"Is that some sort of distraction or something?" Bud just watched incredulously at the dancing doll onscreen along with majority of the audience.
Cage wondered if it's similar to the single-use doll that she would sometimes use that was powered by god.
"Aw, it looks like her." Litana giggled and cooed at the dolls uncanny similar to its owner.
[The Hilichurl that was closest to the it curiously approached the dancing doll.
Behind the bushes, Amber readied her bow and pointed her arrow.
The Hilichurl tapped the doll a few times and watched in confusion as it seemed to glow.
*BOOM*]
Most of the noncombatants of audience yelped in surprise at the sudden explosive sound. Some laughed at the poor hilichurl that got bombed while others was a bit bewildered by Amber putting an explosive inside a stuffed toy.
Unfortunately, Basen violently flinched at the explosion, instantly giving him flashbacks of the bloody incident at the capital. Although he was able to maintain his stoic face, his short, quick breaths and trembling form were a dead giveaway of what he is currently feeling. Lily embraced her brother tightly, having seen this state several times since the incident. Cale also watched them with a frown.
This same goes for many of the nobles that were present at the plaza at the time. They were not looking forward to more explosions in the viewing.
[The tip of Amber's arrow suddenly bursts into flames as she shot it at the panicking Hilichurls, successfully hitting one. Cale and Lumine immediately charged in and fought the Hilichurls, who had noticed their presence and quickly moved to attack the travelers.
Lumine elegantly swung her sword and despite her petite frame, her attacks were powerful enough that a few strikes was able to send them flying.
With the same grace and elegance as the blonde, Cale skillfully disarmed the weapons of the Hilichurls with ease. A burst of wind bursts from his feet and Cale backflips into the air and plunges his spear into the ground, creating a strong shockwave that sent the Hilichurls flying.]
Bud whistled, "Damn, you two got style."
Pelia, Vice General of the Anti-Mage faction and a spearmaster, while uncomfortable at the use of magic, still watched in approval at Cale's spearmanship, "He's incredibly skilled for his age. There's some slight mistakes here and there but it's so subtle that even most professional wouldn't have noticed it. No doubt, he'll become a spearmaster in no time. But since this is in the past, maybe he already is."
At the sight of Lumine and Cale's battle prowess, Toonka grinned crazily, "Kahaha! You're strong! Fight me!"
No one was sure if he was talking to Cale or Lumine or both but the two travelers just shrugged, that Toonka guy was clearly a battle maniac.
Those of the Henituse county and many Roan nobles looked shocked at the Cale's display of skill that would be on the same level as professionals. Wasn't it said that the trash had skipped his lessons and training many years ago? Even if he had been in Teyvat for a while, there was no way he could achieve this level of skill when it takes most people many years to master. So how could he be so skilled?
(The reason was simple, Lumine was just a better teacher than any of Cale's previous tutors.)
[After a few more minutes, they finally defeated all the Hilichurls.
"Heh, nothing to it." Amber said proudly, "Though I've gotta say, you surprised me a little with your moves there... Thanks for the backup. How'd it feel?"
"Barely broke a sweat." Lumine replied while Cale just shrugged, both travelers unscathed and completely fine.
"Now that you mention it, how is it the hilichurls ended up here? These creature don't seem like the type to set up camp so close to cities like this." Paimon wondered.
Amber nodded in agreement, "Exactly. It's more normal for them to be much further out in the wilderness. But because the dragon - Stormterror - has been around a lot more recently, our orchards have been destroyed and the local market has been affected as well. When the storms hit, we usually end up with at least a few injuries, so the Knights of Favonius have been tied up doing the best they can to defend the area."]
"Stormterror? Is that their name?" Glenn asks.
Cale shook his head, "It's just a title."
The elves were being the usual unreasonable devotees they are. They were very annoyed by the human girl's lack of respect to the dragon-nim and believed that the people of Mondstadt must have done something to incur the dragon-nim's wrath.
["So these annoying creatures have been getting closer and closer to the city?" Paimon asks.
