Author's Note
Chapter 5! Sorry for the lengthy exposition section, I would like to think it's kept fairly colorful but who knows, I've given up editing in favor of just writing more stuff! I hope you do enjoy and thank you for reading! I wasn't sure how the reception would be here, I'm glad I started!
Aether
Aether threw himself to the side, lunging for the ground so he could roll out of the way. He was almost there but then there was a sudden rush of wind and a flash of turquoise light. His head wrenched and an ache made itself known deep in both his skull and stomach as he flew into the air.
Aether heard Lumine cry out, and he hurriedly tried to keep spinning in the air so that he wouldn't hit the ground head first, but all at once, he realized that he wasn't falling. They had both stuck there, suspended 10 feet up above the immaculate streets of this strange city. He had managed to pivot right side up but he couldn't move horizontally.
He looked to his left and locked eyes with Lumine, who looked thoroughly confused. She looked away, searching behind them for the man they had passed, and as Aether followed her gaze he saw that the bird-wizard was floating too. He was upside-down and had crossed his legs and folded his arms in front of his chest. The bun he had tied his hair back into had sort of slipped down, and reached to it then in order to undo it and let his hair unfurl.
"As I tried to say, we don't want to hurt you," he stated, with a degree of mild annoyance that somehow left the playful and elegant impression he gave off undisturbed.
"Thanks? But why did you chase us? And what do you mean we? And where is this? And why the fuck are in the-" Lumine interrogated in a hurried, and somewhat sickened, tone.
"Well, the two of us and the organizations we represent are the "we", and we just want to talk to you. You're in Mondstadt City, by the way," spoke a soft and female voice from somewhere above and beside Aether.
As he slowly spun to look for the origin he saw a woman wearing a navy blue uniform like the ones he and Lumine had found. It was a little more elaborate, the mountain insignia was printed again over the heart and there was a collar and buttons instead of a zipper. Underneath the coat the woman wore a white collared shirt and a tie.
In one hand she held a brilliant white fang, and on that hip there was a dark scabbard wrapped in navy cloth, with an elaborate silver sword hilt sticking out of it. Her face was kind and young, but her expression was cautious and a little on edge.
Aether didn't think he knew her, he didn't think he knew either of them, but then again he couldn't be certain. He was trying to figure out what to say when the newcomer spoke up again.
"I'm General Jean Gunnhildr, I work with the Church of Barbatos and the Mondo-Liyuean Military. This is Kaeya Ragnvindr, my student. He's a knight of Mondstat, we can be trusted. We just want to understand your situation so we can help you. Will you stay here if I let you all down?"
Aether glanced over to his sister, trying to determine if any of the terms the woman had used made sense to her, but Lumine looked as confused as he felt.
"I'm certainly going to stay put may I please return to not-the-sky?" asked the bird guy.
"We also will. Stay, I mean," Aether followed up. He was very eager to get back to the street.
"Alright," the general agreed. She looked relieved to least have gotten a verbal response.
The woman tucked her fang into a pouch on the opposite side of her sword belt from her blade and relaxed her shoulders. Aether began to slowly lower, and the cushion-like mass he had felt immersed in began to fade.
The birdman did a lazy somersault before landing on his feet and pushing himself away and out of the field before he firmly planted himself on the ground. Aether tried to touch down softly but he didn't really end the magic even as he touched the ground and he wound up falling into a slow and unstoppable sitting motion until he was laid gently on the road by the wind at which point the magic was released.
Aether noticed, with some competitive annoyance, that Lumine had stayed on her feet and he scrambled up to stand beside her. .
"Well, we've introduced ourselves," started...nope, he didn't remember bird guy's name, as he strolled around Aether's right side, "So, who are you?"
"Katheryn," responded Lumine, at the same time that Aether said "Aether and Lum-," and stopped.
Lumine glanced at him, and back to the general and mage.
"Lumine," she amended.
Aether felt a bit embarrassed but he didn't see any point in lying anyway. They barely knew anything and none of it was worth hiding.
"Well, as you heard, I'm Kaeya," said Kaeya.
Aether definitely had not heard that the first time but he knew it now.
"I'm the owner of the tavern you were recovering in. I'm also a student at Dragonspine and, at the moment, a Knight of Mondstadt," Kaeya continued.
"Nice to meet you," Lumine responded nervously.
"Okay, wait did you say recovering? From what exactly?" Aether burst out, trying and failing to disguise his fear and curiosity.
Lumine spoke up as well, "I'm sorry, you said this was Mondo-Liyue? Where, exactly, is the city? In, you know, the grand… scheme of things…?"
His sister was clearly trying not to betray the fact that she didn't even remember where they had come from or anything about the world, but Aether did not give a fuck. He was curious, starving, and his stomach was still knotted at the same time. He opened his mouth to spout more questions but he was cut off before he could start.
"Wow, slow down. Okay, this is the City of Mondstadt, on the Cradled Lake" the general hastened to explain.
When the twins didn't react, she looked at Kaeya with a concerned expression.
"Sorry, where are you from?" he asked, looking equally worried.
Aether just turned to Lumine, and tried to convey by raising his eyebrows that she should just go for it and tell them. She looked back at him with an anxious frown, and he couldn't if it was confusion at his expression or resentment that they were sharing the information until she spoke.
"Neither of us remembers. We woke up without any memories other than our names, and… yeah. That's it. We ran because we thought we were kidnapped and drugged," Lumine admitted.
