand got close to the gem, it shone violently making Lisa yelp. “Ouch! That hurt!” 

Her vision suddenly shone as well and Lisa had to back away before her vision dimmed back to its dormant state. “I see, it appears to react to visions. The impurities and the elemental energy we expel seem to repel each other.”

“It’s strange that our guest has elemental abilities as well, but can hold it with no problem.” Kaeya hummed, rolling his coin between his knuckles as he watched the ordeal. “Anything you want to tell us?” 

Lumine could only shake her head, she didn't want to reveal her cards this early, especially when she didn't seem to have the trust of anyone in the room. Trust goes both ways and if she didn’t receive any, she couldn’t expect to give any to them in turn. 

“Well then, we’ll leave it in your hands Lumine.” Jean concluded, before turning around to grab a wax sealed envelope. “It’s also good timing for you to come to my office. These just got delivered to me this morning. Your identification papers were filed and registered travelers, and you’re officially allowed to be in Mondstadt. If you want to become a citizen, you’ll have to wait a while before you can try to apply for that status. For now, you’re registered as a person associated with the adventurer’s guild with no home country.” Jean explained, handing the envelope over to Lumine who accepted it gingerly. Observing the decorated paper, she showed it to Paimon who was cheering excitedly before putting it in her bag. 

“Once everything returns back to normal, and the Adventurer’s guild opens up again, Amber can take you through what the guild does and you can start making some money.” Jean continued, taking her seat again at her desk. “If that’s all, please excuse me, I have some work to get back to.”

Lumine turned to leave, feeling only Lisa follow her out the door. The Librarian immediately crossed the hall, entering the library without a word. She seemed in deep contemplation about something and Lumine guessed that she couldn’t bother her about anything at this point. 

She turned to catch sight of Kaeya just as the door to Jean’s office closed. His star shaped pupils were gazing thoughtfully at her and when her eyes met his, she couldn’t look away until the door cut off their eye contact. Well her plans to lay low have definitely burned to ashes, and it seems like she’s caught the attention of at least the cavalry captain.

“Let’s go explore the city! You’ve been cooped up in here these past couple weeks! Paimon has a lot to show you!” He companion urged, pulling at her hand while flying over to the door.

Lumine giggled at her excitement before pushing the door open. The cool crisp air felt nice on her skin and she leaned on the stone wall in front of the Knight’s headquarters. There were people milling about the plaza fountain and children played tag in the streets. It was surprisingly peaceful for a city that was just attacked not too long ago. 

“Hey Lumine, you didn’t tell them about your powers or that person we saw with the dragon.” Paimon whispered, glancing over at the guards by the doors. 

“No trust.” She murmured back.

“That makes sense, but we should probably tell them about that green weirdo later.” Lumine nodded at that, putting it on her mental to do list. “Hey look, there’s someone who looks like the guy we saw. Isn’t that a strange coincidence? Do that many people like to dress in green?” Paimon asked incredulously. 

Lumine turned to see a figure run down the stairs and duck out of sight. Her eyes widened at the familiar aura, and she vaulted over the wall to follow him. “Same weirdo!” She called out as she rolled into a landing. 

“What? Lumine wait!” Paimon called as she tried to keep up with Lumine who tore off, following the elemental traces the person left. Finally, Lumine stopped in an alleyway where the energy abruptly ended. 

Paimon panted behind her, sagging in the air and she smacked Lumine. “Give Paimon a warning next time! Where are we?”

“Can’t feel him.” Lumine groaned. Her target had slipped away from her. 

“Were you looking for me? Ehe~” A voice echoed in the alley and Lumine turned to see the person she had been chasing through the city. 

“Hey! You ARE the weirdo from before!” Paimon pointed at the newcomer. 

The young looking boy was indeed the same as the one they saw in the forest. Only now, he was carrying a lyre and a pouch of coins dangled by his side, clinking as he moved. “I am Venti the bard! Pleased to meet your acquaintance.” He spoke melodically, strumming the strings of his instrument leisurely. 

Lumine knew that name was fake. There might have been some doubt when she saw him in the forest, with her powers being new, she might have just been seeing things. But there was no mistaking it now. Venti had something that was inside him. Something that pulsated anemo energy and left traces of it everywhere. If she concentrated on her elemental sight, she could see the halo-like glow that surrounded the boy, shrouding him and giving him a divine glow.

“Not Venti. Barbatos.” She spoke, calling him out on his alias. Venti stopped strumming and looked into her eyes, iridescent green and blue meeting melted gold. 

He smiled at her, “Well, it looks like we have a lot to talk about don’t we, traveler?”

Notes:

I'm in a writing frenzy ever since that archon quest and I honestly think I'm gonna churn out 2 or 3 chapters out of sheer excitement today. XD But Lumine finally gets to roam around the city and starts to learn the language with Lisa. This is more of an intermediate chapter and I didn't expect it for this long, but things just developed and I only got to introduce Venti instead of finishing the thieving arc.
I think this was a good enough introduction to the Fatui considering she wasn't around Jean like in the game. Since they didn't really have a presence until the end of the Mondstadt arc with Signora, I think this much is fine for now. She revealed the crystal to them and things are progressing on that end and Venti finally gets to meet our golden eyes goddess. I don't really have much to say about this one cuz it's mostly just bridging some story points. The true excitement comes next chapter when we get to meet our favorite bartender <3 (Charles obv).

Chapter 10: Just A Little Thievery

Summary:

Lumine was never going to listen to Barbatos ever again.

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

Barbatos brought them to a massive tree, with thick roots and looming branches, creating a canopy that covered the entire area. “So what business does an outlander have in Teyvat?” he started, lounging on a low hanging branch. 

Lumine climbed up to a branch opposite him and perched on top of it, leaning on the trunk as she responded, “Looking for brother.”

“I see, is that what you prayed to me for?” Barbatos hummed, glancing over when Lumine nodded. “Well I’m sure my blessing will help with that, but you seem to have some interesting powers of your own.”

Lumine looked away, the reminder of her sealed powers rubbed salt in her wounded pride. “Powers sealed.” She spoke, letting light gather in her palms before it sputtered out.

“Hmm...well seeing how you can immediately recognize and track me easily, I don’t think they’re as sealed as you think. When I gave you your blessing, something connected between us, and I could feel your powers for a very brief moment. It was waiting, festering, and at one point in time, it’s going to break the container they’re in.” He spoke, creating a ball of anemo in his hands, before making it explode in a shower of sparkles. Lumine filed away the information for later, resolving to think about that more at a better time. “In any case, I'm afraid I’m going to ask for your assistance again.” 

Lumine perked up and snapped the glider wings out. Amber had gifted a pair of brown and dull gold ones to her on one of their days out, telling her to practice for the gliding exam. They weren’t the pretty blue that Amber had, but they did the job just as well the decorated wings did. “More flying?”

Barbatos laughed, “I don’t think I’ve seen anybody or anything as eager to get in the air as you!” 

Paimon gasped, “Is he the reason why you didn’t come down when the dragon attacked?” 

Lumine nodded and motioned for the god to continue. “Dvalin had fought against an evil dragon named Durin a long time ago. However, in his efforts to protect Mondstadt, he was poisoned by Durin’s blood and entered a deep slumber. When he woke, Mondstadt had forgotten and shunned him, leaving him to rot and his hatred to build. The Abyss Order seized that opportunity and turned him completely against the city. All this poison and grief is killing Dvalin, slowly consuming him whole.” 

Lumine thought back to the dragon’s appearance and connected the oozing crystal to the story Barbatos just told her. It certainly made sense. Suddenly, he brought out a familiar red crystal, gazing longingly at it. “Dvalin’s restorative tears have lost their pristine shine. What once healed, only poisons now.”

Recognizing it, she pulled out her own crystal, only it was no longer red. Whatever impurities the crystal had seemed to be purged as it shone a brilliant teal. It was easy to see the difference in the two, one radiating comfort while the other emanated malice. 

“Ohoho, well isn’t this an interesting sight. Have you purified it traveler? And you say your powers are completely sealed. I think not!” He laughed, switching their crystals. “Try to do it again.”

Lumine really didn’t know how it happened, as she just left it to sit in her bag. But she tried anyway, focusing on the impurities and bunching them together. Her head started to hurt, but she kept at it, bringing the malice close together and pulling it out. It fought against her control and tried to infect her, but she remained firm, containing it. On a whim, she tried using her light to destroy it and she felt her limited powers slowly eat away at the malice until nothing was left. 

She relaxed, opening her eyes to see another purified crystal. Letting out a long, shaky breath and Lumine collapsed against the tree trunk. Barbatos summoned some wind to help stabilize her and continued to support her as she recovered. “Your powers are truly something else my lady,” he murmured, staring at the shining crystal.

They sat in silence for a moment, Barbatos strumming a song as her breathing evened out. Remembering their conversation from before, Lumine spoke up again. “Abyss Order?” she asked, having heard the name once in passing at headquarters, but she didn’t think too much of it at the time. 

“Ah, you haven’t seen Abyss Mages yet, have you?” Barbatos surmised. 

“Paimon made sure to avoid the areas they’re usually in on our way to Mondstadt, so we didn’t see any!” Paimon reasoned, playing with a windwheel aster she plucked. 

“Well, they’re elemental mages that are particularly nasty to fight. Abyss Mages are part of an organization called the Abyss Order and they’ve been causing quite a bit of trouble. A lot of the hilichurls get used by the mages to attack cities and roads.” Barbatos explained, hopping down from the branch and prompting Lumine to do the same. 

“You’ll recognize what they are the second you see them, they don’t look anything like hilichurls. I personally don’t want to fight them. I just want to free Dvalin, and for that, I need my divine lyre! The cathedral currently has it protected, so we need to steal it!” He enthusiastically stated, winking at Lumine who stared at him incredulously.

“You realize we only JUST got permission to stay in Mondstadt?! And you want us to steal something from the cathedral?! And not just any old thing, but the HOLY LYRE DER HIMMEL!” Paimon screeched, chucking her flower at the god in frustration.

Barbatos merely summoned some wind to float the flower over to him, watching the petals spin freely. “Huh, is that what they’re calling it these days? But yes, my song is one of the few things that calms Dvalin enough to reason with him. I can’t imagine the Cathedral just giving it to me, even if I am an award winning bard, and you said yourself that you’re an outsider. So steal it we must! Though, since we’re going to give it back, borrowing would be a more apt term,” he reasoned, chuckling at their deadpan faces.

Paimon huffed at the laidback bard, “Paimon thinks you’re annoying! And annoying people should have annoying nicknames, so from now on, you’re going to be Tone-Deaf Bard!”

Barbatos only chuckled good naturedly as he looked to Lumine for her answer who bit her lip in thought. She didn’t want to get involved with this world’s affairs at all. Involvement always brought trouble, and she wasn’t in the position to defend herself if something went wrong. 

Lumine couldn’t afford any slip ups of any kind, but here he was asking her to steal something important. However, this was the Anemo Archon asking for her help, and if she refused him here, there’s a chance she’ll set fire to a bridge that could be useful in the future. She mentally screamed at the decision laid out in front of her, unsure of what to do. 

Finally, in a fit of insanity, she nodded. “I help.”

Barbatos, who was quiet the entire time waiting for her answer, brightened considerably and shot a beaming smile at her. “Much appreciated fair maiden! I shall write songs of you for generations to come!” 

“Yeah, yeah, Tone-Deaf Bard. Just tell us what we need to do.” Paimon grumbled, looking to Lumine to make sure that this was what she wanted. 

“Don’t worry! This should be a piece of cake!” Barbatos called, the winds picking them up to travel back to the city. “What could possibly go wrong?”


Everything went wrong. 

Lumine slumped into a chair, fighting to catch her breath as she wondered on why she had agreed to this plan in the first place. Paimon had hid in her little pocket dimension while she and Barbatos snuck down to the Cathedral’s basement in the dead of night. 

There were only knights patrolling the area, and it didn’t take much to sneak around them. Barbatos would send over a breeze to knock something over and while the guards went to check it out, the pair snuck past them. It was a fairly simple method, and Lumine wondered why the guards didn’t think it was odd things were just randomly falling over. Especially since one was a heavy bust of a man that couldn’t possibly have fallen from a stray breeze. But she wasn’t going to complain, not when it made her job easier.

