Work Text:
Generations ago, the free lands of the Anemo Archon came under the control of cruel aristocratic clans. In order to live their lives of luxury, they subjugated those they considered beneath them; everything they did betrayed what Lord Barbatos and Mondstadt stood for, so the Archon enabled the legendary hero Vennessa to overthrow the noble families. Before this fall, though, there were others who challenged the tyrannical rule of the aristocrats.
These rebels engaged with the aristocrats’ forces over all of Mondstadt - learning the art of stealth and beyond, even as their pursuers trained to hunt each and every one of them down. While Vennessa is largely recognized as the champion who won back Mondstadt’s freedom, it was these waves of lesser known faces that continuously wreaked havoc on the nobility. To honor their work and sacrifice, the delicate game of cat-and-mouse they underwent was reenacted by the Mondstadt folks as a fun past-time.
Sadly, the game of Windtrace would fall to obscurity as time went on. Today, it is hardly the popular event it used to be. But maybe, if for just a meager week, that may yet change...
Small Town Guerilla War
I should really move on to a different Contested Zone after this, the small Kätzlein girl thought smugly to herself. The home field advantage here is almost unfair.
Diona was currently perched on one of the rooftops of Springvale, Mondstadt. She was born and raised in the humble huntsmen town, so of course she was familiar with how to sneak around unnoticed. The brush around the houses was perfect to conceal her tinier form, which is where she had originally started this round. However, the game encouraged the Rebel team to move from time to time - which is why she soon climbed the walls, clung to the undersides of the roofs, and even once crammed into a chimney. She would’ve gone to her usual spot at the top of Springvale’s windmill tower - although Diona was beginning to suspect that the other players were catching onto that, and held back every once in a while.
The only problem with success is how boringly uneventful it is. I could try to run around, but everyone’s faster than me! I’d get caught messing around like that, and miss out on a Windtrace Coin jackpot…
Alone with only her thoughts, Diona briefly let her mind wander. It was a surprise Gygax was able to clear out a few populated spots for what was a relatively unknown game. Although, to his credit, Springvale wasn’t the most difficult...the hunting parties could be gone for hours, sometimes for days if luck wasn’t on their side. And the few merchants who stayed on the sidelines, like Hopkins (actually mainly Hopkins), used this as an opportunity to promote their goods.
Maybe I will check some of the other zones, just to see how things have been going over there. Except for Dawn Winery...anywhere but that den of devils!
Clenching her teeth, Diona nearly ignored the sinking feeling of her instincts. A twitch in her ears, though, forced her to focus. Her eyes raised towards the sky, investigating what it was that was dragging her out of her thoughts…
...only to widen as the toned form of the Yaksha from Liyue - Xiao - descended from overhead with the help of a wind glider.
Winery Confrontation
Three minutes was such a long time when the final target was so elusive. Kaeya would’ve nearly achieved a new record if it were not for whom he was up against. Locating Amber and Venti was child’s play; there was no plan they - or any other Rebel player on this map - could come up with that Kaeya wouldn’t be one step ahead of. He may not have had years of experience with this game in particular, but he did have a lifetime of accrued knowledge on Dawn Winery. It once was his home, after all.
Every spot around the mansion and the vineyards were once his own hiding places. He memorized every nook, cranny, and decoration in his youth - and continued to update it every visit he got. The only thing that could’ve potentially tripped him up were the added decoy props around the closed off area, though it was a confusion he could quickly clear up each time. Hell, Springvale had it worse - he once saw a crate on one of the rooftops, and only knew it wasn’t a hidden player because he himself was a Rebel working together with his two teammates at the time.
Yet Kaeya was not alone in his current advantage. His final target was the very true son of Crepus Ragnvindr. Diluc lived here before Kaeya showed up, and he continued to own the house even after their falling out. If there were any new secrets about the mansion that Kaeya somehow hadn’t dug up yet, Diluc might possibly be the only one knowledgeable of them. And while surely he wouldn’t use such tactics to continuously have the upper-hand on most other Hunters, for quite some time he’d held a particular spite for Kaeya. He wouldn’t put it past the man to be indulging himself for this specific round.
How they managed to convince Diluc to even join in was also a mystery to him, yet the Traveler insisted that was the message received. It was one thing for him to volunteer the grounds for a Mondstadt tradition - as a Ragnvindr, Diluc would put a particular pride in any game honoring the rebellion. To actually frolic around like he was still a young boy was another thing entirely. His professional image would be on the line; although, on that thought, perhaps the Knights of Favonius were also in the same boat. The thought of a former-Knight-turned-simple-noble evading capture of each of the Knights’ famed figures, and also tracking down each one without fail...there were few audiences for these games, but people still liked to talk. Perhaps it was not just Kaeya he wished to humiliate.
I’ll have to try prying it out of him later...if he even shows his face once the timer is up.
…
“Huh? Master Diluc, what are you doing inside?” Adelinde’s voice took his attention from the novel, and Diluc raised his head. “I was informed you would be outside…”
“I finished my business out there,” he answered simply.
“The games are still going, though? It’s the Outrider’s turn to hunt again, and she’s flying all over the grounds looking for you…” She paused. “Actually, no one’s been able to find you for hours now.”
He shook his head. “So you mean to tell me that when Hilichurls and Abyss Mages are out on the roads, the Knights of Favonius are goofing off playing children’s games?”
“Wait...so you haven’t been taking part in the games this whole time?”
“Why would I?” Diluc took the time to wipe some sweat off his brow.
