Chapter Text
(What have you done-)
(Exterminator of Virus's-)
(Cyn, no-)
(You didn't have to-)
(I will not discard you-)
(We were just passing through-)
(What are you waiting for-)
(It doesn't matter what happened before, I'm not going to leave you.)
(Blink. Pinky Promise?)
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The waves lapped at the shore of the small, closed off cove, taking away particles of sand and depositing its own, an endless equilibrium, a cycle without end.
Not that this beach was anything special, mind you. The sands weren't a particularly vibrant shade of yellow, or any other color for that matter, nor white enough to be noteworthy. The rocks were just as shiny as the cliffs around them, in a dull, boring kind of way. While visitors didn't come often, it wasn't entirely abandoned either, people coming by just often enough to remove any sense of novelty or secrecy that could be held.
Some might've called it special, those across history that have used it as a secret hideout as children, a meetup spot with a partner in crime, or a date location with a star-crossed lover. For those purposes it was adequate, but in the long run those tales died with the people who knew them, just like the secret stories of every other place in Teyvat. In a paradoxical sort of logic, the note of specialness only served to make it more average.
If you were to ask a visitor of that beach what the most remarkable thing was about it, they would probably shrug and point to an old piece of technology that'd been there since anyone could remember. It was a small thing. Messy, silver hair sitting atop it's head and vines climbing over its black visor, silver arms and white hands that clung to the rocks limply. Even then it was difficult to notice, buried in a thicket of vegetation.
Most people simply attributed it to the old ruin tech that any amateur explorer would come across, another defunct piece of technology from a forgotten time that, while mysterious, ultimately wasn't remarkable to the people who'd grown up in a world where it was everywhere. It was similar to the concept of why the sun burns everlasting or why the various monster across the land converge and preform rituals. Everyone's aware of it, but most are so used to it that the subject becomes trivial, accepting the lack of answers with ease and rarely paying it any thought.
If any scholars were to visit the beach, they'd probably notice that the machine's design was unlike any they've seen before. Far too sleek, metal too shiny for how long it'd sat there, the odd humanization present in the clothing and hair. But Scholar's did not come to this beach, having far more important things to be doing than to pay any mind to unremarkable sands.
A faint flash of yellow and a beep broke the serenity, startling the hawks flitting over the waves and causing the crabs to step back an inch.
Yellow text appeared across the screen.
[REBOOTING SEQUENCE ACTIVE]
[DATE OF LAST LOG IN: FILES CORRUPTED, PLEASE CONTACT TECHNICIAN]
[][[][][][][][][][][][][][][ACCEPT STG_ABS0LUTE_S0LVER?]
[Y/N]
[NO]
In an instant, the text dissolved and was replaced by a pair of glowing yellow ovals that could be interpreted as representing eyes. Slowly, the limbs moved with a rusty creak, vines snapping as its limbs lifted and slowly began to untangle itself from the thicket. At last, the entity yanking a foot back and broke the last of the vines, the change in balance causing it to stumble and fall to its knees.
It rubbed its limbs as if sore, then looked up to survey the beach. Its head turned across the rocks, then turned to survey the waves. Its gaze darted across the rest of the space in an increasingly frantic manner. It rose to its feet and took an unsteady step forward, gripping a slightly trembling hand. In a small, inhuman voice, it called,
"N?"
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My name is Cyn, My mind is my own and no one else's, I am going to find N
She repeated these words to herself in a mantra, as she always did. Drowning out all other thoughts, any potential of breaking down. Any whispers that tried to crawl up her thoughts. She couldn't break down, because if she did, it could take over.
(Red pooled across the floor, white eyes over a cracked visor widened in horror, terror, and betrayal, yellow light filling the room as the inhabitants screamed for their lives-)
My name is Cyn, my mind is my own and no one else's, I am going to find N
She packed her oil packets. She still had leftovers from long ago, stored inside a small, unsuspecting bag that led to a small pocket dimension in which she stored all her things. The amount of space held in it was a bit much, though, as she lacked much to place in it.
Some oil packets, a small collection of memorabilia that still sat inside from ages long past, and a slightly rusted sword she'd found abandoned on the beach. Her old weapon had been missing along with most of her other items, but she'd learned to sword fight while traveling the universe with N. She wondered what he'd think of this world, now unblemished by the red, flame filled skies that had characterized their original arrival.
Her mind flashed to a blank face, red cubes streaming through the sky at the strange women's command. How she'd taken the only person who mattered in this messed up universe with the flick of her wrist. She let that thought sit, then smiled slightly. Once she got her hands on that pompous "God..."
She shook the thought out of her head. Find N, revenge later. Or on the way, whatever came first.
