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Chapter Text

Then

He awakened twice. The first time was when he was sixteen. His little brother had gone missing and been found days later. Miraculously alive but… changed.

The awakening left him drifting and detached.

He was third child and second eldest son. He had four younger siblings. It felt like there was not space for him.

Ivan had gone to the capital to study and work and was soon returning home to marry and help with the house. Anya had apprenticeship with the local seamstress and helped mother with the younger children.

Dimitri drifted as he watched Ajax picking fights and coming home bloody but rarely wounded.

Tonia followed either Anya or mother around. Anton was looked after by Anya. Teucer was newly born.

Their parents’ attention was either on Ajax or the kids.

The fatui started sniffing around Morepesok.

A thought emerged with clarity.

“I need to get out of here.”

Dimitri had underestimated his parents. He had been certain of fading in the background with everything going on but one evening, his mother took his hands and sat him down on the bed in the room he shared with Ajax. (Anya and Tonia had one room while Anton and Teucer slept with their parents.)

“Mitenka…” The nickname grounded him, just like her touch did. Dimitri blinked slowly and looked up at mother’s blue eyes. The same eyes that many of the children, including Dimitri, had inherited.

“Talk to me, Mitenka.” Mother said again. Dimitri licked his lips and swallowed. He searched for words to convey all that was crowding in his head. To describe the… wrongness he felt when looking at Ajax… and Teucer, too.

“I’m scared.” He finally whispered.

“Of Ajax?” She asked. Naturally. The change had been so great after all. Sometimes Ajax looked at them but didn’t seem to register what they were supposed to mean to him. Dimitri shook his head though.

“For him. But I don’t… I don’t want to be here.”

“In Morepesok?”

He shook his head again.

“In Snezhnaya?

He nodded. The words were stuck again. He wanted to get away. Away from the grasp of Cryo Archon. All he knew of her was… not good. Merciless Archon, ruling with iron fist. The cold winds seeping into the bones of every citizen. Her will was absolute and no one dared to question her decisions.

Besides… Dimitri knew more. From another life. It hadn’t slotted in place yet properly but… Ajax, the Fatui, Tsaritsa, the Gnoses…

The entire world of Teyvat and its mysteries.

It was partially selfish desire to travel and learn more, partially out of self-preservation for his life and sanity, that Dimitri wanted to leave.

His mother tightened her hold on his hands and said no more. She got up and walked out of the room. He settled down to sleep and though he was still awake when Ajax came back, he didn’t react to the Abyss-drenched boy’s presence.

Next day mother handed him a bag and money and an envelope. She told him to pack everything he couldn’t bear to part with.

Dimitri packed. He was then sat down on breakfast table. Rest of the family were not awake yet. He ate, and mother watched him carefully. She then helped to dress him, ensuring he had enough to wear against the harsh winds and snow.

“Old man Jakov is leaving with his ship soon down the river. He promised to take you to Fontaine.” She told Dimitri while tying his scarf. “I’ll tell others you left to capital to study. Ivan is coming home soon, so he can’t say otherwise either… just assume you went past each other.”

“Mama… are you sure?” The money given to him weighted in his pocket.

“Just remember to write. And study hard. Don’t worry about us. We’ll be fine.”

Dimitri allowed himself one last hug. She was so warm. So tiny too, with him hitting his growth spurt.

He walked out of the door and didn’t look back.

Now

The second awakening was years later in similar biting cold. Demetrios was kneeling in the snow and his head was reeling.

His arm was elbow-deep sunk into the core of Frostbearing tree. He blinked slowly and took in the shredded sleeve of his winter coat and red veins extending up his left arm. They were warm. That warmth went up the side of his neck and face whilst the rest of him was cold.

Weird. It felt like he’d been kneeling here for a while.

But his head was clear for the first time.

Previously it was more like the boy from Morepesok co-existing with memories of another person. But now…

Demetrios was whole again. Memories were clear. Both of this world and the other one. There was no more confusion. He had gained perspective to aid in the analyzation of everything he knew and experienced in Teyvat.

But first.

“Ah… how do I get my hand out?”

Chapter Text

Then

As soon as Dimitri’s feet hit the dock, he was off running. He said goodbye to old man Jakov, leaving him with a letter to take back to his mother. It was very simple letter.

“I’ve arrived safely. Writing more later.
- Mitenka”

Nothing else needed to be said for now. Dimitri would write the next letter when he was properly under the gaze of Hydro Archon. In the capital and ready to start his studies. In his pocket was the envelope his mother had given to him. It was actually a referral from Ivan’s teachers in the case the eldest had decided to study abroad. He was talented like that.

But a little steaming on the envelope had opened it and mother had checked if Ivan had been mentioned by name or only as Mr. Andreyev. It was the latter in this case and thus there needed to be no alterations. Good, less chances for being caught for their deception.

It was Dimitri’s ticket to Fontaine’s upper schooling. But first he needed to get to the capital.

The amount of money he had was not great. It was alright but Dimitri needed to be careful how to spend it before he could get more.

Thus far he had only bought a bit of lunch, a map of Fontaine and gotten some brochures regarding the schooling system. Sumeru might’ve been famous for its Academia and Snezhnaya’s technological advancement was almost unparalleled but Fontaine was right there behind them. The Land of Hydro had excellent grounding education and their unique brand of advancement in science in regards less obnoxious projects was world famous. In the other words, the country worked closer to common people. Liyue was trading hub, Mondstadt the land of song and Sumeru riddled with scholars but everyone who wanted to be anything worldwide, went to Fontaine to attract audience and sponsors – be it in arts or sciences.

Fontaine was the perfect place to disappear.

Dimitri eventually found himself at the steps of Lycée Blanche de Castille at a town named Bleau near the capital of Fontaine. The envelope burnt in his pocket. He was nervous. The newest school year would not start for two weeks yet. Even if he was not accepted here, he could still try elsewhere.

He made it. The referral letter did its job. Dimitri was pointed to the dorms then and given a map of the campus. He also received a slip to show at a local shop so he’d get his school uniforms. The text books were from the school and would be collected back at the end of the year. Some notebooks Dimitri would also receive but otherwise he needed to get his own writing supplies. Those had been some of the things why Dimitri had picked this particular school. Three years of free schooling with free uniforms, housing and three meals per day. It was heaven.

Of course, there were responsibilities too. You were required to do well in school or seek help if you needed it for particular subjects. If grades dropped too much, you’d probably be sent to one of the sister schools that were still free but more vocationally inclined. All in line to produce productive members of society. The students constantly represented their school, thus smoking, drinking and drugs were prohibited. Piercings anywhere but ears were prohibited unless there was a cultural reason for one. Tattoos were prohibited. The students were required to wear their uniform from 7 am when breakfast started to 4 pm when last lessons let out. If they went to the town, they wore their uniform unless it was weekend or some festival. They ensured the uniform was worn properly and had no tears or stains in it. They were required to know basic mending and if they needed to completely replace a uniform, it would cost mora. Basic hygiene and grooming habits were mandatory. Shaving was enforced unless there was a cultural reason for growing a beard and even then, it needed to be well-maintained. There were no restrictions for hairstyles per say… but general neatness was required from all and if one had long hair, then it was asked to be kept tied up during lessons.

Very simple requirements in the other words. Dimitri flicked through the student handbook he’d been given and read the rules concerning behaviour. Again, everything made sense. No fighting, no name-calling, no sabotage, no stealing… Respectful language, good manners, respectful distance from other people, informing teachers promptly of trouble. The meal times were listed as well as curfew and the wake-up bell.

This would work out.

Now

Demetrios puzzled at the Frostbearing tree. For a year he’d worked on reviving it, exploring Dragonspine and collecting Crimson Agates. Maybe he should’ve waited for the traveller to arrive but he’d been impatient. The Stormterror wasn’t even terrorizing Mondstadt yet though the Fatui had definitely set up a camp.

Albedo was curious about the mountain and had been enlisting the help of Adventurer’s Guild to get main areas mapped out. Demetrios supposed that would come to halt once the Abyss order would make their move.

The young man sighed. Now was not the time. He should extract himself from the tree. While the sheer cold did not affect people while near the tree, it was still cold out there. Demetrios laid his right hand over his elbow and gave a tug. His arm slid easily out of the core of the tree. Once completely free, the glow of the red veins faded a bit but the veins did not vanish. But they throbbed in the beat of his heart.

This was the tenth time Demetrios had come to offer Agates. Ten pieces each time. And each time the tree granted him gifts for his help to revive it. This time, he’d received the knowledge of how to craft a Catalyst. It was something he’d been after since the beginning. Ever since receiving his Cryo Vision during his last year in Lycée.

The search for historical knowledge had directed Demetrios – back then still Dimitri – to Sumeru and to look into alchemy. Eventually that had directed him to elemental reactions and capitalizing on the sheer power of his Vision. He was intimately aware of how ice and snow worked and through that had cultivated his skills. That was partially why he’d come to Dragonspine. The environment could teach him more than any teacher or book could.

Demetrios pulled out his Prototype Amber. It had served him well during these past years. Albedo’s camp was not that far… but dangers were plenty and he’d rather be prepared.

He was not surprised that the Frostarm Lawachurl camping near the tree noticed him and charged. It had happened every other time of visiting this corner of the mountain.

“Frost-Chrysalis.” The young man intoned, calling Cryo to encase his opponent. With the inhabitants of the mountain so used to the cold and twisting winds, Cryo users were at disadvantage. But as long as the opponents weren’t Cryo slimes, it was alright.

Demetrios made the chrysalis to shatter, staggering the lawachurl, and then hailed a barrage of icy spears. He kept at it and made sure to keep the lawachurl unbalanced. And finally, he’d accumulated enough elemental energy for his burst.

“Verglas kaleidoscope!” Thousands of butterflies made of Cryo appeared. At first glance they seemed gentle and mesmerizing… until they swarmed the target, slicing with their wings, bringing more cold air with them… and eventually shattering.

This time was different though.

The frostflies were red. Gleaming in the dark wintry night. Demetrios looked down on his arm and saw the veins glowing again.

The red frostflies shattered… the shockwave was much stronger and threw Demetrios off his feet.

“What was that…” He managed to utter before…

Cricks

With dread, he turned his head to look at the Prototype Amber floating next to him. There was a crack running down the core.

“Shit…” He needed to get to safety. And fast.

Chapter Text

Then

Some of the classes were easy. Some were harder. Some would’ve been hard given Dimitri’s lack of formal education for the past three years if it wasn’t for the memories he had. In Morepesok, the community school taught classes from ages 5 to 13. Afterwards you were meant to either continue schooling elsewhere – like Ivan had done – or seek apprenticeships – like Anya was doing. Or join military like Ajax was about to. Dimitri had been drifting at home and doing odd jobs around time in exchange for pocket money. He’d meant to continue education already last year but with Teucer being born, the family’s money went into him. Babies were expensive even with hand-down supplies.

So there technically was a three-year gap in Dimitri’s education.

Technically.

If it wasn’t for these memories that bridged this gap and provided more yet not all of it was applicable… because the worlds themselves were different. But much was the same. The basic mathematics were the same, the major functions of biology and geography were the same. Languages were studied in similar manner even if the letters, words and grammar were different. Music was different but the instruments were same. Art was same even if subjects and the symbology was different.

Dimitri was a diligent student. He had the aptitude but also the drive. He felt he had to learn everything he could before the events of the memories came to pass. He knew he had almost ten years, considering Teucer’s and Ajax’s ages.

He wasn’t sure what he was preparing for.

Oh, he knew of the Abyss and its leader. He knew of the Tsaritsa’s goal to collect the gnoses. He knew of Inazuma and its future isolation. Rex Lapis’ retirement, the mysteries of other nations. What was it that the Pyro Archon wanted to show the Traveller? What was the knowledge that was the enemy of Dendro Archon? How far would Hydro Archon’s justice extend? Mondstadt was the prologue and seemingly peaceful… but what were the secrets it had for theories and references were many.

Dimitri knew too much yet not nearly enough. But he could work with that. The memories he had; they were limited to what had been shown thus far in the ‘game’. Also limited by what had been deemed interesting. But Dimitri had different resources. He was in Fontaine now. He was already planning on going to Sumeru at some point. He could explore and research thing that had not been shown in that game and build his own understanding of the world that way.

Despite what Dimitri knew of what could be, he couldn’t devote his life only on preparing for the worst. He still had ties in present after all. And with that present came letter home. Or specifically to his mother. The letters weren’t anything special in contents, just random everyday events and fun anecdotes that happened during the week. Dimitri also got letters in turn, always addressed to ‘Student no. 73’, yet another layer of protection against tracking. Just like him always signing his letters as Mitenka. Maybe it was a bit paranoid but Dimitri had left Snezhnaya permanently without any notice of permission. He’d already been sixteen, not yet adult but not a child either… It counted as a treason. According to mother’s letters, his absence had been noted but there had been no proof of anyone assisting him. The Fatui who’d taken Ajax had investigated but they were of the belief that mother also thought Dimitri going to the capital. Old man Jakov had thought Dimitri would arrange someone else to bring him back to Morepesok. In Teyvat, there was no real border control. People could wander freely from country to country for now. There were random check-ups on suspicious-seeming people from whom were asked if they were coming to the country for business or pleasure. There was taxation for foreign goods and of course fees to get permits to sell… But one random boy crossing the border and vanishing… Unless the Fatui got help from the Court of Fontaine… They would not find Dimitri, even if he was still using his own name.

He probably should change it. They were talking in literature and comparative languages of how the same name could be pronounced differently and thus written differently when changing languages. It was something worth looking into.

Now though…

Dimitri dipped his pen into ink and began writing.

“Dear mother,

I’m writing from the aftermath of our latest testing week. I feel I did well but the results will be posted next week. It was an interesting experience to say the least. The whole week was dedicated to testing. One day per exam and four hours maximum allotted for each exam. The minimum was one and half hours. If you were finished sooner, tough luck, you had to wait until the time was full before being allowed to return your paper.

Such arrangement is in my opinion quite beneficial as it allows ample time for the students to unwind from a particular exam of the day and start preparing for the next one. I’ve heard that on lower educational levels – in école élémentaire and collège – they have their exams within set time but each teacher decides on their own the timing. And the exam itself is during the lesson of the allotted subject and thus only lasts an hour. Sort of like in Morepesok, right?

I-…”

Dimitri lifted his pen and paused his thoughts. What else could he tell mother?  He had pretty much exhausted the descriptions of the campus and the town. There was a festival coming soon so that he could mention… and save the rest for the next letter. But… He didn’t have friends to talk about. He exchanged a few words with people in his classes when needed. Stuff related to school subjects or sudden changes in schedules… Speculations on teacher substitutes… but otherwise Dimitri just…

Drifted.

It was easy to get lost in his memories. Things that hadn’t happened personally to him. They didn’t fit. They were overlaid on top of his own memories, sometimes even smothering them and overwhelming him. He knew some of the students said he had head so far in the clouds he was half-way to Celestia. Dimitri once almost retorted that he was so deep within in himself that he might as well fall into his inner Abyss. He didn’t though. That was a term he’d read about in one of the psychology books in the library. It described… coma patients who still were somewhat awake. The Abyss was a difficult subject to broach anyways and not something to be dropped in conversation lightly. The fact that it was a colloquial medical term told enough of the seriousness of such situation.

Dimitri didn’t want a stigma of being connected to the Abyss. Not even by hearsay.

Now

Demetrios was gasping for breath. Red icicles fanned out around him, skewering hilichurls and Fatui alike. His catalyst lied broken by his knees.

He was so cold but he couldn’t stop. Not when there were more enemies lurking about. Cryo Cicin mage in three o’clock, Pyro gunslinger in seven, mitachurl and hydro samachurl in eleven… And more he couldn’t see but could sense through the pulse thrumming beneath his feet.

It was strange how those two factions had banded together so suddenly in order to take him out. Was his existence so abominable to them now?

“Demetrios!” Came a call from the cliff. The researcher lifted his head. Ah, his friend… Barely seen through the snow-storm. Pale hair and white jacket… light eyes and shining star… Safe.

It was dangerous to feel safe yet. Demetrios wasn’t. He wasn’t but his body didn’t listen as it listed to the side.

“Albedo… I did something stupid…” Everything was blurring in his eyes but he could just see two figures jumping down. The world tilted. His face hit the snow.

“Moment of birth!”

“Swirl, Mark II!”

Darkness welcomed him.

And soft glow of lamplight greeted him when Demetrios woke up. He took in his surroundings. Albedo’s camp. He was lying on a cot against the back wall of the cave.

“Ah, you’re awake!” Sucrose exclaimed softly and hurried to his bedside. “Are you in any pain?”

“I…” Demetrios croaked and had promptly Sucrose helping him sip some water. “Thank you, Sucré…” Speech came with a little slur still.

He still slipped in strange Fontaine-ish nicknames… Why was he slipping into Fontaine – French-ish – nick-names? Something to wonder later… maybe just brain being scrambled given… everything.

“Demetrios?” Sucrose laid a hand on his shoulder, pulling him from his thoughts.

“I… I think I’m alright… oddly enough.” He couldn’t feel any pain anymore. “Did someone heal me? Or have I been out of it long?”

“Only an hour of so.” Sucrose shook her head. “We sent Timaeus back to the city to see if Barbara could come to see you at the Adventurers’ camp. We didn’t dare to move you down the mountain until you’d gained consciousness.”

“I see…” That didn’t explain the lack of pain though. And… “Where is Albedo?”

“Master Albedo is still inspecting the site we found you at. The results of your Cryo usage are… peculiar.”

“I noticed.” In power and in colour both. Not to mention sensing enemies that he couldn’t see. The thrum and pulse in his arm and underneath his feet.

Demetrios shifted his left arm out from underneath the blanket. The red veins were still there. They were dull but there was some shifting gleam that betrayed the seeming innocuousness. The young man pushed the blanket down and shifted himself to lean against the pillows. They seemed to be propped by his rucksack. He’d been shed of his coat and the left sleeve of his shirt had been cut away as well. The shirt itself was unbuttoned and…

“The veins extend far…” Demetrios muttered, tracing the marks that tried to reach across his chest. They were a bit smoother than the rest of his skin but deeper… like his skin had cracked to reveal them. The veins continued upwards, along his neck and curving at his cheek bone. One vein went sort of through his left eye and then bisected his eyebrow. “Sucrose. Is my eye…?”

“It has changed colour.” The alchemist apprentice’s ears drooped. “The pupil of the eye has changed shape as well.” She gave him a small mirror.

When Demetrios looked at himself and then changes through the mirror… Frankly, he wasn’t sure if it was appropriate laugh or cry.

A butterfly. Just like the ones decorating the newly-grown tree. The shade was just a bit lighter than the iris.

“I suppose I should be glad the sclera is not black.” Demetrios sighed, putting the mirror aside. “As I’m awake now, should we be moving to the foot of the mountain to meet with the Deaconess?”

“Only after master Albedo returns.”

Given the dangers of the mountain and Demetrios’ uncertain situation, that made sense. Demetrios hoped that with the Master Alchemist’s help this situation would make sense as well.

Chapter Text

Then

Dimitri graduated with exemplary grades at age 19. Not on the top but close to it. And with the diploma came also his new name.

Demetrios Andrée

The first name had Sumerian roots while the family name was Fontish; both versions of his own name so it didn’t feel like betraying his family for abandoning his Snezhnayan roots. He still loved them all very much. He still heard from his mother through letters. Ivan had married.  Anya was being courted and was soon finishing her apprenticeship and starting to work for real in the seamstress-tailor shop. Tonia would in few years go to the middle level school next town over or seek apprenticeship herself. Most likely school. She was apparently showing interest in literature and arts. Anton had only just started school when Dimitri left so there wasn’t much changes in his life other than getting used to the thought of not being the youngest. Teucer was toddling around and charming everyone around him. The fondness and warmth that exuded from the letters when mother talked about her youngest child was nice.

Ajax… was alive. He was among the Fatui. Climbing ranks and getting in trouble alternatively. He sent letters home and visited when he could. He sent money too as he didn’t use much of it himself. Apparently even the lowest ranked soldiers were paid decently. Probably an incentive to stay and behave.

Mother didn’t say it in her letters, but the fact that there was never a single sentence saying ‘your siblings wish you well’ or something similar, told Dimitri everything. Mother kept the letters secret. Dimitri’s siblings did not know he was in contact with their family anymore. They probably thought Dimitri had abandoned them.

Did they know anything of him or did mother keep everything secret? No matter how much Dimitri wanted to know, he never asked mother. He was too scared of being disappointed in the answer. He resigned himself to never meeting his siblings again and if it ever happened, then it would be as strangers. Would they even recognize each other?

(He would be surprised when that day finally came to pass.)

Dimit- … Demetrios packed his bags in the dorm that had been his home for the past… almost four years now. He hadn’t accumulated that much belongings in the interim years but enough that his backpack he’d originally arrived with was not enough. He donated some of his old clothes that he had grown past but kept some which had been decorated with Snezhnayan embroidery specific to Morepesok. Demetrios had the thought to either use that embroidery as decoration in some other garment of his or then try to replicate it. But it was something he absolutely wanted to keep. There wasn’t much else that was specifically home because the folk stories and family history was woven into those patterns. It was nowhere else and no one but family could get the stories right. Demetrios had learnt the basics of embroidery from Anya before she left for her apprenticeship and had learnt the stories when watching mother decorating their clothes. Every child had their own symbols. Ivan had a bear, Anya an arctic fox, Dimitri a butterfly only living in the most northern reaches of Teyvat. Then Ajax had a narwhal, Tonia a lynx and Anton a squirrel. Demetrios did not know Teucer’s symbol. He left before mother had the opportunity to take Teucer to the local fortune teller.

His heart was heavy and light at the same time as he packed his life away, his thoughts wandering to the last time he did so. There was less hurry this time. He didn’t need to run away. Just start a new chapter in his life. He already had chosen Sumeru as his destination in order to continue his studies but the new semester in the Academy wouldn’t begin until after summer. Thus Demetrios could take his time to travel there…

Not that he would. He would be efficient with the travel and then find some work. Money was an issue still. He never asked mother for money. He didn’t want to burden her with such. Especially when he knew that in addition to Tonia’s continued studies and Teucer starting school, Anya would get married anytime soon. They needed the money more and if mother was sending Demetrios it and they then needed it but did not have? That would raise questions and Demetrios did not want to have mother in tight spot. Or accused of favouritism. With as many children as their family had, balancing things out was everything. Especially when all the children were apart in age.

In those thoughts, Demetrios stewed. He closed his bags and lifted them on his back. He cast once last glance to the room – which was barren once more – and stepped out to return the key to the dorm master. It was time to leave it all behind. Leave Dimitri behind.

Zhiiing

He had only barely stepped out of the gates when something cold settled on his palm. His fingers instinctively closed around it and then he lifted his hand so see what it was.

A Vision.

A Cryo Vision in Fontish casing to be exact.

If Demetrios didn’t have these memories, he’d be panicking about the Tsaritsa reaching out to him after all these years and use this Vision to spy on him. Or then paranoid over what Hydro Archon might want from him as he wasn’t a citizen of Fontaine despite his new name and years spent in this land.

But Demetrios knew better. Visions were not dependant on the Archons. They were still a mystery though and he frankly did not want to know what Celestia saw in him.

The timing was curious though. Mainly because Demetrios could sort of pull together similarities between known Cryo users. Love and Misfortune.

Kaeya was torn between his two families and two duties and received his Vision when losing his family. One to slaughter, the other to betrayal.

Qiqi died but received the regard of the Adepti, only for that to backfire on her and leave her undying and memory a husk.

Chongyun was dutiful and earnest in his calling, only for his own body to hinder him in fulfilling that duty.

Ganyu was searching for a place to belong, with her family among the Adepti but her life built among mortals. Always feeling like an outsider.

Diona had goals stemming from the problems with her father. Father whom she loved. Father who constantly disappointed her. And talent that made succeeding in her goals difficult.

Eula was shunned by the city she protected. She was intent to forge her own path and stay apart from her family legacy which still constantly haunted her.

Then there were Rosaria and Ayaka and Shenhe too, each with their own stories. And Demetrios?

Despite his mother going through such an effort to get him out of the country and still keeping up secrecy, he had never been her favoured child. That was Ivan. And among little siblings the favourite big sibling was Anya. For father, it was Ajax and then Tonia. And naturally Teucer would be everyone’s baby.

Demetrios accepted that reality a long time ago. And now he accepted that he’d never… That he loved his family very much but he’d never be family for them. That he needed to find his own future and leave them behind. Leave Dimitri behind.

“I don’t need your love. But if in the future I still have it… I will appreciate it.” Demetrios whispered and laid a kiss against the cold smooth surface of the Cryo symbol. He clipped the elemental bauble in his belt and began a trek towards the carriage station for a map to Fontaine the City.

He was examining the maps when someone pitched her voice just so that there was no question who she was talking to.

“Papilio Polaris, huh…”

Not the very least because she named his symbol, his constellation.

Demetrios whipped around, Cryo shards floating around his fingers. No one outside his family knew the name of his constellation. No one.

But one look at the slip of a girl with inky hair and moon-pale eyes, with stars decorating her blue cape and gloves and wide-brimmed hat told him instantly what she was. A fortune teller. And quite talented one at that given the way she was utilizing Hydro to make readings, adjusting the circles and focusing on the starry shape before her.

She then looked up and dismissed her reading chart.

“I’ve been waiting for you. I’m Mona Megistus. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

Now

Albedo returned thankfully soon and thus testing began. Some sensible person would’ve ushered Demetrios down the mountain immediately but… all three of them were scientists and researchers first and sensible people second.

And so Demetrios was throwing ice around their little cave. Same what he’d always done with his Vision but yet different. Far too often when he was finding his rhythm and getting lost in his own thoughts, the ice would turn red and become more powerful yet less accurate.

It caused way too many close calls.

“Hmm… Would you say that your new acquisition has its own will?” Albedo asked, chin resting on his hand as he looked down on the notes he’d written up of his observations.

“I… Perhaps. The Frost-Bearing tree is sentient to a degree. And… my head feels…” Demetrios lifted a hand against his temple. It had been quiet when he’d been lying down and before awakening, he’d been too overwhelmed to process. But as soon as he tapped onto his Cryo power, it was like there was something demanding attention. He tried to push it aside but then the thrum beneath his feet would distract him and the spirit? would slip past and influence his ice. And even now that Demetrios wasn’t using his power anymore, the voice wasn’t quieting down. It was urging him to do something.

You have the knowledge, use it!

A hand touched his cheek and Demetrios opened his eyes to see Sucrose looking at him with worry.

“You zoned out for a while.” She told him.

You are vulnerable!

“I need a new catalyst.” He blurted out. The thought was half-formed in his head but once he said it, it seemed to answer everything. The first time his ice turned red, it began breaking his previous catalyst. And when he was ambushed, the red ice was there with barely a command and his catalyst broken. The tree was sentient. It had given him power and a recipe for a new catalyst and mere moments later broken his old one. And without one he was vulnerable.

“Huh?”

“I… I need to craft a new catalyst. Specifically, the Frostbearer. I got the recipe for it at this visit.” Demetrios elaborated. The voice felt like it was calming down now. He allowed Sucrose to guide him to sit down on the cot again. Albedo approached them and knelt down in front of him. The alchemist’s eyes seemed to trace the markings on Demetrios face. He reached out before remembering good manners.

“May I?” The question was open for interpretation but Demetrios nodded anyways. Albedo pushed the still open shirt aside to reveal the rest of the markings, and then off Demetrios’s shoulder, thus exposing his back. The Alchemist moved to sit next to Demetrios and moved his long hair aside to show those marks better. Demetrios pulled his hair over his other shoulder and began absent-mindedly to braid it.

“The marks on your back stop around your spine. Some reach up to your hairline.” Albedo’s hands were then at the back of Demetrios’s neck and combing through his hair to see what sort of shape the marks made. “A diamond star with a curl around it, that leads down to your back. And a butterfly on your left shoulder blade.”

“Is it approximately above my heart? Since at the front there is an empty spot.” Demetrios asked.

“Yes. Would you mind removing your boots so we see how far the marks go down there.”

As Demetrios bent down to take off his boots, he let out a small shiver when the Alchemist traced the new patterns on his skin. He snuck a look and saw Albedo sketching those patterns on a graph of a human body. At the other side of the cavern Sucrose was busying herself by arranging some bottles and supplies over at the shelves and tables. She was determinedly not looking in the direction of the cot. Demetrios smirked and the tugged his boots off.

There were marks on his left foot as well. Demetrios traced the bundle of marks at his ankle. It was oval in shape with lines reaching across his foot and upwards as well. It was reminding him of something…

“Comparing the patterns on your skin to the shape of the Frost-Bearing Tree, they seem to match…” Albedo observed.

“And considering the pieces of lore that I’ve found while exploring the mountain, the patterns from my waist down represent the roots that spread through the mountain and connect to the leylines.” Demetrios added. “If I’m connected to the tree… and the tree is connected to the leylines… Does that mean the hum I sometimes feel is from the leylines?”

“A valid concern. Do you have something else to support that hypothesis?”

“Just before you found me… I could feel the enemies around me even if I couldn’t see all of them.” Demetrios rubbed this ankle. The motion caught Albedo’s attention though and the Alchemist lifted his hand away from covering the mark.

“The tree extends quite far. Though we knew it, seeing it represented here is quite different.” Albedo mused. He poked at the bundle. It seemed to shine a bit differently than the rest of the veins. “Durin’s heart entwined in the tree’s roots… I wonder what the tree thinks of it to consider marking you with it as well.”

“That is to be discovered I suppose.”

“Um… Master Albedo, Demetrios? We should probably get to the Adventurers’ camp as soon as possible. Before someone comes looking for us.” Sucrose approached with Demetrios’s coat in her arms. The torn sleeve had been removed and replacement made from an old blanket. Not terribly warm but would at least cover the marks form curious gazes.

“Sounds good.” Demetrios agreed and pulled on his shirt. “And once there I’ll make my new catalyst. We should have enough supplies for it.”

“And while walking down, we can make more observations.” Albedo added. “Maybe your new state also affects on how you perceive the mountain.”

Chapter Text

Then

Mona Megistus was an eccentric eleven-year-old. Demetrios would gladly say that all children and preteens are eccentric one way or another, but Mona certainly took it to another level. She was presumably sent to fetch him to her master by the guidance of the stars, but she definitely was not in any hurry to get back. She meandered shops selling various knick-knacks and thick tomes and completely ignored food stalls until the growl of her stomach returned her back to present and had her bend over and clutch her stomach, apparently ravenous now.

“There is food, right over there.” Demetrios pointed a cluster of stalls in the market place. “We can eat there.”

“Of course! One mustn’t be too picky when it comes to sustenance.” Mona agreed haughtily, straightening up and hurrying towards the food while trying to look like she wasn’t. Demetrios picked his pace as well and then steered the girl towards a stall selling various food combinations at reasonable price. The problem with most dishes sold at restaurants and food stalls were that they were fairly one-sided. It was either a meat, chicken or fish of some kind with sauces and garnishes, or then it was a salad or a soup. No mixed dishes with both meat and greens which… lent well to snacking or then ordering various dishes and then sharing them in a group by sampling a bit from all of them. Like was common in Chinese – and thus also presumably in Liyuen – restaurants.

But there was one stall with combo-platters. Fried fish and salad on the side. Sauces were on separate dishes, to be applied on the plate as one wished.

“But that stall has skewers.” Mona pointed. Demetrios looked in the direction the girl pointed. Indeed, they had a selection of skewers from all over Teyvat, Grilled Ticker Fish for Liyue (or was it Tiger Fish?), Chicken-Mushroom one from Mondstadt, Three-Flavoured skewer platter from Inazuma, and others.

“Unless you want to buy both skewers and a separate salad…” Demetrios didn’t trust that the girl would, given her behaviour earlier and what he knew beforehand of her.

“Fine…” The girl pouted and came to peruse the menu at the top of the stall.

They sat on the table to eat their dinner and talk. Dimitri with his fried vendace and vegetables, and Mona with her chicken salad with added fried goat cheese.

“So, what is so fascinating about me and my constellation that you came to get me?” Demetrios asked.

“The existence of such constellation in the first place.” Mona replied. “My master can explain it better but… Polaris and Australis are not… common.” The sentence sounds more like a question.

“And?”

“Teyvat has cardinal directions yes, but people move. Their constellations thus should not be tied to a specific place. Yes, some Cryo users may have winter and frost themed constellations even before getting their Visions but they are not tied to North or Snezhnaya.”

Demetrios did not flinch at the mention of his birth country.

“And you are Polaris, which is the central star of the northern sky.”

“Ah…” That sounded… problematic. Demetrios hoped it didn’t mean he’d be playing some major role when the Traveller arrived. “Your master wants to meet me then? For what?”

“Well, surely you want to be consulted of what the future holds?”

Were all astrologists this self-centric? Demetrios understood that the fates were literally written into the stars and the astrologists interpreted them and some people sought advice from them in the regards of their future but…

“I rather make my own way. Life my life, carve my path and overcome difficulties as they happen. If I know what the future holds for me, I’ll only start second-guessing myself.” Though Demetrios had memories of events potentially happening in the future, they were not pressing enough for him to take account. Those events were not dependant on him and thus he could do whatever he wished. And right now, he wished to further his own education and start looking into the lore and form of Teyvat itself.

He had no need or desire for any additional burdens.

“T-That’s not how astrology works!” Mona spluttered. “Just come with me and you’ll see!”

“No means no. Maybe if there was something immediate in the horizon that you need my help with, I could’ve come.” Like Mona acquiring the traveller as her escort to Mondstadt. “But from the sounds of it, this will be either in the far future or something all-encompassing in regards of my life. Thus I have no interest in it. Such knowledge will only come in the way of my goals and make me limit my opportunities.”

Unfortunately, that was not enough to get rid of the girl. Not by a long shot. But at least she provided good target practice for him with his new Vision before he departed for Sumeru.

Now

“I can’t find anything wrong with him.” Barbara announced. “There are no wounds or breaks or even bruises on Mr. Andrée.”

Demetrios did not sigh in relief yet. He sensed the ‘but’ coming. “Yes?”

“But…” There it was. “…the lack of them is mystifying as none of you are healers. Not to mention these… gashes. They come from under the skin, like tree bark shedding to give space to new layers from beneath. Yet there are no tears or rough edges.”

How apt simile.

“We observed that as well.” Albedo nodded. Demetrios remained quiet but accepted his shirt back from Sucrose and started pulling it on. “Could you see any complication from the… structure from the marks? Will they affect Demetrios’ mobility for example? Or are they living tissue? Can they spread on their own?”

“They seem solid but at the same time… not there? The marks go deep by they have not pushed aside for blocked Mr. Andrée’s muscles or organs.” The young healer replied. “Even his left eye appears functioning normally.”

“Miss Barbara…” Demetrios spoke quietly, glancing about and making sure the adventurers were away still. “Could it be possible for you not to report this at the Church? We will make our report to the Acting Grandmaster… and possibly the Librarian as well… but let’s keep this under wraps for now.”

“…And Sister Rosaria is already suspicious of Mr. Albedo and you don’t want her following you as well.” Barbara smiled. Ah, she was more perceptive than she seemed at first.

“Exactly. This is something strange which is why I didn’t want any of the Adventurers seeing me and start gossiping.”

“If there is something that spreads effectively in Mondstadt, it’s rumours and hearsay.” Albedo nodded. There was a strand in Mondstadt’s culture and squirreled secrets away and thus had ensured their successful uprisings, but everyday little somethings travelled freely like wind. And they couldn’t be sure under which Demetrios’ new… transformation would fall into.

“I probably need to start using some sort of half mask.” Demetrios sighed. Just where would he find one? Should he go to the city for it? But while his face was exposed…

“Mr. Andrée?” Barbara had a roll of bandages in her hands. “A temporary measure until you have the mask.”

It was probably the only choice. Demetrios nodded and held his hair out of the way while the healer wrapped half of his face deftly. He followed the process carefully as he was certain he would need to repeat the process himself until he had the mask.

“Thank you.”

“You’re welcome!”

“Umm… How are we going to proceed now?” Sucrose asked.

“It is too dangerous for Demetrios be at Dragonspine without a Catalyst.” Albedo stated at length. He was reluctant to let his research partner go. “It could be better for him to return to the city with Barbara for the time being. For the report, the mask and the catalyst.”

“You’re right.” Demetrios nodded once Barbara finished securing the bandages. It’d be a bit weird to go back to the lush green lands and mellow winds after weeks at the mountain. And more over weird to experience it all as fully himself.

“See you soon, Demetrios.” Sucrose smiled and waved as the young man prepared to leave.

“As soon as I get my coat repaired.” He laughed, shouldering his sailor’s bag. The bag had been something Demetrios picked up when travelling from Sumeru to Mondstadt via Liyue. A lot of the time was spent either on the road or on boats and thus something waterproof that fit everything necessary and was easy to carry, was necessary. All in all, Demetrios entire life fit in three bags, one of them only having books and writing supplies. The two bags were at the dorm room in the Knight’s of Favonius’s Headquarters while the sailor’s bag was the one Demetrios used when going back and forth between Mondstadt and Dragonspine.

“Ready?” Barbara asked with a smile.

“Ready. Lead the way, Miss Barbara.” Demetrios smiled back. Barbara was nice. In the game she felt a bit too naïve but here… well, she was young but she wasn’t gullible. After talking with her Demetrios had concluded that the reason why Barbara seemed so manipulable at the beginning of Albedo’s story quest, was that she genuinely wanted Rosaria to participate in the choir practice but eventually realized the futility of it. And that it was a regular thing, leading Barbara often missing the practice herself. Not that she needed it much aside from syncing with the rest of the choir.

Demetrios and Barbara had also occasionally sat down to talk about catalyst techniques and Demetrios had some time covered for her when she was hiding from her fan club. Things weren’t yet as intensive as seen in her hangout or in Windblume Event but there was Albert. Albert the stalker who didn’t see anything wrong with what he was doing, wasn’t deterred by any threats and actively encouraged other fan club members to follow his example. Demetrios still couldn’t figure out the point of that one commission where Traveller had to go clean up the leaves just to get Albert go away.

“Are you sure I can’t just freeze him and drop him in the Cider Lake?” Demetrios asked when they cut straight north, rather than taking the winding road east-wards. “It would be… educational.”

“No!” Barbara laughed. “As fun as that could be, it could be way too cruel. Your Cryo wouldn’t even melt on its own. I don’t want to have you arrested for murder.”

“He wouldn’t necessarily die…” Olaf of Springvale didn’t when he got trapped in that frozen domain.

“And if someone found out of me condoning this, it would be disastrous for my reputation.” The sweet deaconess added.

“Ah, of course. Higher you rise, harder you fall.”

“Big sister wouldn’t be happy either.”

Speaking of sisters…

“Big brother De-me-tri-OS!” Came a yell from down the road. “Hiii!”

There was Klee…

Ka-BOOM!

Fish-blasting in Windrise by Vanessa’s tree.

“I have to watch after her, don’t I?” Demetrios sighed. For now there was no structural damage to the sides of the short river.

“Good luck. Maybe you can lure her back to the city and keep her inside for while.” Barbara whispered from behind her hand.

“Maybe… At least that’d ease your sister’s blood pressure.” He agreed as they approached the red menace who sprinted to them.

“Big brother Demetrios, are you hurt?”

Oh yeah, this should be explained somehow too…

Chapter Text

Before Then

Pulcinella read through the file of the recent recruit to rise through the ranks. Young Ajax Andreyev had time and again shown his battling prowess and had truly earnt his various promotions. Only thing to hold him back had been his young age and lack of discipline. Pulcinella had been keeping an eye on the boy since he joined and was glad to see how Ajax had flourished.

Now as Ajax was up for the final promotion to become a Harbinger, Pulcinella was taking a new look on the boy’s file. The family was living in a remote village of Morepesok and there appeared to be various siblings listed as well. It matched with what Ajax had occasionally told the mayor about them during the years. Poor boy wasn’t able to visit his family much so instead Pulcinella had kept an eye on the situation as much as his duties allowed without showing favouritism.

But as Pulcinella read the file, he came upon a discrepancy.

Dimitri Andreyev. Less than three years older than Ajax yet Pulcinella could not remember the boy ever mentioning this particular brother. Actually – The man pulled the schooling records of the entire family – it appeared that any and all official records of this child stopped at age thirteen. Technically not that bad as Ajax’s own official records in Morepesok stopped as well on the same age but they got picked up again at the capital when the boy had joined the Fatui and thus his schooling continued. The younger children were still in their primary education and would presumably continue either academically like their eldest brother or then in apprentice ships like their eldest sister had done.

But the middle child had disappeared. There was no mention of him anywhere.

How curious.

It was a grand ceremony where Ajax was named the 11^th Harbinger and granted the name Tartaglia. Pierro pinned the Electro delusion onto the boy under the eyes of the rest of Harbingers, the most high-ranked of the Fatui and the Tsaritsa herself.

The boy swore fealty to their Archon of Love and grantor of Cryo and the Harbingers welcomed him to their ranks as the youngest yet one of the strongest.

Afterwards newly named Tartaglia was granted a leave to visit his home before his new duties began at earnest. For that, Pulcinella decided to accompany him. For the sake of his little investigation and also to be introduced to the family. Tartaglia’s new position would have him travelling outside of Snezhnaya more than before and for prolonged time so why not have someone keeping an eye on the family in the meantime? The family’s wellbeing would also keep Tartaglia’s motivation up.

“Tell me about your siblings.” Pulcinella requested when they sat opposite each other in the carriage, on the way to Morepesok.

“Ah, I don’t know what to tell you that I already haven’t.” Tartaglia smiled easily. “Ivan married and his wife Katya moved in and is pregnant with their first child. Anya’s wedding is being planned and her work is going well. Tonia is charming her classmates left and right and showing some real talent for painting while Anton has been devouring all the books I send him about the other nations. And of course Teucer is the darling of our family! But please don’t tell him what I actually do. We are keeping it secret since Teucer is still too young to understand.”

Too young to understand was the reason at first. Later on it became an excuse when Tartaglia sheepishly told Pulcinella about the lie they were telling the youngest child about the boy’s occupation.

Now though, the Rooster only hummed thoughtfully, noticing how the boy didn’t mention his second brother at all.

“What about Dimitri? I saw him mentioned in your file but he is missing since age thirteen.”

The easy smile Tartaglia had worn, melted away into a blank mask.

“He went missing at sixteen. A bit before I joined the Fatui. But yeah, he didn’t go to school after finishing in Morepesok because we didn’t have money at the time to send him… or me to next town over.” The boy said, his voice inflectionless. “I got lucky when I went missing. I was found soon. But Mit’ka… I doubt he is even alive at this point.”

“My condolences.”

Condolences indeed. The Andreyev couple were busy arranging and planning Anya's wedding, and while Tartaglia was distracted by Ivan and Teucer, Pulcinella had the chance to talk with Tonia and Anton. And how fruitful that talk was! He might have bribed them a bit with the pastries he had brought but a little nugget of information that it bought him was quite worth it.

“Mama sent Mit’ka to Fontaine. One morning he was just gone.”

“She had a huge row about it with papa since papa sent Ajax to the Fatui.”

“But it was after Ajax left. So Ajax doesn’t know where Mit’ka went.”

“And then we just… didn’t talk of him.”

“Teucer doesn’t even know Mit’ka exists.”

It was quite curious situation. Especially when Pulcinella discovered the letters in the drawer of a writing desk that the children’s mother used. The last letter was dated only few weeks ago and unlike the rest of them, did not have a return address.

Dear mother,

I’ve finally graduated and thus it is time for me to continue my journey. Thank you for these years, you’ll be glad to know your efforts and our subterfuge did not go to waste. I wish the best for the rest of the family. You can rest assured that I’ll stay true to my heart and will not invite any ill will towards you as I’ve taken a new name that cannot be tracked back to you.

May the winds of Eternal Winter be favourable to you,
Mitenka

The letter was much shorter than the previous ones and written with a clear intention to cut the last tie to the family. On the desk was a letter paper with an attempt to write a reply but it was so blotted with ink and tears that it was illegible. Not that it really mattered since with Dimitri lacking a permanent address and apparently having changed a name, a letter could not be sent back. Pulcinella took note of the Fontish Lycée written as the recipient in the previous letters and the student number 73. That was a clue all the same even if the trail was not straightforward anymore. The man put the letter back in place and looked through the window at Tartaglia who was engaged in a game in snow with his remaining siblings and the bright laugh that the boy let out with them.

“Let’s… not burden him with this. Not just yet.” The status quo of the family was quite useful in this case. Pulcinella had time to wait until he discovered just what sort of asset Snezhnaya had let slip through their fingers.

Then

Demetrios let out a sigh as he waited for the opportunity to board the ship that would lead him to Sumeru. He had all his papers in order for the application process to the Akademiya. The past few weeks that he’d spent with Mona and her master had been informative. Aside from helping the girl learn budgeting and the base value of common goods, he had learnt himself a lot. About the world around him and a bit of esoteric matters like the stars above them. The master had been understanding and indulgent of Demetrios’s desire not to know his future and had then also reigned in Mona.

