There was no cold like this in Liyue.
Sure, you had winters where you were from. You couldn't say you were completely inexperienced in terms of cold weather. But this was something else. The cold was biting, like it seeped through your very bones, and you had no words to describe how stupid you'd been to think cutting through Dragonspine was a good idea.
You'd initially wanted to take just a shortcut, taking the mountain path that branched off from the ruins of Mingyun village and off to the edge of the Sal Terrae, where you'd cut across and glide into the Windwail Highlands.
But things didn't go according to plan.
The snowstorm made certain of that. You made camp when it hit after finding a cave, knowing it was futile to try and navigate the path in a white out blizzard, but when the storm cleared, you woke to find your map gone. Your vision wasn't much help, as it was Dendro, and the plants you were able to make grow offered little in terms of food. But the point stood that you were now lost in a landscape even seasoned adventures struggled with.
And you decidedly weren't an adventurer. Survival, while you were able to manage in a pinch, wasn't exactly your area of expertise. The sword on your back indicated that you had some combat skill, but that was lacking. What you were was an alchemist. It was one of the reasons you'd decided to come to Mondstadt. You'd heard tales of an alchemist working for the Knights of Favonius who was heralded as a genius, and you wanted to learn from him. That would be impossible, however, if you froze to death.
You followed what paths you could find in the snowy landscape, managing to avoid most major scuffles, though you did have to dispatch a few hilichurls. It alarmed you to see Fatui Skirmishers along the trails, and you somehow managed to avoid them.
It was when you ran into the Lawachurl that you made an error. You were also decidedly too high in the mountain for your liking, and the air kept getting thinner, making it hard to breathe, and despite the many layers you were wearing, you still felt like you were dizzy with cold. You were shivering and tired, and when you approached the plateau the Lawachurl was resting on, you promptly tripped, face planting into the snow. You had no idea where you were in the slightest, but that was the least of your worries when a massive monster was advancing on you.
You were far too exhausted to fight, so you decided to choose option two: run.
Unfortunately, the pathway you chose dropped off, sending you tumbling down to the snow banks, landing painfully on your ankle. Fortunately, the Lawachurl seemed to loose interest after your tumble, but you now had snow in your clothing, and you had to stumble towards the nearest brazier to warm yourself. You were shivering, terrified, your stomach was clawing at itself in hunger, and from the way pain prickled along your ankle, you figured you were now injured more than you initially were.
You couldn't cry, the tears would freeze, so you furiously blinked back the wave of frustrated tears that pooled in your eyes as you limped farther down the path. You didn't have time to stop and assess the damage, and the boots you were wearing more than likely helped mitigate your injury, but if your ankle wasn't broken, it was sprained, and badly. You could feel the area tightening, a clear indicator of swelling.
Still running on adrenaline, you were able to walk a little while longer before you needed to stop as pain overwhelmed your senses, and your steps became uneven and lurching. You needed help. Badly. You could feel that your hair was sticky with blood on one side from when you'd fallen, and you had no idea how bad the bump to the head was, or if it was just a cut, but you'd need to staunch the bleeding.
Then, you saw light through the gales of falling snow. It was stronger than the glow the braziers that dotted the mountainside gave off, and you stumbled towards it, desperate to find someone to help you.
But you were disappointed. You found somewhere, alright, but nobody was there. It was a camp. It was situated in a cave. There were bookshelves stuffed with worn volumes, as well as barrels and crates along the cavern walls half buried in the snow. A table scattered with alchemy equipment sat on the left side, and a desk on the opposite, complete with an alchemy furnace, glowing jewel toned green. A pinboard stood adjacent to the desk, covered in notes. Braziers stood on either side of the entrance, and a cooking pot sat in the middle of it all.
This wasn't just a camp. This was an alchemist's camp. You hobbled forward to investigate further, leaning heavily on the desk as you approached. The braziers trapped the warmth inside the cavern, and while there were still drafty spots, it was much better than outside. You inspected the pinboard with interest, taking note of the alchemical formulas and haphazard notes, written in a scrawling, elegant handwriting. This alchemist was clearly incredibly talented, and you would have to examine their notes further, but right now, you needed to assess your injuries.
You sat down heavily by the cooking pot, lighting the tinder beneath it with some nearby flint, violent shivers racking your body as the now roaring fire warmed your frigid limbs. You wanted to untie your boot, but now that you were out of danger, and the adrenaline was fading, you realized just how exhausted you were. You pulled your bedroll from your pack, wrapping the blankets around your shoulders, but they weren't thick enough to warm you. You knew you needed to raise your body temperature before things got dangerous.
