Chapter Text
Kaveh, the Light of Kshahrewar. Beloved by all in his Darshan, the young architect has a fresh vision unlike any other. From his work in Port Ormos to his most famous Palace of Alacazarzaray, his work is the crowning jewel of Sumerian art. However, he is an extremely private person, bordering on being a recluse. Perhaps the public eye is too much for the genius to handle, although he never accepts the title of “genius.” So humble, so kind! Our beloved Kaveh!
Kaveh handed the paper back to Alhaitham. “This is embarrassing…who says I’m a recluse?”
“The writers of this column couldn’t find you to do an interview,” Alhaitham said, smirking ever so slightly. “They call anyone they can’t find reclusive, and everyone they find but can’t interview stubborn.”
“What did they call you?”
“‘A prime example of the stubborn determination of Akademiya scholars, Alhaitham is surely a prime candidate for our next Grand Sage.’”
Kaveh laughed humorlessly. “You gave them one word answers, didn’t you.”
“I was busy that day.”
Kaveh took a sip of his wine, eyes wandering around Lambad’s Tavern. It was too early for the usual crowd to start coming in. The smell of wine and cooked meats tickled his nose. It was peaceful, besides Alhaitham, sitting across from him.
“Don’t you have work to do?” Kaveh said, taking another sip.
“Not today, no. I thought I’d make sure you got home safe tonight,” Alhaitham said with a smile.
“If you’re gonna stick around, you don’t get to complain about my griping. So listen to this…a potential client saw my proposed budget and asked ‘why do we need Brightwood, can’t we just import birch from Mondstadt? It’s cheaper!’ I almost lost my mind! He wants build a house near Caravan Ribat and wants to use birch!? Birch absorbs heat, that house would be a sauna! He can find another architect because I’m not going to sign off on using the wrong materials.”
“How many projects have you turned down like this? Four, within the last two months?”
Kaveh blushed and sputtered. “I-! I do get work! I just can’t work with cheap people with no appreciation for art. Master! More wine!”
“Coming right up,” Lambad called from the bar. Within a few minutes, another glass was at the table.
“Please practice moderation,” Alhaitham lightly scolded.
“It’s fine…you’re here to catch me if I dive under the table, right?” Kaveh said, slurring his words. “I remember when you were small and cute. Now you’re not cute at all…”
Before Kaveh could take another sip of his wine, Alhaitham snatched it and downed what was left. “I’ll pay your tab,” he said before Kaveh could argue.
“Fine, but let me have one more drink.”
One more drink was enough to push Kaveh over the edge from buzzed to definitively drunk. He rubbed his face against the polished wood table, staring at his empty glass.
“‘Haitham…you don’ get it! You shoulda gotten a Geo Vision, your brains are full of rocks!” Kaveh mumbled, barely functioning. “Art is more…bwaaaah! Y’see, and it makes you feel…fuzzy inside. Like a vintage bottle of wine. Mmm…I can drink another glass…”
“I think it’s time to go home.”
“No! I don’t wanna! Let’s drink more!”
Alhaitham hoisted Kaveh onto his shoulders, went to pay the tab, and walked out, against the wave of people entering the tavern for the evening. Rather than making a scene or struggling, Kaveh hid his face, not wanting to be recognized. Even drunk, he still wanted to maintain his reputation.
The setting sun washed the streets of Sumeru City in a warm orange. The gentle sound of birdsong echoed from the branches of the Great Tree above. Kaveh managed to peek out from Alhaitham’s cape and catch a glimpse of it.
“Are you okay?” Alhaitham asked.
“Beautiful,” Kaveh mumbled. “I wouldn’t mind…watching the sunset with you every day.” He closer his eyes.
Alhaitham’s step stuttered, but Kaveh was already asleep. Drunk Kaveh was too honest, and he did strange things to Alhaitham’s heart. With pink creeping from his cheeks to the tips of his ears, he kept walking.
Arriving home, he brought the drunk architect to his bed, tucking him in. He pulled out an empty pot and put it where Kaveh could easily reach it when he woke up. Too many carpets had been lost from Kaveh’s wicked hangover nausea and his insistence on buying carpets that couldn’t easily be washed. Looking back as his peaceful sleeping face, Alhaitham leaned closer, the overwhelming urge to kiss him taking over his mind.
At the last second, he backed off. He couldn’t take advantage of him being asleep like that. He instead brushed stray hairs away from his face.
One day, he’d kiss Kaveh for real.
One day.
Kaveh woke up to a pulsing headache and the need to throw up. He blindly reached around until he found an empty pot, conveniently within reach, and held it to his face. The remains of the previous night’s dinner splattered into the bowl, the smell of half digested food making him sick all over again. Eventually, he managed to get his nausea under control.