"Exactly. That said, clearing this camp helped make the area a little bit safer." Amber said, she then turned to the two travelers, "Come with me! A responsible knight must make sure to see you to the city safely."]
Many knights of the audience nodded their heads in approval. They were pleased with Amber for her sense of responsibility.
[The scene then cuts to the travelers and Amber arriving at Mondstadt. There was a minor hiccup of a young boy named Timmie getting mad at them for scaring the pigeons away, to which Amber apologized profusely.
Once they enter the stone wall, they are greeted by the sight of a city featuring cobblestone streets with houses seemingly created from timberframing along with large spinning windmills. The viewing also cuts to a massive Anemo Archon Statue in the middle of a plaza before it transitions into a bird's eye view of the city.]
Many looked in awe at the sight of the city, looking just as majestic as the Roan Kingdom's capital, Huiss. They also noted the similarities of Mondstadt's architecture to their own world.
Those of Leeb-An City also observed in curiosity. Considering the presence of knights, they supposed that it's to be expected that the place is a lot more well-kept compared to their lawless city.
Though, a few intelligent members of the audience, noticed something strange when they saw the close-up view of the Anemo Archon Statue. It looked somewhat familiar, although they weren't sure why.
[Amber began brightly, "Let me officially introduce the city of wind, dandelions, and freedom - Travelers under the protection of the Knights of Favonius - Welcome to Mondstadt!"
"Finally, no more having to camp outdoors!" Paimon said excitedly but frowned a bit as she examined the streets, "But... the city folk don't look too cheery."]
"Well, gee... I'm sure it's not because there's a freaking dragon causing storms in the city!" Someone from the audience sarcastically said.
["Everyone's been put out of place by Stormterror recently." Amber explained, "But everything will turn out fine as long as Jean's with us!"
Paimon tilted her head, "Jean?"
"Acting Grand Master of the Knights of Favonius - Jean, Defender of Mondstadt. With Jean on our side, surely even the vicious Stormterror will be no match for us."]
The elves bristled at the Outrider's slander of the dragon-nim.
Rasheed scoffed, "The audacity of these humans, thinking they can defeat a dragon."
Those of royalty and leadership noticed something else.
"Acting Grand Master?" Valentino spoke aloud. Red had said that the era of royalty and nobility has long since passed in Teyvat, he wondered what kind of governing system the city of freedom has, and the term Acting Grand Master wasn't a knight title he was familiar of.
["Sounds like someone pretty impressive..." Lumine thought.
"Before I take you guys to the Knights of Favonius Headquarters, I have a present for you, Lumine, Cale." Amber turned to the two travelers, "It's a reward for helping me clear out that hilichurl camp."
"He-Hey! Why doesn't Paimon get a reward?" Paimon complained.]
"Well... She didn't really do anything..." Someone whispered quietly.
["Ahh... Because this reward is useless to you, Paimon." Amber explained, "But I'll treat you to a traditional Mondstadt delicacy - Sticky Honey Roast."
"Sticky Honey Roast!" Paimon cheered.
"Come with me, we'll head to the city's ahh... high ground."]
Many wondered what sort of present it will be. Was it some Mondstadt item?
The Chefs in the audience, most notably Beacrox, were very interested in the cuisine of Teyvat.
"Sticky Honey Roast, huh... Even just the name sounds good." Cage commented.
Taylor nodded in agreement, as he had tried it before, "It's definitely delicious. Perhaps we can ask Red-him for some later."
[The travelers followed Amber as they walked (or flew, in Paimon's case).
"This used to be a bustling street... But with so many Stormterror attacks recently, the usual crowds are nowhere to be seen. Except for the local tavern near the city wall over there. They haven't been affected. If anything, their business is better than ever."
"The tavern, huh..." Cale wondered what the alcohol taste like in this world.]
A noble scoffed, "Of course the trash would be thinking of alcohol. I bet he's going to wreck the whole place."