Soon enough, she came to the top of a cliff overlooking a vast stretch of land, wind tussling silver locks that glowed beneath the star-speckled sky. She spotted a large city looming in the distance, the movement of windmills being visible from the light emitting from the streets. Internally, Cyn cringed at the idea of walking into a human filled cess-pool, but her best bet for finding N would probably be asking the locals. Regrettably.
Stars, between them, N was usually the people person.
She glanced down to chart her route when she spotted it, a fairly large statue depicting an angelic being. Completely normal, aside from the fact Cyn's mind seized at the sight.
Without full control over her limbs, she dashed down the cliff, leaping over the water in a feat she wouldn't normally be capable of, and skidding to a stop in front of the statue. Her hand lit with a familiar Cursed symbol as it reached for the statue, spinning until it lit in an aqua green color that began to seep into her from her fingertips.
Before she knew it, the process was over, and she snapped back to herself in a daze. She blinked, then blinked again.
"Deep breath." She muttered to herself. Her name was Cyn, her mind was hers and no one else's, she was going to find N, and she had meant to dash down a cliff and draw a mysterious power from a statue. She did that in full consciousness. Yup, definitely, no need to linger on it or anything. She had full control over her actions.
a sprout of water hit the side of her space, a few droplets falling into the wedge under her visor and generating a few sparks of static.
Within an instant, she'd summoned a sword and moved to slash at the small, blue slime-like creature that'd hit her. However, instead of a simple slash like she'd intended, her sword erupted with a gale of aqua energy that burst into a blue swirl when it came in contact with the slime, splattering water everywhere. Cyn cringed at the spray. It didn't hurt, per-say, but it wasn't comfortable by any means.
(Typically, drones were built with better water proofing, but the protective film around the joints faded over time, especially when there were very few maintenance procedures, and especially especially when a drone was left to rot in the elements.)
She decidedly was pushing the solver thing to the back of her mind for now. No need to worry about that, no sir-ee. She had other things to investigate.
She spread a small gale of the new energy to her fingertips, a tiny gust of wind generating in a compact ball in her hand.
Experimentally, she flung the energy at a few slimes. It dispersed quickly after leaving her hands, but kept itself compact enough to do damage to the small creatures under a very large range.
"Small smile."
Regardless of dubious means of gaining, it'd be nice to have something other than the solver to rely on in dire situations.
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Somewhere, in the woods, a sigil lit, and a green cloaked figure rose. There was a disturbance in the Leylines, a breach of the flow of elemental power into the mortal world. One of the statues had been stolen from, its energy siphoned without a blessing from Celestia. a disturbance large enough that a god awoke.
Poison was coursing through his veins. The same poison from long ago. Even his godly power was unable to cleanse him, nor had hundreds of years of slumber. The only thing that could've healed him was the wind, but he hadn't been able to access the wind while buried under the oppressive dirt, not been able to elave while comatose.
Maybe it was for these reasons he was more impressed than upset by whatever mortal had managed to hack one of the statues. Had technology really come that far since the battle...? Good for humanity, truly!
The thousand winds carried him messages, and the Anemo Archon simply sat to absorb them, soaking in the thoughts and feelings of his people. For the large part, the winds that swept through this area were playful, warm, peaceful. But there was an undercurrent, a suffering so great it could be felt even here. Unlike the quiet, locked down winds of an oppressed society, one that attempted to squash out any escaping currents and block him from seeing (They were fools for attempting, he would always find them no matter how hard they tried to hide.)
But this was different. Its anguish was wild, rampaging, and yet still trapped, laced with the pain of no one seeing it.
The voice was familiar, though. A voice The God knew well. (He heard the cries, the betrayal, the rot) he wished he didn't.
Internally, he thanked whoever had disturbed the Leylines enough to snap him awake. He hoped Celestia didn't see the situation as severe enough to try to squash them, that would be rude (Unless they were intending to use their newfound elemental powers to assert tyranny, then he'd need to interfere)
He felt the anguished presence approach, most likely recognizing the Anemo God's signature and descending to investigate. The Anemo Archon was feeling better after basking in the winds.
He closed his eyes, feeling the lands to detect the presence's location, then snapped them open. There!
He set off towards the whispering woods, feet dashing over the leaves without a sound.
_________________________________________
Cyn trekked through the woods, idly glancing at a few birds as they flew above the branches, fluttering creatures occasionally ducking lower to observe Cyn with cautious curiosity.
The human presence on this planet was something she could brush off as some offshoots, but the magic of this world was truly strange, something she'd thought only existed in fairy tales. The number of beings made of the stuff (The slime-like creatures being the most common example) the inherent energy in the statues. And there was so much *more* of it than the small amount she'd siphoned off. she'd felt it. This world had so much power-
A voice was heard from the bushes, and Cyn froze, ducking beneath a nearby tree.
