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Dragonspine.
The mere mention of the frozen, desolate land, lying between the lands of Liyue and Mondstadt, was enough to instill a deep sense of dread within the hearts of even the bravest of adventures. Only a fool with a death wish would ever dare thread upon the unholy snow, for none who ever entered ever returned. Thus, the land shrouded in mystery brought forth countless legends for what could be hidden within Dragonspine’s eternal blizzards, and of all the tales told throughout both nations, one stood out among the rest.
The Tale of the Frost Prince.
Though variations existed, much of the story remained the same no matter who was telling the story. A young prince from a foreign nation had been cursed by a witch in the days of old, back when the land was still lush and green. The curse transformed the prince into a dragon with a heart of ice, but something had gone wrong. The prince had gone mad upon his transformation, and had gone after the witch with crazed vengeance. With every step he took, the curse spread to the land itself, poisoning the soil and air with unforgiving cold. Upon killing the witch, the prince took flight, and ever since, the land was cloaked in an endless storm of ice and snow.
They say the land became known as Dragonspine, because if one were to look close enough from a high enough place, the shape of the cursed prince’s body was just barely visible, perched atop the tallest mountain amongst the blizzards. They say his cold eyes are always watching, watching and waiting, for the day his claws would once again be soaked in fresh blood.
Some believe the dragon eventually died. Others are not too sure.
Parents would tell this story, and many other stories of Dragonspine, to their children to scare them into obedience when they misbehaved, saying that if they were naughty, the cursed prince would find a way to hunt them down and eat them.
In a darker twist, criminals would be sent into the land with promises of freedom if they were able to complete a difficult task within the land, but every one of them knew that they might as well have been given a death sentence. Or rather, they would have all preferred a proper death sentence.
Xiao, a powerful warrior from Liyue, was a man who fit both these scenarios. He was a man with a powerful reputation, known as the Conqueror of Demons, and a Guardian of the lands. With his mythical jade spear, said to have been gifted by the gods themselves, he cut down the demons and beasts that threatened the peace of the people, taking the heavy burden of protecting his home on his shoulders alone. As a child, the dark legends would scare him out of wandering into Dragonspine, but unlike many other children, Xiao never felt true fear towards the land, only a strange sense of wistfulness he could never explain. However, he never knew he would one day face the blizzards head on, after the mighty warrior committed the unforgivable sin of murdering a child. His intention had been to defend, but he noticed the little girl far too late as he began his assault.
To the people he protected, this act was one of grave treason, to both them and to the gods whose names Xiao fought in. As a result, Xiao was sentenced to seek out the beast of Dragonspine, and would only be forgiven if he succeeded. But he knew the truth. He knew...that there was no atoning for what he had done in his lifetime. So, with the guards escorting him to his execution grounds, gripping his jade spear and keeping his head high, Xiao stepped into the frozen land, seeking to slay a beast that might not even truly exist.
Xiao was soon alone, surrounded by nothing but white. The cold sank its icy fangs into his skin, even through his heavy cloak, and it was not long before his limbs began to feel numb. The sheer cold of Dragonspine was unlike that of any cold he had ever experienced before, not even the harshest winter spent alone on the street ever compared to what he faced right then. Nothing around him was alive, neither plant nor animal. Anything once living he encountered were no more than ice sculptures in the snow, some of which were pitifully broken into pieces and left frozen in time. The wistful feeling Xiao once felt as a child had returned to him once again, and he realised what it meant.
Dragonspine...was truly a land of loneliness.
Xiao gritted his teeth, pulling his cloak tighter around himself as he continued forward. Each step he took felt heavier than the last, and Xiao soon felt his determination, along with his strength, slowly fade away into a dull sense of despondency. Still, he did what he could to keep going, and took to collecting small pieces of frozen wood and stone when he could, in hopes of building a fire to keep himself warm later.
Eventually, Xiao found a large cavern to take refuge in. He had only been in Dragonspine for a little less than a day, but his energy was already spent. His body shivered uncontrollably, and he was sure that the only reason he had not dropped his spear was because his hand had been half-frozen to the weapon itself. The cavern shielded him from the unforgiving winds, but offered little else. Xiao let out a sigh, his breath a dense mist just barely visible in the dimness surrounding him.
A small, weak fire was made, but Xiao knew it would not last long. Most of his wood was too frozen to burn, and even after they thawed they were too damp for the flame. Part of him began to wonder if he would perish within the first night, achieving nothing in his last moments. Terrifying as it was, Xiao knew he had to accept that it could easily soon be a reality. He only had his weapon, a cloak, and minimal supplies. Those who sentenced him had not been so kind as to provide him any tools or rations.
