So I've decided to continue this. Hopefully I can finish it before Mihoyo releases the official appearance of the Cryo Archon.


La Signora didn't expect to be recalled from her assignments so suddenly. It wasn't like the Tsaritsa to tell people to leave a job unfinished. Even more surprising was the fact that she wasn't the only harbinger to be called back from their duties.

"Seriously… You're here too?"

The fair lady addressed a shorter man with indigo hair. His outfit suggested Inazuman descent, but what she couldn't get over was that ridiculous hat of his. Perfectly round with a long veil hanging from behind.

"Scaramouche… Always a pleasure." Signora made no attempt to hide her disdain, visibly rolling her eyes.

"Save your sarcasm, witch. Being in your company isn't any easier on me." The hatted harbinger spat out, crossing his arms and turning away.

Signora glared at him and spoke through gritted teeth, "What was that?"

A new figure entered the scene addressing the two bickering harbingers.

"Well if it isn't my two favorite comrades!"

Immediately recognizing the new voice, Signora turns to face the newcomer.

"Spare us your false kindness and cut to the chase Tartaglia. Why have we been recalled?"

Tartaglia responded with a quick shrug.

"It's not my place to say, but I suspect you're going to find out why quite soon."

Wrapping his arms around the shoulders of his two fellow harbingers, Tartaglia proceeds to nudge them in a certain direction.

"Come on! We're supposed to meet her in the records room."

Signora gave him a venomous glare, "Hands. Off."

...

The Tsaritsa, now going by the name Iris, sat in front of a book piled desk in the estate's records room. She had been going through several Fatui reports documenting world events in the past few months. As she had expected, the deeds of the traveler have not gone unnoticed by the Snezhnayan elite.

The encounter with Dvalin, the supposed death of Rex Lapis, Osial's resurrection. Detailed reports were made of every event.

"I suppose it isn't surprising for the Fatui to take note of these things, seeing as how most of these events were orchestrated by them…" The archon muttered to herself.

Since Osial's attack on Liyue Harbor had already come to pass, then it wouldn't be long before the traveler made his way to Inazuma, if he wasn't there already. The documents speak of a male traveler so she assumed that Aether was the sibling who was chosen in this world.

She had to meet him. If anyone knew of a way to escape this world, it would be him and if he couldn't help her then… perhaps his sister could. Although Iris wasn't too keen on seeking help from the abyss order and she probably couldn't get in contact with Lumine even if she tried. Right now, Aether was her only lead and she was going to chase him to the ends of Teyvat if she had to.

She lost her train of thought when rhythmic knocking came from the door and Tartaglia's voice soon after.

"Lady Iris! Our guests are here."

Taking a moment to mentally prepare herself, the Tsaritsa takes a deep breath and responds.

"Come in."

The door opens to reveal Tartaglia's smiling face with two fellow harbingers by his side. This was the first time she was seeing Signora and Scaramouche in the flesh. A part of her was beginning to feel nervous.

All three harbingers drop to one knee and pay respects to their leader.

Signora was first.

"Almighty Tsaritsa, Your loyal servant has arrived. I am at your disposal."

Scaramouche, not to be outdone, said his piece as well.

"It is an honor to stand before our mighty ruler once more."

Strange… Iris expected them to have a bit more attitude than this. Never mind, it was a good thing that they were so behaved.

She had been practicing her evil dictator impression during the past few days in hopes that she wouldn't draw too much attention to herself. Time to see if any of it paid off.

"Rise."

With that, the three harbingers got on their feet.

"I assume you're curious as to why I summoned the both of you here in the middle of your duties." Iris kept her voice monotone and her expression blank.

Signora was the one to respond, "Yes I have been wondering what could possibly be important enough for you to order us to stop hunting the gnosis."

Nodding, the Tsaritsa answered, "It is a matter of utmost importance, I assure you. I've heard from Tartaglia that you have all had encounters with a certain blonde haired traveler?"

"Ahh yes… He was there when I secured the Anemo Archon's Gnosis. And I believe he was also present when the Geo Archon handed over his. Isn't that right Tartaglia?" Signora looked over to the smiling harbinger.

