Chapter Text
Barbatos’ statue lay abandoned on the land. The centuries of time weighed down upon each crack and scar, riddled with filth. Oh, how once it must have shone brightly in a bygone era. Yet, even with the rot of time, the statue looked proud and tall, holding a stone sphere that looked almost endeared to stone Barbatos. Archons were some strange deities, the Traveler muses.
“Paimon had a feeling you would be interested in them.” His tiny silver-haired companion spoke cheerfully. “Which is why this marks the start of our journey!” She exclaimed proudly, looking at the sky with her hands on her hips
The Traveler had only tilted his head, curious about what his little pixie companion meant.
Paimon floated towards the rusting golden plate of the statue. “As you know, the Archons protect and watch over us using these Statues of the Seven.” She looked at Traveler’s blank face in hopes of a response..“...So I thought, why not ask the Statues of the Seven for their blessing to start our journey around the Seven nations!” Paimon put her hand on the golden plate and kept her down for a moment. Once she was done paying her respect she turned to the Traveler. “Your turn!!” She said excitedly.
With a step forward, he put a gloved hand onto the plate, mimicking whatever his companion had done. The faint whispers of the statue became more prominent with how close he was to it. The Traveler seriously had no clue what this world was on about-
The world opens itself before those with noble hearts.
-speaking nonsensical words into his head. He could only sigh mentally before strange energy rushed through his fingertips. The Traveler pulled his hand back instantly from the uncomfortable sensation.
Too bad
The damage had been done.
A powerful beam of blue emitted into the sky and enveloped Barbatos Statue with pure white light in mere seconds. The radiance blinded the both of them as a pleasant sigh hummed from the statue.
The light soon faded as quickly as it came, and The Traveler blinked once or twice to settle his vision. Barbatos' statue gleamed under the warmth of sunlight. Free from filth…the cracks and rubble it had once been scarred with had all but disappeared. The rusted plates were now coated with a shiny gloss of gold, and a large ring floated underneath Barbatos' figure…something akin to Paimon’s tiara if he had to compare.
Despite those changes, the Statue of the Seven still retained its ancient presence, only now accompanied with a soft melody.
Paimon mouth was agape, and she pointed at the statue in an animated gesture. “What the...just-!?”
“Has this ever happened before?” The Traveler asked hurriedly, golden eyes taking in this new sight. The last thing he needed was the locals coming and questioning him for something he did not intend.
“Not to her knowledge…” She shook her tiny head and looked at him with awe. “Paimon never knew you had this ability before.”
“Neither did I.” The Traveler muttered quietly. How was he supposed to explain all of… this without alarming her in one way or another…or causing even more trouble to himself?
The winds picked up, rustling the trees nearby and causing ripples in the sapphire water. It blew softly against his blonde hair as he clutched his trembling hands into fists. Strage energy pulsated through his veins. Unpleasant as it was, this sting of power felt almost…
Familiar?
The World Opens Itself Before Those With Noble Hearts.
Exactly what is this world? The Traveler thought, the words echoing through his head before completely dismissing that thought or the topic entirely. There wasn’t time for such useless matters. The Traveler looked at Paimon. “We should get going-”
A roar howled from above interrupted the Traveler as he snapped his head to the sky. A dragon, the size of a mountain, soared across the blue sky. Casting a very large shadow over them, it flapped its enormous wings.
The winds then suddenly picked up their speed. Shrill hisses deafened the Traveler as Paimon shrieked, grabbing hold of his shoulder. The greenish-blue dragon roared against the onslaught.
Traces of light green accompanied the ever-transparent winds as they pushed the beast to take flight away from where they stood. With a quick motion, the dragon sought refuge in a lush green forest not that far away. Birds and other animals chirped and scattered at its sight.
The Traveler's cloak fluttered slowly as the winds began to die down. The trees began to sway normally as if the phenomenon had never occurred.
“What in Teyvat is happening right now,” Paimon said with confusion. “First the Statues fixing themselves, and now an entire Dragon?”
“Weren’t dragons supposed to be extinct?” The Traveler said, looking at the forest where the beast had landed.
“They are!” Paimon nodded along. “Dragons haven’t been spotted since… forever. ” She then looked at him with excitement and an idea dawned on her face! “Let's take a closer look at it!”
Without a word from the Traveler, she hurried across.
He silently looked back and pondered.
I wonder if you encountered such beings, too.
⸻⸻⋅☾ ✦ ☽⋅⸻⸻
Paimon stopped in front of the jaw of the luscious forest, waiting patiently for him. “Come on! Just one peek wouldn’t hurt, y’know!”
The Traveler could only sigh in response, he certainly wished the little fairy wouldn’t get so easily distracted. Was it hard to walk into a city and ask if they’d seen his missing kin?