“Kaveh?” Alhaitham, from the other side of the door, said. “I have some ginger tea for you.”
“I can’t stomach anything…I need to get to the building site, I can skip breakfast,” Kaveh groaned.
“At least drink this tea.”
“Fine! You’re so…ugh!” Kaveh stomped over and ripped open the door. Then, with the most sullen look, downed his cup of tea. He flinched back. “Too hot! I burnt my tongue! Alhaitham, you know I like my tea warm, not hot!”
“If you sipped it, it wouldn’t burn.”
“I drank your tea. Get out of my way before I run you down!”
Alhaitham breathed a chuckle out his nose, and stepped aside. Kaveh ran past him, trying to adjust his haphazardly put together clothes.
Running as fast as he could without getting too winded, Kaveh made his way out of Sumeru City towards Caravan Ribat. Though, after a while, he needed to slow down and take a breather. Mehrak beeped in concern, displaying the current time versus the scheduled meeting time.
“I know! I just…” Kaveh wheezed, leaning on the closest tree. “Need to…catch my breath…” He wished, for a second, that he’d considered going on stamina building jogs Alhaitham took.
As he looked over to the side, a commotion caught his eye. A crowd of people, standing outside a darkened patch of forest. A Withering Zone? But…since the Grand Sage’s plot had been exposed, new Withering Zones had sharply decreased in size and area. That didn’t mean they had been eliminated altogether, as the scene in front of him showed.
“Another Forest Ranger with a Vision is coming soon, ma’am. Please step away from the Withering Zone!” A Forest Ranger said, holding back a woman.
“My husband is still in there!” She screamed. “He doesn’t have a Vision! He’s in danger!”
Kaveh’s feet acted before his brain, rushing into danger. The Forest Ranger and woman stared at him as he ran.
“I’ll go find your husband! I have a Vision!” He yelled back. He passed the threshold into the Withering Zone, feeling the effects of Decay seep into his body.
An aggressive Floating Hydro Fungus flew in front of him. Kaveh drew his greatsword and cleaved it in two. Two more fungi followed, and were given the same treatment. He wiped the sweat from his forehead, looking around for any signs of human life.
“Is there anyone here!?” He screamed.
“Over here!” A weak voice called. Kaveh rushed over to find a man, clutching onto a torch of life. His skin was pale and eyes sunken, as if he was on the brink of death. He had to act fast, or he’d surely die.
“Is there anyone else that was caught in here?” Kaveh asked, hoisting the man onto his back with Mehrak’s help.
“I saw a boy, further in…”
Kaveh’s heart dropped. Adults could barely handle the effects of Decay, a child would certainly be dead with only a little exposure. “I- I’ll come back and look for them!”
He ran out, past a Cryo Whopperflower that shot sharp crystals his way. He couldn’t dodge them completely, and they scraped across his skin, leaving slowly bleeding cuts. Outside the Withering Zone, the weight of Decay came off his chest. He brought the man to his weeping wife and the bewildered Forest Ranger.
“You need to stay out here and wait for help!” The Forest Ranger yelled. “You’re wounded, you need to be treated-”
“They’re just scrapes!” Kaveh yelled louder. “There’s still a kid in there! If I don’t go back, they’ll die!” He turned back around into the suffocating dark forest.
Through the dark, he could see a puddle of water close to the Cryo Whopperflower and other aggressive fungi that were drawn to the commotion. Tapping into the power of his Vision, he leaped up, bringing down his greatsword into the Whopperflower. Dendro cores sprung up, but just as he was about to swing again, he found his foot stuck to some ice. It burned against his skin as he tried to break free.
“Mehrak!” He called, and his trusty companion took his greatsword, cleaving through the frozen flower. The ice finally receded, leaving a nasty burn mark on his leg. Kaveh ran forward, ignoring the pain and the heavy feeling growing in his chest. He ran, not knowing where to look for this child. He hadn’t thought to ask in the moment. Before he could curse his lack of foresight, a piercing bolt of pure Decay shot right through his back. He stumbled, falling to his knees.
His vision was blurring, all he could hear was ringing in his ears and his awfully loud breathing. But as he looked up, he saw the child, a boy with striking blonde hair. He was floating, held within a strange sphere of Dendro. Was something…or someone…protecting the poor boy? Mustering all his remaining strength, Kaveh stumbled forward, towards the glowing green light. It felt warm. When he touched it, he felt the heaviness in his body fade, but the orb lost light. As much as he needed it, the boy needed it more, so he retracted his hand. He looked back to find the path free of enemies, but the Withering still very much active. He had no energy left to make that trek again.