"Yes. His abilities were quite impressive. Able to control multiple elements without a vision or a delusion. Until I met him, I had thought that only you, your grace, were capable of bestowing such power." Tartaglia cupped his chin, looking genuinely puzzled.

Iris tried her best to seem like she knew how the delusions of the harbingers worked.

"Ahh… Yes, how strange indeed that someone other than I could do such a thing."

In truth, she was also curious as to what happened to the gnosis of both Venti and Zhongli, but it would only raise suspicions if she of all people were to ask what became of them.

"I too have met the traveler of which you speak." Scaramouche decided to add to the conversation, "I intended to take his life, however certain nuisances got in the way."

"Oh please do continue to regale us with tales of your failures." Signora chimed in with a smirk.

Scaramouche glared at her with killing intent so strong that Iris could feel it from where she was standing. The Archon spoke up before they could argue any more.

"Enough. I summoned you both here because in a few days, I will be leaving Snezhnaya to search for that traveler."

That got the attention of all three harbingers.

"Y-You're leaving Snezhnaya…? But who will lead the nation?" It seemed as if Signora was trying and failing to hide her shock.

"You will." The Tsaritsa left no room for argument in her tone.

"M-Me!?" Signora could no longer hide her shock.

"Yes Signora. That is why I have chosen to recall you from your duties."

"Then what about me? Why was I called back?" Scaramouche took the opportunity to ask.

"You and Tartaglia are coming with me."

"I see."

Scaramouche seemed to be taking the news in stride, however Signora's expression was a mix of both disbelief and worry.

"I feel honored that you would choose me as your temporary replacement, your grace, but you can't possibly expect me to take over the duties of an Archon."

To be honest, Iris knew for certain that Snezhnaya would be better off in Signora's hands than herself.

"I trust you Signora. Think of this as just another trial that needs to be overcome."

The female harbinger let out a worried sigh, "If you believe this is the right course of action then of course I will obey. Though you still haven't explained why it is so urgent to meet with the traveler."

The time had come. Iris spent a good amount of time thinking of an excuse to answer this very question.

"Besides being an obvious thorn at the side of the Fatui, I believe that it is possible to get him on our side if I am able to meet with him face to face. Having the ruler of Snezhnaya come to him personally will show him just how serious we are."

Signora still seemed on edge as she responded, "I see. Still, is it really worth all this effort just to recruit one person?"

"Rumour has it that the traveler has spent decades wandering through several different worlds. I believe that such an individual would possess invaluable knowledge that could be beneficial to the Fatui. Furthermore, if he refuses then at the very least we would be presented with a good chance to… dispose of him."

Of course she really didn't have any intention of doing that.

It was about time she wrapped things up.

"Right then. If there are no questions then I will order the Fatui to prepare our transportation."

At this, Tartaglia's eyes brightened, "Ah yes. How large of a contingent will we be taking along? Shall I prepare her majesty's finest battalions and warships?"

"Hm? Oh that won't be necessary. I was thinking it would just be the three of us."

"Eh?" Tartaglia raised an eyebrow.

"I cannot in good faith allow that, your grace!" Signora suddenly interjected.

"O-Oh? Why not?" Iris wasn't expecting any of them to suddenly disagree with her after showing so much deference.

"The most important figure in all of Snezhnaya, at the very least requires an escort of the Fatui's finest agents!"

"I-Is that so..?"

"And furthermore-"

...

It took a lot of convincing to get Signora to lay off. Iris sat on one of the estate garden's many benches. Ever since she came to this world, the garden became one of her favorite places. Not only because it was beautiful but also because no one was ever there. It was a good place for some quiet and alone time. She supposed it made sense why no one ever came here. Who in their right mind would hang around in an outdoor garden when it was this cold outside? She appeared to be the exception as the cold never seemed to bother her. Just another perk of being the Cryo Archon.

"Almighty Tsaritsa."

So much for some alone time… Recognizing the voice as that of Scaramouche, Iris turned to address him.

"Scaramouche. Do you have any-"

Before she could finish, she felt all her senses firing up, warning her imminent danger. Something in her very being screamed at her to move out of the way and so she did, stepping to the side as quickly as she could.

