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‘Where is he?’
The Dendro Archon’s ability to read minds was truly a useful one, indeed. Her innate knowledge allows her to read each and every plan her foes had in mind, providing her various opportunities and avenues to sabotage their plans before they could even execute it. Her craftiness was enough to even best the Tsaritsa’s second harbinger: the Doctor himself, despite the evident gap between their combative abilities. Admittedly, she does not draw strength from her physical body, nor does she obtain victories through sheer force; instead, she uses her vast collection of wisdom to advance her agenda and have her opponent dancing on the palm of her hands. Beneath her innocent and calm demeanor lies the cunning and scheming person she is: a title truly befitting the God of Wisdom, and both the avatar and guardian of Irminsul herself.
Of many occasions when her wisdom became her most valuable asset, today’s instance proved to be the most peculiar so far.
In her endless mercy of reducing the sages’ sentence to communal service for their various offenses against their archon, she had also provided The Wanderer another chance to atone for his own wrongdoings. While his innately cocky and arrogant attitude was something Nahida tolerated— and actually enjoyed, it was what circulates in his mind that truly fascinated her. During the times she cared for him and nursed him back to optimal condition, Nahida was given the opportunity to truly analyze The Wanderer’s mindset and mechanisms; his reactions and his tendencies when faced with a peculiar circumstance. While she cannot aptly say that she did not have any… ulterior motives attached with allowing the Inazuman puppet to live, it cannot be denied that her affections for him as her own kin was genuine. During the course of their time together, she discovered the latent similarities between the two of them. Like her, he was also created as a substitute; a result of the calamity brought about by the Cataclysm five hundred years ago. Like her, he was also imprisoned in his own right, deprived of the opportunity to feel and understand the mortals over which they were supposed to govern (she liked to think that he would succeed the Raiden Shogun as Electro Archon; however… perhaps fate, the mischievous being it is, had other plans). Their difference, however, may certainly lie in the fact that she chose to embrace this fact and attempt her best to find her purpose in this world, while he chose to shun his ‘heart’ out in favor of pursuing his original purpose for existence. Now that they were both liberated from each of their own cages, Nahida most certainly want to help him and provide her guidance every step of the way.
“It’s as if you were his mother…” She remembered a certain blonde comment as the two watched the Wanderer be adorned by garlands of flowers and leaves, courtesy of the Aranaras living abliss in Varanara. “Thank you for taking care of him, Nahida. I’m sure that he’ll understand himself in the future.”
Truly, motherhood was a foreign concept, even for the Dendro Archon. Perhaps divinity alone does not make you knowledgeable of all things, be it from the heights of the stars, to the depths of the Abyss. Hence, Nahida truly cherished every moment they spent together. She made sure to be there for him whenever he’ll need her assistance; be it from his waking moments traversing the various terrains of Sumeru out of Nahida’s requests or out of his own whims, or during his sleep, where he’ll usually shed some tears whilst clutching the velvet sheets draped over his body. She made sure to always ask him how he was feeling every now and then, and while he would frequently dismiss her with half-hearted responses or insults, she could read, deep within his mind, that he is in a satisfied state. Coincidentally, this meter jolts up whenever a certain Traveler comes around to visit. Whenever the blonde comes by the city for a visit, and most often to spend the night, she would always be surprised to find the Wanderer there. Not that she doubted his abilities; truly, he boasts a high prestige of power, being a divine creation and nearly achieving godhood himself, but it was the fact that he never misses the traveler’s visits which made Nahida immensely curious. She once tried to test this hypothesis by dispatching The Wanderer to the edge of the desert to assist in clearing a band of Abyss-influenced hilichurls wreaking havoc across Deshret’s Ruins on the exact same day the traveler wrote a letter that he would be staying for the next night in Sumeru City. The journey to the site alone would take nearly three days, even with the aid of the various caravans that go to and from the desert; yet she was shocked to find the Inazuman back into the city so soon, barely minutes after the Traveler entered the city. When Nahida inquired about the situation in the site, he narrated a full report, albeit hastily, detailed with the operation procedures. Using her ability to examine his honesty, she confirmed that the act was indeed done, and that the situation in the desert was being handled by the locals. While Nahida grew concerned that he always disobeyed her orders to ask for reinforcements in Caravan Ribbat and handled everything on his own, she was always glad that he always made it home safe and sound. Nevertheless, “impressed” doesn’t give justice on how she felt, seeing the rather minimal injuries on his arms. Still, she devoted some time tending to his wounds, no matter how small it may be, despite his constant irritation and chiding of the archon for worrying about something so trivial. Yet deep down inside, she could see that he is always eager to speed homeward whenever the traveler was bound to spend the day in town.
