Intermission 4 - The stars are distant as always
17th of the 8th Cycle
"The prevailing winds are blowing north." Mona mused.
She wrote her observations down in her journal, her 7th journal now. Indeed, this was a curiosity, for at this point, the winds should be blowing west. They weren't, which could only mean the Storm Wall is gone, and by extension, the Sakoku Decree.
They were letting the winds carry them, for they weren't headed to Sumeru. Instead, the Electro Archon had commissioned them to return to Mondstadt, and find out more about the enigmatic God of Time.
Mona wasn't quite sure what the actual reward was, but she wasn't complaining because finding more about the Time God was quite the reward in itself. Besides, she had business in Mondstadt to attend to anyway.
"What are you writing about?"
Mona flinched, shaken out of her thoughts. Swivelling her head around, she saw Yoimiya looking down at her, and her journal. The girl had joined them, headed for Liyue. Apparently she had a friend who escaped to Liyue during the Sakoku Decree, named Atsuko. That was no problem for them, so they would drop Yoimiya off at Liyue, then pay a visit to Beisht, then continue northbound.
In any case, best Mona answers the girl lest she seems rude.
"The wind."
"Aren't you an astrologer?"
"Just because I am one thing doesn't mean I can't be another. The wind is an important factor in both spiritual and physical circles. And besides, we are on a ship, and I am the resident navigator, this is my job."
"Uhh…" The girl's eyes swam in confusion.
"So why is…" Yoimiya took a glance at the pages, "the winds going north so special?"
"Because it proves that Mondstadt is where all the winds head to, and not just anywhere in Mondstadt. Did you know that before the Archon Wars, Old Mondstadt was where all the winds blew? When the Wars was over, the winds blew to the City of a Thousand Winds. Finally, when that city was sacked and razed by the Aristocracy, the Mondstadt that exists now is the epicentre of the winds."
Mona took a deep breath.
Yoimiya stared at her, "You really like this stuff huh?"
"You ignorant-"
"So the saying that Mondstadt is the 'land where a thousand winds blow' is not just an empty boast?"
Mona was interrupted by their newest companion, Rosalyne. The witch towered over all of them, an entire head taller than Mona herself. She craned her neck from where she was sitting to meet Rosalyne's gaze.
"Every piece of fiction must have a crenel of truth. No one knows why Mondstadt is the epicentre, there is no definitive proof. If you are a priest, you'd think it's because Mondstadt is the land of the Anemo Archon, and that's that. But the truth… that's usually far more nuanced."
Yoimiya scratched her head, "Yeah… I'm gonna go back to practising Liyuean."
Mona thought that that was for the best. As she turned around and went back to her journal, the witch called to her.
"I wanted to hear more."
Well, Mona was all for educating the ignorant.
"Ahem. Like I said, if you were a priest, then it's simple. But for people like me, who try to find physical proofs, it's much harder. The geographical reason is simple: winds blow from an area with high pressure, to one with low pressure…"
22nd of the 8th Cycle
"Do you know anything about Celestia?" Rosalyne asked her.
Mona knew more than the average person, but not much. She decided it couldn't hurt humouring the witch.
"From what I know, Celestia is ruled by an entity known as the House of Lords."
"How did you find that out?"
"We have our own patron god, you know? She doesn't usually show herself, so you haven't seen her yet, but she was the one that razed Hanamizaka to the ground."
Rosalyne was quiet, she seemed to be weighing something in her mind. When she spoke, it was in a low and cautious tone.
"Do you trust this god?"
"Nope. I don't think any of us do, gods don't do things out of the kindness of their heart."
The tall woman seemed to be surprised at her honest answer. Mona supposed that makes sense, it's not everyday you see someone badmouthing a deity.
"So how many gods are there in this House of Lords?"
"I don't know, she mentioned the House off-handedly. But if I were to guess? 72 Lords."
"Why that?"
"Because there are 72 divine constellations, want to see them?"
The witch nodded, barely hiding her curiosity. Mona enjoyed talking with someone who had the same mindset as her when encountering the unknown, why run from it if you could learn from it? Her Vision ignited, and a starmap formed on the deck of the forecastle.
To make it easier for the witch to visualise, Mona connected the constellations manually. Shimmering lines stretched between stars, creating beautiful patterns in the artificial night sky.
"Look here," Mona pointed towards a vaguely hooked-shape constellation, "that's Carmen Dei, the constellation of the Anemo Archon."
"Carmen Dei… that's 'Wind God' in High Teyvatian. Constellations are created when you are born, right?"
