My Warmth Is Yours

Chapter 8: City of the Wind

Mondstat was a bustling city, the "Crown of the North" that prioritized freedom above all else. No one looked out of place here, from Kätzlein bartender Diona running an errand to Prinzessin Fischl taking a commission. Here, the most extraordinary people looked ordinary, and even Aether and Paimon blended in. Such as it was, no one but the Knights at the gate spared a glance at the Kreideprinz as the trio entered the city. A constant breeze flowed through the air, bringing dandelion seeds and the scent of apples along with it. The people of the city ran through the streets doing whatever it was they did daily, most with a smile on their face. The songs of bards scattered around the city all mixed together in a strange harmony that was rather pleasing to hear, the echoes of singers further afield softly complimenting the musicians nearby. It formed a sweet melody that rang through the air, accompanied by the sounds of everyday life in the peaceful city.

"It's… livelier than I thought. It's beautiful," the Kreideprinz murmured. "It's so open and… welcoming. I think… it'd be nice to paint."

Aether smiled.

"You should see it during the annual festivals like Windblume or Weinlesefest. The city looks beautiful. All covered in flowers." Paimon nodded.

"Mondstat's festivals are not something you should miss. Everyone helps out in preparation, and there's always something fun to do!" Aether nodded and nudged his friend.

"It's a great place. I think you'll like it here."

Then Aether felt someone tap on his shoulder. He looked around to come face-to-face with an old friend, red ribbon bouncing in the wind.

"Hey Traveler, hey Paimon! It's nice to see you back in the city." Amber said with a smile.

"Hey Amber. Man, meeting you here sure brings back memories." Aether smiled back, remembering when he'd first walked into the city accompanied by Paimon and Amber.

"Yeah, when I saw you standing there I remembered too. I had to come and say hello, haha!" Amber seemed as bubbly and cheerful as ever, ruffling Paimon's hair and tweaking her halo. "Who's the new friend?"

Aether looked between the Kreideprinz and Amber. Neither of them said a word, both just stared at Aether.

"Ah, right. Uh, this is Amber, she works for the Knights of Favonius. Amber, this is…" he faltered, trying to find a one-sentence way to explain the newcomer. "...Actually, I… never learned your name… I mean, you gave me a title, but you never said anything about a name. Do you just not trust me?" Aether realised instantly he'd made a mistake. Amber had her eyebrows raised and was giving him a suspicious look, while the Kreideprinz looked hurt.

"Why are you looking at me like that? Of course I trust you. Why wouldn't I? There's a reason I didn't tell you my name."

"Yeah? Why didn't you?" Amber's tone was guarded. The prince looked away.

"Because I don't know what it is."

Aether stopped short, taking a second to process. He doesn't know? I mean, sure, I guess… but how do you forget your own name? Does it have to do with how long he was sealed? But surely, it wasn't that long... Didn't Sal Vind fall after the Archon War? Amber looked taken aback, and Paimon was in no way hiding how confused she was.

"This is definitely going to take some explaining…" Amber said.

"No shit!" Paimon said, earning a glare from Aether. "You can't just say that!"

Aether could see that things were getting tense, so he stepped in.

"Ok, it is confusing, but standing here isn't going to help. How 'bout we go get a table at Good Hunter and talk over some food, yeah?"

Ten minutes later, after getting a table at the nearby restaurant and waiting for their food in rather tense silence, Amber stuck her fork in a hash brown and locked eyes with Aether.

"All right. Tell me everything, right from the start. How'd you two meet?"

Aether took a breath.

"It started off with the Adventurer's Guild. Katheryne gave me a commission that no one else was going to take. Essentially someone had found a Cryo Hypostasis in that cave on Dragonspine, and what looked like a coffin. So I went and investigated, beat up the Cryo Hypostasis, and essentially what we found is a stone box. Paimon helps me open it, and I find him inside." Aether tore off some of his Chicken-Mushroom Skewer. "And past that we pretty much went straight to Mondstat."

"Huh…" Amber absentmindedly dropped some of her second hash brown in jam. "So you just found him there. You sure have a habit of just finding people."

"Yeah," Aether responded. "At this rate, I'll find everyone except for the person I've been looking for since I got here." Paimon laughed at that, patting Aether's shoulder.

"Don't worry. Paimon will make sure she comes home!" They shared a smile. Hopefully I'll finish my journey soon so Lumine can come back to me.

Amber looked over at the Kreideprinz. "Alright, that explains how you found him. But how'd you even end up there? I mean, people don't just get buried alive like that. I mean, I'm sorry that you had to be shut in like that, but… it's just really suspicious." He nodded.

"I can see why you'd think that, yes. It's… a little hard to explain if you don't have background information on Dragonspine's history." Amber smirked.

"Well you should have no problem explaining to me. Lisa told me pretty much everything we know about the old city that was there."

"Then I suppose I should start from the start… As you probably know, the fall of Sal Vindagnyr began with the Celestial Nail striking the mountain. It caused almost constant snowstorms, and the civilization was slowly being destroyed."

"I was their heir to the throne, and tasked with finding a way to keep everyone alive. I tried everything, but nothing worked. Eventually, some of the advisors formed another plan, although I never knew the details. All I know is that they intended to take every precaution so that after the storm, the nation could have rebuilt itself. This, clearly, involved sealing me away so that should it work, they would still have a leader. Unfortunately… it must have failed. I'm sorry I can't tell you more, but my memory isn't working very well."

"Everything lines up with what we already know, so I know you're telling the truth…." Amber said. She shook her head. "No wonder you can't remember your own name. All that happened before the Archon War… that was thousands of years ago, maybe even hundreds of thousands. The fact that you're still alive is a miracle in itself." Paimon nodded.

"Yeah! You've been out of the loop for so long, your memory is bouuuund to fade a little. But we can help you remember the old ones and make a ton of new ones! You'll feel right at home~" She grabbed a slice of sticky honey roast and shoved it in her mouth, sharing a smile with Amber.

"Wait a minute, guys, hold on a second. Cool it." Aether held a hand in the air. He scooted his chair over and wrapped an arm around the Kreideprinz, drawing him closer. He was silent, tears running down his face as he clearly processed just how far removed he was from everything he'd loved.

"You'll be okay," the Traveler whispered. Even though he knew it wouldn't help much, (It didn't help when they all died) he nonetheless did his best to comfort him. He wiped his friend's tears away, rubbing his back as the girls joined in the embrace. If anything was to be said about Mondstat, it was that its people never left someone alone. The group would stay there for a little while, quietly consoling their heartbroken companion. Let it be said that the warmth of a friend is irreplaceable, for this has been proved all over the world many times over and will be reinforced for years to come.