__________________________________________
Cyn twirled the red crystal in her hands, a souvenir of the dragon. She flipped it over, feeling the strange buzz emitting from it. The Solver didn't try to absorb this one, and a quick scan with one of her programs proved the energy in it too wild to be transferred to her.
After a few moments, she returned the crystal to her pockets. The whole thing with the dragon and person in the woods probably wasn't important to finding N. Not a moment later, a voice was heard from the bushes. "Halt, in the name of the Knights of Favonius!"
A girl leaped in front of her, a bow and arrow aimed at Cyn's visor.
"State your purpose in Mondstadt! Are you with the Abyss, or not?"
Her mind raced as she stared down the arrow directed at her face, gripping her sword. Okay, review what she knew. All humans were unreasonable, and this girl was clearly attacking her. She could defeat her in five seconds flat, just catch the arrow with the solver and run. Easy. Wait, she shouldn't use the solver. But this person decided to shoot- she couldn't die before finding N- Just do it, it won't hurt! Just-
The girl tightened her arrow. "Yes or no, are you with the Abyss Order?"
"I don't know what that is."
The girl faltered, bow lowering slightly. "You're not from the Abyss?"
"No. It's very rude to assume things."
The girl blinked, before shoving her bow away in a panic, entire posture changing in an instant. "I am *so* sorry! That was extremely unprofessional of me! It's just... I've never seen anyone of your... species? before? Ahhh, not an excuse, though. I am not saying that!" She straightened, saluting. "My name's Amber, Outrider of the Knights of Favonius! What brings a strange yet, ah, respectable traveler like you to Mondstadt?"
Cyn, however, was still caught a few sentences behind. She took a step towards the Outrider, still keeping a death-grip on her sword. "You haven't seen anyone who looks similar to me? Even slightly?"
Amber frowned "No, I'm afraid I haven't. Are you looking for someone?"
"My Big Brother N." Cyn answered, glowing eyes boring into Amber's with the intensity of a god.
"Looking for your family, huh-" She snapped her fingers. "Oh! I'm sure the Knights can help! Shouldn't be too hard to find him..." Cyn perked up. "Come on, I have some Hilichurl camps to clear out, but afterwards I can take you to Mondstadt!"
Cyn mulled this over. On one hand, humans were untrustworthy. On the other, they were usually upfront in their decision to disregard her, and this girl seemed friendly enough. The truth was, she had no clue where to begin in her search, meaning she didn't have much of a choice here, did she.
She held out a hand, and Amber shook it.
______________________________________
Amber glanced down at the short-statured entity beside her. Truthfully, she'd never seen anything like it, but it didn't seem explicitly hostile, even agreed to help her clear out some hilichurl camps in exchange for information, as well as help from the knights in finding her lost sibling.
Archons, curse Amber for finding her quest heart tugging. A tale of brother and sister separated by currently unknown forces, leaving one of them to relentlessly search for the other. It was tragic! And adorable!
Maybe that allowed her to overlook the fact Cyn didn't seem to know the first thing about Teyvat, asking about the nation she was literally in right now, the abyss order, and even the power she was actively using. Without a vision, Amber might add. Mighty suspicious, but Amber knew that a lot of people who had their secrets.
That didn't mean she didn't keep a close eye on her, though. The way she took down the hilichurls with a deadly precision, striking her sword in quick, lethal blows that had them falling in an instant. Amber resisted the urge to cringe. It didn't mean anything, abyss monsters regenerated from any wound, no matter how severe, given enough time. Still, Amber knew that had to hurt, so she usually stuck to scaring them off.
On the bright side, they'd probably avoid coming this close to the city again!
She avoided stepping on the midnight blue fluid that leaked from the corpses. She didn't want to have to ask Albedo for some alchemical shampoo.
This traveler has shown no ill will to Mondstadt nor connection to the recent Stormterror incident, it would be fine. It wouldn't be like last time.
____
"Welcome to Mondstadt, the city of wind and freedom!" Amber parroted. Cyn glanced wide eyed at the array of colors and people, sidling a slight bit closer to Amber, though still kept her distance. Her body language was stiff, constantly surveying the surrounding area, gaze landing particularly long at the people, though she shrunk at the slightest hint of eye contact.
Amber decided to ignore that for now, though filed it away for later. Still, she didn't like that her guest was uncomfortable, it went against her duty as a knight! Especially after being so helpful with the camps.
Too much mistrust wouldn't do anything other than turn her away. Sometimes suspicious folks just acted the way they did because they needed help! "Say, do you have a wind glider?"