If they weren't already.
You stole closer to the fire, curling in on yourself as tightly as you could. Hopefully the alchemist would come back soon.
You didn't know how long you were laying there before everything went black.
"Slowly, now," a voice said, the timbre soft and even, "open your mouth."
You barely had the wherewithal to register that the voice was male. You struggled to recall what had happened, your head full of cotton. There was still a deep chill in your bones, settled just at the edge your awareness, making a shiver shake your body as you let out a weak cry.
"Mouth," the man said again, voice still soft, "come on, now, open up."
You took a few seconds to register what he was saying, then complied after your brain remembered where your mouth was. It was like your entire system had restarted. You felt something slip into your mouth, a spoon, and there was something hot in it. Stew, maybe. Some type of meat stew. The seasonings were delicious, mixing with the meat, and you were suddenly ravenous.
You opened your eyes.
"Ah, there we are," the man said, "welcome back to the land of the living."
The man sitting before you was one of the most beautiful living creatures you'd ever seen in your life. He was pale, with delicate, ethereal features. His eyes were the color of the radiant teal waters of Luhua Pool, framed with long lashes. His nose was straight, his lips narrow, though his lower lip was slightly fuller than his upper one. His hair was ash blonde, fluffy as it fell around his face, reaching his shoulders. It was tied half back with two braids.
On his throat was a golden mark shaped like a diamond, and below that sat a geo vision. From the shape of the vision's setting, you deduced he was a denizen of Mondstadt. He was sitting on folded legs beside you, and from what you could see, he was wearing a long, short sleeved white coat, decorated with black and gold lining. It was layered over a high collared indigo shirt with intricate black piping. Over this was a belt-like sash, again with gold embellishments. Black gloves covered his hands, ones that reached his elbows, white and gold accents on them. The palms of his gloves were red.
From what you could see of his legs, he was wearing a pair of black shorts paired with thigh high boots, which were decorated with more silver and gold.
You blinked stupidly at him, and he blinked back, eyes curious, nudging at your lips with the spoon, which you accepted eagerly.
"Am I dead?" You asked, your voice a croak, and the man lifted a canteen to your lips, which you drank from greedily.
"No," he said, "you are alive, I assure you."
He pushed the spoon to your mouth again, and you parted your lips.
"What happened?" You asked, taking in your surroundings.
You were laid out on a bedroll, one much sturdier than the one you'd been carrying, and your body was tightly wrapped in thick blankets. You were halfway propped up with a collection of pillows. The fire you'd lit was blazing, and a pot of soup was bubbling merrily, filling the cavern with mouthwatering scents. Your stomach rumbled with hunger.
"I found you unconscious," the man said, "on death's door. You're suffering from hypothermia. I was barely able to save you. If I'd have gotten to you any later, you would have surely died. Human life is such a delicate thing, no?"
You nodded. "So much we don't know about the way things work."
The man smiled. His eyes danced with light. "Always a pleasant surprise to meet a likeminded individual."
You ate the stew with his gentle coaxing until the bowl was empty and your stomach was full, and your eyes were heavy.
"Who are you?" You asked, voice slurred.
"I am Albedo. I should be asking the same. This is my camp."
You took a second to register that his words meant he was the alchemist this camp belonged to.
And so, you told him your name. "I'm an alchemist from Liyue."
"I figured as much," Albedo said, "if the contents of your bag have anything to say about it."
You blinked. "You went through my bag?"
Albedo canted his head. "Would you not do the same if you found a strange woman unconscious at your campsite? I had to be certain you were not a threat."
You had to admit he had a point.
Then, you remembered. "My ankle—"
"—Is broken. Fractured, to be exact. The boots you were wearing protected you from worse damage, but it's still quite a nasty break. I have already sent my assistant to fetch the deaconess from the church, so do not worry."
"The church?" You parroted.
"Yes," Albedo said, "the Church of Favonius. The Deaconess is a young woman called Barbara. She is a capable healer and you will be in good hands."
Oh. That's what you were here for. The knights. Alchemy. The chief alchemist. Your brain was so muddled with your injuries that you'd all but forgotten.
"The chief alchemist for the Knights of Favonius," you said, "do you know him?"
Albedo chuckled. "I should hope so, seeing as he is me."
Taken aback, you stared at him. "Oh."
Albedo moved back, turning to pick something up, and when he turned around once more, he was holding a familiar leather-bound book in his hand. You sat up a little bit, but fell back when your head spun.
