Chapter Text
If you expected order from what had been dubbed as the ‘Mondstadt Defence Force’ by the rest of the Knights of Favonius, you would be sorely disappointed. Albedo was the only member who could even be described as vaguely focusing, as Lisa (normally so strict about rules in her library) was busy trying to come up with a better name for the group than the one above.
“It’s just… an awful name,” the librarian had said with some distaste. “Mondstadt Defence Force? Really? It sounds like something from a children’s game.”
Jean had sighed, rolling her eyes. “It’s what the rest of the Knights are calling you, so either come up with something better or you don’t get a name at all.”
Groaning, the rest of the ‘Defence Force’ (“We don’t even work solely in Mondstadt!” had been Chongyun’s cry) returned to what could be vaguely described as ‘work’. Very, very, vaguely. Diluc had been out for the morning, doing what he could to clear up the Hilichurl camps around the city, and that meant that everything had descended into chaos .
And Lumine was in the center of it all. She was grateful for this chance to make Tevyat safer, and she was determined to use it to the best of her abilities. If she had the ability to help, she wanted to, and right now it was possible she was the only person who could actually make a difference to the problem they were tackling.
Abyss Magic.
The corruption that had killed Kaeya a mere two weeks ago had been spreading, and though Lumine had managed to absorb most of the harmful parts (healing the Cavalry Captain in the process) she hadn’t quite been fast enough to prevent all of it from escaping. Jean had assembled twelve of the Knights, plus a few people from the Adventurer’s Guild (and two from Liyue), and tasked them with ending the threat.
A lot was hanging in the balance, and they needed information. They needed it fast.
Each member had their own skills and talents, and without them all, nothing would succeed.
A vast knowledge of exorcism from Chongyun, and Xingqiu’s intelligence and influentiality. The amount of information Lisa possessed was frankly terrifying, and Venti was a literal Archon . Kaeya had probably the most amount of underground contacts possible, and Diluc’s fighting skills and importance in Mondstadt (added to the fact that he owned a tavern) made him a crucial linchpin in the entire enterprise, not least from a monetary perspective. Razor knew the forests around Tevyat like no-one else, and Bennett, though incredibly unlucky, was a talented adventurer. Fischl was an incredibly powerful Electro-wielding archer with outlandish hunches that usually turned out to be right, and Amber, with her new warbow and Baron Bunny, was a force to be reckoned with.
Albedo, though new, had caught on very quickly to their tasks. Though he hadn’t been there in Wolvendom, he had come to understand the events of that day with surprising speed. His alchemy proved useful in trying to find the source of the Abyss Magic, and he worked together with Lumine to try and find a more effective way to heal than sacrificing life force.
Jean wasn’t able to join them, being constrained by laws and legal obligations. “I’m sorry, but I’ll have to leave you by yourselves. As the Acting Grandmaster, I must claim to have no knowledge of these proceedings.”
That had been a bit of a blow. Lumine had enjoyed having her around, being the voice of reason when Diluc was gone and Lisa abandoned all sense of decency. Vigilante work wasn’t anything new to her, but it would be easier if they had at least some protection from the law if things went sideways.
“I can’t believe we didn’t think of it.” Lisa’s voice snapped Lumine out of her trance. “It’s a way better name than something crappy like the Mondstadt Defence Force.”
“What is?” Kaeya looked up from the book he was flipping through.
“Diluc’s our unofficial leader right?” The librarian was met with sounds of agreement from Lumine, the rest of them too sleep-deprived or distracted to focus. “So let’s name ourselves the Darknights. After his, well... semi-legal alter-ego.”
Chongyun laughed, a short and sharp sound in the midst of the quiet bookshelves. “I thought he hated that name.”
“Double whammy. We get a cool name, and get to piss off Diluc.” Lisa seemed smug.
Shrugging, Xingqiu stood up and brushed himself down half-heartedly, trying to pat away the dust that had settled on his clothes from the ancient books he was holding. “I like it. What do the rest of you think?”
When Diluc came back a few hours later, covered in mud and grass, Fischl told him of their new name and he groaned.
"That’s what you’ve been doing all this time? And here I thought you guys were going to actually work hard.”