"Not created per say, but that sounds about right."
"Then was Barbatos fated to be the Anemo Archon from the very beginning?"
"Yes. Remember that it was the old civilisations that named the constellations. The pygmies, the fair folk, the seelies. They named all of them, even those of people and gods that still weren't yet born. Even now, we are still finding traces they had left behind."
"So even gods are subject to fate?"
Rosalyne seemed to not be able to believe her own words. It made sense, Mona thought, everyone was taught from a young age that the gods were these omnipresent, almight beings that decide your fate.
"All are subject to fate. But that is a matter of Elder Gods."
27th of the 8th Cycle
"We are mice, to Celestia. They keep us in our cages, they feed us and we do what they tell us to do. Celestia is less than an ant, to the Elder Gods. Look up for me?"
Rosalyne did, and saw the night sky. Comets crossed the firmament, streaking lights of white. They painted across a canvas of colours, a myriad of red and blue and every colour in between. Countless stars dotted the Sky, distant galaxies and nebulae being birthed and dying, countless, within the span of seconds.
"Do you see, just how small you are?"
Rosalyne did, truly did. She felt like a fish in an ocean vaster than anything she could imagine.
"Celestia rules Teyvat, and only Teyvat. Elder Gods? They rule all of that." The astrologer pointed upwards, "Teyvat is nothing more than a small, small fish in an ocean of galaxies. And the galaxy Teyvat is in is nothing more than an ant on a planetary universe."
She said nothing, transfixed on the Sky above her. The astrologer continued,
"We are small, inconsequential. Looking up there, you will never feel humbler than in all your life. Because all of that, too, is subject to one god, Fate. Do you believe in extraterrestrials?"
"...Aliens? I can't say I've ever thought about it, but I do know, I suppose."
"You should talk to Aether."
So she did. As Rosalyne walked up the stairs to the quarterdeck, she couldn't help but look at the Sky once again, has she always taken it for granted?
"You and Mona seem to be getting along well." The man told her as she reached the final step.
"I told her I believed in aliens and she asked me to talk to you."
"Because I'm an alien, huh?"
"...What?"
Rosalyne inspected the man. He was fairly short, below average height in Mondstadt. He looked every inch a human, nothing depicted him as an alien. He seemed to notice what she was doing, and chuckled lightly.
"How do you define an alien? If it's a living being that is not human, then any animal could be an alien. If it's a sentient being that is not human, then the dragons, the pygmies, the seelies, the fair folk, all of them are aliens. If it has to be an extraterrestrial, then aren't the gods aliens?"
Rosalyne couldn't say she ever thought about it that way before. When she thinks of the word 'alien' she has a very clear picture of what they should be. And yet, she found that she couldn't refute the man's words.
Aether laughed, and Rosalyne found that she was scrunching her face in thought.
"Don't think too hard about it," He told her, "everyone has the same image when it comes to aliens."
"Are you an alien, then?"
"I have two hearts, and an extra set of ribs, my vertebrae are a few bones longer. I have two nervous systems, two sets of arteries, the chemicals in my bloodstream are very different from yours. You could eat a chunk of my flesh, and gain incredible strength and unrivalled wisdom, or spontaneously combust into flames. I come from a different planet. Yes, I am an alien."
"Starspawn, that's what the gods call me. And I find no name more befitting of my species than that." Aether told her.
1st of the 9th Cycle
"Atsuko! It's been forever since I last saw you!"
"Y-Yoimiya!?"
Yoimiya jump-hugged the poor girl.
"How- how did you escape the Sakoku Decree?"
Yoimiya beamed at the girl, "Escape? The Decree has been abolished!"
She pretty much shouted that out. Already, Aether could see people around them take notice. Indeed, they were the first ship to return from Inazuma since the Decree was repealed, it makes sense Liyue still doesn't know of it.
Behind them, the Deicide was sailing off into the distance, bound for the Guyun Stone Forest. They waved goodbye to Yoimiya and headed off into the city. Interestingly enough, Rosalyne had shrunk a few inches.
"I burnt away my old body centuries ago," She explained to them, "the body I have now is just a recreation of my old one, made of flames, and I can shape it how I wish."
"How long do we have here?"
"Until Osial decides so."
A well dressed man walked up to them, looking completely out-of-place in the gritty and chaotic harbourfront.
"Lady Ningguang wishes to speak to you, honoured guests."
They looked at each other.
Aether shrugged, "Lead the way, sir."