Cyn jumped slightly at the sudden arrestment, then lifted a hand to adjust her head and look at Amber. "Confused?"
Amber laughed, and pulled out a spare glider she kept on her. Outrider work could be dangerous, so it was always wise to keep a spare, either for herself or a traveler in need.
Cyn took it hesitantly, running her fingers over the fabric to get a feel for the texture. She still looked confused.
"Come on," Amber smiled. "I'll show you the ropes.
_______________
She spent the next thirty minutes or so teaching Cyn how to use the glider. People stared at first, none of them most likely seeing something of Cyn's species, but they moved on quickly when they noticed she was with Amber. There were loads of strange things in Teyvat, and the people got used to not asking questions. Question every inhuman quirk and oddly colored slime, and the only thing you'd have time for was asking questions. That was scientist's jobs.
The small robot took to gliding swimmingly, getting used to the feeling of having her feet off the ground so quickly Amber had asked if she'd done this before. The drone had denied that, and Amber could question her further, but simply didn't feel like it.
Cyn came down to the ground again, and Amber was quick to encourage. "That was great! At this rate, you'll give the gliding champion of Mondstadt, yours truly, a run for my mora!" Cyn blushed, glancing at the ground and brushing Amber's hand off her shoulder. Amber wasn't bothered. After all, she's dealt with plenty of cold, all-too-alert people in the past.
Amber's smile softened slightly. If she was being honest, this entire situation was beginning to remind her-
"STORMTERROR! pant APPROACHING! pant RUN!" Lawrence the gate guard began running through the city, repeatably shouting the words at the top of his lungs. Amber's blood went cold, and she reached for Cyn's hand, intent on grabbing her and running, only for a cyclone to descend between them, knocking Amber back a few feet and flinging Cyn a few feet in the air. The drone spread her wind glider out immediately, almost on instinct, only for a wind current to catch and carry her into the sky.
Amber's heart turned to ice, but she forced herself to move on quickly. Right now, she needed to prioritize keeping the people she had the power to save safe.
She ran through the streets, down alleyways, even over rooftops when she was really pushing. Pulling Timmy from the bridge while insisting his pigeons would be safe, helping Margaret and Dionna bring the startled cats into the cats tail, helping Anna walk when she descended into a coughing fit. Fortunately, Glory had noticed the change in wind minutes before the storm arrived in full and had warned around a dozen people, aka a dozen less people for Amber to worry about. Archon's, she was a lifesaver in these situations. She'd actually do great in the knights despite her blindness, but she was content idling in the streets greeting travelers, and who was Amber to rain on her for that.
Still... She glanced towards the sky. She reminded herself she couldn't save everyone, she *hadn't* saved everyone. Nearly five years in the knights had taught her that much. She just had to be patient and wait, even if she did feel somewhat like the drone was her responsibility. She simply had to hope her wind glider would carry her through....
______________________________________
Cyn reorientated herself in the swirling winds, blocking her visor from the cutting gales. She quickly maneuvered her glider similar to how she used to maneuver her artificial wings, before her encounter with the Unknown God. Looking down, she could see the gale had launched her far above the ground, to the point she could even see the curve of the blue and green planet, though different shades and landmasses from that of earth, that much she could tell.
Though she had no frame of reference in regards to size, aside from a scattering of islands at the edge of her vision, Teyvat seemed to be a supercontinent-
The same dragon from the forest flew into view, and Cyn righted herself against the changing winds. The constant updraft kept her afloat and steady. Was it caused by the dragon..?
"Not exactly~" A voice sounded in her head, and for a split second Cyn feared the solver and instinctively pulled a mental block over it, but realized rather quickly that the voice was nothing like that of the solver's. Playful, light, human. Very different.
More of this planet's weird magic, she presumed. "Wow, you're a feisty one, aren't you? " The voice commented when she let down her block. "I'm lending you the power of the thousand winds. Use it to take down Dvalin."
She felt her Anemo power increase, and glanced towards the roaring dragon. Dvalin, presumably.
She held out a finger gun and shot it, and a beam of white energy erupted from her finger. It hit the dragon directly on a purple spike on its back, prompting a frustrated roar.
Switching to a palm-up method, the larger surface area allowed for a higher energy output, and she started blasting the beast. She quickly found the purple growth resting between it's shoulder-blades affected it far more than any other area, so she started aiming for it.
After a few short minutes, the beast roared one last time and flew away. Cyn descended in the now calming skies, landing next to Amber in the city. Or, at least tried to. She ended up stumbling on the way down, but caught herself before Amber needed to intervene.
