GOD OF CONTRACTS

Meeting zhongli… With venti!

Aether and Venti are already together here

This is not close in time to the other chapters(after them)

A message came to them one day. It arrived at the main door of their home in the middle of the day. The Twins did not often get mail, instead preferring people to come right to them if they had need of something. Of the two, only Lumine had ever been approached. Aether was loved by all, but was also distant from the people. He was the one the people worshipped. The one everyone wanted to see, but nobody had the courage to approach. When he led classes, or offered people help, however, the classes were full. It would take days for him to help everyone on his list.

The message was left on the table, unopened, for hours. The Twins were out. They had organized a festival today, celebrating the city's endurance and wishes for the future. There were many games going on, and children running in the streets.

In the middle of the city was a large green. Vendors had set up stalls there, and children flew kites. Lumine and Aether had gathered a group of children, and were teaching them games from their own homeworld. Lumine was trying her best to get the kids into a circle.

"Okay! Let's teach you all a game Aether and I loved when we were kids. It's called Duck Duck Gray Duck! You all get into a circle, sitting down, and I'll choose someone to be "it". The children giggled and all flopped down onto the grass in a pile.

Paimon came out from her extra space and joined the kids on the grass.

"Okay, who wants to be "it"? The "it" person goes around the circle tapping people on the head while saying duck, duck, duck, with every person they tap. Until the "it" person says "gray duck". If the "it" person says "gray duck" when they tap on you, then you stand up and run around the group in a circle. Try to run around the circle before the "it" person can tag you. Aether and I will demonstrate."

Lumine and Aether demonstrated a game. Soon the children were climbing all over each other as they played. It made the Twins smile to watch. They had loved this game as children, and had played it whenever they could in summer. The Twins and their friends had been inseparable, little terrors running around the palace disturbing the adults. The day they had become too old for such games had been a sad one. Their father had come to them and taken Aether away, saying he needed to learn how to become a king.

Aether had come back to their room holding in tears. As soon as he saw Lumine he had collapsed into her arms. She had held him for what seemed like hours. The next day, the Twins had said goodbye to their friends and left. He had told her everything their father had told him. They had decided never to return home. They had cousins, one of them could take up the throne in Aether's stead. The two children had been young then. It had been ages since they had forgotten their father's name, which world was their home, they had even forgotten exactly how long they had been traveling. They were free. Free from the bonds of duty. And they did not regret it. Their friends would be grown now, probably wouldn't even remember them, and their father would have passed on. He had already been planning on doing so when they left. Their world was used to change. This one was not. It needed help.

Tevat′s gods were young and inexperienced. The people worshipped tyrants in the sky. This world was still young. It was still learning balance.

So the Twins organized celebrations, they taught the people how to survive. They readied them in case the gods of Teyvat could not raise this world into a paradise.

The Twins made sure the children got the general gist of the game and moved on, helping merchants set up stalls and carts. Aether was better at this sort of thing, so Lumine entertained the patrons with a clowny act. She did flips and twists, and made starry illusions appear before the viewer's eyes. She drew quite the crowd while she waited for Aether to finish helping the merchants set up. When he was done they went to the center of the square. Lumine welcomed everyone and officially declared today the Festival of Lasting Peace.

;

Lumine and Aether were exhausted. It had been a very long day out in the sun. The day had been a nice time to take a break and enjoy everything they had put so much effort into. Sadly, they had just been putting off work until the night. Lumine sat at her desk and started writing a list of everything needed to be done.

We don't have enough raw materials (silk, wood, salt) How to fix?

Need an easier way to get water from the lake to city

Housing, food, check up on people's well being

Revise trading terms with Wandering Folk?

Meet with Archons Geo, Pyro, and Dendro.

Set up trade with the nations? Mondstadt has wood…

Lumine had Aether come over and look over the list. He added a few more notes.

Start a mining operation? Stone for homes instead of wood?

Need a more efficient farming method in the awful soil

The people spent lots of time working their farms so that they could survive the driest seasons. Not that it was ever wet in Sternenlicht… Aether and Lumine wanted to make it easier for them to get food. Perhaps then they could expand and establish connections with the main world? Maybe they would have more time with their families…

Lumine yawned and Aether decided she had worked enough for the night. He dragged her to bed, promising they would work on the list the next morning. Lumine gave in. Her big brother could be very insistent when it came to resting and health.

;

Aether was reading a letter when she woke up. He grinned and tossed Lumine the note.