Thinking they were in the clear, she and Barbatos had entered the lyre’s resting place. It was a beautiful instrument, with engraved, silver metal merging beautifully with carved dark wood. Lumine could feel the residual Anemo energy around it, but it looked dull and tarnished despite it’s pristine condition. 

Just as they were about to grab the instrument, a large crackling noise broke the stillness of the night. A purple clad woman seemingly teleported into the room holding a lantern that looked to have flies buzzing around inside of it. The stranger giggled at their stupefied faces, making a shushing motion with her finger and lips before grabbing the holy lyre and promptly making her getaway. 

The ruckus immediately caught the attention of the patrolling guards, and Lumine found herself becoming a fugitive. Barbatos had conveniently dissipated into thin air, even daring to give her a wink, leaving her to outrun the guards. She cursed the Anemo Archon under her breath as she ducked into an alleyway, holding her breath when her pursuers ran past. 

Not wasting any time, she walked into the closest open establishment, discovering it to be a tavern. Avoiding the inquisitive gaze of the red haired bartender, she made her way upstairs to catch her breath. Paimon popped out in distress, “Lumine, what are you going to do?! We never should’ve listened to that Tone-Deaf Bard! Oooh when Paimon sees him, Paimon’s going to-”

“Going to what?” A voice asked from beside her. She turned to glare at the bard who materialized beside her, giving her a cheeky wave. “It wasn’t that bad! We just have to find who took it. No big deal.” He shrugged with his hands out, closing his eyes. When he didn’t receive any response, he peeked an eye open to see the two glaring daggers at him.

“Alright, alright. I’m sorry. Though in my defense, I didn’t think someone would have the same agenda as us.” He apologized, scratching the back of his neck sheepishly, not meeting their eyes.

Lumine’s patience snapped and she opened her mouth to tear into him when the door thudded open, the clink of armor announcing the newcomers. “Ah, Master Diluc, have you seen two thieves around?”

“What happened? Why have you mobilized so many guards?” A voice, presumably the bartender, replied. 

“There were two thieves in the Cathedral, and they stole the Holy Lyre!”

“Oh? How odd.”

“Isn’t it? The Holy Lyre Der Himmel was played by the Anemo Archon themselves! To steal such a piece of cultural heritage-”

“Why would anyone want to steal something they can’t sell off? They’d be better off stealing a keg from my cellars.” 

Lumine muffled a laugh at the matter-of-fact statement. The complete self confidence and dismissal of the theft of the lyre left an awkward silence between the two parties, one that Lumine found hilarious. She bit her fist before she made an incriminating sound and listened to the conversation again. 

“Sorry, off topic. I believe they headed that way.” 

Lumine waited to see if they were coming up the stairs and sighed in relief to hear them leaving. Thankfully, coming in alone must’ve confused the bartender into thinking she wasn’t the thief, since the knights said it was a pair. Everyone let out the breath they were holding and relaxed. 

“So what are we going to do?” Paimon asked, but before anyone could reply. The cool steel edge of a large blade sat at her throat, causing everyone to freeze in place. Slowly, it began to heat up, and Lumine saw flames start forming around the claymore, the embers just barely licking her throat.

“I don’t know what was more foolish. Stealing the Holy Lyre Der Himmel, or walking into my bar after the fact.” 

Lumine slowly turned to meet glaring eyes, the flames of his sword reflected in them, making the crimson red seem even more menacing. Good lord. She was going to die today.

Notes:

So we finally get to meet Diluc and Lumine is now officially DoneWithBarbatos'sShit™ XD. I hope I nailed Barbatos's Venti personality cuz that was one of the things I was most concerned with. It took a lot of editing and back and forth decision making before I was satisfied. Point out anything that sticks out as odd to you guys cuz I've read this chapter over wayyyy too many times and the words are blurring lmao.
Mondstadt's main arc is gonna wrap up in another one or two chapters and that's when the fun truly beings *insert insane laughter and smiley devil face*. I'm so excited!!!!
Fun Fact: Dvalin could be related to a dwarf in norse mythology Dvalinn whose name means the "sleeping" or "slumbering one" which seems to be what all these anemo gods do hehe.

Chapter 11: The End of an Archon - Part I

Summary:

Two more people get added to Venti and Lumine's little adventure, a fearsome bartender and an acting grandmaster. Secrets are revealed and Lumine finds herself getting caught deeper into Mondstadt's affairs.

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

Lumine didn’t know what was worse. Being held at sword point, or the disappointed glare the acting grandmaster is leveling her with. The bartender surprisingly didn’t report them immediately, instead choosing to detain them to try and gain his own information. Finally, when it was apparent neither the bard nor she was going to talk, he summoned Jean over with a messenger hawk. 

Now the two of them were tied to the chairs they were seated in and waiting for judgement to be passed onto them. Venti was extremely nonchalant, something that annoyed Lumine to all end. He could always dissipate away and leave her to take the brunt of the crime. What on earth was she supposed to do? Go to jail? Paimon chittered angrily beside her, trying to wriggle free from her restraints. One of her feet was tied to one of the support beams of the bar to keep her from floating away, and it seemed to keep her from teleporting back into her little space as well. 

“Oh, I knew we shouldn’t have listened to that tone-deaf bard!” she huffed, slumping and crossing her arms. 

Said bard just chuckled and leaned back into his chair, jauntily humming a tune as Jean leveled her stare onto him. Completely unfazed, he gave her a grin and spoke, “Well hello, Master Jean!” 

“When I let you two into the city, and saw your chivalrous acts, I certainly didn’t think you two were such criminals. Trying to steal one of the city’s most precious treasures? Breaking into the cathedral? Do you realize the extent of your crimes?” Jean asserted, her words making Lumine feel guilty. But it wasn’t her place to reveal Venti’s secret, nor his affairs, so she kept quiet and let the scathing words wash over her. 

Venti finally glanced at her and seemed to take pity, because his smile dropped and face set into a more serious expression. “Unfortunately, you have the wrong people. We didn’t steal the lyre, but we did break into the cathedral. We have reasons to do so, and it’s in Mondstadt’s best interest that you let us go.” He spoke sweetly, leveling them with a look that was anything but sweet.

The red haired male scoffed, “Mondstadt’s best interests? What interests would that be? Selling the lyre off? Causing a distraction for knights? You’re nothing but a couple of thieves. I thought it was suspicious when I heard of a strange traveler arriving at Mondstadt, and you just confirmed my fears.”

Lumine grew frustrated, “Was not us!” 

“Yeah, we just listened to the stupid bard!” Paimon exclaimed, tugging at her restraints again.

“You two were seen fleeing the cathedral with no one else around. Do you really expect us to believe that? Now tell us where you put the lyre. Jean may be a part of the knights and may have a moral code, but you will find that I lack such principles.” The male growled, his claymore starting to alight once more. 

“Diluc.” Jean admonished, waving him back. The newly named Diluc scoffed once more, before retreating. 

Lumine leveled a pleading look towards Venti, she couldn’t afford to be jailed or have anything stop her from finding her brother. Something must have shown in her expression, because Venti sighed and started to speak. “Alright, alright. Our motives are best explained with the story of Dvalin, and what has become of him.” 

Venti spun the tale of Dvalin, his battle with Durin, his period of sleep and the way Mondstadt had abandoned one of the four winds. But it didn’t seem to do anything to alleviate the situation.

“What does that have to do with the lyre?” Diluc questioned, crossing his arms.

“Well, the Holy Lyre is one of the only things that can calm Dvalin enough to reason with him. When played by the hands of a talented bard, music can calm the most ferocious of hearts.” Venti mused. 

“And that bard is supposed to be you?” Jean questioned incredulously. 

“Of course it’s got to be me, I'm Barbatos!” Venti exclaimed proudly. Lumine felt herself lose all hope with that sentence. Great, now they weren’t only thieves but also clinically insane. That is not the way to break the news to people that you’re a god.

“Jean, it’s clear we’re not going to get anything out of them. Just lock them up and start searching treasure hoarder camps around the area.” Diluc groused, tired of the bard’s shenanigans. 

Lumine felt herself panic, “No!” 

“The tone-deaf bard really is Barbatos!” Paimon screeched, not wanting to go to jail either. 

Jean sighed, ignoring them, “Maybe that’s the best course of action Diluc. Can I trust you in bringing them there?”

“Of course, I’ll make sure they’re locked up.” Diluc nodded, strapping his claymore to his back and making his way toward them. Lumine struggled as he walked closer. This seriously can’t be happening, she needed to find her brother! Anemo energy whipped around her the more she got agitated, causing some fliers plastered on the walls to flap about wildly. 

“I find myself losing patience,” Diluc snarled, the air around him growing unbearably hot.

“As do I,” Venti spoke coldly, his usual cheer and comic manner disappearing completely. In a flash, he was out of his restraints and Lumine felt him release the lock that bound his powers. 

Turning her head, she spotted his braids and eyes glowing violently, energy wreathing him in a blinding halo and forming into a pair of feathery wings. For a moment, his outfit changed, becoming white and fairly scandalous as a single white cloth seemed to wrap around him, keeping him modest. Jewelry dangled from his neck, clinking in a gentle melody as they moved and a hood shrouded his head as he gently floated. 

His energy was wild and cutting, clearly reflecting his current mood as he slammed Jean and Diluc to the tavern wall with a wave of his hand. There they struggled, trying to move despite there being no physical restraints on them. “You would do well to remember your place,” He spoke harshly. “You mortals failed Dvalin, and now you seek to delay his recovery.” 

Lumine started at his uncharacteristic malice, not recognizing the bard she met in the god anywhere. “Venti.” She spoke softly, rubbing her wrists after the winds cut her free. Just as fast as he transformed, he locked his powers back up. Where there was an oppressive pressure, stood a meek bard once again, an unnervingly wide grin on his face. 

“I really didn’t want to do that, but you had left me no choice. Are you listening now?” Venti smiled sunnily, as Diluc and Jean slumped to the ground, panting. It took them a moment before they could stand up once more. Immediately, Jean dropped into a bow, her hands shaking as she prostrated in front of Venti. 

“Lord Barbatos, I-”

“I’m not quite sure who you’re talking about Grandmaster Jean, my name’s Venti, the bard!” He denied, clearly projecting his stance on the matter. 

“Yes, yes of course…” Jean got up slowly, glancing toward Diluc who seemed to reevaluate his assessment of them. 

“Well, now that that’s over, we must get going. The lyre isn’t going to find itself!” Venti chattered, making his way back to the tavern exit.

“Wait, I have informants that may prove useful. I suggest you leave finding the lyre to me, as I doubt you’d get it done faster than I do. The knights of Favonius are ever inefficient and I doubt you’d know where to look.” Diluc countered, glancing an apology at Jean when he insulted the knights. 

“Well then, we shall look for more of Dvalin’s tears. The original lyre’s gemstones must be useless by now.” Venti agreed, looking to Lumine for her agreement.

“I’ll join, we can cover more ground if we split up.” Jean acquiesced, “I’ll make sure this stays out of the records. Consider me as a helping hand, rather than the Acting Grandmaster.”

Venti smiled at her and nodded his thanks. Lumine sighed as everyone entered an uneasy truce. “Though I must ask, Lumine, how you came across this operation in the first place.” Jean questioned. 

Lumine hesitated, thinking about whether she should reveal any cards, before deciding to show one, “Recognized Barbatos.” 

“What?” Diluc questioned, not quite understanding what exactly that meant, but Lumine didn’t acknowledge him, choosing to follow Venti to the door. 

As soon as they stepped out, Diluc locked the tavern up, and disappeared into the night, presumably looking for the lyre. There was a moment before Jean suggested scouring the woods near Cider Lake for tears, as the dragon frequented the area. 

Together, they gathered quite a few tears, and even had to battle some monsters for them. One of which was a mechanical creation that Lumine was sure she had seen before, but it wasn’t nearly as aggressive and was more controllable. They ventured into a domain where Diluc caught up to them, stating that he had recovered the lyre and it was safe at his winery. Together, they made quick work of the hilichurls and obtained the last tear they would need. 

“The Fatui are behind the theft of the lyre,” Diluc explained as they exited the domain. “I’m sure they were trying to seize the chance to cause more chaos and sink their nails further into Mondstadt.”

“I hear you were declared ‘persona non grata’ by the Fatui,” Jean teased, as she healed the team from their fights. Lumine got to see first hand the strength of the Grandmaster, and she wasn’t disappointed. While her anemo abilities seemed to be geared more toward healing, her swordsmanship was nothing to laugh at. Diluc was even stronger than that, his attacks heavy and despite the weight of the claymore, almost as fluid as Jean’s. His flames burned everything that stood in his way and it shocked her just how skilled the bartender was at cutting his enemies down. 

