Chapter Text
The night sky was painted a dark blue with less stars than the months before. Even if the golden orange bright lights illuminating the Liyue's harbor city was welcoming, the sky was pensive and lonely. It was as though there was a fine line distinguishing their boundaries. Neither seemed interested to converse with each other.
And there at the entrance gate stood none other than the young master of Dawn Winery, Diluc Ragnvindr. His red hair and his Monstadtian way of dress received glances, especially as a nobleman. Although foreign merchants were common, none compared to the handsome standout features he, without a doubt, inherited from his famous father.
And so, Diluc waited for his rendezvous, taking in the illuminated city in front of him. He watched as the children played with their toys and each other as the adults sat outside and enjoyed their evening festivities. Compared to the quiet Dawn Winery or even Monstadt's reserved central city, Liyue's harbor was a bustling vibrancy of welcoming warmth.
'If only Kaeya could see this.' He thought to himself as he took in the splendorous atmosphere.
“Lively, is it not?” spoke a velvety voice in front of Diluc.
The man stood tall, with amber-golden eyes that rested low. His brown hair with tinted caramel ends hung in a low ponytail. His way of dress was rather formal, yet the way he presented himself almost seemed he wanted to not draw any attention. The Mondstadtian man was impressed by the invisibility of the Liyuen man, despite his display of handsomeness that could attract an eye.
“Indeed. It puts one in awe. The city shines as bright as the stars in the sky,” Diluc agreed.
“Yes... but a little less so in recent times.” the gentleman spoke in gentle sadness.
“Now that you mention it, the sky seems a bit lonesome. Tell me, with whom am I discussing the dimness of the night.” Diluc asked.
“Where are my manners. Please, allow me to introduce myself. My name is Zhongli, royal advisor to Lady Ningguang, her royal highness of Liyue.” Zhongli introduced himself.
'So this is who I am to meet,' thought the red haired man.
“Pleased to finally make your acquaintance, Sir Zhongli. I am Diluc Ragnvindr of Mondstadt Region's esteemed Dawn Winery. I was invited by Her Majesty, Lady Ningguang to discuss a potential business negotiation in importing wine.” Diluc formally presented himself.
“Welcome to Liyue Harbor, Master Ragnvindr. Lady Ningguang has been looking forward to her audience with you as the master of the esteemed Dawn Winery. Allow me to guide you around the harbor city as we make our way to the Jade Chamber Palace.” The royal advisor offered.
“I look forward to finally meeting her royal highness, Lady Ningguang of Liyue. By all means, Sir Zhongli, please lead the way and teach me about Liyue from your perspective,” The winery master accepted.
Zhongli and Diluc toured around Liyue's harbor, with Zhongli informing him of the history of the region and city in even more depth and detail than Diluc could ever imagine: The stone used for the walls, the fashioned monuments of Liyue's famous legendary heroes, and even the significance of the local flora. However, somewhere amidst their conversation, Zhongli broke his pace to a halt, both in walking and talking, much to the confusion of Diluc.
“Sir Zhongli?” The flame eyed man raised his eyebrow in concern.
The advisor turned his head to meet the young master. A subtle scent of Calla Lily was picked up by Zhongli's nose, once more allowing his mind to wander.
'The same... the exact scent...' he thought.
His jovial amber-golden eyes emptied down to sadness until he remembered who he was currently with.
“Yes, my apologies, let us continue.” Zhongli realized his mistake.
But Zhongli still carried a distant stare, one that was borderline desperate. Another wisp of distraction seemed to have caught his attention in the crowd of people. His eyes darted around furiously until they settled. Zhongli ran in the direction his eyes were following, leaving the Mondstadtian guest to wonder the fuss.
'What is going on...?'
When Diluc had caught up, he saw Zhongli's back with his shoulders slumped. In front of them was a petit boy with blue bobbed hair who was walking away. The blue color of the hair reminded Diluc of his brother, Kaeya, but only for a moment. Once the boy disappeared into the crowd, Diluc turned his attention to the shaken up advisor next to him.
“Sir Zhongli, is everything alright?” Diluc asked.
Zhongly snapped out of his vacant pensiveness. He was once again rude to the Lady's guest.
“My apologies Master Ragnvindr. Yes, it seems I have thought I saw someone I recognized. As it turns out, it was just someone with a similar features. Once again, I apologize for my ill-mannered behavior.” The advisor apologized once more.
“I do not mind at all, Sir Zhongli. You must have your reasons.” Diluc paid no real mind to Zhongli's sudden action.
“Then, allow me to resume the tour of the harbor as we slowly head to the palace. Follow me in this direction,” Zhongli gestured him along.
And Zhongli resumed the tour as though nothing had happened. Diluc kept to himself, but as his overwhelmed eyes were absorbing the marvel of the illuminated city, he suddenly noticed a paper on a message board of sorts. He focused his eyes on one particular sheet. He ripped this piece of parchment off, rolling it up and tucking it into his vest pocket under his coat.
“Master Ragnvindr?”
Diluc heard himself being called by the same velvet voice he had been acquainted with since his arrival in the harbor.
“Sir Zhongli. My apologies this time. This message board caught my interest and before I knew it, I found myself taking a closer look.” Diluc apologized this time.
Zhongli's eyes narrowed in the direction where the missing paper once stood.
“Yes... it seems that we have quite a number of these across the harbor city. Now then, Master Ragnvindr, we are quite close to our destination, so let us resume our tour before the city retires for the night.” The advisor urged.
“Of course, Sir Zhongli. Let us make leisurely haste.” Diluc said as his heart pounded against his chest.
'Did he notice me taking it?' the winery master wondered.
