𝐓𝐚𝐥𝐞𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐋𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 • 𝔸𝕟𝕖𝕞𝕠

Outrider Amber

Walking amongst the flora and fauna of the Mondstadt wilderness felt very relaxing. It was quiet...a bit too quiet to be honest. It was almost as if—

"Hey you! Stop right there!"

Speak of a devil and there it is. Though, in this case, we don't know who the devil is specifically. Or if they could be an angel instead. We immediately stopped and turned around to see where the voice came from. There were fast footsteps approaching from the nearby cliff, most likely the person shouting earlier.

The mystery person, who seemed to be a female, jumped off the top of the cliff, soaring into the air. Rolling onto the ground only to get back up almost immediately, tripping slightly before turning to face Paimon and I.

"May the Anemo god protect you, stranger! I am Amber, Outrider for the Knights of Favonius!"

 The girl called 'Amber' said, placing her hand on her chest before making a saluting motion with the same hand. Knights of Favonius? I haven't heard that name around here, but it must be important. "You don't look like citizens of Mondstadt. Explain yourselves!" How do I explain to someone that I just lost my brother to some god?

Paimon waved her arms around. "We're not looking for trouble!" Paimon said, attempting to persuade the Outrider. 

"That's what all troublemakers say!"

 Maybe I should introduce myself? "My name is...Hikari, nice to meet you." I guess I have an alias now.

"...Doesn't sound like a local name to me. And this...mascot, what's the deal with it?"

Hmm...what could I call Paimon? After some quick thinking, I told my answer. "She's my friend, but she's also an...emergency ration, you could say." That's sounds good. Friend and food!

"That's right! We're best friends, aren't we-- WAIT A SEC, I'M NOT FOOD!"

"So to sum it up, you're traveling partners, right? Well look, there's been a large dragon sighted near Mondstadt recently. Best you get inside the city as soon as possible." She put her hands on her chest again as she said "It's not far from here, I'll escort you there."

"Oh? Aren't you out here for some other reason?" Paimon did have a point, she looked like she was in the middle of doing something else...

"I am, but not to worry. I can keep you both safe while doing that too. Besides, I'm not sure if I can trust you two just yet!" Ah, I knew she'd be suspicious of me. Perhaps its my clothing...

"Why so suspicious?" I asked anyway, just so that I hadn't assumed or anything.

"Well, you guys are unfamiliar and must be kept under the supervision of the knights to ensure you are trustworthy!" The brunette put her hands on her hips and made a sound that was presumably out of pride.

"Do we really need to be supervised!? We need to get a move on here!" Paimon shouted impatiently.

"Do you have something against the language encouraged by the Knights of Favonius Handbook!?" Amber retorted, quite angry at what my companion had said just seconds earlier. 

After a moment, Amber calmed herself down and all three of us headed off to the area she was supposed to go, if not for the distraction that was Paimon and I.

After some horrible aiming at an unsuspecting Anemo Slime, Amber asked another question. "So, suspicions travelers, what brings you to Mondstadt?

I opened my mouth about to tell her why we were here, of course leaving out the details of the unknown god, before Paimon answered for me. "She got separated from her brother during a really, really long journey. Paimon is her travel buddy, helping her to find her brother!" I silently thanked Paimon for leaving out the not-so-minor detail that would have made us all the more suspicious.

"Oh, looking for your family... Huh." 

"Ahh..." Amber did her best to think of something to say next.

There was a quick pause before the cheery girl spoke again. "Okay! Let me finish my other stuff first, and then I can help you put up some posters around the city..."

"What exactly is it that you need to finish doing first?" Paimon questioned.

"It's simple. You'll understand in a bit!

~ - ~

"Ah! A Hilichurl!

After following Amber to her errand place,  Paimon spotted a monster apparently called a Hilichurl. It was...odd-looking, when I first saw it. But after a while of seeing them scattered over Mondstadt, I got used to their appearance. Now, onto the story...

"Quick! Get it!" Amber shouted, urging us to fight it.

Now, this was my first time fighting a Hilichurl, and despite the fact that I used to fight with my brother, I had gotten rusty from how long I had slept.

Slashing the hilichurl a couple of times made it disintegrate into thin air. Further ahead, there was a small Hilichurl camp, with about two to three more of them inside. After striking the two on the ground with my sword, Amber aimed her bow and arrow at the hilichurl on a higher platform. The job was taken care of quicker than I thought it'd be.

"Heh, nothing to it." Amber said proudly, prideful of her combat skills.

"Though, I gotta say, you surprised me a bit with your moves back there..." She continued, referring to the fight with the vicious lifeforms moments ago.

"Thanks for the back-up. How'd it feel?" Amber asked me. I wasn't sure, but it felt a little harder than usual to fight.

"It was a little tough, but I managed." I replied. Maybe I should practice my sword-wielding... 

"Now that you mention it, how that is it the hilichurls ended up here? These creatures don't seem to be the type to set up camp so close to the city like this." Paimon questioned. 

"Exactly. It's more normal for them to be much further out in the wilderness." Amber agreed with Paimon's question.

"But because the dragon--Stormterror--has been around a lot more recently, our orchards have been destroyed and our local market has been affected too" She continued. 

"When the storms hit, we usually end up with a few injuries, so the Knights of Favonius have been tied up doing the best they can to defend the area." So the Knights

"So these annoying creatures have been getting closer and closer to the city?" Paimon asked Amber.

"Exactly. That said, clearing this camp helped make the area a little bit safer" Replied Amber. I wondered why the had repeated the word 'exactly' for the second time.

Amber then turned to me. "Come with me! A responsible knight must make sure to see you to the city safely.

Nodding, I walked with Amber to the nearby city.

'Mondstadt, huh...I wonder what kind of people I'll encounter there...' 

Unbeknownst to all three of us, hiding behind a nearby tree, stood a curious figure wearing a hood. The figure whispered, they seemed to have a female voice. 

"I wonder, should I tell Barbatos and Morax about her? She seems like she'll be important later..." They smiled softly before swiftly running into a small forest to hide.

~ - ~

aHhhh, Another chapter done! Hey guys, I'm not (really) dead anymore!

I wonder who that person was? Well, I already gave a clue, so you can figure it out on your own, I suppose-