Act β, Scene 5
The Light Realm should be rebranded, Lumine thought, because contrary to its name, the Light Realm wasn't very bright.
They had emerged in a forest. The classic, spooky dark forest you read about in children's story books. The canopy was low and thick, dark green leaves blotted out what seemed to be moonlight. At some places where the canopy wasn't so solid, shafts of light broke through and hit the ground, illuminating a land of mystery and wonder.
Floating blue flames hung among the trees, like lanterns. Haunting laughter echoed through the branches, and mana, oh so much mana, hung in the air. So thick it felt as if she were in syrup. A simple glance around, and she confirmed their expectation. Everything, from the trunks to the soil to the sky, were all made of pure Elements, with the capital E.
But most importantly, they weren't dying a horrible death. Perhaps for her and the undead knights, they could be excused, for they weren't quite human. But for the brave magi that volunteered to cross with them? They looked just fine, and with a quick question, confirmed they felt just fine as well.
One of them scried through the portal. It was time to get a move on.
Enchanted woods, Lumine had an epiphany, they were travelling through enchanted woods. She knew there was a name for this kind of place, but it was on the tip of her tongue, until now.
It was all eerily quiet, there was no ambience, no background noise. There was no chirping of the birds, no chitter of cicadas. There was no rustling of the forest floor as little creatures darted across from burrow to burrow. There was only the crackling of pale blue lights, and the rustling of wind blown leaves.
Laughter started again, a girl's voice, childlike and innocent. And in Lumine's opinion, entirely malicious.
The Abyss Watcher's formed a loose circle around the party, atop their skeletal steeds. Lumine whispered to the mage riding next to her, "Where do you think we are?"
She wasn't quite sure why she was whispering, but considering the atmosphere, she felt it was justified.
The mage responded, "I believe we are in the lands of a seelie court. The only problem is whether we are in a Seelie Court, or an Unseelie Court."
From the names alone, Lumine figured that the latter was the malevolent one.
"Seelieee…" One of the Watchers muttered.
Lumine followed its gaze, and saw a floating creature. Translucent, vibrant blue, glowing in the shadow of the woods and seemingly made of flames. It hovered leisurely in the air, its single white eye stared at them amusedly. It chittered at them, flying around their heads.
The mage wiped sweat off his brow, "That's a seelie alright."
So they weren't going to die a horrible death.
Still, they weren't out of the woods yet, literally and figuratively.
The seelie chittered at them again, and sped off in a direction. Lumine began to follow it, and the others followed suit. No one argued, for in these enchanted woods where all directions were the same, any semblance of orientation was a welcome one.
The capital of the Seelie Court was a magnificent sight to behold.
A massive city, perhaps triple the size of Khaenri'ah's own capital. But Lumine had seen metropolises before, and its size wasn't what made the Seelie Court so great. It was the fact that it was entirely made of twisting vines.
It looked as if the enchanted forest grew from the city. The city was carved into the base of a massive tree, houses, stores, castles, all made of the same bark. Cocoon-like houses hung in the air, suspended from hanging vines. Roots and vines formed a natural avenue, large enough for a dozen carriages to ride side-by-side, up to the trunk of the tree.
And carved into the trunk, two massive doors, each large enough for dragons to pass through without touching the sides. Two signified the entrance to the greatest power in this part of Arcadia, the Seelie Court.
Their seelie guide glowed, and began to morph. A torso, a head, four limbs, and a quartet of shimmering dragonfly wings. It had long glistening blonde hair, nearly platinum in colour, and long pointed ears. Its face was young and mischievous, and utterly ambiguous. Lumine could not tell their gender.
The seelie bowed low, one arm on their back and the other across their chest.
"Welcome to the crowning jewel of Arcadia Evanescent, the capital of the Seelie Court, Annwyn. May you find your heart's desire, honoured guests, and indulge in the City of Pleasures."
Its voice was smooth and silky, tempting them with the endless treasures of Arcadia. Its form was perfect, not even the haughtiest nobles of the City of Stars could find fault. And yet its clear green eyes shone with a glint, where it be mischief or malice, Lumine did not know.
Act β, Scene 6
"Is there a way through the Seelie Court to the Abyss?"
The seelie, who introduced itself as Daimhin, smiled beatifically at her question.
"Why would you want to go to the Abyss? It is a dark and dreary place, stay here, in Annwyn. We will tend to your every need, honoured guests. There is no need to leave."