“Mehrak…” Kaveh muttered, backing up against a wall. “Go tell the Forest Ranger where we are…so they can get here quickly…”
Mehrak beeped erratically, as if begging him not to do this. Kaveh slumped into a sitting position. His vision was scattered with black dots. He turned to the Withering flower to see…
“Al…Haitham…?”
A man with a familiar head of grey hair turned to look at him, the deep red light from the flower staining his form. It couldn’t be…something about him unsettled Kaveh to his very core. A shiver ran up his spine as he thought he saw a smile.
He slumped over as the figure walked over to him. He felt a hand grab his shirt, holding him up.
“I need you, Kaveh. You can’t die here.”
Kaveh’s eyes shot open, only to find no one holding him up and no weird Alhaitham. What he did see was Tighnari, sitting above him, administering first aid.
“Why would you rush back into a Withering Zone?” He lightly scolded. “There weren’t any more victims reported besides the one you saved.”
“No, there was! A little boy,” Kaveh said, trying to sit up. “He was right over…” in the space where the boy had been, there wasn’t anything, not even the space he had been in. “No, I saw him, he was in a bubble…”
“Decay can sometimes cause hallucinations if you stay in it too long. Don’t worry, we’ve eliminated the threat.”
“It wasn’t a hallucination! I swear, it was right there!” Kaveh tried to get up, but was pushed down.
“Stop moving! I still haven’t gotten bandages on your wounds!”
Kaveh relaxed, but pouted.
“Do you have any heaviness in your chest? Any lingering Decay side effects?”
“No, and I would know. After all, I- hey! That stings!”
“Oh, did I forget to mention I was applying disinfectant to your wounds? Because I am.”
“‘Nari…”
“You don’t get to ‘Nari’ me after doing something reckless and stupid! Look, Kaveh. Cyno and I don’t enjoy watching you hurt yourself. I’m sure Alhaitham doesn’t enjoy it either.”
Kaveh looked away, guiltily, but Tighnari grabbed his face and turned it back.
“Ah, ah. I still haven’t gotten this cut on your cheek.”
“Have you told Alhaitham yet?”
“Tell him yourself, if you’re certain you don’t have any lingering Decay, when you get home.”
“But my client…”
“I’ll tell them you got caught in a Withering Zone…”
“Oh thank-”
“If you go home and get some rest.”
“Come on…”
“You’ve got cuts and scrapes everywhere! As a Forest Ranger and as a friend, I insist you go home. I’ll give you some medicine just in case.”
After more scolding and more whining, Kaveh finally agreed to take a carriage back to Sumeru City. His foot was in a bad condition anyway, so it wasn’t as if he could walk. Before the carriage left, a crying woman ran up to it.
“You- you saved my husband! If it wasn’t for you, he wouldn’t have survived! How can I ever repay you? Our family is extremely wealthy, and-” She weeped.
Kaveh laughed awkwardly, cutting her off. “I just ran in, I didn’t really think it out. I’m just glad everyone’s alright.” Inside, he was kicking himself. Why, why was he like this!? He could ask for anything, he could potentially ask for enough money to clear his debt. But those words never passed his lips. He only smiled and hoped she wouldn’t insist further.
“Can I at least know your name?” She begged.
“It’s Kaveh. I’m just a passing architect.”
With that, the carriage began the short journey back to the city. Kaveh lay on the rug and pillows, watching the clouds in the sky. He took a couple deep breaths, but couldn’t seem to get rid of the anxious energy sitting in his chest, weighing him down. It was probably just leftover anxious energy.
Back in Sumeru City, every step towards Alhaitham’s home, his body began to feel as if a giant Sumpterbeast was sitting on him. A headache was rapidly growing from his temples all the way to the back of his head, plus whatever painkiller Tighnari had given him was starting to wear off. Maybe he really did need to lie down. But he shook off the feeling, stopping by a food stall to get some food for himself and Alhaitham. After all the good he did, he deserved a treat!
Finally, he came home. He opened the door to find no one inside. That was okay, Alhaitham was probably busy. But the unease grew in his chest.
He placed the warm food onto the living room table and sat down. The silence was deafening. He rocked back and forth, clearing his throat to try fill the room with some sort of noise. He tried to eat some of his food, but it felt strange in his throat. He got up and paced, even if it hurt his wounds, he needed to move around.
The door slammed open, revealing Alhaitham, looking worried.
“I heard what happened. Are you okay, Kaveh?”
