Meraki

Part 1 Chapter 7: A Bard, A Prince, and Emotional Support

When Aether woke up, Venti was healing in front of the large tree and Sying was standing next to him, stretching.

"Venti, Sying, are you..." Aether began to speak, but stopped when he noticed they weren't paying attention to him.

"The wind amongst the branches is good, I love the way it smells." Venti and Sying turned around to face the Outlander. "Haha, I said the exact same thing the last time." The bard let out a sigh. "Why do I only say these things when I'm down on my luck?"

"So, what is a Gnosis?" Aether asked, making Sying shake his head.

"Ah, so you noticed. This isn't something I'm meant to discuss with ordinary people. But I suppose I can let you in on the secret. Is that alright, Astral?" Venti wondered.

"Yeah. That's fine." Sying agreed.

"As you know, Visions are external magical foci that only a small minority of people possess. They use these Visions to channel elemental power. In truth, every wielder of a Vision is one who can attain godhood and ascend to Celestia. We call such people allogenes." Venti began his explanation.

"Allogenes? Paimon's never heard of them before." Paimon inquired.

"That's because this is a secret that only Archons know. We don't need things like Visions. Instead, each Archon has an internal magical focus that resonates directly with Celestia, known as a Gnosis." Sying announced.

"What about your earring, and the thing Venti has?" Aether questioned.

"Ehe. Those are just glowing glass objects we carry around to avoid suspicion." Venti laughed.

"I feel cheated, but I guess I'm used to that by now." The Traveler sighed. "So who was that nasty woman who stole your Gnosis?"

"Her name is Signora, No. 8 of the harbingers. She and the rest of the harbingers have been given god-like executive authority by the Tsaritsa of Snezhnaya, and with it, strength surpassing that of other mortals." Venti said. Looking at Aether's confused face, Sying spoke up.

"The Tsaritsa is one of the Eight. She reigns from Zapolyarny Palace in Snezhnaya, and she is the one that the Fatui Harbingers all answer to. The Eight don't always get along well, but I didn't think she would plot to steal another Archon's Gnosis." The adeptus declared.

"What sort of god is the Tsaritsa?" Aether wondered.

"How should I put this? Five hundred years ago, I knew her well. But I can't say the same is true now. You see, a certain..." Venti looked over at Sying. The Nova Archon glanced over at him. "...catastrophe happened five hundred years ago, and after that, she cut off all ties with me. But we can save discussion of the Cryo Archon and the Fatui for another day. Aether, if you seek the rest of the Eight, many difficulties lie ahead of you still. You should head for Mondstadt's neighboring nation of Liyue. The Geo Archon who reigns there, unlike me, administrates his entire region personally. He only descends once every year to give his divine predictions, which set the direction for Liyue for the rest of that year."

"Even so, it sounds like he works much harder than a certain someone." The Traveler

"Ehe. In any case, you missed this year's Rite of Descension. You'll have to wait another year." Venti informed the Traveler.

"I'm sorry for borrowing the statue's Anemo power without asking." Aether apologized.

"Haha, just use it gratefully or, better yet, treat me to a glass of dandelion wine." Venti teased, earning him a smack on the head.

"Drunk idiot." Sying stated.

"Anyway Aether, I have a question to ask you." Barbatos told the Outlander.

"Sure. What is it, Venti?" Aether wondered.

"Can I travel with you and Astral from now on?"

"Of course you can! The more the merrier!" Aether agreed. Sying opened his mouth to speak, but realized something and ran off.

"I'm late to a meeting with someone! I'll see you guys at Dragonspine with Kaeya!" The god yelled before he was out of sight.

"Do you know what he was talking about?" Aether wondered.

"Nope. Not at all. Oh well." Venti answered.

The Nova Archon entered Kaeya's office in the Knights of Favonius headquarters to see him talking to someone in a white coat with a yellow Khaenri'ahn star on his neck. They seemed to be arguing about something.

"Ah, Lord Astral, you're right on time. This is Albedo, the Chief Alchemist of the Knights of Favonius. Albedo, this is the Nova Archon Astral." Kaeya introduced the two of them.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Lord Astral." Albedo said with a bow.

"You don't need to be so formal, but it is nice to see you. If you both don't mind, I would like to take the two of you to Dragonspine." Sying suggested. The two Khaenri'ahns nodded as a girl with green hair and glasses barged into the room.

"Mister Albedo, I have terrible news!" She shouted. Albedo turned around to face her.

"Sucrose, what's the matter?" He asked.

"Our research facility in Dragonspine has been shut down!" Sucrose informed the alchemist.

"Don't worry about it, Sucrose. This man here is Astral, the Nova Archon of Khaenri'ah. I believe he is the one who temporarily stopped our research."

"I see. Sorry for freaking out." The girl looked over at the god. "Hello, my name is Sucrose. I'm Mister Albedo's assistant."

"Don't worry about it. It's nice to meet you as well. Now that introductions are out of the way, to Dragonspine!" Sying declared.

The group met up with Venti and Aether at the base of the mountain and began their climb to the summit. When they got to a large tree with red stones running through it, tons of hilichurls came to greet them. The creatures gave Sying a bunch of random gifts they found which the Archon was grateful for. About halfway up the mountain of ice and snow, the Warming Seelies were nowhere to be found, leaving most of the group really cold. Albedo had given Sucrose his coat since he didn't need it.

"S-Sying, it's freezing up here. I'm going to die." Aether complained.

"Hm. Oh, right! Sorry, I forgot mortals weren't used to cold like this. Here." The adeptus took off his hilichurl coat and handed it to the Outlander. Aether put it on, but it was too big on him, so when he walked, he tripped over the coat. The group eventually made their way to the peak of Dragonspine after lots of walking and dodging Ruin Guards.

"Astral, why are we up here?" Venti asked, holding onto his hat so it wouldn't blow away.

"We are here because this is the place where I plan to rebuild Khaenri'ah. I need to know if you guys will join me." Sying announced.

"Of course. I already told you I'd follow you to the ends of Teyvat." Kaeya spoke.

"I would be honored to join you." Albedo said.

"If Mister Albedo is going to do it, I will too." Sucrose agreed. Sying turned to Venti.

"Will you let me use the mountain? I know it's part of Mondstadt, so I want to make sure it's okay." The god wondered.

"Sure! This place is a death trap anyway. I have no use for it." Barbatos laughed.

"I'll join too. I'm not sure how long I'll be in this world, but I'll do all I can to support you while I'm here." Aether responded. Sying smiled and messed up his hair.

"Alright then. We have a traveler, a spy, a bard, a prince, and..." He trailed off.

"She's my girlfrie–" Albedo began to speak but Venti cut him off.

"Emotional support!"