Perhaps, it was… love?
Nahida never confronted this notion effectively; she was still buried in the thought that perhaps the man was just eager to spar with the traveler (as apparently, their way of greeting involved swordfight and wind blades flying around). She understood that feeling love and perhaps having affections for someone is part of growth and development: a sign of maturity, per se, as she doubts one could feel such unconditionally strong feelings for someone without first evaluating the impacts it may bring to their own life. Of course, the concept of infatuation will always be there: affections once thought of as genuine love, only to be proven a faux by time, or by any other circumstance. Yet Nahida was able to tell that even with time, the Wanderer’s behavior when the traveler was the subject matter failed to wane; his cheeks would mimic the redness of Harra Fruit, his fingers would tremble, and his mind twisted into an endless spiral of shamefulness and embarrassment. Nahida could not help but chuckle sometimes as she watched the Wanderer struggle to piece out words whenever they talked about the blonde; be it his lusciously gold hair, or his attractive physique, or his competitive combat abilities. While the Inazuman’s words would soon devolve into a string of insults and promises of defeating him one of these days, Nahida knew that his inner self always betrayed his tongue.
‘He said he’ll be here in two days… and three days later, he is still nowhere to be seen.’
The Wanderer placed out a card from his hand. Nahida looked at the purple-haired puppet curiously as she watched him unveil the card, revealing the likeness of a certain Priestess of Watatsumi Island and her most trusted pointy-eared general. The traveler, in his letter, mentioned that he would like to challenge Nahida to a game of Genius Invokation TCG: truly, the said card game has taken over the Sumerian landscape by storm, further aggravated by the light novels continuously published by the Yae Publishing House. The Dendro Archon, in her ever-growing curiosity, finally resolved to give the said game a try. She swore to her very own Casket of Tomes that she would not utilize her ability to read minds to seize victory; nevertheless, it was her sheer wisdom and reliance to brillant strategies which allowed her to dominate the majority of the players inside and outside the Akademiya. Even the General Mahamatra, who was at first reluctant to play with the archon, lamented to his fennec fox friend about his defeat at the hands of the Avatar of Irminsul herself. Of course, it was to be expected: she was not named and hailed the God of Wisdom for nigh a reason. Yet somehow, when the Wanderer saw the archon spend time critically analyzing card effects and building decks within her abode at the Sanctuary of Surasthana, he remained unfazed, chiding the archon for wasting her time over such a lousy game with no innate veracity with its legends. Nahida argued that it is alright to play the game every once in a while, and that it won’t interfere with her role as the divine ruler of Sumeru. He could only scoff and hand over the reports provided to him by the locals as proof of his handling of the situations he was dispatched to before proceeding to walk off somewhere he feels like going to. That very same day, the traveler wrote his letter, asking permission to stay over at Sumeru, and perhaps, challenge the Lesser Lord to a duel of Genius Invokation TCG. Apparently, he heard of her feats and her absolute dominion in the Sumerian playerbase; hence, he declared that it would be to his absolute honor to play with her. The traveler also explained his fondness of the game, before ending the letter with a message asking how the Wanderer has been. She smiled; the blonde seemed to truly care for the Inazuman Puppet; yet she was still unsure if his affections for him were of similar nature to that of the Wanderer’s.
