CHAPTER 20:

PREPARATIONS

Sumeru City was filled with as much hustle and bustle as Port Ormos. True, Harry had only been here briefly to save Nahida, but now, here he was, striding through the city, escorting them, though he and Nahida politely refused an Akasha Terminal, as did Venti and Zhongli. Aether, Paimon, and Sirius accepted them, though, and spent some time going through the features. Aether and Paimon also went to register with the local Katheryne.

They soon found themselves at the Homayani pied-a-terre in Sumeru City, a couple of Blazing Beasts members stationed outside. As they had contacted Dunyarzad and Dehya well in advance, they were waved through. And they found those two in the drawing room of the residence…though they were not alone.

Cyno was present, albeit standing in the corner, away from the others present. He acknowledged them with a nod, even as he peered at the more unfamiliar newcomers curiously. There was a young woman too, with red hair, blue eyes, and wearing what looked like a belly-dancer's outfit with a horned headdress.

"…The Akademiya allow it?" the redhead asked.

Cyno sighed. "I have been given orders to keep an eye on any potential disruptions, along with the Corps of Thirty, but to my surprise, the Sages don't seem set on shutting down the Sabzeruz Festival. Though I'm sure they would take any excuse to do so."

Harry cleared his throat gently, and Dunyarzad looked up, though Dehya had seen them come in already. "Harry!" Dunyarzad yelped. "Nahida!" She got up and hurried over, Dehya not far behind, the Homayani woman giving them both a hug apiece. "Oh, and who are these people? I recognise Aether and Paimon from my cousin's photographs, but these are…?"

"This is Venti, a bard of Mondstadt, this is Zhongli, a consultant working for the Wangsheng Funeral Parlour in Liyue, now travelling with us, and this is Sirius Black," Aether said.

Zhongli bowed. "A pleasure to meet you, Dunyarzad Homayani. Believe it or not, I met your parents in passing when they were in Liyue during a previous Rite of Descension some years ago, not long after their wedding."

Dunyarzad nodded, before frowning. "You must've been a child when…oh. In any case, Nilou, has Sheikh Zubayr have everything he needs for the festivities?"

"Not yet, but I am told the items will arrive shortly before the Sabzeruz Festival proper begins. If anything happens, we'll let you know." Nilou, the redhead, curtseyed to them. "By your leave, Lady Homayani."

"We'll come to Zubayr Theatre soon, see how things are going!" Dunyarzad said, waving her off. "And don't be so stiff, Nilou, I'm not like those hidebound fossils in the Akademiya!"

Nilou chuckled. "That's for sure. Well, see you later, then."

"Who was that again?" Harry asked after Nilou left.

"Nilou, star dancer and performer of the Zubayr Theatre," Nahida supplied. "And I presume one of the key performers in the festivities you're organising?"

Dunyarzad nodded. "While I do believe she could be trusted with your true identity, I think she would be nervous about the Dendro Archon herself being in the audience. She'd get stage fright, even though normally, that wouldn't happen. Now, I think we'd best get introductions out of the way, because I have the feeling our guests are more than they seem, especially with Harry's long-deceased godfather turning up…"

There was some shock on the side of Dunyarzad, Dehya and Cyno on learning the identities of the two newly-arrived Archons, though it got even worse when Harry revealed what they had learned. Dehya and Cyno, however, shared a significant look when Rahman was mentioned. "I thought better of Rahman than to go after those poor bastards," Dehya muttered, as Dunyarzad cuddled Paimon, the pixie-like being enjoying the attention.

"You know him?" Harry asked.

"He was an associate of my father's, before I fell out with my father," Dehya said. "Yeah, he's a King Deshret fanatic, but I didn't think he was quite as bad as a lot of the Ayn Al-Ahmar groups out there."

"Agreed," Cyno said. "Rahman is too often a person of interest in the Matra's investigations, yes, along with his followers, but not as much as some others I could mention. Unless…he has somehow some inkling that that is Lord Rukkhadevata within the Village Keepers."

"Which would be bad," Dehya said. "Still, to think that the infamous Aether and Paimon have arrived in Sumeru, along with two former Archons. Interesting times lie ahead."