And with that, Diluc listened to Zhongli all the way to their destination: The Jade Chamber Palace.
The palace itself was dimly lit compared to the rest of the harbor, yet was humble about its grand prestige despite its massive size. It could be attributed to the disastrous celebration that was held many months before. Many citizens had found its current presence rather amicable compared to previously, even if its magnificent gates barred entry for most. Through the lush courtyard into the palace walls, through the darkened corridors, past the spiraling staircase, stood a grand gold and jade hall. Sitting in the jade colored throne was her royal highness of Liyue, the one and only, Lady Ningguang.
“Your Highness, Royal and Fair Lady Ningguang, pleased to make your acquaintance. I am Diluc Ragnvindr, current Master of the Dawn Winery of Mondstadt. I have brought the gift of our specially brewed wine. One of our barrels of Dandelion Wine, and the other of 6 years aged Death After Noon.”
“Oh my, a gentleman. Sir Zhongli, please have the barrels transferred to the diamond table. Come, Master Ragnvindr, please join us for dinner and wine as your room is prepared.”
Diluc and Ningguang enjoyed their dinner with a little small talk about each other. Neither provided too much nor too little information about their private lives. This was to ensure the no one in their oncoming negotiations had an advantage over the other. Once dinner was finished, the young master was escorted to his guest room, where he had fallen asleep without hesitation without a single dream.
Over the course of the next day or so, Diluc and Ningguang negotiated over beginning imports and exports of wine. A few instances occurred where neither party could agree on the percentages and costs or with how much could be imported. However, Diluc was in Ningguang's good graces enough to receive an offer as a result of Ningguang's interest in the Death After Noon barrel brew. Ningguang called for the contract to be drafted, with Diluc overlooking every word carefully in his Mondstadtian language side of the contract. By the end of the negotiations, the young winery master had felt a sense of accomplishment.
“I am glad we could come to a satisfactory agreement, Master Ragnvindr. Please, enjoy the rest of your evening as you see fit. Tomorrow I shall have the Sir Zhongli assist you with the funding.” Ningguang concluded.
For the rest of evening, Diluc was in his bedroom, hoping to rest.
'Kaeya's brew once again saved the winery.' He thought to himself. 'He should have been the one in Liyue instead of me...'
In his hand was the rolled up poster he had taken from the board during his tour with Zhongli. After unrolling it, Diluc looked over the parchment for a little while. He was unsure on the type of poster it was, as it was in Liyue's written language. The written language he was still rather unfamiliar with despite his oral proficiency. The art on the poster, however, looked rather crude, if not unprofessional.
It only consisted of a circle for the head, a dash of blue for an antennae of hair, and an eye patch for the face. It could have been anyone, but its familiarity resonated with Diluc. The features were identical to his missing brother. And if one were to ask the young master, he would most certainly say it looked like Kaeya. The coincidence in the features as he carefully traced the quick lines were too specific for him to deny, but vague enough to not confirm the identity. Diluc's gloved fingers continually traced the artist's lines, trying to wrap his brain around the possibilities. In this slight trance, he found himself tracing the opposing elegant signature in the corner.
Calx.
It was a name Diluc recognized. A renowned, yet mysterious, artist the young master knew to be from Mondstadt. Diluc remembered how his father would attempt to reach out in to the artist hopes of commissioning for a flier to promote the winery in future business negotiations across all regions. He chuckled a bit upon remembering the look of frustration on his father's face when he found out Calx had declined the commission at least four times as Kaeya teased him. Yet here the artist was, drawing a poster of a person for Liyue's board in three simple strokes.
With a sadness to his ever-so-slight smile, Diluc tucked away this poster and settled in a chair facing his window. He stared pensively into the night sky that was blanketed by blue-gray tinted clouds. There were no stars to be seen at all, much like that first night he arrived. The clouds seemed to hold rain that it could not release as well. It was rather unsettling to look at the illuminated city from afar ignore the the depression of the sky. The gloominess had dampened Diluc's mood.
“Hopefully tomorrow's sky fares better,” he sighed.
Diluc's gaze traveled to the courtyard beneath him. It was a ghostly white-stoned field of patches of trees where only the wind slightly brushed. Not a single person in sight.
That is, until a little yellow glow caught the of the nobleman's red eyes. A crystalfly.
It fluttered down to a little secluded section of the courtyard Diluc would have most surely missed. It was just barely out of view, obscured by the leafy trees, only dimly lit by the yellow glows of the recognizable crystalflies.
With a little help from the denizens of the palace, Diluc managed to walk his way to the courtyard, telling anyone he had come across that he simply needed the fresh air, paired with his curiosity of experiencing the beauty of the courtyard on foot. With a little exploration, Diluc found a crystalfly and followed it, followed by another one, and another one...
And he let these little floating lights guide him to the secluded little section Diluc saw from his guest bedroom window. With a ruffle of the tree branches and bushes, he had come across an amazing sight that he was more impressed by than the grand Jade Chamber Palace, the bright golden warmth of light emitted by Liyue Harbor, and, quite possibly, the entirety of Mondstadt. Diluc was amazed by the sight: glowing rocks in ponds. A little bench. A square stage of sorts designed in geometric patterns. The lush greenery creating a barricade protect from intruding eyes. All the while it was being lit up by the golden crystalflies, creating a space meant to be enjoyed by a select few.
'Kaeya would surely love this.' Diluc thought in amazement.
“Where are you...” He solemnly said to himself as he stared up into the sky above, wishing to find his estranged brother.
“Master Ragnvindr?”
At the sudden call of his name by the recognizable smooth voice, the nobleman, startled, breathed in heavily in a shiver.