A/N: Hello all, and welcome to my Genshin Impact story! Ever since I got the game, my mind has been churning out ideas that I could use for a story, and after thinking back and picking out some of my favourite ideas and some of my absolute favourite characters, I've finally had an idea that I think will work.
Please excuse me if this story starts out a little rough. I have a lot of ideas for later on in this adventure, but the beginning was a part that I struggled on for a while, so I really hope it doesn't let you all down! I'm going to mix some of the canon Genshin lore with my own here, and I hope you'll stick with me and enjoy the ride!
"Hello." a young male voice spoke up, echoing in Lux's ears. The hazel-haired boy's entire body felt cold, but when he opened his sore blue eyes, all he saw pasty white concrete beneath him. He gave himself a moment to gather his thoughts and for his head to stop spinning, before trying to move.
Looking around, however, only made this feeling worse, and he pushed himself up onto his knees. All around him were strange pillars of different sizes and shapes. Some looked like carved temple pillars, some looked like they had colosseums in them, and some were simply formed, with floating golden rings around them, and wing-shaped carvings protruding from them.
His head was pounding, and no matter how hard he thought, there was nothing in his mind on which he could recall. He didn't know how he'd gotten here, or even where he'd come from. These strange structures stretched as far as he could see in every direction, blue sky and puffy white clouds trailing off below them like a snowy blanket. As for the voice, he could see no-one. He was so cold and so confused, and his head was in so much pain.
"Hello? Are you alright?" The voice asked again. However, it was much closer this time. Lux turned around a little too quickly, causing his head to spin a little. He closed his eyes and rested his head in his hands.
"Yes, try not to move too quickly, you will feel a little nauseous at first." The boy said in a happy tone before the sound of footsteps began making their way around Lux from behind.
"There, now I can see you." The stranger smiled. Lux took a deep breath and took his hands away from his face, looking up to the figure standing before him. This boy was a blonde-haired, amber-eyed boy, maybe no older than fifteen. His hair was medium cut, tidy and well kept, and a long ponytail stretched to just below his waist.
He was dressed in a brown breastplate vest baring his midriff, along with a white scarf and a cape with golden decals. This was accompanied by brown trousers, dark gloves, and black boots. He was like no-one Lux had ever seen.
"I am Aether." He smiled, leaning down a little and offering out his hand to the brunette teen. "My sister and I were the ones who brought you here after you passed on." He added. Lux stopped just before he touched Aether's hand, staring up at him.
"B-Before I... What?" He asked. Aether chuckled and pushed his hand forwards, grabbing Lux's and pulling him to his feet.
"Don't worry yourself with that now. I'm sure it's very clique to hear, but when you're ready, you'll know what I mean." The blonde-haired boy smiled, letting Lux's hand go and stepping back.
"Sister, you should come and see our guest." Aether said, turning and looking up to the second incredibly beautiful carved pillar. They were probably some kind of pillars for their thrones, going by how much they stood out from the rest of them.
From stop this pillar, came another figure. This girl was similar to Aether in her complexion, but her clothing was much different to him. She wore a sleeveless white dress with tail capes, bracers and gloves that cover only her thumb, with white stockings and boots. Her hair was cut into a bob with bangs, exempt two sections of hair on each side of her head that had been left at shoulder-length, and decorated with light blue flowers and feathers.
"Lumine, this is the boy whose power we felt." Aether smiled as the girl landed beside him. She looked around the same age as her brother, but her who aura felt a little more serious and critical than his.
"How unusual... I never expected him to look so... different." The girl said, stepping forward and walking around Lux with a critical expression. He was around a head or so taller than the two of them, and he was quite a bit more muscular than the boy stood in front of him, but that didn't make either of them any less intimidating.
"You're right though, I feel the same power from within him as I did before." She said, finally completing a full walk-around of Lux and taking her spot at her brother's side again.
"I'm sorry but, would only of you please explain where I am? I don't mean to be rude, but I don't really want to be kept in the dark whilst you two walk around talking about power in a weird place like this." Lux cut in, a little sternly. Lumine slowly turned her eyes to look at him with a severe expression. Aether awkwardly rubbed the back of his neck.
"That might be a good idea, yes. Well, as I said, I am Aether, and this is my twin sister Lumine. We are the rulers of the sky..." Aether started, materialising a beautiful sword from nothing and pointing it towards his sister. "And of the earth." He added, wafting the sword away into golden dust and elegantly moving his hand to indicate himself.
