Work Text:
There are many types of fights.
Diluc fights with his claymore; a heavy weapon with deadly force that deals insane damage to the enemies. Jean fights with her sword; lighter than claymore, but swift and sharp, efficiency held high in her fight. Lisa fights with her magic; catalyst users like her stand further from the enemies, but the damage dealt is constant and crucial— as she supports her teammates by triggering elemental reactions. Amber fights with her bow; another ranged type of fighter, but precise and fast. Bows add more physical damage to knock the enemies back.
And Kaeya? Well, Kaeya wields a sword, just like Jean. But Kaeya’s favorite is another type of fight.
Sometimes a pen holds far greater strength than any weapon in the world. Sometimes words cut so deep that even the mightiest sword ever crafted in Teyvat paled in comparison. Knowledge equals strength; people feared information more than getting decapitated. Well, some information could lead you to get decapitated, too.
Sometimes, war didn’t have to be in an open field. Sometimes, they come in the form of a 21”x 21” board, with two players sitting comfortably at the end of each side. Each has their own pieces; each has their own turn. Starting with the same condition—
But one of them will end up with a bitter defeat.
Kaeya usually holds the black side because he prefers to move later than his opponent, but he holds the white side in this particular battle, he had to make the first move.
So poetic, the ever-righteous knight donning the white side.
A corrupted head of a noble family was making a grand plan to revert Mondstadt back to where the aristocracy reigned. Kaeya believes that they are the descendants of a family that got banished from Mondstadt years ago— when the Anemo Archon Barbatos, along with the Dandelion Knight Vannessa ended the cruelty of the aristocracy. And now these scums are planning the said grand plan in the form of vengeance.
Little did they know that they just challenged the brain of Knight of Favonius when the cavalry captain first got a sniff of their plan. The captain picked up all the subtle seeds they sowed, and Kaeya made it his goal to prevent the noble from reaping the result even before it started to sprout.
And so that’s why now they found themselves facing each other, sitting on each end of the ‘chess’ board, with Kaeya smirking at the thought of the exciting mind war.
Against Mondstadt’s own people, Her own nobleman, The knight’s movement is greatly limited. Kaeya had to utilize parties that aren’t closely related to authority for him to be able to gain the favor of the tide.
He had to utilize his available pieces to the fullest.
e4 – e5
Normal opening. Kaeya started it easy, moving the pawn with grace order and direction, while the noble reciprocated with his own move.
Kaeya has his people, both from the knight and from his intelligence networks. They are —in a term, The Pawn— but stating it like that sounds so wrong. Though, one should not underestimate them. The pawns are just as essential in this strategy battle. They have a really limited space movement, and they can only act by order, but they are crucial in opening paths for the other pieces to be able to move. They are the starting point, moving them accordingly to the right places will help you gain the upper hand in battles like these.
So, Kaeya calmly spread his men around, stationing knights in certain parts, while planting his underground information roots in other parts.
Nf3 – Nc6
Kaeya gains a really valuable piece during the Stormterror accident. The Knight, Aether and his travel companion, Paimon. They move in abstract patterns and can move freely on the board even before Kaeya opens any path for them. They jump around other pieces—whether friends or foes as they please, and even Kaeya finds it really amusing to guess what their next move will be; the possibility of their movement is endless. Such an irony that the one who got the title ‘Knight’ isn’t the actual Knight. Regardless, the traveler got the title ‘honorary knight’— same difference, really.
A little talk with the traveler, a commission with the promise of some food and mora as compensation is all he needed to do for the honorary knight to move accordingly. They move to areas where Kaeya’s own men can’t reach, and they battle opponents that Kaeya’s people can't handle.
d4 – Nxd4
Kaeya smirked when he saw the bold move of his opponent’s knight. Kaeya purposely made that move just now to taunt the opponent, seeing whether or not the noble will bite the bait. His opponent did take the bait—all right, and even when Kaeya is now one-piece short, this actually helps his next move.
Now, the noble’s knight was pressing close to Aether. If he fights back, he will be overwhelmed by the enemy reinforcement that is located behind the enemy’s knight. The enemy is taunting him, but Kaeya has another plan.
Nxe5 – c5
Kaeya was aware of the enemy’s reinforcement, which could be a problem if they decided to team up with the enemy’s knight against Aether. But Aether is the knight— he can jump around easily, and Kaeya directed them to attack the reinforcement instead of clashing head-on with the knight. Aether found their secret base and managed to wipe them clean with his power.
“Paimon doesn’t understand how Kaeya could know about the treasure hoarder's base…”
“Let’s not think about that. I think it’s actually better for us not knowing the reason...”
