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After the Traveler had inevitably left Teyvat for his own, and the divine had become but historical tales, archeologists and scholars found curious relics left behind by those who had lived in the time of archons. Those precious items whispered of long-lost memories and fragments of dreams unfulfilled. Artifacts, those who unearthed them named them.
Two particular sets of artifacts carry many stories in their depths. If only the tales their owners left behind could be restored... but that is impossible.
Even so, the memories still present are enough. What we know of the exorcist and the gallant is preserved in their belongings; the Frozen Ardor of the exorcist, and the Tidal Memory of the gallant.
“I will return, one day.” Aether had promised, so many worlds ago, as he left behind Teyvat with Lumine.
He had finally fulfilled that promise. Tapping into the thrums of the ley lines, he reached out to the waypoint in the heart of Liyue, curious to see if he would recognize any faces in the crowd. It had been a long time since Aether had journeyed with who he had dubbed the “Liyue Teens”—Chongyun, Xingqiu, Xiangling, and Xinyan—and he had missed them with every world he had visited. How were they doing? Where had their roads taken them?
When he opened his eyes to the bustle of Liyue Harbor, he smiled. The familiar architecture was comforting to see, the sloped roofs nearly identical to his memories. Though, looking around, some things seemed to have changed. The alchemical bench had vanished, replaced with an open-air stall selling traditional mooncakes. Granny Shan’s toy booth had been upscaled, now boasting even more brightly-painted toys. Though he didn’t recognize the woman who stood behind it.
Aether made his way over to the stall, brushing stray hairs from his face as he examined the toys. The craftsmanship seemed just as good as Granny Shan’s, making him wonder just who she was. A daughter of hers? Or perhaps a granddaughter?
“Hello! Welcome to Shan Crafts. Are you interested in purchasing a traditional Liyue toy?” The woman’s words startled him from his thoughts. “Oh, nice cosplay by the way.”
Aether furrowed his brow. Cosplay? “I’m sorry, I don’t think I’ll be able to carry it back home. And... thank you...?” He shook his head. “I just wanted to know if Granny Shan was doing well.”
It was the shopkeeper’s turn to be confused. “Granny Shan? Like the shop? Our business has been doing alright for a few centuries, I don’t know what you mean.”
A few centuries? Wait. No...
Lumine had warned him of this, Aether knew. “Time passes differently between worlds. We may think we have left Teyvat for only a year or two, but decades or centuries could have gone by there.” He just hadn’t wanted to believe it. And now it had happened to him.
He pasted on a smile. “I’m sorry to bother you. But thank you for the information.” Aether turned from the shop, resisting the urge to scuttle away into the nearest building. As he walked the streets, the lack of Visions in the crowd caught his eye, churning his thoughts.
As he had suspected, the archons, or at least their powers, were no more. With the Tsaritsa’s plot to collect their gnoses succeeding, the gods had likely turned mortal and died when they weren’t returned.
In that case... if there was no one left in Teyvat who knew him, what was the point of staying here?
So lost in his own mind, Aether hardly noticed the small line outside what had been the Ministry of Civil Affairs building. When he looked up, his eyes caught on a banner announcing a new exhibit at the Institute of Liyuean History.
He sucked in a breath. The picture on the banner was of the intricate clasp of Xingqiu’s coat, once-bright metal tarnished a dull brass.
Aether hurried up to the last person in line. “Excuse me, but is this the Institute of Liyuean History?” He needed to know what had happened to his friends, however painful it may be.
The man turned around, giving a short nod. “Yes, it is. You a tourist?”
“Thank you! And I... am. Sorry to bother you.” Aether awkwardly shuffled into the line behind him, toying with his earring.
As the line slowly shrunk, his nerves grew. What would he find inside? Would this even tell him of their fates?
He shoved his Mora at the ticket attendant, nearly vibrating in place. As soon as she gave Aether his ticket, he bolted inside, following the arrows to the exhibit.
The room it was housed in was nothing special, though glancing around he recognized dormant Visions preserved in cases, Geo-constructed brooches, and preserved hypostases cores. But as soon as he walked in, the same whispers of memories and power that artifacts gave off called to him, making him take an involuntary step toward the rest of the crowd.
When Aether slid to the front of the group, his breath hitched. Ten objects, laid out like jewelry, shimmered in the display. His eyes roved over each, recognizing a few—the hourglass Chongyun used while practicing martial arts, Xingqiu’s earring—though many others were new to him.
The steady whispers of the ley lines screeched in his ears for a moment, before dying back down to quiet pulses. The same feeling he had when activating those ancient Irminsul trees... Aether’s eyes widened, plunging his hand between dimensions and pulling out a book. He flipped it open, turning to the pages of equipment he had collected during his journey.
The stars hovering over the blank paper formed new words. Frozen Ardor. Tidal Memory. As Aether watched, pictures of the objects displayed faded into existence, tiny script writing itself underneath each image.
