Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

When Huang Sanyue was young, her mother taught her how Rex Lapis looked after Liyue and her residents. How the Geo Archon with the help of Liyue Qixing watched over the commerce and contracts and ensured everything was just and fair.

When Uminomichi Mitsuki was young, her father taught her how the Almighty Shogun ruled over Inazuma and her subjects. How the Electro Archon made edicts that were enforced by the Tri-Commission, making sure that the country functioned as it should.

The two Archons had very different approaches to ruling their dominions but the people under their rule were loyal and devoted. And thus was she raised to be, too.

Mostly Sanyue lived with her mother in Liyue Harbor. It was safe and nice. Her mother held a shop to which her father brought goods from Inazuma. Sometimes Sanyue hopped onboard her father’s ship for the return trip. And she became Mitsuki when stepping ashore at Ritou.

In Inazuma, Mitsuki had an older brother. Half-brother, to be exact, with Tomoharu’s mother having passed away years ago when the boy was young. In a sense Tomo was still young. And carefree. He liked to wander and explore all around Inazuma with his friend Kaedehara Kazuha… and thus Mitsuki had very rarely seen him.

It was a good life though. Mitsuki loved both of her homelands, she loved her parents and her brother.

Things changed when she got her Vision.

“It is not that I don’t care… but I rather have faith in myself than rely on blessings. Rex Lapis has so many people to watch over that I rather have him devote attention to someone who truly needs it.” Sanyue explained to Xiangling as they went through polearm drills. They were only nine and seven at the time, with Xiangling started only last year. She was learning fast though and technique-wise catching up to Sanyue. The older girl had more confidence and routine in her movements though.

“That’s great, Shijie!”

“Really?” Sanyue blinked. “But I have no other goals than that. You already know you want to explore all the recipes you can find and innovate something new from them.”

“But knowing you want to be independent is already a big step.” Xiangling replied.

“I suppose…”

Their training time under the stern but gentle guidance of Madame Ping came to an end and the two girls headed back to the harbor from the valley at the east side of it. Sanyue bid goodbye to her friend and went to do a detour through Bubu Pharmacy.

“Ah, Huang-guniang, welcome to Bubu Pharmacy.” Baizhu, the doctor and the owner of the pharmacy, greeted her.

“Good evening, Baizhu-yisheng.” Sanyue greeted back. “Mother asked me to see if you have any Flaming Flower Stamens.”

“I believe we do.” Baizhu smiled. “How many does Huang Qingli need?”

“Three.”

As Baizhu turned towards the shelves behind him that housed the various plants and other ingredients that he made into remedies or sold as they were, the man asked Sanyue how her practice went, how her mother’s shop was doing and other similar things. Sanyue replied but was a bit distracted.

“And here you are, three Flaming Flower Stamens. That’ll be 3000 Mora.” Baizhu placed the bag containing the stamens on the counter. Sanyue snapped from her thoughts and with a bit embarrassed smile, went to look for her coin pouch.

“You seem to be deep in your thoughts today, Huang-guniang.” Baizhu observed.

“A bit… I told A-Ling that rather than putting my hopes in Rex Lapis, I’d put faith in myself and work towards my goals… whatever those may be.”

“That is quite admirable.”

“You think so? Not unfaithful?” That’s what had bothered Sanyue when making the admission. She had been taught to put trust in her Archons and know they’d make the right decisions in regards her home. And she knew many people who prayed to the archons to help with their goals and seek personal guidance. So to decide not to do anything like that and rely only on herself…

“These days, many people seem to think that the assistance of a god or an adeptus is something to be sought on a whim and providing miracles that eases their own burden. But such shortcuts are not meant to be sought after. People need to work for their own goals, otherwise they are meaningless.”

“So I need to work hard for my ambitions anyways because there won’t be any… divine intervention to help me?”

“Unless it is something that for reason or another catches the attention of Rex Lapis, yes. He is not omnipresent but he still may help if he deems it necessary. But you shouldn’t expect it to happen and forgot to work yourself. Does that make sense?”

“I suppose…” In Sanyue’s opinion, it was a bit confusing… but very relieving to hear that she wasn’t being a bad daughter and Liyue citizen by showing independence. Baizhu had a way to explain things that made sense but weren’t dumbed down. Sanyue wasn’t stupid!

She paid for the stamens and thanked the good doctor for the advice before going home. The conversation had given her a lot to think about.

That was the start of her change. Sanyue worked harder, be it with martial arts, scholarly goals or gathering of cultural knowledge. Her mother was worried for her sudden dedication of time to everything catching her fancy. Her father eagerly suggested her things to explore. Her brother gave tips he’d picked during his travels.

All of this culminated to the fact that Sanyue wanted to make something of herself but did not know what. She dabbled and somethings held her attention longer than others. She was like a sponge, sucking in information and skills.

It was almost a year into this intence experimentation when Sanyue stepped out of the safety of Liyue Harbor on her own, with the intent of gathering herbs for the Bubu Pharmacy. She had a child’s recklessness but surety of something older as she headed towards Luhua Pool.

It was dangerous. Mostly she encountered slimes but some hilichurls came in her way as well. She fought them off and healed herself using the remedies she’d been saving for this trip. She gathered lotus heads and even climbed some cliff faces to get Violetgrass and Qingxin. And it was on those attempts that she fell.