“Who’s ever declared to be ‘persona grata’ by the Fatui. In any case, I’m honored. They’re the scum of scummy people. Diplomacy is the last thing they ever do, a ruse for the dealings that happen under the table. If I had to choose between eating a cryo slime, or joining the Fatui, I’d rather be crushed to death by a meteorite.” He deadpanned. 

Lumine couldn’t hold in a snicker at that, the sheer sarcasm and drama he exuded in that moment was far too amusing. Together, they made their way to Diluc’s winery, reaching the vineyard in the middle of the night. The winery was deserted, and Diluc slipped into a room only to reemerge with the lyre. 

Venti brought out the crystals they collected and gestured to Lumine, “If you would please, Lumine.” 

“What’s the traveler doing?” Jean questioned. 

“Our friend here has quite the skillset, including purifying these crystals.” Venti explained.

“I don’t recall you being able to do that at headquarters, “ Jean questioned as Diluc watched the handoff carefully. 

“Learned later, “ she responded softly, taking the teardrops from Venti. Concentrating, she forced all the impurities into one area again, extracting the poison and purging it with her light. However, she hadn’t expected the strain purifying several crystals would take on her, and she felt herself sway on her feet. 

Immediately, Diluc grasped her before she fell and nodded toward Jean who began to heal her. “That’s quite an interesting ability,” he murmured, gazing thoughtfully at the now shining, teal crystals. 

“It’s hard to believe until it’s happening right in front of your eyes,” Jean agreed, watching Lumine’s complexion lighten to its usual peach. 

Venti touched Lumine and sent his own energy to her to help her regain her strength, “I’ll take it from here.” He grasped his lyre gently and pried the old gemstones out of their places in the lyre’s exquisite decoration. They vanished in a shower of sparkles, and a bright glow filled the room as he transferred the new ones to the lyre. Once the process was complete, the lyre was visibly changed. It shone with life and energy raced through the engravings, giving the instrument a soft glow. 

“Now, where shall we summon Dvalin?” Venti questioned the group. Lumine remembered a secluded cliffside she had explored when she came to the mainland, and pulled out her map. Rolling it open, she pointed toward the cliff, watching as they studied the area trying to figure out where it was. 

“Starsnatch Cliff,” Diluc concluded the same time Jean recognized the area. 

“Yes, secluded...high vantage point…It seems like a good location to summon a dragon.” Jean hummed thoughtfully. 

“Alright then, I’ll meet you there!” Venti cheered before pulling his usual disappearing trick with a cheeky wink. Lumine sighed, used to his antics as the other two jumped at the sudden departure. 

“I’d almost forgotten who he was,” Jean lamented.

“Doesn’t really fit the description does he?” Diluc spoke, grabbing some supplies to put in a large pack. Lumine stopped him for a moment before upending the large bag into her little pouch. 

“What are you doing? There’s no way that’s going to-” Diluc stated, annoyed, only to gape in disbelief as rolls of bandages, equipment and food went into the little bag with no difficulty. 

“That’s-” Jean couldn’t form a coherent sentence at the frankly mind breaking event in front of her. “Traveler, you have a lot to explain.” 

Lumine nodded her acceptance, it would help to have some powerful people to be in the know about her, and she felt that she could trust these two at the very least. 

“Well then, let’s make our way out.” Diluc stated, holding the door open for the ladies, eyeing Lumine’s bag as she walked by him. It was time to summon a dragon.

Notes:

It's been a while! I had finals and some personal matters to sort out and it took a while for me to pick back up the flow of the story, but I'm back! I hope u guys enjoyed my take on the tavern scenes, and my portrayal of how the characters would have acted. I had Lumine start to show off some of her powers in an effort to garner some of their trust, as well as have some people in power who know about her situation and can bail her out if she needs their help. I had Venti go off a little because while he seems very nonconfrontational, I also feels like he would do anything to try and save the few friends he has left. It's hard to remember that this guy fought wars when he seems so childish and easy going. This chapter and the next will wrap up the Prologue for the archon quests and then we can go into some story quests and some of my headcanons as well as some character interaction chapters :). I'm so excited to see your reactions once i reveal some of the things I was thinking about :)))

Chapter 12: The End of an Archon - Part II

Summary:

Lumine reveals a few things and their fight with Dvalin approaches.

EDIT: Changed a few things in this chapter cuz I didn't quite like the flow of it and it didn't feel complete to me. You should probably reread. 12/26/21

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

The air around Starsnatch Cliff was crisp and cool as the gentle breeze ruffled the group’s hair and teased their clothing. It truly was a beautiful place with white flowers that danced in the wind and Lumine resolved to visit once more when this whole ordeal was over with.

Together they moved to the edge of the pointed cliff and watched as Venti strummed lightly. Slowly, he built a nameless song up, his playing growing more complex and intricate, as his power unfurled. The lyre glowed an ethereal white, while his braids lit up once more. The music reverberated throughout the land, despite the fact it was only a soft lyre, filling the air with it’s melody.

Lumine found herself relaxing, the gentle caress of the song unwinding the tension that built up over the days. The lyre was one of the instruments she hadn’t mastered yet. Maybe she’d give it a go during this journey.

Venti played for another minute, when Lumine felt something reach the edges of her senses. Snapping her head up, she squinted in the distance, catching the attention of her other party members. 

“Traveler?” Jean asked, squinting as well, but ultimately not seeing anything of worth.

“Dragon. He’s coming.” Lumine stated, just beginning to see the spec of blue speeding towards them.

“And how exactly do you know that?” Diluc groused, mentally adding another question to his already mile long list of inquiries on the traveler.

Lumine glanced at him from the corner of her eye and subtly smirked at his irritation at not being informed. A control freak huh? She always had fun with those. Throwing caution to the wind, she let her normally neutral expression curve into a cheeky smile as she threw a wink at him. He narrowed his eyes at her at the action and she giggled lightly tapping her lips. “Secret~” She said softly. Paimon sniggered at that, and pulled a face at the winery owner. 

She definitely got the impression that the grumpy bartender didn’t enjoy that interaction as much as she did. Especially when his hand instinctively reached for the handle of his claymore when she spoke. Skipping out of his reach, she joined Venti at the cliff point and pointed out to the now identifiable dragon that was rapidly approaching. “Look.”

“How did you see that?” Diluc muttered incredulously as he quickly retreated from the cliffside. Jean followed, beckoning for Lumine to do the same. She hesitated for a moment, but a firm nod from Venti gave her the reassurance she needed to leave him to his own devices.

They watched as the two had a silent conversation, anemo energy intermingling between the two as they conversed. But something seemed to go wrong, and Lumine saw a purple hazy smoke start to envelop the dragon’s energy. That’s when she spotted the abyss mage and ran to separate the poison from Dvalin, but it was too late. 

The dragon gave an unholy screech and beat its wings at them, producing a gust that blew all four people back, sending them tumbling. By the time they recovered, the dragon was long gone, their attempt at bringing the dragon back to rationality was thwarted. 

Diluc rose with a groan, “Now what?”

“The lyre is beyond repair,” Venti spoke, a strange emptiness in his voice as he held the mangled instrument up.

“Goodness, Barbara is going to kill us,” Jean muttered, spying the state of the lyre.

“It’s clear that the Abyss Order is behind this. What’s our next course of action?” Diluc surmised, looking toward Venti for direction.

“I may know where Dvalin will be, but it’s dangerous. No one’s stepped in Old Mondstadt in ages.” Venti explained, making his way down the cliff.

“Old Mondstadt?” Jean asked.

“I believe you call it Stormterror’s Lair in this age. It’s the wind barrier sealed area that Dvalin returns to. He’s made it into his home of sorts.” Venti explained.

“There’s a reason why it’s been untouched, the wind barrier is not exactly the easiest to get rid of.” Diluc snarked.

“Barbatos,” Lumine pointed out, gesturing to the bard while giving a deadpan stare. 

Cowed, Diluc glanced away and motioned for them to continue their journey down Starsnatch Cliff. They spent their journey in solemn silence, their failure imprinted into their minds before Jean broke the silence.  “Traveler, you still have a lot to explain.”

Lumine chewed on her bottom lip briefly as she thought about how to approach this. She didn’t know how much the people of this world were receptive to outlanders that were not even a part of their world. And was this the best time to open such a big can of worms? They couldn’t afford to be distracted with her while on this mission. Making her decision, she turned to give a minute shake of her head. “Wait. Save Dvalin. Then I tell.” 

Diluc tsked at that, “You seem to be unforthcoming of any information when we have been readily aiding you. I fail to see how that’s fair.”

“Paimon doesn’t like your tone mister. Lumi doesn’t have to tell you anything!” Paimon argued, crossing her arms at the red haired man.

“Long story. Impossible story.” She replied, turning away from him, closing the topic firmly.

She could feel the anemo and pyro users have a whispered conversation behind her back, but that didn’t bother her. They’d get their answers, she did need some allies, but not at this moment. They had too much at stake. 

Venti glanced back at her, regarding her for a moment before coming to a conclusion of sorts. “Your secrets are safe with me, I will not speak about your powers unless you do so.” A voice echoed in her head. Giving him a thankful nod, they continued on. 

They reached Old Mondstadt during nightfall, and decided to set up camp before entering the dragon’s lair at dawn. 

“I don’t require rest like you mortals, and I suspect that this barrier will take a while to take down considering the sheer amount of energy that Dvalin has spun together. It’s more likely that I’ll only be able to open a hole we can go through, rather than taking down the whole barrier.” Venti murmured, gazing at their path ahead.

“Then Paimon’s going to sleep! I’ll see you later Lumine!” She cried, popping into her subspace, startling the others. 

“Understood. I suppose we’ll make camp under the trees so we’re hidden by the shrubbery, should some monsters wander by.” Jean affirmed, looking warily at the spot Paimon disappeared, but making no comment. 

“I’ll take the first watch,” Diluc spoke quietly, gaze turned downward while he pondered something. After a moment, he jerked his head toward Lumine’s pouch. “Do you have our supplies?”

Lumine nodded and stuck her hand into her pouch to summon the items needed. She watched his eyes narrow in contemplation and decided to have a little more fun. Snickered lightly, she reached further and further until her arm up to her elbow was well within the bag. Smirking at the vein that pulsed against his forehead, she pulled out the two tents, some wood, food and flint. 

Soon enough, they had a clay pot settled into the fire, cooking some radish veggie soup. Venti had left the group, declining dinner and started to work on ripping a hole through the barrier.

“I suppose you won’t divulge what exactly that bag is?” Diluc snarked, sipping at his meal. 

Lumine decided to throw him a bone to get him off her back just a little, and once this was over, she supposed she could trust these people enough to help her out with her own mission. “Space magic.” 

“Come again?” Jean asked incredulously. “Our world is full of strange and amazing abilities and our visions are certainly one of them, but even I can’t quite believe that you’re able to bend space time.” 

Lumine thought about it for a second before reluctantly making her mind up. “Give object.”

Confused, Jean handed her a stick, but Lumine shook her head. “Always have.”

“Something that I always have?” Jean asked, answered with Lumine’s nod. “I suppose I have my vision on me constantly.” Jean pondered. Lumine figured she wasn’t going to relinquish her vision anytime soon, gently scooted towards Jean and gently caressed the gem hanging from the knight’s hip. She jolted, but didn’t do anything, watching Lumin’s actions. 

“Sword.” Jean started but handed her Favonius Sword over. 

“What are you doing?” She questioned as Lumin rested her left hand on the blade with her right on Jean’s vision, but Lumine didn’t answer merely closing her eyes in concentration. She let her energy mingle with the vision’s taking note of the way it felt almost alive, protective towards its owner. Ignoring the sentience and feelings that emanated from the gem, she treated it like an object and infused it with enough energy to store Jean’s sword. 

Lumine let the sword take its place in Jean’s vision and she knew it was doing its job when Jean gasped and Diluc stood abruptly. “What are you doing,” Diluc ground out, unnerved by Jean’s weapon simply disappearing into thin air.

Lumine opened her eyes when she felt the weight from her lap disappear. Turning to Jean she instructed, “Focus on Sword. Imagine in hands.”

“What do you mean?” Jean muttered, flustered, searching around for her sword. Lumine clasped both her hands and peered into her eyes. “Focus.” 