He tapped Frozen Ardor first, words peeling off the page to hover above it. Chongyun... his dedication to his training, friends, and beliefs had been unwavering. Even though Aether had only journeyed with him for a year, when they had bid each other farewell he sensed that Chongyun would think of him as a friend forever.
Aether exhaled, scanning the text. He only hoped this would be happier than other artifacts.
Frozen Ardor
Flower of Life: Crimson Frostflower
A silk flower, frozen in the height of life. This unwithering bloom was the exorcist’s first gift from the gallant.
Silk flowers are not known for their poignant meaning, more so for their perfume and their soft cloth. The exorcist, though unknowing of the language behind this blossom, treasured the flower greatly—a sign of the gallant’s affection toward him.
“I know you, I respect you, I love you,” the gallant meant to say with its petals.
And so the exorcist responded in kind, asking the gallant to journey with him in search of purifying evil and to strengthen their bond.
But the flower signified something else. “May you face the future with grace.”
The exorcist understood this meaning when he stared up into the face of death, his power spent.
Plume of Death: Chonghua’s Signet
An ethereal evil-warding seal made of frost, with a small icy sword tied to the end. Proof of the exorcist’s sincerity.
Regular exorcists used adeptus-gifted methods to craft their evil-cleansing sigils, but the icy exorcist formed his talismans from the pure ice of his conviction to perform his duty and prove those who doubted him wrong. Though his yang energy was powerful enough to banish most spirits, he always carried a few in his search for spirits who could withstand his presence.
In the end, these seals were only used once, against a spirit he had searched long and hard for. His wish for one who could resist his energy was granted, at the expense of his life.
Sands of Eon: Snowy Exorcist’s Diligence
Gentle snow drifts to the bottom of this hourglass. As delicate as they appear, each flake is as resilient as the exorcist’s resolve.
The art of exorcism is wrought of both thaumaturgy and the study of martial arts. Ideals spurring him ever onward, the exorcist trained long and hard everyday with this hourglass keeping time. He would not take a break until all the snow inside had fallen still.
Whenever he sparred with the gallant, the gallant always asked him this question. “Why do you train so hard, even without knowing you’ll ever use it against a spirit?”
The exorcist gave a sincere smile each time. “I train to stay disciplined, and to better protect those I can. Whether or not I will ever use my arts against a spirit does not matter as much as helping someone in need, I’ve learned.”
As the snow in the hourglass counted down the seconds of the exorcist’s life, the gallant weeped over it. All the discipline in the world could not save him.
Goblet of Eonothem: Reminiscence of Rime
Tiered lunch boxes like this one are not uncommon, but the lovingly reattached decorations on it suggest it was dear to the exorcist.
A set of three trays make up this lunch box, akin to a stack of steamer baskets. The mismatching colors of each tier are striking, but even with the years dislodging the ornamentations on them, the lunch box is almost as pristine as the day it was made.
Before he was well known, the exorcist once was a simple youth, training to banish evil. He and the gallant were supported by a chef and a musician, both of them passionate in their aid.
One day, after a hard week of training, the chef and musician brought this out to the exorcist, the two of them smudged with multicolored paint. A gift colored like ice, water, and fire, to remind the exorcist that he would never be alone, even when they were no longer there to aid him.
Years later, when the exorcist set off on his journey with the gallant, he brought this with him, a fragment of childhood nostalgia.
Circlet of Logos: Icebound Memory
The golden weight the exorcist once wore. Even broken, its brilliance is fine enough to don as a crown.
Truly good exorcists devoted themselves to their craft, binding themselves to the promise of destroying evil. The icy exorcist’s oath manifested for him as a weight on his wrist. But when he befriended the gallant, that promise transformed into a memory. It never truly left him, but instead of being a burden, it became a crown he could wear with pride. For now he had someone with him on his resolute path forward.
As he lay dying, the exorcist watched the gallant cleanse the spirit without his help. In his eyes, the gallant bore a golden circlet, identical to his oathbracer.
He smiled then. Before he knew it, his love had taken up his oath as his own. The exorcist could pass on without regrets.
As the gallant cried over his body, the weight broke in two. The exorcist’s memory would be remembered, and his promise fulfilled.
Tears trickled from Aether’s eyes. He had known Chongyun and Xingqiu were long gone, but it hurt so much to learn they didn’t have a happy ending. “No,” he whispered, running a hand over the book.
But his touch changed nothing, the words permanent between its pages.
Aether stared down at them, turning to the Tidal Memory set. Desperately, he hoped Xingqiu had healed after his loss.
Tidal Memory
Flower of Life: Eternal Crystal-Lily
A glaze lily, carved of never-melting ice. Each petal bears an evil-driving sigil. This protective blossom was the exorcist’s final gift to the gallant.
“Come with me to cleanse evil and bring justice.” These were the words the exorcist spoke, clutching the silk flower the gallant had given him.
