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Awareness comes slowly to the being. Eyelids flutter open as the world comes into view for the first time.
He simply exists for a moment, before a rush of sensation crashes into him.
There’s a gasp of air, and the boy tries to move. There is something on top of him, but it is thin and easy to move, so it is thrown to the side. As the boy rolls over, he tries to stand, only to collapse under his shaking legs. The ground is cold, but not because of snow and rock. Rather, it’s wood. Not the bark of a tree, though. He doesn’t understand.
“Durin!” A voice calls out. It’s muffled and fuzzy. Something is touching his arms, helping him back onto the surface he was laying on before. A bed.
“It is okay now. You are safe, Durin.”
Confused eyes move to the source of the voice. The first thing noticed is a star resting upon the person’s neck. Gloves hands cover the other with a blanket. It is soft. Warm.
“…You’re from the mountain.” His voice was strange, flinching at the sound of it. That was his voice?
The other person blinked, looking surprised, before he relaxed to a gentle smile. “I could say the same about you.” He replied, settling into a chair next to the bed.
From the mountain? Was he from the mountain?
He remembers his neck being torn open, and collapsing onto something cold. A hand raises to his throat, hesitant to touch. His breathing was shaky. And his hands…are hands. Not claws. His body is so different from what it should be.
“I am sure you have a lot of questions.” The person next to him said, breaking what would have ended in a spiral of panic. “I will be happy to answer them. But I also have some questions for you as well. Primarily, how are you feeling?”
Feeling. He is feeling a lot. He, Durin, takes a moment to take in the world around him.
He’s in a large building. Which is strange, because he’s never been able to fit inside of buildings. Or, hasn’t he? He remembers the world around him being so small. But he also remembers resting in someone’s lap. A hand rested on his snout.
He looks down, staring at his body. It’s…human. No scales, no claws. He has a human chest, human legs, human hands. He is…human. Except he flexes his wings, and can feel his tail beneath him. Durin examines his hands, shakily pulling on his fingers. One of them cracks, which startles him. But it doesn’t hurt.
His memories are harder to figure out. Agony is the most prevalent feeling when trying to think of his past. He was alone for so, so long. But at some point, someone came to find him. Except no. No, that isn’t right. No one came to find him. No one reached out to him. He was always alone. Nothing makes sense. He knows and doesn’t know. Everything is confusing and contradicting itself.
“I am…scared.” Durin said, gripping the sheets of the bed. “Confused. You…gave me a new body.” Wasn’t he given a new body before? “Why?”
The person in the room closed his eyes, seemingly pondering how to reply. He settles on asking a different question.
“What do you remember?”
“I remember…mother. But also another mother? In one memory, I see my mother writing a story. In the other, I’m flying across the world, dancing with a beautiful dragon. But…I was never dancing-”
Once again, shaking fingers ghost over his neck. He remembers the feeling of flesh tearing.apart. His flesh. Warm blood gushed from the wound as he choked on it. He remembers the moment he saw the world for what it really was. Fire. Blood. Death. Death everywhere.
“I hurt people, didn’t I? I hurt the dragon. I hurt the bard! I, I-!”
“Breath.” The man commanded, inhaling through his nose, and out his mouth. He repeated the action, and eventually, Durin followed along. He didn’t understand why, but somehow, he calmed down. Physically, at least. His mind was still rushing with anxiety and fear. What are these memories?
“That was 500 years ago.” The man stated. “But you already knew that in some way, correct?”
Durin nods. It’s a strange feeling. He has all these flashes of things happening on the mountain. Around his body. In his body. It feels as if he had been asleep for a long, long time. Everything in between feels like a dream.
The person speaks once more.
“My name is Albedo.” He introduces finally. “I am a creation of Gold, just as you are.”
“You are…different from Mother’s other creations.” Durin muttered, narrowing his eyes at the pristine human form that the other was granted. For some reason, annoyance and anger ran through him.
“To my knowledge, I am her final creation.” Albedo said.
Durin didn’t know how to respond. So he stayed quiet as his apparent brother explained the events that lead to their current situation. He was a dragon who died on the mountain to the southeast. One of Mother’s friends was saddened by his ending, and began to write a new ending. One where the evil dragon could be saved. This dragon, after being given the blessing of a hero, was able to leave the pages of a book and enter the real world. Become a real being.
Meanwhile, the dragon on the mountain refused to truly die. That caused problems for the people who live in this world today. And so, Albedo took the vitality and soul of the mountain dragon and fused it with the soul of the storybook dragon.
The strange thing is that Durin remembers all of it. He remembers being the dragon who died, as well as the dragon from the storybook. He remembers wanting to become human. He remembers wanting to help stop the evil dragon. He was the evil dragon.
It is a lot to take in. Albedo says that questioning his identity is natural, and that is a part of being human and alive. But that answer does nothing to calm Durin. There is still something concerning.
He is in Mondstadt.
“I can’t be here.” He says.
“What do you mean?” Albedo asks.
“I can’t be here!” Durin insisted again. “I hurt the people of this land! I hurt the Wind Dragon! Barbados must surely be angry with me! I do not deserve the kindness of him or his people!”
Albedo looked over with a calm expression. “That is something you can ask him yourself. However…” He reached into his pocket, pulling out a gem. And there was a strange pull Durin felt towards the stone. “I believe Barbados has already forgiven you.”
“What…?”
“When I came to check on you after giving you human form, this was at your feet.” Albedo says. “Do you know what it is?”
He shook his head.
“It feels…important…” He wants it. He wants to snatch it from the other’s gloved hands and never let go. Like it’s the last piece of a puzzle.
Seemingly sensing this desire, Albedo took one of Durin’s hands and placed the stone in his fingers. A shiver went down Durin’s spine. Not cold, but warm. So, so warm. Something he hadn’t known since Mother had given him a mighty form. He grasps the item close to his chest, afraid Albedo would take it away suddenly.
“That is a vision. They are said to be gifts from the gods.”
Durin’s eyes widened. A gift from the gods? But he is an evil dragon. He attacked the gods. He attacked the lands they ruled over. Why would he be forgiven? Why would he be allowed to find rest and peace in their nation?
A hand rests once again on his shoulder. Durin jumps, clutching the vision.
“You will have plenty of time to figure these things out.” Albedo says calmly. “You are no longer alone.”
He isn’t alone.
Durin’s eyes feel warm. And then they feel wet. He feels water slide down his human cheeks, and finds he can’t stop his lower jaw from trembling.
A wail rips from his throat, not too dissimilar from the roar he let out 500 years ago when he was slain. It is loud and raw, coming from the bottom of his gut and scratching his throat. But he no longer rests against the cold of a snowy mountain.
Now, he rests in a bed. Covered in a warm blanket with a headboard at his back. An arm moves across his back, rubbing circles into the skin right between his wings. His head falls into the shoulder of who could be considered his brother, who simply stays by his side, holding him close.
“Welcome to Mondstadt, Durin.”