"Together, we are the god of life." He finished, opening his arms and releasing a spectacular pattern of golden dust, which gently faded into nothing.
"We brought you here because there's a power you have that we've been searching for, for a very long time." Lumine spoke now, stepping forwards and placing her hand on Lux's chest.
"Right..." Lux responded, stepping back from her hand and pushing his hands into his jeans pockets. "I'd love to believe you because it'd be the most interesting thing that's ever happened in my eighteen years of life on earth, but I doubt all this is anything but a mad dream." He replied, scoffing and straightening himself up. The two young teen's expressions didn't change, and they looked at Lux as if he was the one who'd just spouted nonsense.
"Are you calling us liars, Lux Parma?" Lumine asked, turning to face him fully, a sternness in her eyes that was incredibly unnerving.
"Well..." Lux started, his voice cracking a little, he stopped himself and quickly cleared his throat. "What do you expect me to think?" He asked, returning to rigidity she was giving him.
"Now, now. I understand Lux, and this is why I don't want to explain too much." Aether said, stepping forwards with his hands raised.
"Lux. We have called you here because we're in desperate need of your help. There is something inside you that is the key to the survival of our world. You have a power that could be unrivalled by any other. We just need you to trust us." Aether said, his voice soft, but serious as he rested both his hands upon Lux's shoulders, before looking back towards the broken off path and holding out his right hand, lifting it from his waist and upwards, as if lifting something.
From below, chunks of gold and pale rubble emerged from the clouds, attaching to the walkway they were standing on and building themselves up to a large and fantastic looking gate.
"This gate will take you to Teyvat; the world of which we speak." Aether started, letting go of Lux and standing aside.
"I will ensure your safety with a friend of mine. You might take a little while to warm up to her, but she will be of great help to you on your travel." Lumine chipped in, rolling her hands around each other in a gentle, almost beautiful manner, before pulling a pendant seemingly from no-where.
This pendant looked very similar to Sodalite, accept it was half transparent, and carved into the shape of a four-point star, encrusted with gold on a black string necklace.
"You can use this to summon her, just throw it into the air, and she'll come." Lumine said, cracking a very small smile as she placed the pendant carefully around Lux's neck.
"So... Wait... Y-You guys are being serious? I'm really in another world?" He asked, his confidence faltering a little as the twins stood aside, clearing his way to the gate.
"One hundred percent." Aether said with an uneasily confident smile.
"Well... That's good..." Lux muttered, giving the twin a sideways and taking a deep breath. "Okay. I'll go." He said, steeling himself and clenching his fists.
"Good. You have our blessing with you, Lux." Lumine said with a respectful nod. Lux didn't stay to hear any more, taking another deep breath and starting towards the gate. The closer he got to the gate, the stronger the feeling of nausea got. He was so scared, and he really couldn't tell if this was just some insanely stupid dream, of if whatever this was, was actually happening.
As he walked closer, the gate began opening, clunking a jolting suddenly before the doors slowly slid open. Inside there was no colour, only a glowing white light and a strong wind came from within.
"This is nuts." Lux said to himself, before taking a single step forwards, and off the empty edge. His stomach dropped as he left the walkway and began plummeting towards the unseen ground. His jeans and long sleeve, army-green shirt flapped in the wind as he fell, and all he could do was let out a sigh.
"Seems we're off to a flying start." He said down to his pendant. As soon as he hit the floor, he'd jump up, awake in his bed, and this absolute shambles of a dream would all be over.
Two days had passed since Lux had left Aether and Lumine for Teyvat, and he never found him safe waking up in his bed. Instead, he woke up beneath one of the largest cliffs he'd ever seen, laying in the sand with a warm sun on his face. As the days passed him by, he and his companion never really made any progress. That was, until today.
Lux took another pebble from within the sand and brandished it in his hand, looking out onto the horizon at the edge of the sea.
"Why did they send me here?" He asked out loud, throwing the rock towards the petty waves and watching the rock as it skipped along the water. "Better yet, is there even anyone else here? I haven't seen a single boat or another person come along this beach since we got here. We've been into the woods, and camping here for three days, and there's been nothing from anyone." He continued complaining.
"Paimon told you about Mondstat on the first day, but you said you didn't want to go." The small girl responded, carrying over her own skipping rock, throwing it towards the sea with a grunt. When the stone touched the water, it did nothing but sink with a very unsatisfying 'plop'.