The vain lady next to him rolled her eyes, "Why bet something so obvious?"
Many of those in the Roan Kingdom murmured in agreement, especially those of the county whose taverns had personally been on the receiving end of the trash's infamous outbursts.
However, all insults and harsh whispers suddenly stopped when everyone felt a suffocating pressure.
Naturally, this made the audience panic, thinking that they may have angered the god once again, but to their surprise, Red was only leisurely laying down on her bean bag, eating chips without care. She met everyone's eyes before smirking and gesturing towards the Teyvat table.
Their attention shifted from Red to the group of otherworlders, and they quickly realized who was the source of the fearsome aura.
Menogias was just sitting there, drinking a glass of dandelion wine. No one would have considered that strange, if it weren't for the golden markings on his face, along with the highlights on his hair and robe, glowing an ominous light. He simply smiled, looking innocent and friendly and not at all murderous.
The adeptus made sure that his aura would be felt in the entire room (and he may or may not have specifically directed some of his anger towards a certain rich count, who looked like he was about to faint). Not to worry, the TBOAH members of the Teyvat table and the children of the audience were safe from his ire.
Menogia felt someone patting his arm and he turned to see Cale giving him an exasperated look. The adeptus just shrugged as the light on himself dimmed, freeing everyone from his fearsome aura. The satisfied look on the Menogias' face showed that he clearly did not regret what he just did.
To say he was annoyed was an understatement. Even if Cale deliberately made everyone view him that way, It irritated Menogias to no end over how these humans were such mindless sheep. While he understood the annoyance of those tavern owners, as far as he knew, that count always replaced whatever Cale broke with new, better furniture, so it was still a good deal for them. Not only that, it was thanks to Cale that the county's crime rate was low due to being feared by the local gangsters because of his so-called "antics".
"Ho..."
Eruhaben stared at Menogias in interest and surprise. The aura that the otherworlder had emitted just now was akin to his race's unique ability, Dragon Fear. Could it be that this man is a dragon? Or perhaps, something similar? The other dragons held similar looks of interest as well.
Even the elves had a similar theory, many of them would have been on their knees (again) by now if it weren't for Menogias' aura forcing them to stay still out of obedience and fear.
Now that the nobles had been scared silent, the viewing moved on.
[They soon reached the plaza where the massive stone statue of the Anemo Archon is located. As they walked, Lumine realized that Cale was no longer following them. She turned around to see him staring at the Anemo Archon statue with a frown on his normally stoic face.
"Hey, Cale. What's wrong?" The blonde asked.
The redhead just blinked and turned away from the statue, "It's nothing. Probably just my imagination."
Lumine tilted her head before just shrugging it off.]
"Did he notice something strange as well?" Alberu thought, having felt a familiar feeling as well.
However, for Eruhaben and Fredo, their eyes widened for a moment.
"I cannot jump to conclusions. That boy could just be possessing a similar hairstyle." Although, it was rather interesting how the green bard from earlier looked almost alike to how the Anemo Archon is depicted, not just in hairstyle.
[They stopped near the stone fences.
"So, the present I want to give you is..." Amber dug through her spatial bag and took out her presents with a grin, "A Wind Glider! Outriders use them to ride the wind, and the people of Mondstadt love using them too. I brought you here to give it to you so you can experience it right away!"]
"A glider, huh?" Bud had heard of a few explorers using handmade gliders to safely traverse down mountains or high places. It wasn't a well-known mode of transportation yet though.
[A/N: I saw a chapter where the TBOAH has airships. Is it science or powered by magic?]
["Oh, you're really excited about these wind gliders, huh?" Paimon asked as Amber handed the gliders to the two travelers.
"Well that's because the wind is the heart and soul of Mondstadt!" Amber replied before turning to Cale and Lumine, "Alrighty then, enough talk! Let's give it a whirl! It's easy to use, but you still need to pay attention to my instructions."
The scene cuts to Amber finishing her instruction. Deciding to give a demonstration, Amber jumps off (followed by Paimon) the stone fence with her glider spread out and the two travelers watch her fly down the city.