Alas, that night, the Wanderer returned to the Sanctuary of Surasthana after the God of Wisdom finished building her Melt Deck. In his hand was a Casket of Tomes with a special blue case. He slammed his hand onto the table, rattling the Archon’s very own verdant casket, demanding that they duel that instant.
Apparently, the Wanderer spent hours in Lambad’s Café, dueling civilian patrons and scholars alike, dominating the entire café’s players before disappearing when he saw the General Mahamatra make an entrance (of course, all the scholars in the café shook in their uniforms, only to heave a sigh of relief when they heard the General demand to challenge the strongest player in the café unto a duel). Now that he was a confirmed player recognized by the organization, he demanded a challenge to further ratify his resolve of seizing the title of the best player from Nahida herself. The Dendro Archon first teased him, asking why his thoughts of the game suddenly changed, echoing his words saying that it was a “waste of time”. He implored her silence, before calling her a coward for denying him the opportunity to duel.
The Lesser Lord smiled, unpacking her newly-formed Melt Deck.
The Wanderer experienced his first loss that night. Not that his time playing was long— he only started a few hours ago and defeated several players in an instant; that was a feat even Nahida would applaud and deem worth praising. Yet he pulled on his hair in frustration, accusing her of using her ability to read minds, before slamming his fists onto the table. Of course, the archon lectured him for accepting defeat, before patting his head. She declared that as the loser, he is to clean the mess he made, before she happily skipped away.
And thus, the next day, he once more challenged the archon. She made him promise to not be so over-reactive about a game, which he nonchalantly accepted, yet still ended up once again pulling on his hair in frustration, and this time, accusing the Lesser Lord of secretly “eating” his cards (Nahida did not exactly understand what “eating” his card means, yet that still does not change the fact that the Wanderer was throwing baseless accusations against her), but thankfully, did not destroy any object within the vicinity. Again and again, they played, until the sun soon started to set. By then, the Wanderer lay face-flat onto the floor while the archon sat triumphantly on her chair, chuckling lightly at the countless victories she incurred against the Inazuman. While she did enjoy playing (or bonding) with him, something about this behavior gives her the idea that it had something to do with the traveler. Sighing, she closed her left eye and formed a box with each of her index and thumb fingers, capturing the still-helpless Wanderer within its frame.
‘I need to get better… so if I win him over, he’ll only look at me and me alone.’
Nahida chuckled. Ah, so it seems that her hypothesis was indeed correct: all this trouble of defeating her in the game was to win the traveler over. There was, however, one thing that he failed to understand: victories alone do not constitute a player’s potential: they must, first and foremost, have impeccable wits and confidence in their strategies for them to achieve the victory they so sought after. Nahida went down from her chair to console the Wanderer, before telling him that while he can’t aptly defeat her, she could share some of her tactics to best some players. With a wink, the Wanderer sprang up to his feet, demanding a rematch for the nth time. Impressed by his determination, the Lesser Lord spent the entire evening lecturing and providing her insights to the Wanderer regarding the game: from building decks, to executing all-out rotations that could secure victory in a single flip of a card, too perfect to be avoided. With her aid, the Wanderer slowly started to get a grasp of Nahida’s tactics and strategies: however, provided that his knowledge of such originated from her, it would be nigh impossible to use it against her.
Alas, the Wanderer was currently engaged with a duel with the Archon once more. Drawing two cards from his deck and discarding one card to tune an elemental die to his desired element, he successfully knocked one of the Lesser Lord’s characters for the first time in two nights. She smiled, before unveiling her secret weapon: an electro-charged attack that immediately defeated all three of the Wanderer’s low-health characters. He watched in frustration as, once more, the Dendro Archon claimed her victory. He growled in anger, before the Archon finally stepped down from her chair, stretching her arms in exhaustion.
“You seem to be learning. Very good!” She patted the Wanderer’s back.
“Tch.” He scoffed. “One more.”