She fell towards rocks beneath her and not to the water. But just as she was turning around to mitigate her momentum as she was too young to get a glider yet… It happened like in slow motion.

Blue light appeared before her, enveloped her and it felt like she was flowing rather than falling.

She harmlessly hit the water and sunk few meters. She gazed at the Hydro Vision sitting at her chest and was instantly hit by visions.

Sanyue’s head hurt and she began swimming upwards. As her head broke the surface, she too felt like she’d woken from deep sleep.

“Genshin Impact? What the hell…” She gasped.

When Huang Sanyue was young, her mother taught her how Rex Lapis looked after Liyue and her residents. How the Geo Archon with the help of Liyue Qixing watched over the commerce and contracts and ensured everything was just and fair.

When Uminomichi Mitsuki was young, her father taught her how the Almighty Shogun ruled over Inazuma and her subjects. How the Electro Archon made edicts that were enforced by the Tri-Commission, making sure that the country functioned as it should.

When Moonie (real name classified) woke up in Genshin Impact as a new Vision holder… a Hydro Polearm character at the grand age of almost ten, she wanted to laugh and cry and rage, sink into despair. Because Teyvat was wonderful and terrible at the same time. She knew what would happen in future in about… seven to ten years… and it was not good. Aside from vague timeline (and none of the characters given official ages) there were dangers. Sanyue was a reckless child. And Moonie might not be that much better. Besides… she didn’t know nearly everything that was going on in the world. She’d only played up to Inazuma patch. And not even finished that.

Rex Lapis and Raiden Shogun might’ve been revered by their respective subjects. To Moonie, they were Ancient Blockhead with too complicated retirement plans, and Narrow-minded Bitch with no care for individuals under her rule.

Chapter Text

First things first, take a stock of the situation.

Sanyue/Mitsuki/Moonie swam to the shore and pulled herself up to sit on the edge of one of the pools. She didn’t seem to be injured too badly. Scraped knees and fingers from where her grip had failed and scratched against the rock. Her previously gathered herbs were fine too if a bit soaked in her woven basket.

Next… figure out the situation inside her head. Like how to address herself. Sanyue and Mitsuki were written with the same characters but the pronunciation naturally differed. Xiangling called her Yue… that’d be doable. And when she’d be in Inazuma, she’d be… Tsuki. Perhaps.

“And if I ever go to Mondstadt or Fontaine and need some discretion, I can be Luna.” Yue chuckled. Speaking of Xiangling…

Timeline of Genshin Impact was a mystery. Yue was just a bit older than Xiangling. The rest of Liyue’s teen playable characters fell into the same age bracket between and around them. But how old those kids were when the game itself starts… Because the only characters who were given any indication of age, were Barbara and Diluc. Barbara was two years from being able to drink alcohol… so probably sixteen. Diluc… left Mondstadt after his eighteenth birthday which was about four years before the game start. And that was webtoons info thus not necessarily canon.

Yue frowned. She could conclude that the game would start… within five to ten years. A character model being a teen or an adult meant nothing really. Just looking at Xiao and Ganyu proved that. (Venti did not. He was thousands of years old but wore his human friend’s appearance.)

“It’s too vague…” The girl sighed. “And I don’t know much of the plot anyways…”

Speaking of which, Yue did not remember dying or anything similar. But she did remember the years Sanyue had lived before adding (or awakening) Moonie’s memories. So she was probably stuck in this world rather than temporarily displaced. Which in turn meant that Yue really needed to take stock of her existing memories and correctly cultivate already existing relationships with people.

“Tomo-nii…” Uminomichi Tomoharu… Kazuha’s friend. Dead friend. Called Tomo probably from ‘tomodachi’, ‘friend’. Yue’s brother would lose his life within ten years. Even if Yue wasn’t close with him due lack of contact thus far, he was still her brother. Maybe it could be a good goal to try and save him. And figure out a way for Kazuha to leave anyways so the Traveller could get to Inazuma.

Yue cupped her new Hydro Vision in her hands. How dangerous would Inazuma be for her? This Vision was of Liyuean model. It was Morax’s blessing, not Baal’s. Would Baal have the right to take it away? If she took it, how much would Yue lose of herself and her memories? How much any of the playable characters would lose in the hypothetical situation of losing their Vision as they’ve mostly gotten them in childhood or as preteens…

“I need to head home…”

On the way home – with the help of map and Moonie’s memory of the terrain – Yue experimented with her Vision. Hydro responded to her commands beautifully, whether it was infusing and moving existing water or just on its own, appearing from thin air. She couldn’t do anything complicated with it yet, but it was comforting to know that it didn’t require too much work to call her powers forth.

The journey also gave her the opportunity to marvel at the landscape of Liyue from completely different angle. Marvel and get another taste of enemies in the wild. How an earth had Sanyue beaten them alone and without a Vision before? Her current spear wasn’t that long and she was a novice!

Eventually though, Yue made it back to the Liyue Harbor and went to deliver the herbs to Baizhu. She got monetary compensation from her work and once the doctor noticed her new Vision, a bunch of the herbs she’d collected, a congratulations and a recommendation to head straight home.

Mother’s reaction… was interesting. She was in tears due how proud she was of Yue, how worried she’d been, how relieved she was… And then it was back to business.

“Start packing for a week’s journey.” Huang Qingli declared.

“Huh?”

“We’re going to Mondstadt.”

“Huh?!” Yue blinked her surprise away and found her voice. “Why?”

