Chapter Text
When Teyvat was born, the god of creation decided to bestow upon the land’s ownership upon its eight children, granting them the power to control the elements, and rule over mortals in peace. The seven gods, the beings of fire, wind, earth, water, light, ice and plants all built their kingdoms to their own preferences.
They were all different in their dispositions, leading to various disagreements on how they should rule. The god of the water had a cold view of monarchy, wanting to rule without interacting with her people. The god of fire wanted to lead strong passionate individuals, ruling as a role model for them all. The god of wind wished to be peaceful and gentle, her leadership casual and relaxed. The god of ice was firm but fair, keeping his people safe with a careful, watchful eye. The god of plants thought he had no business interfering with the matters of mortals and opted for a neutral approach. The god of earth thought they should rule with an iron fist, keeping their people in line on a good path.
Regardless of their different views, it all went smoothly, the kingdoms never fighting or discriminating from each other.
However, one day the god of the light, Aelius revealed his intentions to enslave all humans, crushing them all under his rule. He was greedy, not happy with just his kingdom, so he betrayed his siblings and started an all-out war against them all other kingdoms.
The gods all fought valiantly, but in the end their only choice was to sacrifice themselves to kill Aelius, passing on the rule of Teyvat to their children. In their deaths, the kingdom of light was destroyed, and the seven kingdoms were now without gods…
Xingqiu snapped his history book shut with a loud thump and lay back on the grass with a sigh. In the thousands of years since the gods had died, the monarchy of each kingdom had been passed down from generation to generation, the powers and abilities of the gods being passed down with them. He was the next to inherit the throne of water, and he wasn’t all that happy about it. It wasn’t that he hated the idea of trying to govern a country, since he’d spent his entire life being prepared for it, he was just desperate to see what else was out there.
His mother had instructed him to learn about their kingdoms history in hopes that he’d stop daydreaming and focus on his destiny.
So, he grabbed the first history book he could find and slunk off into Watatsumi to read it. All the pages about the other kingdoms culture and history were torn out or scribbled over. The only fleeting mention of them was in the section on the origins of Teyvat, and he hungered for more, his heart aching with his wish to leave the kingdom and see what else was out there. A place where people didn’t know he had no royal expectations. A place he could relax.
He'd wanted to leave the kingdom as long as he could remember, bugging his caretaker Barbara every day for years, wishing he’d tell her just one small thing about the outside world. He’d tried to run away before, but the long stretch of waves surrounding Watatsumi made it impossible to escape. He had no way out. He was trapped.
Xingqiu flung the book angrily as he turned to another scored out page, sick and tired of the endless monotony of its contents, a quiet splash sound appearing as the book landed in a nearby puddle.
“Oh- bother... mother will go spare if she finds out I ruined my history book-“He lept up and ran over, his socks soggy as stepped into the puddle by mistake.
Xingqiu grabbed hold of the now waterlogged book and set off back to the main city of Watatsumi. His mother resided inside the depths of Enkanoimiya, the water kingdoms main district, but thanks to his cousin Kokomi, they also held control over the island.
Since Watatsumi was technically part of Inazuma, it did cause some tension between Raiden and Mona, but for the most part, they kept peace between their nations.
*
The kingdom of Frost wasn’t quite as lucky. Stuck in-between Mondstat and Liyue, tucked off into the snowy mountains of dragonspine, war was imminent. Kaeya sighed, head in his hands. “We’re fucked, aren’t we?” He groaned. He was exhausted from countless meetings with dignitaries from other kingdoms, his head ached as he rubbed his temples, trying desperately to soothe his throbbing migraine.
“Calm down dear, you mustn’t worry yourself so.” Shenhe said softly, her cool tone pooling a wave of calm across her husband. “The situation isn’t as dire as you think. The children are happy, and so are the people. We have some of the strongest knights in all of the seven kingdoms.”
Kaeya spun round to face Shenhe, eyes shimmering with cold. “We were sent a proposition. By the queen of the earth, Ningguang. She has no heir to the throne, so she suggested that when he is of age, she marry our son.” Kaeya’s voice shook as he said this, small angry tears pooling in his eyes, immediately crystalizing to ice and shattering on the floor.
Shenhe stopped, her calm mask slipping away for a moment before she quickly regained her composure. “Chongyun?” She said, a hint of concern in her voice. Kaeya nodded; hands clenched as he shook, his shivering caused both by rage and the sudden chilly atmosphere which had spread throughout the room. “She sounded... defeated. She doesn't want this either. But it's her only choice."
Shenhe thought for a moment, head bowed, her hair falling across her delicate features. “And if we refuse?” She said quietly. Already knowing the answer she silently prayed wasn't the truth.
Kaeya sighed. “If we refuse, she will declare war upon us.”