"Psst! [traveler]!" Paimon whispers. "It is time to wake up! You know your tasks won't do themselves."
I blink and swat at her like she's a pesky fly.
"Hey, watch it! You might hurt Paimon!"
I yawn and sit up. Memories flood back from yesterday. Meeting Amber, walking around town, getting introduced to the adventure's... club... thing, I can't remember. Losing my sister. Having mysterious wind magic that I don't even know how it works. Hillichurls. Yay.
"Paimon is right." I sit up. I was given a handbook for my adventure entries, and it has a list of tasks to be done. Each task has a handsome reward involved, so it won't be too boring.
"Paimon is always right." She huffs and folds her arms.
"Hungry?" I ask, standing and stretching. I pull out my backpack catalog and together we chose what to eat for breakfast.
Technically, I don't need to eat anything. I just need to stand next to one of the Statues Of The Seven, and it blesses me with full health and stamina. It saves a lot of time and resources, but it doesn't work for Paimon. So I let her eat some of my hash browns and eat some as well so she won't feel lonely.
"What should we start with today?" I pull out my list.
"Paimon can't tell which is easier, but this one is closer!" She points to the third task. It's outside of Mondstadt, just behind the Statue Of The Seven that Paimon affectionately named "Mr. Dad."
"Sounds good to me." I stow my adventurer's handbook in my bag and trade it for my map. I locate the statue, and away we go.
It's quick and easy. Teleporting is always fun, and gives me a rush. I can feel wind running through my hair and caressing my face, there's a fresh scent like peaches and ponds, then I'm deposited at the desired location.
There's a woman standing at the base of the tree. I approach, and I can hear her muttering.
"Oh! Hello." She greets.
"Is everything okay?" I ask.
She starts talking, but I tune her out. I feel kinda bad, but all of the conversations I've had in and around Mondstadt are long-winded. These people sure like to chat. Paimon does all the talking for me, then hands me a paper with the objective when the conversation is over.
I have to climb the tree and pick... leaves? Suddenly, I wish I'd been listening.
"Paimon, are you sure this is what she said?" I ask, looking up at my companion. But she's gone. Her little disappearing act. Barbatos-dammit Paimon, come back here.
I turn around to ask the commissioner, but she's busy doing... things, I dunno. So I turn to the tree and take in the scale of the project.
Hundreds of thousands of leaves. And I need to find the special ones? I'm not even that confident of a climber yet. But... she needs those leaves for her project. She isn't better suited for this job than I am.
I put aside my thoughts and climb. I'll know what I'm looking for when I find it.
The dark wood is warm beneath my gloved fingers. Even with all these leaves, the sun still manages to bake the bark. The higher I go, the windier it becomes.
There's a place on the tree where I can stand, the branches make a path in different directions, hiding things within their leaves. Leaves. Drats. I pause for a moment to catch my breath. That's when I see it.
A particularly wide, dark leaf. It's suspicious the only leaf on its branch. This must be what I'm looking for. I grab it, and Paimon tells me I was right. There are two more I need to find.
The other two are easy to find, and soon, I'm standing on a tall branch, staring down at the ground below. Paimon floats next to me.
"What's the matter?"
I shift backward and tighten my grip on the branch overhead. "I'll break my legs if I jump from here."
"Then fly down!" Paimon helpfully suggests.
"Paimon, I'm not a-" then it dawns on me. The wind-glider from Amber. I can glide down. "Oh. Sorry."
"Hmph! I told you, Paimon is always right!" She folds her arms and sticks her nose in the air.
For a moment, I stare at the ground. Am I really about to jump? If I hit the ground, I'll break my legs. If I land on my head, I'll die. The wind-glider worked once, but that was with the blessing of anemo, and I was being guided by an expert. What if I deploy my wind glider and it doesn't work?
"If you just stand there, nothing will happen." Paimon says. "Time is ticking!"
