Lumine POV
She had gone back to Wangshu Inn after working things out with the man, Dainsleif. He had easily agreed to let them commission him, but at a fee of 500 mora, and three answered questions. And he only took commissions related to the Abyss Order. Once again, it was weird. But she guessed she'd know more as time passed.
He had come to Mondstadt on the trail of an Abyss Herald, something that apparently controlled the mages. He had asked her to meet him at the Temple of the Falcon at sunset. So she still had some free time in which she could fill Xiao in on the situation.
She walked off to the highest balcony, and saw Xiao there as expected. "Hii, I am back." He turned sharply around to face her. "Hey, don't sneak up on me like that!" He said indignantly. She giggled and said, "Well, things just took a turn for the weirder." (dunno if this makes sense lol) He raised an eyebrow, his face as emotionless as ever. "Well, we met this man called Dainsleif, who apparently wants to oppose the Abyss Order......."
Xiao POV
"...... and so, I am going to meet him in Mondstadt at sunset." Lumine finished.
He thought about it. Even in listening to her recounts, he could tell that this 'Dainsleif' was not normal. And he remembered having faced an Abyss Herald once, not too long ago, and he didn't like those things at all. Would Lumine be safe in this quest? After all, no one really knew much about Dainsleif other than the fact that he was not from Mondstadt, was a traveler.
Abruptly he said, "I'll come with you guys." She blinked in surprise. "Uh, come again?" He repeated himself firmly. "I'll come with you guys." "Why?" He thought about it. In reality, he wanted to keep Lumine safe, but he very well couldn't tell that to her. So he said, "I also want to find out more about the Abyss Order."
She raised one unbelieving eyebrow, and he wondered if he was that bad at lying. But all she said was, "Alright. Meet me at the Temple of the Falcon, Mondstadt, at sunset." He nodded and turned back to the railings, seemingly immersed in his thoughts.
Lumine POV
She got the feeling that there was more to Xiao's wanting to tag along than met the eye, but she simply shrugged it off. What harm could a little extra help do?
---Sunset---
As expected, when she got to the Temple of the Falcon, she saw Dainsleif there waiting for her. He nodded to her and said, "This temple does bear marks of the Abyss.... The Falcon of the West, though it can soar in the sky, in the end it does naught but hover under the light of the gods." "What do you mean?" A third voice asked at the same time as her.
They both turned to see Xiao leaning against a tree. Dain raised his eyebrow at her. She said, "Oh, I forgot to tell you, this is Xiao, a friend of mine. Is it ok if he comes along too? He also works against monsters like the Abyss mages, and wants to know more about the Abyss Order." Dainsleif eyed him from head to toe, then finally said, "Älright, but be on your guard; we can encounter monsters at a higher difficulty than some simple mages." Xiao nodded, walking up to them.
Dain turned around, facing the temple, and said, "Let's head in."
********
They hadn't encountered anything more than some hilichurls and mages. Dainsleif sighed. "Maybe the Herald already left." Lumine thoughtfully asked, "Could you tell us more about the abyss?"
Slowly, Dain said, "The Abyss... Destruction and chaos. The encroaching morass of inconceivable madness. Corrosive powers so strong that even Dvalin, servant of a god, couldn't resist. They desire nothing short of total overthrow of the archons." Paimon said, "You sure seem to know a lot about the Abyss, Dain." He laughed. "Well, we do have some history." Up till now, Xiao had kept quiet. However, now he asked, "What kind of history?" Dain stared at him before saying, "I suppose that's as far as chit-chat goes."
Xiao POV
Suspicious. Very suspicious.
This man knew a lot about the Abyss, more than any normal person. Added to the fact that he didn't reveal his history... Well, he could keep an eye on Dain now.
"We should head to Wolvendom." Dain's smooth voice broke into his thoughts. "Perhaps we may find the Herald there." "And why?" Xiao asked casually. Dain raised an eyebrow. "I like this trait of yours. Ever- so- cautious. Questioning. As to your question, the Abyss had tried to corrupt Dvalin, someone acquainted with Barbatos before, so they may try to do the same to the old wolf. It also used to serve Barbatos." "It does make sense", he admitted.
An hour or so later saw them hunting for traces of the Abyss in Wolvendom. On the way, Dain had shared some more of his information on the Order with them. "To keep you prepared," he had said. Dain was really very knowledgeable about the Abyss.
