Chapter Three
Time Attack
It was official.
Paperwork was of the Abyss.
Varka growled frustratedly as he worked at the admittedly – to him at least – vast stack that sat next to the other two on the left of his desk, with the other side covered by two finished stacks and various books and articles he used for cross-reference. He'd been going at it for… it had to be close to six hours at this point. Having been forcefully risen from his bed before the morning sun had even begun its arc, the angle of natural light coming through the windows of the Grandmaster Quarters indicating it was now close to noon and he still wasn't even half done. Varka groaned, leaning back in his chair as he tiredly realized it would take to the end of the day to finish the rest of it. Maybe longer if more came in.
"It's got to be from the Abyss..." He muttered to himself while rubbing at his eyes. "It must be! No one can like the blasted stuff, yet we're forced to deal with it anyways! It's the little monster we can never win against!"
Of course, the more rational part of his mind took the moment to restate for what was likely the thousandth time how such things were what allowed societies and communities to function. And how such things ran about as well as the person with authority over it. And that ignoring his work for the last week until they were right on the borderline of running out of provisions and leaving route patrols unfilled and missions unattended for the other knights in multiple areas around Mondstadt, to say nothing about the city proper, probably wasn't the best of his ideas.
…The less said about that, the better in his opinion.
Varka sighed, slouching in his chair briefly and getting back to work. After he finished this stack, maybe he could grab a bite to eat from the cafeteria upstairs. Hopefully, there was still something left…
He was about a third of the way through them – mostly a detailed warning of increased Hilichurl activity in Dadaupa Gorge that led to a few skirmishes between them and the knights, along with a request for an increase in personnel at said location to completely to cull some of their numbers and drive them off – when there was a knock at his door.
"Enter!" He didn't even pause in his process. The door creaked open, and Varka heard more than saw two people walk into his office. Only once he completely read through did he look up to find Raymond, who himself had recently reached knighthood a few months ago. A good man, focused and determined to do his duty. With some experience under his belt, he would go far.
"Sir!" Raymond went into a crisp salute, and Varka idly noted some whiskers starting to grow out in his chin.
"At ease." Varka's voice rumbled calmly, only continuing when Raymond relaxed. "Now, is there anything to report?"
Raymond nodded, stepping out of the way, and gesturing for Reese, one of the sisters of the Church of Favonius, to step forward. Upon a more critical glance, he noted the wrinkles and crinkles in her face and habit. What was more telling was her expression, with clear worry writ upon it. And the bags under her eyes suggested she'd been mulling over something all night. Possibly longer.
"Sister Reese." Varka nodded to her, and his brows furrowed when she flinched, apparently torn from her thoughts as she hurried to do the same. "You appear to be distressed. Is there something I can assist you with?"
"Y-yes, Grandmaster Varka. I apologize, I'm… a little out of sorts." Sister Reese replied meekly, a tiny flush of pink on her cheeks.
"Please, take your time to gather yourself. There is no rush." He raised a hand in placation, putting on a friendly smile to help her relax. True to form – and much to Raymond's jealousy, which was minutely amusing. The lad had been vying for another's attention for weeks, but they, much like many others, only had eyes for Varka – her cheeks and ears turned that much redder. "Feel free to begin when you're ready."
She nodded, fanning herself and working to get the blush and fluster under control.
He swore it was the suit. Armor with the black and green cape and gold wolf pauldrons, one of which had his Anemo Vision embossed in its eye, with black fur along the top probably made him look akin to the Grandmaster everyone considered him to be. The Wolves' tail and similarly black and gold armor and additional green accents probably made it worse.
Varka made a note to start going out in the standard gear with the full helm on in future days. With luck, it would eventually curb the enthusiasm the female population had over the vaunted "Knight of Boreas", preferably before the boys launched a coup against him in revenge.
"It happened last night…" His eyes, which had wandered during his musings, snapped back to her as she started, her expression back to being pensive. "Myself and the other members of the church were doing our standard duties. Nothing too out of the ordinary. But around the evening a young boy, no older than eleven or twelve, entered the church."
The expressions of the knights became more and more serious as she went. Varka's brows furrowing as a hand rubbed at his chin.