Once the Outrider and their fairy companion are no longer in sight, the duo jumped off with their glider on as well.
For Lumine, flying was second nature to her, even though it had been a while since she last flew, it was incredibly easy for the blonde to adapt to her glider. Although, she looked behind and noticed that Cale was struggling a bit but still managed to fly without much problem. It was most likely because this was the redhead's first time flying.]
Many were surprised that the redhead was quick to adapt to using the glider for his first time. They assumed he would have a much harder time since he had abandoned his studies and training all those years ago.
[Lumine used to possess wings, so she already had an advantage due to having previous flight experience..]
The attention became directed to Lumine once again.
"You... used to have wings?" Cage asked in curiosity. She along with the Mercenaries and whales wondered if the blonde girl was even human at all.
Lumine nodded, her silence a clear indication that it was subject she would rather not talk about. She gripped Cale's hand tightly, which he squeezed back in reassurance.
Any questions from those outside of their table were instantly silenced by the sight of the faint golden aura the adeptus was emitting.
[They soon reached the market district, where Amber and Paimon were waiting. Cale and Lumine landed in front of them to which Amber nodded in approval.
However, several minutes later, while walking around the district, the wind suddenly grew stronger and the sky had darkened considerably. Causing everyone in the city to instantly become alert and look above.
"The sky..." Amber muttered.]
"I hope it isn't what I think it is..." Eric whispered worriedly.
[The scene cuts to Stormterror flying over to the city, causing mass panic.]
"Holy shit!" Archie gaped at the screen.
A lot of people gasp in horror at the sight of the city being attacked by a dragon. An attack from the strongest race in their world would undoubtedly be a living nightmare.
"Those citizens..." Valentino can only hope that those people make it out alive.
"The hell did those humans do to piss that guy off...?" Rasheel wondered along with the rest of the dragons.
For the mages, while many, especially Rosalyn, were concerned for the distressed Mondstadt citizens, they couldn't help but watch in frightened awe at the power of a dragon.
[The dragon hovered over the city and let out a thunderous roar, summoning several tornadoes that is causing great collateral damage to the buildings as every citizen ran for their lives.
The Outriders and the travelers also ran. Unfortunately, Lumine is pulled into a tornado, Cale grabbed her arm but is dragged in as well.]
"CALE!!"
"Hyung!!'
"Oraebuni!"
Deruth cried out, standing up from his seat as Violan gasped in horror, utterly disregarding any elegance and etiquette. For Basen, even the stoic mask he had carefully acted on for many years had quickly broke, replaced with a distressed look that showed how much he was truly worried (and cared) for his older stepbrother, contrary to all the rumors that depicted them having a successor rivalry. Lily had gripped Basen's arm tightly, fearful for the safety of her eldest brother.
Thankfully, rationality won over as they remembered that Cale (the younger one) is in the room with them. However, they became even more concerned at what he might have gone through in that world.
"Holy crap! And you actually survived that!?" Bud looked on in incredulity along with an equally shocked Glenn. The dragons are the strongest race in their world, even just one dragon is capable of wiping out an entire continent. Even if this was from another world, it was evident that Stormterror was probably as strong as their world's dragons, and they actually lived through that!?
Cale just shrugged, he, along with Lumine and Paimon, actually felt nostalgic watching the scene, it felt so long ago now, "Our presence here is proof."
"Were you okay, nya!?" Hong asked, the red cat looking very worried along with his sister as they pawed Cale's arms. Cale gave them a reassuring nod as he petted them.
Raon didn't want to be left out but refused to admit it, so the dragon just huffed (he was not pouting). The redhead chuckled as he caressed the baby dragon's head.
Choi Han couldn't help but grip his sheath tightly. Those panicked scream reminded him the painful memories of the lives he wasn't able to save at the plaza back then. At that moment, he had the desire to fight off the dragon himself, whether it was revered or not be damned, but this was an incident that had already occured in the past so he stayed silent.
