An Unknown Horizon

CHAPTER 1

Five Archons surround a table full of delicacies and drinks from each one of their nations. Happy chatter fill the room as they all catched up with eachother, then a spoon tinked against a teacup.

"Ehem, please may I have your attention", said the host who had tear shaped pupils then she continued

"I'm so delighted to see that you all have decided to attend my tea party. It warms my heart that you have taken time out of your busy schedule to partake in this special occasion. I hope you enjoy the special delicacies that I have prepared from each of your individual nations." The young lady said as she sat down and took a macaron from one of the plates that was in front of her.

"Ahh, no no, thank you for the invite Lady Furina. To have the esteemed Hydro Archon herself give out such an invitation to this lowly bard was unexpected, I couldn't help myself but to accept it." The cheeky bard said as he casually drank his dandelion wine.

Zhongli narrows his eyes at the bard and nodded in agreement, "Yes, I might say I couldn't decline an invite from the Lady Furina herself. That would be quite ill-mannered of me."

"Oh please, theres no need to be so formal. Just Furina is perfectly fine, I assure you. We're all friends here today, so the formality and titles are not of need." Furina said as she gives a warm smile to all of them

"Ah, alright then Furina! I'm so glad I could make it here today and be with you all, thank you again for inviting me." The small archon says as she gives a small smile to Furina. As for the purple haired woman next to the small archon, Nahida, nods along with what she had just said.

After that they continue with their chatting, Nahida had given Ei some Baklava that Furina had prepared for their tea party, and the woman had seemed to like it and so she thanks Nahida for the delicious dessert which made Nahida smile brightly. While Venti was trying to convince Zhongli to drink more wine.

"C'mon Zhongli! Have some more wine, surely you arent already full from just drinking tea now are you?" Venti whined as he shoved a bottle of osmanthus wine onto Zhongli's chest, the said man sighed as he poured himself some wine. Surely this wouldn't backfire on him, right? Venti grins as he proudly looks at Zhongli for finally taking a sip of the wine.

Furina sighs in exasperation at the two male archons as she looks at the rest of the archons who were enjoying themselves in light chatter and eating the special dishes and desserts she had prepared. Then, she joins in on Nahida and Ei trying different desserts from the different nations.

After some times everything died down, they had all grown tired and all called it a night, but before they all stood up a sudden blinding light that flashes in their vision and they all are suddenly standing in a forest.

"Whoa, what in the name of Barbatos?? Where did we end up this time!? Wait.." Venti says as he gets distracted by what he had just said.

Ei on the other hand remained cautious as she looked around the forest they were in, the same can be said for Nahida, she observes her surroundings to see if she recognized the forest they were in but there were no matches that could be found in her head, so that meant they were lost.

Furina was panicking in her head, she wasn't expecting this! She hoped that the other wouldnt blame her for this.. Zhongli, as if sensing Furina's distress, pats her shoulder and tells her it's alright and it is not her fault that they were teleported into an unfamiliar forest.

Furina sighs as she looks at Zhongli with a small smile and she then thanks him for the reassurance.

"Uhm, excuse me. It would appear that we have become quite disoriented. It's as if we've wandered into a world wholly unfamiliar to me, despite my boundless knowledge. I must confess, I do not know the name of the forest we've stumbled into, nor whether it even belongs to a nation. Nonetheless, I remain hopeful that we'll find our way back to familiar surroundings very soon." Nahida says as she gives everyone a reassuring look, Ei and Zhongli look at Nahida and nod in understanding. The others however..

"Oh, by Barbatos, are you serious?! We're actually lost?! Come on, you've gotta be messing with me! This is just...I mean, what are we gonna do now?! This is...this is just not good. Ugh! My head hurts." Venti said as he held his head as he has a migrane from all the wine he had and the teleporting and weird flash of light that brought them here.

"Oh dear, this isn't good at all.. How are we suppose to navigate ourselves back to safety if we don't even recognize the place we're in!?" Furina's panic and unease comes back as she looks around her

"Do not allow yourself to succumb to your emotions both of you. We must remain focused and clearheaded. This situation is far from ideal, but I assure you that we will make our way out of this forest in time. I have faith in our abilities, and I am certain that we will soon find our way to safety." Zhongli said as he looked at both Venti and Furina. Venti was grabbing at the grass and crying fake tears, being dramatic. While Furina was having an internal panic although her face didn't show it.

Nahida sighs in exasperation at both of the archons.

A rustle of the leaves spooks Furina and she squeaks out as she looks over at the leaves where the noise came from. Venti stops being his dramatic self (he's drunk thats why he's being dramatic) and is now on high alert, the wind whispers to him, there was someone spying on them.

Venti whispers to Zhongli, saying theres someone in the tree and points at the said tree. Zhongli then draws his weapon and narrows his eyes at the tree.

"Show yourself." Zhongli commands, which draws Ei, Nahida and Furina's attention, they all ready their weapons and face the tree.

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That's all for chapter 1, not really much and I think it sucks but its a start..

I'm just winging this btw cus im bored