A child, of all people, looking as worn and ragged as their clothing, with bandages clear across his body. Entering the church for Wishes. Something only feasible had you made significant achievements out in the wilds to receive them from their gods; whether this be from fighting enemies or discovering secrets from lost and forgotten places, or more. That a child would even need such things in the first place was…
"And you're certain?" Raymond politely inquired, and quite reasonably taken aback at the knowledge of- "A-an honest to gods child is living out in the wilds?!"
"It is not as hard to believe as you think it is, Raymond." Varka stated, face solemn. "Teyvat is a vast place, and it isn't so improbable to believe that people could go missing or found dead, let alone entire towns. For most children, they would simply be taken in by relatives or, in the unfortunate case of not having any, the town in which they live. But… if this has even extended to the point that such a place is gone, barring the possibility of them not originally coming from a town."
Raymond raised a brow. "You believe they and their family lived alone out in the wilderness?"
"If their family were of adventurer origins, yes. Or, barring that, previously part of some military function. Though that has little bearing on the now of things." He turned to Reese. "You are sure this is the case? That this child is living in the wilderness of Mondstadt?
She nodded solemnly. "Y-yes… even I found it hard to believe, but… with the way they looked and acted…" Sister Reese sighed. "You have to understand, the brothers and sisters of the church are taught to read facial expressions and body language when we are still in training. The twitching of a nervous hand, an expression of barely concealed guilt. It's most commonly used for naughty children, but more than once or twice have we discovered members of the Treasure Hoarders, coming to pray for good fortune after blowing away every Mora." Varka snorted at that. He'd seen the bedeviled reports come across his desk once every few months. "But that boy… when we talked, there was a long quiet when I asked if he was separated from his parents. As if he were choosing his words carefully."
…Okay, that worried him more than anything.
She went on as he mulled over her words in silence. "A-and his body language… it was a mess. What little I could make out was… it wasn't something you would expect from someone so young…"
"In what way, might I ask?"
She looked to him. And Varka was unnerved at the horror that colored her eyes. "Tired. Tired like some of the Knights that return after a big engagement. Broken from the things they had seen or done."
The Grandmaster would note in the future the exact moment the blood froze in his veins.
"When he looked to me, it was as if he were a man on his last legs. When he mentioned his parents had passed on, he held a look of quiet, solemn resignation. A long since worn emotion that carried over when he admitted to me that he couldn't stay at the orphanage. It was like…" She tried to find a way to word it. "It wasn't as if he did not want to trust us, but-"
He couldn't.
The child genuinely seemed to believe that he couldn't afford to put his trust in them. And any reasonable conclusion would be drawn to one thing from his actions. From how hesitant he was and how carefully he acted towards her.
Because he was being hunted.
Because to him, there was no safe space for him to go to in the city proper.
Because he didn't want to risk anyone else getting caught in the middle.
Pieces began falling into place, forming an incomplete picture in Varka's mind as she went on unimpeded. "To be honest, I had thought my mind had begun playing games with me. It seemed inconsolable that someone as little as them seemed to be going through something so dreadful, and with such a lacking response beyond drained acceptance, but…" Sister Reese took a slow breath to calm herself. "I don't know how the child managed it. How much he must have fought or explored to make three wishes…"
Raymond stared at her slack jawed, understandably gobsmacked at her declaration. "H-how in the- how would he had even gotten the Primogems for that?!"
"Three." Varka muttered, trying to digest their newest revelation with wide eyes. To achieve one at his age on his own was astounding, worthy of commendation and a recommendation to the Knights of Favonius in either case, but three? That… It just didn't happen anymore. The Grandmaster leaned back into his chair, sweat running down his face as he began rubbing at the bridge of his nose. "By Barbatos…"
"I can hardly believe it, myself." Reese was clearly beside herself, and it was obvious how long she had been fretting over this. Not that he was surprised. Besides the qualification of having a strong faith in Barbatos, let alone The Seven, another was having a strong empathy for their fellow man. It didn't matter the nation you once hailed from. If you were a living, breathing human being, you were important to them. Children even more so, considered by every soul there to be everyone's future. The fact she looked so harrowed showed. "I-I didn't know what else to do. None of the members of the church have seen him in recent days, and those I asked about the city knew less than the others did. A-and with him being covered in bandages, I could not help but ponder the possibility that he has been like this for quite some time."
It could only have been. The brothers and sisters of the church were never the kind of people to lie, even if the situation was benign in nature.