"That's my journal," you said.
The alchemist leafed through the journal, eyes twinkling with unabashed curiosity.
"You study medicinal alchemy," he said, without looking up at you, "these formulas are incredible."
"Yes," you said, "I do study medicinal alchemy, among other things. I worked alongside Doctor Baizhu to research herbalism and see if I could implement it into alchemical formulas to make more effective medicines."
Albedo looked mildly impressed, his eyes fixing on your face. "And the results?"
"Mixed," you said, "I was able to create a more effective cold and flu remedy by mixing echinacea, feverfew, and some variations of violetgrass I bred to be more potent for combating swelling. It works like a charm. But my other remedies are still a work in progress."
Albedo sat forward, now fully engaged. He flipped through the journal until he found the entry you were referring to. "The formula is simple enough, but the combination of herbs work well together. I see you also added powdered noctilucous jade for removal of toxins. But I must ask, what is the purpose of the sweet flower?"
"Oh," you said, "that. I added that to combat the bitter taste of the feverfew. The echinacea doesn't totally cancel it out, so I added a little bit of sweet flower nectar to make it easier to swallow. Also, it'll make kids more willing to take it when they're sick."
Albedo nodded. "Smart choice, talking such a thing into account. You are a gifted alchemist."
You could feel yourself blushing. That was high praise coming from him. "Thank you very much. I grow my own plants, so making things with them is like second nature."
With a wave of your hand, a sprout broke through the soil beside you, blooming into a brilliantly purple blossom. Albedo cupped the small plant with his hands, examining the delicate petals with interest.
"Fascinating," he said, "you possess a Dendro vision, yes?"
You nodded. "That's correct."
"It is impressive you are able to grow a healthy plant in the harsh conditions of Dragonspine."
"Well," you said, "my plants grow differently depending on how I'm feeling. When I'm happy, they grow well. When I'm feeling negative things, they grow weaker. I study medicinal alchemy, as well as alchemy related to botany. They kinda go together."
"Mm," Albedo hummed, "very much so. I also must ask, what made you leave Liyue?"
"I heard there was an alchemist in Mondstadt who was considered a genius, so I wanted to meet him and see if I could work with him. That's part of the reason."
"Oh?" Albedo intoned, "and what was the other part, if you don't mind my asking?"
"I needed a change of pace. Moving to another country is always a big leap, but I came from a really poor family, and now that I'm grown, moving out gives my parents one less mouth to feed. I tried living on my own for a while, but nobody needs medicinal alchemy when they have Bubu pharmacy, and Baizhu is the one who taught me all about herbs, so I didn't want to steal any of his customers. I decided to move here, somewhere my talents would be useful."
"Why not work for Baizhu?"
You shrugged. "I wanted to do research instead of working on one thing all the time. It's too constricting."
The alchemist nodded seriously. "Yes, I can understand that."
Albedo looked away from you, eyes focused, and you could practically see the gears in his head turning. His gaze fell to your journal again, and he paged through it before closing it gently and setting it aside. His fingers drummed on his knee as he thought, and it took a moment or two before he spoke again.
"I am interested in your research," he said finally, "and I would like to learn more about it, if you would allow me. I will speak to the Acting Grand Master and get her approval to have you assigned to the investigation team. That way, you can research all you like. Granted, you may need to become a member of the knights, but you survived this long on your own, so I doubt that would be much of a challenge for you."
Your eyes widened, and you almost didn't believe your ears. "Really? Thank you so much! I can't wait to learn all I can from you."
"Yes," Albedo said, "it will be most interesting indeed. Now, you need to rest. As someone familiar with healing, you must know that recovery takes energy."
You nodded. You were tired. Exhausted, even. You may have said something after that, but after your focus was shifted off of your passion and onto your utter weariness, you were helpless to the pull of sleep.
When you woke next, you felt horrible.
Your head was aching. Hell, everything was aching. All of your muscles were burning with aches and pains, and you knew you had a fever from the way your body was riddled with chills. You could hear the fire crackling beside you, and beyond that, hushed voices.
"We need to bring down the fever," said a female voice, "her body has been warmed, but she isn't out of the woods, yet."
"And the hypothermia?" That was Albedo.
"She's on the road to recovery from that, her lips aren't blue anymore, and she's got some color back in her cheeks."
"I'll make some tea," another voice said, also female, and you heard footsteps approach the fire. You kept your eyes shut.