Paimon was a small-bodied girl and looked a little bit like a sort of fairy. She had thick white hair cropped just above her shoulders, dark purple eyes, and fair-pale skin. She wore a long-sleeved white jumper and a night-blue cape flecked with stars, and white stockings with white boots. There were also rose-gold embroidery and shapes attached to her jumper, boots, and sleeves.
She also had some rather fancy accessories, like a dark purple hairpin, almost black, and a rose-gold crown that levitates above her head as though it was a halo. She was the being summoned by the pendant Lux was given by Lumine, and she was also his only friend in this strange new world.
"Yeah, but there's one problem with that. You saw how Lumine and Aether were dressed, and look at you! Around here, things like this are probably the norm." He started with a heavy sigh, crouching to the floor and brushing through the fine, soft sand for another pebble.
"But, if I showed up in that city, looking like this, with no idea where I am or what I'm meant to be looking for. If I show up and tell them I fell from the sky after being summoned by the twin-gods of life, they're not going to believe a word. Are they?" He asked rhetorically, giving up on his search and clenching a load of sand in his fist, looking up to Paimon with a lost expression. Paimon was quiet for a moment, thinking of what to say.
"Paimon is your guide for this world, and Paimon knows that the people of Teyvat won't think that of you at all. We just have to find the right people to talk to first. Once we can get you some normal clothes, and we can find somewhere to actually eat real food, then it'll all be okay." The small girl responded with a broad smile.
"I know I should believe you, but I can't. What if we show up and get... I don't know... strung up?" He asked with a half-genuine chuckle. Paimon shook her head and put her hands on her hips.
"There's no way that will happen." She said confidently. Lux laughed in response, letting out a sigh as he looked back at the sand.
"I'm sorry... I just-." He started, before the very faint sound of voices grabbed their attention.
"Lux, there are people over there!" Paimon exclaimed before Lux quickly covered her mouth.
"Shhh! Don't yell like that or they'll hear you! We should hide." Lux responded urgently. Paimon yelled something into his hand and struggled to pry it from her face.
"We are not hiding mister! We'll never get to Mondstat if we don't talk to someone. Besides, they both look like their part of a noble family, and they look like they have a lot of mooooraaaa." Paimon argued back, singing the 'mora' part of her argument. Lux hesitated for a moment, looking towards the two hazy figures making their way up the beach. There was no way they hadn't see him by now.
"Mmmmmnh." Lux groaned, rubbing his cheeks with his hands in a stressed manner. "Fine... Fine, we'll just sit and wait for them. If things start getting hairy though, I'm blaming you." He replied, pointing a finger at her before crouching back to the floor to look for more skipping pebbles.
He was just as frustrated as Paimon was, that they'd been camping on this beach for two days, living off foraged berries and camp-fire cooked fish, but like he'd said before, if they went straight into the city looking like this, there's no way people wouldn't get the wrong idea.
As the two figures drew closer, Lux was able to start making out finer details of the two females walking in their direction. The first one had a tall, athletic build, with short, gold-blonde hair that was tied back into a ponytail with grey-blue eyes.
She was wearing a white, blue, black, and red strapless shirt with gold symbol and linings along with a long blue tailcoat attached to it, a pair of separate white sleeves, a short blue and gold cloak with a light blue inner lining attached to a white separate collar with black linings. White tights embroidered with gold diamond-dot pattern, and pair of white high-heeled knee-high boots with gold patterns and black heels accompanied this outfit, and she also wore a pair of blue gauntlets.
The girl behind her was quite a bit shorter and was around the same age as Lux. She had olive green eyes and short, neck-length lavender hair with a lopsided fringe. A braid ran over her fringe and was clipped down by a shield-shaped hair-piece.
As for wear, had clothing typical to a maid ensemble, with the exception of a priestess hat, a cravat, and many roses. Her crimson dress had two bows, one at her hip and the other on her rear. Gilded white armour plating adorned her chest, and she wore a pauldron upon her left shoulder. She also wore black tights beneath her armoured boots.
There were also weapons wielded by these two women, a long sword sta comfortably in a hip-mounted sheath belonged to the first figure, but the second seemed to have hers hovering a few inches from her back, they both, however, added to their incredibly intimidating silhouettes. The blonde-haired woman wielded a silver and blue sword with a gold grip in the shape of a spread bird wing, set with a sky-blue gem.
