Chapter Text
Paimon and Aether had been in Mondstadt for a while now, helping Durin fulfill his mother's last wish and writing his own fate into the world of Teyvat. After a good day of completing commissions, the two travel companions walked down the street towards good Hunter for a meal when Paimon stopped to look at some flyers fastened on the Cat's Tail.
"Hey, it's a flyer for a competition." Paimon called out while gesturing Aether over. Aether let out a soft hum as he read the flyer with Paimon.
"Perseverance! Courage! Speed! The Dragonspine International Cross Country Challenge is About to Begin!
This is one race challenge that every serious runner dreams of, the ultimate proving ground for one's abilities. Armed with perseverance, courage and speed, runners will hit the trails of Dragonspine, overcoming complex terrain and bone-chilling weather to reveal their true mettle!
The Dragonspine International Cross Country Challenge is about to kick off! This year's event will see teams from Natlan, Sumeru, Inazuma, Liyue, and Mondstadt vying for the winner's crown.
If you're a runner confident and feeling up to the challenge, then this race is for you. We also welcome all fans to attend and show their support!
The Dragonspine International Cross Country Challenge Organizing Committee."
"The Dragonspine International Cross Country Challenge… Huh. Never heard of this before." Paimon looked towards Aether with a smile and wiggled her legs in the air. "International means there's gonna be people from all over Teyvat taking part… Sounds like fun! We should check it out if we have time."
Aether nodded in agreement and cross referenced the event location with their map of Mondstadt, placing a marker there for later. They then continued with their plans for the rest of the day, having some dinner at Good Hunter and checking in with Durin to see how he was holding up after what he'd gone through. He was going to stay in Mondstadt with Albedo for a while longer before they all travelled back to Nod Krai.
The following day, Aether and Paimon woke up bright and early to head off towards Dragonspine. After travelling for two days going off road, they arrived around the evening at the mountain base. And there, to the left of the broken bridge leading towards Dragonspine, was an array of tents that had been set up. Paimon flew next to Aether and looked over the space with a sound of awe.
"So many tents! Paimon's never seen Dragonspine this busy before." She then paused in the air and pointed towards the first tent. "Wait, look! It's Amber!" She floated back down next to Aether again and offered him a wide smile. "Let's go say hi!"
He nodded in agreement and the two of them went up to Amber for a small chat. They were greeted warmly by their friend and had a brief chat about why they were here. For the event, of course. Amber and Heinz were part of the Organizing Committee for the event, a committee that was made up of people from the Knights of Favonius and representatives of Springvale. The Knights were in charge of registration and security while the Springvale team was for refereeing and support. And since Aether was the Honorary Knight of Mondstadt, he and Paimon received VIP tickets for the race.
"Speaking of security, Honorary Knight." Amber continued with a small frown. "If you encounter any problems, please come find us. We're here to make sure all contestants have an enjoyable experience."
Aether and Paimon glanced at each other when they heard the change in Amber's tone. The white haired fairy looked towards their friend with a small frown.
"Paimon gets the feeling that there's a 'but' there…"
Heinz let out a soft sigh and scratched the back of his head. "I'm sure that it's nothing huge or serious, but it's still enough to keep an eye out… We've gotten reports that the monsters around Dragonspine have been behaving strangely lately. Nothing that is of concern at the moment, but it's still a good idea to keep an eye out."
"We've also gotten a warning from Albedo concerning the landscape on Dragonspine…" Amber continued while cupping her chin. "He said it was something related to Durin and the clash of volatile energies…" Amber sighed and shook her head. "By the time we received this warning, the preparations for this event had already finished. And there were already so many people coming to Mondstadt to participate. So to ensure everyone's safety, we're taking this warning very seriously and have strict areas where the competitors can train on in preparation for the event. I won't ask you to join in the patrols or anything like that, that's what we knights are here for. But while you're participating in the event, could you two keep an eye out?"
Aether and Paimon were quick to agree with smiles on their faces. To lighten the mood a bit, Heinz mentioned how there were eye-catching competitors from Natlan during the event, which made Amber start to talk about her interest in a comic the Natlan group was reading. Going from the description they gave about the Natlanese competitors, it could only be Aether and Paimon's friends Varesa and Xillonen who were here. So with a promise to help Amber borrow one of their comic books, Aether and Paimon walked off to try and find the Natlan tent.
"Hey, uhm…" Paimon hovered a little closer to Aether. "You don't think the trouble on Dragonspine has to do with Durin rewriting his own fate…? Should we do something about it? Like, call Albedo and Hat Guy?"