"I think we should go. You can negotiate your trade routes too. We get to meet his best friend and help our home grow."

The letter was on soft, pliable paper. Lumine recognized the handwriting. It was Barbatos', of course Aether wanted to go. The letter was short, and jolly.

Hola mi amor! I'm going to meet my buddy next week! You should come, you wanted to meet the Geo Archon anyway right? Oh, and you can bring your sister if you want :)

Your most wonderful boyfriend, the one and only Anemo Archon

Lumine looked at Aether "You're teaching him Spanish?"

Aether smiled happily. "He asked me to teach him a language from another world. I think he wants to be able to sing in another language to impress more people and get more wine. I promised to teach him some traditional songs in Spanish too".

Lumine imagined Barbatos singing and dancing in a sombrero. She couldn't wait for him to be fluent in the language. She would eagerly await the inevitable performance Venti would put in for them. Now however, she needed to fulfill her duty as a sibling and embarrass Aether.

"Or you just want him to know another language so the two of you can tell each other scandalous things in public hmm? The love between the two of you has no boundaries."

Aether's face turned pink. He hadn't expected Lumine to make a joke about language learning. Though he should have, Lumine found a way to joke about everything. Especially if it embarrassed Aether. She had unlimited ways to embarrass him.

"W-well. We are agreed on meeting Barbatos' friend?"

"Yes brother, we are. Maybe the two of you can get married while we're there. Finally get it over with. Married in the nation of contracts and commerce. Then you can get a place to live and I'll never have to deal with your love sickness ever again. I can only hope."

Aether choked and lunged at Lumine.

"Lumine! Don't joke about that! We're still too young to marry!"

Lumine giggled and wiggled out from where Aether had pinned her. She was having fun with this, and Aether needed some prodding, he hadn't been riled up in a while.

"You do know that the average lifespan of the people here is about 70 years right? So you're… at least 8,000 years older? And that Venti is like… at least a few hundred years older than 70?"

Lumine and Aether had been traveling for millenia, but by the standards of their own people were still young. They may even still be considered children if they went home in the next 6,000 years. Lumine and Aether had stopped counting their age thousands of years ago, but they still knew that they were older than this entire world. The fact that Aether still thought he was too young to marry made Lumine laugh. He was more than old enough. Their people often married extremely young and lived with each other for their whole lives.

;

It was a cloudy day when Aether and Lumine set off for Mondstadt. They had agreed to meet up with Barbatos beforehand. They did not know where to go, after all.

Barbatos was waiting for them by the statue where they had first met. He was performing for a reasonably sized crowd. The song he sang was in a language the Twins did not know. They assumed it was Old Mondstadtian. The song he sang was a somber ballad. It was likely about the history of Mondstadt. He gave no sign of noticing the twins, but when he was done dismissed the crowd with a plea for wine or mora. He jumped up to where the twins were waiting.

"Welcome travelers! Shall we head off to Liyue? I can show you the way. I'll bring my old buddy Morax a bottle of wine. My dear friends, how are you? Because I am feeling quite fine."

Lumine focused on ignoring the bad rhymes and understanding what he was saying. Barbatos rhymed more when he was excited she had noticed.

"Where are we going Bar- uuh. Should I say that in public? It seemed like you didn't want didn't want to be noticed the last time we were here. Anyway though, please lead the way to our rendezvous."

Barbatos looked a little surprised. He had not yet told the twins what he went by in public? Whaaaaat?! That was normally the first thing he did! Though his oversight could perhaps, be blamed on the beauty of Aether. His long golden hair, his sparkling eyes, his careful smile… Ehem, he should be taking them to Liyue, not pining for someone he already had. It would not do for Lumine to notice his distraction, she could be quite the devil when it came to their relationship.

"Hehe, you can call me Venti! Winner of the Best Bard of Mondstadt competition three years running! Let's get heading off to Liyue now, best not keep ol' Rexie waiting! We… erm… need to go… uhhh… south maybe? Or was it West… I think it was South! If we get so lost we never find it, Morax will send someone to come get us! To Liyue!"

;

They made it to Liyue in short order. Despite Venti's original uncertainty of where they were going. He had remembered the path as they had gone, and it was a nice day so he could see far into the distance. Aether and Lumine followed along happily. It was a very nice day so they didn't mind wandering a bit.

Venti regaled them with stories as they went. He was very proud of Mondstadt, and all they had accomplished. He told them about the revolution, and his little bard friend. The twins were intrigued at that little bit of magic. They forced him to tell them how they did it. He quickly explained it and soon the twins were switching between forms as if they had done it their whole lives.