"Interesting in the cursed sense of the term. Especially if Candace's contact is correct and Il Dottore is here, not to mention your suspicions of the Balladeer being here," Cyno said. "That being said, I have news to report myself. Recently, I discovered a dearth of information added regarding a project. What little that was reported did not match the actual progress. I intended to request an audit…only to learn that Azar was the one who entered the data. A personal investigation seemed to indicate evidence being concealed and withheld from me. I then submitted a formal audit request. Azar rejected it the moment he read it. The power of the General Mahamatra is granted by the Sages, he told me. You have no right to judge us."

"Bastard," Harry muttered. "But it confirms that he and the Sages are up to something, right?"

Cyno nodded. "It confirmed what we already suspected. We Matra take our vows seriously, but that means nothing to the Akademiya of today. For now, I am working on the investigation privately, while publicly, I am acting to ensure the Sabzeruz Festival goes smoothly. I find it suspicious that the Sages are allowing it to happen with little hindrance. I believe they hope to find and entrap Nahida. However, if my investigation doesn't progress much further in the future, I may have to resign my post and exile myself, at least publicly."

"Cyno, may I tell you something?" Nahida asked. When the General Mahamatra nodded, she said, "I heard the Sages speaking about something they can use the Akasha System for. They boasted of being able to predict, within certain parameters, behaviour of people by using the Akasha System for computation. Through a combination of psychological profiling and stochastic analysis, as well as the algorithms already present, they can predict a person's actions to some degree through computation. And knowing the Sages, while they did not mention anything within my earshot, it's possible that they may have entered various elements of your behaviour and routine into the Akasha System. It does not mean they can predict your every move, but…"

"They can certainly predict my most likely courses of action," Cyno hissed in horrified realisation.

"Exactly. It would require a small but significant portion of the Akasha System's resources to run, though," Nahida pointed out. "They could not do this for every person in Sumeru, or even some of them, but perhaps a couple of dozen persons of interest could be computed that would ensure they have enough computing power to spare for the everyday usage of the Akasha System…and you would be one of the people they would definitely keep an eye on."

"…Son of a bitch," Dehya breathed. "Hey, Nahida, could they do that with you?"

Nahida shook her head. "Until Harry rescued me, I had taken no action in physical reality, and the Sages seemed unaware of my sojourns into dream realities. They would need data of my behaviour for such a thing to work. In some ways, our influence could change the effectiveness of their tracking Cyno's behaviour, as not only is he aware of my true identity, but he has been made privy to other things he normally would not, possibly changing his behaviour and making it less likely for them to predict that with accuracy. Like a rock dropped in a pond, the ripples changing unpredictably. That being said, there is a way that they could deduce my behaviour. They could look at the activity logs of the Katheryne gynoid at the Adventurers' Guild."

"The Fidelius should prevent them from identifying her, I hope," Harry said.

Aether frowned. "But there's also the Harbingers to consider, Il Dottore and Scaramouche."

"Agreed. If one or both are collaborating with the Sages, then we are in trouble," Cyno said. "In any case, thank you, Nahida, for the timely warning. I must confess, though…I did overhear a couple of days ago that Alhaitham had been assigned to investigate Aether and his allies upon coming to Sumeru. For now, though, he seems content to investigate Divine Knowledge Capsules in Port Ormos. But the Sages have their eyes on you, Aether."

"…Story of my life," Aether muttered.

Cyno soon left, and the motley group sat in the house while a couple of servants laid out some tea for the newcomers. There was also some confectionary, to Paimon's delight. In fact, there were Candied Ajilenakh Nuts, which Nahida and Dehya took one of apiece.

"So, how's preparations going, Dunyarzad?" Harry asked.

"On track for now," Dunyarzad said with a smile, one that fell off her lips. "In fact, perhaps a little too well. Despite what the General Mahamatra claimed, I'm still worried that the Sages will shut it down anyway. Their disdain for the arts in general, and for the Sabzeruz Festival in particular, is well known. Still, there's some interesting figures coming here. Recently, a Melusine artist from Fontaine by the name of Mamere came here. And she isn't the only Fontaine artist to come here. I reached out for a stage magician duo who had been making waves recently. Originally, they declined, but then, they sent word they were coming here."

