Meraki

A Dream Yet to be Dreamed Chapter 8: The Importance of Names

When everyone had fully recovered, Sying recruited Kaveh to be the Head Architect of Khaenri'ah. Luna also brought in a new party member, Scaramouche, now known as Sora, would join Sying on his journey. The Eighth Harbinger had to return to Snezhnaya after she had healed, and the group of four went to Port Ormos. Kaeya had sent a letter to Gandharva Ville requesting to meet him. So, the foursome met up with the Khaenri'ahn at a tavern near the docks. He had finished talking to a waiter, when they came over.

"Kaeya!" Aether called out, sitting next to him. Sying sat on Kaeya's other side, while Collei and Sora sat across from him.

"Hey, Aether, Lord Astral. Looks like the Nova god smiles upon me after all." The Cavalry Captain said. He looked over at the two people across the table and smirked. "Oh? Hello, little wanderer."

"Hi, Kaeya." Collei groaned. "What are you doing here?"

"I'm doing some work for the Knights of Favonius. I'm making a business deal with some spice merchants here, to see if they'll begin trade with Mondstadt. And while I'm at it, I'll see if they'll be open to trade with New Khaenri'ah as well. Besides, your father told me and the rest of us at the castle, he would be going to Sumeru, so I thought I would stop by."

"Well, that was nice of you, Alberich." Sying spoke.

'I thought you would be happy, my lord." Kaeya gazed over at Scaramouche. "Who's this? A new member of our nation?"

"This is Sora, a good friend of mine. He's also Sying's adopted son." Aether answered.

"Shut up, Aether." The former Harbinger grumbled. "So, Kaeya, I assume you've been to Sumeru before?"

"What makes you say that?" He asked.

"You came to Sumeru all on your own. So, you must be familiar with it." Collei chimed in.

"You're correct, little wanderer. I came here when I was very young. Dawn Winery had only just taken me in. I overheard my adoptive father talk about sending a team of merchants to Sumeru during a business meeting. I'm sure you'd all agree that everyone is curious about their roots on some level. And my roots are in Khaenri'ah, which was said to have been located deep underground somewhere near Sumeru."

"Khaenri'ah..." Aether echoed quietly. Sying hummed in response, as Collei looked at her father curiously.

"And so I stowed myself amidst the cargo, and silently joined the merchant delegation on their trip to Sumeru." Kaeya continued. "But it wasn't long before the merchant delegation received news that I'd gone missing. Their leader promptly found me, and before I knew it, my adoptive father was dragging me back home."

"Sounds like something you'd do, Alberich." Sying teased, giving him a light shove on the shoulder.

"Speaking of Khaenri'ah, how much do you know about it?" Aether wondered, ignoring the glare Sying was giving him.

"Honestly, not much. The only reason I knew that Khaenri'ah was near Sumeru is because I happened to read it in a book when I was young. My life had less and less to do with Khaenri'ah as I grew up, and so I started caring less as well. I used to believe I had inherited some sort of duty from my father, but then I began to wonder. Maybe my father left me in the peaceful land of Mondstadt for no other reason than simply to give me a happier life. Besides, I got the chance to serve Lord Astral. Other than this, I'm not particularly in the know on this topic."

"Couldn't you just ask D-Sying for information on Khaenri'ah?" Sora questioned.

"Well, I could, but I don't feel the need to. My lord does not like talking about his country all the time anyway, and he's always busy, so the idea to ask him never crossed my mind. These days, my surname, Alberich, is probably the only link to Khaenri'ah that I have left." As Kaeya spoke, someone sat down next to Sora, making him put an arm around Collei protectively. The person ordered a drink before interrupting.