Only after seeing the bubbling snow and pulsing electro from where she once stood did she realize what had happened.

Scaramouche had attacked her.

"You may have fooled the others, but not me. You are not the Tsaritsa that I am familiar with."

He slowly took steps towards her, violet lightning coursing through his body. A one handed blade soon materialized in his hands. Shit. Had she messed up at some point? She had thought her acting was on point. She tried her best to repress the fear that was welling up from within, she couldn't afford to look weak now.

"The Tsaritsa would never even think of recruiting a troublesome enemy like the traveler. She would have sent one of the harbingers to bring him to Snezhnaya in chains and have him flogged to death in the cold. I already had my suspicions then, but the moment you allowed Signora to talk back to you and question your judgement, I was sure. You couldn't possibly be the Tsaritsa. The true Tsaritsa would have put Signora in her place."

Iris made a mental note to never underestimate the observation skills of a harbinger. The situation was dire. There was an exceedingly powerful individual who appeared to be out for her blood and she had no combat experience whatsoever. She doubted if she could take him on a one on one fight and if she ran, it would only prove that she wasn't who she appeared to be. After all, what kind of Archon would feel threatened by her own vassal? At the very least, he still didn't have any solid evidence to prove his claim so perhaps there was a chance to turn things around with diplomacy.

"Scaramouche." She began, trying to sound as collected as she possibly could, "What do you think you're doing? I hope you're aware that the consequences of your actions are going to be quite severe. Stand down now and I may just spare you from an early grave."

Her opponent did not falter, "If you really believe that you can do so, then you're welcome to try. I don't know how you managed to take on the form of the Tsaritsa, but a mere imposter could never defeat me."

Suddenly Iris felt it once more, that feeling of imminent danger. In the very next moment Scaramouche burst forward with incredible speed, shooting forth like lightning. As soon as he came within range, the harbinger began swinging his weapon at her. Each strike was fast and powerful but somehow, some way, her eyes were able to follow his every movement as if time slowed down for her. This unexpected advantage allowed her to avoid all of Scaramouche's swings as long as she put in enough effort. Perhaps possessing the eyes and body of an archon was even more convenient than she had thought. Still, she was inexperienced in battle and it was unlikely that she could keep avoiding him forever. Before she had the time to think of a way out of her predicament, Scaramouche slid downwards and took a swipe at her legs forcing her to jump to avoid the attack. Now that she was suspended in the air, she had no way to avoid what was coming next. Scaramouche took hold of his blade and thrust it towards her with the intention to skewer her through her eye. This was it… A part of her felt saddened that her rebirth through Teyvat would end so abruptly. The silver lining was that perhaps dying in this world would mean returning to her old one, though the chances were probably slim. There was no way to stop the attack, even her hand would not be able to reach up in time to take the blow for her. Panicked thoughts came rushing through her mind.

C'mon, there has to be a way! Some way to get out of this. Damnit.. I don't want to die!

Scaramouche's blade was inches away from her eye when a gust of icy wind knocked him several feet away from her. As if reacting to Iris' desire to survive, an ancient, ice crusted tome materialized to her side as the wind surrounding her continued to intensify.

A catalyst? Iris had never seen the Tsaritsa's weapon of choice before, but she would have to think about it later. Right now she has her life to worry about. She wasn't sure how it was possible, but somehow, controlling her power came to her instinctually, as if she had been in battle countless times before, perhaps another benefit of possessing the body of a God?

The cold wind surrounding her quickly developed into a raging blizzard, stopping Scaramouche dead in his tracks as he crouched and held onto the ground so as to not get blown away. Iris' heart was still racing and in fear that Scaramouche would continue to attack her, she amped up her power even further.

Suddenly instead of raging blizzard, her icy winds erupted, forming a massive tornado of frost engulfing the entire garden and swirling upwards into the clouds. Scaramouch continued to hold on for dear life and in his eyes was something Iris never thought she would see from the stoic harbinger.

Fear.

"Nrrrrgh!" Scaramouche grunted in pain, as the temperature in the garden rapidly dropped. Certain parts of his skin were beginning to freeze. Crusty ice began to form in areas not covered by clothing. Seeing that keeping up her assault would eventually cause permanent damage, Iris decided to cease the storm.