Nahida's eyes widened. "Do you mean Lyney and Lynette?"

Dunyarzad nodded. Venti whistled. "I've heard of them myself. They only recently made a splash on the stage of Fontaine, pun unintended, performing at the Opera Epiclese. They're coming all the way to Sumeru?"

"So it seems," Dunyarzad said.

"A good stage magic trick is a testament of the skill of the magician," Nahida said. "While magic can be used without Visions, albeit amongst a rare minority of people, rarer than Vision wielders, stage magic uses both natural ability and rigorous preparations and contrivances. In addition, distraction and utilisation of behavioural prejudices allow them to do what is seemingly impossible. Even if they are not actual magic, they are still admirable performances." Nahida smiled. "I actually find it interesting to consider hypotheses about how they do tricks."

"I wonder why they changed their minds?" Sirius asked.

Il Dottore sighed as he took the call, so to speak. He had a means of communicating between his various iterations, who were scattered across much of Teyvat, though many of them were currently in Sumeru. However, he had one of his iterations in Fontaine, and said iteration was now in conversation with Arlecchino. Indeed, said iteration had allowed him, albeit reluctantly, to take the helm so he could speak with the Knave more or less directly.

Which was just as well, as he had heard some rather annoying news. "And why, may I ask, did you make this decision?"

Arlecchino peered at him with her dark eyes with strange crimson crosses in their depths. She was a beautiful woman, but it was a hard beauty. "I did not make it lightly. However, the Homayani woman did send a letter requesting Lyney and Lynette's services. As I do not require said services for now, as our plans in Fontaine are still ripening, I gave them permission to head over there. In addition, despite your iterations swarming all over Sumeru, you are yet to report finding our wayward Balladeer or the Dendro Archon."

"…I would be very careful with my words if I were you, Arlecchino," Il Dottore said in a low, dangerous tone. "If I did not know any better, I would say you were hinting at my being treasonous. And yet, you have requested from the Tsaritsa and Pierro that you be allowed to use Focalors' Gnosis prior to delivering it to Snezhnaya. Allegedly to save Fontaine, but I'm surprised you have any love left for your former homeland."

Arlecchnio scoffed. "My plans and intentions for Fontaine are irrelevant to you. And any intelligence that Lyney and Lynette uncover regarding our mission in Sumeru will be promptly shared with you, Doctor. They may be of help tracking down your wayward Dendro Archon as well. Lesser Lord Kusanali may be attracted to a performance of considerable skill and wonder."

Il Dottore nodded, conceding that point. Still, he rankled at having another Harbinger effectively muscle in on his turf. Though to be fair, at least Arlecchino had a keen mind and an unfettered will. She deserved some respect for that.

But his plans for Scaramouche and the Electro Gnosis were about to reach a critical phase. The main construction work was long since complete, and Scaramouche had been installed in the framework of the new god, the Shouki no Kami, created by human wisdom. But the Akasha System needed to be used to find a way to extract the power from the Gnosis and create a divine core for their artificial deity.

While he didn't think this was an overt powerplay from his fellow Harbinger, he knew better than to trust Arlecchino. Few of the Harbingers truly trusted one another, and the demise of La Signora, who had been something of a friend to Arlecchino, had been a sore point with the Knave, if only because she was annoyed by how Pantalone and Pulcinella stayed at home, seemingly safe. Not that Snezhnaya was really that safe, given its politics and its climate.

And she was something of a hypocrite, turning urchins and orphans into spies and assassins. She showered them with displays of love and care, and then turned them into agents to subvert and slay. She claimed to love them, and yet, she turned them into weapons. Oh, Il Dottore understood and applauded such ruthless pragmatism. But she had the gall to look down on most others within the Harbingers. Il Dottore did so as well, but he at least could acknowledge that it would be considered hypocritical. Besides, he was the Second Harbinger, acknowledged not by himself, but by Pierro. He had earned that position, and would continue to earn it, along with the privileges it had granted him. And some Johnny-come-lately like the Knave had the gall to look down on him?

However, Il Dottore had not gotten to where he was today without knowing when to yield. And there was the possibility of those magician twins perishing by a suitable…accident. A shame, really. He'd gone to see a few of their shows with one of his iterations, and it was quite enjoyable, even if it took him mere minutes to vivisect each trick and discern how they were carried out.