"Are you alright? You're not hurt, are you?" Amber asked, looking her over but was noticeably not touching her. Cyn was grateful.
"Slow blink," she murmured, suddenly realizing just how much energy that took out of her. The sky stayed cloudy, thankfully. She didn't think she could handle the sun right now.
Or maybe she was just trying to exaggerate her tiredness so she could pass off what happened next as a hallucination, because as she was about to let the oddly-friendly human know she was fine and to give her a little space, she heard an all-too familiar Australian accented voice enter her ears.
"You actually have the power to go up against the dragon, aye?" Cyn turned around, barely able to see past the rampant error messages. because it couldn't be. She couldn't be here- "But are you an ally," Tessa inquired flippantly. "Or a new storm?"
There was a beat of silence as Cyn attempted to process her racing thoughts, because this couldn't be happening, it simply wasn't possible. She was dreaming, that was the only possible explanation. She was dreaming and N would shake her awake and tell her J would get mad if she missed her shift and Tessa would smile at her like she was a perfectly normal not at all possessed drone and N's smile would be bright and innocent with no hint of a tired crease around the edges-
However, that didn't happen, and Tessa dropped the dramatics. "Ah, I'm just joshing, unless..? Kidding, kidding... Mostly." Amber held up her hand in a wave .
"I should probably introduce you!" the Outrider smiled, seemingly ignorant to Cyn's crisis. "Cyn, this is the Cavalry Captain of the Knight's of Favonius, T-"
"Tessa??" Cyn blurted, utterly confused. The subject of her confusion blinked in confusion.
"Lordy, I hadn't realized I'd gotten that popular. Should I be offering autographs?" Her childhood friend/caretaker/ [REDACTED] asked humorously.
What in the solver's name was going on with this planet?
______________________________________________________
"You need to relax-"
"I can't just relax, Lisa, Stormterror's on the loose and if we don't do something about it quick, it'll reflect terribly on the knights-"
"Now, all that stress can't be good for your skin~"
"Do not patronize me-"
Tessa opened the door to the Acting Headmistress's office, resisting the urge to grin at her friend and Lisa's usual antics. Right now, things were serious, and she needed to be serious.
Jay met her eyes when she came in, relaxing slightly, then drifted her gaze towards her companions, particularly the small one currently attempting rip the fabric off of Tessa's skirt. (Not literally, but she was gripping it so hard that's what it felt like.)
"What is that?"
Tessa smiled. "This is Cyn, the one who took down Stormterror."
Cyn frowned at the name, "Stormterror," but otherwise stayed silent, seemingly adrift in her own thoughts for a moment, and then she shot to alertness, looking at Jay with wide eyes.
Tessa had been observing the drone's behavior since she met her, and every action and reaction was more inexplicable than the next. Fascinating...
Jay, however, was not amused. "We can't afford to bring in any outside entities right now," She said firmly. "The knights have enough on our plate, and we certainly don't need help from a potential Abyss spy." Her voice was appropriately harsh, the kind that only came on under extreme stress. Or maybe it was just her normal tone. You really could never know.
Amber gasped, offended on Cyn's behalf. "She was helping, Acting headmistress." The outrider cleared her throat and entered an information exchange voice. "She assisted me in clearing out the hilichurl camps and with Stormterror."
Jay narrowed her eyes. "Yes, she conveniently swooped in to save the day at the same exact time Stormterror attacked. And I don't suppose you saw her take down Stormterror directly, did you? How do we know this isn't a stunt for the Abyss to implement a spy? This inhuman machine."
"No, no we didn't!" Tessa replied cheerfully. " See her fight with Stormterror, I mean. I do find this whole situation mighty suspicious myself."
Cyn's grip tightened on her skirt, and Tessa forced herself to look past that and view things logically. While she wasn't familiar with this specific brand of bot within the Abyss alignment, they could've been making advances behind the scenes, a spy wasn't out of the question. She ripped the skirt back to herself and walked over to Jay.
Cyn stood there stunned, but in a way that didn't seem surprised. If this bot was programmed to gain their trust, she had to fake emotions. There was something about that shade of yellow that told to be wary. While it might be a bit presumptuous to judge based on a gut feeling, if there was one thing she knew, it was that, sometimes, your gut feeling was what kept her alive. For now, at least.
"Oh, come on you two, she helped out. No need to be so cold," Lisa scolded. She crouched down to meet Cyn at eye-level. "Hey cutie. Thanks for your help with the Stormterror incident. I do apologize for my collogues ~ Jay tends to get rather rude when stressed"
"We're right here," Jay cleared her throat.
