So, another new story. No surprise. I got this idea from 'Time Will Tell The Tales of War' by 8ullred. Just kinda wanted to cite that, but it really doesn't matter. Basically, an AU of the world of Genshin Impact. If this interests you, read on!
Disclaimer: I don't own Genshin. Sad.
The land of Teyvat was home to diverse people, strange creatures, and dangerous monsters. Hidden in the dense forests, beneath scorching sands, frozen within mountains are secrets no man has seen or heard...nor will any discover in the near future.
This world was split into Seven Nations, each corresponding to an element. Humans of this world have the ability to wield Visions, tokens given by the gods. And each nation has a God, Archon, ruling over their region and element. Mondstadt, the Land of Freedom, Anemo. Liyue, the Land of Contracts, Geo. Inazuma, the Land of Eternity, Electro. Sumeru, the Land of Wisdom, Dendro. Fontaine, the Land of Justice, Hydro. Natlan, the Land of War, Pyro. And Snezhnaya, the Land of Transience, Cryo.
The Seven Nations once were at peace with one another, in harmony for centuries. Unfortunately, as immortal all-powerful beings ruled over the nations, power corrupts. So who would corrupt first?
The answer was Snezhnaya.
In Snezhnaya, the Tsarista created the Fatui, a force completely loyal and obedient to the Tsarista's wishes, carrying out her will with fierce precision. It's unknown when the Tsarista decided to invade, but at some point, she was determined to set up an empire. The Tsarista invaded the other lands, starting with Natlan, the Land of War, led by Murata, the Lady of Fire.
I think you can guess how that went.
The experienced military of Natlan, who were well known to be fierce warriors, decimated the Fatui. They defended their homeland fiercely, and while some say they were only acting in self-defense, others claim Natlan had been itching for battle after centuries of peace.
Regardless, the conquest failed miserably, and Snezhnaya was shunned and cut off from the rest of Teyvat. They were effectively banished, yet they weren't fazed. Despite the casualties, they regained their numbers through an alliance. A very, very deadly alliance. The lost nation of Khaen'riah, destroyed by the Archons long ago, made a union more powerful than any other known. With the help of the Abyss, Snezhnaya marched forward, crushing everything in its path.
But not without opposition.
The Dragonspine Warriors, said to be envoys Celestia itself, had been long in hiding, as their presence was not needed. But when Teyvat began to be invaded, they returned to their duties as guardians once more, and charged out to meet Snezhnaya and the Abyss. The Warriors rode the mighty dragons, native to Dragonspine, and wreaked devastating losses on their enemies. They were not alone, either. The humans rallied their armies and marched out, some carrying Visions to wield the elements. Even long forgotten guardians, the Adepti and the Four Winds, came out and fought.
Some even say...the Twilight Sword was there too.
But despite their efforts, the enemies continued forward, unstoppable, as the Tsarista had created a weapon born from wickedness and ingenuity. Delusions, artificial Visions were handed out en masse. These Delusions came at a price, with the chance of consuming its user's life force rapidly. It made up for this however, through its compatibility. Normal visions were rare, handed out to select few. Delusions however, were produced in large quantities, and the soldiers of Snezhnaya took full advantage of that. The strongest Delusions were handed to the strongest fighters of the Fatui, the Eleven Harbingers.
With the Abyss at their side, otherworldly beings who used magic and powers that were dark and deadly, some who could even control monsters and turn them into mass soldiers, the Alliance crushed Monstadt. Then Liyue. Then Sumeru. As they did, the Tsarista began collecting what she truly wanted: the Gnoses, the conduits of power that each Archon had, their source of power. She used them for herself, and Snezhnaya seemed invincible. That is, until two siblings joined the fight in favor of Teyvat.
While their history has been lost, they were named Viator and Viatrix; travelers from far away. Skilled and powerful, their innate ability to wield all seven elements turned the tide. Their coordination and leadership, united with the Dragonspine warriors and Vision-wielding soldiers from all over Teyvat, they pushed the abyssal army back into the Abyss, where they stayed for the rest of the Great War.