But now was the time to take the next step. Based on what he already knew about the Sumeru Akademiya, Demetrios was a bit apprehensive. But he didn’t really know what else to do so he hoped the Akademiya would give him more perspective and direction for the future.

“Quite the lot of people here.” Someone remarked by his side. Demetrios looked over and saw a short-ish old man with white moustache and small glasses perched on his nose. He was dressed quite warmly but not terribly so, especially considering the wind that blew at the docks.

“Yes, quite.” Demetrios nodded. “But apparently it is normal for this port.”

“May this old man ask where a young lad like you heading?”

“Just to the next city.” Demetrios lied with a smile. “Saying goodbye to this place.”

“Ah, farewells are always bittersweet.” The man seemed to reminisce.

“…That they are.”

The boarding call came and Demetrios was about to politely excuse himself from the conversation but when he turned to look, the old man was already gone.

“Strange…” The young man shrugged and moved on. Sumeru was awaiting.

Now

Demetrios ended up catching Klee as the girl came sprinting towards them and then jumped up right when she reached him. It was fortunate that he didn’t fall down because of the momentum and the girl’s heavy backpack and of course his own lack of depth vision currently. Klee’s large red eyes peered at the bandages on his face, her head tilting left and right as she pondered what to say.

Such a thoughtful child whenever the matter was not about her bombs.

“Does it hurt?” Klee asked carefully. She had her hands curled into tiny fists and held close to her chest, like afraid not to touch him otherwise.

“Not really.” Demetrios smiled. “It just looks weird and I don’t want people talking about it.”

“Not hurt?”

“Not hurt.

“Can I see?”

“Maybe later. Do you want to come with us back to the city? We’re going to meet with Master Jean now.”

“Yes! Klee will just collect her jumpy-dumptys!”

Klee was ushered to go to freshen up before dinner while Demetrios and Barbara gave their report to Jean and Lisa. The Dandelion Knight and the Head Librarian were very curious about Demetrios’ state but ultimately agreed to keep it under wraps. Later they’d need to inform Varka as well but currently the Grandmaster was not present in the headquarters, being busy with some investigation with either Eula or Rosaria.

“I can get a list to you about good mask artisans.” Lisa hummed. “I’m sure you’ll find something appealing from their catalogues.”

“Thank you, Miss Lisa.” Demetrios bowed his head. “I hope they’ll have something discreet to choose from. And something sturdy.”

“They surely have, don’t worry sweetie.”

The relationship between Demetrios and Lisa was… strange. They first met almost four years ago when Demetrios was on his second year of studies in Sumeru Akademiya and Lisa had started hers. The girl finished her studies in two years – being the genius that she was – and then left back to Mondstadt in hurry. Demetrios had never found out what she discovered but remembered how frazzled the girl was in the aftermath and instead helped her to wrap up her projects and graduation so she would be able to leave without strings attached. And in that same year Demetrios followed her to start his own research projects outside the hallowed halls and the watchful eyes of the Sages.

Even now, after renewed acquaintanceship, their interactions remained teasingly cordial. Perhaps because Demetrios was still part of the Akademiya, albeit in a distant role of Driyosh, perhaps it was something else. Regardless, it did not hinder Demetrios’ research progress and Lisa was often helpful in finding books for him to peruse through.

“How is your project with the wolf boy?”

“Razor? He is a darling. I can see that he has learnt some of the language from the North Wind himself, but requires a bit help in expanding his vocabulary and general correction in grammar. He recently gained his Vision as well so I’m giving him tips with that too.” Lisa shrugged one shoulder. “Ara… You are a bit out of touch with news, Demetrios. Maybe you should come down from that mountain of yours more often.”

“Perhaps.” Demetrios shrugged back. “But I quite like this mountain of mine.”

Mine. It was faint – maybe due distance – but the possessive echo felt warm.

“Well, do come find me if you need help with anything else.”

“I will, don’t worry.”

Demetrios changed his clothes in his room at the Headquarters and headed downstairs to pick his dinner company. On the way down, he was making a mental checklist of things he’d need to do and of things he’d need to keep in mind regards of the future.

Things to do: make the new Catalyst, have his winter coat repaired, order a mask (or two) to cover his new marks, write up an analysis of how this new power up actually worked.

Things to consider: keep an eye on the timeline and the benchmark people. Varka had not yet left, Diluc had not yet returned. Venti was not yet awake, was Zhongli yet part of the funeral parlour? Reaching out to his contacts in other countries could turn out useful as well. Mona was probably already chafing under her master and wanting to spread her own wings, if the events of the manga took place then Cyno might appear in Mondstadt at some point… And it had been a while since Demetrios wrote to Yelan… She liked to gripe about various things in her replies as long as they didn’t compromise the Qixing or her integrity as background problem dealer.

Yes, there were many people to consider. Demetrios could admit that he’d been avoiding Liyue after some… events during his journey through the nation on the way Mondstadt and the uncertainty as to when Childe would appear there.

With the full memories and new situation thought, Demetrios could not afford that. He may know a lot. But there were even more gaps that he did not know. Yes, maybe he should write to Yelan.

“Big brother Demetrios, are we going now?” Klee was jumping up and down at the foot of the stairs, snapping the young man out of his thoughts. Demetrios smiled back and finished his descent.

“I’m certainly ready to go. Is miss Spark Knight?”

“Yes! And so is everyone else! Big sister Amber came just back from patrol and she got big sister Noelle join to us as well!” The girl was bouncing in place. This time without her backpack but with the Pyro Vision clipped to the back of her red jacket.

“I’m glad to hear that. Miss Amber and miss Noelle both work very hard and it had been a while since we last sat down to eat together.” Demetrios picked the girl up and swung her around to settle into piggyback ride, Klee laughing in delight all the while. “Are they waiting for us in Good Hunter then?”

“Yes! And big sister Barbara said she’d meet us later in Cat’s Tail.”

“Oh, do they have some new dessert then?”

“Yes, even big sister Diona likes it.”

Probably because it was non-alcoholic.

“Sounds good then. Lead the way.” Demetrios jostled the girl a bit, like imitating a horse, eliciting a giggle from her.

“Hop hop, onwards!”

Chapter Text

Then

Sumeru was breath-takingly beautiful. The nature that Demetrios had seen thus far was lush and vibrant. The softly shaped hill and mountains rose above the people traversing the rivers and trees were giant, with their branches reaching towards the sky.

And the city itself! It sprawled up and up, climbing along the trunk of the largest tree, the boy had ever seen. White stone, dark brown bark, green glass, moss and rooftiles… Those were the colors the city was made of. Around clear blue water sparkled before turning into waterfalls. The sheer height differences everywhere had Demetrios look around every-which way. He didn’t care that he looked like a tourist, there was just so much to see!

But he probably should focus on the Akademiya entrance exams first. They were in two weeks and…

“Well, better find a place to stay first.”

Thanks to staying with Mona and her master for a while, Demetrios had saved in lodging costs and even earned some Mora by running errands to people around Fontaine City. So he could manage until the exams and then moving to the dorms… That was if he got in.

Sumeru was still beautiful day after day as Demetrios lived there, talked with people and studied anything and everything. But there were some things that struck him odd. Gave him questions to which answers were… unsatisfactory.

“What do you mean the only library is at Akademiya and only members of it are allowed to access the books? Why?”

“People do not dream? It’s to be celebrated? Why?”

“Akasha tells you? Just like that? What if it doesn’t tell you? Does it tell you why?”

“Performance arts are looked down? Why?”

“People revere still Greater Lord Rukkhadevata though she is long dead? And disregard Lesser Lord Kusanali though she is the current Archon? Why?”

Why, why, why? It seemed like this was the question Demetrios kept returning whenever he found something else to question. Of course, he did not ask all these questions out loud. Maybe it was simply something he hadn’t learnt about yet. Some cultural quirk. He had only recently arrived to the city after all.

But as he passed the tests and was welcomed to the Akademiya. Was given the Akasha Terminal and expected to start wearing it instantly – just like the rest of the scholars and common people of Sumeru and outlanders who’d spent a long time in the city… Demetrios felt apprehensive. He did activate it and register the terminal to his own name. But then he simply… forgot to wear it. He took it off for the night and next morning was in such a hurry for the first lessons that it was simply swept into the pocket of his student robes.

When asked, Demetrios definitely only claimed forgetfulness. But in reality, Akasha terrified him. Both because of the blind reliance the people of Sumeru had on it – never taking it off, never questioning it… but also because he remembered from before cybersecurity. It’s advantages and pitfalls, hidden spy programs and cookies tracking your actions online. Akasha terminal was directly connected to the user’s brain, it was created by an Archon and now administrated by the Akademiya. Even less would’ve made Demetrios apprehensive.

“I’d probably need to make some sort of screen to access files on Akasha…” A tablet with an archival and search system. Just for reading and maybe cross-referencing. Possibly for downloading information or at the very least bookmarking it. And considering the size of the library in House of Daena, there probably was an index system for it in Akasha as well. “I wonder if someone from Kshahrewar can help…”

Demetrios did not yet belong to any Darshan. All new students were given a few months of a grace period as they attended introductory courses together. Those courses were aimed to give overview on the different Darshans as well as getting them acclimated to Akademiya life. How to format a thesis, how to use the library and make references, the three virtues and six sins of the Akademiya… Currently, Demetrios was leaning towards Vahumana. The history of Teyvat was fascinating. There was a lot to unearth and learn from. The places, the people, the ways those events of the past still affected the present.

“And once the Starfall Child arrives, I’ll get to witness the history in motion.”

The people of Sumeru did not dream. That was a fact commonly accepted. Dreams were frivolous. The lack of them was a sign of adulthood and rationality. Families had celebrations when the children lost the ability to dream. It was like a graduation into a productive member of society.

Demetrios still dreamt. It was curious but against the masses that was the entire country… he kept quiet about it.

Each morning he picked up his tablet-Akasha from whichever desk he left it on. Each morning he watched his dorm mates stumbling from their bed with the green symbol still alight by their ear.

That was more than enough to suspect a link between the two. But Demetrios remained quiet. He already got enough side-ways glances for his lack of wearing the terminal. He didn’t need any further reasons for people to gossip behind his back. As much as the people valued confirmed knowledge, they still were ordinary people and thus thrived in gossip. Demetrios hardly the only one they talked about, just the latest shiny thing to ogle at. Well, they had plenty of reasons to pick apart his oddities.

People made notes during lectures to Akasha. Demetrios wrote his own my hand.

People researched information on Akasha. Demetrios searched information and then used one of the Kshahrewar made devices to print that information on physical paper. He was a sight with the armful of paper he sometimes carried around.

People stuck hard with their fellows on the same Darshan, with only exceptions practically being their dormmates. Demetrios freely talked with any person from any Darshan yet somehow managing to befriend none.

And of course, most of the students were from Sumeru themselves, the Akademiya being so revered place to study and since the institute doubled as the governing body of the country, it was almost given that if you wanted power and prestige, the best way to go about it was through academics.

In opposition, Demetrios belonged to that about a fifth of students that had arrived from various countries to get a degree or two since their own homelands lacked as good tertiary education institutions.

Despite being a target of rumour, that no way meant that Demetrios didn’t utilize them as well. when he had commissioned the tablet, he’d heard that he was not the only one to have a modified Akasha terminal…

And that was how he ended up meeting al-Haitham, the star student of Haravatat Darshan.

It is a truth universally acknowledged, that Haravatat and Kshahrewar did not get along. Just like Amurta and Spantamad went hand in hand, Rtawahist held themselves above the rest and Vahumana sort of got along with everyone.

Within Akademiya was also very well known that most of the current schism between Haravatat and Kshahrewar stemmed from the most accomplished students of them: al-Haitham and Kaveh. Their verbal fighting was legendary and somehow, they simply could not stay away from each other. Different darshans, different year levels, different personalities that appeared to be specifically designed to rile each other up.

Demetrios couldn’t help but wonder if they’d known each other before the Akademiya as he watched yet another argument come to close and Kaveh stalking out of the library, his green student robes fluttering and the white banded hat clutched in his hand as the other hand went through his blonde hair in frustration.

“This is going to be a mistake…” Demetrios muttered as he approached the table where the Haravatat student continued his reading. There were other tables free but other students had congregated by them, to stay away from the previous argument yet having the opportunity to eavesdrop it.

A moment before Demetrios reached the table, al-Haitham lifted his head from his book.

“Mind if I join you?”

“I don’t see why you’d want come here.” Came the reply.

“Just using the opportunity to know that no one will come here disturbing this table after… the recent display.” For both study purposes and in the case the discussion of the terminals came up.

“So someone can still sidestep around the entertainment provided here.” al-Haitham huffed. “Sit if you wish, doesn’t matter to me.”

“Thank you.” Demetrios put his supplies onto the table a couple of seats down from the silver-haired youth and then drew a chair for himself. He propped his tablet against his books and opened a notebook in order to write down reference books to look up later from the library’s various shelves. His studies in Vahumana had only recently begun, with him picking a Darshan earlier than most, thus having him balance two courses at the same time. At least the introductory lectures rarely came with homework and Demetrios could breeze through them thanks to good preparation given by Lycée Blanche de Castille.

Some moments passed with the only sounds at their table being scratching of the pen and turning of pages. Eventually…

“What sort of device is that?”

Bingo… Demetrios suppressed a smile and instead looked up in mild surprise at being addressed.

“Ah, it is my Akasha terminal.” The boy lifted the tablet up and pointed at the regular terminal plugged in at the side. “I don’t like wearing it but can’t deny its usefulness so I had a Kshahrewar student make this screen for me.”

“Hm… Does it cause you headaches?” al-Haitham tilted his head as he regarded the device.

“Sort of?” Headache due its existence. “Sometimes it felt like Akasha was grabbing onto every stray thought I had and then offering information without me actually looking for it. So I prefer to do things manually.”

“Quite curious. But I suppose as a foreigner you are not used to the ease of Akasha.”

“Maybe…” Demetrios shrugged. “What about you? Your terminal looks quite unusual as well.”

“Ah, your true motives have shown themselves.”

“Caught me.”

It was… like fencing. Only with words. They both liked to hide information yet preferred being direct with interactions. So whenever they met, it became a challenge for them both to figure out what the other knew. An exchange of wits and transaction of information. al-Haitham disliked being in debt and Demetrios refused to be on the losing side despite his lack of experience so ultimately… they were surprisingly equal.

Now

Demetrios slumped onto his chair at his room. The dinner with the girls had been nice though exhausting. Their worry over his well-being was touching though unrelenting despite how many times Demetrios tried to reassure that he was fine. Even with Barbara collaborating and adding that Albedo and Sucrose were looking into it.

Of course they didn’t exactly tell what was wrong with Demetrios but the bandages over half of his face were naturally alarming.

So Demetrios was now officially finished with peopleing for the day. And preferably the next two days as well. This was why he preferred Dragonspine. Less people, less socializing, less… everything.

There were some pamphlets on the desk. Lisa had probably brought them over while Demetrios was out. He didn’t lock the door while in the city. The easiest way to give materials and messages to him was through his room at the headquarters. And everything important stuff he didn’t want others to see were stored in a corner of Albedo’s lab. In general, Mondstadt didn’t have much in the ways of crooks and thieves and spies. There were some. But they were largely organized and smart enough not to try breaking into the Knight of Favonius headquarters. Or the Cathedral. Not to mention Kaeya having connections to underground using those connections to keep miscreants away as well. So Demetrios felt safe in leaving the door open. It wasn’t like anyone could get into the dorms since civilians weren’t allowed to the second floor and up of the building.

With a sigh, Demetrios picked up the pamphlets. Might as well get this part done with. At least superficially.

Few hours and half a dozen discarded options later, Demetrios had narrowed down his options into two mask makers. Their options appeared to be easily customizable and the paintjob tasteful. The materials listed appeared to be sturdy but light which was imperative if from now on Demetrios would be wearing the mask for hours end in various circumstances.

The prices weren’t too bad either considering that he would need to get multiple masks for different occasions and in the case he broke one. Demetrios could only be thankful that his situation was only cosmetic and not a matter of health. For now…

“Maybe I’ll visit the stalls tomorrow to inspect the materials…” He pondered, only for a painful twingle lance through skull. “Or then start gathering ingredients for the catalyst.”

The Knights of Favonius had a supply of weapon Billets for the people working for them. Adventurers (and Demetrios occasionally as well) supplied the forge with various ore and Demetrios himself had been gathering Starsilver while exploring Dragonspine.

All in all, it meant that apart from the forging fee of 500 Mora, he had everything else needed. And that fee was easily picked from his savings. And in this world, 500 Mora was... While not a little sum, it wasn't terribly big either. With that money, one could get five portions of milk, wheat, bags of rice or piece of tofu.

Considering that the Frostbearer was most likely to last with him for years to come… maybe even forever, in the grander scheme, it actually was nothing. Most of the effort would’ve gone to mining and that was already handled. The only thing needed was to craft the catalyst itself. With the blacksmith Wagner’s permission to borrow the forge of course.

It was actually fascinating. If you had the skills, you could borrow the forge for your own purposes. And it made sense that was how in-game putting Zhongli and Raiden Shogun to forge polearms gave benefits. Just like how in cooking certain characters gave doubles occasionally. Those characters had talent on their own and thus it was shown in-game. Just… little everyday things.

The Frostbearer was a thing of beauty. And in Demetrios’ cryo-infused hands, it cooled down quickly, already prepared to use.

“Quite the sight.” Wagner approached as the catalyst hovered above Demetrios palm. “I don’t remember ever seeing a catalyst like that.”

“I acquired the recipe just few days ago.”

“Well, I’ll be… You taking it on a spin soon then?”

“Maybe tomorrow. The sun is almost setting.” As long as Demetrios had only half of his sight at his disposal, he would not venture outside the city on his own. Even with his new weapon. It was too late to ask anyone to accompany him, but it was not too late to see where the mask makers had their shops. For a proper visit soon. “Thank you for letting me work here.”

“Think nothing of it, son. It was my pleasure to see a new piece of art to existence.”

With a nod and smile, Demetrios left then. And whilst touring the artisan districts of the lower city, he ran into someone he… still couldn’t make his mind about.

Cavalry Captain Kaeya Alberich. The adopted and disowned son of Ragnvindr family. The last hope of Khaenri’ah. Cryo Vision user and master swordsman. Someone who also covered his eye from reasons unknown, but listening to Charles from Angel’s Share, it only began after the death of Crepus Ragnvindr. Thus the young man of inky blue hair and star in his eye was a mystery wrapped in enigma and served on a platter of contradiction.

There had been various theories about him. Things Demetrios found interesting to read but wary to commit in believing. Such a lore heavy character, yet he was only a four star and in the eyes of many players, easily replaceable with better Cryo units. And considering Demetrios’ own prolonged stays at Dragonspine, he rarely had had the changes to chat with the man either.

“Oh, if it isn’t Mr. researcher, back from his self-exile on the lonely mountain.”

“Exonerating circumstances, I assure you.”

“Ah yes, I heard from Amber. You got injured during one of your… projects, correct?” Ah, he’d forgotten how suspicious Kaeya was of people. Not blatantly like Rosaria, but hiding behind his cheerful veneer while extracting information strand by strand from his unsuspecting targets.

“Quite so. Nothing too serious but better for me to recuperate in the city than at Dragonspine.” It was a truth and a lie, mainly because no one knew how serious the matter actually was. And Demetrios did not speak of his sensations that he experienced even this far from the mountain. Albedo would know. But no one else would be told.

“I’m glad. It wouldn’t do for the Knights of Favonius to lose their valued partner.”

Demetrios sighed.

“Is Mika back? I’d like to go over some maps with him. I also have further cartography notes for him to use.”

“He should still be out with Eula. They are scouring Wolvendom’s northern border.”

“Pity. Another time then.” Demetrios waved his hand then, summoning his catalyst. At Kaeya’s visible eye widening, he couldn’t help but grin proudly. “Magnificent, isn’t it? I acquired the craft recipe recently.”

“It really is… And what happened to the previous one?” The Cavalry Captain asked, approaching slowly and inspecting the Frostbearer as it slowly spun.

“It broke.”

“Broke? That’s curious.”

“Indeed.”

This was another sort of dancing with words. But here Demetrios was not hiding because of his own paranoia but to avoid genuine suspicion… Maybe he really should visit Liyue soon. Change of scenery would be helpful.

Days turn into weeks. The weeks into a month. But finally, Demetrios had everything set for his return to Dragonspine. He had written reports and speculations on the civilization that lived on the mountain previously. He had drafts on the architecture found on the ruins and a photograph of the fresco in the chamber from which he found the Snow-Tombed Starsilver claymore. All his work from the past months was organized… for when he eventually wrote the paper for the Akademiya. It would only contain the historical side of things. Nothing on his… extra-curricular explorations. And Demetrios would definitely wait for the traveller before he even attempted restoring the Skyfrost Nail.

Everything was prepared for his return to the mountain. The Frostbearer had been tried and tested, with the two youths of Adventurer’s Guild – Bennet and Fischl – accompanying as a back-up when Demetrios tried his usual techniques and attacks against various monsters of Falcon Coast. And he had even written that letter to Yelan, asking about recent arrivals to the Harbour. He was ready.

“Are you sure you’re ready?” Varka asked when Demetrios adjusted his half-mask on his face. It was marvellous thing. Fit like glove, flexible enough to accommodate his expressions and without unnecessary embellishments. The eyehole was wide enough for him to see well but shaped in a way that it shadowed his eye and thus obscured its change from a casual onlooker. In addition, Demetrios had adjusted his hairstyle just a bit so his longer bangs fell on that side of face, hiding both the eye and the mask partially.

“Yes. My research is stalling and I’m sure Albedo wants to take a further look on my changes. My new catalyst suits me even better than the previous one and with my masks, my sightlines are not hindered either. There is no reason for me to stall.”

“Aside from unwritten thesis paper?” Lisa teased from the where she fake-perused the bookshelves of the Grandmaster’s office. Jean elbowed the purple witch but Demetrios just smiled.

“There is no hurry for that. The Akademiya doesn’t actually expect quick results from me.” Not with the way he’d left the place. If it was up to some people there, they’d wash their hands off Demetrios’ case. Alas, the Sage of Vahumana actually liked him and practically begged him not to cut ties with his Darshan, like Lisa had done with Spantamad.

“Dragonspine is largely unexplored place thus far.” Varka allowed. “It is very possible that the researchers of Akademiya don’t know much of it at all.”

“And in the past five-hundred years they’ve had other things to think about.” Demetrios added. Why would the Sages care for nearly inaccessible mountain where a dragon’s blood made things even more difficult when they were still occupied with the loss of their Archon and lack of interest on their new one. The Sanctuary… more like a Prison. The mere memory of the child-god floating amidst glowing chains made his stomach turn. There was a reason why he’d ran. And that had been before the sight which had only affirmed his decision.

“They have indeed.” Lisa nodded slowly. Maybe he should one day talk with her what he’d seen and experienced. Maybe then he could find what she had learnt. Was it something common that had made them both run?

Between Then and Now

“How are you here? Only the Sages have the key.”

“I broke in. And with my Akasha terminal in Gandharva Ville, there is no way for them to track me here.”

“You are the Dreaming Frost-child. You realized what the Akasha does.”

“It wasn’t hard. I was never reliant on it, so everyone’s attitude mainly confused me.”

“And you endured their scorn.”

“Heh, it was harder for me refrain from speaking up. The one time I said, ‘The exam stress must be getting to me, I had such a messed-up nightmare last night’, and they were ready to haul me to Birmastan or then to either Amurta or Rtawatist. To see if there was something wrong with me.”

“That is quite unfortunate.”

“I was near delirious from sleep-deprivation.”

“But why are you here then? To expend so much energy breaking in and even before that to plot how you won’t be connected to this.”

“Why wouldn’t I want to meet the god of this nation? I never had the displeasure of meeting Tsaritsa and only once observed Focalor as they oversaw a trial – it was a school trip. Everyone here though is so dismissive of you it is hard for me to comprehend. And… I also wanted to see what this so-called Sanctuary looked like on the inside.”

“Are you satisfied then? Is your curiousity sated? Do I match your expectations?”

“No. I expected a dismissive god, content to remain on their own and delve into further knowledge and theories. I expected the Sanctuary to match its name and the domain you rule over. I expected greenery for leisure and bookshelves reaching to the ceiling. This place… is sense-deprivation chamber and you are its too kind prisoner.”

“You are the first to see it so.”

“I’m the first to even try reaching you. The few that worship you, do so with hushed whispers and behind closed doors or hidden in the roots of the city.”

“Thank you. I’m glad I got to meet you.”

“If I could, I’d break this place apart and take you away from here.”

“This is Greater Lord Rukkhadevata’s meditation chamber. You cannot break it.”

“…And the Sages took away the key and removed the lock from the inside.”

“Yes…”

“The Vision bearers are called allogenes and candidates for godhood. Maybe one day I’ll have enough power to come back and fulfil that intention.”

“I don’t dare to hope for that. Just look after yourself. Maybe I’ll visit your dreams some time.”

“I look forward to that, Kusanali.”

“Nahida. Call me Nahida.”

“Gladly.”

Chapter Text

Then

It was the faint music that lured Demetrios out of the dormitories. After a moment of indecision, he changed out of his student robes, left his Akasha terminal behind and headed towards the commotion. The hubbub at the Treasure Street was what lead him onwards. Children were cheering and jumping around. adults smiling as they talked. Food was on display, candies dealt to people, Padisarah flowers decorating every surface.

This was the Sabzeruz festival. The 27^th October. Lesser Lord Kusanali’s birthday.

And Demetrios’ birthday as well.

On the previous years since leaving home, the only gift he received would be an embroidered clothing article from mother, accompanied by the usual letter. On that day Demetrios would indulge in buying some dessert from the town and enjoy it on his own. He had never bothered to tell his friends when his birthday was. They’d probably assumed it was during the summer break when most of the students went home to their families.

It was lonely time. Maybe here he wouldn’t need to be as lonely.

The boy made his way down towards the Grand Bazaar. If the talks about the festival on the days prior were correct, then the Zubayr Theater should have a performance this time as well. As he got closer, so did the music get louder and when the doors to the bazaar opened… Well, Demetrios had been to the Bazaar before and been impressed, but the sight back then was nothing on the sight that greeted him now. The music vibrating in the air, the decorations hanging between the stalls and from the ceiling, dancers weaving their magic… smell of flowers and fresh food, the chatter and laughter of people. The Grand Bazaar had always struck to Demetrios as their own little community and the view right now only strengthened the impression. The festival on the outside was wonderful but this here? It was cosy and inviting. Though outsider, Demetrios felt instantly welcome here.

He approached the loose crowd, joined the conversation with people he’d never seen before. He smiled with them and listened to their suggestions for food to try.

And then Sheik Zubayr took the stage, welcoming everyone to the festival and wishing everyone were enjoying themselves and would like the performance prepared for them. Then dancers took the stage. Demetrios was brought closer with the crowd.

The music stopped and another song began.

Demetrios was spellbound.

When was the last time he saw something like this? When was the last time he smiled this much? When was the last time he felt so free?

Now

Demetrios trekked past Windrise, backtracking the route he and Barbara had taken from the Adventurers’ camp. This time Amber was accompanying him. She’d insisted.

“No matter what you might say, you were still in need or lengthy recuperation. And all the Knights who get laid down for injuries fall into two categories. Either they try to prolong their sick leave or then they try to get back to work too early. You obviously fall into the latter category.” The outrider prattled. Demetrios hummed idly, showing he was listening.

“Thus you’ll walk me to my destination from where either Albedo or Sucrose picks me up.”

“Yes. I unfortunately cannot bring you all the way to your camp up the mountain; I have other areas to patrol. But luckily, I can do this little detour on my way to my route.”

“And I’m glad for the opportunity to talk with you.” That was true. Demetrios liked Amber. She was genuinely kind and patient person. Actually even more so than Barbara since Amber had openness that Barbara couldn’t show. Amber didn’t have an expectation to be certain way like the Idol of Mondstadt had to. But at the same time Amber had sharpness that had come with her position as the only Outrider, that which the other ‘sweet girls’ like Sucrose and Noelle lacked. But yes, Amber genuineness with her emotions and words was something Demetrios couldn’t help but admire. The first friend of the Traveller. The staunch supporter of Eula. The helpful hand extended to Collei. Someone to rely on.

“Me too! You are so much at Dragonspine that this opportunity is quite rare.” Amber smiled. “So… what are your plans now?”

“Continue exploring, confirm with Albedo the coastline in the south so I can get the information to Mika… Maybe make a trip to Liyue Harbour. They sell the best paper and ink there.” That could indeed be a sensible reason to lure Albedo down the mountain. And it would be shorter distance as well, compared to the official roads.

“Only for paper and ink? Liyue is known for much more.”

“Yes, but they sell waterproof items. Since the ancient times, merchants wrote their account books on Liyuen ink and paper so that if the fire broke out, they could take the books and throw them in water to put them out. Once dry again, the books would still be perfectly legible.” Demetrios explained with a smile. “And that is quality we need when making notes and sketches outdoors.”

“…And buying it directly at the harbour is cheaper than ordering it through the Headquarters or buying from a reseller.” The Outrider was nodding slowly.

“Plus, it gives us a wider range of options to peruse instead of sticking whichever merchant has connections to Mondstadt.”

“Well… If you really are going to Liyue, then you better bring back souvenirs! I know Klee really expects something from her big brothers.” Amber grinned at Demetrios’ exasperated face.

“I’ll see if there is something not explicitly tourist things to buy. That’s all I promise.”

“And that’s more than enough! Better no stuff, rather than some cheap trinket that’ll only gather dust. If I want trinkets, then they’ll be of my own choosing.”

“Good attitude. And less pressure on me.”

They laughed.

“Just… have you seen some of the stuff Marjorie stocks at her shop?” Amber wiped tears of mirth out of her eyes.

“I have. And I once asked her if they really sell. They do.” Papier-mâché copies of Lyre del Himmel, plaster replicas of both the Statue of Seven and the Barbatos Statue at Cathedral square, dried flower bouquets, postcards, bottle openers… Stuff that Marjorie sold for actual Mora rather than for Anemo sigils. In the past Demetrios had bought some Shivada Jade slivers from her with the sigils he’d found. Those slivers he’d then fused into fragments that he’d used to enforce his Vision.

“Ah, the camp is almost in sight!” Amber jumped on top of a boulder and peered to the distance. Demetrios looked up as well. The ruins that sheltered the Adventurers’ camp were indeed peeking from behind the cliff edge.

“That’s good. Wonder who is waiting for us there.”

They didn’t need to wait for long. As they climbed the low cliff and dusted themselves off from the dirt accumulated on the way. The Adventurers welcomed them and by the crafting table, Sucrose discussing with Iris while waiting for Demetrios. Once ascertaining that she wasn’t doing anything sensitive, he greeted her.

“Sucré, good morning!”

“Hi, Sucrose!” Amber joined in.

“Good morning, Demetrios, Amber.” The green-haired girl greeted back, not even jumping in surprise at first.

“We can continue this later, Miss Sucrose, if you need to get going.” Iris stated.

“Ah, yes! Thank you for the conversation. It was very interesting.” Sucrose nodded to the other bespectacled woman. Demetrios watched Iris leave and then turned to address Sucrose once more.

“Has everything been alright in the mountain?”

“Yes, Master Albedo has been investigating by the Frostbearing Tree but thus far it has not yielded any results.”

“Pity. Well, I hope I’ll be more successful then.” Would the Tree give him answers? Or simply let him unearth them through his own work?

“I’ll leave Demetrios in your hands then, Sucrose. I have to get to my patrol now.” Amber patted at Demetrios’s shoulder blades. “Do watch he doesn’t do anything reckless.”

“Of course. You’ll be going towards Cape Oath then?” Sucrose asked the Outrider.

“Thereabouts. Some Adventurers have expressed concern over the Electro Hypostasis there. I’ve never heard of anything suspicious going on but with the arena being so close to Eagle’s Gate…” Amber shrugged.

“They are understandably nervous since the only Vision bearers among them are still kids who are not being sent that far yet.” Demetrios concluded. “But they eventually have to go there. Fischl at the very least requires the prism cores. Lisa has some left over from the days she needed them so she might give the first boost to her and Razor but…”

“But some of us either need to travel or then buy leftovers.” Amber nodded. “It puts a bit of a dent to my monthly budget but I try to buy an Everflame Seed every two months.”

“And Bennet’s dads and uncles assist him in saving money for those.”

Demetrios probably could try farming the cores from the element bosses and through selling them get some extra money. Maybe he could get a team together and then split the benefits.

Fischl and Bennet for diversity in elements and Demetrios supervising them. Sucrose, Albedo and Barbara for rotating fourth spot if one were to obey the four-person party rule… Hmm… the thought had merits.

“With me going to Liyue, I can try tracking down the Pyro Regisvine for you and bring cores.” Demetrios grinned at Amber. She practically lit up at the suggestion.

“Would you really? The Cryo Regisvine gives out one to three cores per defeat so I assume the odds are about the same with the Pyro one. I don’t care how much you bring, any help is welcome.”

“I’ll see how much time we got and then split the loot between you and Bennet.”

“Not Klee?” Sucrose asked.

“Klee has no need for firepower just yet.”

“Definitely not! The lakes won’t survive her!”

The green-haired alchemist chuckled at the vehement denial.

“Quite true. Shall we go then? I’m sure Master Albedo is waiting for us.”

“Let’s. Bye then, Amber. Have a safe patrol.”

“Bye bye. Safe travels to you as well!”

Albedo was waiting for them at the camp. The travel there was relatively eventful with the usual hilichurls trying to attack them but being easily disposed by Demetrios and Sucrose both.

“Ah, you’ve returned.” Albedo put down his clipboard and approached the pair.

“I have. Everything is fixed and I’ve finally escaped the worried clutches of Mondstadt’s female population.” Demetrios sighed dramatically and then with a flick of his hand summoned his catalyst. Sucrose gasped.

“How pretty!”

“It indeed has similar imagery to the Frostbearing Tree.” The Chief Alchemist mused, his chin in his hand. “I trust you’ve tested it extensively.”

“I was accompanied by the kids from the Guild. It is quite effective against opponents I’ve already affected with Cryo. I do have to be careful with it. Sometimes it feels like either it or something in myself, tries to drawn cold into the scene.” Demetrios frowned. It had been strange, after a test battle for a while it had felt like he’d been back at the Dragonspine. He hadn’t felt the cold unlike Fischl and Bennet, but even he had seen how his breath had misted despite all the other effects of the battle having vanished already.

“How curious…”

“Yes…” He let the catalyst hover in the air and went to deposit his pack by the bed. “Albedo, do you think the Tree can reach to the leylines in other parts of Teyvat?”

“It has a stronghold here in the mountain, despite the tangle the leylines are in.” Albedo began. He moved to the firepit and lit it. Eventually water began to boil in the pot. Sucrose started to clear the big desk from most of the scattered papers. “You’ve trekked up and down the mountain in search for the Crimson Agates and in doing so, also activated the old Teleport Waypoints.”

Right, the Waypoints. They looked like inert stone statues most of the time. Their usage was lost to time and most people viewed them as strange gimmicks. And though Demetrios had tried, they had not activated upon contact. Except for the ones in Dragonspine. And only after he’d freed the Tree and made his first offering to it.

“It marked me.”

“And you showed it your dedication and loyalty. Maybe you were selfish in you desire to learn its secrets…” They all chuckled at that. “But the effort is almost incomparable to the benefits unless one truly possesses untainted heart.”

It was true. Demetrios had earnt gifts with each milestone he achieved. Things he could use later or things he could give to the Traveller. But the dangers, the puzzles, the sheer amount of distance travelled… It measured the character of the one vying for the rewards.

“Through the leylines and through… this…” Demetrios laid a hand on the mask covering the marks. “It can track me. Especially if I happen to be near other Waypoints.” Falcon Coast had been right between a Waypoint, Temple of Eagle and Windrise’s Statue of Seven. Domains were connected to the leylines as well thus rendering that spot into a crossing point. Not a cluster, like the area around Starfell Lake was but still close enough.

“Umm, Demetrios… What are your plans now?” Sucrose asked. “You mentioned going to Liyue at some point.”

“Liyue? Harbour itself or just the outskirts in the west of the mountain?” Albedo added. The tea was boiled and the man brought the pot to the desk where three mugs were already waiting.

“Well, we have a need for more paper and ink that we can get cheap straight from the Harbour.” Demetrios shrugged. “And if time permits, we could get a look around the lands as well. I was thinking of seeking out the Pyro Regisvine for Amber and Bennet and thus also fight against something that – for a change – is not Cryo resistant.”

Albedo chuckled at that. “You have indeed been at quite the disadvantage here.”

“It would be quite interesting to see the Liyue Harbour. I wonder if they have any books about Alchemy specific to their nation.” Sucrose hummed.

She’d probably be luckier reading the Talent books… But Taishan Mansion was deep in Jueyun Karst and submerged under water as well. Not a place for a casual visit then.

“Admittedly, I’ve not left Mondstadt since arriving two years ago with Alice and Klee.” Albedo agreed. Much like how Demetrios had not left anywhere since arriving just a bit after Albedo did. And soon after their research had begun at Dragonspine. Had it really been only that little of time? It felt like he had been in Mondstadt for much longer. “A change of environment could be beneficial indeed.”

“Let’s make it a vacation for us! Relaxing… well, as much as people such as us can.” Demetrios smiled.

A vacation… yet someone decided to pick a fight and then cross the ocean by freezing it. But what wouldn’t one do in order to avoid confrontation…

Chapter Text

Then

After that first Sabzeruz festival, Demetrios dove into his studies again. It also felt like the professors and other teachers were really cracking down on the students. Like punishing them for the frivolities that the city had to offer. He heard mutters form other students on how professors really didn’t care what was going on in Port Ormos and the drinking parties held there but for some reason the next few weeks after the festival here were really harsh on everyone. Especially new students.

“They really don’t like Lesser Lord Kusanali then?” Demetrios asked al-Haitham during one of their silent studying sessions.

“No. Sabzeruz Festival has had its funding decreased year by year. I wouldn’t be surprised it one year there would be none.”

“But for now, it is still big enough that the possibility of students going is inevitable. Especially students that are still children themselves.”

“You went, didn’t you?”

“Of course! It was my birthday as well. And a new country. Of course I want to experience the culture around! And the Festival was great!”

“You talk like Kaveh. With little thought to what others may hear.”

“And you talk like Akasha system itself. With as little words as needed to convey meaning.”

“… Passable comeback.” al-Haitham gave a slow nod.

“Why, thank you. Now who is this Kaveh? I don’t remember you mentioning him before.” But Demetrios had seen the man. And heard the whispers.

“He is a nuisance and wholly unsuitable for Akademiya with his romanticist views. If you haven’t heard of him before, I congratulate you and wonder about your ignorance.” al-Haitham scoffed.

“Wonder away.” Demetrios smiled back.

Aside from purely academic courses, there were also… extracurriculars to pick from. Most of them were of some practical or more specified usage of the knowledge they learnt in their darshans. For example, one of the most popular Amurta geared extracurriculars was the wine making course. Those of Haravatat who wanted to consume literature rather than only dissect grammar, had their little reading club that masqueraded as “Translation and discussion of localizations”. There were no other cultural courses. And one of the Spantamad professors held every Tuesday and Thursday afternoon a two-hour session for new Vision users to explore their element.

That one was the extra-curricular that Demetrios joined. From the time he’d stayed with Mona and her master, he’d already learnt things and even been given apprentice’s notes as his first Catalyst. The boy had pondered about learning some other weapon but… He felt more secure if he had his hands free, ready to utilize other tools, direct other people or then to simply climb. The catalysts always floated a certain distance from their wielder and if not used for a while, simply disappeared to the pocket space that all Vision wielders gained for their weapons and other supplies. That made Demetrios wonder just why the people with Visions seemed to be equipped for… battle. He once summoned the space for him to view. In the middle floated his weapon and around it circled five empty spots with familiar symbols. They were spaces for artifacts. And behind them floated a catalogue of empty spaces, waiting to be filled with anything.

“Huh, so that’s how things work…” Now… where to get a simple set for cheap?

In the course of years, Demetrios sought his own fighting style. There was not set style taught at the Akademiya, especially not for catalyst users. Some people used their element more like a spell, with the element basically being in its purest form, while others used other objects as a medium. But either way, they shaped their element in accordance what was easy and familiar to them. Demetrios did not have such a specification yet. He was very unsure of his own future and aspirations aside from wanting to move to yet another country once he was finished in Sumeru.

The only thing he had that he could honestly call being him and only him… was his constellation.

Papilio Polaris – The butterfly of the northernmost star.

Thus Demetrios tracked down some Amurta students to give him a direction to search for butterfly themed and inspired lexicon.

Kaleidoscope was what a group of butterflies where called.

Chrysalis was the name of the cocoon that fully grown butterfly emerged from.

Types of butterflies were various. Some fed from flowers, some from the carcasses of dead animals. Some disguised as dead leaves, some moved in groups so big that they deterred predators.

Demetrios researched and experimented to find the most suitable shape for his butterflies. There was a window seat that he occupied and which had almost the entire day sun shining through the stained glass.

He read his books and created his Cryo constructs. The coloured light the wings and spilled across floors.

(Once a certain Kshahrewar student saw him sitting there, playing with the light. So struck of inspiration was the student, that he immediately rushed off to design windows with butterflies in them. In lush green, in icy blue… in the colour of sunsettia.)

Now

They’d packed up the camp for prolonged absence and set up wards to prevent local monsters invading it. Dimitri had also encased the entrance in Cryo which quickly took the appearance of Ancient Rime.

“Well… that certainly will keep them away.” Albedo stated as the three of them stared at the Rime-cover.

“You learn something new every day.” Demetrios sighed. “This time literally.”

“Let’s hope that only happens up here.” Sucrose tried to comfort the boy.

And with those thoughts, they headed to south and then west, towards Mingyun village and Yaoguang Shoal. They had consulted maps extensively while planning the trip. They’d go to the Shoal and then cross the ocean with the help of Demetrios’ ice. It would short-cut the journey straight to the main road that went through Guili Plains.

Their itinerary had the ruins of Guili Plains, Pyro regisvine and salt pools at Luhua, getting a peek at Cuijue Slope and the Nine Pillars there and after that finally Liyue Harbour itself. Afterwards a stop in Guyun Stone Forest and challenging the Geo Hypostasis, before returning to Dragonspine. Of course crossing the ocean with ice again.

All in all, they’d reserved one and half weeks to this expedition but one never knew if there’d be an extension or time cut short.

The first part of their journey went fine. The ruins were interesting to explore and before heading to Luhua, they stopped to eat at one of the inns in the vicinity of the Statue of Seven depicting Morax. Or Rex Lapis, as it was polite of address him as.

“That’s quite… an interesting pose.” Sucrose stared up at the statue as they sat sharing plates of Bamboo Shoot soup and Crystal Shrimps. Some Almond Tofu was on the side as well.

“I’m more interested of that massive throne he is sitting on.” Demetrios mused. “Compared to this, Barbatos’ statue looks… demure and humble.”

“How about Sumeru’s statue then?”

“Lesser Lord Kusanali is sitting on a leaf, asleep while cradling the presentation of her power in her lap.” Demetrios admitted with sadness in his voice. It had been a while since he’d met her in his dreams. The distance affected the connection a bit but after the Frostbearing Tree… He had felt scraped raw. Had that incident affected the connection as well? “She is a child still.”

“Interesting. I wonder how the Archons of other nations are depicted.” Albedo lifted his chopsticks and delicately picked a tofu from the serving plate.

“I never had the opportunity to see Cryo Archon’s statue in person but I’d assume her being beautiful and intimidating.”

“I’ve seen Electro Archon – Raiden Shogun’s – statue on a book. It seemed quite imposing yet serene.” Sucrose added.

“Sounds fitting for Eternity.”

They might have fooled around afterwards. They posed around the statue and took photos with the Kamera that technically should’ve been only for documenting items relevant to research. But they were on vacation! And thus with the help of Albedo’s skill, Demetrios also climbed up the statue to sit on the armrest of Rex Lapis’ throne-like chair. With the opportunity right there, why not fulfil a long-time dream? Everyone playing Genshin surely climbed up at least once.

Sucrose took a photo of him sitting there.

“The view is quite nice up close.” Demetrios grinned, looking at the stone god’s pectorals and abs.

“…Give him a kiss.” Albedo told him. Demetrios gave him a smirk.

“Is someone jealous?” But he supported his elbow against the statue’s left shoulder and leant forward to kiss the god’s cheek.

Sucrose took another photo. And of course, that was when they were spotted by the locals and chased away. Demetrios jumped and glided away with his companions running after him. They rushed north-west and reached Luhua Pool in a matter of minutes.

“Good thing we didn’t wear any official insignias here.” Demetrios laughed when they stopped to catch their breaths.

“Ooh, don’t mention that!” Sucrose whined. “Imagine if we had and everyone would know about Knights of Favonius… besmirching Geo Archon’s honour. They’d report to Qixing! And then Qixing would send a complaint to Grandmaster.”