“You have a Vision now. It means more capability, more responsibility and more… freedom. In any case, you’ll need a wind glider and the best ones are made in Mondstadt.” The woman explained. “After we get it, I’ll be sending you to your father and brother in Inazuma to learn to use it and your Vision.”

“Why them? Why can’t I learn here?” Yue trailed after her mother to the kitchen where the woman began bustling around with pots and pans.

“You’ll learn basics in Mondstadt but the rest… Liyue’s landscape is not good, especially with you still so young. Your brother is experienced with wind glider and I got a letter from your father that Tomoharu had gotten his own Vision lately as well.”

That made… some sense… But if Genshin Impact had taught anything to Moonie, it was the NPCs were not blessed with logic. And Qingli certainly was an NPC. Basically everyone without a Vision was an NPC… but how that translated to living the life was still under question.

“Now go to pack. I’ll cook some of your favorites to celebrate.” Qingli smiled down at Yue who nodded.

“Mn. Thank you, mama.”

Next day, the two of them left along with a merchant caravan towards North. Qingli wrote a letter for Yue’s father where she explained the situation and her plans, and sent it that day too.

Travelling with a caravan was… slow. Most of the roads were not paved and the carriages full of goods were heavy. They were also occasionally attacked by bandits of some sort or groups of hilichurls. They managed to fight them off each time and report those groups to Millelith Check-Points (that kept log of the caravans in the case of people going missing) but it was all incredibly slow. When the evening fell, they’d just managed to get to Wangshu Inn to rest for the night. Yue was exhausted and annoyed. Exhausted mainly because of all the fighting and the fact that she was still in a child’s body. Annoyed because the distance was just barely longer than to Luhua Pool and she’d managed to go there and back plus climb for herbs in a lot shorter time yesterday. If she’d been alone… maybe she would’ve managed to get to Stone gate by now. Maybe.

“Let’s go get a room.” Qingli pressed Yue towards the elevator while the merchants were securing their cargo and horses for the night.

“Mn…” Yue nodded sleepily. She’d refrained from talking much, in the fear of rousing some notice that she possibly wasn’t like before… But Huang Qingli had said nothing and when Yue examined her memories from before awakening, she couldn’t detect any change either. But then again, it had been only a day and two major interactions.

She followed quietly as Qingli talked with Verr Goldet and then lead them to the room. The inside of Wangshu Inn was massively different from the game. More stairs and corridors and rooms, making the inn sprawl across the branches of the giant tree. The kitchen was closed off from the lobby and there was a clear dining hall in between them. Xiao’s balcony was off to the side rather than directly from the stairs of second level veranda that housed an inactive teleportation point.

Yue poked that one but nothing happened.

She was meant to go to sleep and she did fall asleep… only for her to wake up again after few hours with no tiredness in her limbs or mind anymore.

Yue was wide awake and the entire Wangshu Inn was hers to explore.

She picked up her spear and Vision, put on shoes and threw a light jacket on top of her pajamas. Then she tip-toed out of the door, through the corridor and towards the balconies.

Some were occupied and in search for an empty one, Yue didn’t notice stepping onto the one unofficially dedicated to the Vigilant Yaksha. Night breeze blew at her face gently and made her smile as she began going through the drills of fighting moves with her polearm. The familiar moves that her body led her through allowed her to sink into a sort of trance. Calm her mind, distract her from her situation, refamiliarize her with the tiny body of hers.

Yue wasn’t sure how long she’d been at it when she eventually came to a stop and blinked the slight daze away. And that’s when she noticed she was not alone in the balcony. With a yelp, she whirled around to point her polearm at the intruder. A trail of Hydro followed the movement and settled to twirl around the tip of her weapon.

The girl came face to face with none other but Xiao – Alatus – himself.

“Um…” Yue blinked again, her words promptly stuck in her throat.

“Shouldn’t you be sleeping?” The Yaksha asked. “In my understanding human children need sleep.”

“…” Yue swallowed and forced her tongue to work. She really hadn’t expected this. “I was sleeping but woke up and couldn’t sleep again.”

“Hmph…” Xiao turned to look at the scenery opening from the balcony. It was dismissa if there ever was one.

“Sorry for disturbing you.” Yue lowered her polearm and bowed hastily before hurrying off, her face burning. She had no idea how long Xiao had been there, just watching here. Or if he’d even been there since the beginning but she’d simply not noticed. Such a lack of observational skills! Yue could not afford that in this word. Not even in areas that were supposedly safe. Not to mention it was embarrassing!

Yue managed to get back to the inn room without Qingli waking up and even catch sleep a bit before the dawn broke through the horizon. She was woken up and taken to the dining hall for breakfast – which was delicious. Then was time to pack and leave and in no time they were on the road again.

The route was about the same than before in the terms of level of danger. A bit more exposed for the latter part of Guili Plains but any waterborne hilichurls were quickly chased away. Yue even got to help with her hydro abilities!

They stopped for tea at the last check-point before the Stone Gate. One would imagine getting fed up on drinking eat on every meal but Yue had begun drinking tea quite young and had as Moonie drank all sorts of tea. Even Lipton Yellow Label… bleh.

“A-Niang? May I have Bai Hao Yin Zhen?” Yue asked tentatively after spotting the item on the menu. The tea – ‘White Hair Silver Needle’ – was one of the most expensive and most priced white teas… At least was in her previous life. It was very soft and delicious and could only be bought from specialty tea shops. And thus was drank sparingly only on weekends if even then. In this life… Yue couldn’t remember tasting it.