The remaining Fatui, now all alone, began to slow their conquest. The combined forces of Dragonspine and the rest of Teyvat pushed them back, out of the territories they had just laid waste to. The Fatui began to fall back to Zapolyarny Mountain. There, the Outlanders fought the Fatui alone, taking them down one by one, until the last one remained, the most powerful one, Tartaglia.
A fierce battle between the three waged in the palace, and in the end, only Viator returned.
The Gnoses were recovered, but the Archon's vanished well before then, some defeated in the war, some who faded into the Abyss. With no Archons to protect the lands anymore, the Gnoses were all that was left, distributed amongst the Seven, now Six Nations. The Tsarista disappeared too, leaving the Fatui and Snezhnaya alone. Peace returned, with the end of the Great War.
But as for Viator, the lone hero disappeared in a search for the rest of the Abyss, dissatisfied on their existence. No one knows what happened to him, to this day.
Thirty years later...Somewhere in Fontaine...
"The wounds of the Harbingers will be felt forever...the Great War." A dark-haired man stared at the writing on the wall sternly, a lance strapped to his back. "Hm...Venti, I fail to see–"
He turned, stopping midway through his sentence. A green-clothed young man was leaning across a pillar, snoring peacefully. Zhongli sighed. "Venti!"
The bard's eyes snapped awake, stammering, "Wha–I mean, yes–exactly! You see what this means, Zhongli!?"
"Venti–"
"Look here!" Venti trotted over to the wall, pointing to one line. "Where does the text say where the final battle took place."
"Mt. Zapolyarny."
"Right," Venti continued. "But most legends fail to state that the final duel took place in the abandoned palace at the mountain's peak!"
Zhongli raised an eyebrow. "So this means...?"
Venti paced around, strumming his lute absentmindedly. "Well, I heard rumors of a presence at the peak, and being the curious scholar that I am," Zhongli snorted quietly. "I sent some scouts to investigate and turn these rumors to facts! That was two weeks ago."
Zhongli frowned, "And...what was their report?"
"There was no report." Venti grimly stated. "None ever returned. Why do you think that is?"
"I'm not entirely sure–"
"The Fatui, Zhongli, the Fatui!" Venti exasperatedly proclaimed.
Zhongli paused, narrowing his eyes. "You think the Fatui are atop Mt. Zapolyarny?"
"They have to be!" Venti excitedly exclaimed, looking as if he were about to burst into a song. "We've been hunting the Fatui ever since the Great War ended, Zhongli. This is our lead!"
"I lost the trail of the Fatui a long time ago." Zhongli turned back to the wall and mused quietly. "...I shall ride to Mt. Zapolyarny to see for myself. Will you accompany me?"
Venti blinked, smiling mischievously. "Ehe, I don't know. There is a chance we'll run into the Fatui...maybe I should let you handle this yourself."
"Venti..."
"Alright fine, for good time's old sake. And I also would like to know what happened to those scouts." Venti pulled out his bow. "But you'll have to buy me a beer later."
"Deal." Zhongli walked toward the exit. "Let's go. It will be a long ride to Snezhnaya. Most likely it's nothing."
It was indeed, a long way to Snezhnaya. The two traveled by horseback, riding through desert plains, dense forests, and treacherous mountains. Days passed, but they finally reached Snezhnaya, a land of forever winter, plagued by snowstorms. People were scarce, and civilization was even scarcer.
Mt. Zapolyarny was one of the tallest mountains in Teyvat, stretching well above the clouds and seemingly never ending. But with Venti's Anemo and Zhongli's Geo powers, they scaled it without too much difficulty, arriving at the abandoned palace.
It looked dreadfully creepy. Broken walls, splintered wood, all covered in white snow, make it look like a housing for ghosts. "This is where I sent the scouts. Right here." Venti looked around, bow already drawn.
