Chapter Text
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The leafs fluttered in the wind, grass rustling under the skies. A wind torrent carried leaves and grass here and there, under the sun so warm, yet tranquil.
The plains were covered with trees tall and mighty, an apple growing from times to times. Only at a single reef did everything clear out. Naught, but a single tree blocked the view.
The tree’s shadow covered her figure, only her right hand under the heat of the sun. She gazed down besides her, a single flower yet to bloom. She picked it up, then closed her eyes. An exhale left her mouth when she touched it. It’s aroma was sweet, fragrant and soft. Just like Teyvat’s sweet flowers. She opened her eyes and looked up, to see countless of hills, a mountain tallest of all in Mondstadt behind them. A place adorn by ever changing snow and a spiral with crystal clear mark at the top of it’s peak. A memory from distant past embraced her, yet she pushed away all that came forth.
A smallest of winds made her hair and the flowers adoring them flow in unison. A flowers of colour pure blue. She cherished them with her utmost love and not even the Cecilia’s she found at Cape oath could beat their beauty. They belonged to the distant past so far yet so close. When she got imprisoned, all that reminded her of her origins were those very flowers.
Until a bard saved her one day.
From then on, her future shall take a brighter turn.
With a single glance, she gazed back to where the sea met the sky. A sea full of dandelions once adorned this place. Yet, when the tragedy stroke, every one of the creatures stopped living. As if, by a small amount, the place died in it’s mourning. All that was left, were a hazy, dried out plains as far as the eye could see. Even the once elegant and precious petals got blown away by the instability…
The sweet aura from the flower soon dissipated, when she got up. Her gaze fixed upon a path towards a city, not far from her place.
Mondstadt.
A city, where freedom shall never cease, wines will flow and poetry bless the hearts.
At least, that is, what her rescuer once mentioned to her. Today, she’d see it for herself.
𖥸𖥸𖥸
She stepped before the bridge, when a brown haired girl took her by surprise. She wore a white shirt with a red vest and dark brown shorts with white boots. She was followed by a familiar blonde girl, who had a charming, long white dress. It was adorn by black, blue and golden details with a scarf around her neck. Lumine looked as bright and happy, as ever. She glanced at Lumine, who smiled in return..
,,Look who’s here, another newcomer!” She put her hand at her forehead, as if she’d be looking for something she couldn’t find. ,,Welcome to Monstadt, the city of freedom, wandering soul! What’s your name? My name’s Amber, the outrider of the knights of favonius!”
She waved towards Amber, then paused for a great few minutes. ,,Xiaolong it is…”
,,Nice to meet you! Ahh, it’s a shame we have to meet in such time. Were it a better moment, I’d take you out to see the whole scenery of Monstadt!” The brown haired girl acknowledged. ,,Meeting in such a time? What do you mean? Is there, some enemy causing some kind of disaster around?” Xiaolong couldn’t wrap her head around it. Monstadt, a city of freedom, facing some kind of crisis? What could it be? ,,Hmm, not a disaster outright, but… It’s not great either.. Some people has been speculating to see a big, green dragon over our city. He’s called as Stormterror by the locals. And recently, a lot of hillichurls appeared around all of Mondstadt, too!” Amber crossed her arms on her chest. ,,That’s right. We just eliminated a single camp of them, yet there’s more beginning to lurk around Mondstadt, without an end to it! They’re enemy to all of Teyvat.” Lumine looked up at the big, white clouds forming above.
Xiaolong remembered Lumine and her energy very well. But… What did she meant by hillichurls? Why were they taken as monsters? ,,Hey, are you okay? Do you need any rest?” Amber’s voice was energetic, yet full of worry. ,,I’m alright. Sorry, I just… spaced out thinking about something..” Such worry, she haven’t witnessed back there…
,,We tried to come with a temporary solution. But either way, nothing works in our favour so far! It’s a hassle thinking about it.” Amber closed her eyes. ,,Anyway-" she started and turned around in a whim. Xiaolong looked up, to the darkening clouds in the distance... something was off.. ,,Come with me, we'll head to the city's, ahh... plaza!” Amber pointed out to the nearest stairs.
,,Everyone's been put out of place by Stormterror recently. But everything will turn out fine as long as Jean's with us!” Amber turned to face them. ,,Jean? Who is she?” Lumine leaned forward, her eyes widening in curiosity. ,,Acting Grand Master of the Knights of Favonius; with Jean by our side, surely even the vicious Stormterror will be no match for us.“ Amber started to play with her hair and laughed. She… seemed to rely on Jean by a huge mile. Even Lumine, who put her hand on her chest. Something Xiaolong could never achieve ever since she lost everything.