Jean nodded and relaxed, closing her eyes, she imagined her faithful blade. She felt a foregin energy at the edge of her senses and grasped at it. She felt the traveler let go of her faintly when the foreign sense suddenly turned into a flash of hot and white light, almost uncomfortable in its intensity. Suddenly, she felt a weight in her hands. Opening her eyes, she was shocked to see her blade in her hands. 

“You really can manipulate space,” Diluc murmured, eyes wide. Lumine smiled slightly and turned to Jean again. “Imagine going away. Will go to vision.” Jean, transfixed with her newfound ability, started phasing her sword in and out of existence.

Diluc stared at Lumine across the fire when Jean grew distracted. “Who- no what are you? You’re no simple outlander. Your dress never gets dirty, you can control space and have Anemo abilities without holding a vision.”

Lumine held his gaze and sent him an assuring look, “No distraction. Save Dvalin first.”

“I will hold you to that,” Diluc warned. Lumine just smiled warmly at him and passed over another bowl of soup. 

***

Morning came, and with it was Venti’s announcement that he breached the barrier. Wasting no time, they packed up their campsite and made their way to Dvalin’s home. Lumine walked through the barrier and was immediately hit with saturated Anemo energy. Tornados whipped up in places where it turned volatile and Lumine could feel additional barriers surrounding the center spire. The entire place felt lonely, a large ruin that used to be bustling with life. Now, with no signs of liveliness present, riddled with monsters, only a reminder of a time long forgotten. 

Lumine breathed in the air and felt her energy respond, passively purifying the trace toxins that lingered. No doubt the monsters were attracted to such energy, especially corrupted energy like Dvalin’s, the entire place was riddled with all kinds of them. They crossed the long bridge to move further inward, avoiding the monsters that lingered on the outskirts of the ruins. Lumine took to looting the nearby chests and eliminating monsters that strayed close to their path.  

“Do you often collect monster drops?” Diluc asked when he caught sight of Lumine picking up some hilichurl masks, as they made their way to the center spire. Lumine nodded, “Want?”

“What do you have?” Diluc looked down at her, curious. Lumine struggled to answer, not knowing the right names for them, and instead pulled out an assortment of items to show him. 

“I’ll take a look when we get the chance. Thank you for the offer,” DIluc muttered when Venti motioned for their attention. 

“I’ll start a wind current here for us to glide upwards, “Venti instructed them. Making their way up, she landed on a floor seemingly made with energy, but one she hadn’t encountered before.

“Strange, this one doesn’t seem to be Dvalin’s work. The energy is not Anemo, and seems to be coming from the contraption over there. Hmm….actuators if I remember correctly. Ancient technology that people don't really see these days. We have to supply them with light particles. It’s not difficult work with a place saturated in energy like this. But I suspect the monsters will be attracted to them so be ready for a fight. Collect three and just put them into the actuator. The barriers should be taken down and give us access into Dvalin’s abode.” Venti explained, showing them the actuator and a large light particle he grabbed from the top of the tower. 

The three nodded their assent and split off to find an actuator each. Lumine headed down to one she saw on their way to the center spire and gathered the light particles that were nearby. True to Venti’s word, as soon as she supplied them to the actuator, monsters wormed out of the woodwork. Feeling herself tense in anticipation, she let Anemo build around her and let loose. 

Twirling to behead a hilichurl, she felt something tickle at the edge of her senses. Something familiar. Looking in its direction, she squinted up at the cliffside that bordered the area, searching for the familiar sensation, but it disappeared as fast as it came. Mentally making a note, she made quick work of the rest of the monsters and activated the actuator before making her way back up to Venti. 

“Done already, Traveler?” Venti asked, strumming at his lyre. Lumine nodded before gazing at his lack of a weapon. Rummaging through her pack, she brought forth bows that she found in her travels. Venti hesitated, the note he started to play falling sour. “How did you know my weapon of preference?” He asked, dismissing his lyre and standing up. 

Lumine shrugged, “A feeling.” She set them out in front of him and motioned for him to take his pick. She frowned at his lack of motion, and gazed at his conflicted expression. Understanding dawned on her, and she realized what exactly she had just proposed to Venti. 

Gently, she placed her hand on his shoulder and spoke, “To defend, not harm.” Venti glanced at her, before exhaling shakily. 

“Yes, I suppose so.” Taking a green and brown bow from her hands, he let his energy course into it, making it larger and more elaborate in design. The energy crystallized, making the newly formed bow look like delicate glass, and the string made a melodic twang when Venti tugged at it, the note resonating with the wind. 

“Will you promise me something, Traveler?” Venti asked earnestly, turning to meet her eyes. Lumine nodded, taken aback by the pleading tones that underlined his voice. 

“Please, save him,” he said simply, looking towards the horizon where the sun started to set. “Do everything in your power to set him free from his prison.”

Lumine felt determination steel her spine. She knew what it felt like to lose someone so close to her, and she would not let it happen again. “Promise.”

Venti smiled gratefully at her, and schooled his expression when he felt a portal in the center of the spire begin to open up. “The other two must have succeeded in their task. They should be here shortly.”

True to his word, it only took a few minutes for Diluc and Jean to return. They readied their supplies and stood in front of the swirling mass of energy. “This is it. Dvalin’s home is through this gate. Attack the corrupted crystal on his neck after I take his shields down, the traveler will take it from there.” Venti spoke, walking closer to the portal. With one last look towards Lumine, Venti stepped forward. Together, they entered the portal to finally rid Dvalin of his festering curse.

Notes:

So they finally get to Dvalin and Lumine gives out some magic to Jean. TBH it's just my explanation on how our party members' weapons seemingly flash in and out of existence. It's more of an intermediate chapter than anything as I get back into the groove of things so I can do the next chapter justice. I also rly just love teasing Diluc. Something about his serious face slowly crumbling just makes me laugh maniacally. I hope ya'll enjoy it after a rly long break. Finals are almost over so expect more updates over winter break :)) Hopefully I can get most of mondstadt done and start Liyue before school starts back up again but we'll see.

EDIT: Rly wasn't liking this chapter so I went back to it. I was actually really struggling with it until I started playing the Genshin concert music to get my head in the game and everything started falling into place. I like this version much more that the older one. Didn't change too much, but added some character interaction and put Paimon back in cuz I lowkey kinda forgot about her XD

Chapter 13: The End of an Archon - Part III

Summary:

:)

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

Diluc Ragnvindr was a rational man. He took it upon himself to protect when no one else would and for quite a while, things were quiet within his sphere of influence. He supposed all this began to change when he got reports of a strange traveler that was skulking around in the woods surrounding the city. He paid no mind to it, there were always odd types around in the wild, like that one boy who was more animal than man. 

He kept an eye on her when she entered the city walls, but didn’t spare her too much thought. He had other problems on his hands, like the encroaching Fatui influence on Mondstadt. All of that got turned on its head when he saw her have an airborne battle with the dragon above his city. 

Immediately, Diluc grew wary. Power and skill like that does not show up from thin air, and there was always a reason for such strength to suddenly make its presence known. Diluc worried for the state of his city, especially when he lost track of the stranger’s movements. 

However, much to his surprise, he found himself looking at the blonde, trying to catch her breath in his tavern. Now that he had a chance to look at her up close, he immediately knew some part of her was not human. There was an ethereal presence about her, with the way she moved and talked. Then the guards came in, and he knew he had to take action and gain information before the Knights got ahold of her again. 

Diluc was expecting his usual interrogation. A normal thief looking to start trouble, or a spy of some sort. He was expecting for this to be a cut and dry case. He should have known better than to expect the expected from the unexpected, and the golden eyed traveler was the poster child of the unexpected. He somehow got introduced to the god of his land and was immediately put in his place. And somehow, the outlander knew about it before he, the uncrowned King of Mondstadt, did. The entire situation was just asinine.

Every turn of the way, when Diluc felt like he understood what the traveler was, that he was in control, he was immediately proven wrong. She continuously surprised him, with her abilities, with her personality and with her mystery. For the first time in a long while, he felt powerless, being pulled along for the ride. The last time he felt like this was following his father’s death, and he was not a fan of returning to that time. 

But watching the traveler once again cartwheel through the air to ground Dvalin to the platform’s present in his home, he thought that he would never regain control as long as she was around. He could tell Jean felt the same way, she was never good at hiding her feelings from him. 

As soon as they entered the Dragon’s home, they were assaulted and barely managed to stay on the very few pieces of stable ground. The dragon was relentless with its aerial attacks, causing Barbatos to send the traveler to the air. Diluc was never skeptical of her skills, but it was something else to watch her in such close proximity. 

For a landborn traveler, she was extremely adept in the air. Shockingly so, as if she belonged in the air more than the land, and gave him more questions to add to his growing list. But at times, it would feel like he wasn’t seeing her full capabilities. She would suddenly botch a maneuver every now and then, when the gliders wouldn’t respond to her body’s turns. It was curious. But he didn’t have time for more idle thought, the traveler had succeeded, and the Dragon was at attacking range. Hefting his Claymore, he coated his blade with flames and sprinted to battle.

***

Lumine felt her heart clench as she attacked the dragon’s shields to get close to it. While she saw and felt rage from Dvalin at the city, she could only feel loneliness and sorrow now. Lumine felt the hesitation behind every arrow shot from Venti, and it only got worse the more the dragon cried out. 

It’s painful and hurt croons filled the wind that whipped around them, and faintly, she heard Barbatos hum out a melody of some sort when she got close, as if he was trying to placate the dragon. Jean and Diluc were doing an admirable job against a divine creature, a testament to their strength, but she could tell they were starting to get fatigued. 

With renewed vigor, she dove out of the way of a blast and sent out a blade of Anemo at the dragon. Jean surrounded the area in her energy and Lumine felt her fatigue start to lift. Sending a grateful nod towards the Acting Grandmaster, she coordinated another windblade with Diluc’s attack. His Pyro flames were absorbed and magnified by the Anemo and it sent out a sweltering wave of air. 

Suddenly, Dvalin’s energy levels plummeted and the shield around the dragon shimmered and fell. “Don’t attack!” Venti yelled when Diluc went to take another swing at the Dvalin. “It’s shields are down!” 

Diluc redirected his swing and the greatsword hit the stone instead. Looking incredulously up at Venti, he screamed, “What?”

Venti paid him no heed and gripped Lumine’s arm, his entire demeanor felt drained. “Please.” 

Lumine carefully tugged herself free and sent him an assuring nod. Sprinting to Dvain’s neck, she scampered up to the jewel that looked even more corroded and rotten away from the poison than before. Thick, purple veins had also begun to spread from the neck to the other areas and Lumine watched as they grew in length and size faster and faster. 

They had taken his shields down to help, but with them down, the poison was also given the chance to spread. Deciding to remove the source of the infection, she started hacking away at Dvalin’s horn, but it was going to take too much time. Frustrated, she reached for her pouch to grab another weapon when she saw something hurtle toward her from the corner of her eye. Just barely catching the handle of the greatsword, she peered down to see Diluc with his arm outstretched. 

Nodding in thanks, she swung in strong strokes, ignoring the pained cries of Dvalin. Venti had moved to stand near his face, caressing Dvalin’s cheek and pressing his forehead against the suffering creature. Within a few swings, she cut the crystalline horn off of Dvalin, but the dragon still remained tense and in pain. 

Confused, Lumine reached out with her energy and began prodding around. Her heart dropped when she realized she took too much time. The poison had already spread too far. There was no way she could purify the rest on her own. 

Pained, she looked at Venti, who seemed to arrive at the same conclusion. Grief painted the God of Wind’s face as he turned back toward the dragon. 

“Dvalin. Please. Old friend. Do not leave me like the rest,” he begged, clutching at the feathers on Dvalin’s face. “Please.”

Dvalin only opened his eyes a sliver and crooned lowly, a final offering of farewell. 

“No, I won’t let this happen.” Venti muttered, standing to his full height and unlocking the chains on his powers once again. “Traveler, I’m going to do something stupid. Please, help me.” 

Lumine stared at him confused when he turned bright, transforming back to his divine visage. Suddenly, she started feeling some poison receding from Dvalin. Shocked, she concentrated on the energy and cursed when she realized Barbatos was taking some of the burden for himself. 