Nonetheless, they entered the forest opening.
The rows of trees stretched far above them, almost barracading the sky as sunlight passed through the gaps of their emerald leaves. The long wisps of grass brushed past his boots as the winds whistled and the creeks croaked.
He stepped over a tree root and took in this sight. All in all, it was a nice sight.
A beautiful one even.
You would have loved this.
“We must be getting close..” The fairy whispered ecstatically, “We just started our journey and we’ve already seen something so extraordinary ! . ”
The blond-haired boy smiled politely and thought to himself:
I rather wished it stayed ordinary.
The path started to open up ahead to a forest clearing. Though to the Travelers dismay it was still blocked by the thick oaken trees, bushes and other vegetation that were growing wildly here.
Paimon looked left and right, looking a bit disappointed. “How could a large being just disappear in a small fore-”
Before she could continue her sentence, the Traveler clamped her mouth shut. Paimon yelped in surprise as he quickly hid behind a large tree truck. Paimon whispered-yelled at the boy.
“What was that for?!”
Traveler pressed a gloved finger to his lips and gestured behind them. Paimon peered behind him, only to let out a short gasp.
Stormterror was perched up on the rock. Its long claws dug into the ground as its shiny scales reflected the afternoon sunlight.
But, what troubled the Traveler more was that-
A lone figure, dressed in a green cape stood beside the rock where the infamous dragon laid. The Traveler tilted his head to get a good glimpse of the figure, though most of his efforts were in vain as the figure's cloak hid most of their features.
So the Traveler turned to what he did best.
Observe.
The figure raised their hands towards the dragon. The Traveler squinted his eyes as the familiar radiance of bright light appeared-though more tolerable and contained in a smaller radius. The dragon stood there silently, breathing heavily with its eyes closed. Almost as if whatever the person did brought it peace.
“Shh, don’t be afraid; I’m back now.” The person spoke in a soft manner.
The winds picked up as the luscious trees around the Traveler, and Paimon began to sway. In almost a harmonious tune, small wisps of green and white swirl around the area. The dragon continued to stay silent as the Traveler continued to peer at them behind the tree as Paimon covered her mouth.
Then, the sting of power has returned.
The Traveler cursed in his native tongue; this wouldn’t be pleasant.
At once did the brilliant glow of green burst forth from his gloved fingertips.
Stormterror snapped its head up to the sudden intrusion. Long gone was its peaceful attitude, it howled against the winds and slashed at the person in front.
The person ducked, not before the dragons' claws could slice the hood of the figure. Black hair flew against the breeze as aqua eyes turned towards the Traveler. They tsked softly before stepping back and disappearing with a small cocoon of green light, leaving traces of small white feathers.
The dragon, on the other hand, spread its magnificent wings and flew above the forest opening and into the sky. Sending a fury of harsh winds, the beast growled at the Traveler and flew off into the beyond.
The two covered their eyes from the onslaught of winds that pushed them back away. Only after a minute or two did they finally die down.
It took a few moments for Traveler and Paimon to collect themselves after that exchange.
“Is talking to dragons a regular recurrence here?” He hurried to add on, “In Mondstadt, I mean.”
Paimon gave him a look. “Dragons haven't been around for ages, Paimon has no idea what’s going on!”
The Traveler looked around their surroundings for any clues that could explain this strange phenomenon.
“Wow!” Paimon said suddenly, pointing at the jewel hovering right where the Stormterror once stood. “Take a look at that, it’s so pretty.” She floated towards it, with the Traveler slightly following behind.
Paimon tilted her head. “It looks like a teardrop…ooh, do you think it’s worth a lot?” She grinned mischievously at him. “We should take it and sell it!” Paimon swirled around the air giddy. “Imagine how much Mora Paimo-I mean… we can make!”
To add to the fairy’s claim, they had been short on money, so anything could help. the Traveler had to admit. He reached for the crimson crystal. In his palm did it twinkle softly, the hues of red shimmering in the sun-
Pain rushed through his skull, and unwanted memories that didn’t belong to him flashed through his mind.
Red like Blood
Red like the Sky
Pain, Agony, Hopelessness
Had dominated his senses.
The Traveler put a hand on his head as he wavered slightly. The memories vanished before he could fully grasp them. Paimon shook his shoulders violently.
“...Traveler, can you hear Paimon?”
He nodded, covering his eyes for a second. The crystal in his palm weighed heavy. Paimon looked at him with pity and concern.
What in the stars was that?
That pain and anguish felt too real…felt almost like his own.
The Traveler glanced at the sky.
Teyvat was unlike the other worlds they’d been to.
Whoever those two were…I hope they don’t cause any trouble for me.
“We should get on going to Mondstadt.”