But between them, the gallant heard more. “Come with me. I need you.” So he took the exorcist’s hand, pulling them from their homeland.
During their travels, to repay the gallant’s own gift, the exorcist carved this bloom from his ice, freezing it over and over again to make it last forever. With every petal, he placed his feelings into the sigils, until the flower’s protection became as powerful as his own yang energy.
In their last battle together, the exorcist tucked this lily in the gallant’s hair, rushing into the fight. When the gallant attempted to save his love, it was what finally weakened the spirit enough for him to purify it.
Though the spell cast upon the bloom had been enough to save the spirit, it hadn’t been enough to save the exorcist.
Plume of Death: Nostalgic Sea Breeze
The shell of a Hydro Vision. The mismatching tassels tied to one end tell of tragedy, but the feathers affixed to them give off a sense of peace.
Even dormant, this Vision still smells of sea spray. Just looking upon the twin tassels brings to mind childhood adventures.
Once he had brought the news of the exorcist’s passing to his clan, the gallant returned to his homeland, adventuring alone through its golden hills. Though he longed for companionship, the chef and musician had long since departed for distant lands, pursuing their fiery passions like he had with the exorcist.
In silent times without him, the gallant visited the cliffs of Guyun, watching the birds in flight. The plumes they shed reminded him of the days he had spent with the exorcist, as powerful as falcons and as fragile as feathers.
The gallant sighed to his Vision each visit. “He would have loved this view.” For in the end, time washes sharp pains into soft nostalgia.
Sands of Eon: Rain Dragon’s Despair
A finely wrought pocket watch, cleverly designed to hide as a coat’s clasp. Its golden face has been tarnished by both blood and unfulfilled wishes.
Intricate timepieces like these are status symbols among the wealthy, not meant to be used, only to be admired. Curiously enough, however, this clock is discolored and scratched, as if it has seen many battles.
At the end of their journey together, the exorcist rested a bloodstained hand over this watch, mistaking its resolute ticking for a heartbeat. “May your heart stay as steadfast as it does now,” was his final wish to the gallant.
Despite how much he wished to do so, the gallant knew he could not fulfill that hope. His heart was blemished with deep sadness, no longer beating beside the exorcist’s. It could never pulse as steadily as a clock, not anymore.
When he finally cleaned the blood from the metal, he found that it had marked the watch with a stain he could never quite remove, just like the sorrow in his heart.
Goblet of Eonothem: Moment of Solitude
A teacup cast from sturdy ceramic. The gold-painted details have been worn from the porcelain by time and caring hands.
Deft fingers once pressed this teacup into the gallant’s hands as a parting gift.
“If you’re going too, here. Have this. A moment of solitude is even better with a warm drink.” The chef had given many presents to the gallant throughout their long friendship, but this was the one he used the most. As he journeyed alongside the exorcist, it was not uncommon to spot him sipping from it under the shade of a willow, or the cup sitting in front of him as he leafed through a book.
But as he grew older, the gallant drank from this cup even more often, remembering those he had lost. With the chef and musician settling down together, far away from their childhood home, he was the only one left in the harbor.
Even so, he faced each lonely day with a smile, gently cradling the teacup in his fingers. “May all of them be happy, wherever they are.”
Circlet of Logos: Longwang’s Memento
Even dragon kings seek reminders of those they loved. The icy exorcist’s clan sigil swings beside the tassel of this sapphire earring, a memory of better times.
Clan sigils are sources of pride for families. Even those who do not know their true meaning recognize them instantly.
When the gallant laid the exorcist to rest, he took nothing but his clan’s banner and his belt’s tassel before returning to their homeland. As he arrived in the harbor bearing the exorcist’s sigil, the clan knew of what had occurred.
In exchange for the banner, they gave the gallant their sigil, one for himself. They had known of his feelings for the exorcist, and the exorcist’s for him—the gallant had already been family for a long time.
Moved, the gallant tied it to his earring. The metal sigil’s cool touch against his cheek would remind him fondly of the exorcist for years to come.
Aether snapped the archive shut, hands shaking. Brilliant, mischievous Xingqiu, carrying all his sorrow alone as he was wont to do. The few who could have unburdened him of them were dead or far, far away.
He tilted his head up to the electric lights. If only he had stayed in Teyvat. If only he had returned earlier. Chongyun and Xingqiu deserved better than what they had gotten.
Looking back down at the starry book, Aether let it dissolve into golden light. He knew enough of his friends’ fates. At the least, Xiangling and Xinyan had survived together. He hoped they had been happy.
Walking away from the crowds, he made his decision. There wasn’t anyone he used to know still alive, was there? So nothing was left for him here.
Outside the museum gates, Aether glanced over his shoulder one last time. “Goodbye, Teyvat. May you stand strong.” His lips turned up at the corners, smile bitter and nostalgic. “May my friends not be lost to time.”
With those words, he dissolved into golden light. Only the earth and wind knew he had been there.