“Grandmaster Varka would laugh at it.” Albedo pointed out.

“And then he’d laugh at us!”

“Well, let’s just be happy we didn’t wear anything incriminating. I rather not be banned from Liyue.” Demetrios waved their concerns off.

“Incriminating? While wearing a coat of heavy Snezhnayan inspiration?” Albedo smiled. It was the smile of hidden meanings. One that looked polite but actually had him internally laughing at you.

The coat in question… It was a white one that Demetrios had acquired when doing that mission with Yelan. The coat that the Fifth Harbinger had meant to gift to Tsaritsa. Yelan took the fur, Demetrios took the outer layer and had it modified to fit him. Now it fell around his shoulders and had pale teal silk as the new lining. The embroidery was heavily Snezhnayan still with Demetrios having had the tailor to add his own butterfly motif. With Demetrios’ winter coat still being repaired at Mondstadt’s tailor, he had worn another coat provided by Knights of Favonius. But that had insignias of the Knights and thus not… appropriate for vacation. So Demetrios had worn his lighter coat for Liyue’s milder climate. And on the off-chance he’d meet Yelan.

“Well, if the only thing they see and recognize is the coat, then all the better for them to go after the Fatui in the Harbour.” Was it petty? Yes. Would Demetrios regret it? Definitely not.

“You are mean, Demetrios.” Sucrose said. And then blushed and hid her face behind her hands. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to…”

“I am very mean.” Demetrios instantly agreed and then assessed their position at the Pool. “If I remember correctly, our destination is directly opposite from here…” He pointed a bit to the right of the building guarded by giant yaksha statues.

“The view is quite great from here.” Albedo mused. “But maybe we should move to the right, that could give even better view without any obstructions.”

To that direction was the small ruins and the spot where that Fontish painter would make his camp right? What was his name again? Van Gogh? Vermeer? Something like that… It definitely was not da Vinci.

“The water at the pool looks so bright too!” Sucrose admired. “I wonder if it has any health benefits.”

“Well, when we go down, why not take a sample or two?” Demetrios suggested. “And maybe one we reach Harbour, there will be literature about the area.”

Sucrose would definitely buy every book from Wanwen bookhouse. As much as she could fit into the Vision’s pocket space. Not that Demetrios’ could talk. Last time he’d been in Liyue, he’d perused the shop carefully and picked the most interesting books that his budget had allowed for. Now was an excellent opportunity to add to that collection.

“That’s true! And some historical accounts can tell if there has been any activity here, even if it has been belief based and not scientifically proven.” The girl clasped her hands together.

“Common medicine was usually based on belief and things people noticed on working even if the explanation was lacking.” Albedo agreed. He then gestured towards the spot he’d noticed earlier. “Shall we?”

They stayed at Vermeer’s future camp for the rest of the day and eventually decided to stay the night as well. Albedo made his sketches, of scenery and his companions alike. Demetrios wrote down observations on the architecture and the ways the rocks and pools had – presumably – naturally formed. Sucrose was with him at the bottom, taking samples and admiring the scenery up close.

When the night fell, camping equipment was brought out and a simple evening meal cooked. They didn’t need to eat too much as their previous meal at the inn had been so fulfilling.

“So nice to camp outside without the biting cold.” Demetrios muttered.

“Yes, no one needs to stay awake to tend the fire.” Albedo agreed. “We all can get an optimal amount of sleep.”

“Are you sure we don’t need to have someone keeping a watch in the case of monsters or thugs?” Sucrose asked while burrowing inside her sleeping bag.

“We all have fairly good senses from the times spent at Dragonspine. No one can sneak up to us.”

“I hope you’re right, master Albedo.”

“…” Demetrios didn’t say much, just stared at the inert Waypoint a little distance away. With everything so calm, it almost seemed to emit a frequency. Curious…

The next morning dawned bright. The camp was broken up and the direction was taken towards the other side of the Pool. With the help of Albedo’s flower constructs and creative use of Sucrose’s Anemo skills, they managed to glide to their destination.

“The Nine pillars are on the right, behind that wall.” Demetrios looked at the map. “Meanwhile the route to Pyro Regisvine is directly in front of us.”

“Rare be the day when people come to sightsee one of Liyue’s stationed monsters.” A voice suddenly spoke up from nearby. Sucrose squeaked and hid behind Demetrios and Albedo. The trio looked up and to the side to see a youngster sitting on a ledge about a mid-way up the rock-wall, reading a book. Next to him was another boy of similar age, seemingly scribbling down something while keeping an eye on their surroundings.

“And you might you young gentlemen be?” Albedo asked. The darker blue haired boy who had addressed them before, put his book away with a smile. His companion also looked up and stowed away his supplies.

“I am Xingqiu of Feiyun Commerce Guild. Very pleased to meet you, my liege.” The boy introduced himself and then gestured the other boy. “This is Chongyun, my dear friend hailing from a famous exorcist clan.”

“Xingqiu…” Chongyun flushed.

“We were adventuring ourselves a bit but didn’t except anyone to appear around these parts.” The young master continued.

“I am Demetrios and these are Albedo and Sucrose. And… well, I admit we were sight-seeing but also seeking to challenge the Pyro Regisvine for souvenirs to some younger kids in need of the Seeds.” Demetrios smiled. He then took a note of the Visions – Hydro and Cryo – on the boy’s persons. “Would you like to join us? I could even pay back in Hoarfrost Cores.”

“You wouldn’t need them?” Chongyun gaped. “I mean… I’d be very glad for such gift.”

“We’ll gladly accept.” Xingqui agreed and leaped down from the ledge. A moment later Chongyun followed him. “Sometimes we get friends together to challenge Lady Rhodea of Loch, an Oceanid who resides in Qingce. But until now we have not been permitted to leave Liyue and Chongyun refuses to allow me to pay for his Cores.”

“I want to earn them myself, Xingqiu. Through fight or money or then as payment.”

“Then it’s settled.” Albedo nodded. “Does anyone need to prepare before we go in?”

There was a round of negatives and the quintet headed towards the cave.

The fight itself was short in the end. Demetrios and Sucrose teamed up for Swirl effect which was hard due Pyro’s superiority in order of elements, while Xingqiu and Chongyun demonstrated their flawless teamwork. Albedo remained a passive support and instead took pictures and made sketches.

“The lighting was unique.” The alchemist stated when Demetrios was kneeling before the felled Regisvine and digging into the root core. Elbow deep again. This happened a bit too often. A proper déjà vu.

He came away with three whole Everflame Seeds, 4000 mora, two Agate chunks and some artifacts.

“And as agreed…” While depositing the loot into his storage space, Demetrios extracted three Hoarfrost Cores. “The same number of cores that we received here.”

The young scholar dropped those to gobsmacked Chongyun’s palm. Xingqiu chuckled at the interaction.

“Such generosity, sir Demetrios. Quite the rare sight in these parts.” The boy said slyly. Demetrios was not sure how to interpret that look.

“Truly.” He instead stated drily. “We had planned on taking a look at the Pillars next and maybe after a rest take on the Regisvine once more before heading towards Harbour.”

“May we join you, good sir? It would be interesting to share thoughts with visitors willing to explore the wilderness.”

“I don’t mind.”

“I’m fine with it as well.” Albedo agreed.

“Yes, I-I have many questions as well.” Sucrose nodded rapidly.

“Then it’s settled.” Xingqiu smiled. “Oh, but let’s get poor Chongyun out of this heat. It does not do good for his constitution though the results usually are entertaining.”

The boy led his friend towards the end of the cave. Demetrios couldn’t help but shake his head in amusement as they set to follow the pair.

“Imp…”

They climbed on top of the cliff to overlook towards the Cuijue Slope. But before going down, they stopped to have a moment to eat and rest.

“I could write so many papers from this.” Demetrios muttered as the food was cooking on the fire. “And even more if I got someone as a guide to explain the base history and meanings. The only problem would be in ensuring that my essays would be different enough since I’m sure that Liyue’s own scholars have already written about the topic.”

“You are from Sumeru Akademiya then?” Xingqiu asked. “Forgive me for saying this but… you don’t seem to be wearing the robes of their travelling scholars. Your coat is actually more reminiscent of Snezhnayan fashion.”

Demetrios did not make an expression indicating disgust or satisfaction. “I’m loosely attached by this point. Technically I’m a Driyosh but… I don’t really like people knowing on sight what I do for work or where my allegiance lies.”

“We actually work for the Knights of Favonius.” Albedo explained. “And this is a vacation of sorts for us.”

“So a scholar and…?” Chongyun looked at the two Mondstadters up and down, trying to figure out their exact role in the organization.

“Alchemists. I’m the Chief Alchemist while Sucrose is my assistant.”

From there the conversation flowed and ideas were exchanged. At some point Albedo began showing Xingqiu just what he had drawn thus far during the journey and Sucrose began asking Chongyun questions over his exorcist techniques and pondering if Alchemy could aid the boy with his affliction. Demetrios joined the conversations when needed but mostly his thoughts strayed to the letter, he’d received just a bit before they left Dragonspine.

Tartaglia was in Liyue. The Harbinger had arrived about a year ago and began working at Northland Bank and according to Yelan was quite forceful debt collector. No outward direct links to Fatui business but he was regularly seen in the company of the Consultant of Wangsheng Funeral Parlor who in turn was quite recent arrival himself.

“Zhongli-laoshi is very respected individual though no one seems to know where he comes from. He is well-liked and highly educated, which makes his association with the Harbinger more suspect.” She had written and then added. “If you are to come to Harbour, take care to conduct yourself clearly so no misunderstandings will occur.”

Her warning was concerning and Demetrios could only hope that nothing bad would happen the next day when they’d finally arrive to the trading hub of the world and the capital of Mora.

Chapter Text

Before the beginning of then

There used to be bigger boys who liked heckling younger kids. They lurked on the road to school and then ambushed someone and began pushing them around then eventually having them end up in the ditch. Clothes could be torn, contents of school bag spread around. No one did anything about them.

Let boys be boys, was the sentiment.

That particular year Ivan had begun walking on his own to school and back, leaving Anya behind. He wanted to be independent and hang with his friends and thus not have younger kids hang behind him. It was ‘embarrassing’, despite the route behind the exact same for them all. And if it hadn’t been for those boys, it would’ve been fine. The route was familiar and walked through many times.

And the boys took Anya as target. Anya who was sweet but not that strong. Anya whose pain tolerance was very low. Anya whose family could not afford keep replacing her supplies.

Dimitri was recently seven that year and had started school as well. Anya was nine and Ivan eleven. Ajax was still five and remembered when Anya one afternoon came home with hair mussed and tear tracks on her cheeks. When mother began fussing, she confessed being ambushed by the boys on the way home. The boys had known Ivan would not be around to protect her.

Ajax remembered how Dimitri had looked up from his own homework that he’d begun working on, since his school day had ended earlier than Anya’s. The boy’s eyes had darkened.

“If they come after me, they will do so only once.” He had declared.

No one had thought much of it. Mother had been busy fussing over Anya and watching after Ajax himself. Father was not yet home but when he came home and was told about the situation, he took Ivan aside and told the eldest to stick with Anya from now on. Ajax remembered Ivan agreeing but as soon as father turned his back, the older boy had rolled his eyes in defiance and shut himself into his room.

The next day Dimitri did not come home first. It was Anya. She was completely unharmed.

“Annushka? Where is Mitenka?” Mother asked.

“He is fighting the boys.” Anya answered. “He waited until my day ended and we walked together.”

“But Vanya was meant to walk with you!”

“His friends asked him to go ice skating, Fyodor promised to lend him skates.” Anya shrugged.

“Sasha, go find your father-…”

Ajax was about to get up and get his coat when the front door opened again. It was Dimitri. He was bruised and his nose was bleeding a bit but there was something satisfied in the set of his mouth that was not smiling.

“Mitenka!” Mother rushed to hug him. “Why did you stay fighting? Oh, you’re all hurt…”

“What happened with the other boys?” Ajax asked.

“They are in the ditch.” Dimitri replied, finally smiling. “They won’t be coming after Anya anymore.”

This was an event that Ajax would remember long after. Even when Abyss blurred his memories and Dimitri began taking distance and eventually disappearing from their lives. No matter how people began pointing fingers at Ajax being the troublemaker and going around picking fights, it was Dimitri who’d been the original berserker in their family. It was Dimitri who finished fights decisively.

It was Dimitri that Ajax had looked up to.

It was Dimitri that Tartaglia saw in Liyue Harbour, punching a burly local who with his fellows had tried to gang up on Dimitri and his companions. It was Dimitri whose breath misted as the air around them frosted despite his Cryo Vision and catalyst being in the hands of the green-haired girl.

Dimitri who brought a scent of frost and home to this Harbour.

Now

That eve was wrapped up in examining the Valley of Nine Pillars and then fighting the Pyro Regisvine once more. While in the end both of them were wrapped up quickly, it was agreed that they’d camp by the Waypoint between the two and only the next day make their way towards the Harbour.

So the five of them settled to sleep. Now that Demetrios looked at the Waypoints again, there was something strange about the energy that they were emitting. It repelled monsters. Demetrios could remember from playing the game that only disturbance he ever experienced when Teleporting was that one boar ramming into his avatar right afterwards by the teleport in Dihua Marsh. Not even Seirai or Tsurumi had enemies attacking his avatar immediately.

Anyhow, it allowed for them all to sleep peacefully through the night and wake up refreshed next morning. While breaking up the camp, Demetrios shuffled through everything collected thus far and made sure everything had its place.

“I don’t remember packing this much…” He muttered. “And we’re only getting even more stuff once we hit the Harbour.”

“Do you have a list of things you are going to buy or will you go by intuition?” Albedo asked.

“I have a list of people to buy for.”

“Are you searching for something specific then?” Xingqiu joined the conversation.

“Aside from souvenirs, good quality paper and ink in bulk.” Albedo replied. “Our research is conducted either in laboratories or then outdoors. In the past year, we’ve been up in Dragonspine.”

“All sorts of conditions are possible depending on the combination of elements.” Demetrios sighed.

“I see. Chongyun also has to use speciality paper for his talismans and wards. Both for durability and for conducting spiritual energy.” The young master realized. “I assume you have no need for the latter though?”

“No, we do not work with spiritual energy. There is enough trouble with elemental energy and scrambled ley lines.” Albedo nodded and didn’t mention how Demetrios appeared to have straightened those out at least for his own perusal.

“I’m sure I can help you to find an appropriate shop then.”

“That would be appreciated.”

The journey southwards was not without its troubles but fortunately the quintet made it without any bigger scrapes. Demetrios struck a conversation with Chongyun this time about different Cryo techniques. Sucrose continued taking photographs from the sights while Albedo and Xingqiu continued their topic from the previous day. Demetrios heard something about ‘giving the draft for reading’ but didn’t have enough context as to what it was about. Xingqiu liked to write? Didn’t he have an awful handwriting according to his story quest? So awful that the servant Xu could use that as a proof of identity?

They passed the Statue of Seven, they’d been fooling around two days ago. Thankfully, it didn’t seem like anyone was recognizing them. Considering how busy route it was, the only people staying still were the inn and restaurant owners. And they were already swamped by the late breakfast/early lunch crowd.

“Oh, there it is!” Sucrose hurried to the edge of the cliff to admire the view opening there. Glistening sea and the Harbour itself shining under the sun.

“Amazing how different everything looks from here. Even the sea is warm and inviting compared to what we see of it at the mountain.” Demetrios pondered. “And in Mondstadt the sea is mellow but not exactly inviting.”

“Climate sets the mood. In Mondstadt the winds curl warmly inlands that everything else feels uninviting.” Albedo theorized. “Liyue has sea part of their city as it was built specifically as a harbour and not have one simply added to an existing city.”

“The City of Mondstadt is in the middle of a lake… isolated with only one direction to approach from. Easily defendable.”

“And in the meanwhile, Rex Lapis built this city for his people with the mountains and adepti backing the one side while the sea monsters and ocean gods were defeated by our lord himself.” Xingqiu added proudly. “Thus freeing the seas for our fleet to traverse and control.”

“In trade and in war.” Demetrios nodded. “Though I suppose the latter doesn’t matter that much these days anymore.” He added to take the edge off his darker thoughts.

“Quite true, my liege.” The boy nodded. “Now, did you have a place in mind for lunch? Would you like Li cuisine or Yue delicacies? Or something lighter enjoyed while listening to a storyteller?”

“Something not too fancy.” Sucrose mused. “Easy to eat and understand from the list what we are eating.”

“No distinct focus on either Liyuen cooking style.” Demetrios clarified. “And both Liuli Pavillion and Xinyue Kiosk are too expensive and overappreciated when it comes to food. People go there to make business and show off their status, not enjoy good food.”

“Ah, you’ve talked with Xiangling.”

“I visited Wanmin a couple of times when I last was in the Harbour. I heard plenty of her opinions when it was slow moment in the restaurant.” It was in Wanmin he’d overheard a conversation about the fatui goods and began following the smugglers. Only to run into Yelan-xiaojie tracking other smugglers of the same party and then deciding to join forces. Afterwards, he’d left immediately afterwards. Now that he really thought about it… Had he even paid for his last meal there given his hurry to follow after the smugglers? He hoped that wouldn’t warrant a ban from Wanmin and a bill having gained interest…

Demetrios needn’t had to worry. As soon as he tried to bring the matter up with Xiangling, the girl waved it off, her father chuckling on the background.

“Oh, Yelan-jie came over afterwards to explain the situation. So when your brother came to Liyue, I simply chopped the bill into his different visits with Zhongli-xiansheng. It has already been paid in full.” The girl explained cheerily, much to Demetrios’ exasperation.

“Demetrios has a brother?!” Sucrose yelped. That didn’t really help the situation either. He looked up, skywards, and let out a deep sigh.

“Is our resemblance really that obvious?”

“Yes.” Xiangling, chef Mao, Xingqiu and Chongyun answered.

“Let’s… let’s just order. And talk at the table.”

The spread ordered and then delivered to the tables was magnificent. Variety was great and quality as well. The different layers of flavours came forth delicately, supporting each other. Some dishes were same than what the trio had ordered at that inn previously but Wanmin beat that place easily when it came to quality and taste. Even the presentation was excellent.

But naturally with the calm, came also the storm. Well, that was an exaggeration but Demetrios really rather not talk about this topic.

“You have a brother then.” Albedo stated, rather than asked.

“Yes… Four brothers and two sisters actually… Unless there was another sibling born in the past five years… But the one here in Liyue is the one of most concern.” Demetrios stabbed the dumpling on his plate rather viciously, before sighing, extracting the poor noodle bundle from the chopstick and then picking it up normally. He dipped it in the soy-garlic-scallion sauce and the popped it in his mouth. “I do not know the name is goes by right now but I do know he attained the rank of Harbinger some time when I was studying in Sumeru. I’d left home years before that and cut contact with mother before leaving for Sumeru so my sources have not been that frequent or reliable since.”

He decided against informing his companions and any potential eavesdroppers that he was still in contact with Yelan.

“But you were not surprised to hear he was here.” Xingqiu noticed.

“He is Fatui. His work may take him anywhere in the world. And out of all of my siblings, he is closest to me in age thus any resemblance is quite strong no matter how much I may wish otherwise.” Was he being too dismissive? Maybe. But his feelings over Ajax/Aleksei/Sasha were complicated at best. His stint in Abyss broke their family. Something in that also woke that change in Demetrios/Dimitri/Mitenka. Their parents separately sent them away and the rest of the children suffered from it. Demetrios was a runaway, a scholar, a part-tree with allegiances to no-one and no land. Ajax was a beloved brother, a soldier, a harbinger with allegiances to Tsaritsa of Everwinter land.

They were… as separate and different as they could be. Even if their paths had led them to the same city.

“It is probably for everyone’s benefit that we remain apart.”

He could tell his companions disagreed with him but… per Liyuen tradition, the two boys didn’t voice their thoughts as family matters remained within the family and as Demetrios was older than them, there was no room for them to reprimand him to ‘respecting elders’ (he was older than Ajax too!) and remembering his ‘filial duty’ (what was there to remember when the connection had dwindled before he finally cut it). Albedo in the other hand didn’t feel had right to speak as his only family was Klee and that was through adoption. And Sucrose sensed he was uncomfortable with the topic and didn’t push it further.

The conversation then thankfully turned to lighter topics and Xingqiu and Chongyun began telling about various Liyuen festivals to them, with Xiangling chiming in when she had the chance amidst food preparation.

From Wanmin, their tour guides led them to the main plaza that housed market stalls, a crafting table, pool and another restaurant – Third Round-Knockout – which was located across Wanmin. And then there was that strange rock. Chihu Rock, after which the area had been named.

“Some of the souvenir shops are located here. The quality is varying though.”

“Across the bridge is the road back to Feiyun Slope where you can find the fancier gifts. Jewellery, hairpins, decoration pieces and furniture.”

“Down by the docks are the foreign merchants and also mixture of everyday stuff – like vases – but also strange things – like antique and artifact selling.”

“Wanwen Bookhouse is to the upper floors of city. It’s… quite close to Northland Bank which is where the Fatui are unofficially stationed.”

“Should we split up?” Demetrios asked. “Or are we going to wander as one mob?”

“I’d like to go to the bookstore first.” Sucrose offered.

“I’d like to inspect the paper choices. Demetrios knows if there are some books that could interest me.” Albedo nodded.

“Oh, I do?”

“Yes.”

“Why not have Chongyun to show the specialist paper and painting supply store, while I escort Sucrose and Demetrios to Wanwen?” Xingqiu suggested and then addressed Albedo directly. “I’ll go then fetch the… manuscript.”

“That sounds acceptable.” Albedo agreed. “Let’s meet around here in an hour.”

Regardless of the life, the world or the language, bookstores were the most dangerous places for one’s wallet. Especially when the shelves were full of books with pertinent topics in regards history and research that happened to interest certain people.

As proven when Demetrios watched Sucrose continue piling the books in her arms.

“Do you need help?”

“Oh, not at all! I’ll just get these to the counter.” The green-haired girl informed him.

“Can you really pay for them all?”

“Of course! I’ve been saving a lot during the years for the chance to finally get to Liyue. The way they’ve recorded their history, art, culture and sciences is really exact!”

Demetrios couldn’t help but wonder if Rex Lapis would disagree with that notion. It was 3600 years of history after all. And that was only counting from the establishment of Liyue Harbour.

“Are you not buying much then?” Sucrose asked and looked at the few books Demetrios had in his hands.

“I’ve already bought some when I was last here.” He replied evenly. “I’m mainly looking for books for Albedo… and ones that won’t coincide with the ones you are buying since I’m sure you’ll end up leaving the books all over the laboratory.”

Purchases eventually made and Xingqiu off to fetch that… manuscript, Demetrios and Sucrose headed back to the street level of the city. There was a lot to see even if they weren’t going to purchase anything else from this part of the city.

“There are a lot of things with the imagery of the Geo Archon.” Demetrios noted, side-eyeing a hair pin with dangling bronze ornaments shaped like scales of dragon.

“Probably because the previous Rite of Descension was just a two months ago. The Rite itself is more important to the Liyueans but it does attract a lot of foreign visitors as well.” Sucrose guessed.

“Because of the novelty.” Had the Rite really been that recently? Would the next Rite then be the one from Chapter I: Farewell, Archic Lord?

They attracted attention from the onlookers but not more than any other tourist.

Or so Demetrios thought.

They arrived back to Chihu Rock’s market square at the main plaza and began perusing the souvenir stalls. Picking gifts was easy if they were unexpected and thus there could not be high expectations. That being said, Demetrios would not be getting any trash of otherwise of lower quality.

“I wonder if Mona would like this…” He mused while observing a star chart with had constellations of Liyuen astrology painted on them. The detail of the zodiac was impressive as was the brush technique but due the fact that divining from personal constellations was more common, people didn’t pay attention to the star chart depicting the wider world. The only ones who really cared for the non-personal constellations, were the sailor and those who divined the change of seasons from them. It was more common in Liyue compared to the rest of the world but even here, the chart had found its place to a tourist stall, to be a quirk of the region rather than considered factual representation.

“Looking for a gift to a sibling?” The merchant asked. Demetrios looked up in surprise. And the man’s kindly smile, the youth averted his gaze in thought.

“I… suppose she could be considered one. She is an astrologist that I helped out once.” Understatement of the year.

“What do you think we could find for Klee?” Sucrose pondered.

“Something flashy, cute… non-explosive. We don’t need to feed her destructiveness at all.” Demetrios deadpanned while paying for the chart.

“If I may take a suggestion, why not take a look at granny Shan’s stall? She has many items suited for kids. Toys and not alike.” The merchant told them.

“Huh, we could indeed.” Demetrios looked over his shoulder to the direction indicated. There was an old lady with a cart and table, laden with toys, paper umbrellas and kites. “Klee would probably like a kite. And the winds in Mondstadt are often favourable enough for flying one.”

“And maybe that would distract her from going to fish blasting.” Sucrose suggested. Demetrios was nodding as he received the rolled-up chart in cardboard travelling tube.

“Maybe.” He agreed. “Thank you for the suggestion, sir.”

“You are welcome.”

This led to going to the granny’s cart and starting to compare the kites to each other and which Klee would like the most.

“It probably should look like a Dodoco for the best reception.”

“Small and fluffy then.”

“Or then something to do with Pyro… Because dodoco isn’t exactly kite shaped.”

“You could also try for a custom kite.” Granny Shan joined in with kindly smile which held shrewd business sense behind.

“Ah, I don’t know if we are here long enough for it to be ready.” Demetrios smiled back. He didn’t want to bleed his wallet dry for one kite no matter how pretty it would be.

“If we go with pyro and fire interpretation… why not pick a phoenix kite then?” Sucrose pointed out. “There is even one readymade.”

“That… has merit.”

Haggling was pain. Demetrios had learnt it, thankfully. Allow the merchant first give a price and then offer half of that. Then offer and counter offer until an agreement was reached, all the while trying to get a sense how much the opponent truly wanted to be paid while trying to give a fair impression on yourself.

“You are much more sensible than your brother.” Granny Shan stated while taking apart the kite and packing it into a rectangular box. “He really thinks getting the best for his siblings and is ready to pay full price for it. While endearing, doesn’t really give smart impression on him.”

“…I’m not surprised to hear that.” Demetrios replied idly while counting the money owed.

“Not getting anything for your siblings then?”

“I’m sure Aleksei is spoiling them enough even for my behalf.” He replied while accepting the box and then tucking it away in the Vision space as well.

“Oh, the Fatui scum lurking still here?” Came a nasally voice from behind them suddenly. Demetrios slowly turned around while Sucrose settled to stand at his back, ready to protect Granny Shan and her wares.

“Excuse me?” He asked frostily from the group of seven… thugs. They didn’t seem like Treasure hoarders but they could also be dressed down. They weren’t Fatui either. Not even undercover ones trying to stir trouble. Accent was wrong and so was majority of their facial features. While there were some no Liyuean look on the men’s faces it was natural and boiling down to migration between countries and were they still mainly native.

“No, this looks a new one, shixiong.” A slighter thug told the frontman. Shixiong… Martial older brother. Male senpai really.

Were they from martial schools located outside of the city? Some of them had swords and one a spear. Two were barehanded but had more bulk.

“New one or not, they have no business in this city, the Jewel of Liyue!”

“You are really being bothersome.” Demetrios sighed. Where were the Millileth when they were needed? No wait… He flicked to the elemental sight for a moment. There, glowing faintly of Hydro, was a thin string surrounding the entire plaza. And the few Millileths that had been patrolling nearby previously, were neatly standing behind it, blocking the exits.

“Are you making me do your dirty work, Yelan-xiaojie?”

The martial practices continued insulting him and accusing him of being part of the Fatui. If Demetrios hadn’t just heard the past few days comments from his friends about his coat and then resemblance to his brother, he probably would’ve been madder but…

“And here he is, just casually standing with a cicin mage!”

What?

“Not prancing around in your skimpy suit, girlie?”

Okay, that’s it.

“Sucrose, hold these.”

“W-What?!” Sucrose, still stunned by the sudden accusation and then Demetrios’ usage of her full name, hastily accepted his Cryo Vision and then Frostbearer.

“I fought the Regisvine twice yesterday and it was a nice warm up…” Demetrios began as he walked towards the thugs. “But it has been a while since I’ve fought barehanded…”

The air went cold. The few spots that had moisture, had frost creeping over in the entire plaza. Everyone’s breath misted.

“You are acceptable punchingbags.”

Tartaglia was wrapping up his day at Northland bank and preparing to meet up with the certain consultant for dinner (date). As it was, last papers had been shuffled to their correct outboxes for Ekaterina to collect and he was in the process of stretching stiffness out of his limbs. Paper pushing really was not for him but his position meant that he had to file all of his own reports rather than trusting a superior to do it for him with only hie personal observations added to it. He was the superior who had to collect reports and compile them into more concise ones in addition to the ones he had to make for his own missions.

Thankfully, everything of the week was done now and he could clock out of Northland. Duty as Harbinger never ceased though, even when other responsibilities took a break. It was a lifelong commitment with around-the-clock call.

“Anything interesting going on, Vlad?” He asked when descending stairs to the main body of the back. Given the late hour, most customer meetings had been wrapped up as well and the back was slowly preparing to close. Vlad, the door guard was holding the door to let the last customers leave.

“Felix reported strange whispers about a possible strange Fatui in Liyue. No one of us has managed to confirm a sighting but his attire was described to be expensive and of definite Snezhnayan style.” The man replied.

“I have not received any information of reinforcement being sent to any of our operations.” Tartaglia frowned. Not to his own, not to Dottore’s projects or whatever Signora was doing. Not even general forces to scour the ruins. And distinctive attire would denote higher rank than a regular troop.

“How was he identified as Fatui?”

“He wore a mask. At first one of Felix’s informants mistook him for you, Lord Harbinger, from distance but realized his mistake soon enough… the length of hair was wrong.”

“I’m pretty unique for anyone to be mistaken for me.” Tartaglia huffed.

“Indeed, sir.”

“Oh well… Thank you for telling me. See you tomorrow. Keep your ear peeled for more. Same for Felix.”

“Have a good evening with Master Zhongli, sir.”

Tartaglia descended to the street level. And with each step he took, he readjusted. By the time the stairs were at the end, it was Childe who stepped on the tiled street and greeted vendors with smile while heading towards the Wangsheng Funeral Parlour.

But as he approached the parlour that was right before the bridge crossing to the other half of Liyue Harbour, he could hear the sounds of… a fight.

The young man stopped, torn between the desire to go and see what was going on, and the previous engagement that he had waiting for him just ten meters to the right. He should’ve made the decision quickly. To either direction. But there was a taste in the air that was familiar. The bite of frost which Childe had not experienced since he had boarded the ship bound to Liyue.

Thankfully, Childe did not need to wrestle with the decision for long, as a gloved elegant hand touched gently his forearm and drew his attention to his companion who’d appeared by his side in that moment of indecision.

“Xiansheng…” He only said. The other man inclined his head regally towards the commotion.

“Come, I’m curious as well.” And the consultant took the lead, the long tails of his coat flapping in the wind as Childe followed after him.

A faint shimmer of Hydro string was keeping uninvolved parties out as a sole combatant punched and dodged among seven men. Well, four by now. Three others were out cold with their weapons discarded on the ground. The spear lying there was even kicked in half.

But that wasn’t what captured Childe’s – Ajax’s – attention.

It was the long strawberry blonde hair that trailed after the combatant. (There seemed to be darker parts now, like the colour shifting in a sunsettia.)

It was the white coat that flared around him and which was decorated with butterflies. (The pale butterfly in the tapestry at their home among all the other constellations of the children. Yet being lost between the fox and the narwhal. Everyone else knew it was there. Only Teucer thought it being just part of the forest background.)

It was the half of the face that was not covered by the mask that bore resemblance to his own. (It was the raw yet rare anger on the face and in the movements that only appeared in defence on someone dear.)

“Mit’ka…”

One by one the other thugs were downed. Dimitri straightened up and took a deep breath, tension bleeding away and then not even looking like he had gotten winded.

“I got your targets down for you, ready for picking up.” The older red-head spoke towards a gap between stalls of Chen the Sharp and Dongsheng.

The hydro string shifted and then wrapped around the thugs, tying them up. The Millelith approached then and with short nods towards Dimitri, took the perperators (targets?) away.

“You owe me, xiaojie!” Dimitri told the person at the stalls and Childe could just barely see a nod before a shadow disappeared from there. A green-haired girl them approached him and gave him a vision and catalyst. Demetrios deftly attached the Cryo Vision to the strap around his right thigh while the catalyst vanished. Childe’s mind was buzzing with questions…

Dimitri was alive? And he had a Vision? Yet he didn’t use it actively? What was this frost trick? Just how strong was he?

“Childe…” Zhongli murmured. “Are you alright?”

“I… I don’t know.”

He was aware of the functions at the plaza returning to normal and two young men (Or boys? They looked quite young) approaching Dimitri. The other was native to Liyue but the blond one Childe didn’t recognize.

“Demetrios…” The blond man frowned which… what?

Someone rushed past Childe and Zhongli. Ah, Feiyun Commerce Guild’s second son. He came to stop by Dimitri as well, bending over to catch breath.

“Apologies, my liege… It took longer than I thought to find the manuscript.”

“That’s alright Xingqiu…” Demetrios was turning around to address the boy, but then his gaze strayed towards the bridge…

Blue met blue. One void of light entirely. One having half obscured by mask and hair.

“Mit’ka… How…”

“…” The coldness skyrocketed suddenly and Dimitri leaped towards and over the alchemy stall at the edge of the plaza, directly before the drop down the waterfall that’d lead to the sea.

“Demetrios!” His companions yelled after him.

“Oh, no you don’t!” Childe growled, suddenly woken from his stupor as he rushed after his brother.

He was owed answers.

Chapter Text

Still back then

“Do you want it?”

Ajax tore his gaze from the display of wooden swords and toy bows. There were other wooden toys as well but swords were the latest big thing among the kids of their class.

Dimitri was looking at the younger boy patiently, waiting for the answer.

“Nah, they don’t even look that cool.” Ajax muttered despite the swords looking very nice actually. The pale wood had been sanded carefully, making it very smooth. Yuri on their class had polished his own wooden sword with cloth until it shone.

“Okay.” Dimitri shrugged and they continued their way home. He didn’t bring the topic up once there and on further trips past the stall, didn’t mention even though Ajax’s eyes always lingered on the swords.

He just kept disappearing in the evenings for an hour or two after finishing homework.

A week later Ajax got his answer when Dimitri presented him with a brand-new wooden sword. One that he’d made himself. He’d been disappearing to the woodshed where father kept all his tools. The two pieces of wood had been whittled to have rounded edges, making it easier and more comfortable to fit in hand. The blade part had been moulded to look sharp but with the point of the sword cut away so it wouldn’t hurt anyone. The two parts had pieces chiselled away so they’d fit snuggly together with a nail going through. And then one of Anya’s practice pieces in tablet weaving had been used to tie it all together, hiding the nail and making it look prettier.

“It is amazing! Thank you so much!” Ajax marvelled the gift. It looked even better than the ones on the stall. The blade edge even had curve in it instead of a straight line!

“You really looked like you wanted one, Sasha. And why buy something when you can make one for free.” Dimitri shrugged, like it was no big deal. He liked making things, though he preferred learning more. Be it learning crafts or knowledge, both interested him. And especially during the three years when he had no school, he’d often hide in father’s shed, making things or then sit on the couch near mother and Anya’s sewing supplies, trying to embroider this or that.

After Dimitri disappeared, Ajax would every time when vising home, return to look at those creations. The fishing pole from rowan, the little whistles from willow, attempts at kitchen utensils a discarded and unfinished panflute… Little handkerchiefs with initials or nature motifs, a sketch for elaborate butterfly embroidery meant for a pillow case… The only true proofs that Dimitri had existed since their house had no photographs or paintings.

Now

Childe reached Dimitri in a flash. Judging by the direction his brother was heading with the help of frozen water, he was aiming for the sea or at the very least the dock markets. Childe summoned a wave and sent it to curve and block the way. Dimitri skid to the stop and turned around. His face appeared impassive but there was tension around his mouth and twitch near his eye.

“You’re alive.” Childe breathed in lieu of anything else. Dimitri tilted his head.

“So are you.” Came the almost confused reply. “I don’t understand why that is a surprise.”

“You disappeared! One day you were just gone! And I never heard anything of you! Even when I visited home no one talked about you! I thought you were dead!”

This time Dimitri openly frowned and Childe could almost anticipate the question coming next. And thus he cut it short when Dimitri began to speak again. Because that question would hurt. It was valid but it also hurt.

“Why-…” would you care?

“Because you are my brother! You were the one I always looked up to! We were closest in age, we shared everything!”

The room, the toys, the clothes, the chores. Always together, Dimitri always looked after Ajax even though he was only two years older. Even that fateful day they’d been together until deciding to split up to cover more ground to get the firewood quicker and then go to back home.

And then Ajax fell.

And then they were never together again, with Ajax out of the house, picking fights to expend the energy and jitteriness and get a grip on hypervigilance. With Dimitri fading to background more and more until one day he was gone. Ajax was sent on with the Fatui only days later and never heard Dimitri mentioned again until Pulcinella had asked him.

In Childe’s momentarily distraction, Demetrios attempted to slip away again but this time the Harbinger dashed forward himself and yanked the older boy from the back of his jacket, tossing him away from the junction leading to the market docks.

But it ended with Dimitri having an open way under the other bridge and towards the shipyard. Dimitri seemed to realize that as well, when the water froze over under his feet upon landing. The paler red-head didn’t attempt to flee to that direction though, a calculating look assessing Childe.

He wouldn’t get anywhere until ensuring Childe wouldn’t stop him.

Like from mutual signal, the brothers clashed in the middle. Cryo met Hydro, a punch was redirected, a low sweep jumped over. Exchange of blows began with the combatants occasionally taking distance for long range attacks. When it came to elements, Dimitri had the advantage. Cryo beat Hydro and also he controlled the foothold. Meanwhile Childe had greater body strength, physical weaponry if required and long experience of constant fights.

Dimitri was focused and silent, refusing to answer any questions that Childe threw at him.

Where had he been? Why did he leave? Would he come back? Where was he now? When did he get his Vision?

There were so many questions. And no answers given.

Eventually, Childe managed to slip past the Cryo butterflies and close enough to grab the lapels of Dimitri’s jacket and slam his brother against the ice below them. Dimitri let out a grunt and the half mask he wore was knocked loose.

The marks. His eye… Childe was stunned speechless but his grip didn’t waver.

“Mit’ka… what is this?”

“None of your business.” Dimitri gritted out, one hand blindly reaching for the mask. The ice platform under them began to slowly shrink but he didn’t seem to care about that.

“We’re gonna sink soon.” Childe stated instead. Yes, he could hold himself up with the help of Hydro but that wasn't the point.

“And wouldn’t that be advantageous for you?” Dimitri glared back, giving up on finding the mask and instead slammed his fist against the water. The water froze, spreading across the entire area and climbing up the rocky walls of the canyon and the wooden beams of the bridges. All in a matter of seconds. His other hand slammed against Childe’s chest and under it bloomed a Cryo butterfly.

Which turned red and exploded, throwing Childe off from Dimitri and sending him skidding to the opposite end of the icy enclosure. Childe righted himself soon but remained crouched as Dimitri got on his feet and summoned his catalyst to spin above him palm. He looked… tired. Not physically but in a sense that he wanted to be anywhere but here.

“I left for a reason, Sasha.” And oh, when was the last time that name was used on him. He had begun insisting on Ajax when he was ten and everyone except mother and Dimitri had obliged. After the Abyss, even mother shifted to use Ajax. “And I stopped replying to mother’s letters so anything I did, would not be connected to them.”

“But why?” Childe hated how weak and pathetic that sounded.

“I simply couldn’t stand the idea of living under the rule of Everwinter Queen with her enforcers and underlings crawling everywhere. I am beholden to no god and no authority.” The Catalyst spun quicker and there were now threads of Cryo being spun around it as well. But before whatever attack or technique could be unleashed, two people dropped down onto the ice.

“Childe… Are you alright?” Zhongli laid a hand on the Harbinger’s shoulder. And by Dimitri, the blond young man was standing, his hand hovering over the catalyst.

“Demetrios, don’t do something you’ll regret.”

“…Why must you be so reasonable?”

“One of us must be when emotions overwhelm the other.”

The Cryo dissipated and the Catalyst disappeared again.

“Let’s change the venue.” Zhongli spoke. “For your privacy. And for the structural integrity of the Harbour.”

Dimitri gave a… strange look over his friend’s shoulder but nodded then.

“The constant usage of Hydro and Cryo is not good for stone structures. Especially considering Liyue’s temperate climate, the building of the city originally wouldn’t have taken mechanical erosion into account.” Uh, what?

“With the help of Xingqiu and Chongyun, I utilized the Crystallization reaction to prevent onlookers hearing your conversation thus far.” The friend was telling Dimitri while handing the fallen mask back to him. Dimitri affixed it back onto his face and then looked up which made Childe to look up as well. There were indeed people on the bridges and on the edges of the canyon. But spread along the top of the canyon was shimmering shield in shades of blue.

“Ah, the sound muffler we use against avalanches.” Dimitri nodded.

“Childe and I had originally reservation at Liuli Pavillion. Their private rooms would offer a chance for you to hash out… a preliminary understanding.” Zhongli suggested then to the pair. Childe could see interest and calculation in those Cor Lapis coloured eyes. He wondered what the consultant saw.

“We’re glad to take the offer.” Dimitri’s friend smiled.

The two Geo users dragged their respective red-heads out of the canyon and were joined by the rest of Dimitri’s companions. The two Liyuen boys were quickly pacified about the situation and with a promise to meet the next day, the pair left home. The green-haired girl was harder to appease, with the way she trembled in concern and anger yet could hardly get words out of her mouth.

But eventually they headed back for Feiyun slope and the restaurant reservation waiting for them.

And on the way…

“Do you want that?” Childe asked Dimitri who had stopped to look at the stall located near a jewellery store. There was various leftover Rex Lapis merchandise on the stall but the piece Dimitri was staring at, was the sole plush toy situated on the side – almost forgotten.

“No. I’m fine.” The other looked away immediately. “It’s unnecessary.”

“It looks to be of good quality.” Huggable size, soft fabric, actual fur for the collar and tail fluff. Expert tailoring and good likeness despite the softened shape made with the intention to endear it to the children.

“I don’t care.”

“…” This was almost too familiar. Dimitri never wanted for himself anything, especially if he could do himself something similar. They had shared everything as children and most of those things had been hand-me-downs from Ivan or even Anya. Which then later went to Tonia and Anton. The only thing Dimitri had as solely his own, had been a plush rabbit that mother had made him. But when he was nine and Tonia had been born, he’d given it to her.

What little Childe knew now of what Dimitri had let slip… When he left, taking with him probably only what he could carry. One bag, maybe two, a pouch of money to not starve in new country. He wrote to mother until cutting contact but… how did he live once that money had run out? Where did he get more Mora? How much he had to curb his own desires in order to survive? And even when he got extra money that was not necessary to direct for staying alive, it surely would’ve then gone towards clothes and other essentials.

He would’ve never asked mother for money, prioritizing the majority of their family. Teucer was a baby, the kids were still in school… Ivan would eventually marry, Anya as well. There was no room for Dimitri even if Ajax wasn’t living at home anymore.

“Are you sure? You only bought three books earlier?” The green-haired girl – Sucrose, she had introduced herself – asked Dimitri.

“Yes.”

“And two of those books were the ones master Albedo asked for.”

“I’ve had a bit of additional expenses lately.” Dimitri gave a weighty look which made the girl blink in realization.

“Oh… Sorry, Demetrios.”

Well, while Dimitri was distracted, Childe approached the stall.

“Hello, I was looking at this plushy dragon here. Is it really the only one left?” He greeted the seller.

“Yes, we had decided to try a bit new direction of goods to appeal children and locals, instead of only tourists buying novelty goods with Rex Lapis imagery. The locals consider our merchandise a bit… blasphemous given how much we use our Lord’s likeness. Even though our items are much better quality than those at Chihu Rock Plaza!”

“I see. And with Yuheng’s declaration at the Rite of Descension, people are hesitant to buy the… trinkets.” Childe was nodding.

“We had sold decently these plushies prior to the Rite but the general consensus is that the shape and profile it has, doesn’t fit the image Rex Lapis represents.”

“I’ll take it off your hands then.” Childe smiled. “How much?”

“Sasha, don’t!” Ah, Dimitri clued onto him.

“Too late, Mit’ka. I’ve been buying things for our siblings at home. Let this be my first gift to you as well.”

“Let him, Demetrios.” Dimitri’s friend – Albedo – beseeched. “It’s his own choice.”