Aether shook his head slightly. "No, Albedo was the one who warned them. I doubt we could do anything more than keep an eye out."
"Paimon supposes you're right…" Paimon fiddled nervously with her hands. "Paimon is just worried something like that might ruin the competition and fun for everyone."
"Don't worry. The Favonius knights have it under control." Aether lightly poked Paimon in the side of her head with a wide smile. "Let's go see our friends instead."
Paimon's mood was quick to brighten up at the reminder of their friends from other countries being here. "Right! It feels like so much has happened since we last saw everyone! Paimon wonders who else we might see while we're here."
Aether let out a soft chuckle at how quickly Paimon's mood changed and he followed his travelling companion towards the tent hosting the Natlan contestants. There, they met Alrani, a researcher from Sumeru academy that they had met in the past, and her friend Tang Yigang.
It was a… unique introduction. The two of them spoke passionately about a comic series about heroes from Natlan and how their group were all fans of this comic series, "The Soulblazer's saga". The introduction to the comic series was confusing because of how dramatic the two of them were over the whole thing… But as soon as Xilonen appeared to explain what they meant, everything made a lot more sense. It was all made as an inside joke that Aether and Paimon weren't a part of. And that the "Legion of Soulblazers" was the name of their fan club rather than an actual organisation.
It made Aether wonder if the two of them would have made the same introduction to The Soulblazer Saga to Amber if she had been the one to ask them about it… Or if they did this so dramatically because Aether and Paimon were friends of people in their group. Now Aether was almost tempted to ask Amber to come over personally, just to see what would happen. But she had duties to attend to so he wouldn't bother her only to sedate his curiosity. Besides, Alrani seemed somewhat embarrassed after they had failed to "light a spark" in Aether and Paimon's hearts. He just asked them to let Amber borrow a book for simplicity's sake.
He could always count on Xilonen to be a level headed person in a group.
Minnie was from Mondstadt and was the one who organised the meetup of these Legion of Soulblazers. And with Xilonen guiding the way, the three of them went off to see Varesa so Aether and Paimon could say hi to their friend.
Xilonen let out a sigh as she made her way towards the broken bridge, stretching her arms over her head as they walked. "Varesa and Minnie are training together. They've been at it all day. But, it is freezing out here, so it's time to call it."
"Yeah, that's Dragonspine for ya. It's always been a super cold place." Paimon added with a small nod. "Paimon almost froze her hands off last time we were here! But it's very interesting, all things considered. One of our friends has a base here and performs research all the time."
Xilonen smiled at Paimon as she asked what type of adventures they've had in Dragonspine before. Which made Paimon tell her about encountering the Fatui, calming the freezing winds from the very heart of the mountain and reaching the very top where a giant pillar hovered in the sky. Xilonen listened attentively as they crossed the water and continued along the base of the mountain.
As Aether looked around, he could see arrow signs directing people where to go, or small rope railings to direct people further. It seemed like the main road towards the Frostbearing tree was cut off from the contestants. Which was curious, especially since that was the main road towards the top of the mountain. If they weren't going to travel up Dragonspine through that road, then where would they travel through…?
He and Paimon should check in on the Frostbearing tree after they'd met up with Varesa. Just to see how it was holding up after Albedo had given out a warning about the energies on the mountain. Aether might've helped it revitilise, but there was nothing wrong with just checking up on it..
By some tents close to the shoreline was Varesa with her back towards them, looking over a girl who was running between two bonfires that were set up for warmth. There was another sign just past this small camp with an X sign, clearly showing that people should not go past this point. Aether could also see a few Favonius guards talking with each other around a bon fire further along the shore… They sure took security very seriously. It was good and reassuring to see.
"Hey Varesa! We've come to watch you train, hehe!" Paimon called out towards Varesa with a cheerful wave.
This made Varesa straighten up and turn with a wide smile on her face. "Wait, was that Paimon?" Varesa's expression brightened when she saw Aether and Paimon next to Xilonen. "Paimon! Traveller! Ah, I've missed you two so much!"
Varesa ran forward and threw her arms around the two of them, bringing both travellers in for a hug. A very strong hug that both Aether and Paimon reciprocated the best they could. Varesa let go with a soft laugh, apologising for hugging them so tightly in her excitement. But there was nothing to apologise for.
While the girl behind Varesa continued to run back and forth for a while longer, Aether and Paimon told their friend of how their day has been so far and what they've been doing. How their introduction to the Legion of Soulblazers had gone, which made Xilonen and Varesa share how excited Varesa had been when they had first met up. Xilonen was apparently here on the behest of Nepecha, because she wanted some "merch" of The Soulblazer Saga, as Varesa put it. It was fascinating in a way how this competition could also be the meeting spot of so many people who enjoyed the same comic book series.