I cautiously unclench my grip on the overhead branch. I exhale slowly. I'm afraid. I'm allowed to be afraid, but only for five seconds. I inhale deeply, exhale, then open my eyes.
I lean forward, falling from the branches and plummeting to my death. The ground is rushing toward me. For a breathless moment, I forget how to deploy the wind glider. Then I throw my arms outward, and it yanks me violently from my descent.
My shoulders are straining from the whiplash, but I can open my eyes comfortably. I can see everything from up here. Mondstadt, on the horizon, miles and miles of meadow stretching out between us. The wind is gentle while it guides me forward. I land on the soft grass, crumpling to lay down; I'd forgotten how my legs work.
I pop back up and dash over to where the commissioner waits. I hand her my package, bear through her story, then nod my farewell. The rewards she gives me were pretty cool.
"Oooh! Primo gems are so pretty!" Paimon wonders aloud when I open the pouch of goodies.
"You're in charge of keeping them safe, okay?" I hand them to her, and she holds them with such tender care that one might think it to be a baby mouse. Her eyes sparkle the reflection of the gems, and she just stares for a moment. I clear my throat. "Paimon, let's go to the next commission."
"Oh! yeah!" Paimon stows the gems in a pocket somewhere. "Paimon remembers it's at Dawn Winery! Are you ready to go?"
Cleaning up loose piles of hay. That's what I was paid 3,228 mora and 10 Primogems to do. I did get to use my new Anemo powers, which was prime. Unleashing a blast of air powerful enough to cut down enemies or blast them away? It's so bizarre.
My commissions for the day are pretty simple. Honestly, it's more like doing chores. If I have to do this every day, then so be it. I get to practice my swordsmanship and get a better understanding of my anemo abilities.
We are traveling down a path toward Mondstadt. It's getting dark out, so there aren't many locals around. I return to the Knights of Favonious headquarters, carrying a sleeping Paimon in my arms.
The hall is well lit and adorned in gold. This place is expensive. I make my way to Acting Grand Master Jean's office, only to find her waiting there for me.
"[Traveler]! I'm so glad to see you. Did you find your way around the city alright?"
"I ran into a couple of bumps, but it wasn't anything I couldn't handle."
She smiles warmly. It's the kind of smile a mother would bestow upon a prodigal son. "Good to hear. Let me introduce you to Kaeya."
She turns to indicate a man whom I've been avoiding looking at. He's tall. Much taller than Jean or myself. And he's handsome. He's got dark blue hair and tan skin. His eyes are a brilliant icy blue. Well, he has one eye. The eyepatch makes him seem experienced and mysterious. If it weren't for his frivolous clothes and sparkling jewelry, he might have been a pirate. Though, the corset makes him look a bit like a lady pirate. His shirt is tight, and open in the front to reveal his muscular chest.
"You must be the Traveler. An honorary knight of favonious." His voice is silky smooth, like he's trying to put me under a spell. It's working. "It's a pleasure to meet you."
His eye. Icy blue and enchanting. He reminds me of someone I used to know... but why am I thinking of them now? I've always had such a hard time remembering my past, but suddenly bits and pieces are coming back to me.
"Kaeya. The pleasure is all mine."
I don't even know what he says after that. He and Jean exchange a few words, and I do my best not to stare at him. But it's hard. Not only is his outfit loud, but he is beautiful. Does Mondstadt have more people like this?
Suddenly, I can't wait to find out. Maybe living here and doing mundane chores for meager treasure isn't such a bad thing after all.
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Ok hello this is the author. I hope you liked my first chapter! A lot of these are going to be pretty haphazard in the future... I'm at AR 38 now, and I started playing the game only a month ago. So I have endured a LOT of plot since I started playing, and things might get lost.
I want to hear from you! Who are your favorite characters? Do you have any ships? (I know I do). What is the most difficult enemy you've had to face so far? (Mine is Tartaglia!!)
Thank you for reading and going on this adventure with me!