Finally, finally he wasn’t alone. Kaveh’s heart soared. He could finally feel comfortable. “Yeah, some stuff happened, but I got you some kebabs! I thought I’d treat myself after a long day, and I knew you’d want some too. They might be cold now though…”
“I don’t care about kebabs! Kaveh, you’re covered in bandages! You passed out in a Withering Zone! Tighnari told me the Forest Rangers had the situation under control. Rushing in to play hero was reckless and dangerous. Do you think before you act?”
Kaveh flinched back. “I…I did a good thing. I saved someone! That has to count for something, right?”
“What’s the point of saving anyone if you sacrifice yourself in the process?”
“I…” His head pounded. His chest felt tight, as if he couldn’t breathe. “I’m going to go to bed.” He turned, trying his best to remain upright, as if his vision wasn’t filling with black dots.
Finally at his room, he leaned against the nearest wall, breathing heavily. The pain, the fatigue, it was all hitting him at once. He rummaged through his pockets to find the emergency medicine Tighnari had given him. How much could he take, when to take it, he couldn’t remember past the throbbing in his head. He dropped the small pills on the ground, his hands too shaky to hold them.
Was this how he died? His chest felt cold, almost like…Decay. His legs buckled, and he cried out in pain.
“Kaveh!?” Alhaitham was immediately by his side, kneeling down, holding him.
“My back,” Kaveh mumbled. “I got hit in the back by a bolt of Withering…can you check it…?”
Alhaitham leaned him over. Kaveh couldn’t see his expression, but could feel the way his grip tightened.
“We’re going to go to the Bimarstan, now.”
“I-is it bad?”
Alhaitham hoisted Kaveh into his arms, being careful not to press against his wounds. “Hold on.”
Kaveh wanted to argue, but he couldn’t find the words. He closed his eyes, trying his absolute best to keep from passing out.
“Kaveh…you need to…” Alhaitham’s voice sounded frantic, but distant. He was telling him to stay awake, probably, but he couldn’t open his eyes.
The tension in his body gave out, and he went limp.
“While rare, it’s not unheard of for Decay to linger in the bodies of people caught in Withering Zones. All we can suggest is to rest, take this medicine when symptoms flare up, and not to push yourself too hard.”
Kaveh groaned from his bed. “How come I’m always the one who gets rare sicknesses? How long will I be sick, Doctor?”
“That, I cannot say. Lingering Decay can stay in your body for a week, or it might never go away. We’ll continue to monitor your health over the coming days,” the doctor said, flipping through his notes.
“I can’t be sick for a week, much less the rest of my life! Can’t you do something!?”
“Unfortunately, there’s no known cure. We can only hope your body can fight this on its own.”
“Which is why it’s important that you don’t push yourself too hard and focus on getting better,” Alhaitham interrupted, staring down the architect, prone to working himself to the bone.
Kaveh shuddered at the glare. “I want to get better…I do, but work-”
“Is not as important as recovering from this sickness.”
Kaveh laughed awkwardly. “Alhaitham, why are you here?”
“You passed out and I carried you here. Plus, you never registered anyone as an emergency contact, so I stepped in.”
He scrunched up the sheets in his hands. He didn’t need Alhaitham to tell him he had no family in Sumeru. That spot used to be occupied by his mother, but when she left, cutting all ties to Sumeru and the life she had before, he had no one. No one to rely on. Part of him preferred it that way. He didn’t need anyone.
“Do you not like it?” Alhaitham asked.
“It’s fine! It’s convenient, it’s just…” Kaveh’s head started hurting, his thoughts jumbling as a wave of exhaustion overtook him. Quickly, there was a pill and a cup of water in his hand, which he took.
“This medicine…it used to treat Elezar, didn’t it?” Alhaitham asked.
The doctor nodded. “It’s found to be effective in treating the effects of Lingering Decay, though Amurta scholars are unsure as to why.”
Kaveh nearly choked on his water. “Do I have Elezar!? I thought you were born with it! Am I…dying!?”
“As long as you take care of yourself, you’ll recover, I can assure you that.”
Kaveh nodded emphatically. “I’ll take care of myself! I promise!”
Taking care of himself seemed simple enough, he thought. He certainly wasn’t going to jump into any more Withering Zones. He could do it, and he’d recover in a week, no problem.
Close to his bed, however, Alhaitham looked on, his neutral expression not showing the tension building in his gut. Kaveh’s thoughts were clearly written on his face, as they always were.
Kaveh looked over at him, those big red eyes that always melted his heart, looking at him in confusion. “What?”
“Oh, nothing. Just wondering if pulling all nighters counts as self-care,” Alhaitham said, his words covering up his feelings.
“I don’t- I haven’t done that recently!”
“Last week, on Wednesday, you went to bed at five in the morning.”
“You…!”
One thing was for certain; things were not going to go as smoothly as either of them hoped.