“Are you sure? You haven’t tasted it before.” Qingli asked. Probably worried about waste of money in the case Yue wouldn’t like it.

“I’m sure.” Yue nodded seriously, prompting a smile from the woman.

“Alright then. I suppose we can celebrate a bit.” She turned then to address the old man of the tea shop, Zhou. “A pot of Yin Zhen, please. I’ll drink it as well.”

“You’re in luck!” Pops Zhou told them. “I just got a delivery of the needles. I don’t dare to purchase them often as people rarely venture to taste it. Like to stick to their common orders, bah!”

The old man gestured dramatically but after accepting money from Qingly, started brewing the pot. Qingli led Yue to sit at one of the tables to wait for their order.

The tea was as delicious as Yue remembered. Boiled only up to 80 celsius degrees since white teas were delicate and thus would be burnt in harder temperatures. Compared to black teas that Moonie had put directly into 100 C water and over steeped them while waiting for the temperature go down enough to them be drinkable.

Such travesty would not be possible in this life though.

Qingli quietly praised Yue’s choice to pick an excellent tea and not just for its price either. Yue beamed under the praise and enjoyed the beverage and snacks.

Soon after that, it was time to continue the journey. Mondstadt was waiting for them.

Yue as a child

Chapter Text

Mondstadt, the nation – and city – of wind, freedom, poetry, songs and wine. Grassy hills, clear skies, gentle winds…

Sanyue loved it at first sight. Part of that was due stepping into the same paths that she led her Traveller through (not completely same, everything was bigger and so vast with more paths and longer distances), part was simply the atmosphere. Where Liyue was majestic with the towering mountains, tall waterfalls and golden leaves of ginkgo trees, Mondstadt was open and welcoming, with views far-far away, little ponds hidden in little nooks, and green, so green everywhere, like fresh spring had just arrived. What little Sanyue remembered of Inazuma – both from the game and her few visits thus far in this life – it was more like a tumultuous summer. Rich colours, heavy rain season… And of course, lightning everywhere.

They actually didn’t make all the way through to the city. It had taken time to get the carriages through the customs and of course the distances were bigger than in game. So they stopped in Springvale and made a camp so the merchants would arrive to Mond in the morning and set their shops in peace for the crowds to arrive.

Third day of their journey. Cider Lake shining golden yellow in the morning sun. Definitely worth of its name. Approaching the grand bridge over the lake and seeing the city waiting there, the iconic windmills turning slowly… it was like a dream come true.

Sanyue couldn’t help but watch in awe. This was everything and more! And regardless of how many years she’d live in this world and have opportunities to explore, she doubted she’d ever get bored or unimpressed of this all.

They were greeted at the gates and Qingli asked for directions to a glider maker. The route was off the beaten path, past the black smith and towards where Mona would live. Or something. Sanyue couldn’t see any doors with Hydro seal on it though… so either it was deeper into the city or simply had not been sealed yet.

The glider maker greeted them jovially and introduced himself as Wing. He was dressed in common Mondstadter clothes but had a leather apron on his hips as well.

“Hang from that handle.” He instructed Sanyue. “It is a scales that helps me measure how much carry the wings will need so the descend and lift is safe for you.”

Qingli lifted Sanyue to grab hold on the handle. She descended slowly. Too slowly according to Wing.

“You’ll get too much lift and might be blown away.”

New try. Wing fiddled with the weights in the other end. This time Sanyue descended too quickly.

“Now you won’t have safe descend as it’ll be too fast.”

It took a couple of more tries before Sanyue’s descend was of perfect time.

“Why didn’t you just weight me?” She asked Wing.

“Because you are still at the age where you’ll grow and I’m sure you want these wings to last a few years. So I need to calculate the now that is passable also tomorrow.” The man explained while taking gesturing Sanyue to stand next to a pillar that had height measurements marked there. And then use tape measure for her arm length, shoulder width and from shoulder to the top of her head. All meant for the glider construction. Then more measures from around her chest and waist and shoulders and the length of her back for the harness.

It was all very interesting process. Qingli didn’t allow Sanyue to pick just any glider model though. It was the Wings of First flight for her but they were customizable to a degree so the girl didn’t really mind. Once she was older, she could get prettier wings.

Dibs on the ones from Dragonspine. The Wings of Concealing Snow.

“Come back in two days to try the fit.” Wing told them. “And welcome to Mondstadt!”

“Thank you!”

Qingli let Sanyue to wander freely. They grabbed a quick lunch to go from Good Hunter and agreed to meet in front of it by dinner time. In the meantime, Qingli would go to secure a room for them from the Goethe Grand Hotel and leave their luggage there.

It was like being in a theme park! So much to see and wanting to see it all at once! Sanyue immediately headed in the direction of the upper city. Adventurer’s base and the Knights of Favonius’ headquarters were there as well as the Church and the giant Anemo Archon statue. While Sanyue really wanted to climb up there… she knew better and should wait at least to get her glider on her.

Maybe someday! She definitely intended to come again to Mondstadt. Most likely on her own… or maybe with Xiangling.

Sanyue ran all the stairs up to the statue plaza. She gave a cursory glance at the fountains but those she could see on her way down, too.