“Ignorance is a bliss, huh…”
His opponent is getting flustered, which Kaeya could see. That move (c5) looks like a weak attempt to guard his knight which is now left vulnerable, but Kaeya was keen enough to see that he also tried to open a path for his queen.
Nc3 – Qf6
Oh? Amusing. Kaeya thought when he inspected his opponent’s movement. Kaeya's informant sent a word to him about the noble's secret plan to go on a long business trip to Fountaine.
It seems that the noble intention was to do castling, changing his position with the rook. The noble was feeling agitated about being exposed, he was trying to hide himself. If Kaeya lets him, it will be harder to dig him out of his hiding place.
Kaeya shook his head, no, we can’t have that.
Nf3 – b6
Now he wants to move his bishop out of the way, Kaeya thought to himself. Yes, it’s now crystal clear that the noble really did plan to hide himself temporarily because he just realized he's at a disadvantage here. Kaeya glanced at his available pieces, formulating which best move he can make next; as long as the bishop stayed where they were, the king would be trapped in place.
He had to make some risky moves, so it seems.
Nxd4 – xd4
Kaeya loathed putting Aether in danger, but that move was crucial; it needed to be done. That one certain treasure camp (pawn) location is getting in the way of Kaeya’s next movement; he needs them gone.
So, he made Aether clean the treasure hoarder camp but with the price of him getting quite heavily injured. Kaeya made sure he and his travel companion could safely retreat back to the safety of Mondstadt’s wall, and as a recompensation (that, along with his guilt), Kaeya put their commission on hold and proceeded to spend the whole day accompanying Aether treating him to various delicacy in the city of freedom.
But Kaeya apparently underestimated the suitability of Aether with his role as a Knight. Another unique trait of a Knight is their persistence and their perseverance. It is barely 3 days since his injuries healed, and Aether already came crashing into his office, wanting to continue the commission.
Kaeya, flabbergasted at the man’s raging enthusiasm, can only smile back and accept the request (even it’s Kaeya who’s making the said request in the first place), scrapping all the alternative moves he had made in those 3 days of tense silence.
Nd5 – Qe5
Kaeya moved Aether behind the previous hoarder’s camp that managed to hurt him so badly, using the traveler’s desire to —as he quotes, pay them back. That position was good, it looked like Aether was targeting the camp, but Kaeya’s intention lies elsewhere. If the noble’s being naïve and chooses to move his thugs companion, then Kaeya could take that one strategic spot where Aether can comfortably push his opponent in a check while also threatening the enemy’s rook. The king will then be forced to move out of the way, and that’s one free piece Kaeya could get.
But no, the noble isn’t as a fool as Kaeya hoped him to be. The noble moved his queen to steer close to Kaeya’s knight, which successfully guarded both the enemy king and also the rook.
Kaeya tsk-ed out loud, he has to use his next card.
Qd3 – d6
It’s time for the powerful pieces to make their move.
As much as it makes Kaeya blanch, he had to admit Diluc held all the characteristics of The Queen. Besides the fact that the red-haired man has an attitude problem befitted of a queen, he is also the most powerful piece Kaeya has. Freeing some pieces to make way, and he will come crashing down to the battle and wreak havoc on his wake.
The Queen, the most feared piece.
Queen is the piece with the highest mobility in chess, and so does Diluc. Being your friendly neighborhood nightly vigilante, Diluc doesn’t affiliate with the Knights, making him free from any kind of authority. Diluc has also somehow become a crucial link in Teyvat’s network organization during his 4 years away from Mondstadt, which only adds up to his movement spaces on the board. Kaeya literally didn’t have to do anything for Diluc to single-handedly end his opponents, but Kaeya still needed to prevent Diluc from getting into trouble. Well, some of the troubles are calculated trouble, but Kaeya was sure Diluc could handle himself just fine.
He sent the wine tycoon a love letter, containing all the information Diluc needed to know (at the time being) about the situation. Kaeya snickered to himself, he believed that Diluc was actually already aware of what was going on around them, but unlike Kaeya, Diluc tends to just shove his way in when the main problem arises, while Kaeya prefers extinguishing any spark before it could burn. Kaeya perfectly knows about Diluc’s resentment toward the knights, but Kaeya also knows that Diluc put Mondstadt’s safety far above those resentments; he will help.
Bf4 – Qh5
After positioning Diluc in the standby area to guard all the pieces he scattered before his arrival, Kaeya moved another new piece on his board.
Bishop moves in a specific area. But in those said areas, they are an unstoppable force to be reckoned with. As long as there’s nothing hindering or blocking their part, they will keep pushing and pushing until you get your opponents cornered. Albedo —as the head chief alchemist of Knight of Favonious and captain of the Investigation Team— with his research that is mainly based on Dragonspine area, and Lisa —as the head librarian of Mondstadt’s great library— with her authority over Mondstadt library’s restricted area along with her vast knowledge from all the time she spent in one of Sumeru’s prestigious academies.