It spread its arms, gesturing to the City of Pleasures. An Lumine had to admit, she was tempted. The city was fantastical, seelies flew here and there with their dragonfly wings. Some noticed them, and waved cheerfully. Others gaped at the intimidating undead knights of the Abyss Watchers.
It was clear Annwyn didn't receive mortal guests often, so they wanted them to stay.
Lumine cleared her throat, "We would accept, of course."
The seelie beamed at her.
"But there are around 100,000 of us, are you sure the Seelie Court could accept us all?" She finished.
The seelie's smile died a little. Lumine knew why.
Arcadia was a reflection of Teyvat, a mirrored opposite. Perhaps accepting a small group like them in Annwyn would be of no trouble, but 100,000 of them? There will definitely be a 'mirrored' situation occurring on Teyvat to keep the symmetry.
And that was something the Seelie Court could not afford, because they were at war with the Unseelie Court. Lumine did not know exactly how the situation would 'reflect' itself, but if 100,000 seelies suddenly appeared in Teyvat, not only would it be a massive loss of manpower for the Seelie Court, but Celestia would also take notice.
"Perhaps…" Daimhin started, "it would be best if we allow you to pass…"
As Lumine began to voice her agreement, Daimhin suddenly beamed at them.
"With gifts of course! Let it not be said that the Seelie Court is not a generous host, or Arcadia Transcendent and Arcadia Resplendent will never let us live it down."
One of the magi in their party lit up at the mention of Arcadia Transcendent and Resplendent, but another mage covered their mouth before they could say anything. Admittedly, Lumine was curious too.
"We would gratefully accept your gifts, uh, my lord."
Dainhim waved her off, "There are no lords in the Seelie Court, we are not the faeries, nor the elves. Come come, let us off to the great hall. The Court is dying to meet you."
"As such, I recommend we let Lady Lumine and her entourage pass through our lands!" Dainhim announced.
The Court was in chaos. It wasn't their fault, the Court was in chaos even before they entered the hall. In fact, they didn't seem much of a court at all. There was no king, no council, just thousands of seelies lining the benches and rafters inside the great hall.
They flew around, jumping from one rafter to another. They talked to each other, even while flying. More than once, Lumine saw two or more seelies crash into each other mid air. The constant buzzing of dragonfly wings dominated all other sounds in the hollow trunk of the tree they were in.
"Why can't they just stay!? Annwyn has more than enough space for the lot of them!" One shouted.
"Quiet, you dimwit! You would bring the gods' gaze upon us!" Another replied.
"Fuck the gods!" Said another, who was not the same seelie that asked why they couldn't say. It seemed they just wanted to put it out there.
"Fuck you!" Replied a fourth seelie. Lumine didn't even know what was going on anymore.
Dainhim gave a long suffering sigh, it seemed that this was the normal state of the Seelie Court.
One seelie flew down towards them. As it landed before Lumine, she realised just how tall the seelie was, it must be at least two metres tall. Long flowing olden hair framed its face, and as much as Lumine wanted to call it a 'her,' the seelie looked boyish enough that she just didn't know.
It bent down and pinched her cheeks, "Awwww, aren't you just the cutest thing!"
"Uh, thank you, miss."
"Miss?" Lumine thought she had screwed up, "I like that! Yes, continue to call me 'miss!'"
It giggled.
"So, can we go on our way, then?" Lumine tentatively asked.
"Go? No no!" It made an 'X' shape with its arms, pouting, "You're no fun at all!"
Just as Lumine was about to lose her shit, Dainhim butted in,
"Quiet down, Sibeal, you're making her uncomfortable, isn't that right?"
Lumine nodded.
Dainhim whispered in Sibeal's ear, and despite her heightened senses, Lumine couldn't make out the words. Sibeal adopted a thoughtful look, nodding along to whatever the other seelie was saying.
When Dainhim finished, Sibeal looked at them and nodded decisively, hands on her hips.
"Come along, let us out of this pigsty! I have gifts for you all!"
Everyone in their party looked at each other, before silently agreeing that they should get out of here as soon as possible.
Lumine smiled a smile that didn't quite reach her eyes, "Yes of course, we look forward to your gifts, miss."
Act β, Scene 7
"Here, you get this tome!"
They were inside Sibeal's residence, a cozy cottage built in a hollow root of the great tree. It handed a small tome to one of the magi. Its cover read A Beginner's Guide to Arcadia. The mage in question looked up at the seelie with starry eyes.
"And you," Sibeal turned to an Abyss Watcher, "get this!"