Zhongli knelt and studied the snow. Was that a footprint, or just a trick of the howling blizzard? Noticing a light at the corner of his eye, he pointed. "There."
A small campsite was set up not too far from them, still stocked with supplies and weaponry. "Someone was here. Recently."
Venti frowned. "Peculiar. Why would they leave their belongings where others could find them?"
Zhongli paused, before sighing, and drawing his spear. "Because they are still here."
Venti looked up, his breath catching. While they had been talking, they had been surrounded by enemies. Their trademark cloaks embroidered with the sign of the Tsarista. Fatui.
"Well, well, well. You must be Zhongli." One Fatui stepped forward. "I've heard much about you."
"And I have heard nothing about you." Zhongli replied, a golden aura beginning to form around him as his vision activated. Behind him, winds began swirling around Venti.
"Oh, I know. I've made quite sure of that." The Fatui said. "Let me introduce myself. I am Pierro, the Jester."
"A Fatui Harbinger? You restarted that system."
'The Jester' smirked. "Smart, aren't you? I know who you are Zhongli, and what your lance has done to my brothers. You've slain many of them, and once I kill you, I will take it and use it to slay twice as many as yours!"
The Fatui Harbinger charged, unsheathing a large sword and sending a burst of Hydro at Zhongli, who rolled aside. The Harbinger attacked with heavy, crushing blows, and Zhongli deflected them with his lance. The Harbinger pressed forward, pushing Zhongli back as he defended fiercely. Zhongli stepsided one attack and stabbed at the Jester, pushing him back. The Harbinger's maniacal smile changed to equally maniacal scowl. All the time, the surrounding Fatui did nothing.
Zhongli sent a pillar of rock toward the Harbinger, who just managed to dodge it, but then faced a flurry of jabs and swipes from his lance. Zhongli locked weapons, then kicked Pierro's legs and threw him hard onto the ice. He went for the killing blow, but the Harbinger rolled aside and kicked him back. Lance against sword, they exchanged blows, but Zhongli managed to disarm him. Ignoring the loss, the Fatui stepped in close and punched his adversary, knocking him to the ground.
As The Harbinger raised his sword to finish him, an arrow infused in Anemo energy surged forward from behind and came out out front from the Harbinger. In an instant, the Jester was dead without even knowing what happened to him.
A moment of silence, as Zhongli staggered to his feet and looked at Venti, who lowered his bow. Smirking, he bowed like he just finished a performance. "Ehe~."
"KILL THEM!" The Fatui broke out of the shock and charged.
"They're too many of them." Zhongli wheezed, still winded from the fight. "We have to run."
"Go! Get to the cliff, I'll boost you!" Venti called, releasing arrow after arrow. They ran toward the cliff, a dizzyingly height one could not even see the bottom. "Venti!"
The Fatui charged forward, screaming bloody murder. Their mages sent electric pulses and fiery blasts at them. "Jump!"
The two soared across the cliff, and as they did, with fire and ice coursing past them (bad shots, the Fatui are), Venti called, "Wind!"
His Anemo vision glowed bright, and a harsh wind came out of nowhere and pushed them across. Landing hard on the rock, Zhongli pushed himself up and stared at the Fatui. Could they follow them? Were they safe?
The Fatui stared back, hatred literally glowing in their eyes and Visions. But what seemed like an eternity later, they turned around in one accord and disappeared in the blizzard above.
"We made it out alive. Thanks, Venti."
"No problem." The bard panted. "We have to tell the nations about this."
Zhongli nodded, pushing himself up with his lance. "I know where to go now."
First chapter, done. I feel like I explained this pretty well. If you have any questions, just review below. Be critical if you need too. Oh, and if you don't know what 'Viator' and 'Viatrix' are, just look up the Traveler's constellation. Let me know your thoughts! Too short? To anticlimactic?
