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"The history of Mondstadt speaks of The Age of Kings, millennia ago, when the Lords of Ice and Frost fought bitterly over the land we now know for its rolling hills and soft breezes. Blanketed in snow as a result of the immense power of the great Dominator of Wolves, Mondstadt was a cold and dangerous place, but the people sheltered within the old city protected by the wind barrier of Decarabian felt just as frozen and static as the icy landscape around them. Though Decarabian believed he was graciously saving his people from the harsh elements beyond the city, the citizens of Old Mondstadt yearned for freedom, and feared that the only thing that awaited them, trapped within the invisible wall of wind, was a slow and lonely death, cut off from the rest of the world. In fact, the people of Old Mondstadt believed that those who had come and gone before them, caged by their own god at the mercy of his ill-conceived good intentions, returned once a year when the veil between worlds thinned, to haunt those cold, windblown roads of the capital, to remind the living that death should not be the only escape, and to encourage them to push back against that which restrains them.
"'Terrified,' so the old poem goes, 'they hear the Dead tapping at the panes; then they rise up, armed with the warmth of firelight, and the condition of scorn. Midnight, midnight, hark at the hands of the clock.'
"And thus was the tradition of Granny Hester born. Of course, that name really only makes sense when spoken aloud: Grani Hestr, as he was called, means 'Grey Stallion', and has nothing to do with elderly women at all (and that final 'R' is largely silent, for that matter). Presumably the original meaning of the words was lost, and more familiar language was substituted, as often happens over time; very few seem to remember the etymology these days. Wrapped in wind, with silver threads in his mane and his eyes shining like Vayuda Turquoise in the darkness, Grani Hestr would blow through the city when night fell as each year neared its end, rattling the windows and rapping at doors, whinnying fiercely to be given access to the golden light and hearty drinks around the warm hearths within. Legend says that his songs could be as soft and lilting as a gentle zephyr, or as loud and raucous as a hurricane, and only the truly foolish--or the very brave--dared open up their homes to the ghostly stallion. Some believed that to allow the Grani Hestr into their homes would bring great fortune in the coming year, as he was considered the guardian of those who had died with freedom and song in their hearts, and would always protect them, whether they achieved said freedom or not. Others believed to welcome the spectral steed was to welcome death itself over the threshold, and would therefore staunchly refuse to open the door no matter how loud or compelling his songs."
Lumine folds her arms across her chest and narrows one eye as Paimon scratches her head.
"That's all very interesting, but... none of it explains why you have a horse skull on a stick," the pixie points out.
"It's tradition!" comes a voice from beneath the grey shroud draped over the back of the skull, the lower jaw opening and snapping closed as if the skull itself were speaking. Paimon yelps in alarm, diving behind Lumine's shoulder as Venti pokes his head through the part in the fabric and laughs brightly. "Grani Hestr dates all the way back to Decarabian's Mondstadt, weren't you listening to our dear captain's story?"
"We dress up a horse skull, to represent Grani Hestr himself, and take him to various mainstay establishments across Mondstadt," Kaeya says with a broad smile, "to encourage seasonal revelry! And maybe get a free drink or bite to eat while we're at it."
Venti nods with enthusiasm. "That's the goal, really, ehe."
Tilting her head, Lumine considers the information she has in the moment, and then looks at Kaeya again, her expression a bit crooked with confusion. In one hand Kaeya holds the reins of a decorative bridle that is attached to what appears to be an actual horse's skull, which has been cleaned and polished bright white, with two glimmering turquoise gemstones set into the eye sockets. Silver, blue, and green ribbons trail from the crown of the skull, and a small wreath of cecilias and aster has been draped across the bridge of its long face, the whole apparatus mounted on a stick with a long sheet of fabric trailing from it, beneath which someone obviously had to be standing and holding it up, a fact Paimon had failed to realize while Kaeya was speaking. She adjusts the fur-lined cape around her shoulders and cups her elbow in her opposite hand, pressing a knuckle against her chin.
"Okay, I get the Singing As An Allegory For The Wind," Lumine says, "and I get the Knocking At The Door As An Allegory For Windblown Trees Tapping At The Window..."
Kaeya grins. "But?"
"But that still doesn't explain the horse head on a stick."
His grin flattens, and he shakes a finger in the air vaguely.
"Yeah, okay, you've kinda got me there."
"Honestly I'm not sure why it's a horse," Venti admits, tapping his chin with one hand, "or why it's a skull, for that matter."
"Have you two done this every year?" she asks, watching as a few passers-by give them an odd look and a wide berth, and Kaeya presses a hand to the back of his neck, his eye winging skyward as the lamps around the square are lit with the fall of evening.
"Actually, the tradition had fallen out of practice for a long time," he admits. "When the people of the city revolted and the Windblume festival was first recorded, some two and a half thousand years ago, the Grani Hestr sort of stopped being a relevant figure in the folklore." He reaches up and affectionately rubs the muzzle of the skull, prompting a bit of a laugh from Lumine. "I ended up stumbling upon the story of Grani Hestr not long after you first came to Mondstadt, Traveler," he says then, "and, given that the people of Mondstadt were once again facing down a rather blustery sort of oppression, I suggested to the good bard here that, provided we all lived to tell the tale, we ought to try reviving the custom of door-to-door merrymaking."
"In a way that is appropriately creepily relevant to your decidedly strange theatrical leanings," Lumine concludes, and Kaeya swaggles his head with a smile.
"In a way that is appropriately creepily relevant to my decidedly strange theatrical leanings."