The cold winds died down until they were no more and all that was left was a harbinger on his knees, hissing in pain and desperate for warmth.

"Holy shit... Did I really just do that?" Iris couldn't help but admire her own power as her catalyst faded into golden dust.

Before she could even address her defeated foe, a squad of fatui agents burst into the scene with Tartaglia and Signora following from behind, worried expressions on their faces.

"Almighty Tsaritsa! Are you alright!? We felt the surging of your power throughout the estate!" Signora exclaimed looking side to side for hostiles.

"Looks like the garden is going to need some work…" Tartaglia commented upon seeing the state of the place. Most of the plant life had been frozen solid and even the stone walls were covered with frost.

"Err.. Well.. This was-" Iris began, thinking of a way to gently explain the situation before she was cut off.

"This was all my doing." Scaramouche got on his feet, still wobbling.

The other two harbingers glared at him with mild contempt sparking within their eyes.

"Explain." Signora's voice held a deathly quality to it.

"I doubted the Tsaritsa's identity and believed her to be an impostor based on her recent decisions and behavior. Her overwhelming power in battle… proved me wrong. No one but the Tsaritsa herself could have bested me that easily." Scaramouche looked to the ground looking uncharacteristically ashamed of his actions.

"So you attacked our ruler based on some hunch you had? You really are an idiot…" Signora pinched the bridge of her nose as she tried her best not to lose her cool.

"Such an act is unforgivable... " Tartaglia clenched his fist, glaring with eyes filled with rage at his fellow harbinger. "Your grace, allow me to finish what you started and be rid of this swine."

It was true that she didn't appreciate what Scaramouche tried to do, but killing him wouldn't change much. On the contrary it would only deprive her of a useful asset. She had to handle her next move with care however, Being too forgiving may make others more suspicious.

"That won't be necessary Tartaglia." Iris waved him off as she regarded Scaramouche. "I understand why you might have been suspicious, but you could have just asked."

Scaramouche's gaze remained fixed to the ground as he spoke, "I will accept any punishment your grace."

"Then hand over your vision."

Without thinking twice, Scaramouche unstrapped his vision from his side and offered it up to the Archon. At least he was loyal when he wasn't suspecting anything.

"I'll consider giving this back once you prove your loyalty."

"Of course, your grace…"

Signora could not resist commenting from the side. "I would've just gotten rid of the arrogant brat, but I'm sure the almighty Tsaritsa knows what she's doing."

Iris flashed her a smug smile. "I don't mind giving him a second chance. He was never even a threat to me."

A huge lie.

"Still... this does put a wench in my plans." Iris muttered, "I suppose this means that it will just be Tartaglia and I on our journey to meet the traveller… Signora I entrust Scaramouche's rehabilitation to you. You may decide when it is appropriate to return his vision."

At that, Signora grew a nasty smile. "Of course your grace, leave it to me."

Scaramouche's pained expression almost made Iris feel sorry for him. She could've taken him along despite what he did but in truth she wasn't comfortable at all being with someone who had just tried to drive a sword through her brain.

Evening had come and Iris was on a balcony connected to her bedchambers, playing around with her catalyst. It was quite a beautiful looking book. If only she could understand what was written on it… Ever since she had summoned the thing in her earlier encounter with Scaramouche, she had no problems getting it to materialize again. There were a lot of interesting things she could do with ice, like create small sculptures and snowflakes. Her control over Cryo was unnaturally precise and came so naturally, it was as if she had been doing it all her life.

Tartaglia was probably working on the preparations for their upcoming journey. Honestly she was feeling rather excited. The idea of travelling through Teyvat with an experienced and admittedly handsome bodyguard to act as a tour guide seemed pretty fun.

She planned to get some more practice with her abilities, but it could wait. For now she needed some rest. After all, she did just come back from a near death experience.

She'd be sailing off to Liyue in a few days. A part of her wondered how exactly she'd handle her meeting with Aether.


I decided to make Iris a catalyst user just because there isn't a Cryo catalyst character in the game yet. As for Scaramouche's element and weapon, I seriously had no idea.