Venti was amazed. It had cost him a huge amount of energy to form this body. And here, in the twins, was a seemingly never ending stream of energy. It wasn't elemental energy either. He did not recognize it. Venti would have to ask Aether later. Once they were out of earshot of his sister. That lady was FIERCE. He didn't even know why… it wasn't a protective sort of fierce either. She simply teased them constantly if they were at all affectionate in public.

But that was later. Right now, the twins were blowing his mind. Well, mostly Aether. He wasn't really watching Lumine. Aether was beautiful in every form. If he turned into a phoenix, his feathers were the color of the sun and glowed even more. A dragon, and his scales shone brighter than every star in the sky. He grinned, and his normally clothlike wings morphed into feathery ones. Venti's mind blanked. Aether's wings were the most beautiful thing he had ever seen, sure. But these new ones, they were huge, and the color of cream, and they looked so soft, and he was sure Aether knew exactly what he was thinking because of that smirk. Aether loved teasing just as much as his sister. He just did it less. If the two of them ever teamed up Venti was doomed to death by spontaneous combustion. The twins just worked like that.

Aether flew a little ahead to enjoy the scenery. Venti had learned that he loved mountainous terrain, and he wouldn't be lying if he said he was just a little jealous from the look on Aether's face as he flew among the stone pillars. He was lucky Zhongli wasn't the romantic type. Aether was the type of person anyone could fall in love with, even if he wasn't your "type". But Zhongli had the personality of granite. And speaking of Zhongli, they were almost there.

;

The meeting place was high atop a mountain. Lumine tried to hide how impressed she was by the beauty and majesty of this place. A table was laid out with food and drink. This must be the table Barbatos had told them the Archons often met at. Being welcomed at this same table was an honor to the twins. They were often met with hostility, or treated as simple nuisances. It pleased Lumine that Barbatos had chosen such a friend as this. He had only announced that he would be bringing visitors last minute, and yet they were met with kindness and welcome.

Morax himself was seated at the table facing away from them. As they landed he stood and walked toward them. He was tall, with long brown hair cascading down his back. He wore a long brown overcoat, with perfectly stitched embellishments. He seemed ready for when Venti launched himself into his arms. He only smiled softly and returned the embrace. He looked over the Archon in his arms to the twins where they stood back a bit to give the two a bit of privacy.

"Please, honored guests. Come sit and dine. Barbatos can take care of introductions. It has been a while since I saw him, if you would fill me in on what he has been doing it would be much appreciated." He frowned a little. "Drinking himself to oblivion no doubt."

Venti squawked a protest and Aether shot him a look. It was true that he had drunk quite a lot as of late, and Morax knew it.

Lumine already found that she liked this man. He could put up with Venti, seemed to be very patient, and had been incredibly welcoming to them. In other words, the perfect business partner with which to set up a trade route.

However, it was best to be polite first. She valued kindness nearly as much as she loved her people. Which was to say, she would fly to a thousands worlds to make sure they were safe. She may not lord over her people, but they were still her and Aether's responsibility. They would always step in and take the reins if the city needed it. Saying this however, the twins were not as lax as Barbatos. They had set rules for their people. They were present in day to day life. And they were able to meet with Archons to make plans to help their city.

She waited a proper amount of time before mentioning the business side of the reason they had come. Morax responded with curiosity, and they got to bargaining. Aether piped up and pointed out whenever he noticed something not quite balanced between the sides. And Barbatos entertained them while they talked. He did not show much interest, but Lumine knew he was listening just as intently as the negotiators. Venti was new to this kind of thing, and watching Morax work was a great way to learn how to deal with the other gods of Teyvat. And so even whimsical Barbatos listened to Morax when it was in his best interests.

;

It took hours, but eventually a path of action was decided upon. The twins would use their powers to create devices that allowed humans to travel large distances in a matter of minutes. They had gotten the idea for the devices from their home, where many similar contraptions were utilized. The devices, called waypoints, would be placed at strategic locations around the world. Month long pilgrimages would be possible to complete in under a day. And they required no maintenance once they were made. They could last millenia, and it took godlike power to destroy them.

With the waypoints, merchants would be able to reach the oasis city of Sternenlicht without having to brave the deadly Mare Jivari. Business would be able to thrive, and the people of Sternenlicht would have even more materials with which to craft wonders worth entire houses in the nations. The excursion had been a success. They had helped their people, and made a new friend in Morax.

-;-