Lumine turned to the open wound she inflicted. Hovering her hands over the area, she called for her power and began purifying the area. She felt her exhaustion grow as she worked, something of this scale was normally a walk in the park, but she found it extremely difficult. As if sensing her struggle, Jean’s energy once again filled the area, giving Lumine a much needed boost. Mentally thanking her, Lumine continued to work, containing and purging the poison. 

Pained cries from something that sounded more human suddenly reached her ears and she gritted her teeth, watching Barbatos fall to his knees, gasping for breath. His hands had begun to turn purple, and the color was slowly working their way up his arms. She was running out of time. 

Desperation flooded her. She couldn’t stop her brother from getting stolen away, and now she was powerless yet again. Unable to do anything to stop the tragedy that was about to occur. She reached and reached, grabbing any last threads of her power and forcing them to bend to her will. Lumine didn’t want it to happen again, she will not let it happen again.  

With a pained yell, she plunged her hands into the mix of blood and poison and flooded her energy into Dvalin. She felt something snap for the briefest moments and her powers ran free, and wild. Light flooded the area and energy whipped at her surroundings. 

Lumine felt the poison simply burn away when faced with her light. There was a cacophony of noise as Barbatos, Dvalin and Lumine all yelled at the pain and then it was silent. The blinding light receded and all the poison on Dvalin was purged. 

Venti braced himself against the ground and panted, lingering poison present in his energy and spindly, purple veins crisscrossing around his limbs. Some of his feathers were stained purple and some had molten, mixing with the puddle of blood that had been split from Dvalin. 

Lumine smiled at the scene. Everything would be okay. She did it. The pain that she ignored came back in full force, and she felt herself sway, no strength left in her. Losing her balance, she fell from Dvalin’s back and into the darkness that welcomed her with open arms.  

***

It was soft, whatever she was lying on. Someone was playing music, the melody filling the room. Cool water moved across her arms and torso. She let out a sigh at the soothing sensation. It stopped momentarily, but started again with an increased vigor. 

“Traveler, are you awake?” A young female voice asked her. She tried to respond, but no words would come out. After a few moments of struggling, Lumine finally managed to pry her eyes open and immediately shut them as light assaulted her. 

“Oh, I'm so sorry. Let me draw the curtains for you.” The voice exclaimed, making Lumine wince from the volume. When she felt the sunlight that hit her eyelids disappear, she tried opening them once more. Blinking to clear her vision, she spotted Venti in the corner of the room, bandages up his arms, lyre in hand. He assessed her condition before turning to the other occupant in the room. 

It was a young girl that looked an awful lot like Jean, with light blonde hair and pale blue eyes. Adorned with a white and blue dress decorated with ornaments, it looked like something a priestess would wear. A multicolor ring of water surrounded her, filled with what looked like music notes. 

“Barbara, would you inform Jean that the traveler has woken up?” Venti asked, sending a smile towards her. 

“Oh- yes, right away!” The newly named Barbara spoke, hurriedly making her way out of the room. 

“You’re getting treated at the cathedral. Deaconess Barbara is one of the best healers in Mondstadt, and you still slept for a week.” Venti spoke softly, moving to stand near Lumine’d bed. “I was…worried.” 

Lumine shifted to see his face clearly, surprised at the blatant admission. “Now traveler, don’t look too surprised. You have done much to aid me and Dvalin with our perils. Much less is needed to earn the favor of an archon.” Venti spoke, smiling gently at her, brushing the hair out of her eyes. 

Suddenly remembering the events that landed her at the cathedral, she rasped, “Dvalin-”

“Even now, you think of others,” Venti chuckled. “Dvalin is fine, well…as fine as he can be. He’s recuperating in his abode. I believe he should recover with time.”

“You?” She questioned, looking at the bandages tightly wrapped around his arms.

“The poison lingers, but it can be purged over time. Nothing life threatening.” He explained, bringing a chair closer to her bedside. “Jean and Diluc only sustained superficial injuries. They were fine within a few days.” 

Lumine nodded in understanding and relaxed against the pillows. She did it. No one was hurt and everyone was saved. Blowing out a shaky breath, she felt her eyes start to droop once more. Noticing her fatigue, Venti stood up, “Rest, you are safe here.” With those words, Lumine succumbed to the darkness once again.

***

It took another few weeks for her to regain her strength and be allowed to go outside. She finally saw Paimon again, her companion had apparently been worrying too much that Barbara had to kick her out while she worked. Since then, the fairy had been keeping Jean company at headquarters. 

Jean had paid her a visit in between to check up on her well-being, as well as to thank her for saving Dvalin. It was a sweet gesture that Lumine appreciated, she wasn’t often thanked. Sometimes she was even crucified for her actions. The Windwheel Asters that Jean had gifted her were still sitting by the windowsill, slowly rotating from the breeze coming through the open window. 

Venti had popped in every now and then, to play her the lyre and make sure she was doing well. They hadn’t talked much, preferring to enjoy each other’s silent company. She had also found some medicine by her bedside once, but no indication of who left it. Mostly Paimon and Lumine talked, as Lumine explained what happened with Dvalin while her companion was hidden in her subspace. 

Slowly, she gained enough strength to be let outside. It wasn’t much, she was only allowed to walk around the Cathedral, and that too she had to be accompanied by someone other than Paimon. Usually a knight on standby or Venti. As much as Lumine would like to deny the fact, she was still very weak and those trips took a lot out of her. 

Finally, Jean asked if she was okay to visit headquarters to narrate what happened to Kaeya and Lisa and to clarify some things. As well as asking if Lumine could return the lyre back to the church. Lumine balked at that. It seems that the Acting Grandmaster had forgotten what exactly happened to the instrument during their escapade. 

“How are you doing to return the Holy Lyre?” Paimon worried, floating near her head. Lumine shrugged and pondered on how exactly to break the news to deaconess Barbara, when Venti lept into her room through her window. Startled and annoyed, Lumine pointed to the door. 

“Tone Deaf Bard! Doors exist, you know!” Paimon huffed, speaking for Lumine.

“Well, what fun is that~ Wouldn’t gliding be faster than walking up the stairs?” Venti laughed, making himself comfortable on his usual chair. Lumine rolled her eyes and gestured to the lyre that was really more splinters than instrument. 

“Ah. I suppose we do need to return it.” Venti took the lyre and filled it with energy, with a bright glow, it returned to its original state. 

“Looks like the Tone Deaf Bard is actually good for something,” Paimon teased. Lumine sighed relieved. Slowly standing up, they made her way to the main prayer room, where Deaconess Barbara probably finished worship. 

“Hello traveler!” She greeted cheerfully, “I’m glad you’re doing well.” Lumine smiled and nodded at her. The deaconess was kind and it was hard not to be happy around her. 

“Jean asked me to return this to you, they found the culprit and retrieved it some time ago.” Venti spoke, holding out the lyre. 

“Oh, thank goodness!” Barbara exclaimed, fretting over the instrument, checking it over. While she was distracted, Venti subtly leaned over to her.

“We should leave. Right now,” the god whispered quietly. Confused, Lumine turned towards him, but he was already grasping her wrist and tugging her away. “The illusion I put on it only lasts a little while, and I rather not be here when it lifts.”

Eyes wide in disbelief, she dumbfoundedly followed Venti outside. Letting her hand smack her forehead when she crossed the large Cathedral doors, she muttered,  “Unbelievable.” Paimon shook her head and started muttering about how useless Venti was.

“I’m sorry, but that Lyre was beyond saving.” Venti chuckled, winking at her. Sighing at his antics, she moved to catch up to him when she felt a presence race towards them. Out of instinct, she let loose a windblade to send it back, but it sapped her of energy. She gasped at the herculean effort and looked up to see a beautiful woman flanked by Fatui agents, some knocked to the floor from her energy.

She had platinum blonde hair, more white that Jean’s or Barbara’s that was pinned back with some elaborate mask that also covered her right eye. Her dress was strapless and primarily white with black accents with two long slits in the mesh red skirt leading up to her thighs. A black, diamond shaped necklace covered her neck and a red furred overcoat covered her shoulders. 

Her cool grey eyes sparked cruelly at her and Lumine knew that this person was no friend. “At last, Mondstadt’s rodent ruler in the flesh.” Suddenly, the agents she knocked to the ground leaped at her and restrained her arms. Struggling against their hold, she felt helpless watching the woman send another icy blast that sent Paimon flying, and froze Venti in place. 

“Scurrying through the streets. Looking for leftovers, Mondstadt calls this a God?” She sneered, grabbing Venti’s face, tilting it from left to right. 

“Resident rodent…beats invasive vermin,” He grits out, focusing his weakened energy to try and free himself.

Her gaze sharpened as she glared down at him, “Don’t you dare speak back to me, insolent bard.”  Venti started to use the wind to lift the ice but the woman didn’t seem worried, a catalyst floating near her head glowed, and the ice seemed to stop breaking. “Absentee archon of Mondstadt, how impotent you’ve become.”

Venti glared, “That smirk you wear looks out of place, did you steal it from your master’s face?”

The glare turned into a glower and rage painted the woman’s features. Thrusting her hand out, the ice broke, sending Venti flying. Sensing something was about to go horribly wrong, Lumine thrashed against the agents, trying to even get her hand into a position where she could send an attack forward, but it bore no results. She could only watch as the woman dashed towards Venti and plunged a hand into his chest. 

“Should’ve held your tongue.” Ripping her hand out, she lifted the object she grabbed into the air, uncaring of how Venti collapsed to the ground behind her. Lumine couldn’t see what she grabbed very well, only the fact that it glowed with Anemo energy. 

“Stop it!” Lumine exclaimed, but the woman ignored her. 

“So, this is a gnosis…wouldn’t be caught dead wearing this ugly thing in public.” She spoke, holding it up to the light. 

Venti gasped out, on all fours, “Beauty is a waste…when the beholder has no taste.” Lumine closed her eyes in frustration. Don’t mock her, you idiot.

Spinning on her heel, the woman walked back to where Venti was struggling to stand up and kicked him in the ribs, sending him flying, crashing against the cathedral steps. 

“Venti!” Lumine cried out, elbowing the Agent in the gut, loosening his grip. Quickly acting, she pulled herself out of their grip and raised a hand towards the blonde woman. She did not save everyone, just for this to happen. Feeling something snap in her again, and she rejoiced, her energy resonating with whatever was in the woman’s hand, building to new heights. Just as she tried to send out an attack, pain engulfed her and she fell limp, her strings cut.

Lumine cursed at her frail condition and forced herself to keep her eyes open as she struggled to stay awake. The woman just smirked at her and turned around. “We have what he came here for. Come, before our dear favonian friends arrive. Leave nothing for them to find.”

Lumine reached out one last time towards the woman when she felt something smack the back of her neck. Then, all she knew was darkness.

Notes:

Well...that happened :). Hope I didn't disappoint with this chapter. Especially since it's one of the more important ones. I had a lot of fun writing this because the next chapter is going to be a whole rollercoaster :> The exciting bits are finally here!!! Let me know what u think in the comments! They honestly give me life when i'm writing <3. See you next chapter!

Chapter 14: The Outlander

Summary:

Revelations

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

Cold. Everything felt so cold and empty. There was a gaping hole in his chest, every fiber of his being yearning for a piece to be reunited with him. Closing his eyes, he let himself wander with the wind as he used to eons ago. Floating gently alongside the dandelion seeds, he let himself let go, content to heal with the winds for now. 

***

When Jean heard about the harbinger Signora arriving in Mondstadt for a “diplomatic” talk about the resolution of Mondstadt’s crisis, she knew she had to be on guard. Unfortunately, she did not expect that the target of The Fatui’s assault would be the traveler. She knew that couldn’t be the whole story, but there weren’t any witnesses to what happened in front of the cathedral. When anyone realized what had happened, only the freezing traveler was left, feet encased in ice and frost covering her skin. 

She gripped the pen she was holding tightly, ink dripping down to the parchment documenting the traveler’s injuries by the harbinger. Frostbite, heavy bruising, concussions, in addition to the damage she suffered trying to cure Dvalin’s poisoning. It’s a miracle that she survived at all. 

Taking a few deep breaths, she calmed herself before writing a missive to remove the heavy fatui presence in Mondstadt at once. Just as she started to draft it, a knock sounded at the door. 

“Acting grandmaster, the cathedral has reported that the Traveler has fully regained consciousness and is able to speak” A soldier spoke, saluting her when he entered.

“Thank you, Huffman. Please let Captain Kaeya, Lisa and Master Diluc know that I will be meeting with the traveler this evening.” 