“But…”

(Demetrios’ issue with this was two-fold. While the Rex Lapdragon was indeed very tempting to buy, he still remembered how the version of it in Before World had cost 120$ plus the shipping on top of that. He dreaded to think this one’s price and thus was already resigned not to get it. The other issue was perceived charity in the form of Fatui money. If it was something less personal like the accidental meal bill, he could handle putting it in Fatui tab, like this future dinner was to be as well. But a direct gift from Ajax? That was a no. He didn’t need any ties or reminders to his family. He wasn’t part of it anymore. He was building a new one. He didn’t want any information of himself travelling back to Snezhnaya. Even in the form of a receipt.)

The plush was pushed into Dimitri’s arms and he instantly hugged it, burying his face to the neck ruff.

“No takebacks.” Childe stated. “Consider it a late birthday present or something if it makes it easier.”

“…Spasibo.”

With that settled, the course was set again towards Liuli Pavillion. Dimitri kept petting the fur of the plushy.

“Are you going to name it?” Sucrose asked him. “While it shares likeness to Rex Lapis, it is now yours, right? The context is removed.”

“I’ll think about it.” Dimitri replied. He didn’t seem embarrassed over toting around a big plushy instead of hiding it in the Vision-space. If anything, he was taking comfort from it. “Maybe Longli. Long for dragon and Li… well, either the li from Liyue or then from Guili. I’m not very imaginative person.”

Liar.

“By the way, what was that mechanical erosion thing you were talking about earlier?” Childe decided to ask then. Dimitri was opening up to talk. It may not be about personal things, those could wait until Pavillion, but at least it was something to talk about and hear him explain. Childe liked listening to people. Even if the topics didn’t interest him, hearing people talk was… a way to connect with normal life that was denied from him otherwise.

The look Dimitri gave him was absolutely withering.

“It is a way stones wear during the years. Softer stones such as sandstone or limestone faster than harder quality ones like granite. There are two main categories, mechanical and chemical. Into the mechanical erosion is counted the affect of water, ice, wind or some such thing that shapes the scenery. For example, in Sumerian desert the rocks have been shaped by sandstorms, giving them rounded shape with a bit of horizontal stripy pattern. The case here what I was talking about though is when water freezes, it expands. And if water gets into cracks in stone, freezes there, those cracks expand as well. Imagine that happening many times and each time water melts, there is more room for more water, thus when it freezes again, those cracks expand further again.”

“But as Liyue’s climate does not have freezing temperatures, this was not something needed to be considered at the time of construction.” Zhongli joined in. “While it was doubtful your fight could negatively impact the structural stability of the Harbour considering the phenomenon you described takes years to take root. The blunt force of your fight however could’ve affected the bridge supports from their very base.”

“That’s true.” Dimitri agreed and as they finally reached the Liuli Pavilion, moved the dragon plush into the Vision-space.

The food was delicious as always and the Pavillion staff didn’t much as blink when it was a party of five instead of two. Idle chitchat was had. A bit awkward but not too bad.

“Demetrios, do you want us to leave when you have your conversation?” Albedo asked when dessert was being served.

“…” Dimitri sighed. “I don’t really mind. There are no big secrets really. Might just be a bit awkward for you to listen to our family drama.”

“I don’t care if xiansheng remains. And since I’m not divulging any Fatui secrets, it doesn’t matter if your companions are present as well.” Childe shrugged.

“I have however one condition for this talk.” Dimitri pointed out. “Do not tell anyone about meeting me. Not in any report to Cryo Archon or rest of the Fatui organization. Not even in your letters home. I do not wish to be traceable.”

“I can agree to that. But do you think you can trust my word?” They were different now, grown apart and near strangers to each other. There were traces of familiarity but would they be enough with differing allegiances and ideals?

“I do not require a contract, just a promise.” And Dimitri held up his pinky with a melancholic smile.

“I promise to look after you. It will be just a quick trip!”

“Alright.” Childe – Ajax – reached across the table to link their pinkies together. It was nostalgic. They didn’t use to make those promises often, only for the most significant things. Like that winter night collecting firewood. It had already been dark (or still been dark, the sun barely rose in the dead of winter) but they’d gone anyways. Dimitri made the promise. Dimitri failed to keep that promise. But it had been Ajax who’d suggested them to split up so they’d get home faster. It was Ajax that made Dimitri break the promise.

“You make a pinkie promise, you keep it all your life. You break a pinkie promise, I throw you on the ice. The cold will kill the pinkie that once betrayed your friend, the frost will freeze your tongue off so you never lie again.” Dimitri recited smoothly.

“That was creepy.” Sucrose shuddered.

“It is very telling of the environment they grew up in.” Albedo corrected.

“This is… a common children’s rhyme, is it not?” Zhongli asked.

“Yes. I don’t know how much the kids in the cities use this but at least in small villages this is pretty common.”

“Now where to start…” Demetrios pondered aloud. “You were fourteen and I was sixteen. You disappeared in the forest. I looked for you, found the animal tracks but in the darkness looking for you alone was impossible. It was snowing so the tracks had mostly been lost but I took comfort from the fact there was no blood anywhere. I ran home and alerted everyone. They roused the entire village to help in search…”

“I returned after three days for you, three months for me.” Ajax continued. “You’d changed.”

“Not as much as you.”

“Between us two, you used to be the brawler and then you just… faded.”

“And you liked to cling to others. Little duckling tottering after father to ice fish, or mother in helping with younger kids or with me anywhen else. And then you came back and began fighting everyone like your life depended on it. I admit I was frightened by the change. But I was more frightened what it would mean for our family. The Fatui were sniffing everywhere and… I suppose that was when it really came to me how oppressive Tsaritsa’s rule was even when she was not enforcing anything actively.”

“You left.”

“I left. Took one of Ivan’s recommendation letters and in the early morning boarded old man Jakov’s boat that was heading to sell ice in Fontaine. And… I got in school, I studied… I sent letters home…” Something in Dimitri’s voice broke. “And whenever mother wrote back, she never with a single word indicated that anyone else in the family knew about the letters.”

Ajax was speechless. How could mother do that? He knew that Teucer didn’t know about Dimitri’s existence at all but this far he’d assumed it was because everyone had mourned Dimitri and didn’t bear to bring in up again. And thus he hadn’t either.

“When I graduated, I changed my name and decided to head for Sumeru for further studies. But with no solid address or timeline to give, I told mother not to send letters anymore. It’d be easier for us all, especially if I ended up doing something that could get the family in trouble. Got my Vision around that time, too… and eventually I ended up meeting you again.” Dimitri shrugged.

That cut a major part of the explanation, but Ajax was not on the mood to start demanding it and neither appeared Dimitri willing to elaborate more.

“Sumeru huh… You became a proper scholar then. Never would’ve thought.”

“And I never would’ve thought you’d become an adrenaline junkie with little else going on in your brain.” Dimitri shot right back. “Your reputation reaches far and wide, Vanguard Tartaglia.”

That… might’ve stung a bit. While Ajax might’ve risen in ranks quickly and gained recognition from Tsaritsa and glad join achieving her vision of the future, he’d also hoped to get approval from his family. Father was angry and hateful, watching with keen eye that Ajax would not corrupt the other children. Mother was wary, apologetic and struggling in keeping peace. Ivan and Anya were barely present anymore and if meeting, treated Ajax like stranger, unsure still how to interact with this person who wore their little brother’s face. The little kids were wonderful and steeped in ignorance. Tonia remembered most, Anton knew some but didn’t really care and Teucer was carefully kept in the dark about everything Ajax did. Dimitri… There had been no expectations on how Dimitri would treat him, because Ajax had indeed thought the other was dead all these years. But maybe in his fantasies he’d hoped for acceptance, that Dimitri would approach him on his own still considered him brother.

“… If you are so disdainful of the Fatui, what’s up with that coat and mask?” The mask of Childe was pulled back on. “I had some of my underlings reporting of a strange fatui in the wilds simply because of those two.”

Not simply, since there was also the resemblance in play. But they were both more than aware of that.

“Oh… The coat was a loot from a operation I assisted with last time I was in Liyue. Xiaojie and I ended up tracking the same smugglers and it turned out it was the Regrator’s operation.” Dimitri smiled slyly. “There might’ve been a confrontation of sorts but the goods were confiscated. And among them was this coat the Ninth Harbinger apparently meant as a gift for Tsaritsa. Xiaojie considered the coat itself tacky but the fur of such fine quality that it didn’t deserve to be delivered to Cryo Archon’s hands. So she took the fur and I took the outer layer that I had then modified. It suits me quite well, doesn’t it?”

What.

Chapter Text

Then

The year changed. Students graduated and new ones enrolled.

“Why such a sour face? Aren’t you glad that senior Kaveh graduated so you don’t need to see him again?” Demetrios teased al-Haitham.

“Graduated yes. Doesn’t mean that the beloved senior Kaveh of Kshahrewar left anywhere.” Came the disgruntled answer.

“Ah, he got an official position then and will remain as guest lecturer for his Darshan while doing the architecture commissions?”

“If anyone even bothers listening to him while fawning over his looks or reputation.”

“Are you worried about him? The courageous Light of Kshahrewar?”

“Silence!” Demetrios dodged the swing of the rolled-up paper baton with a grin.

“By the way, what are you planning on to do in future?” The auburn-haired boy asked. “This will be your last year, right?”

“There has been talks of the Scribe retiring in a few years. I intend to join the mahamata and wait until the time comes for the spot to be open.” The dual-coloured eyes of jade and rust flicked lazily back to the book.

“Ah, a clear career path planned then.” Demetrios smiled. “You realize that means you’ll remain with the Akademiya as well and within proximity to senior Kaveh.”

“Unfortunately.”

“I don’t know if I should pity you or him more.”

“And how about you? Do you have plans yet?” al-Haitham interrupted, intentionally ignoring the last statement.

“Not much.” Demetrios shrugged. “I study, I explore Sumeru, I’ll graduate… and then leave this place behind.”

“You don’t have interest in gaining position here then?”

“Absolutely not. The rules and atmosphere are stifling.” Demetrios sighed. “I appreciate the lectures and the wisdom our Sage grants us and I find House of Daena useful…”

“But?” It didn’t seem like al-Haitham didn’t know what Demetrios was thinking, just wanted a verbal confirmation. The boy looked around to check there were no eavesdroppers and then with another sigh, leant forward.

“Akademiya is stagnant. It is very difficult to research anything new. And if something new is discovered, it is very common to dismiss it as a hoax if it does not align with previously discovered information. I rather get as far as possible and find something to devote my time to in another nation.”

“Will you to remain as a driyosh then?”

“Maybe. Or then I start independent venture without needing to contribute to Akademiya. They are quite inwardly focused, lacking sight to expand horizons to what other nations have to offer.”

A week later, Demetrios met someone he’d been expecting yet had not had any timeline for. Recent arrival Lisa Minci of Spantamad Darshan. The one hailed as the best student in two centuries and graduating in two years before hightailing out of the place. For now, still full of wonder and spirit to do her best in her studies.

“Don’t rely on the Akasha too much, and especially do not sleep with it on.” Demetrios whispered to her when passing her on the corridor. Distantly, he heard her asking her fellow students who he was. And the answer addressing him as an eccentric favouring the company of others like him.

Of course, that advise only led to Lisa tracking him down later on and becoming a studying companion to him. Which was just as well since al-Haitham was increasingly busy that year with him preparing his graduation thesis and picking yet another language to study.

Ridiculous man. But Demetrios was one as well, wasn’t he? The eccentric and the lunatic… And the romantic.

Now

“I… what?” Childe was blinking at the sudden declaration. “You’re wearing the coat meant for Tsarista?”

“Yes. Of course, as it was originally, it wouldn’t have fit my frame properly so I had the cut modified and my butterflies embroidered on. Xiaojie recommended the tailor and footed the bill as a thanks before sending me on my way.” Demetrios shrugged. The only reason Yelan had offered was because without his Cryo capabilities, it would’ve been much more difficult to detail all of the smuggler group. It had been that grand of an operation.

“I don’t know what to think.” The younger ginger muttered.

“Well, don’t think about it then. It’s not like you need to report this to anyone. Or are allowed to because of the promise you made.”

“Ah… That’s true.” Childe sighed. In relief or in resignation, it was hard to tell. The young Harbinger seemed to perk up then. “How about you tell us about your journey in Liyue then? Have you had fun? Seen sights? Had good fights?”

“I don’t see any problems with that.” Good thing he didn’t try to ask again about the marks under the mask. It was something Demetrios was at this point of time even more reluctant to divulge than anything else he did in the intervening years.

“Oh, I have pictures!” Sucrose took out an envelope into which she’d stored the polaroid type photographs. The occupants of the table moved the dishes out of the way for her to spread the photos on the table. “I took quite the few since beginning of our journey.”

“You didn’t come from the Stone Gate then?” Zhongli pointed out the notable lack of Wangshu Inn in the pictures aside the ones taken form the direction of Guili Plains.

“No. As our camp is in the Dragonspine, we came straight from there and thus crossed past Mingyun Village.” Albedo explained as he helped to arrange to photos into a resemblance of a timeline.

“You’ve been around then?” Childe observed. “Even I haven’t seen all these places and I’ve been in Liyue for a year already.”

“So, you haven’t tried to solo fight the Pyro Regisvine? Should be easy for you given your elemental affinity.” Demetrios hummed.

“No. I heard of it but haven’t tried it yet. The advantage could make the fight too easy. I’ve entertained myself with ruin machines and geovishaps.”

“You could try it. I’m sure there is also people here in Liyue with Pyro Vision who’d be glad to get materials, especially if they don’t have time or opportunity to go fight it themselves.” Like Xiangling and Xinyan. Yanfei used Primo geovishap’s cores. “We went to fight it mainly to get a change from the Cryo Regisvine and to get materials to some kids at Mondstadt.”

“Everyone except Klee.” Sucrose nodded sagely.

“Everyone except Klee.” Demetrios agreed.

“Maybe once she matures more.” Albedo sighed.

“Wh-What is this?” Came a sudden question from the other side of the table. The rest of them looked over to see Zhongli looking at… a series of five photographs.

Ah…

“Oh my, I had forgotten about those!” Sucrose hid her face behind her hands.

“Why are you the one embarrassed? I’m the one posing in them.” Demetrios frowned at the green-haired girl.

“But I took them and even though it was a jest I didn’t think anyone but us would see them and mr. Zhongli appears so respected individual what if he reports to Qixing and then they’ll complain to grandmaster Varka and–…”

“Sucrose, breathe.” Albedo commanded, putting hands on the poor girl’s shoulders and cutting of her tirade.

“He doesn’t appear disapproving.” Demetrios pointed out.

Indeed, it was hard to look disapproving if you looked like you were carved from stone and there was no one home.

Those five photographs featured Demetrios indeed up by the statue of Morax. The first one was simple, just him standing next to the throne. The second one had him sitting on the armrest on the right of the Geo Archon’s likeness, The third one had Demetrios shifting to the left side and basically sit on the statue’s lap. And the final one was the kiss. Because of the stone hood of the statue, it was hard to tell though whether it was on the cheek or on the lips. But the fifth one had Sucrose using the zoom option of the Kamera and capturing the cheek kiss.

“We were immediately chased away by the locals. Frankly, I’m surprised any rumours didn’t reach here since that is the closest Statue of Seven to the Harbour.” Demetrios shrugged.

“What is it?” Childe leant over to see the photos. And then he looked up at Demetrios with scandalized face. “Mit’ka!”

“What? Are you against my tastes? I know it was just a statue but the Geo Archon does have great looks.”

“No, not that! Just… why? Why are you doing stuff like this?”

“Because I can?” Demetrios frowned. “I don’t understand this line of questioning. It was just a kiss. On a statue. Not on the lips and not even my first kiss in the case that’s what you are panicking about. Yeah, maybe it was a bit blasphemous but… at most it is your reputation that is hurt.”

That made the younger ginger freeze. Maybe literally. And Zhongli twitch out of his petrification. Now would be a good time to break out the marriage chopsticks.

“Honestly, you are making a bit deal out of nothing.” The young scholar sighed and stood up to reach over the table to pluck the incriminating photographs of the said Geo Archon’s hands. Oh, was the man flushed a bit? How adorable.

“You were waxing poetic of his assets.” Albedo provided helpfully. “And talked how he hit several points of your ideal type.”

“True. And it was you who dared me to kiss him.”

“You obliged pretty quickly.”

“Please stop…” Sucrose moaned. She really didn’t want to be here listening their passive aggressive quipping which was not flirting. Except it very much was.

“Ahem…” Zhongli delicately coughed to his fist. “How was the rest of your trip then?”

The conversation was the successfully turned back to the trip itself and eventually Childe joined in as well, chiming in with questions. No further drama occurred and once the dinner was wrapped up, they separated on their own ways.

“How long will you be staying in Liyue?” Childe asked.

“A few days maybe…” Demetrios shrugged. “There was no timeline really but the research doesn’t’ wait.”

“Okay… We can then meet some other day before you leave?”

“Sure. I can try sending letters once we are back in Mondstadt. But don’t expect anything frequent.”

The trio from Mondstadt settled in their hotel room. It was a fairly large one with the main area separate in three for private sleeping spaces. Demetrios was reminded of apartementos style hotel rooms.

“Are you happy?” Albedo asked once everything was put aside and they were sitting on the couch. “That you reconnected with your younger brother I mean.”

“…Yeah. I was not ready for it. But I think I never would’ve been out of my own choice.” Demetrios sighed and lifted his feet up. The alchemist pulled them over his lap, letting Demetrios’ toes poke at Sucrose’s hip. “These sofas are not designed for tall people.”

“They are not designed for lounging around.” Sucrose corrected.

“Liyuens expect propriety.” Albedo agreed. “The height is appropriate for serving tea on that table and the width allows for three people to sit side by side.”

“I… really can’t bother to be all proper.” Demetrios muttered. “Not after the day we had.”

“The day you had.” The two alchemists said in unison. The pale ginger grimaced.

“That was creepy.”

“Are you meeting up with your xiaojie soon?” Albedo asked then. Scary how perceptive he was.

“Tomorrow. She might want information and confirmation now but she is busy wrapping up that false martial school case or whatever it was that she used me for a bait.”

“Tomorrow then.” Sucrose nodded. “We don’t need to wait for you to slip out of window like a teenager meeting their beloved that their parents disapprove.”

“Please don’t take a parental role on me, Sucré.” Demetrios shuddered. He really didn’t want that. And Albedo even less.

“So… who was your first kiss?” Came the question then from his companion.

“Wouldn’t you like to know?”

The next morning dawned bright and early but the trio instead decided to sleep in. Except for Albedo who rose at his usual time and took the opportunity of lazy morning to read through the manuscript Xingqiu had provided. By the time Demetrios and Sucrose finally woke up, the alchemist was jotting down notes for the aspiring author about unclear scenes and vocabulary that might confuse common reader less versed with the genre. There were also Sucrose’s photographs spread on the table with especially scenery photos drawn closer for reference as he began sketching.

“Struck by inspiration?” Demetrios yawned.

“I have been commissioned occasionally for promotional posters for Knights of Favonius and festival advertisements as well.” Albedo replied as his pen glided across the page. “There have been a few contests that I’ve taken part in anonymously with decent success.”

“…Wasn’t it your work that won the grand price of last Windblume art contest?” There was no name but the style certainly was familiar.

“Perhaps.” The blond gave an enigmatic yet satisfied smile. Demetrios moved to sit next to him and leant over to see the work.

“Are you thinking on possibly illustrating the young master’s novel then?”

“I’m making a few suggestions… to act as my portfolio. It is up to Xingqiu to accept or not.”

“I wish you luck. He seems like a good friend to have.”

“Thank you, Demetrios.”

The day was spent in leisure and relaxation. There was no hurry anywhere and Demetrios didn’t feel the pressure of hiding anymore. He hadn’t even realized just how tense he’d initially been when arriving to Harbour, simply because he dreaded meeting Childe.

So it was a day spent with culture. Tea houses, storytellers, touring the docks, visiting Wanmin again… just taking in the city really.

There were whisper at the background a bit. The rumours of the fight on the day before making rounds and becoming more unbelievable by the hour.

So when Demetrios sat by himself by a snack stall at the lower docks, watching the sun set between the ships in harbour, he was almost relieved when Yelan sat next to him, a skewer in her hand as well.

“You are such a troublemaker.” The woman stated.

“You don’t know half of the stuff I got into in Sumeru and Mondstadt.” Demetrios deadpanned.

“You’ve gotten stronger. And I don’t only mean your expansive Cryo abilities.” Yelan tilted her head as she assessed him. “Your mentality is surer as well.”

“…” What was there to say? That he got his memories properly aligned and when a huge load off his shoulders in the span of a… month? “I just found my footing in this world.”

“And you are as vague as before.”

“Xiaojie…” Demetrios sighed. “Just ask what you are after.”

“Your brother, the Harbinger.” The skewer was polished but no a drop of sauce lingered on Yelan’s mouth. “I did see the resemblance when he arrived but I just thought it was a matter of being from the same region. Your… performance yesterday dispelled that notion.”

“…I haven’t seen him in years. I didn’t even know just how far he’d risen among the Fatui ranks.”

“One truth, one lie.” She delicately lifted her wrist from which a hydro string extended and wrapped around his own.

Damn.

“Right… I had my sources. But I had not been in contact with him since I left Snezhnaya.” Demetrios amended. “My dislike for Fatui is as strong as it was two years ago.”

“That much I can believe. You wouldn’t be wearing that coat if you didn’t dislike them.” Yelan agreed and then smirked. “It is such a taunt to them.”

“Gongzi was shocked when I explained to him why I was wearing such blatant Snezhnayan design.”

“Ah yes, you were with him and Zhongli-laoshi at Liuli Pavillion.” The sharp green eyes pinned Demetrios in his place. The young man remained steady. While he had things to hide, he had no need to fear Yelan as the things she wanted to know were not things he needed to hide.

“Next thing I know, you are probably asking for my vacation photos.” He joked. “Do I need to start crafting an alibi?”

“Well, I did hear most interesting rumour about certain someone lounging in Geo Archon’s lap.”

The Yuheng would probably get an aneurism.

If someone were blind and were to meet Demetrios and Childe, the first sign they’d get of the relation of the two was their eagerness to fight.

Thus were the thoughts of certain Funeral Parlour consultant when they met by the docks in order to board at boat to Guyun Stone Forest. Apparently Demetrios with his companions had planned in their itinerary taking on Geo Hypostasis. Naturally, Childe had been invited for bonding experience and then the invitation had been extended to Zhongli as well.

“A fellow geo user and someone quite knowledgeable about places all around Liyue.” Albedo had agreed when Demetrios had suggested it. “Do you have a need for the Basalt Pillars? We can split the rewards, like we did with Everflame Seeds when we had assistance from Xingqiu and Chongyun.”

“There is no need. I’m quite content where I am.” In his 6000 years of existence, he’d never had need to use the items gained from defeating the elemental being. His power had come directly from the earth crust and the belief of the people in addition of his own nature as Adepti giving initial source of power. Zhongli did not foresee anything to change once the contract with Tsaritsa was completed. In the end gnosis had been more like a symbol rather than a power up even though it had given a boost as well.

He had taken the offer to join anyways. Partially for company, as he enjoyed Childe’s presence and had had quite the good time with the others on the dinner (the embarrassing photographs aside). The other part was…

Young Demetrios had refused to elaborate to his brother as to what had happened to him. Zhongli had seen the marks on the boy’s face before they were covered with a mask again. But the Geo Archon had also felt the iciness that was deeply rooted in over half of the boy’s body. The power welling in Demetrios was…

Like witnessing a god being born. Still nowhere near full power but with the potential being there, waiting. There were signs that a mortal could explain as a usage of Cryo Vision but were very much not. The numbing cold that radiated from Demetrios when he got angry; didn’t affect the boy at all but made other people sluggish. The ease of rapid large-scale freezing effect with a single gesture but without exerting himself. The flash of red that mirrored the colour of the boy’s marks and left eye.

The way how he read something else than the ground itself when he walked the shores of Guyun and unerringly pointed out places to the Chief Alchemist and his assistant. Childe was listening as well but assuming some prior knowledge on the brother’s part. The Hypostasis Arena, the artifact domain, the shrine, the old and forgotten teleport Waypoints. None of them had a map with them and people who did not know these strands could easily lose direction. Yet Demetrios knew exactly where everything was despite visiting the place for the first time.

“And if we want to, I can make a way directly towards the ruins by Starglow Cavern or then detour via Yaoguang Shoal.” Demetrios was telling Sucrose while pointing towards Dragonspine.

“That’s impossible!” Childe exclaimed.

“No, it’s not.” Demetrios frowned. “We came through Yaoguang to Guili like this. I thought I told you at the dinner.”

“I thought you used the floats by the broken bridge! And even if you didn’t, the distance between Yaoguang and Guili is negligible compared to the stretch of sea from here to Yaoguang.”

Yes, a godling not yet understanding that his own limits were much further than those of normal humans.

Chapter Text

Then

“Lisa, what did you find?! …Lisa!” Demetrios jogged after the girl who was determinedly striding across the expanse of tiled floor in House of Daena. She had arms full of books, all dedicated to the subject she was focusing in her graduation work on.

“Don’t concern yourself with that, Demetrios.” She sighed, laying her books on down on one of the study desks.

“Why? What could possibly be that bad?” He hissed back. With a quick glance around to ensure there were no eavesdroppers and then noting that Lisa did not have her Akasha terminal by her ear. “What could be worse than the Sages’ hubris when the Dendro archon exists in isolation? What is there that surpasses the harvesting of dreams and enforced complacency of the citizens of Sumeru? They revere a god long gone and discard her successor. They discriminate against the people of the sand despite them being of Sumeru as well. This Akademiya feeds on stagnancy and lofty goals that overreach the limits of humanity. What did you find that makes you so scared?”

“…” The brunette stared back at him in silence. She clutched at the Electro Vision she did not have previously. The case was of that of Mondstadt but the gem of it was smaller and more oval than average. “I will not tell you. It will only cost you as well.”

Demetrios… could not remember what was it about Lisa that could cost her. There was some discussion about her lore but when it came to the starter four stars, Kaeya was the target of speculation and fine-toothed combing, rather than her or Amber.

“Fine… But please let me help you.”

“Ara, such a kind senior you are.” Lisa smiled. “I’ll make sure to pay it back.”

“Demetrios… Wake up.” al-Haitham scowled at the sight before him. It had been… a difficult year for the Vahumana student. After al-Haitham had graduated he had been focused on settling among the mahamata but behind his back Demetrios had begun… The ginger had doubled down on studying, taking on courses to study simultanously with the clear intent on graduating as soon as possible. He was not the only one either. Lisa Minci of Spantamad was doing the same and Demetrios was even helping her to graduate early. There had been whispers of the eccentric always hanging around the genius.

And then Lisa graduated and nothing was holding back or distracting Demetrios anymore. He studied and rarely talked with others of Vahumana. Occasionally he interacted with students from other Darshans but those were rare instances. al-Haitham even made time to check on the boy so he didn’t completely burn out but it was nearly as often as needed.

Only half a year after Lisa had left, Demetrios finished his graduation research paper. And immediately following the debate of proving knowledge, he vanished from the Academy grounds to accompany some Amurta student on a field trip.

The group… consisting Demetrios, the Amurta student and a Spantamad student had run into a dancer from Grand Bazaar searching for inspiration some ways north of Sumeru City. And then the quartet had run into a full-fledged Withering Zone.

Said Withering Zone was at the area where Kaveh had been looking at for a place eventually build something. He had plans. But no money or commissioner yet. Anyhow, Kaveh had found the quartet in the direct aftermath of clearing the Withering Zone and promptly dragged them back to Sumeru City with him.

And now al-Haitham found them all collapsed in a pile on the floor of his living room, half-written papers strewn around them. Because Demetrios had the key to al-Haitham’s apartment if he ever wanted to escape the dormitories, they’d appeared here in the aftermath to vent out their observations and experiences and inspirations. Once all the adrenaline ran out, they all had promptly fallen asleep for al-Haitham to find. While the scribe candidate was glad to see the boy still breathing and well, he could’ve done without the additional persons and such a stressful situation landing in his lap.

“Hmmmh…” Demetrios frowned and then turned on his side, curling towards his fellow students. al-Haitham sighed and then turned away. He needed coffee.

He heard bickering and shuffling of papers from the living room. Some whispered apologies and then the front door opening and closing.

“I don’t need watching after.” Demetrios hissed.

“Yes, you do. You are such a reckless junior that someone should be constantly attached to you.” Kaveh retorted.

“Lisa asked me to look after you. She knew you’d do something stupid and dangerous.” Given the context, that was probably the Spantamad student. That meant the person who left earlier was the dancer.

“I did not. And that is not a way for her to pay me back.”

“I found from Kaveh that you only yesterday finished your debate.” That was the Amurta student. “You should’ve been resting and waiting for results like any sensible student after a period of intense studying and preparation-…”

“And how many students actually are sensible enough to do that?” Demetrios cut in.

“Not many. But those go to library or review their own notes in their nervousness. Not go on an expedition and end up fighting a Withering Zone.”

That conversation was eventually resolved without al-Haitham needing to meet any of the other students. Demetrios did join him at the kitchen table and waited for disapproval… which didn’t come.

“Your actions are your responsibility. I can hardly affect them.”

Yet affect al-Haitham did. When Demetrios finally got the confirmation of pulling through with his research and thus graduation as well, Kaveh declared it was time for celebration. al-Haitham was not sure how and when those two became acquaintanted enough for such declaration. Or was this just an excuse for drinking.

Anyhow, the trio ended up in Port Ormos in a rented room and Kaveh cuddling onto Demetrios by the time morning dawned. al-Haitham conveniently ignored how Demetrios was half-lying on his chest.

The grey-haired man watched the pair sharing the bed with him. A set of student robes was discarded at the other end of the room along with two coats and three pairs of shoes. Demetrios looked… strange. So relaxed and finally out of the uniform. The boy had owned other clothing as well but grown out of them during the past years, thus defaulting to mostly using the various layers of the Akademiya uniform. Now out of it, he wore very plain black pants and a thin long-sleeved shirt which had signs of being patched up by the elbows.

“Hmh…” Kaveh nuzzled against the back of Demetrios’ neck and hugged the boy around waist tighter as he slowly woke up. “He is ridiculous, isn’t he?”

“Not as ridiculous as you are.”

“He deserves a graduation gift though. Especially if he is going to start travelling.”

“No need to dance around the issue.” al-Haitham sighed. Maybe he should just go back to sleep. “I was already planning on it.”

“…He won’t return to us, will he?”

“Most likely not. He has been running thus far. I don’t see him stopping anytime soon.”

It was a shame. While al-Haitham and Kaveh were definitely not the most typical or functional couple, they had also been open to have someone to fill the space in between if there was someone compatible. Demetrios had had potential. The younger man had not been ready though. Demetrios never said anything but it had been clear in his actions and words that nothing permanent would be in the horizon at this time. He had been receptive for intimacy in the past and al-Haitham had enjoyed watching his two companions sharing kisses last night.

But all things came to an end eventually.

“We just have to ensure he knows he will be welcome if he ever wants to return.” al-Haitham leant over and after letting his lips brush the pale red locks, he then draped an arm over the two and drew them closer.

Now

The hypostasis had been beaten for the first time.

“Shall we check out the domain on the main island?” Demetrios asked.

“You want to go another round with the hypostasis once it has reassembled?” Albedo asked. Natural conclusion, given that with the Pyro Regisvine they’d taken a break at the other side of the wall before taking it on again.

“Why not? It only gave one Basalt Pillar this time.”

“It was quite interesting to fight with a shield.” Sucrose mused. “Noelle rarely ventures out of Mondstadt and I haven’t previously much cared to fight hypostasis and other such creatures of elemental affinities.”

“You only then fight those that just happen to be on your way?” Childe asked the girl.

“W-Well, I don’t like seeking fights. If I can avoid them, I do. But sometimes the only way through is past slimes or a hilichurl camp.”

“Sucrose is supportive player, not a frontliner.” Demetrios pointed out.

“Those are useful too.” Childe shrugged and then frowned. “Why do you want to go to the domain?”

“Haven’t you ever been to Domains of Blessing?”

“Uhh… No? I’ve generally not been allowed in any domains in Snezhnaya. It has been the more… scientifically inclined Harbingers with their troops that handle them. I’m just given a shot at picking the artifacts I want.”

“…Let me guess, you have four-piece Wanderer with random Hydro damage goblet.” While Demetrios naturally had no idea what sort of artifacts Snezhnaya would offer, he also knew that unless the Fatui actively had runs in Mondstadt domains, then Childe would not have a chance at Heart of Depth or Noblesse Oblige. And Heart of Depth was locked behind ice with Blizzard Strayer. Hm… Maybe Demetrios could get some of those once the domain was accessible and gift them to Childe.

“How did you know?”

How to explain that?

“Because it is the option requiring the least thought for a bow-user. If you had a melee weapon, I would’ve guessed Gladiator.” Of course, the sets within 3-4 star range were possible too but why go for them if 5 stars were available?

“Do you use artifacts, Mr Zhongli?” Albedo asked the consultant then. The brunet paused his assessment of the hypostasis arena and looked over them.

“There are some that have come into my possession but since my job is more intellectual than physical, I haven’t felt the need to traverse domains.”

“Xiansheng has refused to fight with me even though I know he is proficient with a polearm.” Childe complained.

“Did you run into trouble on some excursion to Liyue’s countryside then?” Demetrios smiled.

“Just some treasure hoarders mistaking us for ordinary travellers.” Zhongli stated. “Have you then often challenged Domains of Blessing?”

“Some.” The paler ginger shrugged. “The domains in Mondstadt are well documented so I know what type of sets they offer but…”

“Demetrios is more interested in the historical aspect of them.” Albedo explained. “The moment when the petrified tree is momentarily revitalized again, and the gifts received, is the moment one can read the story of the person or people they belonged.”

“All of the items have not necessary belonged to anyone either but just round up the set with the story they represent.” Demetrios added.

“So you want to see what stories the artefacts from the Domain of Guyun will tell you?” The Archon of Geo asked the godling.

“Yes. I’m curious whether they will be about the past strictly or will they enlighten the future as well.”

“Enlighten future? Are the ambitions of the people of past so deeply engraved into the artifacts?”

“If person is still alive, there are all possibilities of those ambitions coming true.” Demetrios waved his hand to open the vision space and from the artifact storage extracted the Sands of Eon artifact of the Pale Flame set. A pocket watch with dented lid and…

“That… has the Fatui symbol on it.” Sucrose frowned and then realized. “Ah, is it from Ridge Watch? You did some runs there with the children few months ago.”

“Yes. This set is called the Pale Flame. And if I interpret the stories of the artifacts correctly, they correspond to five of the Fatui Harbingers.” Demetrios explained. “The Flower speaks of a woman given ice to prevent her from burning to ashes. The Feather is of scholar considered heretic but given the name Doctor as the title. The Goblet tells the beginning of a puppet seeking for purpose. And the Circlet is of the Jester devoting himself to her Majesty.”

“And this one?” Albedo asked. “Why did you pick this as an example?”

“I just need to tweak it a little… And it will allow you to hear as well…” Demetrios twirled his finger over the floating pocket watch and… a voice of a man began to speak.

Money is the lifeblood of the world, and the pathways along which it flows are the world's arteries.
Then, the centre of the world is a heart made of gold.

He was not one of the favoured, and could only pursue worldly power.
But though money ought to mean nothing to the gods,
They held it firmly within their grasp nonetheless, along with the countless other forms of power that they wielded.

Perhaps he lusted for money because he had once been destitute,
Or perhaps the fact that the gods had never looked upon him with favour ignited a burning desire for resistance inside him...

“The people of the land from which these coins hail revere contracts above all else.”
“In the name of money, I shall respect the contract between us...”
“We shall, by whatever means necessary, become the heart that pumps money around the world.”
“And, when the moment comes, that heart shall cease beating by our will alone.”

“That’s… That’s Pantalone.” Childe breathed with wide eyes. “It’s…” But the ginger then firmly shut his mouth, lest he blurted out details of his own mission.

“It’s troubling.” Zhongli stated. His face was like made of stone. Not even his eyes betrayed anything. Demetrios could not read the man. Was this something he had accepted when he made the contract with Tsaritsa? The Geo Gnosis was used to mint new Mora and thus provide authenticity and the power that those coins had when doing alchemic reactions, enhancing weapons, artifacts or Visions and talents. Mora was indeed the heart of this world, but in different manner than normal people viewed it as.

“The Fatui are ambitious indeed.” Albedo agreed. “And this artifact proves that even people who are alive can be whispered about in the Ley Lines.”

“So, as a historian and researcher, I want to go through that domain a couple of times. Especially considering how according to maps it is the one closest to Liyue Harbour.”

Unlike with the hypostasis previously, they had better luck within the domain. Only four runs were needed for Demetrios to collect all the artifacts of Archaic Petra, the set telling of Geo Archon’s tales. There was an assortment of other artifacts as well but since Retracing Bolide was of Inazuman lore, that could wait for later.

Childe was holding the Goblet of Chiselled Crag as they at gathered before the closed door of the domain, sheltered by the cavernous rock that surrounded them from almost all sides. The Goblet had Hydro damage status thus allowing him to swap his previous one away. Which he gladly did.

“It is sort of like a souvenir for myself but one that is more useful than some other stuff.” The Eleventh explained. His thoughts however where on the words Demetrios had spoken out loud when receiving the Goblet from the petrified tree. Words that only the other man could hear as he was the one giving resin to the tree.

A vessel for wine carved from immovable rock.
It is said to be filled with the ambrosia of sovereigns.

It behooves basalt to be impregnable, and crystal to shine in its translucence.
Going incognito amongst mortals should be likewise, exquisite in its enjoyments.

Folk legend holds that in order to drink wine,
Rex Lapis brought forth bedrock,
And carved jade and lovely stone into a wine vessel for himself.

Some even say that there were once seven such vessels.

Yes, there were books of the subject as well, wasn’t there? Fictional no doubt but certainly having root in reality. Rex Lapis had always struck Childe as a… practical god. Or maybe that was just his own impression since the warrior god of multiple other domains and titles as well was… Well, sort of reminded Childe of Demetrios as well. A brawler turned towards more intellectual pursuits but only that.

Meanwhile the other four artifacts had been divided between Geo users. Zhongli held the Feather of Jagged Peaks and Mask of Basalt Solitude while Albedo had Flower of Creviced Cliff and Sundial of Endring Jade. Huh, even the names were long and imposing.

“Do you feel left out, Sucré?” Demetrios was asking their remaining companion.

“Not at all! I’m simply writing down all the information you found out.” The green-haired girl waved a dismissive hand.

“How common is it for adventurers… listen to the stories the artifacts contain?” Zhongli asked then, lifting a thoughtful gaze from the plume.

“Not very?” Demetrios shrugged uncertainly. “At least in Mondstadt, the domains are carefully recorded and if the people have heard the stories, those are written down as well but…”

“Adventurers Guild as well as the Knights of Favonius have surplus of items from which people can choose what suits them best.” Albedo took over the explanation once more. “But only Demetrios thus far has been capable of reactivating the story contained within.” Yet another thing discovered during the recover time before Demetrios had returned to Dragonspine.

“And when resin is given to the Petrified Tree, there is only a window of time for the stories to be heard and most people don’t realize it exists, only interested in the loot itself.” Sucrose added.

“I admit I have not taken closer look into the domains and how they function but I assume the Adventurers’ Guild here also stores artifacts and maybe even does trade with the other cities…” Zhongli mused.

“Mit’ka…” Childe spoke up suddenly. “When you showed the pocket watch that… resonated with Pantalone, the voice we heard was his as well… So when you received these artifacts that tell you of Geo Archon’s story, did you hear them in Rex Lapis’ voice?”

Well, the voice had certainly been Zhongli’s so the answer would be yes but…

“I missed the last Rite of Descension so I have no reference point but I assume so.” Demetrios chuckled. “It was a nice voice.”

“We are not going to listen to you vaxing poetic about Geo Archon’s voice, Demetrios!” Sucrose squeaked.

“Okay.” No need to embarrass Zhongli or have him agonize over secrets kept. “What now then?”

“Well, I’m a bit hungry.” Albedo stated. “And the time is such that it would be good time to eat.”

That was quickly agreed to.

The dinner and another hypostasis fight later, the quintet decided to spend the night in the domain cave. It was sheltered from elements, especially after a tent tarp was hung on one side to block the wind. There were multiple reasons for the delay of the Mondstadters leaving. One was that Childe had told the boat man to pick them the next day. The battle crazy Harbinger had obviously planned on taking the sights and opponents of the islands in peace. The other was…

“Crossing the sea at this late would be inadvisable.” Zhongli cautioned them. He was correct. It was getting pretty late already and sea at night could be dangerous, especially when none of them knew the waters or were sailors of any kind and thus capable of reading the signs on the waves or in the wind.

Thus one could say that the brothers got a bit of extra time to spend together.

“You can send letters to the Knights of Favonius Headquarters then. The accumulated letters are delivered to Dragonspine’s adventurer camp from which we check them out.” Demetrios was telling Childe whilst wading in the ankle-deep water by the shore. His boots were discarded by some rocks and the pant legs were rolled up. Childe tried to pretend he was simply picking up some starconches but he couldn’t really tear his eyes off of the red marks in Demetrios’ left leg and especially the… ‘bundle’ at the ankle. But he didn’t ask.

“And what is exactly the name I should use for you, Mit’ka?”

“Demetrios Andrée.”

“That’s…” Childe blinked. “Huh…”

“It is not that far from who I was.” Demetrios kicked the water and then turned around to look at his younger brother. “I… I miss home. I miss being Dimitri. Mit’ka. Mitenka. But I lived years in paranoia over my decision to leave, over the actions mother took to help me leave. And when I decided to change my name, however little it was, it was a huge relief. It was one more step making it harder to track myself. To connect me to our family. It was… when I gained my Vision really. Giving that all up. And afterwards I enjoyed being Demetrios. I made friend in Akademiya even though I knew I would not stay in Sumeru either. I had… relationship too, I suppose, that was never meant to be permanent. I’m Demetrios and I was Dimitri… And I hope I’ll always remain your brother.”

Chapter Text

Then

This was one of Demetrios’ more stupid and reckless ideas. But after the impromptu shopping trip Kaveh dragged him to, maybe some slack could be afforded to him.

“You need new clothes, Demy. Maybe you won’t grow in height anymore but if you insist on continuing to punch things then you’ll certainly get more bulk like this giant.” The architect had declared. The mentioned giant – al-Haitham – had agreed with the sentiment and thus Demetrios had no chance of escaping or otherwise wriggling out of the predicament. He did manage to put a cap on the number of things they were going to buy him.

So what if he could stuff half of the things into the Vision space? Clothes belonged in luggage! And Demetrios had other things to carry with him and thus the Vision space should only be used for things he either didn’t want other people to know about, delicate things, things he didn’t want stolen from him or things he couldn’t physically carry.

He received then some shirts for various purposes, a couple of trousers and bunch of socks and underwear. The last one was met with protest and embarrassment – he didn’t need new ones, especially picked by someone else – but Kaveh was insistent. Thus, Demetrios was ignored again.

“Fine. But you are taking this all back to Sumeru City while I… take a break!”

Demetrios was indeed taking a break. In Devantaka Valley. On top of the Ruin Golem with the help of the Four-Leaf Sigils. Preparing to get the Dendroculus by the Eye and then break into the giant machine. It was good that his Wind Glider was not completely physical but something stored in the vision space and from it deployed. The people without Vision had to use harnesses tailored specifically to them. It was a one sort of deterrent against just anyone getting a glider, especially before getting a license to glide. Something Demetrios had taken care of during his first year in Akademiya.

The Dendroculi were strange. They were concentrated pure elemental energy but they were impossible to see unless you had an elemental sight. And most commonly elemental sight was found on people with Visions or other powers dabbling in elements or Leylines. Despite seeing the oculi though, most people didn’t dare to touch them. Their purpose was unknown to common people. All they knew that they resonated with the power of their Archon… Or in Sumeru’s case it was believed to be Greater Lord Rukkhadevata’s power.

Demetrios knew the oculi could be used to revitalize and rebuild the Statues of Seven and thus possibly help the Leylines they were connected to. Why he wanted this one instead of letting the Traveller collect it when the time came? Simply because he wanted to. And because it was in the way of getting in.

It was half a miracle that Demetrios made it inside the Ruin Golem. He had to find a weak enough gap in the hard outer shell of the machine and then wiggle through the mechanisms powering the eye. The last obstacle was the inner wall with a circular lid meant to be displaced for maintenance work. But that was probably the easiest part of the process since it was designed to be opened.

The inside was fascinating. The shape and design, the systems inside controlling the doors, the elevator… The lighting that was still working. Demetrios felt like he didn’t know what he should focus on. Eagerly, he began sketching and writing down notes. This was quite far from his own darshan’s scope of focus but then again, it was his personal curiosity that had driven him here. Dahri was a fascinating subject to study but carefully watched over. Sages and rest of the scholars might think themselves above common people but even they were wary of things relating to Khaenri’ah. What interested Demetrios was the fact that the Ruin Golem was facing towards Sumeru City thus there was the possibility that whatever had thrown it into the mountain had blasted it back first away from the city. And according to some students who had ventured to the desert with Eremite escorts, there was at least one other golem similarly facing towards the city and stuck in a ravine.