“It’s huge!” She gasped. Well, of course it was. Sanyue had known that but up close it practically loomed above her. The wings arched and the arms extended, like sheltering and blessing anyone within the statue’s sight.

People were sedately walking around. There were some knights patrolling in the perimeter, nuns here and there, some other citizens too. Sanyue idly wondered if some of those people would be the same than the NPCs the players would meet. Some places already existed, like black-smith or Good Hunter. But some didn’t, like Flora’s flower shop.

“Some people were still alive…” Sanyue looked at the Cathedral. “Like Alfred’s daughter.”

She then glanced over the railing and towards the city walls. “Or Crepus Ragnvindr…”

Sanyue let out a sigh and shook her head. Enough with depressing thoughts! That should not be her problem. If she happened to be in the vicinity to do something… then she’d try but with the timeline being what it was, there was no way to plan anything in advance.

“Huh? That’s… Script?” Right around the pedestal of the statue was script on Teyvat common written on. Sanyue rummaged her bag for writing supplies. She transcribed the text and began writing the equivalents in roman alphabets. It required a bit of guessing. Mondstadt wrote in English but sideways, both in grammar and with letters. It was decipherable though. There was the knowledge of the letters at the back of her head but she hadn't had the opportunity to refresh it yet since her awakening.

“The Gateway of Celestia?” How strange… How could this statue be a gateway to… up there? Sanyue looked up and squinted. It was a clear weather and she could see Celestia in the distance. She remembered some people doing videos of game glitched where they put a character under a bamboo boat in Liyue for two hours and then moved it out, the game launching the character in the air in the process. Of course it didn’t make the character reach the Celestia. And neither did the Windtrace glitch where you could start walking from the game table towards the sky. So the question was, how to reach Celestia then? The only ways straight up were wind currents but there were no Anemo monuments or the strange vents like in Windrise and Cape Oath. The Windrise current would be activated after offering Anemoculus to the Windrise Statue of Seven though…

Too hard, not enough concrete info, too early to speculate anything. Sanyue shook her head again and stowed her writing supplies away. Time to explore more and try to acclimate to the world without thinking the deep lore.

“You look quite morose.” A voice spoke up by her shoulder. Sanyue let out a squeak and whirled around, water from the pool surrounding the statue following the sweep of her hand. The culprit hastily backed up a few steps, to avoid being splashed. Hydro infused water formed a layer around Sanyue’s flat palm, giving extra reach. Maybe it was a good thing that she had left her spear with mother, Sanyue thought as she took in the boy who’d snuck up on her.

Blond hair, green eyes, very Mondstadt-esque clothes mainly in red but with some embellishments that seemed Inazuman.

“You are really jumpy, miss, aren’t you?” The boy gave a laugh clearly meant to release the tension.

“Well, you did sneak up on me.” Sanyue retorted, dismissing her makeshift Hydro glove. “Considering I just arrived here after three days on the road…”

“Okay, okay, I’m sorry.” The boy gave a shallow bow. “I’m Thomas, by the way.”

Not… Thoma then? Or was this simply the matter of pronunciation? Given Kurisu in Ritou… who probably was Chris actually.

“Huang Sanyue… But I can be Luna, too.”

“Luna? I like it. Suits you.” Thomas smiled. Considering that Sanyue had some moon-themes embroidery in her jacket, it sure should. “Would you like me to show you around Mondstadt?”

An official meeting with a playable character with Sanyue’s memories intact and that wouldn’t lead to embarrassment right at hand? Count her in.

“That would be nice.” She took the offered hand and let Thomas lead her towards the Cathedral.

“The higher you get, the further you see.” The boy told her. “And it’s easier to make way downwards.”

Well, if the teleport waypoints weren’t working until the Traveller arrived… there were no shortcuts for ordinary people.

They wandered around the Cathedral at first, Thomas pointing out various nooks to which people liked to hide items or messages. The graveyard at the back was bigger than in the game but not that much. Sanyue did not ask but she guessed that people of Mondstadt rather had their ashes scattered to the winds and the graveyard was more like a memorial.

Then they ducked between the houses of upper city, got even chased by some Lawrence guards. They ogled at the knight hopefuls training next to the Favonius headquarters. There was a head of red hair too!

“They are so good…” Thomas sighed wistfully. Sanyue glanced at him.

“Can’t you learn too? It isn’t restricted, is it?”

“Not really… but it is sort of expected that if you join the lessons, you will join the Knights. And I’m not interested in that. I’m just happy helping out mum.” The boy shrugged, stuffing his hands into his pockets. He scuffed his shoe against a cobblestone, the picture of dejectedness.

Now that wouldn’t do!

“I could teach you some.” Sanyue offered. Thomas’ head snapped up.

“Huh? But you don’t have…” He looked at her up and down, searching for a weapon.

“I left my spear with a-ni-… my mother. I am no master but I do my stances regularly and can hold my own against slimes. So, I can give you basics while I’m here.”

“That…That’d be great! Thank you, Luna.” He hugged her. Very tightly.

“You’re welcome. Come, my mother should be at Good Hunter or at the markets.”

They found Qingli who insisted on them both eating at least a bit of a toast before scampering off again. They actually went back to the Knights’ training ground. The people from before were mostly gone but there were some practice weapons lying around.

“Alright, first we’ll find you a suitable spear. The height should be a bit more than yourself, the thickness of the shaft comfortable… a bit thicker than a broomstick, maybe. You want to be able to close your fingers around it but not enough for them to hit the heel of the palm.” Sanyue was lecturing.