Huffman saluted, muttering a quick word of understanding and turned on his heel to inform the relevant parties. 

Jean sighed and looked at the setting sun, its golden rays illuminating Mondstadt in all its peaceful glory. Things were starting to come to head, and she didn’t know what conflict that would bring to her land.

***

Kaeya was surprised when Jean took off without a word with Diluc, the Traveler and some bard he’d seen frequent the taverns often. It was certainly an odd combination, especially when he knew the bard and the traveler were responsible for the theft of the holy lyre. Jean and Diluc wouldn’t let that slide no matter what, which made their cooperation all the more interesting. 

Unfortunately, his information network came up completely empty, only citing that they had split off into different areas before reconvening at Dawn Winery. Then, the only reports he had received were sightings at Starsnatch Cliff and near the wind barriers of Storm Terror’s Lair. 

They were always too ahead of his information, and he could never catch up to them in time to figure out what was happening. Trust was not something Kaeya easily gave and it’s not really something he truly received either. He had his natural good looks to charm and talk his way into things, but he can count the number of people who would put unconditional trust in him on one hand and still have fingers left over. Which was why he felt uneasy the entire night Jean and Diluc were wandering along with criminals. 

He trusted their abilities, but he definitely didn’t trust the bard and the traveler’s motives. Not when he knew she was hiding much more than she let on. Not when her reaction when she met his eyes for the first time was so drastic. 

When he saw Diluc rushing into the city with a figure limp in his arms, Kaeya’s heart dropped. Before he could assume the worst, he saw Jean following with someone bracing against her as they walked. He felt his body sag in relief. She was safe. He was safe. The answers could come later. For now, he was content that his family was alright. 

***

Lumine sighed as she leant on the headboard of her sick bed. Every movement seemed to sap her of her energy and she could feel how empty her energy reserves were. She shuddered at the sensation, not having felt this way since the nameless island. Barbara had been tirelessly working to fight off her injuries with numerous hydro healing sessions for over a week now. At this point, Lumine had grown accustomed to seeing a musical halo surrounding her and slowly healing her injuries. 

While she recovered, Lumine couldn’t help but worry about Venti. The lady did something to him, something Lumine knew was extremely wrong and dangerous. She could feel uncontrolled power separate from Venti for a moment, before dying down again. Suddenly, Venti’s energy felt so weak, and empty as if he had lost all the divinity he held. It scared Lumine. She couldn’t even feel his presence anywhere, and no matter how much she searched, there was no trace of the god of freedom. 

The golden haired traveler was startled out of her thoughts when there were knocks on the door. 

“Come in,” she spoke softly. Paimon peeked her head in, followed by Jean, Diluc, Lisa and Kaeya. She sighed, closing her eyes. It was time to tell them what had happened. 

“Paimon saw them waiting in the nave, so Paimon brought them to you.” Her companion explained, settling near Lumine, nodding off to sleep slowly disintegrating into her subspace out of exhaustion. The small child was extremely grief stricken while Lumine was asleep. Barbara couldn’t pull her away from Lumine no matter how much they tried and they gave up, leaving the fairy to fret by the Traveler’s side while she slept. No doubt the stress and worry had finally caught up to the small being. 

“How are you?” Jean questioned, setting more flowers by her bedside. Lisa took a seat by the door while Jean pulled up a chair close to Lumine’s bedside. Diluc leaned against the wall by the foot of her bed while Kaeya lounged on the windowsill across the room.

“Been better,” she responded with a weak smile. 

“You gave us quite the scare cutie!” Lisa exclaimed. 

Jean grimaced, “I hate to bring this up so soon and while you’re still recovering. But we need to know what happened.”

Lumine nodded, understanding of Jean’s situation and started to recount what happened, “Lady, with very light hair. Fatui”

“Signora,” Diluc cut in. “Does a funerary mask cover part of her face? Cryo powers?”

Lumine nodded, confirming his theory. Signora . She would remember that name, and she will strike it from history . The occupants started at the sudden and violent wind that whipped about the room. 

“Jean?” Kaeya questioned, unsure of the uncharacteristic outburst from his commander.  Jean simply shook her head and motioned towards the traveler, whose grip on the mug of warm water had grown dangerously strong.

Just as fast as the wind whipped about, it left as Lumine let out a deep exhale. Stamping down her sudden and violent anger, she continued. “Took something from Venti, something powerful. It hurt him. I couldn’t stop it.”

“Took something?” Lisa questioned, smoothing her hair out.

“From his chest.” 

“It can’t be,” Lisa breathed, her hands abruptly stopping as her eyes widened in horror. 

“What is it Lisa?” Kaeya spoke, face serious.

Lisa hesitated, looking down at the ground. “I-I don’t think I can say…”

That made everyone pause, Lumine didn’t know why, but all of them suddenly became more wary. Coughing lightly, Lumine brought the attention back to her, “Didn’t see anything after. She hit my head.” 

“I see…” Jean muttered. “Thank you traveler. Now about what happened with Dvalin…”

“I think you-” “-owe us an explanation” The two males in the room chorused in near synchrony. They looked at each other before simultaneously grimacing and averting their eyes. 

Jean sighed at the interaction, “I apologize for their lack of tact, but I do think we’re owed some answers.”

Lumine hummed thoughtfully, unsure of where to start, when she remembered her conversation with Amber, “I am from stars.” 

“What?” Diluc said, incredulously. “I hardly think people drop out of the sky.” 

Lumine just smiled mischievously, “I did.” 

“As much as I love riling our favorite bartender up, we do need a real answer.” Kaeya teased, smirking at the pyro user’s visible agitation. Before Diluc could get too annoyed, she slowly imagined her celestial map, constellations, galaxies and planets she’s visited. Concentrating, she gathered it in her fist, before opening her palm face up. Instantly, the lanterns in the room snuffed out and the room grew dark. 

“What-” Lisa exclaimed, before getting cut off by the numerous twinkling dots and swirling nebulas. The area around them was filled with the vast space Lumine had seen and traveled, each star its own world. Light from her map illuminated her companions faces as they stared in wonder and undisguised shock at what was present before them. Jean slowly brushed her finger along a ball of light, a light gasp escaping her mouth at the warm sensation. 

Lumine swirled her hands about in the air and the map moved accordingly to display the Teyvat sky, as strange as it is. Lumine lightly blew into her palm and sent off a small cluster of stars to add to her map, a new section of the sky that she had observed from her sickbed. The map shifted to allow space for the new constellation, illuminating the right side of Kaeya’s face. His star-shaped pupils widened as the warm energy tickled his cheek. “This isn’t an illusion?” 

“My energy. My map. Stars I have seen. Stars I explored ... stars I explored with…brother.” Lumine whispered as she tilted her face up, closing her eyes to bathe in the comforting sensation of her light energy. Concentrating, she expanded her map, causing the balls of light to shift as they showed numerous constellations, before stopping and just showing one. 

“Leo Minor” Jean breathed, looking at Lumine. “How did you know?”

Lumine serenely smiled at the group, “Stars tell me things. Vision shows me what stars talk about you.”

“When you stored my sword.” Jean breathed, remembering the only time the traveler had been near her vision. 

“Stored your sword?” Kaeya asked, snapping out of his daze, causing Jean to realize that she had left out parts of the story to him by accident. 

“The traveler can manipulate space to an astonishing degree.” She focused on what the traveler taught her and materialized her sword for him to observe the phenomena. 

“And how exactly do you do that?” Diluc groused, remembering the cheeky way she denied his answers. 

Lumine giggled, “My people can. It is our power. Our storage. Travel far and fast. Things will get lost without our power.”

“What do you mean by your people?” Diluc questioned, ears perking as he listened to her explanation. 

Lumine shifted the star map again, condensing it into her palm once again, playing with it as she thought about how to explain her race of people and their way of living. “Wanderers. Do not stay places. From world to world. Living many lifetimes. Seeing many things. Gods in some, ants in others.”

“Gods-?”

“Ant-?”

“Liftetimes-?”

Numerous voices overlapped one another as an incredulous air settled in the room. 

“Traveler, what does that even mean?” Jean questioned, slumping into a chair, utterly drained by the revelations the traveler brought forth. 

“If you don’t stay in a world, why are you here now?” Lisa questioned, curious of what Lumine just said.  

“Wait, wait, wait” Diluc cut in disbelievingly, “You’re a god? Lifetimes? I find all of this hard to believe.”

Lumine sighed before concentrating on her energy as best as she could. Something happened when Signora took Venti’s gnosis, and she hadn’t had time to experiment with it yet, but it felt like her chains loosened every so slightly, her anger and desperation breaking through a barrier she hadn’t realized was there. Focusing, she slowly let her light powers build within her before opening her eyes. Sharp inhales filled the room as its occupants watched the amber of her eyes turn into a luminous, molten gold. Lumine let her power wash down her back and for a brief moment, the ghostly visage of crystalline, golden wings shimmered into existence behind her, catching the moonlight, refracting the pale white light into numerous colors. Lumine’s golden tresses shone with an ethereal energy, and the embellishments on her dress grew unbelievably bright. Sitting up on the bed was no longer a simple traveler, but the every bit the star-faring outlander the traveler claimed to be.

The spell was shattered when the traveler let out a series of hacking coughs, golden blood staining the sheets. The wings and lights blinked out of existence as everyone rushed to her attention. 

“You bleed gold,” Diluc observed quietly as he lit the lanterns again using his vision, still somewhat stunned by the traveler’s otherworldly display of power. “I hadn’t noticed when we were fighting.” Lumine smiled weakly at him as Lisa helped her sit back up and drink another cup of water. Jean swiftly changed the blanket out for Lumine, handing the blood stained one to a rather scary looking and sleep deprived nun.

Kaeya broke the silence first as the traveler recovered, “So why are you still here? You said you don’t stay very long when you travel.”

Her lips twisted into a bitter smile as she spoke, “Brother separated. God took powers. Sleeping for long time. Am weak. No wings to fly. Want to leave with brother.”

“There’s another one of you running around?” Kaeya asked, uncharacteristically quiet and thoughtful.

Lumine nodded, “Twin. Haven’t seen him. Can’t sense him.”

“When did you last see him?” Lisa questioned, ready to mentally cross reference any odd sightings reported to her within the past few years. 

“500 years?” Lumine answered thoughtfully, trying to estimate the time she spent sleeping.

“500 yea- I’m sorry what?” Lisa’s thoughts screeched to a halt when the number actually registered within her mind. 

Lumine nodded in affirmation, “We came. Landed another place. Met with Kaeya’s people and they taught us” Suddenly the room grew disturbingly quiet.

“Mondstadtians?” Jean questioned, nervously glancing at Kaeya whose face had gone deceptively blank, frost creeping along the wall he was leaning on.

Lumine shook her head in the negative before gesturing to her eyes. “Star pupils. Beautiful. Advanced people. Many machines. Amazing power.” Lumine hummed, thinking of the name of the nation that treated her and her brother well during their stay. Her eyes brightened as she remembered it, “Khaenr-”

As soon as the first syllable passed her lips, blades were drawn and Lisa’s grimoire was open in a flash. “I suggest you don’t finish that word. I don’t know what you’re thinking of trying to stir up here, but I will have none of it. That name perished over half a millennia ago. I refuse to believe that you know anything about it, much less be there to witness it” Kaeya spoke coldly, his stare sharp as he met her eyes. The room was caked in tension thick enough to cut with a knife, confusing Lumine.

Lumine simply returned the stare and spoke a saying known to people lost by time, hoping it prove her honesty, “si diu in gurgitem prospicias”

“etiam in te respiciet gurges” Kaeya finished, his voice trembling. He had only heard it once, on a rainy day as he was left on the doorstep of a winery years ago. The last words spoken to a young, scared child by a man whose choice was to abandon rather than protect, whose face had long since been forgotten, deemed unworthy by the child. “How do you know that saying?” He whispered. 

“I arrived with brother. People took care of us. People with brutal machines and strange powers. Remember black knights. Star pupils. Land with war. Land of conflict.” Lumine explained calmly. By the time she was done speaking, Kaeya was shaking, his composure all but shattered. He stumbled backwards, not meeting anyone’s eyes and burst out the door, leaving it swinging in the force of his exit.

Lumine wondered what was wrong, but when she looked to any of them for answers, they wouldn’t meet her eyes either. Diluc’s normally deadpan face became extremely guarded, not a single emotion to be read as he stared at the floor, debating something. After a beat, he too, made a move to leave the room when Jean gripped his shoulder. 