The maid, however, was equipped sword that dwarfed that of the first. This blade was shaped like any typical sword, with a large rose-gold, T-shaped rein-guard, and a long thick blade, decorated with navy blue and light metal grey sections, and amazing rose-gold and royal blue decals along the lethal end of the weapon.
"Hey, Paimon... Are you really sure this is a good idea...?" Lux asked, nervously swallowing saliva and looking up to his small hovering companion. He expression didn't look so sure, but she nodded all the same.
"Paimon's sure. They look like nice ladies." She responded with a smile. Lux slowly nodded.
"Yeah... The swords and giving you that vibe are they?" He asked rhetorically. His blood began running colder the closer these women got to him, and the urge to run and pray they wouldn't give chase was immense.
"Are you alright down there?" The first woman asked warmly. Her voice was softer than how she looked, but it still sounded mature, and strong. Lux gently rolled sand between his fingers and carefully looked up to the women who were now standing over him.
Thanks for your help Paimon... He grumbled to himself, feeling two small hands grab onto the far side of his shirt as she hid from the two. The main peered out from behind the taller woman with a curious expression on her soft face, and Lux felt his heart flutter a little.
"I-I... We... Sorry..." He stammered, all at once. The blonde woman let out a warm laugh and crouched down to the floor with a puzzled frown.
"You don't look like you're from around here. By your attire, I don't think I can pin you to anywhere nearby here either..." She thought out loud. What was he meant to say to her without her thinking he was off the chain.
"I think what he meant to say was that we've been stranded on this beach and we're not too sure where to go. Paimon's tried telling him to head towards Mondstat, but he keeps saying no." Paimon chirped, slowly peaking out from behind his shoulder. This probably wasn't going to make his life any easier.
"Oh... What a peculiar companion you have there." The woman laughed, taken aback by Paimon's sudden appearance.
"S-Sorry, she's not really that good at the whole 'not talking' thing." Lux chuckled nervously, very slowly picking himself up from the floor and standing at his full height. He was just below the blonde-woman in stature, and it only made her scarier.
"She's alright." The woman laughed sweetly, putting her hand on her hip as she looked Lux from head to toe, and inquisitive expression on her face.
"Excuse me, Master Jean..." The maid spoke up now. Her voice was gentle as Lux had hoped it would be and it was so soft. "It might just be me, but the clothing of that little girl reminds me of something I've seen in some of Teyvat's history books." She added. Jean slowly nodded in response, averting her gaze to Paimon now.
"Now that you mention it, I was thinking that same thing..." She muttered, bringing her arm across her stomach and resting her other arm on it, stroking her chin thoughtfully.
"Well, today is your lucky day. Noelle and I were gathering some alchemy materials and were about to start making our way back to Mondstat." Jean smiled, lowering her hands and smiling.
"Really? You two are from Mondstat?" Paimon asked before Lux had a chance.
"We are. It just so happens that I'm the acting-Grand Master of Mondstat whilst my senior is away on business." Jean responded, before walking past them and starting up the beach towards a path that led into the forest.
"When we get back to Mondstat, I'll have Noelle help you find some more suitable attire. I feel your strange clothing will only bring more attention to you than you need." She added, talking over her shoulder. Lux started after her, before turning his eyes back to the maid, who was still standing there looking at him with a thoughtful expression.
"Oh! I'm sorry, I didn't realise I was staring" She blurted, quickly looking away and hurrying after Jean. Lux stood there, his mouth slightly agape as he watched the two walk away from him.
"Your as confused as I am, right?" He asked, looking over to Paimon, who looked just as confused.
"Paimon didn't think it would go that smoothly if that's what you're asking." She replied. Lux nodded.
"Yeah... Good, I suddenly don't feel as crazy anymore." He replied, holding his hand out to Paimon as he started walking. In a puff of golden dust and shapes similar to that of an atom-chain model, Paimon disappeared, and into his hand dropped the pendant Lumine had given him, which he quickly put on before jogging after Noelle and Jean.
Even though it had been two days since he first arrived on Teyvat soil, or rather, sand, things felt like they were constantly going a hundred miles an hour. He'd had to learn to forage food, and how to fish, and he'd even stumbled across some strange, masked and furry creatures that didn't seem all too friendly. Now, two strangers found him, and he only felt like things were going to get much more hectic from here on in.