The scent of feverfew filled your nose, as well as chamomile, and it overwhelmed you with warmth. You shifted in your bed, and the voices paused for a moment before resuming. You began taking note of what you could with your eyes closed. From the lack of light leaking through your closed eyelids, you figured the time had shifted to nighttime while you were asleep. There were now two women, along with Albedo. Albedo had mentioned his assistant going to get the deaconess from the church, so you could only assume the two women were the aforementioned people.
Finally, you opened your eyes. Your head was pounding, and even the light from the braziers was making it throb. You made a soft, weak little groan, lowering your eyelids halfway to try and combat this.
The person tending the fire a was a young woman. She had light green hair, tied in a low ponytail at the nape of her neck. Black spectacles rested on her nose. She had fair, pale skin and a sweet, kind face. Her eyes were the color of amber. Perched on her head was a white and blue cap, one that matched the uniform she was wearing, and similar in color to Albedo's own uniform. It consisted of a blue dress paired with a white cape. Black stockings with garters as well as white fold over boots were on her feet. An Anemo visions as pinned to the clasp of her cloak.
She didn't notice that you were awake, busying herself with making a pot of tea. A small bag of herbs sat beside her, and you could identify each bundle she'd neatly tied. You rose your eyes to where Albedo was. Standing in front of him was another young woman.
She was dressed in a white and blue frock lined with gold, a cap similar to a nurse's cap on her head. She was blonde, her hair pulled into curled twin-tails. Her eyes were blue, and her face was kind and pleasant, her skin fair. Attached to a strap around her body was a book, to which a Hydro vision was attached to. Around her shoulders was a dark blue traveling cloak, pushed back and away from her body at present. The clasp was some kind of crest.
The green haired girl started when she noticed your eyes were open, scurrying forward and towards you.
"You're awake," she said, "how do you feel?"
You blinked. "Sort of... terrible. Also, who are you?"
"I'm Sucrose. I hope the tea I'm making will help soothe you."
You hummed softly. "With those herbs, I'll be up on my feet pretty quick."
Sucrose's eyes lit up. "Ah, yes. I grew them myself. Enhanced with my alchemy."
Sitting forward a little, disregarding the pain, you smiled. "Really? You'll have to tell me how you did that. I study medicinal alchemy and alchemy having to do with botany, so—"
"Miss," said the girl in the frock as she rushed over, "please, lay back down. Your fever has not broken yet."
You learned the deaconess's name was Barbara, and Albedo hadn't been kidding when he said you'd be in good hands. She expertly brewed medicines and concocted a broth for you to drink, and it only took a few hours before you were feeling a little bit better. You'd undoubtedly gotten sick from exposure, but Barbara assured you she'd make sure you were back to full health in no time at all.
Once your fever was broken, you began to recover a bit more quickly. Your limbs were still riddled with aches, and while Barbara's healing had worked wonders on your broken ankle, it was still stiff. When you attempted to stand on it, you ended up toppling over in pain.
You spent the next few days recovering, and under the care of Barbara, Albedo, and Sucrose, you were feeling much better, even if you were still having trouble walking. You badly wanted to go out and gather herbs with Albedo, but he forbade you, saying you needed to focus on healing before anything else.
"You should be able to come back with us to Mondstadt soon," Sucrose said, and you looked up at her from your spot by the fire, eyes glittering.
"Really?"
"Uh-huh. Mister Albedo is more excited than I've ever seen him. Your research is incredible, ____. Master Jean is sure to be thrilled when she sees how much your medicinal remedies can help the people of Mondstadt. She'll let you join the Investigation Team for sure."
You flushed with pride at her words, fiddling with the hem of the dress Albedo had made for you to wear, seemingly pulling it straight from the canvas. It was cleaner and much warmer than your clothing from before, as were the boots he'd provided you with.
"I'm just happy my research can help," you said, and Sucrose beamed at you.
Albedo returned soon after to cook dinner, and he informed you that you'd be accompanying him down the mountain the following morning, which seemed to be a relief for Barbara. She didn't seem to like the cold all that munch, and while Sucrose remained mostly unaffected, she seemed to tire of the intense cold as well. Albedo, on the other hand, showed no signs of cold at all. You found you were beginning not to mind it all that much, either.
The next day came, and you leaned heavily on Albedo's shoulder as you walked down the mountain. Sucrose had insisted on carrying your bag, and Barbara, who proved to be more than capable, took care of anybody wandering monsters.
You were bone tired upon reaching the City of Freedom, but you were also excited as you looked at the high stone walls.
This was the start of something new.