The enemy’s queen who’s keeping guard of Aether is entering the Dragonspine area, the very same one that is thick with snow as white as chalk. Where a certain chalk prince reigned.
Another fun thing about bishop is that when his opponents cross paths with them, Kaeya will make sure they don't have a good time. Kaeya quickly asked Albedo’s assistants, Sucrose and Timaeus, to deliver an urgent request to the Kreideprinz. The alchemist is smart, maybe not as much in the art of strategy and war tactics as Kaeya, but his intuition is sharp so Kaeya didn’t doubt the chief alchemist would pick up the situation quickly and move accordingly. Not to mention that Albedo has gotten close with Aether lately, so when the outlander’s safety is also on the line, the chalk prince moves fast and manages to push the enemy’s queen to retreat.
Qb5 (+) – Bd7
Now that the opponent’s queen is back in her cage, Kaeya can move his own queen.
Ah, it’s always so fun when Diluc is in action, Kaeya mused to himself. The said man is barely entering his third move and he already managed to push the enemy into a Check. Kaeya wanted to laugh seeing the noble bishop's poor attempt to hamper Diluc’s advancement. All they did was buy some time, prolonging the game as the noble thought of a way to escape.
Nc7 (+) – Kd8
But Mondstadt’s frostblade will make sure there’s no way for him to escape.
After securing Diluc’s position on the board, Kaeya went back to his knight, asking Aether to cooperate with Diluc to further press into the enemy’s territory. He guided the traveler into the said strategic position from before, getting the opponent’s king into a Check while also threatening the rook.
Kaeya could smell the noble’s fear with his move of —Kd8— trying to act fierce, daring himself to get close to Kaeya’s knight.
But oh boy, did he miss something.
Qxh5 – Kxc7
Aether is just a decoy.
Kaeya’s main intention was to shut down the enemy’s queen.
Diluc wasted no time slaughtering the opponent’s most powerful pieces, crushing each one and wasting none. The opponent’s queen is an organization of mercenaries, paid with large amounts of mora to help the noble with his vile plan. But even with their abundant quantity of members, they mean nothing to Diluc’s pyro dawn of justice.
Even when the noble managed to take Aether out of the board, Kaeya held all the advantages now; both from pieces advantage, position, and the game tide.
Qxf7 – Nf6
First, let’s clear up the enemy’s pawn, shall we? Why not try to weaken your opponent as much as you can? The noble chose to move his last knight, away from Diluc’s wrath while simultaneously guarding his last bishop with a rook.
Clever, Kaeya had to admit.
g3 – Re8
Even when Diluc reaches a draw inside the enemy’s territory, it also means that the noble couldn’t do anything to Diluc either. Kaeya’s queen is safe where he is, so Kaeya sends reinforcement to help ‘guarding’ Albedo in the Dragonspine area.
Kaeya whistled when he saw the noble’s move. Ooh~ getting feisty, aren’t we? The black rook’s target was obviously his pawn, the lone knight army he left guarding near Mondstadt’s front gate. Are they choosing frontal confrontation, now?
Qc4 (+) – Kd8
So, what should you do when the enemy threatens you? You threaten them back, of course, while aiming for the head. This will shift their attention as well as their priority, and it will help you gain more momentum and grasp more power inside the game.
He made Diluc cause more problems inside the enemy territory. With the winery lord getting too close to the opponent's king —the noble himself, he was forced to retreat, forgetting the plan to attack Kaeya's adorable little pawn.
O-O-O - d5
At the same time, behind Mondstadt’s safe wall, important documents were sorted; they just needed to be approved.
Kaeya quickly did the castling, removing any chain hindering his rook, preparing the said piece to move in the near future. The noble, on the other hand, was trying to push Diluc back. He was pouring all his men to hinder Kaeya’s queen from marching further.
Qc7 (+) – Ke7
Another Check, another pressure.
Diluc made a bold move, ignoring Kaeya's carefully made plan. The former knight dared to make the said move because, despite their itchy relationship, Diluc still had full faith in Kaeya. And Kaeya somehow predicted this wild action of his once brother, already prepared the aid Diluc needed.
He herded the enemies to the border between Mondstadt and Durin's grave, which meant Albedo could provide support to the winery lord if Diluc ever needed it. The impromptu plan was, of course, successful, and the noble once again had to flee with tail between his legs.
The cavalry captain liked to utilize Diluc’s power inside the game, but he couldn’t help but get amazed, still, at the sheer power and determination the red-haired man possessed.
e5 – Rc8
Now, what should we do with the front line? Kaeya mused to himself. He ordered his men to pressure the opponent's knight, shifting his attention to the other side of the battle.
