~•~•~
"so, this is the temple of the wolf, huh?", Lyra asks the knight. "precisely. Come closer. Can you smell that?"
Lyra looks at Kaeya in a deadpan. "Smell what?" – "Something must have happened in the temple. I imagine there will be slimes, hillichurls and... whatever is giving Stormterror extra power. Oh yes, it is going to be lively in there indeed!", Kaeya answers.
Lyra scoffs. "It's not going to be dangerous or anything, so calm down, cryo boy." He laughs. "cryo boy? That is a new one. Anyway, as bustling as it may be – I can't imagine it will be dangerous at all either. It's a pity that the temple of the wolf has been disturbed by such an atrocity. Let's head in, Lyra. No one makes offerings anymore, yet the old winds never vanish... we need to clear out the temples, for the four winds." Lyra nods and the pair heads inside the temple.
"Lyra, unless I'm mistaken, you seem to carry an anemo vision. It just happens to be the element of Lord Barbatos." Lyra rolls her eyes. "Speaking of, did you know? Stormterror was once one of the four winds."
She sighs. "I am already aware." – "Interesting... I'm not aware of the exact details. Though if you want to know more, you can ask the acting grand master about it."
~•~•
While clearing the temple, Lyra speaks up. "have you heard of Lynda? Lynda Grunnhildr?" – "Lynda Grunnhildr? No, though Grunnhildr is master Jean's last name. what? You know her?" Lyra shakes her head.
"no, merely asking of your knowledge of the past of Mondstadt. Lynda was the grand master of the knights of Favonius around two centuries ago. She is an ancestor of Jean. Maybe she knows, maybe she doesn't. However, she held the title of dandelion knight, the same title Jean holds today, if I am not mistaken."
Kaeya looks at her slightly shocked. "you know more about Mondstadt than I do. How come?" – "My parents didn't allow me to travel Teyvat up until two weeks ago when I turned of age. I was allowed to travel around Fontaine, but that was it. I used a lot of my free time to learn more about the history of the other nations during that time. And because of my vision, I decided to travel here first."
"I see." Kaeya and Lyra then proceed to clear the temple in silence. They then see a crystal of Stormterror and destroy it.
"Bravo! What a performance! You are, to my surprise, a well-trained knight. the battles you just fought were sights to behold." – "oh, no need to compliment me." Lyra says and looks away as Kaeya laughs.
"I see you already have the knightly virtue of modesty. Stories of your heroic deeds to save Mondstadt from destruction shall be known throughout the city of freedom, well into the future.", Kaeya fantasises.
Lyra looks at the knight with a slight smile. "I just wish to help and prevent history to repeat itself, that's all." She answers to the knight's confusion. He just shakes it off.
"Please do visit me at our HQ when you have the time. I also know a lovely tavern, if that's more your thing." Lyra sighs at the offer. "No thank you. I am not one to drink." Then, she walks away.
~•~•~
Both Aether and Lyra arrive at the temple of the lion at the same time, where they see Lisa waiting for them. "Hey cuties. You're finally here to help me out. Don't hesitate to come to me if you need anything." Aether nods.
"I do have a question. What kind of things does a librarian do?", he asks her. "good question. Basically, things other than that which require brawn... or brains." Paimon looks at her questioningly.
"So... what does that leave?" Lyra shakes her head at Paimon's question and starts heading into the temple. "We don't have all day, you know." The rest of the group follow suit.
"I guess I could give this a go.", Lisa mumbles. While they clear the temple, Aether strikes up a conversation with Lisa. "what is that gem around your neck?"
Lyra looks at him dumbfounded. "... are you serious?" – "you're kidding... you're seriously asking? This is a vision. It's used by the chosen to draw on elemental powers. In terms of mysticism, I suppose you could call it a 'magical lightning rod'. What... you've never seen a vision? Where exactly are you from? Are you a hillichurl with some level of reasonable intelligence? No, I doubt it. After all, hillichurls aren't exactly known for their smarts any you, you'd more or less qualify to be a magister's apprentice."
Lyra laughs and shakes her head. "I thought you found out what visions are when Amber asked us about mine. I have my vision on my waist as you can see." Aether looks away, embarrassed.
The two girls laugh at this. "a-anyway... could you tell us more about the four winds?", Aether asks instead. Before Lisa could say anything, Lyra chimes in.
"the dragon of the east, the lion of the south, the wolf of the north and the falcon of the west... they are the four winds of Mondstadt, affiliated with Barbatos, the god of anemo. The dragon of the east is actually Stormterror – I figured it out quite quickly. His real name is Dvalin.", she explains.
Lisa looks at her, enchanted. "you are quite knowledgeable, Lyra. But yes, that is true. Though most in Mondstadt seem to have forgotten that in all this 'Stormterror' business. So now you know why Dvalin is only able to channel three of the four wind's power. And Lyra, you know more about the history of Mondstadt than most locals."
"thanks. I just didn't want to travel Teyvat unprepared. I love learning the history of the different nations. So, Dvalin has been consuming itself from the beginning." Lisa nods. "But why?", Aether asks.
"Because of hatred, I presume.", Lisa shrugs. "Hatred...?", Paimon asks carefully. "hatred for Mondstadt. Hatred drove it to become something more powerful than the wind itself – to become Stormterror." – "But why would one of the four winds hate the city it was supposed to protect?"
Lisa sighs. "... as a child of Mondstadt, it's something that's really hard to say aloud." She hands Aether a book. "Here, take this. It's a very old story from more than a century ago." They finish off the temple and head out once more.
~•~•~
Once they arrive back in Mondstadt, the trio heads to the HQ. Lisa had left ahead of them, as she had to go back to the library. On the way back, they see Jean talk to someone in odd clothing.
"Isn't that Jean? She seems to be talking to someone...", Paimon says. As they head closer, Lyra can clearly see the clothing of the other person.
She scoffs and turns away. 'it's the fatui...' "you can wait until she is done talking to that person. I am going to the statue above." With that, Lyra starts walking away.
"what was that all about?", Paimon asks Aether, only to receive a shrug.
~•~•~
At the statue, she uses her anemo vision to get to the top of the statue and lands on its hands. There she sits down and looks down upon Mondstadt.
She sighs. 'the first time I saw what Barbatos built up was three lives ago, as Lynda... however... the last time I really saw him was six lives ago in my ninth life... he looked very unpleased with what he was doing... I am fairly certain that he, just like the others, was forced into that.' she closes her eyes, as she can feel a soft breeze.
"Barbatos... I hope you are alright..." unbeknownst to her, a certain boy in green saw her go up the statue and heard her sentence. "Oh? You are wishing on Barbatos, even though you clearly come from Fontaine?", the boy says behind her.
She looks to her side, where the boy sat down beside her. "hi, I am Venti the bard! You are...?" Lyra hesitates, then answers. "... Lyra. I saw you talking with Dvalin in the whispering woods. What was up with that?"
"oh, so you do recognise me? Well, that is fortunate." Lyra gives a soft chuckle as she pulls he legs up to her chest. "Whisp...", she mutters, barely audible for Venti. She then shakes her head and looks down.
"Well, Venti. I am fairly certain we will see each other again soon enough. Though I have to go to the Favonius HQ now, if you don't mind." Venti nods. His eyes follow the girl down as she jumps off the statue. Just before she hits the ground, she opens her wind gliders and reaches the ground safely. "how did she know Willow's nickname for me...?"
~•~•~