Ultimately, it turned out that the Herald wasn't here either. Guess no one really wanted to mess with Andrius. Paimon squeaked, "Aww, so does that mean we will have to give up the hunt?" Lumine sighed. "We're out of leads." Dain shook his head. "There might still be one more place. Stormterror's Lair. Lets go there."
********
"The first time I saw the ruins of Old Mondstadt, Dvalin had yet to fall, much less come to nest in this place. I heard about your commendable actions here. So I guess, that at this point, it is more 'Lair' than 'Stormterror.' "
They were currently at the entrance of Stormterror's lair. He frowned. "But if I remember correctly, Dvalin first got into trouble, because of Durin's blood some centuries ago." Lumine looked surprised at this piece of information. Dain waved his hand dismissively. "Don't think too much about it." With that, he headed into the ruins. Looking at Lumine with a small frown, which she returned, they followed him.
********
They had again combed the lair, but no sign of a Herald. Paimon sighed. "We still didn't find it. What a bummer." Dain said, "I wouldn't call not having to see one 'a bummer.' But we might still encounter one soon." Paimon now looked scared. "C- Can't we avoid it?!"
Dainsleif sighed, his eyes distant. "How good would it be, if all perils in one's journey journey could be avoided by going around." Apparently Lumine had the same thought as him, as she said, "Speaking from experience, are we?" Dain nodded. "Yes. I had once traversed the entirety of Tevyat with my companion, much like you intend to do with Paimon." Paimon asked rather insensitively, "Where are they now, anyways?"
He paused. "He... No longer travels." He had a sudden feeling of sympathy for this man. He had let very less about his past on, but it did seem like he had been through a lot.
"......Either way, we will settle where there is good food!" Both Lumine and Dain looked amused by Paimon's antics. Guess he missed some of their conversation. "Uh, I think you are getting too ahead of yourself." Lumine laughed.
"Home..." Dain mused. "Well, it won't be too late to think of a place to live when your journey reaches it's end. While you're still traveling, you should..."
Suddenly Lumine's eyes widened, shock in her face. She swiveled away from them. "Lumine?" They both asked worriedly. Her eyes seemed fixated on the cliff ahead. "I... sense something familiar on that cliff. Something I felt the last time I was here too."
Lumine POV
Impossible. This was impossible. How could it be her brother?
She had felt a very familiar essense on that cliff. There was only one person she could recognise in such a way, and yet...
Dainsleif looked surprised. "Something familiar. We should check it out, we will be able to examine it more closely." With that, he disappeared. Xiao could make out a faint figure now on the cliff. Lumine groaned. "Ughh, he is soo fast! We can use that wind current to catch up to him." Xiao interrupted her. "No need. I can get us there." Paimon looked confused, but Lumine agreed. "Oh right, I kinda forgot about your teleportation powers..." She grinned sheepishly.
He extended his hand to her, which she took after an initial hesitation. Darkness enveloped her for a moment, then she saw herself on the cliff, where she had that strange sensation. It grew stronger, but she didn't see a soul nearby. "Do you still have that feeling?" Xiao asked gently. She nodded. "Nearby...."
"I see something." Dain interrupted. "A ruin guard's footprint. Lets see where it leads." This time, Lumine was the one leading them as they followed the heavy footprints. Suddenly she stopped, looking around. Their collective gases fell upon a single dandelion, crushed to death. "No peace to be found, even for a single dandelion." Dain commented.
Carefully, she kneeled, and reached out a careful hand to touch the dandelion.
Flashbacks.
Aether. Sealed.
Khanraei'ah. Destroyed
Red cubes. Engulfing a nation.
Bodies. Littering the ground.
A hazy figure.
A crazy laugh.
"Lumine!" A voice broke into her nightmare, helping bring her back to the present. She latched onto it, finally able to open her eyes. She realised that she was kneeling on the ground, and Xiao and Dain were in front of her, with worried looks on their faces. Paimon floated anxiously. "Are you okay?" Xiao asked. "You had spaced out for a moment there." She nodded as she got to her feet. "That dandelion... It reminded me of him." "Him?"
"My brother."
(1648 words.
Okay guys, so I have only made some minor changes to the story, with some additions to the flashbacks. There wasn't really much scope for change here. I can promise you though, that the next chapter will be pretty different. Get ready to see Aether! ;P)