Many others just watched on in a mixture of fear, concern and anticipation.
[Once the two were thrown high up in the sky, they immediately spread out their gliders, although they ended up a moderate distance away from each other. They looked down in shock to see the whole of Mondstadt covered in harsh wind and tornadoes.
Cale gasped when he saw something moving in the dense clouds behind the blonde, "Lumine, watch out!"
Lumine quickly turned around to see Stormterror coming at her, in which she barely managed to dodge, flailing a bit when she got hit by a wing. Cale quickly flew to her side to steady her.]
"That was so close..." Rei Stecker muttered, his face sweating at the sight of a rampaging dragon. He can only pray that this incident won't take a turn for the worst.
["Huh? How are you two staying afloat like this with just a Wind Glider?" Paimon popped up into existence next to them.]
"She could teleport...?" Rosalyn muttered in wonder. It doesn't seem like that the fairy child knew magic (or even possessing a combat ability), judging from her earlier complaint of not having "cool fighting powers" and how she didn't help out when they were taking out those hilichurl creatures. Was teleportation just natural for her?
[A mysterious young voice rang out in Lumine and Cale's mind.
-I'm preventing your fall with the power of a thousand winds.]
"Who's talking?" Antonio Gyerre questioned, seeing no one but the travelers, the fairy and the dragon on screen.
[Cale's eyes widened at the voice, but disregarded his thoughts about it for now as whoever was speaking into their minds continued.
-Now, concentrate. See yourself grasping the wind. Harness its energy.
Apparently, Paimon had heard the voice as well, and could only wonder, "Who... Who said that!?"
At the sudden rush of wind, Cale and Lumine turned to see Stormterror had launched a beam of Anemo energy right at them.
At that moment, the two travelers felt a great surge of Anemo energy within them (while Paimon thankfully teleported away). At once, they create a burst of wind that allowed them boost their speed as they dodged the attack.]
"Wow!" Maes and the other wolf children looked in awe. Even though this was a bad start when meeting Dvalin (the travelers had introduced the wind dragon to them), they couldn't help but feel excited as this was the beginning of Lumine and Cale's heroic deeds in Teyvat.
Rosalyn gaped in surprise at the boost of the travelers' wind elemental abilities. While she couldn't speak for Lumine, Cale previously had no magic experience and still needed to practice in manipulating the wind, so it was clear that voice had enhanced them, but who was that?
"Wait, did you actually fought that dragon!?"
No one knew who shouted that, but it was a question that had been the minds of many at this moment. It was an unbelievable question that would be absurd in the standards of their world, because who would actually fight the strongest race capable of wiping out continents and survive?
Unfazed by the attention, Cale simply shrugged, "Not much of a fight but more of... defending ourselves."
"And the city." Lumine added.
[Lumine instinctively proceeded to retaliate, enhanced by a mysterious force, she threw a large Anemo beam at the dragon. The dragon staggered when they were hit, resulting in a small explosion upon contact.
Cale widened his eyes at what caused the dragon pain.
"Lumine, aim for the purple spikes on the back!"]
"You dare attack a dragon!?"
An elf furiously yelled, angered at these lower beings of harming a dragon-nim. Many of the arrogant elves also voiced out their ire while the few of the more reasonable elves, such as Pendrick, just groaned.
"Uh, what did you expect them to do!? Let themselves be killed!?" Paimon cried out incredulously, unable to believe how unreasonable the elves were when what Cale and Lumine were doing was justifiable self-defense.
"Those humans must have done something to incur the dragon-nim's wrath! They deserve it!"
"Nobody is worthy of laying a finger on the majestic dragon-nim! Death granted by a dragon-nim's power is the greatest honor one could ever hope for!"
The traveler group gaped at them while the rest of the audience couldn't believe the nonsense the elves were saying. Even most of the dark elves, who also worshipped the dragons, stared at their 'better' counterparts in disbelief.