“I wonder if there are two others as well… forming a cross. No, wait…” The young man took out a map of Teyvat that he had been filling with his own observations. Golems were not marked on that one. “They are not at 90-degree angle when looking at their placements from the city. And for there to the four, the last one would need to be in Liyue… But there potentially is a third one in the area of perpetual sandstorm.”

There were places that students were not allowed to. Mainly due dangers. The desert was carefully guarded thusly because of the sand storms. Not that Sages had any problems in sending people in exile to Aaru village or had mahamata observing just what information was taught to common people so no unnecessary ‘dissemination of information’ happened.

“I wonder how many illiterate people there are in Teyvat…” Demetrios muttered. If he remembered correctly that adventurer in Liyue – Lan – could not read. And he had to cut his education short originally due lack of money. How many people in desert bothered to learn due the harsh conditions and Akademiya’s lack of interest in helping them or even considering them part of Sumeru.

The previous life had never gotten into Sumeru in the game. Inazuma had been closed from outsiders and the locals were frankly suspicious of people coming in and basically confined them to Ritou. But the things going in Sumeru… It could be considered a type of racism, right? The desert people were basically considered one whole without caring for actual alliances and allegiances of the different groups and thus aside from Corps of Thirty, looked upon with suspicion. Akademiya restricted them one way or other – Demetrios couldn’t even dream of all the laws and decrees laid against the people of sand. The Wall of Samiel ran along the border of desert and forest, splitting the country – and its people – literally in two. The people of desert that came to Akademiya were very few and even fewer progressed to high positions.

“Disappointment. I think that’s what I’ve been feeling for a long time.” Demetrios mused as he rolled up the map again and was about to get up from the mossy floor plates when something caught his eye on another section of the machine. It appeared to have been a door of sorts which had then broken with time. And behind that door was a piece of notebook paper, tucked between stones. Demetrios got on his feet and approached the place. Once making sure that none of the jagged pieces of the door hit his head, he ducked into the room and picked up the paper.

First thing he noticed about it that it was remarkably younger than the rest of the machine. Someone else had thus been inside in the past… hundred years? The paper looked to be the same type than in Demetrios’ own Akademiya given notebook. The edge by which the page had been ripped, had swallowed some of the words and likewise the outer edge was lacking in text, probably the air and time having eaten it. The contents of the note on the other hand…

“...Collected a lot of components, these spare parts of the huge machine,
if only I could figure out its working principle and manufacturing process...

...Fiddling with these components almost caused a delay in my work.
These exquisite mechanical parts have a unique and ingenious style,
which is not likely to be found in the handcrafted artifacts under the rule of Archons.
I am going to take them apart, and record the size and shape one by one...

...But first of all, this secret must not be revealed to the other team members...”

Interesting. Demetrios couldn’t help but wonder who it was that had written the note and then hidden it here. The why was clearly spelled on the note. Someone was doing unauthorized and unapproved research. Something unrelated to whatever this ‘team’ was looking into that had brought them here. Probably.

Demetrios continued poking around. He didn’t touch the energy blocks or try to open the doors. But there were plenty of rooms already open. From there he found some logs. They were preserved even worse than the note left by the Akademiya student, showing signs to wear a bit all over the paper. According to the context they were from the crew piloting the Golem.

“...The energy cores have stopped working. The cause is an inherent mechanical
design defect that causes the occasional operation overload...

Suggested solution: Due to the lack of spare parts and the difficulty of producing more,
maintenance is incomplete. It can only be operated at full power for a short while.
Shutdown is recommended each time the chronometer completes one rotation...

...The weapons systems have melted down due to overuse...

Suggested solution: Strip destroyed machinery for related parts, then reassemble for use.
Testing indicates that this should basically be able to fulfill the requirements of
high-intensity combat...

... Smart boot system failed, cause unknown. Many components have taken on sand
or have disintegrated. The mobility system has not been completely disabled,
but the ability to walk long distances has been lost...

Suggested solution: This machine was lost in the southern desert. We lack the means
to tow this machine. Thus, it can only standby and await retrieval...”

“Three system failures… Three machines. This one is probably the top one while the one in ravine is the third one…” Demetrios slipped the Log into his Vision space along with the previous note. Then he took a look at the short memos left behind. Hildric, Hadura, Anfortas, Ynghildr… Schwanenritters all of them, meeting their fate on this land. Demetrios couldn’t tell if he felt sympathy for them. Cataclysm was one big mystery. He didn’t know why Khaenri’ah had attacked the nations of Teyvat. He didn’t know if the Archons were right to strike them down at the heart of the nation. He did agree that defending the humans was right and thus dangers to them should be eradicated. Celestia’s role to all that… Even bigger mystery. What were the motives, the causes, the reasons… What exactly happened that had all the Archons bound to silence and the Greater Lord dying?

“I should probably get going though… Go back to Port Ormos before it gets dark. This place is eerily creepy.” He sighed. There was a reason why Demetrios had not previously ventured to Devantaka Valley. The place really gave him creeps and he didn’t want to wander around in the dark. He had found enough. More than he’d dared to hope for.

The ginger went back to the maintenance hatch he’d come from. It was directly opposite to circular mechanism on the other side of the room that he could only assume to be the actual door. But it was towards the mountain so it would be for nothing to try and open it.

Wriggling out was as arduous as it had been to get in. But at least this time Demetrios knew which route to take.

And as he got back outside and began making his way towards Port Ormos, he had already plans forming in regards the Sanctuary of Surasthana.

He had the Dendroculus, could that help him get inside? It being of pure dendro element and all?

Now, with the brother’s letter

“Dear Princess Tonia,

Your loyal Knight writes to you from the land of Geo once more.
The adventures I’ve had have been great and there are many
trophies to show for them. I even had a wonderful opponent
to challenge myself with. A court Mage who brought with him
the frosted winds I’ve missed so…”

Tonia read and reread the letter Ajax had sent home. The souvenirs of this time had been completely forgotten. The boys had taken theirs and after listening the first read through of the letter, had simply shrugged off the mention of the Mage. Ajax always included almost story like descriptions of the people he met on his adventures. Well, missions. Tonia and Anton knew the truth but Anton didn’t grab onto the details of the letters as much as Tonia did.

And this time the letter really captured Tonia’s attention. Because in their make-believe games back when their family had been whole… Ajax had always been her Knight, with Anton being the squire. And whenever Dimitri was not working on a project or other, he was appointed as the Mage. The way he made things was near magical after all.

Had Ajax really met Dimitri or was this just another allusion to someone else capable of filling that role? Ajax did still think Dimitri had died…

Tonia sighed and set the letter aside. Anton and Terenti were playing together with their gifts. She was the eldest child still remaining in this house, the one responsible to looking after the other two. And sometimes it felt so heavy and only Ajax’ letters gave her reprieve.

How had Dimitri and Ajax handled it when they were younger and there were more of them? Or was it easier with lack of looming responsibility and separation that clung to everything in this house?

“Tonia, Tonia, look!” Terenti rushed back to her, showing off the gift he had. Tonia smiled. It was heavy, but protecting this smile made everything worth it.

Now, with the godling

Demetrios wrote down the numerical code the damaged ruin guard spat out. He’d just solved the puzzle in the future hypostasis arena and fought the guards and grader awaiting him below. It had also granted him two new Crimson Agates. But if he wanted more, he needed to start working on getting the Skyfrost nail melted and back together. After achieving that, the Cryo Hypostasis would appear… somehow… and he’d get access to the Peak of Vindagnyr domain. Not to mention finding the rest of Crimson Agates.

The young man sighed from his spot next to the ruin guard remains and looked down on the list of all the codes he’d collected from its fellows. He was pretty sure he had all of them by now but he had no idea how to go about deciphering them. Demetrios had read the process once but it had been such a multistepped one that he hadn’t paid much attention to it in order to just read the message itself. Message which he did not remember and thus had gone through the effort of collecting all the codes.

“Senior Kaveh could probably decipher this… or know someone else in Kshahrewar who knows how to do it.”

It had been a few weeks since Demetrios had returned from Liyue with Albedo and Sucrose. And those weeks since had made him reminisce the time he’d had in Sumeru. He hadn’t… been in contact with anyone from there since leaving. And it would be up to him to make contact since naturally no one there had his current location. Did they even know he’d headed towards Liyue back then? Had he told anyone? Demetrios couldn’t remember. Had he really been that anxious to get going? To run away once more?

“I do miss them as well…” There were many things Demetrios could’ve had if only he’d stayed. And just maybe they would’ve weighted over the disadvantages of being tied to the Akademiya. Sumeru was beautiful and Demetrios surely could’ve found something to research. He could’ve had al-Haitham and Kaveh. He could’ve befriended Tighnari, Cyno and Nilou properly. But in the end, there was one thing that drove him away in the end. When Demetrios had made his plans and headed to Gandharva Ville in order to obscure his next actions, he’d known it would be the final push to either direction. While he wanted to witness the Starfall Traveller’s journey and the story woven around him, he could’ve waited as well. The Traveller’s arrival was hailed with shooting star. He could’ve waited until that star fell across the sky.

Instead Demetrios used the Dendroculus to override the Sancturary’s door mechanism in order to meet with the Lesser Lord Kusanali. And witnessing her state made it clear he could not stay. Not without eventually resorting to drastic actions. If he did not have enough power to break her out and flee, he had no use in staying. It he stayed despite knowing what he did, his regret would just swallow him whole and he could not inflict whatever state that left him in, on his beloveds.

“Oh… I guess I did love them…” Demetrios breathed in realization. Just how deep in denial had he been? Or was it just acknowledging he wouldn’t be able to properly reciprocate and then pushing the feelings away, just determining it was aesthetic attraction? “I hope they found someone else to be with them.”

Would that be too much to hope for though? In the view of outsiders, it was miraculous to even imagine al-Haitham and Kaveh getting along cordially. The verbal fights were all they saw of the two in public. Even Demetrios was slowly eased into the thought of the pair actually being capable of civility and their own kind of kindness to each other. He’d had the advantage of knowing al-Haitham at first and then getting into that barely defined relationship. Demetrios had found out about the romance the scribe-in-training had with the architect. Of the feeling where one couldn’t imagine being with anyone else yet wanting someone else with them, too. And he had met Kaveh in that Withering Zone debacle.

“Months with Haitham… mere weeks then of knowing Kaveh… blissful weeks.” Demetrios ran a hand through his hightail and climbed out of the cave. He began waking north, towards the half-frozen lake. “Knowing them, they probably didn’t try reaching out to anyone else.”

He came upon the lake and a newly erected Fatui Camp. Vanguards, skirmishers, Cicin mages.

“Do you know whose lands you are standing on?” Demetrios asked as he summoned his catalyst.

Time to clean up the front yard.

Time moved on and so did the world. The news came from all the corners of the world. Except for the one. Inazuma had gone into lockdown as ordinated by the Sakoku Decree and Vision Hunt began. Nothing went in or out. Not people, not merchandise.

And in Mondstadt a change was about to happen. The grandmaster Varka was preparing for an expedition with many of the senior knights. Apparently, Mika would join them as well but none of the captains. Demetrios was not entirely certain of the direction of the expedition yet. It was theorized among the game fans that it was to Mare Jivari which presumably was in Natlan’s direction but there was no confirmation on that. And Demetrios, due being an outsider and not a member of the Knights, would not be privy to details either.

One evening when Demetrios was back inside the Mondstadt’s walls, he came upon furious whispering among the city folk. At first, he assumed it was because of approaching Ludi Harpastum but…

“Master Diluc is back in Mondstadt!” Donna giggled to Marjorie. “I saw him with my own eyes at Dawn Winery.”

Diluc…  Was it really that time?

“Oh, yes. I heard there is going to be a celebration at the Ragnvindr Manor.” The shopkeeper replied. And soon enough Margaret of Cat’s Tail joined the gossip circle as well with Eury. Demetrios continued his journey back to the Knights of Favonius Headquarters. He had some reports to drop in with Varka and Mika. And maybe he’d get a clearer look at the timeline. The expedition would leave six months before Stormterror incident. But if Diluc was back now, it’d mean that the events of the manga would happen soon if they were to happen at all. The fact that Dottore would potentially be in the same city… it was enough to make Demetrios nervous.

The young man laid a hand on his chest, against a piece of Cor Lapis that hung from his neck beneath his clothes. It would be alright.

Before return, with the godling and the god

Demetrios sat in the sand, Longli in his lap. With one hand he was toying with the oculi he’d summoned from the Vision space. One from every nation he’d been to, except for the one. Hydro, Dendro, Anemo and now Geo as well… It was late but he had wanted some peace. The emotional confession to Childe combined with the fact he’d been spending the entire time with others… He was all peopled out. The young man banished the oculi with a flick of his wrist back to the storage before burying his face into the fluff of the plushie and just breathed. It was alright. He just needed some time for himself before joining others for the night.

There were soft steps against the sand. Demetrios lifted his head slowly to see Zhongli approaching him slowly. The god seemed concerned and… quite frankly Demetrios was not on the mood to pretend anything.

“Morax.”

“So this is what you look like at your most vulnerable.” The Archon of Geo stated when coming to stop a few feet from the boy. “While not a mask, you still tried your hardest not to worry your brother. I admit your distractions were quite successful in turning attention away from your condition.”

“Was it that obvious?”

“Not obvious unless one knows to look for it. I know of the power covering half of your body and hungering for more. I do not know the history of the mountain that falls under your control now but I can tell that Irminsul has chosen you to be another receptive vessel, just like Buer has been.”

Demetrios tried not to flinch. While he did not know precisely Nahida’s Celestial name, he could surmise from the context that ‘Buer’ just might refer to her.

“You know… I can almost feel the fallen gods raging in their prisons.” Demetrios spoke then, turning his gaze to the sea. “But it doesn’t make me uncomfortable, the opposite actually. They still have strength to rebel and fight. Didn’t give up before even realizing what was happening. Or maybe that was only because of the circumstances. It is different to be sealed as a result of fight lost against another god instead of being taken as a newly born and sealed by humans.”

“Who are you talking about?” Zhongli kneeled in the sand next to the boy. The half-frightened look in the godling’s eyes was concerning. Carefully, the old dragon reached and then removed the mask from the boy’s face. Demetrios allowed it, his hands only clutching onto the plush in his arms.

“Kusanali. The Sages locked her into Rukkhadevata’s meditation chamber after she didn’t live up to their expectations. She never even tried to fight, still fully believing she is not good enough to be the Archon of Sumeru.” He spoke the words demanding damnation upon which Zhongli could not act. Sumeru was the realm of Dendro Archon. To breach the borders, even to save the god of Wisdom herself… it would risk another war. Thusly were the borders of seven nations governed by the Celestia. Unless the Lesser Lord asked for help, there was nothing to be done.

“How did you find out?”

“I broke in. I wanted to know before I left Sumeru just what sort of a god she was. I wanted to talk with her. The entire country still worships Rukkhadevata and act like Kusanali doesn’t exist. The Sabzeruz festival is getting smaller by each year. She just floats inside a bubble of dendro, among looming chains and can only interact with the world outside through dreams of children.”

The boy fell silent. Then…

“I’m scared. I’m becoming something different. I don’t know what that will mean to me. That mountain… is it really mine? Or is it part of Mondstadt? Am I encroaching on Barbatos’ territory? Durin’s remains lay there and his blood has stained the Irminsul Tree I bonded with. But what will that mean to me? And then there are the pieces of Celestial Nail that changed the climate there forever. I… what am I?”

“You are a godling. A growing one. There is not stopping the spread of your power even if the physical marks may not expand anymore.” Zhongli spoke then. He did not know if it would comfort the child but he could tell what he knew. “Unless you become a threat to Mondstadt, Barbatos will not begrudge your presence. He is still asleep but if something dire is to happen, he will awaken once more to help his people.”

“I don’t want to be a threat. But I don’t want to be weak either.”

Ah… It was human nature to seek bettering himself. In the case of Vision bearers, it meant enhancing their Visions through power thresholds and collecting artifacts that best aided them in channelling their power. Despite his fears, Demetrios would not remain stagnant.

“If you want to, I can leave a mark to monitor your growth and location. So that if something happens, I will be aware.”

“Please…”

Zhongli held out his hand and created a simple Cor Lapis pendant with the geo symbol carved upon it. He then pulled the necklace over Demetrios head and his other hand laid an invisible mark at the boy’s nape. Demetrios shivered.

“Keep this pendant preferably against your skin. It forms a connection through your body to this mark and thus observes your growth.”

“Thank you…” And like that tension bled out of Demetrios’ frame and he promptly slumped against Zhongli, asleep. The Geo Archon cradled the godling against him and then stood up with the boy still in his arms.

“Hmm… You better look after him, A’Li.” The dragon spoke to the plush in the boy’s arms. Something glittered in its eyes. Zhongli huffed and then began making their way back to the camp. “Rest soundly, Ipos. I’m sure tomorrow will bring clarity.”

Chapter Text

Chapter Text

Day 1

When Demetrios first stepped through the gates of Mondstadt, it was to meet with sombre atmosphere. Not only was the check-up at the gate quite strict, but even the citizens lacked… the cheer that the city was so famous of. It was almost like the beginning of the game when Stormterror’s winds were clouding the sky and making everything grey and drab.

It took searching out Lisa and asking her to find out what was going on. And in this case the obvious answer was also the simplest one.

The Fatui.

The year previous the Knights had lost one of their most promising recruits in the past twenty years. The reason to that was the death of the boy’s father, a very beloved figure and influential as well around Mondstadt. The Ragnvindrs. Only the foster son of the family was left behind to pick up the pieces but even he no longer resided in the family’s residences but at the barracks of the Knights.

More recently, the same creature that had been the catalyst to the previous incident – Ursa the Drake – had attacked Mondstadt again. It was felled by a visiting diplomat,The Second Harbinger of the Fatui himself, the man called Il Dottore. As a result, Mondstadt was in a Fatui debt and thus the Fatui could twist the arm in negotiation table and gain many benefits and concessions. The Goethe Grand Hotel got permanently reserved for them and all members became untouchable within the walls of Mondstadt. Even recruitment campaigns were launched and people drafted in half-forcibly. No one dared to object publicly. Not even the Knights. Especially not the Knights.

It had made Demetrios think of Nathan in Inazuma. The infiltrator from the Fatui in the ranks of Sangonomiya Resistance that arguably cause the most harm with his actions. He had claimed to be from Mondstadt and at the time of playing and revelation of the traitor, Demetrios had dismissed it as a lie but… Maybe Nathan had been. Maybe he had been recruited from these streets and green hills and truly turned towards the Fatui cause. Maybe he had even lost someone dear to the drake and thus felt gratitude towards Dottore and the rest of his ilk.

Possibility that as well.

And when Demetrios had signed a contract to work alongside the Knights, he had been warned to stay away from the Fatui when things could be tracked to him.

“No worries, Grandmaster Varka. I will not be caught.” Demetrios had solemnly promised and abided by that promise. Especially when he began his research at Dragonspine. He remained away from the politics that the diplomats’ presence in the city caused and silently disposed of the agents dispatched to his mountain. Demetrios hoped that eventually they’d stop sending new troops.

Thus far there had been no change though. But following some of the skirmishers had led Demetrios to an interesting discovery.

Across the lake by the Dawn Winery, deep in the cliffs and some distance west from the Ridge Watch domain was a secret base occupied by the Fatui. From listening the conversation between the people guarding the entrance, the place was called Haeresys – Heresy. It was a research laboratory mainly commandeered over by a ‘master Krupp’ but recently the Second Harbinger had arrived to visit.

“But I hear they are leaving soon, invitation to a party arrived to master.” An anemo boxer stated.

This information Demetrios brought with him to the Knights of Favonius Headquarters. With few discreet questions, he discerned that Varka was absent from the city and had left the captains in charge.

“It is so he will have plausible deniability.” Eula stated as she leant over the map laid across the table. Rosaria was leaning against the wall in a shadowy corner while Demetrios laid a hand against the door and had a faint layer of Cryo spread around the inside surfaces of the room, preventing anyone from listening in.

“Just like both Jean and Kaeya are excluded from this operation.” He agreed.

“They have become the public face of the Knights as of late. Besides Kaeya is invited to the gathering at Ragnvindr Manor along with other key personnel of Mondstadt.” Rosaria scoffed lightly whilst spinning her knife around her finger.

“Return of the Prodigal Son. The entire city is abuzz about it.”

“Which in turn give us the perfect opportunity to raid their base. Our combined information has confirmed the location of the lab, its purpose of experimenting on the kidnapped children and people not missed and that it will have lowered security thanks to this party.” Eula muttered. “Biggest challenge will be taking the hostages into safety since we do to know the numbers of survivors of the condition of them.”

“Or if it comes to a fight, how to ensure their safety in confined conditions.” Rosaria added. “Despite our scouting, the inside of the laboratory remains a mystery.”

Demetrios had a thought. It was a bit risky but there wasn’t really anyone else to suggest for this. They’d already be striking with just the three of them… In his opinion they’d need three more. A healer, a shielder… and someone to wipe out the evidence.

“I’d suggest to take Barbara and Noelle with us.” He spoke up then. As expected, both of the women gave him incredulous stares at him. “Noelle has some of the strongest shields among the entirety of Mondstadt and the crystallization will aid us as well. She is physically strong and has first-aid experience. Barbara on the other hand is most talented healer we had aside from Jean but for obvious reasons we cannot take the Acting Grandmaster with us. Moreover, she can help us get access to the crypt of the church inside which we can hide the rescued hostages for healing.”

“There is a hidden entrance to the church under the cliff this city was built on.” Rosaria admitted reluctantly. “If we arrange for transport, we can cross the Cider Lake instead of walking across the entire city.”

“That would also cut the travelling time and keep us out of sight. The party is after all at the Manor inside the city and not the Winery.” Eula’s eyes trained on the map once more. “How good are you at levitating Cryo constructs?”

“I’ll talk to Noelle, if you ask Barbara.” Demetrios spoke to Rosaria as they descended the stairs to the main floor of the Headquarters. “I heard from Sucrose that Noelle should be running errands around town.”

“You are certain they’ll agree then?” The nun asked.

“They are both very kind and will want to help. Besides…” Demetrios chuckled as they passed a door ajar. “It will be a bit of an adventure.”

Night 1

The raid started smoothly. The guards outside were taken by surprise and frozen still. They moved then inside. Noelle and Barbara accompanied Rosaria to find the hostages while Eula was to be the heavy hitter and Demetrios had the job of gathering all the research and packing it away. Well, it’d be easy to just put it all into his inventory.

On the way, Demetrios kept his eyes and ears open for the final member of their party. The strongest yet most vulnerable one.

There were sounds of fighting and trembled on the floor then an electro hammer charged at him. Demetrios took one look at the accumulating electricity and the blasted the thug against a wall. Superconduct took care of the rest. He didn’t stop to read the papers, only swept them and books and suspicious substances for safekeeping until they’d be back in the city and could take them all apart with Albedo and Lisa. Demetrios was sure they’d be something difficult to stomach and he didn’t want to make this mission harder than necessary. Seeing the state of the victims on the way to this room and on the autopsy table was already bad enough.

Once the studies were emptied, Demetrios made his way back towards the sounds of fighting. It looked like an arena for gladiator fights. There were cages in which human forms were slumped over. Barbara was tending to them while Noelle stood guard. Occasionally either of them would shoot a blast of their element to aid Eula and Rosaria but mostly it was not needed. Especially when the men stationed in the base lacked Pyro gunners, being against Cryo duo. Demetrios jumped into the mix as well, weaving between the attacks exchanged. Eula was graceful even with her claymore, while Rosaria was rough and brutal with her spear, treating it more like a mace. It was an interesting study in contrasts and showcased the very different origins of the two women.

“Big brother Demetrios?” Came then a sudden question that brought everything into a halt.

There, standing in the stair leading down towards the arena was Klee in her red-clad glory.

“What is she doing here?” Eula hissed. “This is no place for children.”

“Klee, isn’t it past your bedtime? Albedo will be worried. And so will Jean.” Demetrios asked the girl and began approaching her.

“I left a message! I heard that big brother Demetrios was going on an adventure so I wanted to come with him!” The elven girl protested. And Demetrios was sure that Rosaria’s eyes were drilling at his back. After all, she had been present when he had referred to the operation as an adventure. Right when they had been walking past the open door of Klee’s room.

“I see. Well, you came just in time then. We were just finishing up here.” Demetrios smiled. And right on cue the ladies took the remaining troops by surprise and laid them cold. “Only thing left is to take the injured home and make sure this place will not be infested again.”

“Victims? People have been hurt?”

“Yes. You see those men in strange clothes? Their bosses are evil and stole people from Mondstadt. The people were hurt here and we came to rescue them.”

The victims were being prepared for transport. Barbara had managed to fix a lot and helped some of the victims to gain strength and ability to walk on their own. The first of the boats to cross the Winery lake was waiting for them.

“We had to beat the strange men because otherwise they wouldn’t have let us help our people.” Demetrios continued.

“But that’s horrible! Why would they stop people from helping?”

“Because they weren’t really human anymore.” It was a cold comfort but by observing the Fatui guards in this base, they were more robots than human. It was probably given considering this was a laboratory for Krupp and Dottore but… well, Demetrios had planned on Klee’s presence but not that she’d be inside this place and seeing the enemies. She was too young to kill actual humans. And Fatui counted no matter what Demetrios thought of them. “But this place needs a bit of blasting so the evil people won’t be able to hide here again.”

Klee was to destroy this place entirely and cause a collapse of the mountain. Bury the evidence and the people who were already beyond saving.

“Take her outside, we’ll handle this.” Rosaria grunted and created a stretcher out of cryo. “No need for her to see this.”

“Noelle and I will weaken the supports for easier collapse.” Eula declared. “But mark my words, you will not be exempt form vengeance, Demetrios.”

“I expected nothing less.” Demetrios gathered Klee onto his arms and hid her face, so she wouldn’t see the victims they’d rescued. The lighting was dim but enough for the girl to see if she came closer. Klee clutched onto his coat, not quite trembling, but upset still. She was a darling. Demetrios climbed up the stairs and out of the base, into the dark nightly air.

“When I blast the place, can we go home?”

“Yes, we can.”

“Will you carry me?”

“All the way back to the city.”

“Promise?”

“I promise and swear, through the stone and the tree stump of a hare. If I go back in my word, then may the troll take me, for that I’ve earned.”

The victims were loaded to the boats and after a bit of deliberation, it was agreed that Demetrios should be taking the more conventional route back to Mondstadt and get Klee back to the Headquarters before someone noticed she was gone. So the other four left to cross the lake. Eula revealed that she had arranged Mika to handle the boats so the boy would be assisting them with next – and also the most trying – part of the mission. Which was good. Demetrios didn’t need to feel guilty over bailing out of the missing in the middle.

So the two guards from the outside of the base were pushed inside and then Demetrios pressed some Crimson Agate shards to Klee’s hand. Those were some of the few things he’d left to the inventory when he’d emptied it in preparation for this raid. Other items had been secrets and research sensitive enough that Demetrios didn’t dare to leave them lying around.

“Make it a big blast, okay.”

“Yes.” The girl nodded with determination as her Vision shone in the light of a threshold passed. She tossed Jumpy Dumpty to bounce into the depths of the enemy lair and then lifted a hand to summon a Nova Burst.

“Sparks’n’Splash!” She declared and let all the bombs go off. The rocks began trembling and from the inside out, the place began collapsing on itself. Klee raised her arms up and Demetrios picked her onto his arms once more.

“Time to go home, Spark Knight.” He stated and began walking towards the opposite shore, the water freezing beneath his feet. On the opposite shore he took a turn to the right while the others had taken the left road. The boats were already gone, perhaps hidden somewhere or then stuffed into someone’s vision space.

The journey back went quickly. At first Klee tended to ask questions but by the time they reached Springvale, she had fallen asleep. Demetrios eased her backpack off and began carrying it himself on one shoulder. No one came upon them and the darkness masked their travel. When streetlamp lit road began, Demetrios ducked past them to the shade of trees. It wasn’t until reaching the crossing the led to the bridge over the Cider Lake, that he stepped back into the light. If anyone were to ask, then he’d say they had a bit of an adventure by the Thousand Winds temple.

Ironically it was only at within the city walls that the problem arose. As Demetrios walked past the city gate and darkened market streets, he could spot Amber walking in the distance. He approached her since that was the direction towards the Knights of Favonius Headquarters, but as he was about to greet her, someone else approached and brushed past her.

Demetrios recognized the man and quickly stepped aside, out of the Harbinger’s way.

Their eyes met over Klee’s hat and though Il Dottore continued walking on, Demetrios was struck with the realization – fuelled by his Liyue visit – that he had been recognized.

“Oh, Demetrios!” Amber called then, having spotted him as she looked over her shoulder at the Harbinger going away. Demetrios shook himself and then with quick strides caught up to the Outrider. “And Klee as well. Did you have an adventure?”

“Yes, I decided to take her out of town since there were many dignitaries present.” Demetrios lied. “She tired herself out quite efficiently.”

“Aww, I can see that.” Amber smiled. “I’ll not be keeping you then. See you tomorrow. Good night!”

“Good night, Amber.”

Klee was put to bed and the note she’d initially left behind for Jean was confiscated.  Demetrios had… regrets. He couldn’t really say he regretted his decision for involve Klee since she was the one with the necessary firepower to cause a ‘natural disaster’. But Demetrios did regret it was necessary to have her witness even a glimpse of the darker side of reality. He could only hope that her youth and ignorance would shield her from true understanding and nightmares.

Demetrios stepped out of the doors and into the crisp night air. As much as he wanted to go to sleep and see if Nahida could find him in his dreams finally, he had still work to do. And a confrontation to prepare for. Demetrios couldn’t say he didn’t see it coming. He might not have been able to imagine the exact consequences to him but he hadn’t blinded himself to the possibility of them. He walked the stone stairs to the next level of the city and headed towards the Cathedral.

The mission was still unfinished and they needed to prepare for possible retribution from the Fatui. Secure the victims and ensure no leads could be connected to the Knights or the Church of Favonius. While Demetrios doubted that Fatui would raid the church… No, scratch that. They stole the Lyre del Himmel from the Crypt simply so the Knights would be hindered in calming Dvalin thus giving the Fatui a reason to ‘help’.

The ploy of slaying non-humans in the name of bringing peace to… ‘disadvantaged’ regions. Once in the past, second try in the up-coming week and third attempt with Dvalin. The Fatui really lacked in tricks, huh?

Though severe matter, such thoughts actually eased Demetrios’ mind, giving a moment of distraction. The next chapter had been opened for this story. He could only hope he’d get through that with more gains than losses.

Then

He still dreamt. And sometimes Nahida was in those dreams as well. The distance strained on them due the restrictions Sanctuary imposed on her. But they could talk still. Demetrios told about books he’d read or people he’d met. The places he’d seen. Nahida asked questions and told him of things children imagined to appear in their dreams. They didn’t talk about Akademiya or Sages or the promise Demetrios had made.

When Demetrios stepped a foot on Dragonspine, the dreams stopped. Whenever he was back in Mondstadt, Nahida would catch him again.

“It is probably the tangled leylines interfering.” Demetrios suggested on night as they said on the edge of the walkway in a simulated Port Ormos. It lacked railings and decorative supports but, in a dream, there was no need to fear falling. “Dragonspine has many unexplainable phenomena going on.”

“You said that there was an Irminsul tree there too?” Nahida asked. Her dangling feet swayed slowly and sometimes she was wiggling her toes against the breeze.

“The original manifestation of it was destroyed by a Celestial Nail but I’m working on reviving it. The remaining roots within the mountain have survived but absorbed the blood of Cataclysmic Dragon.”

“I think… that particular Irminsul might be separated from the rest of the system then. But we cannot know for sure until it is fully revived.”

“And until then it is just another thing to wait for.” Demetrios chuckled.

But then he was tangled with the tree and becoming something else. Couldn’t hear Nahida in his dreams anymore even when he was fixing the leyline connections.

At this rate, he was considering putting on the Akasha terminal, just to enforce the connection and hear his friend once more.

Chapter Text

Day 2

When you were expecting a scolding and ire but it was not delivered immediately, it left one nervous. When the new day dawned and Demetrios woke up after way too little sleep, he expected to be called to the grandmaster’s office for Jean to express her disappointment to him. Or Kaeya appearing behind corner with disconcerting smile. Those two were closest caregivers Klee had after Albedo, so their reactions Demetrios was most wary of. Albedo was still at Dragonspine so in regards him, Demetrios had… time. But it left him anxious enough that he rather departed the Headquarters completely than sit and wait for fallout to drop into his lap.

Instead something else dropped.

Since Demetrios was not an official Knight, he was not part of the procession that escorted the Snezhnayan diplomats out of Mondstadt. Thus he possibly would’ve only heard about the newly dubbed Black Fire incident after the fact… if not having been right there when it happened.

Demetrios had just been loitering at the fruit stalls by the gate when he spotted a familiar face. Well, for a given value of familiar. Demetrios hadn’t really given much thought to Collei thus far. She was a manga character who maybe possibly perhaps could become a playable once the Sumeru chapters rolled around. She would be Amber’s friend and Cyno saved her from the results of the Fatui experiment. But that was pretty much all Demetrios remembered since getting to the last chapters of that manga arc had been… a bit difficult. And in general, Demetrios had not paid much attention to the manga after getting past the game prologue and engaging properly and daily with the lore within the game.

So he definitely had not expected to see her immediately on this day. She was swaying on her feet, barely remaining upright as the knights standing guard at the gate barred her entry. Demetrios didn’t know the pair who were on duty other than they were not Swan and Lawrence. But he quickly approached them immediately upon spotting Collei.

“Psst, dude, this girl looks as though she had the plague!” The knight with sleeker hair ‘whispered’ to his companion. The messy haired knight was hesitating, obviously compassionate towards the girl’s weak state, when the other continued: “I know you’re a nice guy, but we can’t risk having the disease spread across the city!”

“Sorry kid–” The messy haired knight began but Demetrios was quick to cut in.

“What happened to Mondstadt’s famous hospitality? To ‘Welcome to Mondstadt, strange yet respectable traveller. Please state your identity and intended destination. The Knights of Favonius are here to ensure your safety’?” Demetrios was careful not to glare the pair yet. But he couldn’t quite hide his distain. “Wouldn’t this be a violation to the instructions given in the section two of your handbook?”

The two seemed appropriately chastised. But the sleek hair was gearing up for an argument.

“We cannot let just anyone in. Just look at her!”

“That is no plague.” Demetrios countered. Now that he could take a proper look on Collei, he could see faint scale pattern peeking past her bandages. Something the manga had not shown but maybe it had only been properly fleshed out for the Sumeru update then. “It is something people living in Sumeru may get, randomly, because of ley line disturbances. It is not contagious. Instead of hindering her, you should be calling for someone to escort her to the Cathedral so her condition could be eased. Who knows how many places she has gone through and been rejected precisely because of attitudes like yours.”

The rumble of carriage wheels approaching distracted them then, prompting all three of them to move automatically aside.

Demetrios missed the moment Collei activated black fire. She was standing behind him and then suddenly the carriage before him was on fire. Black flames, almost purple in hue, eating away at the wagon and the people inside of it. A giant snake made out of the flames rose from the canvas canopy, drawing everyone’s attention. Everyone was shouting in fright, the horse that had been pulling the carriage bucked in order to get away from the terrifying visage.

“What is that?” There was Jean, somewhere behind the carriage.

“Contain the fire!” Demetrios took a step forward and summoned a wall of ice. It curved from behind him, blocking the gate but leaving a gap on the right, travelling inwards to city within and past the fruit stall.

Giving an entry for Collei.

“Protect the citizens!” Jean was giving command. And sweep of her hand gestured the civilians away. “Everyone, stay back!”

More Cryo and then Anemo joining the fray. The carriage driver scampered away. Kaeya cut the horse free and led it out of the way as Demetrios and Jean worked Swirling and containing the fire into submission. Eventually it did die out. But Demetrios was not sure if it was because of their efforts or the lack of anything else to burn. He couldn’t help but thinking of Fiendfyre… but more intent based. Burning only what the caster had wanted gone from this world.

“There was no Melt reaction.” He spoke up as Jean stepped forward to open the carriage the door. Some billowed out and had her blocking her nose from the smell.

“…And the books are untouched here.” The Acting Grandmaster sighed. “The Diplomats are dead though.”

On the side, Kaeya was holding the horse still. With the flames gone, it was gradually calming down and allowing the Cavalry Captain to give orders for other Knights to clear the scene and prepare for investigation.

“Remove the ice, Demetrios, and leave for a while.” Jean then stated. “We’ll ask for your report later but…”

“Official business and politically sensitive situation. I understand, Jean. By your leave.” He gave a short bow and after vanishing his Cryo wall, headed back towards the upper levels of the city. It was better to stay well away. Both so the Fatui could not claim an outsider tampering with the scene, but also so no civilians would start pestering him for a recount of the events.

He could try searching for Collei but… the girl was pretty skittish. It was better if Amber found her first.

“Definitely not the way I expected this day to begin…”

The investigation to the Black Fire incident began. And around the same time came the information about a collapsed cliff at Mondstadt-Liyue border. That it was another thing that agitated the Fatui.

Demetrios heard nothing of that. He was at the Cathedral’s crypt, assisting Barbara and other nuns with looking after the rescued. He didn’t know much of medicine but he could chnage bandages and keep temperature appropriately cool without causing frostbites.

“M-Mister…” One of the younger patients gasped. “D-Did you find… Anthony?”

“We took everyone who were still alive but we haven’t had the chance yet to see who they all are.” Demetrios answered. “I’m sorry, I don’t know if Anthony is among those who were rescued.”

“They took Anthony to the arena.” The boy then said. Demetrios helped him to sit up a bit and drink some water, to ease his talking. “But he didn’t come back. And then you came. No one who has been taken to arena didn’t come back… but maybe he hadn’t been in the arena yet…”

“I’m sorry.”

Eventually, there wasn’t anything Demetrios could help with anymore without being in the way. Barbara gently ushered him out.

“Go get some sleep. You will need it with the fuss the Snezhnayans are rising.”

“You are also sleeping, right?” Demetrios asked.

“I’ll take a nap in the sacristy. Gotelinde and Edna are on the watch and have promised to send Grace to wake me if I’m needed.”

“Good… Have you talked with the Senechal yet? I hear there were… quite distressing negotiations originally at the Ragnvindr function.”

“When I visited home in the morning, father was still sleeping off his hangover.” Barbara replied with a sigh. “But given that he had fallen asleep with all his clothes on, I assume it was drunkenness out of relief, rather than stress. If he stress-drinks, then at home he tends to strip at least outer layers and leave them all over house before collapsing to bed.”

That was… more than Demetrios needed to know.

“I see…” Because what else he could say to that?

Night 2

It was very late when Demetrios was finally done with his report of the Black Fire Incident. He had largely spent his time at the Church before coming to the Headquarters to give both oral and written account of what happened. So by the time he was free, it was already dark out. Jean sent him off with a tired wave of hand.

“Thank you Demetrios for being prompt with this.”

“You’re welcome. I figured that with the Incident and that cliff collapsing happening at the same time, it would be best to have at least my minimal part out of the way.”

“Yes… Kaeya and Amber are assigned on the Black Fire Incident while Lisa goes through the materials saved from the fire.” Jean nodded absent-mindedly. “I’ve sent a word to Albedo to partake on the investigation into the Cliff. Eula is keeping an eye on the situation for now but Albedo is better equipped to analyse the situation.”

Something cold curled in Demetrios stomach but he smiled anyways.

“That sounds reasonable. I’ll be turning in now. Good night, Jean.”

“Good night, keep an eye out if you happen to see Amber. She failed to report in her direction of investigation after it was found that she didn’t accompany Kaeya.”

“Will do.”

Demetrios closed the office door silently behind him. He glanced at the other closed door at the same wall but turned away then. The cold seemed to gnaw his insides though that was only a psychological reaction. Or was he hungry after all? Demetrios… couldn’t remember if he’d eaten anything after breakfast. But at the same time, he didn’t really feel like eating anything, had completely lost his appetite.

“Maybe… since I’m on a report writing mood, I’ll make a report of that other incident that I can turn in once Varka returns…”

With that resolution, Demetrios headed back to the barracks to spend next hours on going through and analysing everything that happened on the previous night. Replaying everything in his head over and over again, dissecting decisions, second-guessing conclusions, giving a written form to the horrors witnessed.

When he finally put down the pen, Demetrios was mentally drained and just collapsed on his bed. He barely offered a thought when summoning Longli from the Vision space just when the pre-dawn light was peeking past the mountaintops. He curled around it and fell into restless slumber.

A singular moment of Then

Aside from despising the reverence Akasha system received, Demetrios had another reason not to wear the terminal constantly. Reason that only two other people knew. Not that Demetrios was aware of the other one.

During the time between Lisa’s graduation and Demetrios’ own, there was an incident regarding the terminal and knowledge capsules.

There was a short course on the understanding and utilization of knowledge capsules, their dangers and just why they were banned from casual usage. Part of that course was using one such capsule that had a piece of useless information inside it. Something inoffensive so that it didn’t matter that one couldn’t forget it afterwards. The students had been split into study groups, with a capsule given to each group and with the aim to afterwards write a summary on the topic within the capsule as a group project. That would serve as a pass from the course instead of more traditional exam.

Demetrios refused. He refused to put on the terminal. He refused to use the knowledge capsule. The rest of the group didn’t take it well. It became an argument echoing in the study room appointed to them.

“Do you want us to fail this course?!” One of the students inf the group yelled.

“House of Daena is right around the corner. I can easily research the topic from there and you can cut off information that is not included in the data packet within the capsule. I don’t see the problem here.” Demetrios sighed.

“Our assignment is to use the capsule and source the knowledge from there. To dissect the information poured into our brains and analyse how it fits there.” Another student reasoned.

“Nothing in our assignment guidelines is it stated that every member of the group has to use the capsule.” Demetrios retorted. “I do not wear my terminal. It makes my head ache.”

“It is just a moment! It can’t be that bad.” The third student whined.

“Besides, imagine how easy it will be to use other capsules once you know how it works with this beginner one!” The fourth student grinned. He had been the one to use the capsule first out of their group. “I mean, the information in this is quite useless. Interesting sure in a sense but nothing ground-breaking or even something to be utilized in everyday life.”

“No means no.” Demetrios ground out.

He wasn’t sure how the situation escalated. Demetrios didn’t remember the rest of the incident. Even the names and faces of the student in his group had vanished from his memory. But there was a witness who after hearing the shouts had come looking.

Arriving just in time to see one of the students snatching Demetrios’ Akasha terminal from the boy’s tablet, connecting it to the capsule and forcing the terminal onto the boy while the other three held him still.

Saw Demetrios seizing and collapsing in dead faint. The students holding him letting go of him in surprise and letting the boy slump onto the floor, his Akasha terminal flashing as the system tried to force the information – no matter how small of a trickle – through the near unused pathways of Jjana energy.

And… Kaveh rushed in.

“What do you think you are doing!?” He hissed at them, the four students backing away in the face of their irate and respected senior. Kaveh crouched down to scoop Demetrios up from the floor. When he straightened up, the ginger was still unresponsive, his head just lolling against Kaveh’s shoulder. The architect hid his worry behind venomous glare he aimed at the quartet. “Don’t think you are getting away with this, I will be reporting this to your professor… with every chance of the situation progressing to the matra’s records as well.”

And with that Kaveh swept away from the study room, towards Bimarstan.

That wasn’t where Demetrios woke up though. Instead, he found himself waking on the bed in al-Haitham’s house, the grey-haired man sitting on a chair next to him and reading a book. Demetrios asked him what had happened, and received a summary of events – most of which he had forgotten completely about.

al-Haitham didn’t mention Kaveh’s involvement to the matter by the other man’s request and when Demetrios fell into slumber once more…

“He worries me.” Kaveh stated when al-Haitham came to find him in the study. The architect had a blueprint sketch spread in front of him but it was obvious he hadn’t been working on it since coming to the house. Technically al-Haitham solely owned it but there was space for Kaveh carved into every room.

“In some specific way?” The scribe-aspirant asked as he settled to lean against the doorframe.

“In some ways he is similar to you but Demetrios is more afraid of taking proactive action. In the eyes of many, he is an outsider. He is not native to Sumeru, he refuses Akasha terminal, his views vastly differ from mainstream…” Kaveh twirled his quill before tucking it behind his ear with a sigh. “From my understanding of the situation, aside from his perfectly logical argument, he was quite passive.”

“The other four students did not have Visions, correct?” al-Haitham asked. “It is a mentality widely accepted that those with Visions should not use their powers against those without unless in dire situation. People thinking Visions equal to weapons… or that as someone chosen by gods, they should have restraint as not to harm civilians accidentally… and be above harming them intentionally.”

“You are saying Demetrios fought his instinctual reaction to use Cryo against them?”

“It is possible. Even after all these years I do not know Demetrios’ background that well… but he is still very much hiding and keeping a low profile.”