Aether could see why it would be difficult to close the event despite there being some worries on Dragonspine… Not only because so many people from all over Teyvat had travelled such a long way to get here, but also because this was a meeting spot for old and new friends alike. If Aether knew the Favonius knights right, none of them would want to bring that type of disappointment upon anyone. A similar thing had happened last time they had Adventurer Training on Dragonspine. When danger started to brew, they simply banded together to make it as safe as they could.
This thought also made Aether bring up the point that the security on Dragonspine had tightened and wondered what Varesa and Xilonen knew about it.
"Oh, yeah, Paimon noticed a few signs on the way here to keep people on safe paths." Paimon tilted her head slightly as she looked at the sign past the camp. "And there's another one there. Do you still have enough area to train even with all of these restrictions?"
"Oh yeah, for sure. We mostly train on the actual competition trail." Varesa nodded with a large smile, her hands resting on her hips. "We heard that the monsters are more active here on the mountains. But we've been perfectly safe with the Knights here patrolling the place."
"Varesa even offered to do some patrolling herself as a form of training, but the Knights of Favonius rejected her." Xilonen shook her head. "I personally can't see the allure in performing work when we're here for a vacation."
"Yeah, well, if I can help out in making it feel safer for everyone else, and I get some training out of it, I only see positives!" Varesa let out a light laugh and lifted her fist to show off her bicep. "If I see some monsters in my path though, I won't hesitate to pummel them into the dirt! Or, well, snow."
"Don't worry! The Knights of Favonius are all very capable. And we have the very special Honorary Knight of the Favonius Knights right here with us!" Paimon said dramatically as she pointed towards Aether. Aether, in turn, straightened out his back and struck a proud pose. "We'll make sure that this competition will go off without a hitch."
"Haha, I feel more reassured already!" Varesa lightly nudged Aether in his shoulder, something that made him let out a soft chuckle.
The girl who had been training close by stopped and slowly walked over to them with heavy steps. "Varesa… I finished my push ups…"
Varesa turned towards the young girl with a wide smile. "That makes four sets, right? Good job! Time for a breather. Minnie, I'd like to introduce you to the Traveller and Paimon. They're friends of me and Xilonen. We met in Natlan."
Paimon and Aether both offered the younger girl a cheerful wave, something that made Minnie focus on them. Her eyes slowly widened as she looked between the floating fairy and the blonde traveller.
"Wait.. Blonde hair, flying companion… Are you… Mondstadt's Honorary Knight?"
Aether nodded slightly. "Pleased to meet you."
Minnie let out a breathless sound of awe as she hastened her steps in her approach. "Wow… I can't believe I get to meet you in person! I heard about you from my older brother. He works at the tavern, so he hears all the local gossip from the customers. Apparently, you go from nation to nation, making a huge name for yourself each time? Like a real-life Comic book hero! So. Cool."
Minnie's earlier exhaustion seemed far from her mind as she leaned closer towards Aether, her hands clasped in front of her chest as if trying to hold back her own excitement. "Do you mind if I ask you a question? Of all the adventures you've had… which is the most memorable?"
Aether cupped his chin as he tried to think about it. Every nation had its own memorable journey, its own story to tell and witness. He couldn't just pick one to go from, they were all important in their own way. So, since Xilonen and Varesa were present, he decided to tell some of what he and Paimon had done in Natlan. And how they had met and become friends with Xilonen and Varesa in the process.
It was during this that Aether heard shouts of distress coming from further along the shore.
"Fall back! Fall back!"
The three Knights of Favonius Aether had spotted from before came rushing towards their small encampment with their swords in hand. And following close behind them were beasts that made Aether's hair stand on end.
Large creatures, covered in dark purple mass with a tainted energy oozing from them. Two of them were chasing after the Knights in the form of large Mitachurls with their weapons raised to kill.
"What!? Are those Abyss creatures? What are they doing here!?" Paimon cried out in distress as she hovered backwards, her hands clasped tightly to her chest.
"Paimon, take care of Minnie!" Aether called out to his companion, then didn't hesitate to rush forward to help, summoning his sword on the way as he did. The Knights saw Aether's approach and their expression brightened, calling out his title in pure relief. But Aether wasn't the one who clashed with the Abyss monsters first.
In a burst of electrical energy, Varessa raced past Aether and the knights, then slammed both of her feet against the chest of one of the Abyss creatures. Xilonen wasn't far behind, her form burning with Nightsoul energy as she went past Aether on her roller skates and kicked the second one in its side.
