ϐׁׅ֒ᥣׁׅ֪ᨵׁׅᨵׁׅ ꩇׁׅ݊ꪱׁׅꪀׁׅᧁׁ ⨍ᥣׁׅ֪ᨵׁׅᨰׁׅꫀׁׅܻꭈׁׅ꯱ׁׅ֒

℘ꭈׁׅᨵׁׅᥣׁׅ֪ᨵׁׅᧁׁυׁׅꫀׁׅܻ

A few years back was when you met Iris, you were about 18 at the time, walking through the plains below your tribe in search for herbs. The sun casted a warm, soothing feeling on your skin, occasionally a soft breeze would pass, you felt as if it was the best weather in all of Teyvat. As you walked, you spotted a patch of Grainfruit. 'Perhaps I could gather them, the leaves are helpful to make a healing paste, and I could eat the fruit afterwards', you thought. All your life, you wanted to know about healing and brewings, because when your parents got a disease, the healers were too late to help them, you were an orphan from the age of 10.

But It wasn't their death that's the saddest thing for you..it's the fact you don't remember their voices, their laughs. They would sing you a lullaby whenever you had a nightmare to soothe you to sleep, most of the song being lost in your memories forever. The only part you knew was the ending : "Don't, don't cry, my lovely y/n, the nightmares would soon be put into end.." You would always fall asleep after the last line, and sure enough, the nightmares would stop..

You observed around the meadow in case there were any hungry saurians that would pull up a fight, when you spotted nothing, you walked towards the patch, crouching down to pick out the fruit. You tugged on it but wouldn't budge, you knew Grainfruit was always a pain in the ass to harvest because of how difficult it is to take off. 'Perhaps I should pick it from the root..'

You took out a pair of gloves and slid them on your hands, starting to dig into the root, that's when you spotted something, something purple, 'Huh, what is this...?". You started to dig deeper into the dirt, the purple thing was a jewel, making what seemed to be a necklace. You carefully took it out of the dirt, observing it, the gem seemed to be amethyst, and the string was under some kind of metal.

You rubbed your finger on it to take off some dirt, feeling the cold surface and trying to see it more clearly, the gem seemed to be amethyst due to its color and texture , that's when it suddenly started glowing. You dropped it on the ground, being startled and starting to back away in case anything happens. You drew your weapon, infusing it with your vision. From the jewel emerged a misty white orb that hovered in the air, which slowly took shape as a... pixelated dragon? It was small, the size of a parrot, they had lilac scales, a white underbelly, green eyes, and had dark purple stripes around its body and a short mane.

"Hahaha! Yes, i'm finally free!", it was a female, she looked around and spotted you, "A mortal huh? Well thank you stranger! It's been years since I've seen the outside word, I'm Iris, nice to meet you!" She seemed very enthusiastic and friendly, the saurian, now known as Iris, took your hand into her paws, shaking it. "This is probably the best day of my life! How could I repay you? But first, what's your name?", she asked

"I-I'm y/n", you said, you were a bit scared of the little saurian, heck, who wouldn't be? Seeing a small dragon come out of a jewelry piece and start talking like a kid in a sugar rush would at least get some reaction from someone.

"y/n huh? That's a pretty name.", she saw your expression, "Are you scared of me? Don't worry! I won't do anything that'll harm you, promise, but uh... one question..where the hell are we?"

You stared at her in confusion, narrowing your eyes around their surroundings, "You don't know?"

Iris shook her head, "I've been away for years, and Natlan seemed to have changed a lot.....we're in Natlan right?" You nodded, "Well..how did you even get in that thing?", you pointed to the necklace. Iris hovered over and picked it up, "Still in one piece..well, allow me to tell you my story! I've been living ever since the Dragon Era, in simple terms, the Dragon Era was from many millennia ago, which means L'm full of history and wisdom! You see, the funny thing is, the other saurians thought I was too friendly and that I was ruining our kingdom's reputation, we were feared and powerful but I always stuck out like a butterfly in the sky, so they sealed me away into this necklace."

She held it up, "Being sealed in it wasn't very nice, it was pretty boring, it was a white void and I could see what was going on outside, the only good thing is that I didn't have to worry about food or water. A lot of years passed, and now, you came! When I was sealed away, they put this necklace in some kind of wooden box, all those years of being buried in the ground would've worn it out, and if anyone were to touch the jewel, I would be freed!"

You took in all this information, feeling a bit sympathetic about her time in her old kingdom but mostly interested that she's from a species several millennia old. She could be the last of her kind, an actual part of history.. you knew that if other people would've found her before you, they would most likely use her for their own benefits, just like you were treated all your life..

Iris started to hover around you, observing your outfit, which she thought looked pretty, "Now, I have something for you, a reward for freeing me!" You thought for a moment, this could be something good for your career, "I'm interested, what will it be?"

Iris stopped circling you and stopped in front of you, "It'll be a contract, I want to see the outside world again! You know, learning about everything that has changed...like that!", she pointed to a nearby Yunkasaurus who was eating. "In return, I'll be your little companion, helping defeat enemies, learn about how Natlan used to be before Archons even existed, and much more! So, you want in? This is a one chance opportunity, if you disagree, i'll just try to find someone else..", she summoned a paper which was the contract and a feather with ink.

You took the paper and read it, looking if there was something bad like a curse or something, but there seemed to be nothing, seems this little saurian is trustworthy, "So, I just sign here?", you pointed to the bottom, that had a line. Iris nodded, "Oh! And one more thing, signing the contract will make us be bond by life, meaning, if you die, I die with you, but if I die, you'll be able to take my body along with all my memories and could get a mortal of your own! Just like what i'm doing!"(this isn't foreshadowing, dw, there's no angst) , you listened carefully to her words, nodding and grabbing the feather from the air, dipping it in the black ink and writing 'y/n l/n' on the line.

The paper glowed a dim white and rolled into a scroll, being sealed by a red stamp and disappearing along with the feather and ink, Iris spinned in the air, giggling, "Glad to know you agreed, lets see what our days will bring, y/n!"