"Aigoo... These elves, really..."
Eruhaben sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose. He felt sorry for Pendrick, who looked like he wanted the ground to swallow him whole.
Just as another elf was about to spout more ridiculous nonsense, they stopped short when the entire room felt an intense pressure that was similar to the aura Menogias had emitted earlier.
Except this time, it came from a rather annoyed god.
One simple eye contact was all it needed for the elves to instantly shut their mouths.
Red sighed, while she didn't care much over how the elves' fanatical worship of the dragons, they'll be stuck in the cinema all day if they continued to listen to their nonsense.
[Lumine nodded as she charged up her energy. This time, instead of one large attack, she rapidly fired consecutive energy attacks, shooting at the dragon's back as she flew even higher and closer to their opponent as she properly aimed.
Cale aided her by providing support. He used his enhanced Anemo abilities to fire strong powerful bursts of wind to distract Stormterror from focusing too much on Lumine's aimed attacks.]
"You're actually fighting a dragon..." Glenn could only mutter in disbelief. As a mage, he naturally respected dragons as the strongest users of magic.
Rosalyn was quick to note down just how powerful the travelers' wind-Anemo abilities had been enhanced, even compared to the tornado Lumine had first generated at the lake earlier. Their power might be equally, if not stronger than the wind magic used by highest-grade mages.
"You two really work well together." Witira commented. Even though she had only seen them fight twice in the viewing, it was clear that Cale and Lumine have great teamwork.
"Indeed." Shiki Taishou agreed, "They're already very strong on their own, but together they're a force to be reckoned with."
Lumine could only smile at their assessment. They weren't wrong. In fact, their near-flawless teamwork greatly reminded her of the dynamic she had with her twin. Except, Aether remained on the offensive like her while Cale would focus more on supporting his allies.
She felt terrible at first, as she had believed that she may have been subconsciously using Cale as a temporary replacement for her brother to cope. But she assured herself (and by Paimon) that that wasn't the case.
Because Cale wasn't a replacement. He was a new family member. He was her little brother while she is his big sister.
[Despite the distance, the two travelers could see the attacks worked. The tip of one spike had broken off and Stormterror seemed to flail in pain.
Unfortunately, this agitated the hostile dragon further as this time, Stormterror charged right at them. They inhaled massive amounts of Anemo energy before shooting out a volley of Anemo energy balls.
"Shit!" Cale looked back at the city in panic. The range of the dragon's attack was so wide that it would hit the entire city.]
"Oh, no!"
"The city!"
Many gasped in horror. That attack would surely destroy the entire city, if not the entire land itself.
[Letting out a frustrated groan, Cale quickly descended closer to the city as Lumine was too high up to make it in time. He held out his palms towards the volley attack.
Within a second, a large Anemo barrier covered the sky of the city of Mondstadt. The entire volley of Anemo energy exploded on the barrier upon contact.
[A/N: The Anemo Barrier is inspired by the Pyro Shield Amber created in the manga.]
"Fuck!"
Cale staggered for a moment before recoiling at the massive impact of the explosions, causing him to be blown back at a small distance.]
"He... He just blocked a dragon's attack."
The audience could only stare with mouths agape, many of them having the same mixture of astonishment and amazement at the feat that the redhead had accomplished. Even the more calm and collected members of the audience looked on in shock.
Choi Han could only stare in shock. He was not just focused at the feat of blocking an attack from a dragon, but rather, the fact that the young noble, who had insulted his deceased family with cruel words, had even decided to defend the city at all.
The Korean swordsmaster wasn't the only one. Many of those of the Roan Kingdom were shocked at that the redhead had decided to risk his life against the might of a dragon to save the city. Along with the fact that he had actually survived, even if he was aided by some mysterious voice.
The dragons looked on in great interest, surprised that the human had blocked the attack. They wondered who it was that helped the travelers.
"Cale!" Lumine had descended during the dragon's attack, making it just in time to grab onto Cale's shoulders just before he got thrown at a greater distance. Turns out that Paimon had also teleported at that moment as she held onto Cale's red scarf, though he ended up choking a bit at the sudden pull.