“As much as I would like to… I’m… quite exhausted… we’ve been playing for hours nonstop.” She stretched. “You… don’t happen to have grown fond of the game, have you?” She teased, chuckling in the process. The Inazuman raised a brow, before rolling his eyes in response. “What do you say we take a walk around the city? Just for a change of phase.” She cheered. “I know you’re still waiting for the traveler to arrive, but… maybe something just occurred that warrants his attention. He’ll be here, don’t worry.” She smiled, taking her Casket of Tomes and placing it in her pocket. The Wanderer stood up, groaning and response, before pocketing his own Casket. He walked past the archon, and towards the door of the Sanctuary.
“Why the heck would I wait for him?” He rolled his eyes. “For all who knows a leopard may have feasted itself on his flesh, given the minuscule brain he possesses.”
“Now, what did I tell you about insulting the traveler?” Nahida puffed her cheeks as the pair left the sanctuary, breathing in the fresh city air of the organe-filled sunset sky. The city was ever-bustling: merchants busy promoting their products and services, scholars rushing in and out of the Akademiya to meet certain deadlines… after all the fiasco involving Jngarbha Day, she was most gladdened to see that Sumeru has finally achieved the peace and stability it once had years before. Perhaps she should pen a note for Al Haitham as gratitude for dealing with the political matters that befell the Akademiya during the short power vacuum after the exile of the former sages. Nahida and the Wanderer walked around town, taking in the sights of the people’s daily transactions before a certain familiar voice interrupted their thoughts .
“It says there are two Casket holders here…” That beautiful blonde hair, gold as the purest of honeys farmed by bees, those rosy lips, pink as the cherry blossoms that grace the ever-spring tides of the Narukami Shrine, and those bright eyes, an incarnate of starlight in and of itself… both Nahida and the Wanderer know those features all too well. “Who knew it’d be you?” The Dendro Archon’s eyes sparkled in glee as she jumped onto the Traveler’s arms, happy to finally see her dearest friend and first sage back in town. She hugged him tight, akin to how a mother greets her child upon coming home frim their daily travails.
“Traveler! We missed you a lot!” She expressed joyfully, looking directly at the blonde’s eyes.
“By ‘we’, she meant her and her friends.” The Wanderer scoffed, rolling his eyes elsewhere, much to the dismay of the omni-elemental user. “Which most fortunately does not include me. I could not stand your presence in this city. Tell me, when will you leave?” He subsequently teased, earning a frown from the traveler.
“Don’t worry. I didn’t miss you.” The Traveler stuck his tongue out. “You have no idea how much my eyes ache seeing your face.”
Nahida sighed, crossing her arms over her chest in utter disappointment. She looked over to the Inazuman’s direction, and apparently, he was smiling. “Ho? Then let me pluck them out so they may never ache again.” He held a wind blade by the tip of his fingers, a grim smile draped onto his face. While Nahida understands that this tension-filled conversation has happened too many times to warrant her concern, something about it doesn’t feel as good as the previous times this occurred. She sneaked up behind the Wanderer, pretending to take a “pretty stone she found”, and proceeded to capture him within the box-shaped frame formed by her two thumbs and index fingers.
‘Tch. Doesn’t he truly miss me?’
She chuckled inwardly. So it was: the Wanderer was really hurt by the Traveler’s words. Perhaps she would converse with him about this in the future, but she feared doing so would otherwise insinuate the Inazuman’s feelings for him. If ever she learned anything about those light novels from Yae Publishing House (the Wanderer loathed them, going so far as to tell Nahida that the texts she read were “forbidden books''), it was that the confession if love must first and foremost come from the mouth of the lover themselves. No third party must interfere with this natural process; else, it won’t end well. In an attempt to clear the atmosphere, she returned to the two, tactically diverting their attention from getting at each other’s throat, to finally discussing the traveler’s reasons for being late.
“Something came up in Liyue,” The blonde recounted. “I needed to stop by for a day to help a friend. An adeptus friend .”
Somehow, the genuinely radiant smile on his face tells her that friend was a lie.