It handed the knight a massive greatsword, as tall and Lumine was high. It's blade shone a sublime teal colour.
"It's forged from pure moonlight, I am sure it'd serve you well!"
The Watcher took a good look at the blade, before shrugging and sheathing it on their back.
"And you," This time the seelie turned to Lumine, "get this!"
It handed her a perfume bottle, and several refill vials. It was cool to the touch.
"A dozen vials of bottled moonlight! The perfect gift for a young lady like you, and the perfect repellent for those disgusting Abyssals."
With that, Sibeal clapped her hands. And then, to Lumine's horror, she smiled apologetically.
"That being said, could I ask for one tiny little favour? Of course, in exchange I'll personally guide you to the Abyss!"
"What… is it?" She asked cautiously.
Dainhim coughed into its fist, "We want you to lend a few of your undead knights."
The undead knights in question suddenly stiffened, the one who got the moonlight blade drew it and pointed it at the seelie.
Dainhim pushed the blade to the side gingerly with one finger, before returning to face her.
"See, fall is coming around, and that means the Unseelie Court will be on the rise again. Every two seasons, the Seelie and Unseelie Courts switch positions, usually through a war. You were lucky you came while it was still summer. If you lend us even just a mere hundred of your undead knights, we could break the cycle."
The seelie spoke of 'breaking the cycle' as if it were a good thing, but in Lumine's experience, breaking an already established order could only have disastrous consequences. And from the discrete shaking of heads the magi were giving her, they agree with her as well.
"Of course, just a hundred."
"We are in your debt." Dainhim and Sibeal bowed in unison.
As they bowed, Lumine hastily wrote a note of starlight and shoved it into a Watcher's hands.
"It is of no issue, you have given us great gifts and we must return in kind. That being said, we are being completely transparent here, right?" Lumine smiled at them, showing some teeth.
Sibeal laughed nervously, "Of course, of course."
Lumine noticed the seelie discreetly wave her hand, leaving magic trailing in its wake. The vials in her hand glowed a bit. Lumine pretended not to notice.
"Now then, let us be out of your hair."
They returned to the portal with the two seelies in tow.
There they met Dainsleif and Torsten with a hundred or so people that had crossed the portal.
Torsten looked up at Sibeal with wide eyes, "Are you fairies?"
Sibeal lit up, "Awww, you are so cute-!"
Dainhim grabbed the seelie by the shoulder before they could leap at the boy.
"Let's not waste any time, Sibeal."
The seelie in question coughed into its fist, her face going from childish to serious in a blink of an eye. It made Lumine wonder if it was all an act.
"Tell everyone to stop using the gateway." It told her.
Lumine translated its words to Dainsleif. He nodded, not even questioning her. A quick scry later, and Dainsleif confirmed the other side had heard him.
Sibeal bent down, and scooped a palmful of dirt. It grabbed the sides of the portal, dirt in hand and began chanting. It was in an otherworldly tongue, different from the seelie tongue, one Lumine could hardly decrypt.
"Seven pillars hold up the Sky." It muttered, "Four cardinals, one meridian. Let the Sky turn, and enter the fading grey."
The portal began to shake, fractures ran up and down, not on its surface, but just above it. It looked as if the very air was breaking.
"Power is purpose. Purpose is will. And let my will be heard!" It incanted. Even beneath the canopy, Lumine could feel the world darken as clouds gathered.
"Open, shut. Open, shut. My will is paramount, here and forever. Open, gates. Enter, Twilight."
Arcadia shook, and the portal broke. And its fractured pieces rose, and expanded, and put itself back together in the portal a hundred times the size. Unlike the pale violet colour the portal had before, now it was a dark sinister grey.
A storm swirled within the frames, lightning flashing inside.
Sibeal let go, and turned to them. "As long as your intent is clear, the Twilight will lead you to where you want to go. Remember, everyone has their own intent. If you want a hundred thousand people to make it out the other side, then you must have all hundred thousand people have the same destination."
Dainhim added on, "There is no king in the Twilight Court, only you are king of your own self. Good luck, travellers."
The two seelies left, they faded back into the woods with exactly 100 Abyss Watchers at their back. It was as if they were never there, except for the massive whirling storm-turned-gate they left behind.
"Well," Lumine muttered to herself, "looks like I'm going first again."
Author's Note:
Please remember this is all purely my imagination, with inspiration taken from multiple sources that aren't Genshin. All we know for certain in Genshin is that Seelies exist, Seelie Courts exist, and the Light Realm exists. Everything else here is purely my interpretation.