“You understand that this conversation never happened,” She commanded.

“That goes without saying,” he responded without turning back. The door shut behind him and Lisa exhaled harshly. “Looks like we have quite the conundrum on our hands.” 

Jean, noticing Lumine’s confusion, smiled shakily. “If you’ve truly been sleeping for that long, then there are some important things that you missed.”

Notes:

Hi everyone! It's been a long time since i've updated haha. Mostly because I wasn't sure if I wanted to develop my story too much and then have the canon lore branch off in a whole other direction, especially after the Sumeru archon quest lore drops. But I decided i'm just gonna roll with it and retcon in the future. It's also because I had Genshin burnout from the lack of content as someone who's been playing since release and haven't touched the game in months. But I'm here again because the Fontaine release inspired me and I got the drive to continue the fic. This chapter was also hard to write because I wanted the Lumine reveals to be perfect and I wasn't getting the effect that I wanted to inspire in my readers. I'm still not 100% satisfied but I'll just have to revisit it in the future. I'm really excited to see your reactions and I'm super excited to see how everyone reacts for what I've planned for Liyue hehehe. :>

Chapter 15: Amber: Lessons in Flight

Summary:

Making friends

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

“Traveler! Hey Traveler!” A voice called out behind Lumine as she picked out some groceries from the marketplace. Lumine paid the vendor with a smile and turned around to greet Amber as she bounded toward them.

“Hi Amber!” Paimon called out, cheerily waving while biting into a freshly bought sunsettia. 

“Hello Amber,” Lumine echoed, reaching out to steady the energetic girl as she skidded to a stop in front of them. 

“How have you been! I’m so sorry that I didn’t get to visit you when you were hurt, but I had to take care of some Treasure Hoarder camps outside the city and I couldn’t get back in time to wish you well. I hope you got my flowers and letter!” Amber cried, clapping her hands in front of her in apology. 

“I did, thank you.” Lumine reassured her. 

“The cecilia bouquet smelled soooo nice!” Paimon cheered.

“That’s great! I picked them myself from Starsnatch Cliff and I hoped they would stay fresh by the time they got to Mondstadt!” Amber sighed, relieved that her gift made it in good condition to its destination. 

“Join for dinner?” Lumine questioned, motioning towards the knight’s headquarters, where her current room was located. 

“Oh! I’m afraid I can’t today, I’ve still got some paperwork to do.” Amber spoke dejectedly. “I called out to you because you still need to get your gliding license!” Amber explained. “And to check up on you. It’s been a while since we saw each other.”

“Gliding license?” Lumine questioned. 

“It’s so you can use your glider without getting in trouble. Lots of people want gliders but we can’t have them out willy nilly or people will get hurt doing stupid things. I gave you your glider in a crisis, so you didn’t need a license then, but you’ve taken to it like a fish to water, so I’m guessing you’ll want to use it more. For that, you need a license.” Amber said, gesturing in the air as she spoke. 

“How do we get one?” Paimon asked, mouth full of fruit. Lumine sighed and brought a napkin out to clean the juices dripping from her companion’s fingers and chin. Paimon grinned at her in thanks and continued to devour the sweet delicacy. 

Amber giggled at the exchange before replying, “It’s nothing big! Just a verbal test on the rulebook and a practical to see how well you fly. Though you’ll have no problem with that part. The test is really simple, just stuff like only one passenger per glider, no carrying anything over the set weight limit, no taking off using an anemo slime, and so on and so forth. Here’s a copy of the rulebook!” Amber said, handing off a thick book with just a title on the spine. 

Lumine took it awkwardly, “Amber…I can’t read.”

Amber jerked and flushed, “Ah, I forgot about that. Hmmm…I'm sure Lisa can help you with that!” 

Lumine shuddered at that, since the revelation about Lumine’s origins, the librarian had only gotten more…forward. Her natural curiosity had only multiplied and Lumine often felt like a creature under Lisa’s microscope. But if it was to have some semblance of flying again, Lumine would power through any hardship. 

“Send me a message when you’re ready!” Amber yelled, already sprinting away to another task. Lumine smiled at the girl’s energy and looked down at the book. Time to talk to a scary librarian.

***

Lumine peeked into the Knights of Favonius library and glanced abound the shelves. People were milling about and looking at the selections of books, some taking them out to read at the spread of tables in the center of the room. Navigating through the maze, Lumine finally spotted the brunette woman lazily turning the pages of a book while making some notes on another sheet of paper. There was a pile of really old books stacked next to her and Lumine could already smell the musty scent of ancient paper.

“Hi Lisa!” Paimon greeted, waving cutely. 

“Hello Paimon, Cutie. What a pleasant surprise~ I never imagined you two would seek little old me out for something,” she purred, standing up and making her way to them. 

Lumin just lightly coughed, not wanting to say anything and handed the book over. “Help?” 

“What’s this?” Lisa questioned, turning the object over in her hands.

“Amber’s testing us for our gliding license, and this is the rulebook we have to study!” Paimon explained. “Except Lumi and I can’t read so we thought you might be able to help!” 

Lisa chuckled when she saw the title, “Looks like our dear outrider has given you the wrong book, this is a fairy tale on how birds first got their gift of flight from the Anemo Archon. Though it is a nice children’s story about having courage in yourself.” 

Lumine sighed at the switch up, but listened as Lisa recited the story regardless. It was a nice story and it definitely sounded like something Barbatos would do.

“If you want the actual handbook, I’m sure we have a copy here somewhere for you to borrow.” Lisa spoke, leading them to a section of shelves and pulling a book with a picture of an unfurled glider on the cover. As she turned toward them, the air grew slightly electrified as Lisa stared intimidatingly down at them, “Just make sure you return it on time, understood~” she crooned, the threat clear in her words. 

Lumin gulped and nodded her head frantically. 

“Yes ma’am!” Paimon saluted, making the librarian laugh, all smiles again. 

“I can probably read you part of the book today, but the rest will have to wait for tomorrow. We should set up some lessons for you cutie, you’ll need to know the language if you want to travel to find your brother.” Lisa advised, writing down the title of the book and who borrowed it in her logbook. 

Lumine nodded, she can’t be too dependent on people like this and learning the language was important. 

“We can set up another date for that and then make it into regular meetings,” Lisa spoke, flipping the book open. “Let’s get started on these rules shall we?” 

***

Amber grinned when she saw the letter in her mailbox from the Traveler. It was finally time to administer her test! She gave a squeal of excitement and sent a messenger to inform Lumine of her test location and time before heading there herself. 

It was a nice calm, breezy day at Windrise. No inclement weather, no cold and harsh winds, truly a perfect day for gliding. Taking a seat at the cliffside, Amber thought back to when she saw the Traveler glide for the first time. It was amazing to see how easily she traversed the sky, and how brave she was against a full blown dragon!

It filled Amber with determination to become an even better glider and truly become Mondstadt’s Gliding Champion. She hoped the display would also garner interest in the outrider division of the knights, which unfortunately had a singular member. Her. 

Sighing at her plight, she shook her head to get rid of the negative thoughts and hopped back onto her feet when she heard Paimon’s voice. “Amber! We’re here for our test!” 

“Right on time!” Amber smiled and began questioning them on the rulebook. It was a little hard considering some of the words used were a little specific and Lumine’s understanding of the language wasn’t the best, but she did well enough for Amber to let it slide.

“Now for the gliding part! Just follow the marked route to the finish!” Amber spoke, taking her own glider out. She had set up some balloons holding some large rings in the air, following a path through the trees for the traveler to go through. 

The blonde haired traveler nodded with a smile and snapped her own wings out. “Oh! Did you paint it?” Amber noted enthusiastically when she saw teal and gold decals that shimmered against the tan feathers.

Lumine shook her head, “My power in the wings”

Amber’s eyes widened, “That’s so cool! I wish I could do that, but pyro doesn’t lend itself well to anything but fighting…and cooking I suppose” She laughed sheepishly. “Alright, let’s go!”

Together, they swiftly flew through the trees, Amber shrieking in delight whenever Lumine summoned a quick draft to give them a boost. It was the first time that she had glided like this with someone, and it was so much fun! 

Amber whooped when they landed, cheering as they tucked their gliders away. “You nailed it! But that’s no surprise given the way you handled your glider against Stormterror! Let’s get back to headquarters so I can issue you your license!” 

Lumine cheered at that and grinned happily, catching Amber off guard with the wide smile. “You really love to fly, huh?” She spoke, not able to stop herself from smiling back. Lumine nodded happily and snapped her wings out again. 

“Race you?” She smirked, already running to a cliff they can jump off of. 

“You’re on!” Amber laughed, sprinting to catch up.

“Wait for Paimon!” The fairy cried, trailing after them.

***

“Here it is! One newly instated gliding license for the Traveler!” Amber proudly spoke, handing a small card to Lumine. Lumine accepted it with a smile and tucked it away into her satchel. 

“Outrider Amber! Raptor struck again!” A knight hurriedly ran up to the pyro user, saluting before explaining what happened.

“Raptor struck again? And now he has an artifact from the cathedral. Leave it to me! I’ll track him down and get the stolen goods back!” Amber stated, before saluting and starting to leave. 

Lumine caught her arm and spoke, “I’ll help.” “Paimon too!”

Amber grinned at that before speaking, “Thanks! Let’s head to the cathedral and get some clues. Raptor always makes a getaway with a glider, hence why he’s called Raptor. Let’s see if we can trace his flight path from the cathedral!” 

Lumin nodded and the two made their way to the cathedral and tracked the elemental traces left on the artifact to the woods outside of the city. They quickly rescued a merchant and found Raptor’s hideout after taking care of some treasure hoarders. Quickly traversing the domain and defeating the enemies, they finally caught up to the criminal across a large gap. 

“There’s no way across…” Amber mumbled dejectedly as Raptor cackled and jeered at them beyond the canyon. Lumine honed her senses and saw the updrafts created by the domain and gently encouraged Amber. 

“Just like the story. You only need courage.” Lumine spoke softly, taking Amber’s hand in hers. 

“Wait, how do you know my favorite fairytale?!” Amber questioned.

“You gave us the wrong book, Lisa let us check out the actual rulebook from the library.” Paimon giggled. 

“Oh my gosh, I’m so embarrassed!” Amber cried, hiding her face. Lumine chuckled and pried her hands away to look into the girl’s eyes. 

“Mondstadt’s Gliding Champion is you. Be brave.”  Lumine encouraged. 

“Oi, Outrider! You have less chance of surviving this than jumping off the Anemo God statue in Mondstadt without your wind glider!” Raptor yelled.

Amber huffed, “I’ll show you what an Outrider is made of!” Getting a running start, Amber leapt off the ledge and snapped her wings out, gliding swiftly across to the other side. When it looked like she wouldn’t make it, the updrafts boosted her and let her land safely on the other side. 

From there, they made quick work of Raptor and brought him back to Mondstadt to be arrested.

“Thanks for all your help Traveler!” Amber spoke as they ate some veggie skewers for dinner. “Sometimes I really wonder if it's worth it to be an Outrider and try so hard to have a flight division for the knights. And hearing people like Raptor really makes me question it.” Amber spoke somberly. 

“No one’s really interested in joining my division and some knights don’t even take me seriously because I'm so young and I still carry around Baron Bunny.”

Lumine shook her head, “Amber is great Outrider and glider. Dreams will come true.”

“That’s right Amber! You’re amazing at what you do, I’m sure people will see that and everyone will want to join! Don’t worry about what other people say!” Paimon harrumphed, annoyed at the fact that people would say things like that to the cheerful girl. 

Amber smiled sunnily at her friends, “Thanks Traveler! I’m sure that’ll happen someday too, especially with you by my side! Everyone will see how good of a flier you are and hopefully get excited about gliding too!” 

Lumine sighed at that, if only she had her wings, then she could show people what true flight looked like. Amber noticed her change in mood and spoke softly, “Jean told me about you and your brother. And what happened to you. I can’t imagine what it felt like to lose your wings, and to not fly. I can only glide, but I’m sure flying must have felt incredible.”

Lumine smiled sadly, “It was.” 

“Well, until you can get your wings back, we just have to glide together more often! Flying is always fun with a friend! Isn’t that right, Traveler?” Amber spoke, cutting through the tension with her bright personality. 