‘Ah, Xiao… I sure do hope he’s alright. I wish I could take him here…’
“A friend? Well, why didn’t you take him with you?” Nahida clapped her hands, much to the disgust and annoyance of the Wanderer. “I would have loved to meet them… it has been a while since I’ve been to Liyue. The next time you go, I’ll send you a basket of the finest flowers I have in my garden. Please send them to Morax…” She smiled. “Assuming you’ve met him already.”
“Sure thing.” He smiled.
“Tch. Using someone else as an excuse?” The Wanderer shrugged. “Or perhaps you were just scared?”
“With your height, I think I’m no longer scared of anything.”
“Why you—!” The Wanderer formed a sphere of winds in his palms. “Ahem… I mean, scared of being defeated in… what was that? Ah, yes, Genius Invokation TCG?” He leered forward, patting the traveler’s cheeks pitifully. “Ah, dearest traveler… It’s alright to be scared. Not everyone was blessed with a bright mind; perhaps you were just asleep while the divine were bestowing these gifts amongst their creations. Pitiful, really.” He casually booped the traveler’s nose, before raising his hands in disbelief. “You get it? You’re weak. Unintelligent. Foolish. Minuscule of brain—“
“Says the person who once ate a poisonous mushroom in the Avidya Forest.” The traveler smirked. “Anyone with enough intellect could tell that not all mushrooms found within the forest could be eaten. But considering that you did just come from a coma, it’s understandable if you’ve grown to be a little bit of an idiot. It’s not everyday you see someone with brain damage, after all.” He retorted, a vein clearly popping out of his forehead. He circled around the Wanderer, before hugging him by his waist with one hand, another on the top of his haid, slightly prying his neck up for the blonde’s lips to reach his ears.
“Oh, don’t worry, my dearest puppet.” He whispered, his voice a blatant imitation of all the succubi dwelling within the regiment of Hell itself. “I’m more than willing to take very good care of you.” He blew (something that looked like a kiss) onto his ear, prompting the Inazuman’s cheeks to flush redder than the scarlet flames of Murata herself. He broke free from the traveler’s grasp, visibly embarrassed while the traveler simply laughed at his flustered face. Nahida chuckled. Perhaps there is a chance that the traveler was simply teasing him, but if she reckoned, he does not appreciate that much skinship, especially with someone he formerly considered an enemy, who tried to kill him a whole 168 times. The display of familiarity suggests that perhaps they have grown closer overtime— something which Nahida was most delighted about. Perhaps they could work more on refining the Wanderer’s interactions with humans, but his current dynamic with the traveler, albeit strange, still instills smiles across their faces.
“Y-You!” The Wanderer jabbed a finger into his direction. “You’ll pay for that!” He dug deep into his pocket and brought out his Casket of Tomes, raising it in all its azure glory. The traveler chuckled, knowing exactly what was about to happen. “I challenge you to a duel! Whoever loses must pay the price of their hubris!” A grim smile swept across the Inazuman’s face as he put on his right foot forward (twice; the first time he stepped on a relatively large pebble and almost tripped; he kicked the pebble away, and by doing so, successfully hit a Sumerian child on his head) and declared their challenge. “Are you willing to gamble and test the level of intellect your minuscule brain could handle, The First Sage of Buer?” His brows were furrowed in a frenzy as the traveler summoned his Casket of Tomes from his backpack. Nahida pressed her temples. Surely the traveler won’t play along… right?
“Bring it on, Everlasting Lord of Arcane Wisdom!”
Great, now they are on a nickname basis. Nahida chuckled.