"I'm looking for my brother," Cyn said abruptly, looking up. "Have you seen anyone who looks similar to me? Head tilt." They all paused. Jay shared a skeptical glance with Tessa. It was a fairly simple cover, and easy to fake...
Lisa smiled. "Oh, separated from family, are you? I do so wish I could assist, but alas, the knights have their hands rather full at the moment. If we weren't, though, we could cover the entirety of Mondstadt. But as things are..." She sighed, placing a hand to her chin. Cyn's eyes widened, taking the information in.
"Then I'll help," the drone asserted. "and you'll help me."
Tessa knew Lisa well enough to know that behind that smile she was having her own doubts, but were pushing them aside for the sake of fairness.
Amber continued to insist. "I'm with Lisa, it could just be bad timing. I say give her a chance!"
"You of all people should know we can't trust vagrant travelers of 'mysterious' origins." Jay chided. Amber's face fell, and the tenson rose like a flame. "or Are you forgetting what happened last time?"
"I-" She stuttered, suddenly much smaller than she usually was. Her hand clenched into a loose fist. "It wasn't that simple- it wasn't like that and you all know it!" She glanced away, shoulder's hunched. When she spoke again, her voice was quiet. "It's not any excuse to be rude."
Jay glared, but relented. "You're all idiots, but clearly you're not going to listen to logic, so how about this;"
_________________________________________________
Cyn sorted through her things as she sat on the bed in the room the knights had provided her. They were to set out in a few hours, and Cyn's solar-powered charger still had enough juice left to replenish her energy for what lay ahead. She stared at the celling, then at the girl who was watching her every move.
"Is there anything I could assist you with?" Noelle asked in an overly-cheerful voice, catching her eyes. Cyn returned her gaze to the ceiling. It was better than an overly excessive amount of suspicion at the very least.
She turned the volume level down on audio sensors. Or at least, tried to. Her programming was glitchy on the best of days, and when it did work, in only did so halfway. Which left one sound mic turned down to barely a silver, while the other barely reduced, leaving her listening to the rustling of the person watching her every move.
She survived the mansion; she could survive this. She survived the mansion; she could survive this. She survived the mansion; she could survive this.
It was only until she found N, after all. She placed a pillow over her still-sensitive mic and activated a playlist of some of her favorite classical pieces. Honestly, some of the best stuff to come from humanity.
She let go of consciousness, preparing to awake again in a few hours.
______________________________
The plan was simple, really. Stormterror was drawing power from three temples scattered across Mondstadt, and Cyn would meet three of the knights at the temples and assist them with taking out whatever lie inside.
She wasn't entirely sure why they needed a random stranger to assist fully-qualified military personal, but she reasoned it was a test of trust.
The sky was still covered in clouds when she and her overly-eager partner set out. The city was mostly empty now, the townspeople probably too spooked to go outside at the moment. Cyn, on the other hand, was enjoying the quiet, especially considering every dropped pen sounded like a scream right now.
Noelle, like the townspeople, was also spooked. And it seemed this particular person liked to deal with their stress by helping people.
"Do you need any refreshment? Have your sword sharpened? maybe indulge in some homemade satisfying salad-"
Cyn was so focused on powering ahead that she didn't notice the figure dart into her felid of vision until they were already colliding, sending Cyn and the mystery stranger sprawling across the forest floor.
Coincidentally, she hit her head on the rock, which caused her sensory processers to reboot and send her hearing back to normal. Thank the stars, she didn't hear every individual breath within a five feet radius.
"Ow!" her savior yelped. Cyn dragged herself to her feet rather quickly, and looked down at the brown and silver heap that was doing the same.
"Are you alright, sir?" Noelle yelped, flusteredly helping the person up. Male, Cyn noted, with ruby eyes and various scars dotting his arms and face, long, gray hair upon his head, and a brown cloak across his shoulders.
"I am... okay." He replied, but the words didn't come out in the consistent flow of most human's speech, but instead were abrupt and ended in odd intonations. Cyn tilted her head at the strange fellow.
Noelle relaxed, only to freeze again when the guy sniffed her hand. Whatever he got from that, it seemed to relax him.
"You have knight smell," He murmured, then smiled. "Knights of Favonius are... friends!"
Noelle gave him a confused look but smiled regardless. "Um, thank you...?"
"Knights are smart," The boy murmured. " Do you know about strange wind? Been scaring prey away, making Lupicle go hungry..." He growled, then stamped his foot, exclaiming, "I don't like it!" In frustration.
Noelle backed off slightly. "Well, um, we were actually on our way to get rid of the problem, so worry not!" She informed him, saluting in the same way Cyn had seen some of the knights do. Razor smiled.
"I can fight, I can help," He informed her eagerly. Noelle shared a glance with Cyn, like she was supposed to provide any input.