But he could not and would not brook any interference in his plans. If they did, then he would arrange an accident, as a lesson to Arlecchino. The Father of the House of the Hearth should know her place…which was beneath him. She could prove otherwise, and he would be fine with that, as long as it was not by interfering in his plans. Honestly, he wished she would make the mistake of rousing Columbina's ire. If she survived the experience, it would humble her a tad.

But interfering in his plans was not something he would brook as her superior. If her little pets made that mistake, they would bitterly regret it. Along with her…

CHAPTER 20 ANNOTATIONS:

So, here's the next chapter. And a little twist has come into play: Arlecchino has sent Lyney and Lynette to Sumeru. This is something I only decided upon playing the Fontaine update and witnessing part of the Archon Quest's story. But I feel this may work.

Now, there's a few reasons for that. Firstly, as much as I hate them for being Fatui agents, Lyney and Lynette are interesting characters who could provoke some conflict within the good guys, so to speak. Secondly, as magicians, they'd actually fit in well in the entertainments at the Sabzeruz Festival. Thirdly, I think having them end up trapped in the Dream Samsara might be interesting. Fourthly…well, we can also have some conflict between the Harbingers. Arlecchino seems to have little love lost for Pantalone and Pulcinella in that Harbinger-centric trailer prior to Sumeru. I honestly think that, upon learning of the Dendro Archon being missing, she decided to allow Lyney and Lynette to travel to Sumeru to keep an eye on Il Dottore. She's looking for a chance to slip a knife between his ribs. Given how she's treated as someone to be scared of by even Tartaglia and Scaramouche, well, it's not a bad idea.

I'm not sure when the next chapter will be out, but I'm probably going to finish the first two acts of Fontaine's Archon Quest before then.

Review-answering time! : The Melusine? Adorable. And I normally wouldn't say that about creatures that are apparently humanoid sea slugs. But they're so adorable and huggable.

patrickregaldo: I decided otherwise, but with restrictions similar to that in the game. They need to 'register' a person first, and the Teleport Monuments and Statues of the Seven can only teleport small groups of people at any one time. And the Traveller travels by foot because, well, it's logical if they haven't activated any Monuments in the area.

WearyCurmudgeon: Paimon isn't trying to be malicious or deliberately hurtful there. While she is quite self-centred, I'm also of the opinion that, unlike many in the fandom who believe her to be the Unknown God (Asmoday) in disguise or the Unknown God's progeny, Paimon is not evil. Self-centred and needy, yes, childish and petulant, yes, and prone to moments of petty cruelty (like extorting Kaveh for hush money), yes. But evil? Not at all. I'm actually of the opinion that she's one of the deities overthrown by Celestia in the past, or else an exile from Celestia. And given how she seems to have links to stars, and there's an overarching theme of the skies of Teyvat being fake, I think she may be a celestial deity who got fucked over by Celestia.

But back to your point. Paimon wasn't trying to compare miserable pasts, at least not consciously. She was pointing out that, even from the beginning, Harry had Nahida to comfort him. Paimon has been alone for a long time. In the Sumeru chapter, during the Samsara chapters, Paimon displays a lot of distress at being left alone by the Traveller when they experimented with what would happen if someone managed to leave Sumeru City. One of her card game cards, The Bestest Travel Companion, says, "You might be only one of countless stars, but you are Paimon's whole world!"

In other words, before meeting the Traveller, Paimon was lonely. And she hates being alone. And while she can be fun to tease at times, I think she has a potentially very tragic backstory that has affected her deeply, even if she can't remember it. I mean, at least one fanfic has posited that she has been abused by people for fun, which would actually explain a lot.

jiongu-naruto: I…haven't heard such a song. But aside from the usual 'fresh out of fucks to give' gag, I also based what Venti did on what the Doctor did while imitating Roman musician Maximus Petullion in the Doctor Who story The Romans. Inspired by The Emperor's New Clothes and unable to play the lyre to save his life, the Doctor mimed playing the harp for Nero and his dinner guests, claiming only people of refinement would be able to hear the notes.

No numbered annotations this time.