𖥸𖥸𖥸
,,This used to be a bustling street... But with so many attacks recently, the usual crowds are nowhere to be seen.” Amber turned to face the biggest statue, covered in a long and flowy scarf, with braids around each side of it’s face. Xiaolong glanced down to see her hair strands flying all around her face. It was the statue of the anemo archon standing before her. He looked… Peaceful, caring and gentle.. At least, from what she witnessed. The whole place seemed to be quiet… Out of all of the possibilities of what she may see, Xiaolong wasn’t prepared to see this.
,,Whoa… Impressive!” Lumine pointed out. She seemed to be amazed at the sight she just witnessed. Although she wasn’t keen of the loneliness of the current Mondstadt, Xiaolong couldn’t agree more. The small place carried a blissful aura of sunshine, sun rays shining all over the anemo archon’s statue. ,,Truly, a sacred sight to witness.”
𖥸𖥸𖥸
Although peaceful, the moment didn’t last forever. ,,The sky…” Amber looked upwards. The grey clouds Xiaolong saw before, covered the entire sky. The sun rays vanished under a shadow of a mighty dragon... In a whim, a tornado formed itself from thin air. Despite of Amber and Lumine fleeing, Xiaolong couldn’t face away. She defeated stronger beings in her lifetime. A dragon like him wasn’t going to stop her in her tracks. With grace, she soared atop of the skies.
After turning around, she saw him… Stormterror. As mad as ever, he soared through the skies, brisk, yet with ease. ,,I don’t wanna fight you, I wanna talk!” When she haven’t got any response, Xiaolong had to move closer. Could she do it? she wasn’t confident in that. But she couldn’t wait more. Else, another haven was bound to be destroyed in time. Before she could move, Storm swayed in the wind. One more tornado formed under his wing. With a brisk eye, she soared past and near the dragon.
,,Now, concentrate. See yourself grasping your powers. Harness its energy.” A mysterious voice. One Xiaolong could remember only faintly. Was it him? She stopped in her movements to concentrate on that very voice.. ,,Who… Who said it? Are you there?” She looked all around herself. But as soon, as the voice came, it left. ,,Strange… What did he mean by that?” Xiaolong glanced back towards Stormterror. Before she could regain her concentration, she was enveloped in thousands of air currents; a tornado was about to form. Right under her. Her wings felt as if being ripped off from her back. She was not yet used to such situations after many years of no action. She summoned a sparkle so small, yet so bright it could blind anyone not far enough. From it, a shield began to envelop her entire being. She soared near to the edge of the currents. And yet… in a moment of time, all she saw was Stormterror’s swaying and white clouds covering all of his shadow…
Her shield broke…
All she could do, was nothing, but watch her body fall from the heaven. Was that, how she’d witness another fall of a great nation? Was this, how she’d fail the second time? It seemed, she had a longer path to go…
perhaps.. she wasn’t good enough yet…
Perhaps, she was not prepared for what the world had in store for her…
She looked above her and could feel her body fall through the nearest cloud.
,,Is this, my end?”…
….
She outstretched her hand and squint her eyes… She didn’t land, even if she had tried to count how long it was. Instead, a dazzling light met her eyes and kept her up in the air, the sky and clouds enveloping her. A sight she haven’t seen yet.
,,Where… Am I? Am… I dead?” Xiaolong couldn’t prevent herself from speaking out.
,,Don’t worry. I’ve prevented you from falling to the deep end. You’re still alive, look!” He wasn’t anywhere to be seen, yet Xiaolong could feel his presence everywhere she looked.
By the time her wings regained their stability, Stormterror was there, waiting for her move.
She wasn’t as strong as before… What if she fails? She looked down, upon the clouds under her. She couldn’t fail. Not right now. Not right here.
She leapt into the wind, right in front of Stormterror’s head. She tapped her hand on his horn and closed her eyes. A dark blue aura emerged all around them. It soothed every being in it’s presence and gave life to every being in Teyvat.
Dvalin blinked and his body seemed it could drop in any minute. He let out a grunt and dropped his head to Xiaolong’s shoulder.
,,Why? Why did you spare me?”
,,I’m nobody in this world…”
,,And yet you spared me..”
She exhaled and closed her eyes. ,,You didn’t want to start all this… It’s just your inner turmoil… I can feel this.. now go… Feel free as long as possible and soar the skies, until being able to.”
With that, the dragon shook its head and flew away.
Full of rage, yet at peace for a moment.