"Are you okay!?" Paimon asked, looking just as frantically worried as Lumine.
"Y-Yeah..." Cale managed to steady himself. His gloved sleeves had been torn and his palms were injured. Luckily, that was his only damage.
He had just blocked an attack from a dragon.
...
Okay.]
"'Okay'? 'OKAY'!? You just fended off an attack from a DRAGON and that's all you have to say!?" Bud nearly screamed out in utter disbelief but yelped in pain when Glenn smacked the back of his head.
"Isn't it obvious that he might still be in shock, you drunkard?" The Mercenary mage retorted, though he was just as shocked and amazed as many of the audience were. He was a bit worried for the redhead on the screen though, as everything had happened so fast that Cale might still be processing it all.
"Yeah, I was." The Cale that was with them agreed with the purple-haired mage.
"You two were amazing." Paseton commented with awe in his voice. Hearing the stories was one thing, but actually seeing it gives a new sense of excitement. The other whale tribes were just as amazed.
"That's Lumine-nim and my dongsaeng for you." Taylor chuckled, feeling proud of his little brother for decision to defend the city. Cage grinned at her best friend, glad that Taylor finally found a new family member that wasn't terrible like his biological one.
The Henituse Family looked on in shock and concern. Deruth looked like he was going to faint from worrying too much for his firstborn's safety, while Violan felt the same way, she reminded her husband that Cale is still safe, proven by his presence in the cinema. Basen was nearly hyperventilating when Cale created the barrier with the attack coming towards him, and let out a deep sigh of relief that he was still alive and his injuries were minimal. Lily, while naturally worried for Cale's safety as well, was amazed by what her eldest brother just did.
[The travelers braced themselves for the shockwave from Stormterror's final roar before watching the dragon ascend further into the skies until they can no longer be seen. With Stormterror gone, the tornadoes sweeping through the city had vanished, but the strong wind remained.
The travelers then descended at the deserted plaza near the Anemo Archon Statue. Amber quickly ran over to them in a panic.
"A-Are you hurt!?" Amber asked frantically.
Lumine and Paimon shook their heads before turning to a silent Cale, whose mind is going through a lot of processing and questions right now, but did not seem to be shell-shocked. Seeing their gesture, Amber quickly placed her hands on his shoulders, gaining his attention, and Cale instinctively held out his palms, his stoic face showing no urgency, "It's fine, it's just a minor injury."]
Many were a bit worried for the redhead, as he may be in shock. Of course, no one could blame him, he had just gotten into a battle against a dragon after all.
Lumine blinked and she turned to her little brother, "Was that when you were beginning to piece things together?"
Cale nodded. On the outside, he may look like he was in shock and in the middle of processing. It wasn't a wrong observation to make since he had just fought a dragon, but at that moment, Cale was mostly piecing together the identity of that voice, as he had clearly remembered who it was he had heard it from before.
Along with the fact that the owner of that voice looked suspiciously similar to a certain statue, not just in hairstyle.
Lumine hummed. It was no wonder that Cale had been the first one to deduce Venti's identity. But knowing the source of that perfect memory...
It was truly both a blessing and a curse.
[The Outrider immediately, but gently grabbed his injured hands, looking over the damage. But before anyone could say anything else, slow clapping is heard among the rushing wind, causing them to turn to the source of the sound.
A tall man with blue hair and tanned skin, wearing a black eye patch and a rather fashionable outfit walked slowly towards them as his clapping died down. He looked at the travelers with a calm expression that held great intrigue.
"You've actually got the power to go up against the dragon... Are you a new ally... or a new storm?]
××××××××××××××××××××
Question: Is TBOAH's curses the same as magic? Is it something that can be used by mages or dragons? Or can it only be used by priests/priestesses like Cage?
What are Black Mages (can they use curse)? Are there White Mages? I don't mind spoilers.