Xiao did not know how long he simply sat there, clinging to the pitiful source of warmth before him. He did not notice when he had dozed off, never quite realising how exhausted his body was. Perhaps part of him had already given up. But fate would not allow him to die just yet.
Just as Xiao was about to lose consciousness, an orange glow emanated from somewhere in front of him. He looked up slowly, and was greeted with the sight of a little seelie, a creature commonly believed to be harmless lost souls in Liyue myths. However, it was strange, seelies were typically a light blue or green in colour. This one was a faint orange, resembling the dying campfire between them. The strange seelie tilted its head at Xiao as it approached, curiously inspecting him. As it came closer, Xiao realised that his body was becoming warmer, and he no longer felt as weak as he did only moments ago. Was it the seelie’s power? Without thinking, Xiao reached out a hand towards it, seeking its warmth.
But the seelie jumped back, startled by Xiao’s action. Xiao apologised to it, dropping his hand and letting the seelie approach naturally if it wanted to. Luckily, it did, and began to circle Xiao, warming him up nicely as it did. For a moment, Xiao was able to relax, but he had to wonder...how long before he became a no more than a wandering soul himself?
As if sensing his thoughts, the seelie perked up, floating away from Xiao, but looking back at him as if wanting him to follow. Part of his survival instincts told him to be cautious, as this seelie was clearly unlike those from his homeland, but Xiao knew he had little choice in the matter, as his fire had completely died already. So he stood, following the glowing seelie deeper into the cavern, until it led him to a massive lower chamber, where a half-frozen pool lay, surrounded by large blue ice crystals that shimmered like stars in the night sky. Xiao let out a gasp of awe, surprised at the natural beauty hidden in the forbidden land, but made sure to keep up with the seelie. The little creature floated to the edge of the pool, where more of those ice crystals encircled a single larger, more peculiar crystal.
Inside the crystal was a man around Xiao’s own age, hands clasped together over his heart, appearing to be in a deep slumber.
The seelie stopped in front of the ice crystal, which almost looked like an upright coffin up close, and Xiao took a closer look at the man sealed within it. His skin and hair were both unnaturally pale, looking almost as white as the snow around them. There were light, spiderweb-like cracks decorating his exposed arms and face, seeming to stem from a diamond-shaped crack in his neck. His clothes seemed unsuitable for the freezing climate, and were covered in a layer of frost. Xiao frowned. Who was this man? Another former victim of Dragonspine? But that did not seem right. Xiao had not seen any other bodies trapped in ice like this, and with how the crystal was positioned among the others, it seemed too unnatural. He looked down at the seelie, briefly wondering if he was seeing the soul that once belonged in the frozen body in front of him, but something about that thought did not feel right either. But then, who was this frozen man?
For some reason, Xiao thought of the old legend of Dragonspine, of the prince who had been cursed to take the form of a dragon with a heart of ice. Though the man before him was no dragon, could he somehow be the prince of the legend? It would explain his clothing, but it also brought up too many new questions. Xiao looked back down at the seelie, hoping it could provide some answers, but the little creature’s attention remained fixed on the man in the crystal, seeming almost...sad.
Just then, a thunderous roar sounded throughout the cavern. The seelie reacted at once, vanishing into thin air and the moment it did, the piercing cold struck Xiao so suddenly he dropped to his knees. It was even colder than it had been outside, and Xiao could only assume it was because of the ice crystals around him. They must have contained some form of magic, as frost began to form on his body, starting from his legs, far more quickly than it was normal. Without the seelie’s magical warmth, Xiao would freeze to death before long, but it seemed the cold was not the only thing threatening his life. Another roar sounded, even closer than before, and Xiao could only watch in pure horror as the giant, ghostly figure of a dragon, cloaked in an aura of bloody red, descended upon him from who knew where. The ghostly dragon crashed into the ground just beyond the pool, the entire cavern shaking upon impact and the ice crystals shook and collapsed within its range. Its empty eyes held a gaze of primal malice no other beast ever displayed before, and it snarled at Xiao viciously with a clearly deliberate intent to kill.
Though the dragon was smaller than what Xiao had imagined, the weight of its presence was so intense that Xiao’s body gave up on him instantly. A deep sense of dread washed over him, and despite the frost covering his body, cold sweat dripped down his face. His mind seemed to shut down, with every last coherent thought in his head screaming at him to run . To run, and run and run. But his legs were already frozen solid.
The dragon growled menacingly, taking a step closer towards him.
Xiao was sure of it right then. The time had come for him to die. And he…
...had never been more afraid of death.