Friend…Lumine supposed that she did make a good friend in Amber. Lifting her lips into a smile, she spoke “Lumine. Call me Lumine.”

Notes:

Double update?? The world must be ending lmao. But this has been written for some time now, so it just had to get polished and uploaded haha. There's gonna be a few more of these singular character interaction chapters before we move onto Liyue and it's archon quests. Still debating to include all the patch events into the store. Especially since some of the minor ones are kind of inconsequential, but I will definitely be involving the major ones like lantern rite and windblume. Hope y'all enjoyed the chapter and the start of a beautiful friendship from out favorite outrider and outlander! <3 Please comment! It makes me rly happy to read all of your thoughts on my work!

Chapter 16: Venti: Devotion and Healing

Summary:

Meeting our favorite drunkard again

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

A short, squeak like giggle erupted as the wind whipped her hair into a rats nest once again. Lumine huffed, smoothing her locks down as she swiveled trying to find the culprit. A few days after she woke up, something had been harassing her at every opportunity. Gusts of wind would knock her things around, or send her gliding somewhere wildly off course. 

Lumine tried her best to find the culprit, going so far as to eradicate any eye of the storm or Anemo slime in the vicinity of the city, much to the Knights of Favonius's glee. However, her problems with the wind didn’t cease. The most she caught of her little nuisance was a small flash of anemo energy, about the size of a bird. 

“Paimon couldn’t find the stupid wind thing!” Paimon huffed, dizzy from getting tossed about in the wind.

“Next time,” Lumine sighed, fixing up her appearance as best she could and began her trek down to The Symbol of Mondstadt's Hero once again. Lumine had been looking for Venti since the fateful day with Signora, but she couldn’t even sense his presence. The only things that she found were glowing balls of anemo energy around the land. For now, she collected them within herself, unsure of that to do with them. 

Finally arriving at the tree, she laid down the Cecilias she bought from Flora’s shop at the base of the statue of seven before going to lay down at the roots of the massive oak. The anemo energy was abundant here and helped her heal when she was well enough to walk around. Venti was definitely wise in choosing this as his favorite spot. 

“Lumine, can Paimon have food?” the fairy asked, peeking up at Lumine through her bangs. 

“You just ate.” 

“But that was only one sticky honey roast! Paimon wants some radish balls! As a snack…” Paimon trailed off, drooping when Lumine didn’t respond. Lumine chuckled softly and pulled out some fried radish balls from her pack, holding the skewer out to the glutton. This thing was surely going to eat her out of a house and home someday, but Paimon’s company was something very welcome to her lonely self. 

Paimon cheered, grabbing the wooden skewer, going to bite into the first ball when the wind whipped about again. Paimon wailed as the stick was wrenched from her grasp, flying a good distance away. “Paimon’s snack!” She screeched, diving after her food. However before it could hit the floor, a flashing green ball caught it, dangling it in front of Paimon. It played around with Paimon, teasing the fairy by constantly keeping the food out of her reach.

“Lumine! This is definitely our prankster!” Paimon wailed, as her most recent attempt at reclaiming her food failed. The tinkling laugh echoed through the space again as the ball zipped about, its joy and energy so infectious that Lumine couldn’t help but smile. 

“Yes. Yes. Had fun. Give food now.” Lumine beckoned the energy ball. It seemed to think about it for a second before relinquishing its stolen goods to Paimon, who immediately scarfed two of the balls down, glaring petulantly at the little energy being. 

The little ball twirled into the air and flit around her head before tugging at a strand of her hair, pulling it in the direction of the Anemo statue. Lumine laughed following along, curious on what the little troublemaker wanted from her. It led her to the statute and flew around the statue, waiting patiently. 

“What does it want you to do?” Paimon questioned, bending her head down thoughtfully as Lumine shrugged. The ball bobbed up and down for a bit before flying in front of the statue and dipping lowly, holding its position before flying back up to its normal height. 

“Do you think it wants you to pray?” Paimon wondered, moving closer to the anemo ball. Lumine pondered the thought before giving it a shot. She had tried praying right after she woke up, but didn’t receive any response from the Anemo Archon and hadn’t tried again since then. One more try wouldn’t hurt her. 

Smoothing out her dress, she knelt gently in front of the statue and clasped her hands together, inhaling deeply. And began singing a song of strength passed down her people, one of healing and rebirth. As she sang, the anemo orbs she had collected began to resonate, pouring out of her in a stream of energy, swirling around the statue before getting absorbed into it. The little blob shook excited as Lumine finished singing, going to the statue and tapping it, taking the energy for itself. 

Lumine watched transfixed as the blob solidified into a little sprite that looked like a robed little creature with wings. It was awfully cute, with two little tufts on the top of its head, and Lumine couldn’t help but cuddle it to her cheek when it drew near. 

Well dear traveler, it seems I should stay in this form to continue receiving a greeting so warm. A tiny voice spoke in her mind, causing Lumine to startle. She drew away to stare at the little figure before the rhyming speech rang a bell. 

“Venti?” She gasped, turning the sprite this way and that to inspect this new form. 

“Tone-Deaf-Bard?” Paimon questioned, floating closer.

Tis I! He exclaimed, his little eyes scrunching into crescents as he settled in her hands. Our nasty visitor stole my power, but there’s no need to be so dour. Your strength will be mine and soon I'll be just fine! 

“I help?” Lumine questioned, surprised that her prayer did something this time around.

Yes! The Anemoculi you gathered helped me regain the powers I lost when Signora took my gnosis!  

“Anemoculi? Gnosis?” Lumine asked, unfamiliar with the new words. 

Anemoculi are concentrated deposits of anemo energy that gather naturally in the wild. Some form into creatures like anemo slime and eye of the storms while others are content to simply lay dormant within nature. My presence as an archon causes them to form and I used to absorb them for quick boosts of energy. But with my recent defeat I fear that they will stop forming in abundance, so we need to collect as many as we can to restore my strength before they become scarce! Venti exclaimed

Lumine nodded before reiterating her previous question. “Gnosis?”

That’s a trickier question. There’s not much I can say about it as it involves Celestia and I would rather not draw it’s attention. However, I will say this. The truth is any vision holder, or being with elemental power can ascend to Celestia and become an archon. We call such beings allogenes. A gnosis is something that allows me to resonate directly with Celestia, allowing me to use its power. Before ascending, I was simply a normal wind sprite. However, it's best to keep this information to yourself. I’m really not supposed to be talking about this to anyone. 

When Signora took my gnosis, the sudden cut off to my connection with Celestia left me rather weak, and I reverted back to my original state, with barely enough power to sustain myself. I tried to get your attention as best as I could when I saw you gather the anemoculi and it finally paid off today. 

Lumine hummed in understanding and relief that Venti would be okay, before asking the biggest question that plagued her mind, “Why steal?”

I’m afraid that’s an answer even I don’t know. Signora is a harbinger who works directly under the cryo archon in Snezhnaya. I used to know her very well, but after what happened 500 years ago, she cut off all contact with me, and I can no longer claim to be familiar with her. But i’m afraid that story is a conversation for another time. Venti grew somber and the air shifted to something more serious.

Traveler, as you set off on your journey once again, you must remember that the journey itself has meaning. The birds of Teyvat, the songs and the cities, the Tsaritsa, her Fatui and the monsters... they all are part of it. The destination is not everything. So before you reach the end, keep your eyes open. Use the chance to take in the world around you...learn and grow because the longer you stay here, the more you belong to this world. When it comes time to leave, I hope you can look back and cherish the story you have written and the legends you have left behind.

Lumine’s breath hitched and she regarded Barbatos’s wisdom with attention. Nodding softly, she replied, “I will.”

“Paimon will make sure Lumine has the best journey ever!” Paimon affirmed, clasping her small hands around Lumine’s right arm. 

The sprite looked into Lumine’s eyes, searching before seemingly satisfied with what it found. Okay! Enough of that boring archon stuff! It’s back to Venti time! Now I know a particularly concentrated spot that’s rich with anemoculi and we’ll probably find a few over there. It’s a lot easier if you collect them and slowly feed me the energy through my statues! I seem to absorb the energy better that way. So if you don’t mind traveler, would you aid this poor wind sprite for a while longer? Venti asked while floating out of her hands. 

“All we do is help you Tone-Deaf-Bard!” Paimon complained, but obediently floated after the wind spirit.

Smiling, Lumine nodded and followed her companions to their destination. 

****

They spent the day gathering a decent amount of anemoculi and returned to Venessa’s tree when the sun began to set. After feeding Paimon, the fairy retreated to her subspace when the day stretched a bit too long for her. Finding her spot at the base of the statue of seven, Lumine once again started feeding the anemo power to the statue, humming the song she sang previously.

What is that melody Traveler? It isn’t like anything I’ve heard in all the winds of Teyvat and there is power behind it. Venti asked while resting in his statue’s hands, absorbing power slowly. 

“Song from my people. Sung after war for strength.” Lumine explained, curious of the effect it seems to have on Venti. 

It seems to resonate with your anemo energy, almost akin to a healing spell when it’s heard. I’m curious. If you trained that power, will its strength become more potent?. Maybe an instrument to accompany it as well? Venti pondered, his voice trailing off into mutters.

Lumine thought for a moment, she didn’t have any instruments that she knew how to play on her, but a falling leaf caught her attention. Catching it, she inspected the shape and size. This one wouldn’t do, but the tree produced the ideal kind of leaf. So Lumine paused her energy sharing for a moment and hunted for an ideal leaf within the tree’s branches. Swiftly climbing up branches, she spotted one that looked to be perfect for her purposes. Coincidentally, it was also saturated in natural anemo energy from its surroundings. 

Satisfied, Lumine jumped down and settled herself against the statue as Venti peered down, curious on the traveler’s next action. Pressing the leaf to her lips Lumine blew gently, humming the song. The soft melody filled the wind, blowing itself to reaches unknown. For a few moments, the air was silent save for the soft rustle of the wind and the music produced by the leaf. But soon, animals perched in the tree’s branches, and glowing dandelion seeds danced in the air around them. The windwheel asters danced with the music and all of nature celebrated the melody played by Lumine. 

Venti gasped, delighted at the effect and danced alongside the dandelion seeds until the song came to a close. Slowly, the energy around them settled and the environment went back to normal as the creatures that surrounded them returned to their normal lifestyle. That was amazing Traveler! Imagine what you can do while singing and playing an instrument! I would love to hear it on a lyre!

Lumine grinned, “Teach me?”

At that, Venti seemed to pause, his excitement coming to a sudden stop. Lumine’s smile faltered, wondering what caused the sudden drop in energy. 

Say traveler, why haven’t you asked me about Venti? Why I wear a human face?

“Want me to ask?” Lumine questioned, letting him settle in her hands. 

Venti stayed quiet for a moment before letting out something that seemed like a sigh. Not today, but I do wish to tell you someday… In the meantime, I think I would enjoy teaching you. It has been a long time since I’ve been on the receiving end of music from a well played lyre. 

“Well played?” 

But of course! Any of my disciples stand to be great idols! After all, the Lyre was my first and most cherished instrument! I am something to admire when it comes to the lyre! Venti boasted, puffing his little chest up. 

Lumine laughed and nodded her assent before continuing to send her energy to Venti. Together, they sat in companionable silence as the breeze rustled around them, before Barbatos broke the silence quietly. The lyre is something special to me Traveler. It’s been a long time since I’ve revisited the story about the origin of my vested interest in music, and I’ve never been willing to take in a disciple. But I suppose nothing can change the same forever. 

In any case, I’m grateful that my first disciple is you. One who travels the stars, whose memories are everlasting. Through you, I hope the name Venti is remembered and cherished far longer than I can ever dream of. Because of you, my dear friend will not die a second time. Thank you, my dear disciple. Barbatos finished, not meeting her eyes, looking out to the direction of storm terror’s lair instead. 

Lumine shifted her eyes back to the sprawling view of Mondstadt before replying just as softly. “You’re welcome my lord.”

Notes:

I've always had an interesting headcanon between Venti and the traveler as the first archon that the traveler has met, and his story quest just lends itself to it very well. I'm glad I can put it into a story like this one because the thought of Lumine having a master disciple relationship to help Barbatos be himself instead of having to keep the memory of Venti alive if that makes sense? The idea that Lumine can be his friend that plays the lyre to hi and Venti can just return to be a simple wind sprite before everything went wrong. I'm super excited to explore this dynamic with more chapters. As always, I can't wait to see your comments and reactions! <3