"We were also both rather inebriated at the time," Venti offers, and Kaeya shoots him a comically offended look before making a slashing gesture at his own neck with one hand. "It was actually the first time Kaeya and I had ever had a drink together! I remember it so fondly~"
"Because I footed the bill," Kaeya says, rolling his eye.
"I'd long forgotten about this particular tradition, but Kaeya reminded me, and it sounded like a really fun thing to try and bring back!" Venti continues, not acknowledging Kaeya's statement in the slightest. "So the next day, I took him up on the idea!"
"He brought a horse skull to my apartment," Kaeya says dryly, pinching the bridge of his nose, and then he makes a face as if something has just dawned on him. "How did you even know where I lived?"
"A good bard must know many things," Venti replies without elaboration.
"Yeah, well, you took ten years off my life, showing up on my doorstep like that, all while I was atrociously hung over."
"He turned a very festive shade of green," Venti says helpfully, and Kaeya looks as though he would rather like to shove the bard right back under the shroud around the pole holding up the skull. "But after you helped protect Mondstadt from Dvalin--and, in turn, protect Dvalin from the Abyss--we decided to go ahead and take a bash at bringing some good old-fashioned wassailing back to the city around Year's End, in the true spirit of wine and song."
"Though the original tradition involved going around to people's homes, and at midnight, at that," Kaeya clarifies, "we thought that might be a bit rude, in this case, and so we decided to go at sunset, and stick to taverns and restaurants that would logically already have something prepared."
"And an audience to join in the fun, too!" Venti adds.
"How come we've never heard about it 'til now, though?" Paimon asks, still hiding behind Lumine's shoulder and squinting suspiciously at the decorated skull.
"You two were up on Dragonspine with Albedo that first year, I believe," Kaeya says after a moment of thought, "and the year after, as well. And then last year you were in Sumeru and Inazuma around this time."
"We celebrated Windtrace at an unusual time last year, too," Venti points out, "so we had to bump Granny Hester up a little; I believe we wrapped up three days before you arrived."
"Maybe we should have stayed in Fontaine, this year," Paimon says, crinkling her nose, and Lumine laughs.
"I think it's kind of charming," she says. "Is it just the two of you, though?"
"The first year it was just Venti and myself," Kaeya says, "but after that, we've gotten a few more festive folk to come along. Last year even Eula joined in on the fun."
"And the free beer," Venti says, lifting one finger.
Kaeya snorts a laugh. "And the free beer." He shrugs one shoulder and gives a nod. "I mean that is half the fun. She did a lovely dance holding the skull after a few of those."
"Now, this I have to see," Lumine says.
Kaeya puts an arm around her shoulder and jostles her jovially. "We'd be honored to have the Traveler along for the shenanigan," he says, and then lifts his chin. "But you have to follow the rules."
"There's rules?" Paimon still looks very unsure about this.
"Folk traditions always have rules!" Venti assures her, and points upward at the skull mounted over his head. "To join in this bacchanalian whimsy, you must make an offering! And one that's not flimsy!"
Lumine gives him a dubious look, and Venti rubs a finger against his nose.
"You have to add a decoration to the Grani Hestr," he clarifies, "to appease his spirit before he will deign to allow you to sing on his behalf."
"Oh, I have to sing?"
"It's part of the rules," Kaeya insists, and she gives him a sly look.
"Does this mean I finally get to hear your singing voice?" she asks.
Kaeya folds his arms with a harrumph. "I am exempt, on account of being the one to revive the tradition in the first place."
Venti glowers at him. "That's what you said last year!" he says.
"Well, it's still true this year!" Kaeya retorts. "Singing is your fortissimo, not mine."
Pondering briefly, Lumine then lifts a finger in inquiry. "What happens to the offering once the ritual is complete?" she asks, and the banter is put on pause for the moment.
"You may have it back, if it's something important," Kaeya says with a chuckle. "Grani Hestr is an understanding sort of spirit."
Satisfied with this response, Lumine shuffles her cape a bit to get at the scarf around her neck, carefully unclasping it and pulling it free to present it toward the skull with both hands. Venti lowers the stick, the ribbons on the crown of the skull sweeping forward as if the figure is genuflecting, and Lumine carefully threads the scarf through the jaws, clasping it back together just above the wreath of flowers across the bridge of the nose.
"It's a very special offering," she says as Venti lifts the skull back to its proper height. "I assume it will suffice for both Paimon and myself?"
"Uwha? Hey! I never agreed to be part of this!" Paimon protests, and folds her little arms in a huff. "I'm not singing!"
"Not even for free snacks?" Kaeya asks.
"Not even f-- Did you say snacks?"
There's a peal of overlapping laughter as Paimon quickly changes her mind, and Kaeya slings his arm around Lumine's shoulder again before gesturing northwest.
"We're meeting Eula and Noelle at Headquarters," Kaeya says, "and I believe Huffman and Mika said they would come this year, as well." He gives her a wink, which she's come to recognize easily despite the fact that he only ever has one eye visible in the first place. "Last year it took us the better part of half an hour to convince Diluc to let us into Angel's Share," he says in a conspiratorial tone. "He's always been good at negotiating, I just didn't really expect him to play along at all, let alone for twenty minutes. I'm determined to get him to sing his denials this year, as is the rule, else they shan't be heeded, and we'll bully our way inside if we must."
"You can't force him to sing if you yourself refuse to sing," Venti says.
"I can and I will," Kaeya shoots back, and as they head up the cobbled road toward Knights' HQ, Lumine wishes more than anything that she had a video kamera at her disposal.