"Well, the more the merrier!" Noelle concluded cheerfully, and that was the end of that, Cyn supposed.
______________________________________________
As the trio approached the first Temple, where Amber was waiting, the oppressive fog and wind gradually faded to star-speckled sky as they got further from the city.
Noelle had calmed down a bit and was now only occasionally asking her if she needed water, or her artifacts cleaned, or her hammerspace organized.
Razor had no such restraint, evident from the fact he was currently sniffing her with his head tilted curiously. "You made of metal," he observed.
"I'm a drone," Cyn replied.
"Dr-on-e" Razor repeated, testing the new word on his tongue. "That... not human?"
"Affirmative nod."
The woods were quiet, unsettlingly so. None of the cicadas or small rustles that made up her first two months on this planet were present, the only thing filling the silence being footsteps, heavy clanging of Noelle's armor, the rustle of razor's cloths, and the sound of Cyn's machinery.
Razor shivered. "wind feel... strange bad." Cyn had no clue what he was talking about.
...
"What it like, being not... human?" The wild boy asked.
Normally, this kind of question might make someone pause, contemplate the meaning of life, question the nature of existence for weeks on end only to ultimately come to a unifying conclusion about acceptance and harmony and such things, except her experiences with Tessa's questions had well prepared her for this.
"What's it like being human?" Line may have been stolen from V.
Razor froze, seeming to think that over, then looked away, "I... not really know," he said, glancing up. "I not... like other human."
Not like other human...
Cyn smiled. "That's a good thing."
He smiled back hesitantly, a far-off look still present in his eyes and confusion on his brow.
It was then that the broken drone and human outcast reached the temple. Noelle was also there.
"Welcome to the first temple of the four winds!" Amber greeted, then spotted Razor. "It seems you've gained a companion since the last time I saw you."
"My name Razor," He told her, then sniffed the air, and smiled sunnily. "You smell of Knights! Knights of Favonius are friend!"
"Oh, um, thank you?" Amber said. "You know the Knights?" He nodded eagerly.
"Knights good! Varka trained Razor! Also Purple Teacher. I play with red burny girl also."
Amber relaxed. "Oh, you knew Headmaster Varka and Lisa?" Razor nodded. "Well, a friend of the knights is a friend to me."
She turned towards the temple. "The people of mondstadt don't come here often, so it's not very well tended to, and most likely infested with hilichurls." Noelle was eyeing the cobwebs in temple's nooks and vines crawling their way up the sides rather intensely.
Amber sighed. "Even Stormterror abandoned his own temple..." Cyn head snapped to the pyro user.
"Stormterror was one of the four winds?" If she was going to do this, she needed all the information.
Amber looked away. "Yes, he was, hundreds of years ago. You'll have to ask Lisa about it. It's not like I don't know my nation's history, it's just..."
"It's simply not widely taught," Noelle explained. "The most you'll hear about it, without researching it directly, is within the occasional bard's song."
"We should get started, every second we waste is another second the storm continues." Amber suggested.
The air in the temple was cold, something that Cyn's easily overheated machinery greatly appreciated, although Razor showed signs of discomfort. Probably his minimal clothing.
That didn't stop the boy from crushing any enemy they came across, being able to take out a slime with a single hit of his debate club. Cyn was impressed, and her wielded his electricity-like power expertly. He also had an obsession with breaking any crate he came across, stuffing anything he deemed valuable into his vision's hammarspace, ("I found a Potato!") and discarding the rest for Noelle to pick up.
A hilichurl screamed as Cyn slashed her Harbinger of Dawn, a gift from the knights, towards it, causing it to retreat without much of a fight. She had expected the domain to be harder, she hoped it'd be, although the quicker she got through this, the quicker she would find N, and that was good with her.
Their quest ended with a pyro-infused arrow struck at a swirl of dragon's breath. The humans of the group breathed a sigh of relief. "Wind better now," Razor said happily. Cyn still didn't feel anything.
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"Oh, who's this you brought with you?" Tessa asked when they arrived.
"Razor," The boy replied simply.
"We found him on the side of the road" Cyn offered. Tessa, surprisingly, accepted that easily.
"Well, alright then! Onward, team! Into the temple of the Wolf!"
"Temple of the wolf?" Razor repeated.
"Yeesssss?"
"I know wolf, raised by wolf Lupical!"
That explained a lot.
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Cyn kept an eye on this version of Tessa throughout the domain. She moved swiftly, calculated, a far cry from the "keep throwing things at it and maybe something different will happen," that once faced down Cyn the solver. Cyn didn't doubt that this Tessa would make the same choice as her own when it came down to it. The only question was whether she would win.