The noble actually ignored the fact that his pawn is pressuring his knight; That’s understandable when you have a wild Diluc rampaging on your side. The noble spent a lot of turns, trying to push Diluc back, now he’s using his room and try to threaten the pyro user, which of course, failed miserably as the White Queen stood still in his place, Kaeya always made sure Diluc is well guarded and free to move everywhere.
Did the noble really just throw away his knight like that? Kaeya chuckled at the frivolous choice his opponent made.
xf6 (+) – xf6
Alright then, guess that's one free piece for me, Kaeya thought as he proceeded to take the enemy's knight using his pawn.
Check.
The noble just then realized that he had just freely given his knight away to Kaeya. So he retaliated by taking down the pawn that just ate his knight, which is another calculated loss on Kaeya's part.
Re1 (+) - Kf7
That is the opening that Kaeya had waited since forever from the start of this game, a chance to use the last powerful piece he had.
Same thing with the bishop, Rook is also unstoppable in their own tracks. But the difference is, Rook has more flexibility in their movement, even when there are still restrictions on their mobility. On the other hand, for Rooks to function properly, there are a lot of things that Kaeya needs to do; opening paths (like, a LOT of paths) for them and taking away any restrictions that could hinder them.
Jean, the Acting Grandmaster of Knight of Favonious, suited this title the best. Kaeya, as the quartermaster of the Knights, had to pull so many strings beforehand for Jean to be able to move freely (you can say he had to do the castling first). But once she’s free, she can take any enemies down with both her impressive strength and also her authority as the Acting Grandmaster.
Check.
Kaeya just loves using the now-free Rook to corner the enemy. Same as Diluc —but gracefully— Jean will push through anything when all obstacles in front of her are gone.
Qxd7 (+) – Be7
Kaeya wasn’t feeling generous today, he added the ever-fierce Diluc to press the noble even further. He mobilized Diluc’s movement, blocking any attempt at escape. Rook and Queen, the easiest pieces to break your opponent, both in the board and in the mind.
Check.
The noble moved his bishop in an attempt to ‘protect’ him from Diluc. So the noble now fell so low as sacrificing his own subordinate to an uncertain escape. Disgusting.
Rxe7 (+) – Kf8
Kaeya could use Diluc to simply remove the bishop, but no, Kaeya opted for Jean to dive into the situation. The Acting Grandmaster swiftly took care of the bishop while at the same time pressing the noble yet to another Check position.
Check.
Jean visited the corrupted noble’s huge mansion near the cathedral. She brought with her all the documents and the proof of his wrongdoing. The noble’s guards and subordinates at the front door were easily swept aside by her. Kaeya also made sure Diluc knew about the encounter, positioning the self-proclaimed Dark Knight hero to guard the Dandelion Knight’s back while she confronted the noble.
Bh6 (+) – Kg8
Trying to make it up as an accusation, now? Trying to come up clear, putting the blame on the documents now? That’s new. But what did that noble think he was doing, Kaeya literally has his other bishop —Lisa, with her brilliant mind. The Head Librarian could easily find the error and fault in the said accusation, making the noble even more cornered.
Check.
Kaeya smirked as he saw the cowered noble on the end side of the board; alone, powerless, and surrounded.
The noble then, desperate and fully aware that he had nowhere to run, suddenly pulled up a detonator from inside his coat pocket, startling the two knights.
“DON’T MOVE!! DON’T MOVE OR I WILL BLOW THIS MANSION TO PIECES—!”
Kaeya hummed as he moved his piece, smirk wide on his face.
Qg4 (++)
The noble’s high shriek was so pathetic when Diluc came out of nowhere, crashing through his window, and immediately disarmed the detonator from the noble’s clutch with a harsh knock to the back of the man’s hand using the blunt part of his blazing red claymore. The detonator cluttered against the floor, far from reach, and Jean was quick to secure the device. It’s been long since the last time Kaeya saw such a grim look on Jean’s beautiful face, but the noble did threaten the entire Mondstadt’s citizens, so Kaeya could fully understand the Acting Grandmaster’s anger.
Talking about being angry, someone was certainly, even angrier than Jean.
Diluc stomped the noble’s hand that tried to reach uselessly for the detonator. He didn’t bat an eye even when his action resulted in a loud sickening crack sound of bone breaking under his boot. Diluc’s face was dark and ferocious, clearly disgusted with his fellow noble as he spat, “It’s over.”
The sound of handcuffs clinked on the corrupt noble’s wrists echoed with the firm tap of Kaeya’s final piece being placed on the board, finalizing the result of the game.
Checkmate.
This is Kaeya’s fight.