“Then I shall serve as witness to this duel.” Nahida closed her eyes, summoning forth the Shrine of Maya. Citizens began to crowd around them to witness the impending clash of the famed traveler— the illustrious, the famed, the fate-favored: the First Sage of Buer— and the Wanderer— the former sixth of the Fatui Harbingers, the former Balladeer, the Everlasting Lord of Arcane Wisdom, Shouki no Kami: the rising star from Lambad’s Café. “The two of you have placed your wagers: he who loses shall be subject to whatever favor or mandate the victor asks of him for an entire day, starting from the moment the victor is decided, until the same hour, same minute, and same second of the subsequent day.” In fact, there was no need for such a grand ceremony that would otherwise attract the attention of all the citizens of Sumeru; but since the two insisted to play along in character, assuming a combative stance, she decided to push through with the idea. “Any and all forms of cheating shall immediately constitute a loss. This duel shall be recorded within Irminsul as a core memory that I, Lesser Lord Kusanali, by the power vested upon me as the Dendro Archon: the Avatar and Guardian of Irminsul, personally mandate to be remembered throughout the next generations of Teyvat.”
The crowd cheered as a stage made from the purest of woods arose from the center of the shrine, adorned with the most fragrant and beautiful of flowers they have ever seen. Even the General Mahamatra, who personally checked to see what was going on, felt the burning jealousy of not being able to conduct his duels, even personally with the Dendro Archon herself, under the light of the Shrine of Maya, in the grand ceremony mastered by the Avatar of Irminsul herself. The archon’s eyes glowed as a screen made of Dendro Energy flashed from high above the crowd, displaying the movesets of each player. She smiled as she watched the competitors lock gazes with each other, their pupils never leaving their own before a flurry of Dendro Energy enchanted their Casket of Tomes, imbuing them with the ability to summon life-sized images of the characters and cards they may play.
“My Lord,” Cyno made his way through the crowd. “Permit me to ask, but… is this ostentatious duel necessary?”
“Hehe.” Nahida chuckled. “If you want a rematch with me under this small set-up , then I am most willing to accommodate you.”
“I-I do not mean any disrespect, my Lord!” He bowed. “A-Although…”
“Once more, I reiterate.” Nahida spoke out, her voice echoing throughout the center of the city. Scholars burst out from the Akademiya doors; citizens unveiled their windows to gaze on the duel occurring down below. “Any and all forms of cheating in this duel shall constitute a loss, and shall be punishable under a personal offense under the Akademiya by the General Mahamatra himself.” She winked at the General, instructing him to put on the “scariest face” he could muster. Instantly, the Electro wielder summoned the semblance of the spirit that possesses him in combat, taking out his polearm in sanctimonious obedience to his archon. “I sure do hope this aspect of the duel is clear.”
“Yeah, let’s get this over with.” The Wanderer shouted, opening forth his casket. “Ready to lose for the 169th time, Aether ?” The crowd cheered with his declaration, earning him a smirk of confidence as the blonde unveiled his collection of cards.
“Maybe you should’ve stayed in your coma, Kunikuzushi . ” He retorted, summoning his deck. “You still seem to be dreaming.”
“Seems like they’re ready.” Nahida whispered. “I’m sorry, Cyno, but… hehe, these two are so fun to watch. Ah, yes, kindly make sure the crowd doesn’t gamble. This is… purely for entertainment purposes, not for commercial or official purposes.” She winked.
“As you wish, my Lord.” Cyno obeyed, facing the crowd. “As per the wishes of the Great Dendro Archon, gambling is strictly prohibited. Anyone unfortunate enough to be caught shall suffer consequences.”
Nahida did one last examination of the competitors. Closing her eyes, she intruded into the Wanderer and Traveler’s mind one last time. To her surprise, what she read was… something she smiled at and adored. Finally raising her arms, the shrine glowed in radiant Dendro Energy as the crowd cheered.
“So ordered. In the name of Irminsul,” She shouted. “Let the duel commence!”
The crowd roared in adoration as the two finally unveiled their decks. From what it looks like, the traveler used a Melt Team, while the Wanderer used an electro-charged team. She smiled, excited to find out who exactly would be the victor of this match, especially after reading their minds. She was not so sure if it was ever possible for two minds to think the exact same thing at the exact same time; that may be a coincidence, but… if ever she learned another thing from Yae Publishing House’s books, it was that love creates the strangest of things. What exactly was it that she read in their minds?
‘I need to win. This is the only way he’ll ever take my affections seriously.’