Aether let flames cover his blade, synchronising his energy with Pyro and the ancient name given to him to make his body come to life with the undying fire. With a jump and a wide slash of his sword that hit both Abyss creatures, enough that their forms broke apart and revealed their more vulnerable condensed state. Varessa and Xilonen didn't hesitate to attack the ones they had chosen with Aether helping Xilonen in taking down hers first.
The other Abyss creature managed to recover when Aether and Xilonen finished their Abyss creature, but with him, Varesa and Xilonen teaming up on the last one it took barely any time at all to take it down.
Aether let out a soft breath of relief as he slashed his sword to the side to put out the flames that covered it. He looked back towards the Knights, the three of them who had stopped to watch them fight with their eyes wide in awe.
"Are you all right? No one got hurt?" Aether dismissed his sword as he approached them and the Knights seemed to sag in relief.
"No, we're all fine thanks to you… Thank you Honorary Knight. And thank you, guests from Natlan. You shouldn't have had to come to our aid, but we're thankful that you did." All three Knights offered a salute to them, something that made Varesa lift her hands up.
"No need for all of that, we're just glad that you're safe. But why are there Abyss creatures here? I thought there were only Hilichurls on this mountain."
"There usually is. So we need to report this to our captain as soon as we can." The Knight at the front nodded with a serious frown on his face. "Honorary Knight, could I ask you to report this for us? It would be reckless of us to leave this post undefended and it's clear we're lacking in resources against those kinds of beasts."
"Of course." Aether was quick to agree and settled a hand against his heart. "Please be careful."
"I'll stay here with you, just in case." Xilonen said while crossing her arms. "If you see one, more will usually arrive sooner rather than later."
The Knight on the left was quick to hold up his hands in denial and shook his head. "No, no, we couldn't ask that of you. We're here to keep you safe, not the other way around. We won't be taken by surprise again."
"Then, just long enough for you to set up some better defences than just an open snowy area. Deal?" Xilonen offered them a small smile. "I'll just be standing here, doing nothing while you all do what you gotta do. Just think of me as an admirer of the scenery here."
The Knights seemed settled by this and nodded, thanking Xilonen for her generosity. Aether and Varesa went back to where they left Minnie and Paimon with Varesa. Seeing Abyss creatures here was worrying on multiple levels… Especially with what just recently happened in Mondstadt, with Durin rewriting his own fate.
Shouldn't that have led to the dark energies on Dragonspine settling down? Then why were there Abyss creatures here? They should only appear where the ties to the abyss were strong, where the veil between them was weaker. But the Abyss had never tainted Dragonspine in any capacity before… So why now?
"Traveller? Do you know why there are Abyss creatures here…?" Varesa asked once she saw his troubled expression. But all he could do was shake his head. This was something they'd need to ask Albedo about…
Paimon looked over the two of them with worry from their previous battle while Minnie was awe struck at how quickly they had acted to help. Like they were true heroes like in the comic books. Minnie's enthusiasm was appreciated, it helped drive off the uneasy feeling that lingered in the air. And while Varesa spoke with Minnie about her homeland and Minnie in turn shared her desire to go travel, Aether led the group back to camp while keeping an eye out for anything suspicious. Nothing else popped up, thankfully. But the sign those creatures gave to the state of Dragonspine as a whole worried him…
It didn't take them long to arrive at the tent the organisation committee was at. And the firt person they approached was Amber.
"Amber!" Paimon flew forward with a worried look on her face while pointing in the direction they had come from. "We bumped into trouble, a large amount of trouble! We'll be needing Albedo for this, there's something strange going on."
Amber frowned and looked between Paimon, Aether, Varesa and Minnie. "What is it…? Did you encounter Hilichurls?"
"No, much worse. Abyss creatures." Varesa shook her head and settled a hand against her heart. "I and Xilonen helped take care of them. But it's really concerning that the border between Dragonspine and the Abyss is so thin that they can appear here… Miss Amber, what's going on exactly?"
Amber saw their concerned expressions and started to grow concerned herself. She saw Minnie behind them, a civilian who was looking more and more uncomfortable with being here. So she asked Minnie to go back to her tent and reassured Minnie that everything was under control. And the Knights were here to protect her.
