Chapter Text
She is a god with no love left for her people, nor do they have any left for her.
A lone queen sits on a throne of ice. The Tsaritsa is the name many know her by. She is both revered and feared. A ruler with an iron fist, her Fatui are known for their ruthlessness and cruelty.
However, it wasn’t always like this.
In the silence, there echoes a name that used to belong to her, and a soft voice that once brought spring to the land of everwinter, long buried in leagues of snow.
She was once full of love. For Snezhnaya, for Teyvat. The previous archon, long fatigued by the archon war, passed down the mantle to her. She was a kind god, her love warming them in the harsh winter nights. Snezhnaya had a close relationship with the other nations, and it prospered despite the climate.
Then, he came. An outlander, unknowing of the world of Teyvat, arrived at her doorstep, seeking shelter from the goddess. A single shard of a burning star that fell, flickering, into her palms. And she, ever generous and benevolent, had granted him his wish.
As days turned into weeks and months into years, she had grown enamoured with the man of mysterious origins. She reveled in the fantastic stories he told of his travels, and their laughter often echoed through the halls of the then bright and lively palace, sparkling clear like the spring water that followed the thawing ice. Her heart, warm and accepting as ever, allowed him into her life. She had everything one could ever wish for: the smiles and hearts of her people, a caring friend in the Anemo archon Barbatos, and a lover.
This love, it seemed, would last forever.
Yet, in the blink of an eye, on a day where the moon glowed and almost eerie mood, the emissaries of Celestia came. They swept through the snowy nation, and went after the outlander under her protection.
You have broken the divine law, therefore, a suitable punishment must be given.
And just like that, he was ripped from her side. For her part in helping the outlander, her closest attendants were stripped of their lives, their souls ceasing to exist, thrown to the unknown void. In her anger, she attempted to pursue them, but was stopped by Barbatos.
You cannot defy the heavens, my friend, he said, pain and sympathy in his voice.
Still, she was relentless in her pursuit, and for the first time, the two fought. Wind howled and ice shattered and reformed. In the end, the two gods exhausted themselves and fainted.
When she woke, she learned that it was too late; her lover had already been taken. Barbatos had also used up to much of his power in an attempt to stop her, and had fallen into a deep slumber.
She tried to find solace in her people, but alas, they were mortals, and did little to help relieve the pain in her heart. Without the light that was her love and without the counsel of her friend, the tsaritsa slowly hardened her once-gentle heart with icy determination.
However, the Tsaritsa could not bring herself to hate, therefore, she was only void of love. Now, as her silence ushers in Signora, one of her harbingers, she palms the gnosis of her once-friend.
Glowing green, it reminded her of a time long lost.
Forgive me, Barbatos, but when the time comes, you will understand. For you who was able to overthrow a tyrant, but unable to rise up against the divine, and for the rest of Teyvat, I shall rip apart this farce that we are under, and I shall tear Celestia asunder. Those who defy me, be they friend or foe, they shall be crushed.
As Morax entered the room, amber eyes gleaming and offering his contract to end all contracts, the Tsaritsa rose from her throne. She would remain unshakable, like the permafrost, until she achieved her goal. That is how it should be.
Her followers hope only to be on her side when the day of her rebellion against the divine comes at last.