“Ah, that’s right…” Kaveh blinked. “He was wearing his Vision clipped to the back to his belt, hidden by the short outer robe of the uniform. I had to remove it when laying him down at Bimarstan.”

“Where is it now?”

The architect vaguely gestured in the direction of Mehrak, propped upright next to the writing desk on her charging station and on top of whom a light blue Vision in silvery Fontaine casing sat.

“You can give it back to him whenever he wakes again.”

“And why can’t you do that?” al-Haitham asked, making no move to approach the Vision. “Why aren’t you showing yourself to Demetrios and instead allowing him to assume I rescued him from the perpetrators?”

“Simple. The situation could be interpreted as an embarrassing one, considering it stemmed from Demetrios’ personal dislike towards Akasha and ill reaction as result of the attack. Being saved by someone familiar and trusted is easier to accept and work through than being saved by a stranger.”

That bore some merit as much as al-Haitham disliked the deception. He stepped into the room and went to pick up the Vision. It was cold to touch. Appropriate considering it was of Cryo element.

“When have you thought of finally introducing yourself to him? The time is running out if Demetrios’ intention to leave Sumeru after graduation still holds.”

“When a meeting with him comes naturally.”

By happenstance then. al-Haitham settled to sit at Kaveh’s back and leant his chin on the blonde’s shoulder. He wrapped his arms around the other man’s waist, the left one curling around Kaveh’s stomach while the right one held the Vision still.

“Tell me.” Someone might interpret the statement as a demand but Kaveh knew al-Haitham too well for that. And unfortunately al-Haitham also knew Kaveh too well to notice there was something bothering the man and thus holding him back from getting to know Demetrios despite them previously talking about possibly including the younger man into their relationship.

“I was going to introduce myself properly already months ago. But then I saw him helping out that Spantamad genius with her graduation and mentioning filing for early graduation himself a well.” Kaveh began haltingly. “And… I just… I wasn’t sure if I could afford to get invested and lose my heart to someone who’d leave and never come back... I know! I know it is incredibly selfish of me but…”

“If it was temporary since the beginning, you could’ve prepared for it. But with our relationship largely secret, some sort of permanence is automatically expected of anyone we are possibly letting in.” al-Haitham followed the trail of thought. “Which was why we talked about it extensively before I even worked towards furthering my intentions beyond friendship with Demetrios.”

“But at that point neither of us were sure he’d be leaving so soon. Graduation can take such a long time, even for Sumeru natives who may start the Akademiya as children. If it had been years in future, I could handle it. But mere months? Weeks? You know me Haitham: I like to invest in a relationship. So to lack that time…”

“You decided it was better to stay away rather than fall in love and break up suddenly.”

“I know it could’ve been possible that Demetrios would not have been interested in me and the rejection I could’ve handled and just let him be with you until it was time for him to leave but then it wouldn’t have been fair to him either. I don’t know what sort of values he has grown with and I didn’t want him to feel like you were cheating me with him.” There was a hitch in the architect’s breath. “It is better if he doesn’t know and can go on without strings attached.”

al-Haitham wanted to disagree. But he also knew Demetrios’… emotional fragility. He could see how the ginger wanted but didn’t dare to reach to take and simply pushed it all aside, deceiving himself more than anyone else.

“We’ll figure something out.” The grey-haired man promised instead and after laying a gentle kiss on the back of Kaveh’s neck, he got up to check on the patient still slumbering away.

Demetrios was indeed still asleep. He was curled on his side and seemed to be faintly smiling. Something that al-Haitham had observed before but had not witnessed on anyone else. People of Sumeru did not dream yet… Demetrios did. Sometimes al-Haitham heard the younger man softly muttering or humming to himself. Kaveh might’ve been restless sleeper but even he never spoke in his sleep, face simply slack and expressionless.

al-Haitham laid Demetrios’ Vision on the nightstand and then settled on the other side of the bed to read a book. The dip in the bed combined with his body heat had Demetrios curl towards al-Haitham. A hand grabbed onto the hem of the future scribe’s shirt. al-Haitham couldn’t help but smile and move a hand to card through the spill of sunsettia coloured locks. He’d figure out the solution to this. Somehow.

The solution did come. Quite late and without prompting when Kaveh and Demetrios ended up fighting the same Withering Zone with Tighnari, Cyno and Nilou. When Kaveh literally dragged Demetrios out of the way of an attack when Cryo proved ineffective against the monsters inside. It was a bad match up. Tighnari and Cyno worked beautifully together and Nilou could contribute to their combos. But Cryo was hard to work into that without disrupting other reactions. Nilou tried to help to freeze enemies but diverting attention was hard even without the Withering starting to affect them negatively. So Demetrios had told her to stick with the other two while he covered their backs.

Unfortunately, that led so some shroomkin trying a lucky shot at Demetrios. Until it was flattened by a claymore.

“Covering their back is good and all but are they aware that they should cover yours as well?” Came a question. Demetrios had already turned around at the impact and saw semi-familiar blonde man shaking his wrist as he straightened up. But there was no chance to reply when a new wave of enemies came at them.

That was the happenstance Kaveh had been waiting for. The two ended up bonding when making a way back to Sumeru City and writing down observations on al-Haitham’s living room floor. In the weeks when Demetrios waited for the verdict of his graduation, Kaveh got the courage to take the younger boy on dates and spoil him like he should’ve for months previously. Apparently the even direr deadline had pushed the architect to make up for lost time and also confessing the reality of his relationship with al-Haitham.

Demetrios had taken the news with surprise and gentle acceptance.

“Then love me like you’re running out of time. I don’t know if I’m capable of the same but I’m greedy enough to accept anything you wish to give.”

Oh, if only Demetrios had recognized his own love and had the opportunity to reciprocate with it properly.

Chapter Text

Day 3

Letters came and went. Demetrios had various correspondents whom he’d gathered during the past years. But not all of them had remained constant. There were people that he never contacted again – like his own mother – after he moved to the next nation. There were people who sent him letters but he never answered to them – like one teacher from Fontaine. There were people whom Demetrios would like to contact but never sent to first letter to start the correspondence – like everyone from the Akademiya bar the Vahumana Sage.

That made the letter Demetrios did receive and answer to all the more precious.

Even if some were a bit baffling.

“So… the Phoenix and Dragon chopstick incident happened… right now…” Demetrios sighed deep and laid the letter he’d gotten from Childe on his desk. While one hand went up for a facepalm, the other remained in his lap to pet Longli. “I don’t know if I should laugh or despair over those two. Especially given how Sasha’s obliviousness shines through this letter.”

Well, there was one way to remedy the situation without being present for the fallout. Now, where was Demetrios’ reference book on Liyuean symbolism?

Ten minutes later a reply was written and put on the outgoing mailbox of the Headquarters. It was for communal use for ordinary knights to use to keep in contact with their families. Snailmail in the other words, to be collected daily and delivered to the post office by whomever happened to be on mail duty that week. Anything more official correspondence that required near instant response was usually sent by hawks or other similar trainable native birds, or by courier to deliver by hand. Telegrams did not exist yet but Demetrios had no doubt someone in Fontaine would eventually develop them at some point.

“Symbolism and Traditions of Liyue, edition IX. Page 52, passage 6.
Ask your xiansheng if he meant them professionally or personally.”

There were books spread across the strip of lawn between the Headquarters and the low stonewall that circled the city. It was a place where no bystanders stumbled upon and thus perfect place to sun the books rescued from the burnt carriage. Early morning sun shone nicely upon them while Lisa drank iced tea nearby under the guise of supervising. Amber and Collei shuffled around, carrying some material out and occasionally turning the pages of the books so all of them could get sun.

“Disinfection through UV radiation?” Demetrios mused.

“Oh, Demetrios!” Lisa waved. “Good morning! Would you like to join my army of little helpers?”

“They seem to have everything well at hand. I’ll join you when it is time to actually read through everything.”

“That would be great. Given the recent events, we really do need all hands on the deck.” The librarian sighed. Demetrios tried not to feel guilty.

“Albedo and Eula are at the collapsed cliff then?” Albedo was at the same time the best and worst choice for investigating. Because while he was the likeliest to possibly recognize Klee’s explosives, he was also the safest bet to keep it out of his report.

“Yes, I heard our Chief Alchemist headed there directly from Dragonspine due the close proximity of the location. Jean has promised to help me with these already while our Cavalry Captain…”

“Kaeya snuck off to who knows where even though we were meant to investigate together!” Amber interjected. “He said he had an idea where to investigate but at least to me he didn’t say anything.”

“Precisely.”

“Ah… Sounds very on par to him.” Demetrios mused. “Well, don’t let me distract you from your sunning. I’ll be back for the research efforts later on.”

“And I’ll be expecting you.” The gaze Lisa gave him, told Demetrios that there would be… electrifying consequences if he decided to skip on investigation efforts. Well, even without the threat there was no way Demetrios would miss taking a look on the Fatui papers. Who knew what sort of material they had written down.

Demetrios spent the day compiling his research notes and babysitting Klee within the Headquarters. With all of the girls regular watchers busy and the situation within the city being what it was, in the end Demetrios was the only one available for the task.

The irony was strong.

Night 3

The books were carried back inside once the sun turned away from the lawn that’d been used for the books. Lisa, Jean, Amber and Collei all gathered in the Library, with Demetrios bringing the rear once he had managed to settle Klee for the night. The quintet – or rather quartet since Collei lurked in the shadows of the bookshelves – began shuffling through the papers according to the system Lisa had already categorized them. Jean was questioning Amber of her investigation progress and elaborating on the seriousness of the situation.

“Two diplomats were killed in our lands. We still have no idea who did this nor why. The Rulers of Mondstadt fear that the Fatui will use this as a pretext to push their agenda. We owe them a good explanation of what exactly happened.” The Acting Grandmaster stated. “Most importantly, I won’t let this happen in Mondstadt again. I can’t let this get any worse on my watch. I will help you whenever I can. Let’s start by sharing intel that we have gathered.”

“Sharing intel?!” Amber exclaimed. Demetrios hid his smile behind a paper he’d been reading. A annotation of levels of leyline energy in certain area. The topography map seemed to describe a location in Sumerian desert. Besides… What rulers of Mondstadt did Jean mean? There was no official rule. Nobles held no power. Archon was asleep still. Maybe she meant herself and the Senechal since Varka was gone right now. Or maybe nobles were indeed giving pressure to the Knights to get something done. At the very least the Lawrence liked to cause trouble whenever possible and some members of it had no troubles with collaborating with the Fatui…

“I’ll summarize what we’ve collected thus far. Regarding the serpent of black fire that appeared at the crime scene… Witness accounts of local residents revealed that most actually saw the black fire taking the form of a dark serpent. Some even described a strange smell. It was not an elemental power we know of.” Jean explained and picked one of the reports to read from. “’Elements are neutral, but this black fire is most nefarious, devouring life like an avaricious monster. This fire reached for the guards like a python in order to consume them like it did with the victims inside the carriage…’”

“Definitely no normal fire. It didn’t react to my cryo, I used to shield the guards. Nor was it swirled away by Jean’s anemo.” Demetrios frowned when Jean gave the report for Amber to read.

“Nefarious? Avaricious? Devouring? Consume? This is written with some really weird words.” The Outrider blinked.

“Don’t like my word choices?” Lisa asked with dangerous smile. Amber fell silent and mentally backed off. Demetrios chuckled.

“It means ‘the black fire was of ill intent, eating life like a greedy monster.’ Using simpler words takes a bit oomph from the statement however.” The young scholar shrugged. Lisa sighed next to him and gestured at the books stacked on the table.

“The black fire seemed to have a great hunger for anything living. Within a matter of minutes, the unfortunate victims were completely ravaged by the black fire and reduced to charred remains. Though this back flame gorged on living flesh like a beast, it took its time with the carriage, books and papers. Look they are still largely intact.”

“Which benefits us, not only to figure out why and how something happened to them, but also to get some… insight to the Fatui dealings.”  Demetrios pointed out.

“Indeed. We should go through them before the Fatui return to claim their property.” Jean agreed. “I do have a question for the Outrider Amber…  Did Sir Kaeya find something?”

The gliding champion chuckled nervously.

“Ah, well… He told me that he had a few ideas of his own, then he just ran off to do his own stuff…” She tactfully did not say that she’d basically been idling without any clue as to what to do but it was very much implied that her commanding officer had left her without follow-up orders. Amber was a gifted as an Outrider. But she was also young and very much did not have experience when it came to investigation work within the city. No, her work coincided more with the Reconnaissance Company thus with Eula and Mika rather than with Kaeya’s work with Cavalry or in ferreting out criminals.

“I see… Kaeya does have some unexpected tricks that may help us out…” Jean admitted and didn’t disparage Amber further.

“So I guess we know just as much as you do…” Amber mumbled against the table and picked at the papers. Then she suddenly saw something of import in one of the papers and hurried off in a rush, leaving the rest of them in dust. Including Collei who had been silent the entire exchange thus far.

“Oh dear…” Lisa smiled, addressing the girl. “So what are you looking for, girl? I can read these out if you don’t understand the words.”

“There is no need to worry about me.” Collei stated.

“Really?”

Collei was… like a hissy cat. It wasn’t easy to coax her to participate the research, even if she was very curious about the contents of the papers and anxious to learn about a possible cure for her ailment. Small steps though. That worked in almost everything.

Near the beginning of then

Muscles flexing under tight shirt. Sweat beading the brow. Hair sticking to forehead and the nape of neck.

Dimitri had to swallow at the sight and try to focus elsewhere. His friend’s work with claymore was exquisite and honestly… Dimitri had not expected going through a second puberty to be like this. He had not been like this in his previous world! So why was he so… thirsty at the sight of Wriothesley practising at the school’s backyard? This was very embarrassing and uncomfortable! And the school girls ooh’ing and aah’ing nearby were not helping the matter! Besides, Wrio was his friend! Only proper friend in this school! He didn’t mock Dimitri’s accent in Trade or words getting tangled in Fontish, or otherwise disparage Dimitri’s origins. And in turn Dimitri didn’t mock Wrio if the other boy got his colours wrong and kept the other boy’s fangirls at distance. They both were also scholarship students, their attendance dependant on their grades and not on parent who paid their schooling. But anyways, Dimitri had no room to have crush on his friend right now! Even if the usage of Cryo was impressive and the claymore moves emphasized certain assets…

“Andreyev, you gonna join the hand-to-hand spar?” Someone from the left asked.

“Yeah, sure.” Dimitri chucked off his school blazer and followed the asker to the ring. The entire backyard of the Lycée was cordoned into areas for students to practice fighting skills. There were separate Physical Education lessons that instilled good habits and basic knowledge of different sports to the pupils, but then there were the fighting lessons as well. Especially for those who owned Visions.

The world was dangerous and not everyone had the luxury of remaining within safe city walls their entire lives. Moreover, many students of their Lycée would move on to other cities or even capital itself. Some self-defence was needed to learn against bandits and monsters lurking in the wilds.

(Another thing, something that Demetrios properly learnt only after receiving his own Vision, and the artifact slots, the weapon space and inventory with it, was the fact that the Vision wielders were also an unofficial militia for each country. They may not all be fighters but they were at the very least the last defence before innocent civilians were on the line. He already got an inkling but that was never confirmed to him until he gained more perspective.)

Dimitri stepped into the ring and turned to face his opponent. Hands rose up to be ready for the match. Referee raised a hand.

The fight began.

It was blur to the sunsettia haired boy. Something instinctive that he flowed along with. Every strike, every dodge, every block… they all had their place. The matter was being efficient enough to move from one action to another and either outwit or overwhelm the opponent. And it was a good thing to focus on and get Dimitri’s thoughts away from Wriothesley.

The opponent went down. Dimitri let out a sigh and was about to take a step back. Only to trip onto the thick rope that marked the circumference of the ring. He didn’t end up sprawled into the sand however, instead being caught against a solid chest.

“Careful there, ‘trios. Attention on surroundings.” Wriothesley said. ‘trios. Demetrios. Name Dimitri wanted to claim and use and move on from his roots. Thus far, Wriothesley was the only to have heard that wish and plan and thus know to use the name even if it was just when only the two of them could hear.

Good thing Dimitri had just exercised so the redness on his face effectively covered up the blush that threatened to rise. Just when he thought he managed to get Wriothesley out of his mind, the black-haired Cryo-claymore wielding student just had to come and save him from embarrassment and in the progress give an up and personal feel on his pecs… and the flexing forearm muscles curled around Dimitri’s waist.

“Thanks for the save, Wrio.” Dimitri managed as he regained his footing.

“You’re welcome. Good fight by the way.” Wriothesley turned to lead Dimitri away from the yard. The young Snezhnayan hurried after him. Dimitri glanced at the clock up in the central tower of Lycée. There was just enough time for shower before evening meal.

“Ah… you too. Your form was impeccable as always.”

“Long practise.”

“Yes. Same for me.”

Their idle chatting continued as the way parted to them. Dimitri collected his blazer and water bottle along with the Teyvat equivalent of a gym bag. Wriothesley did the same and picked a small towel from his bag to wipe at his forehead. The practice claymore was deposed on a rack to wait for the next day.

“I heard from professor that in few weeks we’ll have a class trip to the Court of Fontaine.” Dimi-  Demetrios continued when the direction changed towards the changing rooms and shower stalls. “I wonder when we’ll know the itinerary of the trip.”

“Yes, the capital does offer various sights to see.”

“Opera Epiclese is naturally a must see but the question is if we go there for a trial or a performance… not that there is much difference between the two if I’ve understood correctly…”

“Don’t worry about it too much, ‘trios. It is something that is simply instinctive for us. You either understand it or then simply gaze at it from the outside.” Wriothesley offered. “Justice is… technically very simple concept. But when a person’s own interpretation gets mixed it, things become quite complicated and muddled.”

“If you say so…” Demetrios agreed reluctantly. They arrived to the changing rooms and deposited their effects on the bench and began stripping layers off. Blazers and shirts to hang on hooks, towels taken from the bags… Demetrios was about to open his belt in order to take of his trousers when he felt a hand at the small of his back. “Huh?”

He looked up, leaning back, and on that moment a pair of lips descended to his. Wrio was… Wrio was kissing him? Taking his first kiss?

The kiss was over way too soon. Demetrios stared up at the pale eyes of his friend. At the inscrutable expression that still was calm and reassuring in a way that there were no expectations placed.

“…” Head empty, no thoughts. How apt way to describe this situation. But it also meant there really was no filter for any thoughts that did happen. “Gimme another.”

Wriothesley smiled and obliged. Demetrios reached to wrap his arms around the other boy’s neck, throwing himself into the kiss.

(Wrio, Wrio, Wrio… sang his soul. It wasn’t something conscious, that infatuation. It wasn’t something to be entertained for longer term. But for now it was enough.)

Chapter Text

Day 4

Hours ticked by. Eventually the morning dawned as well Collei fell asleep at the table. The adults kept shuffling through the information provided to them. Lisa approached then silently Collei.

“It isn’t easy for someone as wary and defensive as this little one to fall asleep like this. Let’s try not to wake her.” The Librarian winked.

“She probably spent years wandering in the barren wastes.” Jean sighed.

“Indeed.”

“On top of that she seems to have some stage of Eleazar.” Demetrios added. “If I remember correctly, there is an abandoned hospital in the Sumerian desert used for Eleazar treatment… Given her colouring, she might be from the rainforest. But that paleness might also be caused by her illness and lack of sunlight for prolonged time.”

“You think we need to contact Akademiya for this?” Lisa frowned delicately.

“For more reasons than just that. There are a lot of ancient symbols utilized in these papers.” Demetrios frowned at one particular report. “I… do not recognize them.”

“But you can tell they are ancient and not just made up for coding purposes?” Jean asked.

“Yes. I am a Vahumana scholar so I have studied my fair share of languages. I see some similarity to Lotric and Aslanic but not enough to decipher them. You’d need someone from Haravatat… or advanced Spantamad researcher.” The young man sighed.

“Spantamad with focus on gods and their residues…” Lisa hummed. “I guess there is only one person I can write to. But let’s see to it tomorrow if we can’t find anything else on our own.”

Demetrios was about to ask who but then remembered that this was Cyno’s intro story in a sense. The wording in the manga had been vague that the fans hadn’t been entirely sure if Cyno had been Lisa’s teacher or senior student. Now Demetrios had enough context to conclude that Lisa would write to Cyrus who then would delegate the task to Cyno. A correct choice given what needed to be done for Collei later on.

“Eleazar… it is uncurable right?” Jean asked.

“Endemic to Sumeru for reasons unknown but Leyline activity suspected. Not contagious but outlanders wouldn’t know it. On the way here, she must’ve faced a lot of… scorn and unfair treatment. The guards at the main gate tried to turn her away as well.”

“A disease that cursed her to a sad and bleak future. I really hope her stay in Mondstadt will provide some respite from the suffering she has to endure.” Jean sighed. “Remind me to get the names of the guards so I can reprimand them later.”

“Sure.” Demetrios shrugged.

“Well, she won’t have to worry about bad weather or wild beasts here.” Lisa brought in the silver lining of the situation. “She’ll be loved, and may even find someone to love…”

Right then, Jean’s Vision which she’d placed on the table, began sparkling and emitting anemo dandelion seeds. It was reacting to something on the papers it had been placed on top of.

“These papers…” Lisa picked them up. The Vision slid down and clattered to the table, waking Collei in the process. “It seems that our dear Amber left after reading these papers.”

“The details do match the witness accounts of the black fire. But why would the Fatui…” Jean frowned before recognizing the item depicted in the papers. “The evil eye… Its previous owner was Diluc’s father?”

“That incident is from before I arrived to Mondstadt.” Demetrios pointed out. “Why do Fatui have records of it?”

“This case might involve Diluc… Lisa, I’m counting on you to investigate the matter regarding Diluc. I have to go after Amber.” Jean decided.

“I don’t think I can turn down a request from Jean.” The Librarian smiled. “I was planning to take this little girl out to shop for a new dress. What a real shame…”

“Lisa, please don’t bully Collei. We have things more important to take a look at.” Demetrios sighed. “I’ll continue perusing this material while you take the investigation to the field…”

“If you say so. Best of luck, and when you finish up, remember to clear everything away.” Lisa nodded as she followed Jean out of the door.

“Of course.” The young man agreed and shuffled through the papers to get some semblance of order onto the table. Maybe he should pick one of the books to flip through? The stacks were getting annoying to keep in order… Demetrios firmly ignored it when Collei swiped one of the papers from the desk. He was running without one night of full sleep by now, inattention could be forgiven.

He conveniently forgot that at this point of time no one knew Collei’s name. Not even Amber.

Demetrios… ended up falling asleep himself. He didn’t drool on any of the papers, thank you very much. But he got woken up when Lisa came back from her morning errand to visit Diluc.

“To think you ended up slacking off and leaving the clean up for me to handle…” The librarian sighed exaggeratedly as she began clearing the table.

“Sorry…” Demetrios yawned behind his hand. “Haven’t been sleeping that well lately… We did just pull an all-nighter. I never pulled all-nighters even in Akademiya.”

 “Stressing over your next paper? Didn’t you just send one to your Darshan?” Lisa guessed. Demetrios just shook his head and got up from the chair in order to assist her in putting away the books and scrolls. His last paper should tide him over for a few more months before he’d need to do a declaration on either continuing to pursue the topic further or then to switching onto a new subject to focus on.

“How was your visit to Master Ragnvindr?”

“Illuminating. Certain details do reflect on the situation here.”

“I hope we can resolve this without further deaths then. No use in giving the Fatui any rope to hang ourselves with.”

“… Do you really think the situation may become that dire?”

“…” Demetrios glared at the books in front of him. He needed to make a decision now. Before Jean, Kaeya and Amber came back to the Library. “The collapsed cliff that Eula and Albedo are investigating… There was a Fatui lab inside. I have all the information swiped from there and sitting in my Inventory. But as long as this situation is on, I can’t allow for the official knights to know of it.”

“You think the information may help us?” Lisa’s gaze sharpened.

“I think the experiments conducted there are linked to the information that the diplomats tried to get out of the city and what the Fatui are now demanding back. But the loss of the laboratory must have agitated them further even if for all appearances the cliff collapsing was an unfortunate accident.”

“And they can’t accuse us of anything since that would reveal that they were conducting illegal experiments on the lands of Mondstadt.” The woman concluded. “Likewise, you can’t tell Jean and others because that might tip their hand in negotiations and rouse suspicions.”

“Precisely. I’ve already written and report of the incident and my compatriots and I plan on confessing everything to Varka and Jean, once the Grandmaster returns.”

“Tonight. Once everyone else are distracted, come back here and we’ll shift through all the information.”

Just then the library door on the upper level opened and Jean called for Lisa to join her in the office. Apparently, she had been successful in retrieving Amber, and even Kaeya had been found loitering outside Headquarters, ‘bullying’ Collei.

“Well, Demetrios. Come along… Let’s see what we can discover from our friends.” Lisa smiled and sashayed upstairs. With a wry chuckle, Demetrios followed after her.

The first thing to ask was if Lisa could read the text on the paper Collei had taken.

“Sorry, I can’t read this either. But don’t worry! I know someone who does at Sumeru Akademiya. I’ll send my teacher a request.” Lisa smiled. She took some stationery from Jean’s desk and began drafting a letter on the spot. “It will take about a half-a-day for our fastest hawk to reach Sumeru so help should arrive within few days.”

“Yay! Your friend is saved!” Amber embraced Collei tightly.

“Sorry to ruin the mood but I have some bad news to announce as well.” Jean stated from the noticeboard where she was pinning a letter. It appeared so have official stencils and seals of the Fatui on it. “The Fatui will pay us an official visit in three days. We received a letter from them. They probably want to investigate the cause of the incident…”

Demetrios and Lisa exchanged glances.

“…Or rather identify who is to blame for it. I left the remains of the device that Amber found to the other knights for this very reason. And guess what?” Jean sighed tiredly the question. “I’ve been told that a huge number of similar devices were sighter everywhere in town. Whoever it is, they will most likely strike during Ludi Harpastum… Right?”

“That would really take the cake.” Lisa agreed.

“It means that we need to catch the culprit of the Black Fire incident within the next three days.” Jean concluded.

“I’ll join you.” Kaeya declared, hauling himself up from the chair and making his way towards the door. “I’ll take care of that culprit. I have my own clues on how to deal with them.”

“Alright, we’ll do our best to support you.”

“Yeah! I can assist you in this task!” Amber exclaimed, eager to prove herself properly this time and still sore over being dismissed earlier point of the investigation.

“Actually, I have other plans for you, Amber.” Jean stated then. “Search missions are your forte, right?”

“Yes! They are! The Outrider smiled. “Collei! You can help us out too!”

It was good to have the younger girl distracted.  From the situation and also out from the Headquarters. With Amber, she could learn to live a little.

“As the festivities of Ludi Harpastum have already begun, I’ll enlist the help of other knights on this matter as well.” Jean decided. “For the sake of the town folk, we cannot let anything ruin the festival! Knights! I’m counting on you all!”

“And Demetrios goes to eat breakfast before coming back for a nap.” Lisa slid down from her spot on top of Jean’s desk and began pushing the young man out of the office. “You need some fresh air and then proper sleep. Otherwise you are going to be useless to me tonight.”

“…Yes, my blood sugar is a bit low right now.” Demetrios let himself to be pushed. He was indeed hungry by now. Was it time for lunch already?

Night 4

At nine in the evening, Demetrios met Lisa in the library once more. They settled inside Lisa’s private office that no one else had access to and Demetrios unloaded all that he had gathered during the raid, onto the big table set against one of the walls. Lisa assessed the materials before her with a critical eye.

“This will take a while. Let’s get started.”

“Yes.” Demetrios pulled a chair for himself and while sitting down, also summoned Longli from the Vision Space. He hugged the plush against his chest and quell rising nervousness inside him. This was going to be a long night.

End of that particular then

“This is a farce.” Demetrios frowned at the spectacle going on before his eyes. They were at Opera Epiclese. There was a trial going on. And it was… travesty in Demetrios’ eyes. More like a play set up for the amusement of the Hydro Archon than any serious attempt to actually judge the right or wrong. Evidence did not matter much, only the way it was presented and who between the prosecutor and defense managed to spin a better story from it. On the high dais, overseeing everything was Chief of Justice. A severe-looking man of ageless quality, Iudex Neuvillette. Below him was a giant set of scales. According to the social studies lessons, it was called Oratrice Mecanique d’Analyse Cardinale and its purpose was to harvest people’s belief in justice. Demetrios took one look at it and its intended purpose and realized it most likely housed the Hydro Gnosis.

Wriothesley glanced at the other boy and then took his hand, squeezing it gently.

“Do you want to get out of here?” He asked quietly. Demetrios shook his head.

“I don’t want to attract attention… It’s just an hour more anyways.” The orange-haired boy sighed. “I wish we could’ve watched something… more artistic.”

“Let’s hope they’ll reach conclusion quicker then.” Wriothesley tugged Demetrios to lean on his shoulder. Demetrios sighed again and closed his eyes, hoping to doze off and block out everything else going on around them.

Time never stopped. The last year of their schooling in the Lycée approached quicker than either of them anticipated. And with it would come the inevitable separation. Demetrios to Sumeru and Wriothesley to…

“I can’t say.”

“Wait, seriously?” Demetrios looked down from the book he’d been reading, at Wriothesley who had laid his head on Demetrios’ lap.

“It is something… That I do not wish for you to worry about.” Wriothesley sighed and reached a hand to run through Demetrios’ vibrant locks. They were reaching midback already and Demetrios wasn’t sure which length he’d like to keep them eventually. And he still didn’t know which colour Wriothesley saw them as either…

“…Wrio, you want to do something for the justice system, don’t you?” At the confused blink, Demetrios smiled at his boyfriend and ran a hand through the black hair in turn. “I saw how you looked at Iudex Neuvillette during the trial we witnessed back then. You admire him greatly, don’t you? Want to work with him and ease the load he surely has upon his shoulders.”

“… You won’t mind?” Wriothesley asked, not directly answering Demetrios’ question. Demetrios smiled and put aside his book, shifting to lay beside Wriothesley.

“Why would I? This between us was only ever going to be temporary. Iudex is an admirable man and easy on the eyes too. Why would I begrudge you from chasing him?”

Wriothesley tucked his face to the crook of the ginger’s neck, effectively hiding.

“You give up so much. Over and over again. Can’t you be selfish for once, ‘trios?”

“I keep running away. There are things I can’t take with me so it is easier to give up on them before someone else forces me to.”

“I’m sorry. I’m sorry I can’t tell you.”

A week before official graduation, just a few days after the official grades were given out, Wriothesley vanished. His room was neatly cleaned out there was really nothing amiss. It was the grace period the leaving students were given in order to pack their belongings and already ship something home so that once the official graduation was over, there would be no hassle and mess that hundreds of students moving out would cause.

But Wriothesley was completely gone. It caused whispers among the student populace that Demetrios bore with grace. He was busy finalizing his name change anyways. He knew though that he would not see Wriothesley again. Whatever the other boy was wrapped up in, was something he didn’t want Demetrios getting mixed up with. So the ginger haired boy did not ask questions. He closed his eyes from the fact that some teachers appeared to relax more than just getting rid of grading paperwork warranted. Or that some of the school’s security task appeared to be given leave simultaneously.

Frankly, the only sign that Wriothesley had ever attended to the school was the loaned training claymore, left behind to gather dust at the training field.

Chapter Text

Day 5

Early in the morning when the pre-dawn light barely graced the windows, Demetrios packed all the reports back into his Vision space. It was more organized this time and thus took up less slots. Which helped Demetrios immensely as he could put back some of his own things for safe keeping.

“We did some good progress. But that was probably amongst the most disturbing material I’ve ever needed to read.” Lisa yawned. “Thankfully the author was obviously not the same person compared to the things we had from the Incident.”

“Yes…” Demetrios suspected the Fatui lackey that got killed at the beginning of the manga and then turned into robot while the papers that the diplomats had, were by the… nemesis of Collei who’d come after her in the later chapters. He’d had clothes placing him to Sumerian origin. “But right now, we can’t do much but wait while others work…”

“Nap sounds good though.” The librarian smiled lazily.

“That it does.”

It became a six-hour nap. When Demetrios woke, it was to witness the hustle and bustle of the City as everyone prepared for Ludi Harpastum.

“My head… is full of fluff…” It was exactly like the feeling when you took nap that stretched for too long but you had to get up afterwards and do something before going to sleep properly for the night. Demetrios vaguely remembered once going to sleep at three in the afternoon and waking up at seven. Not fun time, the fuzziness in the brain had not receded at all during the evening and had even affected his eyesight. Not fun times. Especially when the next time he managed to fall asleep was around eleven.

“Time for… lunch. And then for a walk. Perhaps outside the city.” Demetrios decided after a moment of deliberation. Yes, his blood sugar was low due not eating in… over twelve hours. He didn’t feel hungry exactly though… No strange feeling of someone taking a spoon and scraping against stomach lining. Just a mild weakness. Strange… Something to contemplate with clearer head though.

He had gotten mail. From the Vahumana Sage in response to his recent paper. Frankly, Demetrios was not sure if he’d expected this early reply or not. Ultimately the letter boiled to few main points. The Sage was fascinated by the topic unearthed and presented. But at the same time there was a lack of contrasting and comparable information for cross-referencing purposes. He believed Demetrios having done honest work and not making up anything, especially thanks to all the photographs and drawings attached, but it was very unlikely for anyone else in a long time to go and try verifying the information.

Such was the research culture in the Akademiya. While new information was welcomed, all new ideas were heavily scrutinized and compared to existing information. And preferably checked to adhere with universally agreed upon view on the greater topic. Demetrios’ work… fell outside of that.

(It was the victor who wrote the history and whose viewpoint was read about.)

The letter was stuffed back to the envelope and tossed inside a drawer. The review panel scrutinizing the research paper would take a couple of months to come to a verdict. That meant a couple of months downtime until people would start asking if he had an idea for his next paper because most likely they would not ask for expansion of this one. Demetrios could figure out something by then thanks to his knowledge of the game. It wasn’t very pleasant though. Research for Vahumana… it was meant to be taken slow. To be meticulous in order to get all the facts straight and narrow the topic appropriately while still retaining wide enough sampling of sources. Demetrios on the other hand by the virtue of the location of his research and things he found being new discoveries… He almost needed to produce one and half papers per year despite the Akademiya not really expecting more than nominal results from him. The Vahumana Sage stalled for him but Demetrios didn’t like being in debt, even one perceived only inside his own head.

“Really shows their appreciation for new thoughts…” The ginger muttered as he angrily organized loose papers into files. “No wonder they’d stagnated so badly. Could at least send someone to see the places themselves instead dismissing everything to be archived until some random student shows interest and isn’t deterred my instructors to focus on something more conservative.”

At least the Knights of the Favonius appreciated Demetrios’ work more. Lisa had already filed a copy of his work and appropriately labelled it and added references to history books that mentioned Sal Vindagnyr.

“Sometimes I wonder why I even bother with the Akademiya. It isn’t like they even give me funds for my research.” But it was a connection that Demetrios would probably keep… at least until after whatever happened during the Traveller’s time in Sumeru. If Demetrios desired to have a look inside the Akademiya library, then he needed to be either student or then researcher for the Akademiya. And if the pattern of the result of the Travellers exploits in different countries held true in Sumeru, meaning solving the biggest problem going on in the country in question… In Mondstadt it was the Stormterror crisis. In Liyue it was assisting (partially accidentally) in helping an Archon in his retirement plan to succeed. In Inazuma the situation was two-fold: reveal a conspiracy in the Tri-Commission and drag the hikikomori Archon out to face reality.

So in Sumeru… the biggest problems that Demetrios could see stemmed from the Akademiya’s status quo. The Sages’ attitude towards… well, anything. Be it arts or desert dwellers or restricting the ‘dissemination of information’… Or the imprisonment of the Archon… The Sages were the biggest problem. Just like mentioned in the Travail trailer.

“If the Sages are going to be dealt with… I really want to be there to see it.” Demetrios chuckled. “And maybe afterwards I can retain access to library without needing direct association with the Akademiya…”

He could always hope.

In the afternoon, Demetrios left his coat in the dormitories and donned a lighter coloured mask before descending to the lower levels of the city where the stalls for the festival were being built. He decided to push his walk to the next day and instead assist with building the festival. There wasn’t much for him to do but there would always be need for people to just carry crates and other supplies around. Which was exactly what Demetrios went to offer the merchants. And as a bonus, whilst working he could keep an eye on people and see that no suspicious people would be planting the metal bugs anywhere the area on places that wouldn’t be seen once everything was finished. Because while Amber and Collei (plus Diluc and possibly Kaeya) were looking for the bugs, they’d become distracted by the festival once it began and would not think to inspect this place anymore.

Demetrios couldn’t blame the girls. Collei was mainly overwhelmed by everything happening while Amber was frankly more concerned in looking after Collei and giving the younger girl as many good experiences as she could, than looking for metal bugs that most likely would also be pierced and broken already. Thanks a lot, Darknight Hero, for making her efforts to be for nothing…

Diluc… Demetrios’ thoughts of the younger man were complicated. The anger and apprehension towards the Knights of Favonius was understandable due the events of three years past. The betrayal felt as well. The confusion and whatever complicated emotions thrown into the mix by Kaeya’s ill timed confession definitely did not help matters either, especially with big part of support net missing. Going on revenge quest while leaving his Vision behind? Demetrios dreaded to think the implication on Diluc’s mental health. Overall, they were emotionally charged decision made impulsively and though Diluc had returned now to Mondstadt, there was no telling how much he’d healed. Demetrios vaguely remembered some lore that Diluc was almost caught by the Fatui? Or lost badly to Harbinger and barely survived if not for the underground network? Something like that which partially drove him back to Mondstadt, just in time to participate the event occurring right now.

So, Demetrios practically had half-remembered speculation and the red-head’s appearance in the prologue Archon Quest as well in Golden Apple Archipelago. Low-key and high-key disparaging remarks, deadpan attitude… and whole lot of fire. Especially towards the Fatui and Abyss Order.

“Something of a common ground if we happen to meet at some point…” The ginger mused as he lifted a crate meant for Cat’s Tail outdoor bar. Meeting was inevitable eventually, because those rare times that Demetrios descended from the mountain, he did visit either of the main taverns of Mondstadt. And if Diluc happened to be manning the counter instead of Charles… well, Demetrios was not going to expend effort to start tracking the man’s shifts. Waste of time and energy.

“A drink would be nice soon though…”

Night 5

Once the night fell once more, Demetrios made his way to the library. It was the time to continue research with Lisa. The Librarian had rested the entire day, courtesy of Jean giving her a day off, and was ready to make up for any lapse in attention Demetrios might have.

“I really thought there would be no need for all-nighters once I graduated…” The woman sighed. “Alas, I was wrong.”

“Have you needed to do them here before?” Demetrios enquired.

“Occasionally. The Grandmaster had sometimes assigned me a task that has been better conducted without disturbance from casual library goers. And of course, out of sight from prying eyes. Everyone knows my lethargic attitude so it has been easy to temporarily close the library for the next day or have someone else man the desk.”

“Makes sense.” The young man nodded slowly and summoned their research materials back to the physical realm. It was going to be long night ahead for them once more. Good thing Lisa had this time dug out a samovar from somewhere. Or rather a samăvar, the Sumerian variant of the Snezhnayan device. It also appeared to have been modified to run on Electro to heat the water, rather than be coal powered. Well, that’d keep them supplied with tea throughout the night.

Glimpse to the future

Demetrios looked upon the for-now empty stage of the Opera Epiclese. In his lap, he held the Leisurely Otter plushie that Sasha had gotten him from the souvenir haul. The soft toy did little to quell sour recollections though.

“The first and last time I was here, I was watching a very different type of performance.” He mused. “It was a class trip. Bleu is a relatively small town compared to the Court or Petrichor so the biggest trends and rumours took a while to get there. The… blasé attitude towards trials was not as… prevalent either. But we came here and the opera house was a must-see. A performance there was a must see… We didn’t know if our tickets were for drama or social studies related… Our teachers didn’t tell. It ended up being both though and I… I felt physically ill at the farce that the trial made of such a serious matter. I wanted to get out. Wrio offered to take me outside but I refused. I didn’t want to attract attention.”

The young man swallowed hard.

“It wasn’t just the prosecutor and defence attorney who were playing it up for the audience, but it was the audience’s constant commentating on the situation. Like their opinion mattered more than what the actual truth of the matter was. That the seesaw of Oratrice was a game played for the amusement of the masses. And it definitely didn’t help that the Oratrice seemed to change position only after a reaction had been gotten out of the audience.”

His hand clutched onto the edge of his coat.

“Maybe it is just something I couldn’t comprehend as an outsider. That I shouldn’t understand because I didn’t belong here. It wasn’t the first or the last time that happened… In Snezhnaya, I grew to fear the Fatui and Tsaritsa so I left. In here, my very being recoiled at the concept and form that the Justice took… so I left. In Sumeru, I refused the dependence of Akasha and fled… In neither Liyue nor Inazuma have I stayed long enough to discover what would mark me different…”

“And Mondstadt?” The Traveller asked, sad understanding in the golden eyes.

“I did something that… frosted my relations with all of my acquaintances there. It is better for me to stay in Dragonspine. It is easier for everyone.” Demetrios sighed. “Even now I travel alongside you to record your journey, Starfall Child. I never thought to otherwise come back here.”

“You express great distain for this place.” The weeping sovereign stated gravely. Demetrios turned to face him. He could see so much more now, compared to the years before. As Ipos, he could see the power hiding in Iudex Neuvillette.

“I believe that Lady Furina would’ve made a great idol and stayed out of the courtroom. And I also am of the stance that if I ever be arrested here, I would choose trial by combat and either win it… or die by my own hand, rather than be paraded and humiliated in this room.”

Chapter Text

Right before then

It was snowing. So thick it was almost impossible to see forward more than scant few meters. Dimitri didn’t let it deter him. The snow underneath his boots scrunched as he kept walking in the woods and looking around.

“Sasha!” He called into the darkness. “Sasha, where are you?”

The visibility was really too poor and the wind began biting his face, the only visible skin that peeked from the layers of clothing.

“Sasha!” They knew the woods because they had been assisting in firewood gathering since they were little. They shouldn’t get lost. There were plenty of landmarks for them to navigate back to the village or then to take shelter. They knew how not to go too far. “Sasha, we need to go back!”

Aleksei should’ve called back at this point. They should’ve remained in shouting distance. Or rather… they shouldn’t have separated at all. Why had Dimitri suggested that? What if something were to happen to Aleksei?

“Sasha! Aleksei! …Ajax!” Aleksei insisted on being called Ajax. He was excited and honoured to have been named after such a great hero. Dimitri… was a bit stubborn about it. He liked to call him Sasha. Just like Aleksei called him Mit’ka. “Sasha, it is late! I already got the wood stacked on the sled! Let’s go!”

Don’t panic. Sasha, should be nearby… Maybe he suddenly got mad at something and was stubbornly silent…

“Sasha, stop playing and let’s go! I’m sure Anya will make some chay for us!” Where was he? Dimitri should’ve found him already. This patch of forest was not that large before they met the rising mountain cliffs.

A flash of colour. Dimitri turned around just in time to catch a red scarf flying in the wind. Aleksei’s scarf.

“Sasha?” Why was this scarf… on its own? This was a scarf their mother had knitted to Aleksei. One that Dimitri later practiced decorative stiches on. Aleksei always wore it outside during winter months despite getting another scarf from Anya.

His breath hitched. He shouldn’t panic though… He shouldn’t…

Dimitri ran to the direction the scarf had flown from. Wind bit his face as he ran against it. That part of the forest he hadn’t looked into yet. Partly because they rarely went there. The trees suddenly began to grow closer to each other there, making it hard to navigate through. But if Sasha had went there…

There were broken branches. Like something or someone had run through them in a hurry. As Demetrios followed the trail, unease began gnawing his stomach. Were these marks from Aleksei? Why was he running? Was he in danger?

He was clutching onto the scarf so hard that his fingers underneath his leather mittens were hurting.

There was more red found. In the form of bloodstains against pristine snow. Footsteps trampling around, both from a pair of winter boots and also from some beast that barely touched the ground. But otherwise, no signs of Aleksei.

“Sasha?! Sasha are you here?! SASHA!”

Day 6

Demetrios woke up with a gasp. The only thing that kept him from springing upright, was the steady, comforting weight on his chest.

“There… There was no blood.” The young man whispered. “I remember that. There were the beast’s prints. But the lack of blood comforted me.”

He pressed a hand over his eyes. Of all the days in his life, he just had to dream of that one. Most of the events that took place before the… first installation of memories that knocked everything in his head askew, were a bit hazy. There were days that stood out more than others. Some memory loss of more mundane life was natural, too. But this event was one that Demetrios had tried to forget and bury with the rest of his old life.

The Frostbearing tree and Irminsul connected to it appeared to try prying everything back to the surface. The past few days when Demetrios had been napping instead of sleeping, he hadn’t dreamt at all, probably due exhaustion. Now, he had been rudely brought into that nightmarish version of his memory. Which lead to the young researcher recounting the facts of what he had actually seen on that day.

