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There's a rumor in Nod Krai that if you stray from the well lit path you will be guided to safety by a silent wanderer. They will not speak to you nor respond instead they will simply walk glancing back as if waiting for one to follow. If you choose to follow you will be guided to the safety of the light and the wild hunt will not reach you for that night. But if you ignored them the abyss will soon follow and you will not return that night.
Regardless if you followed or dismissed them they will disappear as soon as you turn your back to them.
Rumors like these make many think that the ghost is a deceased ratnik unable to pass on bound to the land by their duty in life. The way people describe them however doesn't quite match up with typical lightkeeper attire. While the coat the rumors tell they wear is dark and suited for the weather the clothes underneath are not.
Some say they wear a dress, others a robe but the material is the same: silk. Nod Krai is not known for silk. Nod Krai is also not known for foreign blades that are sharp on only one side or stitching on clothes with intricate patterns. The lightkeepers remain vigilant regardless of the rumors and their inconsistencies as so long as this "entity" does no harm they could do as they pleased though it does make them curious as the accounts double seemingly over night.
With a surge of new wild hunt sightings the ghost is seen by more and more eyes that soon enough the lightkeepers themselves not only saw them they met them.
Using the damaged lantern of one of the unconscious ratnik and their own foreign blade they fought back the abyss until its fog dispelled and the area was cleansed for now. When the battle had ceased and they could regroup they took a good look at their sudden ally and were shocked to see the ghost had not vanished but instead remained on the ground bleeding from their side.
With haste the squad leapt into action assessing the damage and their mysterious ally in the process.
They were young and thin like they hadn't had a good meal in a while but they still had muscle to them that indicated that they at least ate enough to survive. Their clothes were a bit dirty and torn, not an unusual sight in a place like Nod Krai but the stitching they had done to keep areas that had torn or yet to be torn was unique with each stitch deliberately placed to create gorgeous patterns.
The coat they wore, likely stolen based on the scratched out Fatui insignia, was suited for the weather but the fabric that peaked from underneath the sleeves and collar was thin and silky. The boots on their feet seemed a tad too large but they made them fit with wraps of cloth. But what bothered them the most as they tended to their wounds was the nasty scar on their cheek and the one on their neck that looked far too clean to be anything but done on purpose.
The ratniki did not let any of these details prevent them from aiding them though they did their best to be careful of their odd clothes ultimately they would need to be replaced as the battle had done much damage to the garment.
When they awoke in the temporary camp they never shared their name, they couldn't, unable to speak due to their old injury but the lightkeepers invited them join them to Piramida to give them a place to stay and cared for them however they could. It was difficult to adjust as they could not speak but learning nonverbal signals such as hand gestures and modified lantern signals used for ratnik duties helped them fit much better though there was always a gap.
No matter what they did there would always be some distance between them and the others. They accepted that and spent their days when not performing their work hiding away near the edge of the Dreadshade Mire with the mandragoras or the cemetery where none could find them, except for a few like Illuga and Flins, in their thoughts all alone.
Normally their hiding spot at the mire was safe, free of the wild hunt as they always made sure to note it's sightings with great care. Yet maybe due to the recent changes in Nod Krai that make the information they had this morning obsolete as the fog begins to surround them. They're quick to take action taking down the few that spawn before them but for every one defeated two more take their place.
They're grazed by a great claw to their side but their lantern and sword take the full brunt of the attack the breaking of metal echoing in the night. It's not the first time their lantern has been damaged but it's the first time their sword is and for the first time in forever they feel afraid to be in the dark. They bolt from the scene leaving their sword behind clutching the broken but still lit lantern to their chest the wild hunt hot on their heels.
Being alone is always a mistake when the abyss could come for one at any moment. As they ran ducking and dodging branches and trees the thought that maybe it wouldn't be so bad if it did catch them passes through their mind.
The wild hunt was fair in a way. It did not judge them for their inability to speak, it did not care that they were young, and it certainly did not care that they were a failure in the eyes of their old family back in Inazuma. To it everyone and everything was just an obstacle to be consumed and destroyed.
As the fog thickens around them they dive behind a stone ruin tucking themselves deep into the corner. They're frantic while checking their malfunctioning lantern before it's light finally peters out leaving them in the dark. The lantern they tried so hard to relight drops to their feet their stomach drops and they can hear the monsters coming closer and closer. They hear a roar and the thumps as the beast draws closer they cover their head closing their eyes. There's noise but nothing happens.
"Little crow?" They lift their head shaking their eyes blinking at the only light in this dense fog. A familiar calming blue flame held inside a lantern held above them by a dark gloved hand. They look up to see the owner bent forward looking over the collapsed stone wall they hid behind. "You're awfully far from your nest without your lantern...and your sword."
Their gaze drops and they frown tugging their coat closer to themselves. They tap their unlit lantern with their foot Flins hums in acknowledgement as he sees the large crack on the casing and the empty sheath in their hands. He stands upright walking before them extending a hand.
"Allow me to escort you back." They nod and move to stand but as they do a burning ache in their side and ankle stops them. Flins' eyes narrow taking a better look at how worse for wear they actually are. Their coat is torn and though they're wounded it's not that deep already scabbing over but it's not exactly something to be ignored with the way it purples at the edge with a sinister aura.
Flins lifts his lantern towards the wound chasing away the darkness temporarily and kneels. They give him a simple hand sign as permission to carry them and he lifts them up with ease. He adjusts them in a way to hold his lantern before him as he walks with them back through the fog. "It is a shame that you have lost your sword and I am unsure if what can be found within Nod Krai will suit your style but I do know one thing."
"Crows and cemeteries go hand in hand." He steps through the fog and they can see the stars clearly again but their vision begins to blur as he smiles at them kindly. He adjusts his hold on them again wiping their tears. "If you need somewhere to perch and rest your wings little crow you know where you may go."