The dragon let loose another ferocious roar, and lunged at Xiao right across the pool at a breakneck speed. With all the strength and willpower Xiao could muster, he let out a desperate, broken yell in return, thrusting his spear out in front of him in a pathetic attempt to shield himself.
The dragon collided with the jade spear, but suddenly, a brilliant golden light erupted from the weapon, and the dragon’s roar became a deafening scream.
The purifying power of the jade spear, the power that had allowed him to protect the people of Liyue for so long, had now come to protect him. The dragon’s ghostly form began to glow as it struggled in vain to escape. Chains of gold light binded the beast, and it was thrown back into the icy waters, where it let out one last pitiful scream before it dissolved into nothingness. The light from the spear swirled around Xiao and the ice crystal behind him, and with its purpose fulfilled, the jade spear shattered in Xiao’s hands. And just like that, all was quiet again.
Xiao inhaled sharply, not quite sure what had just happened. He looked down at his hands, where the broken fragments of his spear crumbled into jade dust. His legs were no longer frozen over, and it was no longer as cold as it had been earlier.
The seelie returned, slowly approaching Xiao, before dipping its little head at him as if bowing in respect. Xiao was very confused, but before he could react, a cracking sound was heard, and he looked back just in time to see the ice coffin breaking open, and the body of the strange man fell into his arms. The seelie rejoiced, dancing around the two and enveloping them in a warmth that felt like a gentle embrace. The strange man let out a soft gasp as he breathed once more, slowly opening his eyes that were the colour of a beautiful, clear blue sky. He wore an expression of melancholy and a single crystalline tear rolled down his cheek. He reached up and gently touched Xiao’s face. His hand was warm, and Xiao could not help but lean into his touch.
The man told Xiao his story. His name was Albedo, and he was once known as the frost prince in his homeland hundreds of years ago, for he was born with a heart of ice and unable to properly feel human emotion. He was abandoned as a child because of his curse, and taken in by a witch and her beloved dragon. They had treated him with kindness and warmth he had never known, but one day, he had made a grave mistake that resulted in the death of the witch. The dragon, having gone mad with grief, had hunted Albedo down and almost killed him, but the witch's spirit protected him even in her death. However, the guilt and grief had been too much for Albedo as he watched the witch bitterly fighting off her dear friend because of him. For him, who had never known such feelings, it was all too overwhelming, and the curse he held in his heart went out of control and erupted. The dragon perished in the cold as the land became Dragonspine, but continued to linger as a ghostly wraith with a mourning desire of avenging its master, who had vanished into the snow. The last thing Albedo remembered was crying out to the gods, pleading for them to undo what he had done, before he called upon a forbidden spell and sealed himself away into a coffin of ice, all to prevent his curse from destroying anything else. He had watched the land through his dreams as he slumbered ever since, praying for the day the suffering he had caused would come to an end.
To Xiao, hearing Albedo’s story made him think of the little girl he had killed, and his own regret and anguish upon realising what he had done. He had been ready to pay for his crime with his life, but upon facing the spirit of the dragon he had lost that resolve. Hearing Albedo's own tale, and realising the terrifying legends of the frozen were in reality a cruel twist of what was no less than a tragedy, all the emotions Xiao had been holding in came flooding out. He pulled Albedo close, crying for them both, and for those they lost. Albedo did not resist, instead seeming to understand Xiao’s pain, and gingerly returned the embrace. In the cold of Dragonspine, the two tightly held onto each other’s warmth, sharing the pain they both knew so deeply.
The little seelie circled around them one last time, bouncing a little in satisfaction and relief, before she left them, diving into the icy pool to rejoin her beloved dragon in death at long last.
That was the day blizzards on Dragonspine finally ceased. The people of Liyue were shocked when the condemned warrior Xiao walked out of the land, carrying a strange man with hair and skin as light as snow on his back instead of his jade spear in his hand, and the tales soon spread to Mondstadt as well. However, Xiao gave up his title and role as Liyue’s protector, knowing the gods will soon bestow that role to a new guardian, and left the eyes of the world to settle down in a quiet village north of Liyue. Albedo, still new to the world outside the ice and unsure of his second chance at life, stayed by his side. They held each other’s hand through their new life together, Xiao showing Albedo a new kind of kindness and warmth, and Albedo showing Xiao a world without loneliness. Given time, they would come to fall in love, and live out the rest of their days together in peace.
The two kept the truth of Dragonspine a secret, never telling another soul, so the legends remained despite the end of the blizzards. They knew that life will one day return to Dragonspine, and when it did, perhaps the legends surrounding it too will change, and their tale will finally be told.