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They completed the temple as easily as the first. It was as the trio turned to leave that Tessa called out to them. "Wait! I seem to have found myself with a dash of free time and was wondering if I may accompany you lot?"
"Conflicted expression." On one hand, the last thing she wanted was a vestige of her past following her around, especially since said vestige didn't seem to fully trust her, on the other, a small part of her missed her own Tessa, a bit irrational considering the girl had tried to kill her, but she had taken Cyn in. Cyn had good memories of Tessa, back when the whispers stayed whispers, back before she had-
"We'd love for you to join us, Cavalry Captain," Noelle pushed in, shooting Cyn a look.
"Righty-oh then!" The Cavalry Captain responded. "I look forward to our time together." The last sentence sounded oddly threatening. Cyn squinted.
There was a beat of silence. "You're just here to spy on me," Cyn stated. Tessa shrugged.
"Who's to say?"
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While the original plan was to go straight to the Temple of the Lion, the team had stumbled onto a hole in the ground, leading into what seemed to be an icy chasm. Tessa decided a detour was in order. "Would you guys like to test your mettle," She had asked.
It'll be useful to gauge that drone's full ability in combat.
While Noelle was technically supervising, the maid's version was less so "spying," and more, "vaguely following her around." Here, Tessa was taking initiative!
"This idea bad," Razor stated simply as they glided down.
Noelle was mumbling a mile a minute. "Is this part of the knighting exam the cavalry captain ordered it and it's improper form to argue with a Favonius knight but what if that's what I'm supposed to do there's no way we can win this would it be seen as cowardice to retreat or tactical intelligence but this has nothing to do with the mission *Should I mention we are currently lacking a pyro user???*" To her credit, she took a deep breath. "No, I am a Knight of Favonius, It's my duty to stay strong."
Tessa filed the response away. Calming yourself down in a crisis was a crucial trait of a knight, this girl had potential. Cyn was utterly calm, her glowing oval eyes unreadable to Tessa.
They landed at the bottom of the chasm, boots clanking on icy stone. The Cryo Regisvine raised its stem, the ground shaking slightly at the simple movement. The thing lifted its bud, shaking its petals with a great whishing sound, and roared.
"Come on team, it's us or the flower!" Tessa encouraged. Man, had this thing gotten bigger since she was last here?
Razor stared up at it, looking like he was regretting all his life choices. Noelle went pale despite herself. Cyn looked seconds away from simply turning around and leaving.
Safe to say, the flower won.
(Tessa had a portable waypoint set up nearby, they were fine. And, after seeing Cyn get nearly crushed by a giant icicle (Noelle summoned a geo construct to block it), she was able to safely conclude the drone wasn't hiding some secret superstrength.)
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They reached the final temple. Lisa greeted them, and, to their surprise, her eyes lit in recognition when she spotted Razor.
"Little wolf cub!" She exclaimed, delighted. Razor seemed equally happy.
"Purple teacher!"
Lisa went on to explain that she'd been part of the training of the boy, said training being started by Varka. This was a fact that neither Tessa nor Noelle had been aware of, but it did explain his allegiance with the knights.
"Purple teacher very strong! Makes lightning!" Razor informed the others. Lisa laughed.
"Well, we might as well get going. The elemental energies here are... disturbing, even outside. I'd like to fix that."
It became quickly apparent why Lisa opted to go through this temple. Cyn carefully avoided the water in the temple. She wasn't well waterproofed to start with, and she had a feeling the added Electro wouldn't help. While lightning did provide some nutrition, eating it was hazardous.
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"Ahhhhhhhhhhhhh~ that's finally finished. Well, I'll be off now, probably going to sit down with a good book and calming tea~" Lisa sighed as the temple winds returned to normal.
"Amber mentioned that Stormterror was one of the four winds," Cyn interrupted. Lisa's smile dropped slightly, fading into something more solemn.
"Yes, it's true, Stormterror, or rather, The Dragon of the East, Dvalin, was once one of the four winds of Mondstadt. He's already consumed all the power from his own temple and has thus moved on to the other three." she explained.
"The real question here is why," Tessa said. "I'm not too well read on this topic, but if Dvalin was really a protecter of Mondstadt, then why would he attack it?"
"Because of hatred, I presume." She responded. "Stormterror gave his life to protect Mondstadt, and then we rejected him upon his return."
Tessa frowned, "If he really cared about the city, then surely he wouldn't turn on it so easily." Lisa glanced at the cryo-user.
"That is not something I have an explanation for" She admitted. Something about the entire situation irked at Cyn.
Mondstadt was freed from the storm, yet their quest was left to hang on a somber note.