It was only after Minnie left that Amber returned to her previous grim expression. "We're not entirely sure what's happening either… Our lead Alchemist warned us of something changing in Dragonspine's usual behaviour and we only noticed monsters acting strangely up until now. That they ran away or stayed in place despite people getting close to them or that they started to walk around as if they were searching for someone to attack. His student is already to perform some studies, but she hasn't come up with any results quite yet. Could you tell me more about these Abyss creatures you encountered? Have you dealt with them before?"
Varesa, Aether and Paimon all told Amber about the war against the Abyss in Natlan. How these Abyss creatures appeared from dark gates and the best ways to fight back against them. Amber thanked the Anemo Archon that they could receive help from people from Natlan at such a critical time, people who were specialised in dealing with this kind of threat and knew what to expect.
It didn't take long for Amber to call that all training grounds on the mountain should be closed for the remainder of the evening and called out a wide search to find this "source" that Varesa had spoken about. She also called for a messenger to send a report back to Mondstadt about the newly discovered creatures on the mountain.
Reinforcements and an expert point of view in the form of Albedo wouldn't arrive until two days later…
Aether and Paimon joined the Legion of Soulblazers at the Natlan tent. Xilonen had returned at this point and she was sitting next to Minnie, both of them wrapped in a blanket each while talking with each other in low voices. The other two was there as well, sitting close as if offering silent support.
"Hey everyone. Is something wrong?" Paimon approached the group with a small frown, pointedly looking at Minnie's downcast expression.
"Well… kinda." Xilonen shrugged and motioned for Varesa, Aether and Paimon to come closer. "Come on. Warm yourselves by the braziers, it'll be colder now that it's getting late."
They all settled down in the tent, with Varesa looking at Minnie with a small frown. "Minnie… what's wrong?"
Minnie looked between Varesa and the floor a few times before she spoke up. "Is.. the event going to be cancelled because of this…?"
"Paimon doesn't think so. Or at least, Amber didn't mention it." Paimon said with a small shrug. "There's still a few days until the event will actually happen. Why do you ask?"
Minnie glanced towards Xilonen, something that made the older woman give her a small nod. Minnie fiddled with the blanket draped over her shoulders.
"Well.. remember how I said I'd like to travel someday? Being part of this event is kind of the first step in that goal… I have made a deal with my parents. To train hard and get in a good race time during this event. And if I do, I get to decide what I want to do for myself, to prove that I'm strong enough to go out on my own. But if this event doesn't go as planned.. If they cancel it because of these… monsters that appeared. Then I'll never get the chance to do something like this ever again…"
Varesa seemed to take this personally as she scooted closer to her friend and reached out to grasp her hand. "You never mentioned that! But don't say this will be your last chance if it does get cancelled, there will always be more chances to prove yourself."
"You don't know my parents…" Minnie shook her head with a slight tremble to her bottom lip. "I just-... I really hope the Knights of Favonius can solve this and keep the event going… It might seem selfish, but… I really, really need it."
Varesa looked off to the side in thought. "Then… Then we will make sure the event won't get cancelled!" She then stood up with her hands on her hips and chest slightly puffed out. "With me, the Traveller and Xilonen here, we'll solve this issue before they can even think of closing down the race! We've dealt with these things before after all."
"Hold on, why drag me into this?" Xilonen looked at Varesa with a raised eyebrow. "I'm more than happy to let the Knights of Favonius take care of it. No other Abyss creature arrived after those first two anyways."
"Come on Xilonen, we have to do everything we can to keep this event going!" Varesa's determination only seemed to grow at Xilonen's half hearted refusal. "If this is so important to Minnie, then it's important to us too! We need to do everything we can to make sure this race will still happen. And that includes putting in some work!"
Xilonen's tail twitched in irritation under her blanket before she let out a heavy sigh. "I suppose it would be pretty bad for everyone involved if this event was cancelled for any reason… So far, the Knights of Favonius have been keeping the information under wraps. So we're the only ones who know about it outside them…"
"Then, let's help them search for the source! There's no time to lose!" Varesa smiled towards Minnie. The girl who had been staring at Varesa with her eyes wide and a gleam of hope and gratitude in her eyes. "Don't you worry, Minnie. We'll fulfill that deal you had with your parents, for sure!"
"Well, then we better get to work too." Paimon said as she floated up into the air, followed by Aether standing up with a smile. "Let's help the Knights search the place. And if we find the source, we can close it for good!"
"T-Thank you…" Minnie's voice was choked up as she looked between all of them. "Y-You're really acting like my heroes right now, you know…"
"All in the spirit of Fietena!" Varesa laughed before she jogged off to approach the closest Knights of Favonius personnel. Aether, Paimon and Xilonen followed close behind.
They'd make sure this trouble would never grow large enough to cancel the event.