Once the appropriate spear was found, the girl settled in front of Thomas.

“Look at me but don’t do anything yet. The most important thing is to find a good steady stance than allows for movement, both of the spear and moving through the drill. Then you’ll find a balanced grip of your spear that doesn’t feel like it is tipping to either direction when you are not moving.”

And so on it went. Sanyue demonstrated and explained, while Thomas followed. Simple strikes and jabs. Feeling the weight of the spear and how that affected the movement of it. Start to learn the momentum the spear gained from each swing and how the shaft trembled or bent after a hit.

They didn’t train until exhaustion; Thomas needed to go home and Sanyue to the hotel. But they agreed to meet again next day before parting ways.

Having Thomas as a friend was exciting. There was also a surprising common ground for them to bond over. Thomas’s father was from Inazuma as well. He didn’t make regular trips there, like Sanyue’s but seemed to miss his homeland dearly. He had stories for Thomas to tell, which he then relayed to Sanyue. The girl liked the stories and could add some of her own information to it too.

About the islands for example.

“There are six islands and all of them have their own quirks. Narukami is sort of the main island as it has the port city Ritou, the Narukami Shrine of Sacred Sakura and Inazuma City. Then there are Kannazuka and Yashiori. They have smaller populations but Kannazuka has a big mining business and Yashiori has the bones of Orobashi snake that Raiden Shogun slayed in Archon war. There is also Musoujin Gorge that splits Yashiori in the northern side and that was made of the slash that killed Orobashi. The slash reaches all the way to Narukami.” She explained. “Those three are called green islands as they are the only ones where grass grows green. Then there are Watatsumi, Seirai and Tsurumi. I haven’t seen but pictures of them, but Watatsumi is pretty and their patron god was Orobashi. Seirai is dangerous and something big was killed there too since they mountain is shattered but floating. And Tsurumi is a mystery. Very rare people go in and those that come back, don’t remember what they saw.”

It sort of galled her that she never had the opportunity to explore those islands on her own, you know, safely through a screen. While Sanyue had no doubt that Traveller in this world would go there as well, should she go too? Would she dare? Would she have an opportunity? Or should she remain in the safety of Liyue harbor instead of daring to confront the blazing sky?

Questions, questions… but to real answers. Not yet at least.

Chapter Text

Writing supplies. Sanyue had her hands full of differently patterned notebooks, among which she was trying to pick her favourite ones to buy as souvenirs. They had various flower and wind motifs in them.

“Though choice?” Thomas peered over her shoulder.

“I’m limiting myself to five… Because I know when I go to Inazuma next, I’ll be buying notebooks there too.” Or scrolls, depending on what was available.

“Can I pick for you then?” The boy offered. Sanyue sighed, and considered…

“Have at it.” She showed the nine notebooks at him. Thomas grinned and shuffled through them. First he picked two that had Windwheel Aster design and gave one back to Sanyue while the other went back to the stall. Same happened with Cecilia, Anemo sigil and Anemo Archon Statue notebooks. That gave her four notebooks plus the last one which was much plainer in design. The cover was the color of night sky and had a rough sketched out drawing of a dragon on it. Sanyue could recognize similarity to Dvalin in it.

“There you go.” Thomas smiled. “The problem was picking between two with each, right?”

“Yeah…”

“Why do you want so much notebooks though? Are you planning on writing stories?”

“…Not really.” Sanyue hedged while paying for her purchases. Once they’d begun walking towards the side gate and to the docks of the Cider Lake. “It’s more like that everything in this world has a story to tell if only we know how to listen. And I want to record those stories. Everyone in this world has a story to tell… but the story of this world can only be deciphered the one who walks starlit path. And when the Starlight Traveler arrives, I want to be prepared. If fate allows it, maybe I’ll be allowed to join their journey.”

The Traveller had an Archive as a game mechanic that allowed players to access information of everything from enemies to artifacts to enhancement material drops. And if there was something Sanyue had learnt when playing Inazuma batch… and hearing about Singora being teased as the Crimson Witch of Flames… then it was the undeniable fact that everything little info blurb contains a piece of lore that forms a bigger picture. But she’d never had the chance to explore them properly before being here, within this world. So she’d make do with notebooks in the absence of such archive herself.

“I won’t pretend to understand what you are thinking of, Luna.” Thomas said to fill the ensuing silence. “But wherever your path goes, promise to write me and tell me all about it.”

“Sure!” Sanyue grinned, quietly relieved that he didn’t ask difficult questions. It would be… difficult to explain. Her foreknowledge especially. She didn’t want to lie to Thomas. She could result to… cryptic bullshitting, but she’d rather not.

The pair of them settled to sit on a pier. Sanyue stashed her purchases as they watched sailors unloading cargo from the ships. Thomas struck a conversation with the workers while Sanyue just let the chatter wash over her. Their vantage point on top of some crates had them out of the way, the sun was shining on them gently. It was all very peaceful…

Thomas tilted his head when he heard the soft huffs behind him. Luna had fallen asleep against the crates, her practise spear held loosely against her.

“Ah, she must’ve tired herself out these past days.” Thomas didn’t know the details of why Luna was in Mondstadt. He knew her Vision was recent addition and that’s why she and her mother had come to get a wind glider, the travel from Liyue taking a few days. But…

She also seemed tired in a way Thomas had never seen any child being. Luna had instantly latched onto him, talking about many things but skirted around others. She offered to train him with a spear without reservations and absorbed every little thing Thomas did or said and then offered her own opinion. Always attentive and ready for anything.