The general looked alarmed by just about the entire statement, and Aether hastened to add, "You thought that because, as I have already discovered, you are paranoid. We were just confused and a little lost,"
Lumine scowled at Aether and Kaeya whistled, "That changes things."
The general had grown more and more worried as the conversation went on and she was starting to seem more like an adult.
"I'm so sorry. We didn't know if you were dangerous, so I hope you can forgive our response," she apologized.
"Wait you don't know anything about us either?" Aether asked. He had sort of hoped that was the case.
"We know a small amount. We just sort of found you injured in the woods of a different country," Kaeya noted.
That was almost more concerning to Aether than having no information. A disturbing possibility was worse than a mysterious one, but he shoved that thought aside and kept listening.
"Well, to be specific, we did not. Ten of my peers did, and the leader will meet us soon. You can ask her about it then if you want. For now, let's sit down somewhere."
He nodded down the street, where the siblings had come from.
The general's eyes searched the twins with a tense fervency, but she nodded and as their companions began to walk that direction, Aether and Lumine did the same.
Kaeya, who was walking ahead, slid his phone out of his pocket and sent a few messages out as Aether admired their environment.
The houses were gorgeous. Their wood was bright and clean, and the colorful rooves were subdued but still cheery in such a way that their varied shades and colors didn't clash. The various banners hanging from balconies and gutters made the area all the more vibrant. The street was dotted by flowers and shrubs along the central median in the small lane.
Lumine nudged Aether with her elbow. "Look, that fog is coming back," she whispered.
Aether spun around and walked backward, peering around the general to see that a low mist bank was indeed pouring back through the open gates of the city and shrouding the farthest buildings.
He didn't know what she meant by back, as he hadn't noticed any fog before, but that might have just been him. Besides, he hadn't exactly had time to admire the weather, what with Lumine's urgency in escaping.
Aether was turning back around to point out that she had been wrong in running and that he had been correct the whole time, when the general spoke up.
"The young woman we are soon to meet up with was pushing it back to make sure we didn't lose you, her signature allows her to adjust the weather," she explained, having ascertained the reason for his obvious spinning.
"Do you mean, like, with magic?" Aether asked.
He didn't know what signature referred to, but it had to be a kind of spell. For some reason, he instinctively glanced at his sister for the answer, but she was looking at the general with a widened curiosity in her eyes.
"You don't know what a signature is? That's strange. Let me ask, what do you know about magic in general?" she asked.
"Well it's magic, it alters the natural rules of the world, and people harness it to use for power. Some are naturally gifted, some can't learn it at all, most are in between," Lumine started, with an almost defensive air.
"And it involves the elements, it's mostly in like, categories. And you might be great at one but clueless for others," Aether continued.
"Yes, that is all correct," general Gunnhildr agreed.
"Generally speaking it is, but that's very simplistic," Kaeya critiqued, while leading the group back into the alleyway Aether was pretty sure they had all originally run through.
"That… is also true. I'll give you the basics," the general began again. "You were right that people have varying levels of capability, and that talent also fluctuates for each person by school or kind of magic. For example, Kaeya is a very quick learner of Cryomagic and Bioaugmentation. Augmentation is a kind of like a method for enhancing or altering spells. And bioaugmentative enchantments-"
"You might be getting a little professor-like. What she's saying is that I can freeze things and bring ice to life," Kaeya helped.
Aether would have been impressed with Kaeya even if he wasn't some super-wizard. He just looked inexplicably perfect. His navy leggings betrayed the contour of his muscled legs, and the moderately heeled boots he wore added an attention-catching rhythm to the sound of his footsteps. His hair was perfectly wavy, and it flowed over the top of a white silk scarf that was being played with by the breeze and the bounce of his step.
"Yes, in essence," General Gunnhildr was continuing, "Everyone has different gifts, but a good deal of education is typically required to take advantage of your gifts. Magic is easiest to do when it operates within established spells. Natural elements can be most easily handled when they go with the grain of the world. Spells are essentially magical formulas for creating the strongest effects with the least expended energy, but they're tricky to master."
Lumine was paying very close attention, but Aether's attention was briefly drawn away once again by their emergence into the street he had crossed a few minutes ago. It was similar to the other road, but it carried directly into the central square.
"Signatures are just strong magical talents that function in unique ways. They can't be learned, you have to be born with one," general Gunnhildr
But Aether was distracted again. Walking towards them was a broad-shouldered woman with long, black hair. It bounced around her maroon and white uniform, and she was casually spinning a decorated trident in her left hand. Her irises were shifting with white and grey mists, it looked like an illusion of some sort.
"Ah, there's the captain," Kaeya announced, stepping to the side so he might make introductions in as dramatic a manner as possible.
"This is our very own esteemed commander, strategic prodigy, and personal meteorologist; Zhou Beidou. Beidou, these are the formerly dead children, Aether and Lumine," he continued with a physical flourish.
Aether could hear the general softly repress a groan.
"Mr. Ragnvindr," the general sounded like she was trying to cut Kaeya off, "Did you melt the ice on the street? I don't want any citizens to trip and injure themselves."
"Ah, you know that- hmm. That's a good point," the ice mage frowned. He seemed a bit disappointed at the dismissal which was, in a way, flattering.
"Well then, Aether, Lumine;" he turned to indicate them both individually, "Have fun meeting my brother. I'll see you soon enough."
With a smile as majestic as his glacial creations, the blue-haired wonder left the four alone.
