THE CITY OF WIND AND WINE

(a few days after he found the vision)

Lutsen Morgen

Lutsen's parents had been ecstatic when they heard about his vision. They had assured him they would be fine without him, and they told him he absolutely must go to Mondstadt and learn to use his vision.

In other words: Lutsen no longer had an excuse to stay home. In fact, he had been kindly led to the door when he had second thoughts.

Lutsen couldn't get over the sight of Mondstadt. It was beautiful! He had never been this close to the capital city before. It was lovely, a tiered city rising above the island in the middle of Cider Lake, and Lutsen would be living there.

He walked over the bridge, stopping to talk to a boy who seemed to be in love with pigeons. He hastily apologized to the boy and walked to the gates. The guards there saluted him and asked if he needed help finding anything. Lutsen asked them how he could sign up for the Knights of Favonius.

"Oh! A new recruit, welcome to Mondstadt! You can sign up at the Knights of Favonius Headquarters, you'll find it to the left of the statue of Lord Barbatos. Good luck kid! May the Anemo Archon protect you."

;

Lutsen stepped inside the Headquarters and looked around. He was in a large room with four doors. There were knights at a few of them. He had been told to right, into the Acting Grandmaster's office. She would get him a uniform and tell him who to report to for training.

The Acting Grandmaster's office(here on out Jean's) was a room made for utility. It had nothing that would not contribute to the well-being of Mondstadt's people. The room was spacious, and made even more obviously so by the absence of Jean. Lutsen suddenly felt like he was intruding on a very important event.

If the Acting Grandmaster wasn't here should he leave? Where should he wait for her? He was looking around for a place to wait when he remembered the guard outside the door across the hall. He stepped outside and asked the guard whom he remembered being named Wood.

"Sir? What should I do if the Acting Grandmaster isn't here?" He waited anxiously as the man thought for a moment.

"I suggest you wait. Master Jean isn't often gone for long. She should be back quite soon." Wood smiled at him, he wasn't often spoken to and hoped maybe he could get a little entertainment.

;

Lutsen and Wood spoke about trivial things for a few moments before, as suspected, Jean appeared through the door in a bit of a hurry.

"My apologies, you must be the newest recruit?" Jean looked down at him with a curious expression. "Please excuse my lateness, the situation with Stormterror caused something to come up. Do come inside. We can discuss your duties there."

Jean led him inside and sat down at her desk. She had an impressive presence. He felt safe in her company, and no wonder. She was the Acting Grandmaster after all. If she could not handle something, who could?

She smiled at him and asked him a few questions about his skills and experience.

"No knowledge of fighting skills, a huntsman, so you can shoot a bow. We can play into that. You say you are fairly sneaky, you are quite knowledgeable in Mondstadt's history, and you have a vision to train with and learn. You also can also play the lyre, but I see no way to incorporate that into your duties. Honestly Mr. Morgen, you sound very much like Venti. Maybe I can convince him to help you with that vision. For now, you will train as an Outrider under Amber." She can teach you what to scout for and how to use your bow as a weapon."

Lutsen wondered who this Venti was. She had sounded slightly fond when she mentioned him. Was Jean perhaps, in a relationship? (Note: she ain't) He shouldn't think of that, this woman was his boss now. He should be respectful, Lutsen chided himself.

Jean told him where the statue of Barbatos was in the city center. He was to meet Amber there tomorrow and begin his training. Due to being an outrider he would not be given a uniform. Instead, Amber would suggest clothing to wear for exploration in the woods. She reminded him to bring his bow and be ready to demonstrate his skills.

;

Lutsen was free to explore Mondstadt for the rest of the day, he would have no duties until tomorrow. So Lutsen decided to visit the famous Angel's Share tavern. He had recently heard they sold non-alcoholic beverages and wished to try a few. Lutsen had only ever worked in the vineyards, and did not know about the inner workings of the Dawn Winery.

The inside of the Tavern was much larger than he had suspected from the outside. Charles whom he knew from working at the winery in the summers, was distributing drinks to the patrons. The atmosphere was warm and bright, and VERY loud. Lutsen's ears had never heard such commotion indoors before, it was far louder than he thought the twenty or so customers could make. Perhaps it was because they were drunk?

Lutsen had always avoided drunk people, he wasn't a fan of the smell or the sometimes unpredictable effects drunk people exhibited. Neither of his parents drank much so far as he could remember. That comment Draff made about Morgens being fun in the taverns?, his parents almost never even went to Mondstadt. Lutsen's parents must have been quite the party go-ers before they had him and his sister.

Lutsen sat down at the bar and ordered a wolfhook juice. It was bitter, but he liked it. Lutsen watched the going ons of the tavern as he slowly drank his beverage. There was a young man standing near the door playing lively toons. An older man was watching him with a jealous look. It seemed to Lutsen that the younger man had stolen the other's glory.

The young man finished his song and skipped over to the counter.

"Another glass for the bard please Charles!" He said jumping up onto a stool. He looked mischievous, like he knew a funny joke that nobody else was in on. The young man's eyes sparkled when he smiled.

Charles looked a little stressed, but Lutsen didn't understand why. "I'm sorry Venti, but Master Diluc told me to cut you off at ten tonight. I can get you an apple cider?"

Lutsen had not meant to eavesdrop, but hearing Charles say he had served this young'n ten glasses of wine definitely piqued his interest. He didn't even look old enough to drink! Also… wasn't Venti the name of the person Master Jean had said he seemed like? This young bard was who she was going to coerce into helping train him? This "Venti" was younger than him!

Venti tilted his head back and groaned. "Awww come on Charles. You know Master Diluc is a fun hater! Besides, isn't it good for business to sell as much as you can?"

Charles rolled his eyes and handed a pot bellied man an ale. "Yes Venti it is good to sell our product. But we don't sell to you! If you actually paid for what you drank I would give you more. I don't have a clue why Master Diluc gives you as much as he does…"

The young man's, Venti's, eyes lit up. He grinned. "So all I have to do is pay? Well I can do that! Come on folks pay the bard for his great performance! And if you pay enough I'll even do another song!"

Two jaunty songs later Venti walked back up the counter and grinned at Charles. He produced enough mora for three more dandelion wines. Charles just sighed and produced them from under the counter. Venti drank one of the wines in one big go. "Aaaaaahhh that hits the spot, thanks Charles!" He turned to Lutsen "Hi! You look new. Welcome to Mondstadt, city of love, wind, and wine! There's something for everyone here! Haha~, and if adventure is your thing we've got a bit of a dragon problem!" He hiccuped, and jumped off his stool. He landed steadily, the one hiccup the only indicator he had had alcohol at all. Venti tipped his hat to Lutsen and skipped out the door.

As soon as he was gone the older bard sighed and stood up. He then began playing and it was immediately obvious that he was not as good as Venti.

Lutsen turned back around and discovered he had finished his juice during the exciting hurricane show that was Venti. He looked up to ask Charles for a refill and noticed him sighing in relief.

"Someday that bard is going to drink more than he can handle. I just hope I'm not here when it happens. It's closing time Morgen, have a good night."

-;-