Until now. Luna had finally slowed down and allowed her guard slip. Thomas supposed that it was her exhaustion catching up on her. It was no wonder really.

The boy settled to sit next to the girl. Luna snuffled in her sleep and curled towards him and warmth. Thomas hummed to himself with a smile and carefully drew her closer and under his arm. Her spear was bit in a way so he gently removed it and set it aside. Luna’s head settled against his heart. The sun was shining.

Perfect day for a nap really.

Sanyue woke up feeling groggy but content. It was warm and tight. It was soft but solid. She felt safe.

She was trying to snuggle deeper when she heard a chuckle from her pillow. She blinked slowly but then tried to press her head tighter against the pillow.

Thum-thump, thum-thump…

A heartbeat.

“It’s dinner time soon, Luna.” The pillow told her. “We should get going before it gets cold.”

“Unnnhm…”

“C’mon.” The arm around her moved her away from the heartbeat. “Time to wake up. My mother always says not to nap too long or you’ll spoil your good night’s sleep.”

“Dun wanna…”

“You’re not giving me any choices, are you?”

“…”

And then Sanyue was grabbed around her waist and tossed in the air. The sudden rush of wind definitely served to woke her up.

“Aaaah!”

Splash

And so did the refreshing impromptu bath in Cider Lake. She sunk a bit but surfaced soon. Wholly different from her plunge at Luhua Pool.

“Thomas!” She yelled at the laughing boy. Sanyue was wide awake now, true, but it didn’t mean she appreciated wet clothes. Good thing she’d told him the story of how she’d gotten her Vision, so Thomas was aware that she knew how to swim. No need to panic or anything…

“Sorry, sorry… I just couldn’t come up with anything else right now.” Thomas was wiping his eyes.

“Help me up.”

“Sure…” The boy kneeled on the pier and held out his hand. So naturally Sanyue yanked him into the drink as well.

“Retaliation was sweet.” She mused as she used her Vision to lift her to the pier. She was dripping wet, naturally, but it didn’t detract from her mirth. Thomas spluttered for a while once resurfacing but offered an answering grin at her. The boy swam to the pier and hauled himself up.

“I should’ve guessed you’d do that.” Thomas chuckled.

“We haven’t known each other long enough for you to anticipate such thing.” Sanyue retorted. “But we should probably get going… I’m supposed to try on my glider today for the last adjustments.”

“Ah…” Thomas sobered quickly. “And then you’ll be leaving?”

Sanyue considered the boy in front of her. Even without all the water, his countenance was drooping. Aww…

“I’m sure we aren’t in that much hurry. And even when I leave, we can start sending letters to each other! And visit occasionally! The journey only takes a few days on foot, faster if you know the route and don’t need to consider a caravan.”

“Okay…” Droopy, despondent puppy… Sanyue raised a fist bonked him in the arm.

“Chin up, this isn’t the end of the world! And I’m not leaving today. We got time to spend together and I can hammer a couple of more stances and sets into you.” She picked her spear and twirled it a moment before setting it against her shoulder. “C’mon…” She tugged his hand and in a reversal of their previous roles, dragged him within the city walls.

Glider needed only very few adjustments and fixes. Wing definitely knew his craft. He thoroughly instructed Sanyue in opening and closing of the glider before shooing her to climb a scaffolding that was set in front of the shop. It was about two meters tall and looked to be a permanent fixture. Sanyue climbed. And jumped. And glided!

Her face must’ve been a sight given the way mother laughed when congratulating her. But who could blame Sanyue? It was gliding! Almost like flying. She could reach new heights literally and traverse faster and safer in Liyue’s rocky and mountainous landscape.

But that was their business in Mondstadt done. A few more souvenirs were bought and then Qingli was ready usher Sanyue out of the gate. The girl ran off then, finding Thomas and pressing a button she’d loosened from her jacket into his hands.

“I’ll write as soon as I’m home. And in turn, send that back to me. I’ll find something better to replace it with.”

It was a bastardization of the Japanese tradition of high school males giving a button to a female student they favoured but… Thomas had been obviously upset and needed something to hold onto.

“Thank you…” And fist closed around the button and Sanyue was swept into a hug. Thomas’s heart beat again against her ear. A steady but slightly elevated thump.

“Anytime.”

That anytime came sooner than either of them could predict.

Chapter Text

When you give wings to a child, no matter how responsible she has previously been, you should expect all sense go out of the window. And the child jumping after it through that window.

So when Sanyue jumped from the balcony of Wangshu Inn with her newly acquired glider, Qingli should’ve expected that. Yet that didn’t stop her heart almost leaping from her chest when she saw her daughter disappearing over the railing with nary a warning. The girl had jumped down from various big stones and small cliffs on their way back to Liyue but nothing nearly as high as this one.

“A-Yue!” Qingli rushed to the railing. The girl was steadily gliding downwards. Her hands were spread for balance and to guide the glider. Everything was going well… Until a sudden squall knocked her askew. The girl valiantly tried to right herself but her downward spiral was becoming faster.

And then a green blur snatched her from the air. Qingli saw the blur whizz up to the balcony above her and turned around to rush upstairs.