“The lack of blood meant lack of severe injuries. It meant that I could run back to village and seek help in searching for Sasha…”

Eventually, Demetrios managed to bring his breathing back to calmer levels and look around in his room. Everything was like it was when he went to sleep. From the window where the curtains were drawn, the daylight was peeking through once again. With a groan, Demetrios heaved himself upright. His hand came up to catch the weight that got dislodged from his chest. It was Longli. Strange, Demetrios was sure he’d left the plush to his Vision space this time.

“It is a brave new day…” He sighed and climbed out of the bed. “Time to face the difficulties awaiting us.”

He deposited Longli on the bed and left to freshen up. What to eat for breakfast today? Or it probably should be lunch time already. Demetrios didn’t feel like going to eat at Good Hunter again. But he was also still sleepy enough that making breakfast from scratch in the communal kitchen didn’t appeal to him. While it was always stocked with fresh produce of common ingredients for everyone to use… cooking still required effort.

For Demetrios’ luck, as he made his way down the stairs and to the kitchen, Noelle happened to cross paths with him. The knightly maid was carrying a crate of cabbages, presumably meant to be stored in the cold pantry.

“Oh, good morning, Demetrios!” She greeted brightly.

“Good mo~~rning…” He greeted back but was cut in with a yawn. “Apologies… It really is a morning still then?”

“Well, half past ten. Not yet eleven, so I would consider it morning still.” Noelle mused. “Did you just wake up?”

“Yes… research ran late so I got maybe six hours sleep…” He had been tired but even after he’d gotten to bed, thoughts just hadn’t left him alone and kept him awake for a while still.

“Then you haven’t eaten breakfast yet. Come, I’ll make you some!” The girl decided, walking crisply to the direction of the kitchen and leaving Demetrios to follow in her wake. Partly because of the sudden decision, partly because he was going to that direction anyways.

“Ah, Noelle, you really don’t need to. I can make my own breakfast. Surely you have other more important duties to attend to.”

The girl set the crate inside the pantry – how did she manage to open the door with her hands full? –  and spun around, her hands making their place on her hips.

“You are important.” She asserted. “Don’t think I haven’t seen how hard you work despite all appearances. You are studying in the library with Lisa through days and nights. You barely eat when you are awake and barely sleep because all your waking hours are consumed in either that research or then helping out people of Mondstadt with the festival preparation and in the Knights’ search for those metallic lures.”

Demetrios was stunned speechless. Noelle huffed a breath.

 “You haven’t perfected that lazy mask that Kaeya uses to make people underestimate him. It works for him and he has been at it for years. But no one who actually knows him falls for it. You on the other hand… For all the secrets you guard carefully, you’ve never needed to interact people frequently for prolonged time. At least with people whose culture revolves with kind social interactions and who would have potential to worry about you.”

She… wasn’t entirely incorrect. Demetrios used to have people who worried about him. There were times when Demetrios woke from nightmares and then Wriothesley, or Al-Haitham (and eventually Kaveh as well) had held him until he had managed to gain some semblance of grip of the reality again. They had been good for him. Circumstances just… brought them apart again and he never reached out back to them. The connections that he kept, remained more distant and it wasn’t polite to enquire about personal things through those letters he sent back and forth. But life here in Mondstadt had brought him in contact with… compassionate people. While Demetrios spent extended amount of time at Dragonspine, somehow all those important people had begun to worry for him. It was… new. A repeated experience but new nonetheless. And now there was Aleksei as well but he was firmly in Liyue and not worrying about Demetrios twenty-four-seven.

“Just… let me do at least this small thing to you.” Noelle sighed. “You look like you’re about to fall asleep again on your feet. And those eyebags really worry me.”

“Very well…” Demetrios sat down at the kitchen table that was meant partially for preparatory work but was also eaten at if one didn’t want to go take a seat in the dining hall. Meanwhile Noelle began to pull ingredients from the dry pantry, cold pantry and the cold box. “What are you thinking of making me then?”

“An Adventurer’s Breakfast Sandwich. But! I’m making the version I recently learnt from Mika. It is really good and has freshness added from salad leaves and some fullness from a slice of cheese. It isn’t much of a change really but it is really important to eat your greens and not eat only meat. I know the original version of the dish has only ham and egg because it is hard to adventure while keeping vegetables fresh and cheese unspoiled.” Noelle twirled the boiling water in the pot and then broke the first of the eggs in. Then the next one.

“That’s true.” Demetrios nodded slowly. Silence fell between them as he watched the young maid cooking. The bread was toasted, the ham sliced. two slices of salad leaves placed on top before a slice of cheese. Finally, Noelle lifted the eggs from the pot and gently placed them on the top. The heat of the fresh poached eggs made the cheese melt.

A plate with two sandwiches was served before Demetrios.

“Looks wonderful, Noelle. Thank you.” The young man smiled and took utensils in order to eat the treat in front of him.

“You’re welcome, Demetrios.” Noelle smiled and then turned around to clean the kitchen from the slight disarray she’d caused whilst cooking. “Besides… I wanted to thank you as well.”

“…” Demetrios ate the forkful he had and then laid the utensils down. A slight frown made its way on his face. “For what?”

“For taking me with you for the…” She glanced about the empty kitchen. “… the mission.”

“You should be condemning me for my actions. The things you saw and went through while there…”

“No!” Noelle tensed and stopped washing the dishes for a moment but didn’t turn around and leave the task. “I… I know. It was awful. The things that had been made to them. The fact we couldn’t help everyone… It made me feel very small. But at the same time, we saved so many. Barbara told me that everyone that we brought back are recovering… at least physically. So it makes me feel really proud as well. And you gave me a chance to prove myself.”

“You know I chose you for other reasons.”

“I know. But it is what I want to do in my life. It is things like that – helping people no matter the situation – that I want to become a Knight. Master Jean and Grandmaster Varka mean well when they keep me around and have me learn more while I attend my duties but…”

“While you like helping others inside the city walls, you want to be doing more.” Demetrios finished.

“Yes…”

“Noelle, do you understand that one of the reasons why you haven’t made a knight yet despite your impeccable talents, memory and fighting prowess, is your lack of experience in knowing your own limits? I heard about the case of missing adventurer on Dragonspine that happened while Albedo and I were in Liyue with Sucrose. You went there, alone, to help the man. You brought him back, yes, but at the cost of your own life and health. You were lucky to survive with just three days of cold even thought it left you bedridden for the duration.” Demetrios spoke. Noelle continued washing the pot.

“Many Knights have gotten their armour while younger than I.” She said quietly.

“Diluc Ragnvindr and Jean Gunnhildr should not be held as examples for a standard Knight. And Klee is an exception to every possible procedure.”

“I…”

“Diluc was a prodigy who was trained on sword since he could walk steadily. He got his Vision barely into double digits. He made it into the knights at ridiculously young age and was promoted a captain at fourteen years old. But he also left the Knights at age eighteen. I personally think that aside from the death of his father, something else must have happened for him to leave so abruptly and I also think there may have been some burn-out going on as well. Jean has also trained since young and we know how she received her title as a fifteen-year-old. But she is also very much overworking herself and is very reluctant share her workload with others unless it is things that others excel better than her. They both are nobles from long lineages and for all that Mondstadt aims to treat everyone equally, those lineages still shine through.”

Demetrios didn’t know what to think about the Favonius’ organizational system. There technically wasn’t a minimum age limit for one to apply for the Knights and some veterans held sword lessons for children who aspired to take the entrance test later. Still for Diluc and Jean (and maybe Kaeya as well) join Knights in their preteens and get commanding positions barely few years later… It really didn’t sit well with Demetrios.

“Amber on the other hand learnt from her grandfather. While she is young still, she is older than you by few years and only now joined the Knights. She is still partially in-training while waiting to take over the defunct Outrider division. As for Klee… She has the title so the Knights can officially have custody of her. Otherwise, despite what her mother might’ve intended, she should stay with people who can look after her constantly.” Mondstadt didn’t have a foster care system but given Albedo’s busy work, some accommodations among the civilians should’ve been found. But because of Klee’s Vision and the things Alice had taught her, it was safer that she remained in the Headquarters. But for that she needed an official position since no families of the Knights lived at the dormitories. It was no military base like those seen in American TV shows like NCIS where the personnel’s entire families lived in a community.

“…I understand.” Noelle sighed. “I just wish I could do more.”

“You are still young. There is plenty of time to learn and apply for the position. Time to learn skills and perspective that you still need. You could try asking Varka and Jean if you could join some patrols and some such to learn working with others and the routines that they have.” Demetrios tried to comfort the girl.

“Yes. That sounds good. After Ludi Harpastum is over, I’ll ask Grandmaster.” Noelle finished drying the last plate and put it away. “Thank you for your insight and advice. I feel better now.”

“You’re welcome?” Demetrios blinked as he watched the maid skip away, busy to go help with the festival. He didn’t consider his advice that helpful… But he supposed that what Noelle really needed was perspective to put things in order.

And Ludi Harpastum… Today was the day… Of many things. One of the main ones was Kaeya confronting Collei. That was all good and not nice but there was one problem. That fatui fellow who witnessed it and saw Amber helping Collei to get away.

But that was something Demetrios could do some fixing to.

Night 6

It was a pity to miss the finale of the festival. But this was more important to see to. Demetrios was perched on the roof of one of the buildings at the alley. The combatants below were utterly absorbed by their fight to look up and see him. Or the fatui goon approaching from the higher level of the city, lured by the power Collei gave off.

Demetrios was donning a disguise of sorts. He had simply swapped to clothes that he usually did not wear. Straight long pants, ankle boots that had arrived in mail from Liyue – yet another gift from Aleksei – and fit nicely under the pantlegs, dark collared shirt that he left slightly open at the top. And the ensemble was topped by the white Snezhnayan coat he had never worn in Mondstadt plus two pieces from the Pale Flame set: The Mocking Mask hiding his face and the Moment of Cessation hung from his beltloops. His hair, Demetrios had temporarily dyed with Wolfhooks and let cascade down his back. And naturally his distinctive Vision was hidden from view and he wouldn’t be showing Frostbearer when making his move.

All in all, he looked like a Fatui of undetermined high rank. It was the little things here that would make him unrecognizable for Kaeya. First was the coat that initially on the trip to Liyue made people suspect his allegiance and identity. Second was the artifact accessories. People generally didn’t pay attention to artifacts. Unless you needed specific set and aid from it, you didn’t care what other sets looked like. Sure, Pale Flame’s appearance, effects and stories were recorded in Mondstadt’s Archives… but who actually went to read those stories?

As for the fight itself… It was painful to watch. Kaeya had started on the offensive and been prepared to put down Collei after ascertaining her guilt. Or at the very least provoke her badly enough to leave Amber alone and confess her crimes without fuss. Collei, pulled and puppeteered by the power within her, fought back fiercely and even gained an upper hand. But then the girl showed her own strength of will to cease fighting and tamp down the poisonous miasma clouding around her.

“I won’t let you escape!” Kaeya formed a long, sharp icicle and charged at the still girl.

“Please kill me.” She whispered. And Demetrios acted. He sent down a kaleidoscope of red cryo crystalflies. (Another point to disguise: no one in Mondstadt aside from Albedo and Sucrose knew of Demetrios’ power up. And previously he’d been using regular butterflies.) The torrent drove the two apart and as the crystalflies hit the ground, they began to grow a wall, hiding Collei and then Amber as well, from view. Thus allowing the two escape without the fatui baddie getting the chance to blame an insider ‘in red’ helping Collei to escape.

“Who’s there?!” Kaeya turned around, taking only a moment to spot Demetrios leaning sideways against a chimney.

“Just a passerby taking interest in the situation.” Demetrios pitched his voice lower and affected Snezhnayan accent that during the years away from the nation and lack of using the local language had pretty much disappeared from his casual speech.

“Fatui? I thought the representative was arriving tomorrow. I’d apologise for seeing the mess here… but you just helped a suspect escape.”

“Don’t worry about me. I’m not part of Dottore’s contingent of mad scientists who you’ve been negotiating with.” Demetrios scoffed. “My purpose here was observation only. Call me Caratterista.”

Caratterista was a term for Commedia dell’arte. It meant ‘character actor’ and for Commedia dell’arte meant characters suddenly joining the show but who have no plot relevancy and no mask. Coming in to do tricks or laugh at the events or celebrities. Basically, like back-up dancers or unnamed ensemble that react in exaggerated manner to things on stage. Perfect guise for Demetrios.

Kaeya was frowning and obviously pondered the benefits of drawing Demetrios into a fight as well.

“Well, you still didn’t answer why you intervened.”

“That little kitty needs other sort of attention than your ruthless execution. Though I suppose it is admirable to see how seriously the Knights of Favonius take the protection of their city… even without an Archon to respond to.”

“Yes, we do things here in Mondstadt differently compared to Snezhnaya.” The Cavalry Captain quipped with narrowed eyes. “And as for the… kitty… she was hiding some poisonous fangs I needed to be certain of.”

“I saw. Since the beginning.” Demetrios idly flicked a finger and shot an icicle in the direction of the final boss of this story arc. The Sumerian scampered away and Demetrios felt safe to drop down from the roof. He landed softly on the tiled street some meters away from the captain and straightened up. Slowly, dramatically, since this was still a performance where there was no certainty if there was any audience left. And maybe Demetrios also wanted to keep his identity under this guise a secret until it was time for the curtain call of this arc.

“Caratterista… Given such a codename, am I to assume high position in hierarchy for you?” Kaeya asked casually, dismissing his own ice with a wave of his hand and chilly vapor. Demetrios lifted his head and tilted it, letting the light catch on the exposed red marks on his face and neck. Other things that Kaeya was not in the know of.

“I am no Harbinger.” He simply stated. He probably could’ve masqueraded as Tartaglia but he would not mix Aleksei’s business into his own. Damaging personal yet distant reputation with random rumours was one thing, just ribbing between siblings. But affecting Aleksei’s business side of life was a big no. Demetrios might dislike all Fatui with Aleksei being the sole exception… but if something damaged Tartaglia’s reputation through Demetrios’ actions it might echo back to Aleksei and even the rest of the family. And Demetrios would not allow anything to harm any of them because of him. “Like I said, my actions are only mine. But I guess I was curious. Black Fire and Red Ice are both uncommon phenomena. Very unlike how they naturally occur… even through the seven elemental powers.”

With that Demetrios began walking away from the Cavalry Captain, to the darkness of the seemingly calm night.

“Have a pleasant night.” The words echoed ominously in the empty street.

Glimpse to the unexpected separation

The charge against Childe was ridiculous. The disappearing women case had begun twenty years ago when he had been only six! This was the first time he had ever stepped a foot in Fontaine.

Demetrios saw the ridiculousness as well. He was with Childe when the gardes came to arrest him for the trial. And what sort of system was this that the trial was held immediately after arrest? Her Majesty the Tsaritsa would never allow such rushing to happen in Snezhnaya.

“It is not the norm.” Demetrios was frowning. He was following along and intent on acting as Childe’s attorney. Which was good since Childe did not know how the justice system in Fontaine worked. Demetrios knew at least something after living here for years and witnessing at least two trial proceedings. “There is usually more preparation and announcements in paper so people can buy tickets to the trials they want to see. The case with the House of Hearth boy accused was an exception because it was the Hydro Archon making the accusation. And even then the preparation time was only three days with the suspects and Traveller locked inside the Opera House. Now… I think it is simply because of the severity and the mystery of this case.”

“So you’re saying that the officials have investigated this and now accuse me without giving me a chance to properly prepare to defend myself?” Childe scoffed.

“…” Demetrios thought hard. “No… I’m more inclined to think the accusation came from outside the court system but the case itself is speeded up because of the contents. Even the Chief Justice may not believe the case holds proof until examined on trial.”

“So some rando found ‘evidence’ brought it up to court, make accusations towards me because it is convenient and now we are going to trial because of public pressure to get things going… even if I just will be acquitted later on.”

“That is what I think, yes.”

“Great. Let’s get this farce over with.”

In the end Demetrios did not need to do anything because Navia of Spina di Rosula intervened and brought up accusations against some guy named Marcel. Honestly, Childe just tried to enjoy the drama and logic fight while he was not the focus. Maybe once this was over, he could try persuading Clorinde to a fight again? Next to him, Demetrios had flicked his fingers, creating an invisible barrier inside the courtroom that encased the rest of the audience and silenced their commentating. It was much more pleasant to listen the debate, without any interjections from civilians.

Traveller and Paimon made a dramatic entrance, bringing the final proof with them that nailed Marcel’s background as false and pushed the man into a tirade over how it started and how he just had to continue the experiments.

“Despicable.” Demetrios hissed through clenched teeth, light frost creeping over surroundings of his seat as the temperature suddenly dropped locally. “It is a sign of insanity to repeat an experiment as is and expect different results. And aside from discovering Sinthe from Primordial Water, he obviously did not proceed in any other manner with the experiments.”

Childe agreed as Marcel – Vacher – was led away and the Chief Justice succinctly summarized the case. Finally. Time to go and find something sooth this… restless itch within him. Maybe Demetrios could agree on a spar after all? Childe doubted that Clorinde was on the mood after this trial but surely Demetrios would like to vent out frustrations at something as well? Besides, he still didn’t know the extent of his brother’s power up and it had been a couple of years since that initial meeting in Liyue when that power sitting in Demetrios had been fresh and untested.

“Well now, hasn’t this been a most delicious piece of drama?” Childe got up from the seat and brushed non-existent dust from his uniform. Demetrios followed a beat after. “The villain has been caught, justice has been served, past wrongs have been right, and it’s a big ol’ happy ending… Since it’s been such a great show, I’ll just let the false accusations against me slide. Either way, I’ve still got some business to attend to, so if you’ll excuse me…”

“Please wait just one moment, Mr. Tartaglia.” The Chief Justice spoke up, stopping Childe in the middle of leaving.

“Oh, what now? None of this has anything to do with me.”

“Protocols, red tape and paperwork…” Demetrios sighed behind him. The Chief Justice’s response echoed the sentiment.

“According to court protocol, since this trial was initiated due to a charge against you, a verdict must also be made regarding the initial charge before the trial can conclude.”

Childe tried to protest. This was absolutely ridiculous. Just like the initial charge had been. But nevertheless, he went up to the defendant’s box to listen to the verdict.

Iudex Neuvillette declared him not-guilty, just like the logic stated given the real culprit had been caught and tried. But the… justice machine of very long name disagreed.

“Hey, hey! That’s not funny… Didn’t you just say I’m supposed to be innocent? What’s with this verdict? Is your justice machine malfunctioning?” Childe protested immediately. The Chief Justice went to reply but what was more important and interesting was what Demetrios whispered where he stood behind Childe, supporting him with his mere presence.

“It is the phrasing… You have no direct connection as far as current evidence suggests. But that doesn’t mean no connection at all. Sasha, the whale…”

Demetrios was usually right about these things. While Childe had seen the whale in the Abyss, it didn’t mean the whale was of Abyss. And the haunting dreams he had begun to see once in Fontaine…  He needed answers. And he couldn’t get them if he was tossed in some cell to rot. While the Chief Justice may see some absurdity in the situation, it was obvious that he would not stray from the protocol and rules that Fontaine appeared to be so fond of.

“Mit’ka… stay here. And take care.” Childe said before leaping down from the box and to the stage to confront the gardemeks sent to arrest him. The Electro of his delusion sparked as he prepared for the fight.

“So this is how justice is done in Fontaine. What a joke.” No wonder Demetrios had never settled in this country and had instead continued towards Sumeru. “You’ve got your rules… Well, I’ve got mine too!”

The dance among the gardemeks was easy as breathing. They kept getting downed with one hit each. But more was being sent in. How tedious. Better take care of them in one fell swoop and get out of here. He had things to do. And distance to put between him and Demetrios so no one would go after him because of Childe. Their public interactions in Fontaine thus far had not been that revealing and Demetrios could take care of himself if needed… But Childe still worried.

So he tapped onto the dark well of power, bringing forth his Foul Legacy. He was almost done when he felt a hit connect and instantly down him. But that jolt was nothing compared to the scream he heard.

“SASHA!!”

Chapter Text

Then

Butterflies fluttered above Demetrios’ palms. They were shaped like the small embroidered butterfly that mother had added to the tapestry of the children’s constellations. Small and delicate, like actual butterflies were. Demetrios did not know the actual shape of his constellation or how the six stars of it were arranged. He didn’t know either what did the shape of this constellation tell of him either. Everyone else in the family had more impressive shapes. Something people actually noticed. Any guests they had, always seemed to miss the butterfly, asking mother if she still hadn’t updated the tapestry with the youngest child’s constellation.

“Or maybe it was always fated?” He could still remember how easy it was for him to take a step back and fade away to the background in the aftermath of Ajax coming back. Everyone’s attention was on Ajax. How he acted, how he changed, how he had been missing and how his explanations were called lies. No one addressed the guilt Dimitri felt. The hollow gnawing feeling of uncertainty he had to deal with for three days while searching for his little brother. And then Ajax was back. He was in Dimitri’s arms for a brief relieved moment where apologies got stuck in the throat before father ushered them home. Home where everything changed for both of them.

“Are you alright?” Kaveh sat opposite him on the windowsill. “You seem to be deep in your thoughts more than usual.”

“…I’m fine. Just pondering how my life has turned out.” Demetrios offered a smile and dismissed the butterflies.

“You’ve been really busy lately, with your upcoming graduation and all.” The senior brushed Demetrios’ bangs aside from his eyes. “Don’t burnout so close to freedom.”

“I won’t, promise.”

“Good, now will you join us in the kitchen? Al-Haitham has made his specialty.”

“Alright.”

Maybe it was indeed fate indeed. Demetrios was happy where he was now. And years onwards, when he connected with the Irminsul Tree in the windswept frozen mountainside, his butterflies took the shape of crystalflies, the same shape that his constellation Papillo Polaris had.

Night 6

Demetrios remained out of sight for the rest of the night. He took off his coat and pocket watch, swapped his masks, and pulled his hair up on a hightail that he then allowed to remain on a loose loop instead of hanging down. He couldn’t do anything for the colour for a few days, the wolfhook dye stuck to things like that before allowing to be washed away. So that meant staying out of sight for everyone… Fatui and Knights alike. While she probably would’ve liked to meet Cyno already, it was better not to appear at Headquarters until the situation was fully resolved.

Yes, that sounded like a plan.

Day 7

He pulled his normal coat from the vision space and shrugged it on. The hood up to cover his hair as Demetrios made his way to Good Hunter to get some breakfast and lunch for him to eat outside. In the shady morning hours, Sara blinked sleepily at him but didn’t ask questions about what little of his now-blue hair she could see.

Demetrios ate his breakfast on top of one of the pillars in the Thousand Winds Temple. It allowed him decent view on the sealing process happening at Starsnatch Cliff. He could also feel it happening. The ancient power of fallen gods was in the air in almost tangible vibration. There was also movement in the earth as Cyno directed the power, drawing from the Leylines to fuel the magic circle. Demetrios could feel them all. The Leylines were so much clearer here than at Dragonspine.

In the south, Diluc and Kaeya were drawing the Fatui contingent on a goose chase. But it was only a matter of time before their leader would slip away. The person from Sumeru who appeared to be chasing Collei.

Ah, there he was… breaking off from the rest of the group. Not heading directly towards the Cliff but more like meandering onwards, searching the source by feel…

Now, Demetrios had a bit of a problem. While he’d love to interfere in some manner and save Collei and Amber some trauma, this was a significant point of growth for both of them. The final forging of trust, especially on Collei’s part. Amber had already been accepting of Collei and believing in her but Collei had had difficulties in returning that trust. But this upcoming battle against this Fatui goon when Amber defends Collei at the risk of her own life and health? It was the final push for Collei to let go of her own doubts and insecurities and stand firmly on her own two feet (of course in addition to getting the god residue sealed). Moreover, Kaeya and Diluc had the masterful plan of getting Diluc’s alter ego arrested and thus shift all suspicions from Collei altogether.

Quite frankly, Demetrios couldn’t afford to interfere in either of them. But… He could act afterwards as Caratterista and corral the Fatui out of the city. They would only see an elaborate mask and assume high rank. Just like all the people before had.

It was… painful to listen all the bullshit the Sumerian fatui spewed. About Collei being unclean and that the power injected into her was ‘holy power capable of saving her’. Amber fought valiantly against him. But then he transformed into some sort of chimaera. Not the Greek Chimaera… but some amalgamation of mixed animals that Demetrios couldn’t decide if there had been some mythological creature as an inspiration. The body was grey lion-ish with black mane and all but the head was dragonic with big sabretooth tiger’s fangs and snake’s split tongue. It had goat’s horns as well as a horn coming from in the middle of the forehead, all three of them glowing purple. Oh, and better not forget glowing red eyes. Very evil.

For a moment Demetrios considered classifying the creature as a monstrous twist to Kirin… well, Qilin since Genshin originated from China. But since this guy was from Sumeru, maybe some Babylonian gate guards would be more appropriate… Well, that was before the creature began to speak with the scientist’s (or priest’s since he preached of holiness and uncleanness?) distorted voice and attack like it was some sort of Minotaur!

“This world makes no sense.” Demetrios muttered. “It was quadrupedal post-transformation but now fights bipedal… Does he think to be in Pokémon?”

Well, nevertheless it was impressive to watch Amber’s fight. The shield made of flames was great. Probably especially because she didn’t have such a skill as playable character in Genshin. Then again, Kaeya couldn’t form giant Cryo constructs either. Game mechanics kept everyone within reasonable limits for difficulty levels and consistent playability.

Amber managed to defeat the chimaera with Collei’s support. And Diluc arrived appropriately in time to pose menacingly when the Fatui soldiers arrived, claiming the ‘kill’.

“There he is!” Kaeya declared in Ace Attorney style. “he’s the culprit of the Black Fire Incident!”

“That is good to hear.” With his previous disguise firmly settled on, Demetrios stepped up and unleashed a flurry of red crystal flies to capture and freeze still the ‘culprit’ in an owl mask. No need for the Cavalry Captain to get a credit when there is a Fatui higher up available to take charge.

“Yes, yes… well done…” Demetrios sighed theatrically, clappin his hands slowly together. “The culprit is caught; the case is solved. Time to ferry this felon back to Motherland for trial.”

He noticed the soldiers glancing at each other in uncertainty but instantly straightening up and saluting, with a chorus of ‘sirs’ accompanying the motion. Luckily for them, the Cavalry Captain instantly identifies him.

“Caratterista. I thought you are on observation only.” Kaeya posited. Demetrios shrugged.

“So I though as well. But with the way the Second’s underlings keep bumbling about… I mean, Krupp got himself tricked and killed just a week ago… someone has to keep on eye on the proceedings.” He sighed and gestured at nearby knights. “Collect Barnabas and transport him back to the base. No need to bother the Mondstadian hospitality with him. Il Dottore may decide what to do with him.”

“Yes, Lord Caratterista!” The soldiers saluted and began moving both Diluc and Barnabas away. Demetrios waved leisurely at Kaeya, Amber and Collei, before following after.

The direction pointed towards the domain in Springvale. But before they even reached the outskirts of the village, Demetrios made an excuse to depart from the contingent and made himself scarce. He only left behind a couple of red crystal flies to observe the situation. Only enough to observe Diluc jailbreaking himself.

Demetrios slipped into Jean’s office and tossed his mask onto the table by the window. He slumped onto the chair by the table and leant back with a sigh. It was over. This part of the story was over and only thing left for Collei to leave with Cyno to Sumeru.

He was just about to close his eyes in order to take a short nap when the door to the office opened behind him and someone gasped in surprise.

“Who’re you?!”

Demetrios glanced over his shoulder.

“Hi, Jean. Don’t let the hair confuse you, it is just me.” He pushed the chair to turn ninety degrees in order to see the Acting Grandmaster properly. “I did stuff behind the scenes so I needed a disguise.”

“Ah… you really scared me, Demetrios.” Jean sighed, stepping properly into the room and making her way to the chalkboard that they’d used to gather all the information regarding the Fatui and Black Fire incident. “I thought some outsider had broken in.”

“My apologies.”

“No matter. I trust you are here to report then.”

“Yes. That was the goal. And also staying out sight because of… well, the role I played while in disguise.”

At that statement Jean took in the coat, the watch, the mask, the hair colour so different from usual…

“Demetrios… did you pretend to be a Fatui higher up?”

“It worked quite well. Once Kaeya fills you in on his and his compatriot’s plan I can add on with my own involvement.” Demetrios smiled.

“Yes… Lisa did mention that the situation had been resolved.” Jean sat down at the desk. “It seems there has been a lot of eager plotting behind my back.”

“Sorry… To be fair I didn’t tell Kaeya – or anyone else for that matter – what I was doing.”

“…I expect a thorough explanation then.”

“I’ll make a written one as well.” Demetrios produced a pen and some paper from his inventory and began to write.

Three hours later everyone was gathered in the office. Amber and Collei were in the infirmary of the Headquarters though, with Barbara called in to check them over. Kaeya stopped briefly to take in Demetrios and his cheery wave – face bared for the first time since before the Tree incident – but in the general bustle of the room, no one noticed the Cavalry Captain’s hesitation.

Lisa explained all decoding she and Demetrios had managed and what she then finished with Cyno on the now-recalled documents of the Fatui.

Kaeya laid out his investigations: the confrontation he tried and what he learnt from it. And then the plan he came up with to shift the blame of the Black Fire Incident to an anonymous person who’d then be able to escape the Fatui custody.

(The people in the room bar Cyno exchanged glances, knowing very well who this anonymous person was.)

Cyno reported the sealing and expressed his regret on not staying with the girls. As the General Mahamatra it would’ve been well in his rights to confront and arrest the Sumerian priest playing with substances of godly origins.

Demetrios then began explaining his part in the past twenty-four hours. His disguise choice and why he did what he did.

“The Fatui have a strong sense of hierarchy even if the underlings are divided between Harbingers.” He spoke while holding up the mask from the Pale Flame set. “I had enough markers on for them to automatically assume that I was high up in the command chain and thus free to act as I wished. That scientist-priest was present watching our Cavalry Captain confronting Collei. If he had seen Amber interfering as she was on the way already, he would’ve accused the Knights of harbouring suspects and traitors… And then I used the role again to get the Fatui soldiers speedily out of the way with their new suspect since their chain of command was broken when their scientist-priest got… a bit burnt.”

“And no heads up even after your act one?” Kaeya asked.

“To fool enemies, you need to first fool your allies.” Demetrios smiled. “Do note that I didn’t lie to you even once last night.”

The meeting concluded soon after, with Jean ushering them all out and reminding them to write up the reports for Grandmaster’s perusal once he returned. When exiting the room, Cyno fell in step with Demetrios towards the library. The ginger banished his disguise props back into the inventory.

“You’ve gone through a major change.” The General stated, looking up from the shadow of his hood at the marks on Demetrios’ face. At his red left eye.

“I broke no taboos. At least not intentionally.”

“It speaks of your priorities that this is your first concern instead of even a simple hello to an old friend.” Came an admonishment. “Especially after there has been no letters these past years.”

“…I’m sorry.” Demetrios hid his face when he opened the door to the library and gestured Cyno through ahead of him.

“I’ll determine your guilt on some other day… I know you are not going to run from me.”

“You reputation has grown only more fearsome these past years, Cyno. Forgive me for not being sure the balance between personal and business when it comes to our unexpected reunion.”

“Well, you certainly keep fluttering around and gathering interesting people around you.”

It was a weak pun but…

“Cyno, no.”

“Cyno, yes. You are missing two years’ worth of my jokes. I’m making up for the lost time.”

Lord Kusanali, save him…

Night 7

Demetrios had asked Cyno a favour. He had explained what had happened to him with the Irminsul Tree and how afterwards if affected his dreams. How he used to talk with Lesser Lord Kusanali in his dreams previously (“She is the god of dreams, Cyno. And no one else in Sumeru dreams anymore. No one aside from children and I.”) but after the incident could not anymore.

They were in Demetrios’ dormitory room. Demetrios was sitting on his bed, his Akasha Terminal resting on his palm, while Cyno occupied the chair by the writing desk.

“Are you sure about this? I’ve seen the report of what happened when those students forced the terminal on you. And I heard Kaveh ranting about it several times.” Cyno frowned at the terminal.

“Kaveh? Did he hear about it from al-Haitham?” Demetrios blinked. Which had Cyno staring at him in silence.

“Kaveh is the one who interfered, got you to Bimarstan and reported to matra.”

“But… I woke up at al-Haitham’s house! He looked after me in the aftermath.”

“That I do not know about. But I do know that Kaveh at the time had a complex about not being involved with you.”

“Oh yeah, he did that. Idiot, should’ve introduced himself sooner so we could’ve had more time together…”

“I have a feeling if I try to poke further at your relationship with those two, I end up regretting the knowledge.” Cyno decided after deliberation. “Now, what is your plan here?”

“I put on the terminal and go to sleep, hoping that Lord Kusanali finds me. You observe for any adverse reactions and wake me up if something happens.”

“This is a bad plan. You should have Tighnari here with you.”

“This is the only plan I have.”

“After one hour I will wake you up regardless and you will remove the terminal so we can both sleep properly tonight.”

“Deal.”

It is green. Very intense dendro-green for a moment before it mellows out and the scenery starts to build around him.

He is sitting in a very Mondstadian meadow. The breeze in gentle and windwheel asters twirl leisurely. Butterflies flutter around. A small hand grabs onto his own.

“Oh, Demetrios, I finally found you.” Nahida says and settles next to him. He looks at her and with her other hand she reaches for his face. “What has happened to you?”

“I… grew attached to an Irminsul Tree.”

She tilts her head, seeing his memories of the event and subsequent discoveries of his new powers and possible status. And then she looks upon him with newfound clarity.

“Oh… You are Ipos. God of Memories born from the Irminsul and earth rather than brought to the Gilded Celestial Halls.”

“Memories?”

“Your aspect, your ideal… That has always been your heart. How you remember your own past and the past of others. No wonder you studied in Vahumana.” Nahida smiles fondly. He blinks slowly but then considers everything he has been able to do and what has been happening to him. Irminsul is a repository of knowledge long past. It is an archive to which all living returns to and waits for rebirth. He can feel people and monsters around Dragonspine through the leylines what else is that but location data outdated only by milli-seconds? The listening of stories from the artifacts that are already removed from domains… His own memories suddenly gaining uncomfortable clarity. Yes, Memories. That fits indeed.

“Wake up now, Ipos, and remove the terminal. I can feel you straining under it and know now how to find you.” Nahida says, smoothing down his hair that fell before his strange eye.

“Demetrios. Call me still Demetrios.” He interjects immediately. The God of Dreams chuckles.

“Yes, at your very core you are still Demetrios. And as long as you choose so, you will always be Demetrios. Wake up now and then have proper, sweet dreams. We will talk once again when you have had time to think through this information.”

Day 8 onwards

The days after were spent in recovering and cleaning up. A whole bunch of Fatui still left the main city in droves though the Goethe Hotel remained occupied by them. The Ludi Harpastum also wrapped up and some volunteer knights helped clearing the main festival site.

Demetrios spent time inside the library while waiting to be able to wash the dye from his hair. He focused on finishing his report and organizing his materials for his next research project. Collei became company for him while Amber was busy doing her duties. The green-haired girl was looking much better already. The physical and mental change on her after the sealing was huge. The lack of bandages, the straighter posture, signs of actually getting proper sleep…

“Hm? What are you doing?” Demetrios asked from the girl. Collei snapped her gaze up…

“I- OW!” … and stabbed herself with a needle.

“Are you alright?”

“Yes…” The girl whimpered, tiny tear pricking at the corners of her eyes. “Not the first time this has happened.”

“That’s… the shirt you were wearing few days ago?” Demetrios guessed.

“Amber lent it to me. It got torn… but I want to fix it before returning. The maid in armour gave me sewing supplies when the shirt came from the wash.”

“That’s Noelle for you.” Demetrios chuckled. “Anticipating your desires even before you can ask for help.”

He watched a moment at Collei attempting to mend the shirt before getting up from his seat and settling next to the girl.

“May I help? I learnt to sew from my mother when I was young.”

“I… but it’s my job…”

“I know. But let me teach you how to do it properly and in a manner that doesn’t hurt you.” He gently extracted the garment from her grip. He finished quickly the last stitch in a manner that resembled the previous stitches, flashing a cheeky smile at Collei. “Alright, first things first… turn the clothing inside out so the stitches remain on the inside. The purpose of the mending is to fix the clothing in a manner that is as invisible as possible… unless you are doing some artistic mending with purposefully visible stitching.”

He brought the sewing kit towards him and extracted some pins and a thimble. He tacked the pins to hold the next rip still with the edges turned a little so they would remain on the inside. “Use the pins to hold the cloth still. This way you don’t need to hold your own fingers so close and the rip will be mended neater since there isn’t constant shifting. You can just remove the pins once you’ve sewn past them. Now, why don’t you cut a length of that white thread for me?”

Collei had been following his actions attentively. She picked up the bobbin and cut some string that she then carefully threaded through the eye of the needle. Demetrios then showed her how to make a simple knot to the end of it. Just wrap it a few times over a tip of finger, roll the loop off and tighten it!

“Now, we want to make neat tiny stitches. As we both are right-handed, we go from right to left and start from the bottom of the rip.” He pushed the needle through the edges, pushed with the thimble on his ring finger and had his thumb and forefinger on the other side catching the needle in order to pull the string until the knot hit the cloth. And then made the next stitch a few millimetres above the first. And again. And again. “Nice and easy. There is no hurry anywhere…”

He removed the first pin and proceeded upwards until the next pin and removed that as well.

“See? You can continue from here.” Demetrios offered the shirt to Collei. The girl accepted it and the thimble he dropped onto her palm. “The technique requires practice that I’ve gotten in the past twenty years of my life but once you get the hang of it, it isn’t hard even for a beginner.”

“Right.” Collei nodded determinedly and began doing her own stitched. They weren’t as neat and even as Demetrios’ but at least she wasn’t constantly pricking her finger. And once she got to the top of the rip, Demetrios verbally instructed her how to finish it without fear of the stitching eventually unravelling.

“Well done.” Demetrios smiled.

“You said your mother taught you? Where is she now?”

…Of course, she’d ask that since Demetrios brought that up.

“She is still in Snezhnaya with the rest of the family. I haven’t seen her in almost ten years…”

“Oh... I'm sorry?”

“No need. You didn’t know.” Demetrios brushed the apology aside and ruffled Collei’s hair, getting the girl bristle like a cat. “Now, let’s work on the next spot.”

Two days later Collei left with Cyno. A letter was written to Amber with Lisa’s help. Cyno told Demetrios clearly that he’d be telling their mutual friends of his location so they could admonish him for cutting contact. Demetrios just laughed at the playful ire while seeing the two of them off on their journey before leaving to wander the countryside as well.

He made it to the top of Starsnatch Cliff and settled there to flick through some miscellaneous papers that he’d gathered during his adventures but had not direct link to any investigation that he had going. But then a gust of wind – not even that strong one – grabbed one of them and sent it twirling downhill.

“Oi!” Demetrios dismissed the rest back to his inventory and chased after the paper. No, wait… It was two papers. “Archons dammit…”

Someone at the downhill managed to snatch both of them from the air. Demetrios had never seen them before even thought the person had a quite distinctive look. The sort of distinctive that people Demetrios identified as either ‘playable’ or ‘enemy’ had. Pale cyan hair, a mask… white long coat with side slits and… what was all that stuff piled at his back?

The man was reading the papers he’d caught, only briefly glancing at Demetrios when he came to a stop by him. Or at least Demetrios assumed there was a glance as he couldn’t see the man’s eyes from behind the mask. But there was a minute movement of the head.

“Thank you for catching the papers. I don’t know what I would’ve done if I’d lost them.” Especially since he hadn’t gotten a chance to see just which two papers the wind had snatched.

“I had not expected to see this note again.” The man stated, not really paying heed to what Demetrios just said. “And a curious code written in this other one. Where is that from?”

Code? Demetrios rarely wrote down codes. Oh, maybe it was the one from a few weeks ago that he hadn’t begun decoding yet?

“There are some ruin guards at the mountain that display those strings of code.” Demetrios replied. “Now what do you mean by ‘seeing’ that other paper?”

“Why, I wrote it myself but discarded as ultimately unnecessary part of notes.” The man carelessly waved the papers through the air. “Sentiment got mixed in.”

Then it dawned on Demetrios as he saw the frayed edges of the other paper. It was the one he picked up when breaking into the ruin golem in Devantaka Valley! But the implied age of the page was at least hundred years.

“Sir… who are you?”

The answering grin was sharp and menacing.

“I should rather ask you. Who are you, Caratterista?”

“I don’t-”

“Long coat, a mask, hair of deep inky colour… and I can even see the red marks peeking from your collar even if half of your face is concealed by this particular mask.” A hand reached for Demetrios and in the movement the items shifted at the man’s back enough that on his right shoulder a mask was seen, sitting like a pauldron. A plague doctor’s mask.

“We lost our prisoner just a few hours ago but you’ll do. What a luck to find you when I was simply taking a walk away from incompetence.”

Danger!

Demetrios didn’t have a chance to think how all the context clues clicked together. The cyan hair and white coat… they were different from the other Dottore he had seen a week ago. But the danger he represented was very real!

Demetrios dispersed. Shattered. Scattered. Red Crystalflies burst to every direction. Any direction as long as they got away from this vile man. Dottore managed to catch one of the crystalflies but Demetrios instinctively cut that off from his Kaleidoscope, leaving only an inert crystalfly core that was no different from ones regularly harvested from nature.

They flew up and away, disappearing from sight.

“Run away, Caratterista! But know you will never escape my interest!” Dottore laughed in the distance.

When stepping into depths

“Traveller, wait.” Demetrios jogged up to catch with the traveller and Paimon before the steps of Opera Epiclese.

“Demetrios? What are you doing here?” Paimon questioned instantly.

“I heard from Charlotte. You are going to Fortress of Meropide now, right?”

“Yes… Neuvillette asked us to investigate Childe’s disappearance as a neutral party.” The traveller answered. Demetrios nodded slowly.

“I… heard about that one as well.”

“How?!” Paimon gaped.

“Let’s just say my way of gathering information is… not necessarily discreet but easily dismissed.” With a flick of his wrist Demetrios produced a Cryo crystalfly. “Say, Traveller, how many cores do you have in your inventory right now?”

“About two hundred, give or take a dozen.”

“How many cores can you hide in the folds of your clothes?”

“Depending on arrangement, maybe twenty.” The traveller gestured the top layer of her skirt. “I could attach them to the waistband.”

“Why are you trying to smuggle so much crystalfly cores into the Fortress?” Paimon grumbled in confusion.

“Because with enough cores I can eventually smuggle myself in as well.” Demetrios replied much to their wide-eyed surprise.

“Wait, what?” Lumine gaped. Ironically it was Paimon who got it first.

“Ooh, are you using the distraction trick that you did in Inazuma?”

“Essentially yes. But this is more about surveillance.”

“What trick?” Lumine frowned.

“Oh, it was at the Vision Hunt Ceremony when you were unconscious.” Paimon explained. “Demetrios turned into a big cloud of red crystalflies and distracted Raiden Shogun enough for Thoma get you and escape.”

“Huh…”

“When you are at the Fortress, the cores I give you will take flight, just release them one by one discreetly. And if you spread your own harvested cores around, I can use them as well. With enough I can map out a route for myself to enter. As crystalflies then, too.”

“Are you certain of this?” Lumine frowned.

“…Sasha is my brother. The only member of my family I’ve stayed in contact. My last link to my origins. He has now disappeared so I have to do everything I can to find him again. That’s all there is to it.”

“I understand.” Lumine smiled sadly and then chuckled. “And here you can’t even cheat your way through the main plot.”

“Oi, you can’t hold that against me still, I told you two years ago about that.”

“Never. You surely had your fun being ominous and smug while watching us flounder around.”

“Well, I did live part of my life in Fontaine. All the world’s a stage, and all the men and women merely players. And nowhere is that more vividly seen but in the nation of drama.”

Chapter Text

Then

“You believe me, right?” Fingers clutching his tightly. Barely days after emerging from the depths, the same question on his lips over and over again.

“Of course, I do.” Reassurance,

“Dimitri, stop encouraging Ajax.” Anger, fear, demand.

“But papa!” Plea.

“No, situation is serious enough as it is. We do not need either of you inflating it further!” Reason but not.

“Mitenka, come help at the kitchen. Your father needs to speak to Ajax.” Separation.

“Mama, I…”

“Come now.” Expectation.

“Okay…” Reluctance. Hands slipping away.

“Mit’ka…” Please don’t leave him.

“You believe me, right? You believe it was more than three days?” Dark in the room, hidden under blankets.

“Yes… For me it was only three days but it might as well have been months. Sasha has never been a liar.” Fingers threaded together, legs tangling with crossed ankles.

“Thank you.”

Falling asleep. It was all good.

Waking up. The floor was cold. Head was ringing. Ribs were hurting.

Ajax had a nightmare again.

Dimitri got up and tucked Ajax in before making his way to the washroom.