To Adelinde’s surprise, he looked a little exhausted. Yet another reason she assumed he was part of the current Windtrace line-up. Her master informed them all he would be going out around the same time the players showed up, and the bard even cheered a little at the prospect of the wine kegs being unguarded...which she and the others overheard, and quickly took care of switching all their supplies with empty fakes. Although, now that she thought about it, Diluc was never seen coming out at the end of a round, and never once took a turn at being a Hunter. Maybe it was a little silly for them to assume he merely was issuing a further challenge on the Knights, strictly refusing to leave his hiding spot until found.
“Wait, then…” Adelinde tilted her head. “Where exactly were you, Master Diluc, and how come no one noticed your return…”
“Unimportant.”
“And...not once did you notice the Windtrace players looking for you?”
“They’re the fools for not yet realizing I was never there. I don’t even know how they got such an idea in the first place. If they wish to keep searching for someone who was never in the game, then so be it.” For a brief moment, a smile flashed on his face. “There are others who can fulfill their duties all the same.”
Drifters in the Terrace Depths
There were several reasons why height was recognized as an important factor when it came to Rebel players, and situations like the one Qiqi was in now might just prove some of the complaints correct. She wasn’t purposefully trying to cheat, though; if this could even qualify as cheating...She was, after all, still within the Contested Zone. What other rules were there?
…
Er...well...she was sure she wasn’t breaking them.
Although, once she finally crawled out of this gap in the cliff-side, Qiqi guessed the others might consider adding more. She couldn’t fully recall it now, but she faintly remembered going against another player the other day that caused some upsets with their passive Vision abilities. Who was it, again? Whoever it was, she hadn’t seen them in some time, so clearly they either were barred from further play or chose to withdraw on their own accord. If she was having a hard time coming up with what their face looked like, then they most likely weren’t from Liyue.
Soon, Qiqi sensed a growing danger. The Hunter was on their way. There was a chance that they might get close enough to see her inside the gap, although for now she reasoned they would be distracted. The Traveler was close by, taking on a scarecrow disguise. It was one of the riskier moves of the game, given how scarecrows were one of the more obvious items for a Hunter to check. Giant trees were no different, but at least they blended a bit better in the foliage.
Hearing the Traveler’s disappointed groans and the giggles of the famed chef of Wanmin Restaurant, Qiqi huddled closer to the back of the miniature cave. She held her breath and decided to use one of the special powers unique to Windtrace. Closing her eyes, she turned invisible and hoped her timing was okay. She counted the few seconds the spell would be active - and still kept her eyes shut even after it was over. Only when she continued to find herself in the game did she relax and open her eyes.
That was close… she mused in her head. And...familiar to Qiqi…
The reason as to why eluded her. Although, maybe it had something to do with her instinct to hide in here to begin with. The security of rock walls around her - concealing her body from sight and the elements - was also mixed in with a tiny fear they might just swallow her whole, leaving her trapped forever. And yet, every time she felt someone draw too close, the fear of discovery and what might occur overtook her.
Why does Qiqi...feel scared of a simple game? No Hunter will actually...hurt Qiqi…
Clutching onto her Cryo Vision, Qiqi waited for time to run out.
Ghost-Fire Stream
“Oh come on, Mr. Zhongli!” Hu Tao’s hands were on her hips, yet her eyes were lit up with amusement. “I don’t think it’s possible for someone to be this horrible at hide and seek...are you sure you’re really into this game?”
The taller man sighed. “Yes, I am indeed trying. But formulating a plan in just 30 seconds, and executing the speed required to get it done...it’s proving a little difficult for a beginner like myself.”
“That was a good excuse before,” Hu Tao hummed. “And so was your height. But seriously! You barely moved from the starting position...I just watched you walk over here and stand still for the rest of the time!”
“I’ve been...running out of ideas.”
She shook her head and gave a mock sigh. “Well, at least getting caught so early means you have all the more time to spectate and plan ahead. Now, time for me to find Childe and Yanfei…”
Meanwhile, up in the treetops, a young Snezhnayan man and a half-Adeptus girl had watched the scene unfold with grins on their faces.
Ice-Sealed Maze
“Found you.”
Squealing at the voice behind him, Bennett turned to find Razor nearly in his face. The young adventurer sighed.
“At least tell me I’m not the first one this time…”
Razor stared back, keeping quiet.
Bennett sighed louder. “Seriously?! How does this keep happening?!”
Razor pointed to his nose. “Wind carries scent. Tracking harder up here, but...I got lucky.”
“Or I got unlucky…” He shook his head. “Whatever. You have two others to find, don’t you? At least you won’t have to deal with Mona…”
He shivered, and moved his gaze to the snowy arena. He thought back to yesterday, when he was thrown into chases with the astrologist. Her watery sprint always meant that as a Hunter, she’d catch any Rebels, and as a Rebel, she’d always evade the Hunter. It was worse for Bennett in the Dragonspine location. Invisible bubbles protected some of the crimson ores of the landscape, shocking any who drew too close. And somehow, he always seemed to trip on them.
He paused when he felt something on his head. It was Razor’s hand, patting him on the head.
“There, there,” Razor told him. “You still get Windtrace coins.”
“But barely any!” He puffed his cheeks. “I have to play all day just to reach one tier of prizes, while most can call it quits after an hour or two…”
“But games fun. I have fun with games. I have fun with Bennett.”
Bennett blinked, and softened his expression. “Thanks pal...I might complain, but I have fun hanging out with you, too.”
Then, he cleared his throat. “Now, show me how a wolf wins at hide and seek!”