Sanyue was deposed on the floor. She blinked from sudden change in environment. One moment she was gliding calmly and then not so calmly… and then she was here. And Xiao was in front of her, arms crossed.

“Just what were you thinking?” The yaksha asked.

“I… wanted more practise.” Gliding in Genshin Impact was maybe a bit too easy. The gliding experience Sanyue had accumulated past few days, had been quite easy too. But maybe she shouldn’t have jumped from so high so soon, biting more than she can chew. Just maybe.

“Idiot child. You could’ve killed yourself. You mortals never have much sense in regards to your limits.” Xiao glared and turned around. “I won’t be saving you again.”

Sanyue blinked again. That was abrupt. But she got more sentences out of him than expected. Xiao really was only soft towards the traveller.

“Vigilant Yaksha, this humble one is sorry for her fool-hardiness. This Sanyue is forever in debt to the Conqueror of Demons for saving her life.” The girl bowed deep. Ancient dialect of Liyue wasn't something a child of Sanyue’s age usually needed. But for once reading old books in this life… and engaging in cultivation themed fandoms in previous ones, came in handy. Usually, the dialect was anymore reserved only for the most official of documents or then interactions between priests and divinity. For example, no one among common folk in Liyue called Rex Lapis, Yanwang Dijun.

Xiao just disappeared with a huff. And Qingli burst into the balcony when Sanyue straightened up again. A lecture, oh boy… not that it wasn’t undeserved but…

The wing glider was confiscated. Sanyue was not surprised. Mother was also writing a stern letter to father, telling of their daughter’s misadventures. So no escaping consequences there either. She was only allowed to have the glider back once in Inazuma. And only when under supervision.

Sanyue doubted her brother would count as supervision. Case in point: challenging Raiden Shogun in the future.

While grounded, Sanyue had ample time to ponder more things about this world. Or more specifically, her new family. She had a mother, Huang Qingli, who was from Liyue. Mother had a family but there was some strife due which she was basically disowned. Only basically though. She still had her name and the family wanted to benefit from being connected to such successful businesswoman. Sanyue had never met her grandparents, aunts or uncles from that side of family.

Father’s side though… In Inazuma there was her half-brother Uminomichi Tomoharu who was born from father’s previous marriage. His first wife had passed away only few years later though. Father’s family was… uh…

Sanyue frowned. She didn’t really know much of her father’s family and home. But that could be attributed to primarily living in Liyue thus far and her own young age. Well, more to ask and find out about once in Inazuma.

The route back took only two days all in all. The obstacles were fewer and those that were, Sanyue was running ahead to fight them. It was practice. And she wasn’t alone. The other guards for the caravan were at her back and helping so she was never alone. And mother had bottles full of elemental concoctions, the same that treasure hoarders used, which she threw to distract and hinder the slimes and hilichurls that strayed on their path.

Some of them were harder and some were easier to handle. Sanyue knew a lot about them due the game and how to defeat them but here there was no health bars to hammer down. She couldn’t brute force things since she had no indication when the opponent would be defeated.

The first hilichurl just… combusting into black flakes had been a surprise. Slimes at least popped into scattering of slime globs and made sense.

“Huh…” She blinked at the flakes and dissolved further in the air, only leaving arrowheads and masks behind.

“Hilichurls are apparitions of the Abyss. When beaten, they return there until Abyss spawns new life to them, returning them where they were beaten.” Qingli explained, drawing pyro flask from her bag and eyeing the vines erected by dendro samachurl. “Abyss mages are marginally similar but more powerful and with more independence.”

“How do you know this?” Her mother was a merchant. With a good aim apparently, but a merchant nonetheless.

“It pays to have extensive network of people from various paths of life.” The woman replied, her arm winding back and then sending the flask flying. It broke in the middle of the spiked vines, sending pyro across all of them. “Someone with an anemo vision would be handy now…”

Sanyue decidedly was not thinking about the yaksha with anemo vision.

When they finally made it Liyue Harbour, the first thing Sanyue did, (aside from unpacking and sorting laundry) was to write a letter to Thomas. It was simple letter. Just ‘I’m here, leaving to Inazuma soon, can’t wait to hear from you’.

Leaving soon meant the very next day. One of father’s ships were in the harbour and that one Sanyue boarded. She had travelled this journey before but always with either of her parents with her. This time she was alone. Oh, she knew the crew. They were familiar faces and names she’d chatted with occasionally and been introduced to some by her father. But she was still a bit nervous. The voyage to Inazuma took a bit over a week depending on the weather.

Sanyue was excited. But she still had butterflies in her stomach. Inazuma was… new. She only knew three first islands, the beginning of the Archon Quest and few of the playable characters.

Thoma(s) was still in Mondstadt.

Kazuha was maybe still noble son and not a wanderer.

Ayaka might have her parents still alive.

Yoimiya was not part of underground movement of distributing fake visions yet.

Sara was already part of Tenryuu commission.

Kokomi was a priestess to be.

Sayu… was a ninja? But baby? How old was she even?

Was Gorou from the first three islands or from Watatsumi?

What exactly would be Yae’s role?

And then there were the characters that were vaguely alluded to on notice boards, like Shikanoin Heizou or Arataki Itto.

So many uncertainties. Even more that with people from Liyue since Sanyue had grown up with them and there would not be such drastic change in political map between now and then. Even Mondstadt would change more than Liyue.

It… would be interesting to say the least.