The visions and knowledge began pouring in from then on.

In the morning Ajax went out of house and got into a fight again. When he came home, he got into a fight with father.

In the evening Dimitri went to his own bed to sleep.

“Mit’ka believes me, right?” Tears choked back, fear reverting the speech to something more childish.

Dimitri settled by Ajax’s bedside.

“Of course, I do. You wouldn’t lie about something like that.” He assured his brother but something felt different. Like he was a spectator sitting behind his own eyes.

“No one else does.”

“I’m sure Ivan will. He studies all sorts of stuff in the Capital that mother and father can’t even fantom.”

“Okay…”

Slipping under covers. Linking hands together. Falling asleep.

Waking up on the cold floor. Throat hurting. Tucking Ajax in and going to washroom.

Dimitri wore scarf until the bruising healed. At the outside, there was a swarm black-coated Fatui sculking about the village.

“Mitenka, stop sleeping in Ajax’s bed. I can see what he is doing to you.”

“He doesn’t mean it! And he falls asleep better with me close by.”

“That doesn’t make it better! And you hiding it from him only enables it!” No mention of Ajax’s sleeping troubles.

“Mama…”

“I mean it.” End of discussion.

Dimitri stopped sleeping next to Ajax. The visions continued. Distance grew. Between Dimitri and Ajax. Between Ajax and the rest of the family. And… between Dimitri and the rest of the family. Dimitri stopped speaking unless spoken to. Everything in Snezhnaya terrified him. So he drifted while pondering what to do. He wanted to leave but didn’t know how. He wanted to help Ajax but didn’t know how. He knew too much but not how to use it.

Mother sat him down once more and had him speak of his worries.

The next day he was out of the door and leaving everything behind.

Now

Week had passed since the Fatui delegation had left the city. Varka was back. The Grand Master called for a meeting between the Captains and other personnel in charge of decisions in order to get a comprehensive report of everything that had been going on in his absence.

Demetrios was also invited. And thus, it was time for him to come clean of the plan he and his co-conspirators hatched and conducted. Plus his own actions that led to Klee’s participation…

“Can’t be helped…” Demetrios sighed as he secured his bag of things that he intended to take with him once he returned to Dragonspine. Then he picked up the report he’d written down and headed for the map room. Many people were already gathered there. Even Rosaria was there, leaning against the wall in the shadow cast next to a window. Demetrios nodded shortly to her and then took his own seat at the table next to Lisa and Eula.

Varka’s arrival with Jean and Kaeya signalled the start of the meeting. Majority of it was going through routine checks. Patrols, training, disturbances, asked and granted leaves of duty… Then came the more specified reports. The preparations for Ludi Harpastum, the Fatui activity… And of course, the entire week following the Black Fire Incident and how it was all dealt with.

Demetrios gave his report on his own actions and disclosed the usage of disguise and personage of ‘Caratterista’ in order to misdirect the Fatui. There were… surprised exclamations. And Demetrios could see some surprise on Kaeya’s face too, though the younger man tried to conceal it.

“And… the last item on the list is the collapse by Mondstadt-Liyue border that appears to have housed a cave system inside.” Jean read from her notes.

“I’ve read the initial report from our Chief Alchemist.” Varka nodded slowly. “But it is curious… Mondstadt – unlike many other nations – does not have extensive cave systems aside from what was formed inside Dragonspine mountain.”

“That is true.” Lisa agreed. “Lord Barbatos pretty effectively erased them when he terraformed Mondstadt’s lands after his ascension. Most caves collapsed back then and tentatively were dug up again, but compared to Sumeru or Inazuma, we lack underground tunnels and ruins from bygone eras. And we do not have anything akin to Liyue’s grand scale mining operations.”

“As appropriate for the land of Winds and Freedom. Everything we need, is found under clear skies” Kaeya chuckled.

“The report, please.” Varka indicated for either Jean or Albedo to speak. After a moment of deliberation, Jean stood up.

“On the night preceding what we now refer to as the Black Fire Incident, the staff of Dawn Winery reported to have experienced tremors. In the morning, a patrol was dispatched to investigate and found a large area to have sunken for several meters’ worth. I ordered Chief Alchemist Kreideprinz to investigate area to ascertain the cause of such event.” She explained and then indicated Albedo to continue.

“I did my investigation with the help of Captain Lawrence of Reconnaissance Company. I examined the rock compositions in the area, trying to find what could’ve caused the collapse. Instead, we discovered a some sort of manmade facility having been there as well as residue of explosives.” Albedo was frowning. Demetrios knew he had examined components of the explosives and now tried to figure out how Klee’s formulas could possibly be involved. They were pretty unique compared to other explosive materials used around the world. The benefits of having such an eccentric mother and thus unique way of thinking and formulating things. “There is something I didn’t include in my previous report to Acting Grandmaster Gunnhildr in the fear of being overheard but…”

“I think this is the moment when I have to interrupt.” Demetrios spoke up and got up from his chair. “I have the mission report already prepared to later perusal but it’s better to get this done first in person.”

“That much I do concur.” Eula stated, dropping her own report onto the conference table and joining ranks with Demetrios. Rosaria sighed at her spot and walked forwards, joining them at the table.

“So, what happened then?” Varka asked, leaning back in his seat and crossing his arms. There was an expectant gaze meeting the three Cryo users.

“Approximately three weeks ago, first observation of Fatui activity were made to the west of the Ridge Watch domain. I brought this information to Captain Lawrence who confirmed having reported something similar to you already.”

Varka nodded. “Indeed. Timing was such that I left the details how to proceed up to her discretion.”

“Further observations led to discovery of a research laboratory of the Fatui, Haeresys, headed by a man named Krupp. And that the Second Harbinger, Dottore had arrived to visit it.”

“We made a deliberate decision to exclude Acting Grandmaster Gunnhildr and Cavalry Captain Alberich from our planning, as they are the public face of Knights of Favonius and the ones having to be in contact with the Fatui the most.” Eula continued then. “The timing of the raid was decided upon information that both Krupp and Dottore would be absent from the base for the event hosted at Ragnvindr Manor, here in Mondstadt City.”

“Given the… infamy of the Dottore and most likely purpose of the research facility, it was concluded that our mission would primarily focus on rescue. Thus we were in the need for an effective healer, as well a shielder. Deaconess Barbara Page and Knight trainee Noelle Schild were recruited for the operation.” Demetrios stated and already braced for a reaction. At least from Jean.

“The initial attack went smoothly. Demetrios secured the research while the Deaconess and the Trainee went to help and protect the prisoners. The three of us took care of the personnel inside the facility…” Rosaria explained before pausing. “The only hiccup came with the additional help Demetrios had recruited.”

“Due to the nature of our mission and the current political relations between Mondstadt and Snezhnaya, I deemed it better for all possible evidence be destroyed or at the very least inaccessible for the Fatui. It was also imperative to create situation where the destruction at least appeared natural and left no avenues for them to accuse us of anything without exposing their own dealings in the process. Thus I… laid a trail for a sixth team member to follow, without telling the rest of my companions of my intentions.” Demetrios confessed. “Spark Knight Klee followed us to the site. She arrived when we were finishing up the fight and I took her outside to wait while the patients were prepared for transport. Captain Lawrence and Knight Trainee Schild weakened the support pillars of the base. I gave the Spark Knight some Crimson Agate for her to push through her first threshold and thus make even bigger explosion happen inside the base once everyone relevant was out.”

“We had boats prepared to cross back to the Winery’s lands and once there, we were joined by Surveyor Mika Schmidt.” Eula picked up the thread. “Our destination was the shore of Cider Lake by Wolvendom from where we took the boats to the tunnels leading directly from below cliff to the Cathedral Crypt. Surveyor Huffman illustrated our route and is included in my report.”

“The journey went without further troubles and as of the last check-up, none of the victims we rescued, have perished. The Deaconess and I have identified all rescued and put together information packet. They have been under the sisters’ care in the Crypt.” Rosaria finished her part of the recounting.

“I took a different route via Springvale and brought Klee back to Mondstadt. Outrider Amber Forst witnessed my return to the city. And all the gathered materials have already been entrusted to the Library to investigate and archive.” Demetrios finished as well.

“Indeed. There is still a lot to go through.” Lisa hummed. Was it just Demetrios or was there less teasing and warmth in her voice?

Varka let out a slow breath that only bordered on being a sigh.

“Thank you for the prompt and discreet handling of this matter. I’ll read through all of your additional reports and see about interviewing the Deaconess and Knight Trainee myself on a later date. I will then listen Chief Alchemist’s report of the aftermath investigation as well.” The Grandmaster stated. “Meeting concluded.”

Demetrios… Well, he didn’t run but he very much escaped from the meeting. He had plans on hiding in his room for a couple of days in the case Varka wanted more details from him but after that he was out of the city.

A hand closed around his wrist before he managed to reach the staircase. Demetrios turned to glance over his shoulder. It was Albedo.

“I think we need to talk.”

“I admit I had my suspicions for a while.” Albedo stated when they were in his laboratory. “The residue I found, Klee’s strange silence of the adventure she had before I came back… It makes sense that she’d keep a secret. Not only because what she did but also because she understands that you… were in the wrong to trick her to go there.”

True. Despite Klee’s outward appearance and style of speech, she was of long-lived race. Honestly, Demetrios could probably guess her age to be in the thirties and still be right. She was smart in many ways but was still learning to be a functional member of society.

“You are saying that she was protecting me from consequences.” Demetrios asked.

“Indeed.” Albedo arranged some of the items on one of the workstations: shuffling papers, stacking books, brushing eraser dust to a bin… Demetrios remained standing near the door, trying not to be anxious due to the silence.

After some moments, Albedo spoke up again.

“Do you regret your decision?”

“…I regret that it had to be her but I do not regret the results. I do not see any other course of actions we could’ve taken in that time frame and still be as successful as we were then.”

Albedo fell silent at the admission, conclusions forming and connections made. His gaze hardened but he didn’t refute Demetrio’s statement.

“Take a break. I’ll be staying here and watching over Klee to make sure your actions have not harmed her.” Physical, mental, emotional. There were many types of harm she could’ve been exposed to. Demetrios understood.

“I’ll keep distance then. Goodbye.”

It was deserved. Demetrios couldn’t say he didn’t see it coming. When he made the plan, he couldn’t imagine what exactly would be the consequences to him afterwards but he hadn’t blinded himself to the possibility of them. And indeed, he couldn’t really say he regretted his decisions either. He hoped that Klee would’ve been a lot older mentally but maybe her youth and ignorance would shield her a while longer until she could safely process everything.

There were many things still to be said but this moment or place wasn’t the right for them. Neither of them would be receptive of them and thus those things would be said later. Way later.

Demetrios decided to change his plans. Instead of waiting for Varka to potentially summon him for later clarification, he went directly to speak with the Grandmaster in his office. To Demetrios’s relief, Jean was not in.

“You are leaving then?” Varka asked. Apparently, there was no additional need for debrief since Demetrios had written such a comprehensive report that the man was currently reading through.

“Yes… I don’t know when I’ll be back.”

“I hope to see you at least in a couple of months before I leave for my expedition.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.” Demetrios nodded. “By your leave, Grandmaster.”

“Dismissed.”

He climbed the mountain as usual. But when he came to the camp Albedo and him usually used, Demetrios found himself hesitating. He didn’t know when Albedo would be back to the camp. And he didn’t particularly want the presence of Sucrose or Timaeus either… But there was an old cave in the other side of the mountain that he remembered liking while playing Genshin and later discovering again when collecting Crimson Agates for the Frostbearing Tree. It took little effort to teleport nearby. The entrance was accessible from the Starglow Cavern, formed by a pillar holding up a part of collapsed ceiling. The side of the cave from the mountain was wide open for the elements but sealing it up with a layer of cryo was an easy task. Just a little gap left at the top to let out smoke from the torches lighting up and warming the place. But otherwise, the cold wind and snow would keep the Cryo lasting and the clear new wall gave a nice view outside as well.

“Yes, this is the spot. I doubt anyone else knows about this either…” Demetrios decided after lighting the torches and dropping his pack on the ground. It would take a bit for the place to warm up but in the meanwhile, he could organize the old books stacked on and around the ancient bookshelves found in the cave. He would be just fine. The adventurers’ camp was aware he was up on the mountain so they knew to expect him to occasionally show up to get supplies and possible mail from them. But no one should be able to disrupt him while doing his research here. And focusing on clearing the rest of the tasks at the mountain.

“Solitude is nothing new to me…”

One last glance to the future

There was something Demetrios discovered before going to meet the Traveller and Paimon at the entrance to Fortress of Meropide. A reason why he initially had eavesdropped the meeting between The Hydro Archon, the Iudex and the Knave.

He had been simply taking a walk around the nightly City of Fontaine and trying to still clear his head from everything he’d witnessed at Sasha’s trial. The actual truth of the case of disappearing women. The Oratrice’s decision to sentence Sasha anyways. There had to be something else going on but what…

Demetrios opened his vambrace from his left forearm and pulled off his glove. The red lines splitting his skin shone lightly, not enough to emit light to surroundings but clearly standing out. The skin around them had slowly been taking the hue of dimmed silver, similar colour to the aged bark of the Tree. If nothing else, he could try breaking into the Opera Epiclese and see, if he could read memories from the Oratrice. Though given that it was of divine make, it was possible that he wouldn’t succeed. Humans and items made and handled by them were much easier.

He was momentarily distracted and thus it took him completely by surprise when someone ran into him. The slight figure bounced back and was falling onto the pavement but Demetrios managed to act in time and grasp her wrist, cutting her momentum.

But nothing prepared him to the sudden onslaught of memories that bombarded him from the bit of skin he touched at her wrist. Memories of tears and never-ending performance, of duty placed upon her narrow but unfaltering shoulders, of uncertainty and waiting for everything to end.

For a normal human the amount of those foreign memories would’ve been too much. But Demetrios knew how to compartmentalize and set them aside for a moment further and remain in the present. He swallowed a gasp that threatened to escape his mouth and focused on the woman before him. She was wound up and kept wanting to curl protectively into herself but also present strong front because she was now… in front of an audience member.

“Lady Furina, are you alright?” He asked though he knew the answer was negative. But he could not affect what had been happening in the long run but if something had happened recently to frazzle her so… That he could try to amend.

“I am fine! What could possibly affect me, Focalors, in my own city?” She declared imperiously, not an ounce of tremble in her voice. She was a truly impressive actress.

“My mistake then.” Demetrios bowed slightly and then went to pull his glove back on.

“Wh-What has happened to your hand?” The woman asked.

“Is it of interest of the Hydro Archon?”

“Well, of course! You may be a foreigner but you still carry the Vision of Fontaine! That makes you at least half of my subject then!” She probably pulled that excuse from her hat but Demetrios could humour her. And maybe…

“There was a mishap some years ago. I got connected to Irminsul… and later I’ve learnt that makes me something akin to a newly-born god.” He tried to downplay the full effect the transformation had to him but if he wanted to be honest. And then he bowed. “Nowadays I can also be called Ipos, the God of Memories. It is a pleasure to officially meet you, Regina of Waters.”

“Memories…” She whispered. He didn’t look up. If he had, he would’ve seen her widening eyes and terror flashing across her face. But he gave her a moment to compose to herself. “Ahem, such a distinguished presence should’ve been welcomed properly then. Please, follow me back to Palais Mermonia. It should not be too late yet to sit down for a cut of tea. Or perhaps chocolat chaud would be more appropriate?”

“It would be my honour, Lady Furina.”

They arrived to Palais Mermonia and Furina declared her order of hot chocolate for two with appropriate snacks for the staff before leading the way to a meeting room. The door barely closed and Demetrios managed snap his fingers to protect the room from eavesdroppers and stalkers outside the windows, when Furina was upon him, clutching the lapels of his coat.

“What did you see!?” She demanded.

“…Everything.” He admitted. And it took a lot of him not to simply succumb to the weight of 500 years’ worth of memories.

“You can’t tell anyone! Everything, the future of Fontaine depends on me doing this correctly. On absolutely no one knowing!” She had tears in her eyes. Demetrios lifted a hand to wipe them away.

“I know. I’m sorry that you’ve had to be alone for so long, but I promise I won’t make your efforts to be in vain by divulging your secrets.”

It was true and it terrified Demetrios. But this secret was once again something that the Traveller needed to discover and solve. This was Lumine’s journey. Like, posited by Zhongli, she was the Witness for this world. And her status as a Descender – while unclear as to what all it held – was not something to be dismissed. Some people would say that Demetrios was taking an easy way out and leaving the main plot for the protagonist to handle but honestly? Demetrios was terrified what would happen if he were to pluck at a thread in the wrong place and cause a butterfly effect down the line that could derail the entire plot. For the first three arcs he could poke and prod because he knew the cause and effect of the plotline. But in Sumeru and now in Fontaine he needed to be more careful. To gather information outside of what Lumine experienced.

Lumine was the Witness and Demetrios was the Archivist writing down her story.

A knock on the door alerted of a maid arriving with a cake service and a pot of hot chocolate. To Demetrios relief there were some salty quiche as well. They settled to sit by the table and waited for the maid to leave before eating. Demetrios was half-way through his piece when he felt he could not hold back anymore.

“Lady Furina… forgive me but I have to… process everything I saw. 500 years is… a lot. Don’t worry though, the barrier will keep unkind people away and from hearing anything.”

“W-Wait, what do you mean by process?!” She jumped on her feet, the chair clattering backwards and barely remaining straight.

“And don’t worry about the Irminsul… My branch is not… connected to the main tree…”

“That’s not what I meant!”

He could just about see her rushing around the table and grasping his covered hand, before he succumbed to darkness.

All the world’s a stage, and all the men and women merely players. No one’s an exception to that.

Chapter Text

Then

Dimitri liked butterfly motifs. Partially because of his own constellation, partially because there were so many variations in the shapes of the wings, the patterns of them, the colours… Both in nature and also then allowing for an artist’s or crafter’s imagination to run and create their own patterns.

For a long time Dimitri had looked at the butterfly his mother had put on the tapestry and wondered why it was so simple. He had wondered what his constellation actually looked like, what butterfly it would resemble the most. Or if he could decide himself the design of it… The boy spent many moments trying to draft a design of his own interest to the loose papers he found around the house. All the moments whenever he wasn’t watching after his siblings or helping around the house or trying to create things for his siblings.

When everything with Sasha came down, Dimitri had begun to embroider his latest design on a pillowcase. But it just became one of the things he’d leave behind.

It was when Dimitri was in Fontaine, exchanging letters with mother that he figured out the answer to his question. Mother was very skilful with her hands and could create beautiful patterns. But she mainly stuck to traditional patterns that she had practised over and over again and could easily look up from other clothes and what other people created. The certain code to follow depending on person’s age, gender and status. But when it came to something more freeform… That tapestry was the only thing she had made. Most of the animals of Dimitri’s siblings’ constellations were common and easy to find examples of. Then there was Sasha’s narwhal and Dimitri’s butterfly. And Dimitri knew that mother had added those two animals together, Anya had said as much. With Ivan, Anya and Dimitri having only two years age differences between each other, mother and taken a break with the tapestry after Anya. So when was the time to add the next two children to it… The narwhal naturally would take more work, effort and research amidst childrearing while the butterfly was simply butterfly. The amount of effort put to each animal didn’t factor to mother’s care to any of them. They were just constellations that didn’t matter much in everyday life of Morepesok. But at the same time they became quite ironic and maybe even cruel reflection of them all.

Almost everyone was a ‘common’ animal found in the forest. But then there was narwhal from the sea, diving to depths, not suitable for land, intimidating to look at and meant to migrate. An undefined butterfly was a rarity around their climate, only around for a few months in summer before disappearing again, plain and unnoticed by most.

Dimitri… had wanted to figure out who he was. For himself and his family.

Now

In the end it was not that hard to adapt living at Dragonspine. Mostly because Demetrios had been doing it before, now the only thing that changed was the location of his basecamp. And the fact that he was completely alone.

He made plans for his next research target, the one he’d submit a report of to Akademiya and the one he’d do for his own interest. That one being finally restoring the Celestial Nail at the Summit of the mountain. And that also meant acquiring the last Crimson Agates for the Frostbearing Tree.

“The Akademiya project I probably can do about the climate conditions or something. Not my usual area of expertise but…” But Demetrios felt quite possessive over the things on the mountain. And until the Traveller cleared the ‘problem’ in Sumeru that would be the Archon Quest, Demetrios didn’t really trust the Akademiya with more important information of the mountain.

The decision made, Demetrios gathered this supplies he needed and left his camp. Time for Starglow Cavern's time trial.

Like Demetrios remembered from the time when he solved the trial in-game, this one was a real pain to do. Four waves of opponents produced by the leylines, to test if people were worthy of rewards awaiting them at the end of journey. But what was easier for Demetrios that he could aim his cryo projectiles to further distance compared to playable characters and thus didn’t need to run around the place as much aside from dodging the falling icicles. The only real obstacle was the Cryo Abyss Mage with its shield and immunity. That had Demetrios relying on the red ice to pierce through the shield and thus brute-forcing his way to victory.

And so the last third of the nail was sent to the summit to wait him to thaw them again.

“This journey will net me at least ten more Agates… And then the rest will… be found by searching for corrupted monsters? Or however the Crimson Wish will happen.” He mused, reaching for the Statue of Seven’s teleport. Actually, he was probably close to getting all of the Agates currently in the overworld. The only one missing was the one getting by feeding foxes but Joserf was not yet missing and thus there was no campsite for the snowfoxes to gather at and to be fed. And then indeed would be time for track down the rest through… the details were escaping Demetrios. Well, he’d figure it out once the time came.

It was like a trip down the memory lane. Following those warming seelies, using the giant icicles as bridges to climb higher… narrowly avoiding ice dropping from the ceiling after fighting hilichurls.

“Oh, I had forgotten about the anemograna here.” Demetrios blinked in surprise. So many little details on this journey that he had later on forgotten about in favour of the big things. Or stupid things, like taking Barbara to the team when fighting the Frostarm Lawachurl because at the time she was the only healer and only hydro character he had.

The frozen but fully formed pieces of the Celestial Nail greeted the young godling at the summit. The main body of the Nail was stuck on the ground, covering the area in ice and also blocking the way to the domain. Peak of Vindagnyr. The home of Blizzard Strayer and Heart of Depth artifact sets. Yet something for Demetrios to make record of for the Adventurer’s Guild and the Favonius Library both. And maybe send a copy of the histories to Akademiya as well. The information in the artifacts was benign enough that Demetrios was willing to share it with them. Unlike matters relating to Durin’s heart or the Frostbearing Tree. The Celestial Nail however… Demetrios would rather keep it a secret as he wasn’t entirely sure how those Nails were regarded as or how much information about them was in the Akademiya already. There was a Nail in the desert and according to some eremites, there was a tornado of sand around it. Demetrios had never ventured to Desert himself, having travelled from Fontaine to Bayda Harbour which was the port closer to Sumeru City. So he had never actually witnessed the storm.

Besides, even if he wanted to keep the Nail a secret, once restored, its light would be seen from various corners of the world as it floated above the peak of Dragonspine.

“Some of the artifacts would also make nice souvenirs. At least Kaeya and Rosaria… I wonder if Barbara would want to try the Hydro set for a change…” Demetrios mused… before remembering there was a reason why he was currently alone on the mountain. “Ah… better not probably. So they don’t think I’m trying to buy their forgiveness.”

Mood considerably soured, Demetrios then set out to go and thaw that three pieces of the Nail once more. The defence system was disposed of easily (but curiously active already when Demetrios arrived) but once again, Demetrios needed to either overpower or then use precision attacks to get rid of Cryo aligned enemies: the lawachurl and the sharpshooter hilichurls. It had been messy, with Demetrios having to resort to piercing the flesh of the enemies. Usually, he could overwhelm them with elemental energy but looking at the black gunk staining the white snow yet evaporating in the energy radiation from the Nail… He really didn’t like this style of battle but he had little choice given his disadvantage in elemental typing. Moreover…

“This will be draining in the longer run.” He sighed when the first and second shards with some additional fragments were moving towards the main body of the Nail. But he couldn’t afford to stop now. He had already made it this far and it would feel like a waste to let things be unfinished. Besides if he left now, who knew what other matters could happen and keep him from continuing. Who knew when would the next opportunity come?

Thus it was time to continue climbing. Technically Demetrios could try and aim a shot powered by Scarlet Quartz to the last shard but the angle and the snow and wind were quite unfavourable. Not to mention the general dimness caused by the cloud cover. Yes, better go up to look for the Quartz and melt the last shard from up there.

The pieces of the Nail slotted themselves back together to become a whole once more. The ice caused by the mountain’s subzero climate and holding the Nail in place, evaporated in an instant. The Nail began to rise, sloughing off some snow from it and drawing some loose debris with its orbit to the air. For a moment it gained speed, making Demetrios almost worry it would shoot into the space instead, but it did come to a stop at an appropriate altitude.

“Now… What was this Nail called after all? I think it had a specific name…” The godling mused. His thoughts came to a halt though when he felt a sudden shift beneath his feet.

The Leylines. He could feel them clearer now. Like some sort of filter had been removed or condensation cleared from a window. And wow, they really were tangled. For a simile… Demetrios could compare them to spaghetti that had been put on plate then fork stuck in the middle and twirled around. But now the metaphorical fork keeping them in that shape was gone. The Skyfrost Nail was lifted and not hindering them anymore yet radiating celestial energy to keep corruptive powers at bay. Whatever that corruption actually was, Demetrios still needed to find out.

“Before that though, I need to climb up still to get the last Agates.”

He climbed. He actually went all the way on top of the Nail. First using the windcurrents to land on the piece of broken pillar that the Nail had dragged up with it, then creating steps of ice for him to ascend on top of the Nail. Once there, Demetrios let out a breath of astonishment. The view was magnificent! Yes, some of the scenery was obscured by mist and sheer distance but there was a lot to see still. There was Jade Chamber and the cliff of Chasm! Beyond that he could see the divine tree of Sumeru City. To the south was the light shining from Inazuma’s Grand Narukami Shrine. And in the north was Mondstadt City and the ruins of Old Mondstadt. And if he really tried to peer towards north-west… if Demetrios wasn’t completely wrong, that was Opéra Épicèse behind which was Cour de Fontaine. This was very exciting to see! Especially considering that when Demetrios had been looking at this scene last time, Mondstadt and Liyue had been the only regions available and when he finished this particular quest and made it up here, the Jade Chamber had been plunged into the sea already. So there wasn’t really much to see… unless you went to look at videos of some glitch that allowed to see the existing map without the fog.

“I wish I had a camera… Maybe I have to come back some day and sketch all this.” Demetrios kept turning around, trying to get a good look at everything at once.

And then his foot slipped.

It’s quite frightening feeling. That moment of realization that you were no longer on solid ground. And then remembering that you are several hundred meters in the air.

Freefall, unfavourable position, panic, the winds still swirling around. Demetrios couldn’t be blamed for not deploying his glider and instead initiating a plunge attack. Because there was something about that momentarily state where one was simply the element they wielded. It made one feel safe and invulnerable. The plunge would still take its toll but it was not immediately fatal like freefalling.

It still hurt. Very much so. Demetrios doubled over and had to take several moments to just catch his breath and then breathe through the pain. The jolt from landing had travelled through his entire body but the pain was concentrated in his legs.

“I really see now what they are saying about superhero landings…” He tried to joke but mainly managed a whimper of pain. “Fuuu…”

The situation was very much not good. Demetrios might be mainly resistant to sheer cold now but he couldn’t stay at the Summit. He needed to heal or at least get somewhere safer to recuperate. And he couldn’t call for anyone to help. No one knew where exactly he was and no one knew that the path up was open now. Albedo was the only one to occupy the mountain but he was surely still in the city…

The ley lines practically shone in Demetrios’ eyes and almost were causing a headache for him on top of it all. Or maybe a borderline migraine. He wasn’t sure, having never actually experienced one. But with the ley lines he could see the routes that connected teleport waypoints to each other. He could reach for one near his camp…

For some reason though, Demetrios instead found himself at the teleport by the Frostbearing Tree.

“Wha…” He got on his feet – slowly – and swayed at the sudden vertigo. His legs were hurting something awful, like someone had taken knives and kept poking him everywhere, constantly. But without knowing anything else to do, Demetrios began approaching the tree. Maybe if he gave the ten new Crimson Agate’s to it, something could happen.

He was at half-way point to the shell formed by the old tree bark when the lawachurl that occupied the area noticed him. It rushed forward and swung its mighty fist before Demetrios could react, only slightly turn towards the noise and sudden rush of wind. The young man took the hit to his ribs and flew straight at the Tree. His back hit the trunk and he slid down to the snowy ground. His head was ringing and pain was enveloping him. He faintly could see the lawachurl readying another attack.

Then there was ice everywhere.

Chapter Text

Days turned to weeks and weeks to months. Unbidden, it had been already a quarter of a year. Time had moved on. People moved on. Trade continued as usual. New faces appeared. One of them was a bard clad in green who almost instantly gained the title of Mondstadt’s best. The bard – going by the name Venti – was a strange fellow. He was a figure shrouded in mystery but most overlooked that fact due his social nature. There was no person who’d speak ill of him. Not even infamously grumpy Diluc Ragnvindr at whose tavern the bard began accumulating quite the heavy tab.

He made friends left and right, and among the bard’s new acquaintances was also the Grandmaster himself. And with whatever discussions they had behind closed doors, came a bump up in schedule for the Expedition to depart.

It wasn’t said, it wasn’t even thought about among the Knights or the general populace… but it could be said that once the bard arrived, Grandmaster felt Mondstadt would be safe enough with the skeleton crew he’d leave behind under Jean’s command. He had all the faith in Jean’s ability to lead and protect Mondstadt but the reduction of man power would tax her resources great if something were to happen. Which was why he would leave the majority of Vision wielding Knights to the city as well.

And with accounting for people remaining behind, one question arose.

“When has been the last time anyone saw of Demetrios?”

The question caused a stir among the Knights. The captains who were asked in passing, stopped to ponder the answer but one by one everyone replied the same: the debrief for Black Fire and Collapsed Cliff incidents. Rosaria of the Church could add seeing the researcher leaving the city itself soon after but otherwise… there was no visual indication or hearsay of the young man’s location. Amber, when hearing that Varka was asking after Demetrios, instantly dispatched herself to check most likely locations at Windfall Highlands and proceeded to Brightcrown Mountains. Eula patrolled Stormbearing Mountains while Mika was checking out the Galesong Hill. Albedo was not available for asking due to him having returned to his Dragonspine camp a week ago. And many others didn’t know Demetrios well enough to make even vague guesses.

Interestingly, the answer came from Noelle.

“I went to take mail to the Adventurers’ camp recently and they said Demetrios has not come down from the mountain since going. All his mail from the past months still sat there uncollected.”

And in the light of this information, once Albedo returned, he was asked if he’d seen the other researcher.

“No… Last I saw of him was on the day of the debrief. I knew he would most likely go to Dragonspine for a while but I assumed we just missed each other whenever I headed there. He certainly has not been at our campsite.”

That began raising a worry. Was Demetrios still at the mountain? Had something happened to him? Of course there was a possibility he had gone down the mountain and gone to Liyue without a word but no one seemed to consider that option to be very likely.

And while people were debating over whether or not go searching for him – after all, he had left on his own volition and was a Vision bearer thus could take care of himself – Noelle decided to take the matters to her own dainty but strong hands. So many negative voices had risen up after the way Demetrios had lead the rescue operation to Haeresys. Some people didn’t like an ‘outsider’ leading the operation where one of the ‘subordinates’ was a captain of her own right. Even if they didn’t particularly like Eula either, they could acknowledge her gaining her rank through hard work and sheer skill. Then there were people disapproving Barbara’s – and by extension Noelle’s – involvement due their lack of relative experience to such missions. And some were of the opinion that the mission itself had carried too big of a risk of going wrong and disastrous diplomatic consequences falling upon the Knights of Favonius, especially when the prevention of such issues had hinged on Klee following after the rescue party.

Such voices were swamping Varka and Jean alike even though Kaeya tried on the side organize a joint operation with the Adventurer’s Guild. It would also give opportunity to canvas the mountain in general as such thing had not been done yet and the maps Demetrios and Mika provided would already be of great help.

But as Master Diluc had taken to say: “Knights of Favonius, so inefficient.” If you needed something done, it was better to say sorry than ask for permission. Demetrios also operated on such principle.

Thus Noelle embarked on a rescue mission. And taking Demetrios’ instructions to heart, she grabbed Amber and Bennet with him. Having multiple pyro sources would be needed up on the mountain and Bennet’s additional healing abilities would be vital. Especially when Noelle didn’t know in what condition they’d find Demetrios.

“I have with me all the notes Demetrios has compiled of the phenomena he has encountered while going up and down on the mountain.” Amber flipped through some papers as they descended towards the side gate on the Northern side of the city walls. They’d take a boat across the Cider Lake and then cut to Windrise. It would take a bit longer than going through the main gate and just crossing the bridge but… they didn’t exactly have a permission for the mission.

Or at least that had been the plan.

“Halt! Wherefore are you going like sly thieves hiding themselves in the abyssal darkness of night, concealing their deed?” Such phrasing didn’t really require introduction. Prinzessin Fischl der Verurteilugn stood before them, striking a pose and blocking their access to the gate.  And being the rising star of the Adventurers’ Guild that she was, the question was redundant and only served as providing shifty faces for her to look at and confirm a theory already forming: an illegal rescue of great haste was afoot. Quite important to complete but execution of leaving in sly was foolish.

“Ah! Fischl…” Bennett tripped on his own feet when the girl fixed a royally contemptuous stare on them.

“But fear not as I, Fischl, Prinzessin der Verurteilugn, grant you three unfortunate ones the opportunity to join my retinue for this mission of great import.” The blonde struck another pose. “Follow me to the administrator’s abode!”

And thus a subdued trio followed the self-proclaimed princess and her familiar to Katheryne’s mission desk. There Fischl flipped through commissions, commanded Bennett to sign up for one as the leader of Benny’s Adventure Team. And then they were off. Through the main gate even. With the assumption that they were doing some minor monster extermination at Falcon Coast.

“Are we going to get in trouble for accepting a commission but not completing it?” Noelle asked as they changed route at Vanessa’s tree. The initial direction the commission had given them was similar enough to getting to Dragonspine but required them to take hard right to get to the path leading to the Adventurers’ camp.

“Mein Fräulein took care of it last morn with young cartographer Mika who was returning from his search.” Oz the raven answered.

“I had foreseen such mission to arrive and by fortune was at the area to dispatch the foul creatures at once. The order awaiting us had most excellent timing.”

“She means it was a happy coincidence.”

“So we have the information and direction. We also got the excuse…” Amber mused. “Noelle, where do you think we should head first?”

“Mr Albedo said that Demetrios hasn’t been to his camp so there is no need to go there…” The knightly maid mused with a light frown on her delicate face. Then she remembered something. “Barbara mentioned that Demetrios once needed to be treated by her due an accident. She didn’t tell any details because of patient confidentiality but it had something to do with the strange tree at the mountain.”

“A tree?” Bennett asked. “There actually grows something?”

“Though imposing, the peak is not complete barren wasteland with naught living upon it.” Fischl scoffed.

“According to Demetrios’ notes…” Amber flipped through the memo and boost jumped over a rock and landed with the roll… all without looking. “General vegetation on Dragonspine mainly consists of fir trees and mint plants.”

“Mint grows everywhere.” Noelle sighed. “Even where it shouldn’t.” It was a work and half to keep it from taking space from other herbs in the kitchen garden of the headquarters.

“Any strange tree is not mentioned in the vegetation part… But when I go through the sources of warmth…” Amber read. “The Statue of Seven, warming seelies, torch posts, breaking scarlet quartz… the last of which is not recommended to non-vision users due their toxicity.”

“I think I saw some of those stones at the Adventurers’ camp once or twice.” Noelle mused.

“And? Has the mystery of the tree been illuminated for the perusal of those not of scholastic nature?” Fischl asked.

“Wait… Ah, I think this is it.” Amber flipped a page to show a drawing depicting an indeed strange tree. The tree was growing from a shell of… a bark of a larger tree. And the branches were decorated with butterflies?

“That probably is it then.” Bennett nodded.

“Demetrios calls it the Frostbearing Tree here. He hasn’t much elaborated on it here but mentions that its core acts as a source of warmth as well.”

The quartet eventually arrived to the camp at the foot of the mountain. There they asked Iris for any news or sightings on Demetrios, only to receive a negative.

“Let’s see the map for where the Frostbearing Tree is and plan our route from there.” Dragonspine was the most hazardous place around Mondstadt and basically only Albedo, Sucrose and Demetrios ventured there on their own. And even then, they mostly only utilized the established route to their outdoors laboratory. And while all four teenagers had experience from adventuring, there was something imposing about the mountain taking up the entire southern view from the camp.

“The tree isn’t actually that far!” Bennett noted with relief. “Let’s go!”

“This will surely hasten our mission.” Fischl agreed with a nod.

“We should recheck our supplies before leaving.” Noelle opened her vision space. There were various first aid supplies prepared and sterile. Healing food as well. Something still nagged on her and made her wish they’d brought Barbara with them.

Next to her, Amber and Bennett were taking stock as well while Fischl… well, she at first glance seemed to inspect her nails but she was actually making a flicking motion that indicated that she was also inspecting her inventory.

A moment passed. Amber was the first to straighten up and firm her expression.

“Ready?”

"Ready!"

Aside from the creeping cold, there wasn’t much in the way of obstacles. After the broken bridge with treasure hoarders camping at, there weren’t even some slimes or hilichurls. There was though a Fatui camp that they silently crept past so they wouldn’t be noticed.

“That is another curious thing.” Amber whispered. “Demetrios once mentioned that he has needed to purge Fatui camps at least monthly from the slopes.”

“So… he must’ve been indisposed at least a month then?” Noelle frowned.

“A month.” Bennett gasped. “W-Would he even be alive at this point then?”

“Don’t darken our prospect before we even locate our hapless disappearee. Only once this eye blessed by the King of Verurteilugn himself has gazed upon the court sage, can we ascertain his condition.” Fischl hissed.

“Mein fräulein means she is worried as well.” Came the redundant translation from the electro bird by the princess’ side.

“There, I think I see the tree.” Noelle pointed. There was a strange pillar hovering and emitting warmth that hadn’t been mentioned in Demetrios’ notes or stories. But at least it provided a respite for them to plan. And from the pillar they could see the Frostbearing Tree. But for some reason, the root and base of it was covered with a thick layer of ice. They couldn’t see the red warming core at all. And as they inspected the shape of the ice… it really seemed to have formed unnaturally as it was visibly spiking outwards.

“Umm… Can you see the Frostarm Lawachurl anywhere?” Noelle asked. “I think there was supposed to be one nearby.”

But now there wasn’t one. Even if it was defeated, a shade of it should’ve respawned from the leylines already.

“Let’s get closer to the ice. But keep our eyes open in the case the Lawachurl is nearby after all.” Amber decided.

“I’ll watch our six.” Bennett nodded resolutely.

They approached the ice and noted the strange hue and pattern it had compared to normal ice or even one produced by a Cryo vision. And deep within the ice, faintly lit by red glow was a dark shadow.

“Wait, is that Demetrios?!” Fischl gasped, forgetting in her shock to use the verbiage her role usually utilized. She leant closer and almost touched the ice in order to peer in properly but the intense coldness repelled her before she had the opportunity. “Ah, it hurts!”

“Be careful not to get frostbite.” Noelle reached out to inspect the adventurer’s hands. They were red but thankfully didn’t seem injured.

“It is getting colder…” Amber rubbed her arms. “Let’s retreat back to the warm pillar to make a plan of action.”

As they planned, they also ate some to replenish energy. The cold really sapped them regardless of how much or little they did. Bennett had melted the snow to provide them with dry ground to sit down on.

“So… We need to melt the ice. Or break it otherwise.” Amber frowned. “But I don’t know if I dare to use Baron Bunny. I could hurt Demetrios.”

“Same with my claymore. Even if I could chip away at the ice, due to the cold I wouldn’t be able to keep up at it for long. And when getting closer to Demetrios, I could accidentally crush him.” Noelle agreed.

“The ice looked really strange.” Bennett continued. “My pyro abilities might not be enough either.”

“Among all strange occurrences that take place on this hallowed peak, has Demetrios recorded anything of the ice?” Fischl asked. “He has been quite meticulous and instructive with his brief musings left to us.”

“Perhaps…” Amber took out the notes again and began flipping through them. “Environment… Hazards… Puzzles… Ah, here it is: Ancient Rime. ‘Ice colder and harder than normal, characterized by almost teal colour and veiny markings. Can only be melted with attacks infused with Scarlet Quartz.”

“Then, let’s do it!” Bennett stuffed the rest of his sandwich to his mouth and jumped up to his feet. There was one Quartz right next to their temporary camp.

“Halt! We need to plan this carefully for one mistake on our part may provide disastrous results.” Fischl interjected.

“Maybe Bennett and Fischl remain here…” Amber proposed. “Bennett can break the Quartz quickly and Fischl then aim the attack at the Rime. We don’t know how much one attack will affect so it’s better you are right here, prepared for the next one. Noelle and I will be next to the tree so we can instantly help Demetrios once the Rime is gone.”

“I agree to this plan.” Noelle clenched her fists. “Let’s do it. Now that we know Demetrios is here, I can’t bear to leave him in the ice any longer.”

It took them completely by surprise when the first Quartz infused attack from Fischl’s bow instantly just… vaporized the Rime. But despite that, Amber and Noelle instantly darted forward to check on Demetrios. The young man was slumped against the tree, his hair down from his usual hightail with the hair tie snapped on his lap, and his back partially sunken into the soft glowing core of the tree. Or well, it seemed soft when it retained its form when they moved Demetrios out of it but when Noelle tested its give, the core was firm and almost glasslike under her glove.

“There is some strain on his legs, like a bad landing.” Bennett activated his burst and used it to detect the spots most in need of healing. “His ribs seem bruised as well.”

“We don’t know what has happened.” Noelle glanced at the spot that according to a map would have the Frostarm Lawachurl resting at. “But I feel like he is supposed to be much worse off.”

Right that moment, Demetrios’ mask slipped from his face, revealing the red marks decorating that half of the face and disappearing down his collar. The teenagers stared. Then Fischl gingerly picked up the mask.

“We should hasten our departure. The Rime must’ve protected Demetrios from the nature while the Tree’s core kept him alive and warm. But now we all are vulnerable to the exposure of elements. We can seek respite once we reach the outpost of the ones reaching the heights and depths.” Fischl straightened up, most of her more flamboyant vocabulary forgotten in her worry.

“And we might need to fight against the Fatui.” Amber added, heaving Demetrios’ arm over her shoulders. Bennett moved to take up the other side. Demetrios’ head lolled to the side and his hair flowed down to cover the newly exposed part of his face. “There is no way we can sneak past them again like this.”

Diplomatic approach should’ve been their next step when it came to the Fatui. It wasn’t like they were completely without forewarning or permission. But it was known that only the toughest of the Fatui were part of the patrols to Dragonspine due the high mortality rate. And quite honestly, given what had been happening with Collei and otherwise, Amber wasn’t feeling up to even a civil conversation with the soldiers of Snezhnaya. It was already hard enough with the ‘diplomats’ within the city.

The quartet plus one made their way towards the bridge. And to surprise to absolutely no one, they were spotted by the Fatui. Their war cries alerted the smaller camp on the other side of the main path as well.

They were surrounded. Fischl had summoned Oz and Noelle had her claymore and shield ready. Amber was carefully shifting Demetrios so she could free one hand to reach to her Vision space for Baron Bunny.

Then there was a glint of red concealed behind a curtain of peach strands. Just as the Fatui were to attack, ice exploded from the ground around them, effectively impaling the aggressors and stopping the attack instantly. The teenagers stared at the gruesome sight and then slowly turned to look at the adult among them.

“By the archons… I wake up and the first thing that I need to do is pest extermination again.” Demetrios lifted his head. “Things really never change.”

???

Demetrios yawned. Six months and everything was finally coming to this. The first trial was already a farce and for him that was – as someone abhorring Fontaine’s justice centred culture – saying a lot. And now there was a second trial. Maybe everything would be over soon.

“I don’t see the problem here. From soil you have come, to soil you shall return.” He shrugged to the astonishment of the citizens in the audience. The sentiment wasn’t part of any religion of this world but was apt enough to be voiced here. “Besides, I do monthly… almost weekly vermin eradication on Dragonspine and my kill count is probably in the hundreds at this point.”

“Demetrios…” Eula sighed. “At this rate you are the next one being trialed.”

“I’m surprised I wasn’t already accused of being an accomplice. I haven’t exactly left Albedo’s side these past months aside from the Sabzeruz Festival in Wīndume-mānod and the Lantern Rite in Wintar-mánód.”

“And this is why the Traveller was asked to investigate instead of you.” Rosaria huffed. “You would’ve either been too meticulous or then tried to conceal evidence and made Albedo look even more suspicious.”

“Naturally.” Demetrios smirked. “We are partners after all."