Which led to the only correct course of action. Varka slid out of his air, all semblance of mirth or whining gone, replaced with all seriousness.
"Raymond." His tone was like a brick. Something Raymond recognized as Varka being done playing around as he stood at attention. "Inform all available Captains of the details. We don't know how or why this was happening as long as it has without our notice or who to trust, so apprise them to keep this information limited to their Lieutenants, and to state to the rest that this is a missing persons case until such time as we obtain more relevant information. Additionally, you are to head to the Adventurers Guild and inform the Mondstadt Branch head as well. They and whoever they bring in to assist in the matter will be able to remain inconspicuous while they complete their own investigations."
Raymond immediately fell into a crisp salute. "Sir!"
And how could he not? This was the side of the man that most admired and wanted to grow up to become.
"We'll begin with sending a few out into Mondstadt. Ask those whom we know their affiliations to for anything pertaining to this child, while others will keep watch within the wilds. Should they spot him, they are not to actively try to converse or force him to come to us, only inform of his current whereabouts until such time as our investigation comes to an end. In the event they are attacked, you have full rights to intervene. But not a moment before then. And-!" He stopped Raymond before he could follow his command, his expression turning grim "Inform Hugo that the Knights may have a mole."
Raymond's eyes widened, the realization setting in, and his mouth set into a thin line as he nodded and left in a brisk march.
Varka walked around the table, placing a hand on her shoulder as he talked while leading her towards the entrance.
"Thank you for bringing this to our attention, Sister Reese. I promise you we will do all in our power to reach a satisfying conclusion for everyone involved. Should anyone of the church spot him, please let us know." He said in gratitude, his voice gentle.
She nodded resolutely, carrying a renewed vigor that spurred her on before she hesitated and asked "And what will you do?"
Varka grinned, for what else would he do?
"Be a Knight."
Dominic had known the risks when he made them at the church.
Clearly, he was bad at math.
He hadn't expected that they would react so quickly. Something he clearly regretted now of all times, having a grown Treasure Hoarder pinned to the dirt with a sword through his throat.
The grown man reached helplessly towards him, trying to pry his hands loose in some vain attempt to save himself. His movements growing duller and duller until they fell and his eyes rolled back.
Dominic hadn't noticed when he had started hyperventilating. His survival instincts having long since kicked into overdrive from his attackers.
Yes. Plural. Something he would be keenly reminded of as one of them managed to find him hunkering behind a rock next to a pool of water in Galesong Hill.
"WESLEY!" The man shouted, Dominic swearing to himself as he tore the weapon free of its meaty confines and bolted off to the northeast. He heard the roar of grief and anger and more felt the thumping steps as they began to chase him. "GET BACK HERE YOU LITTLE SHIT! YOU'RE GONNA PAY FOR WHAT YOU DID TO HIM!"
The part of his mind that desperately tried to ignore what he had just done idly wondered if the two were good friends as he climbed a small cliff, grabbing a small rock on his way up. Upon reaching the top, he turned and quickly beaned the other hostile in the head, getting a cry of shock as they lost their grip and fell back to the ground below.
He looked further into the distance, finding two of his compatriots running towards them in the not to far distance, likely having heard the commotion he had caused. There was little time to waste.
A quick tossing of another rock, he bolted off into the distance, crouch-running through some tall grass for a good while to hopefully throw them off his trail. Every second there, with more steps fuelled with anger and greed following behind him, would single-handedly be one of his most terrifying memories he'd ever have. The seconds that ticked by feeling like an eternity as his mind partially froze from unadulterated fear.
Eventually, he found himself along the edges of the cliffs facing towards the ocean, essentially trapping himself and forcing him to choose. Run back into the thicket, where they would probably look first upon finding nothing in the immediate vicinity. Or tear his way up into Cape Oath and leave himself with no way out and no way back.
Instead, he chose the hidden angel option.
Sparing a quick glance behind him, he grimaced at the sounds of shouting in the distance, turning right back around. He leaned over the cliff, getting a good long look at the rock face, before nodding, turning his body, and slowly making his way down.
It was easily one of the worst choices he'd ever made. It was one thing to climb up a vertically flat surface with some success. It was a whole other beast to somehow manage the same on an area running at an angle after a brisk run. And as a child, no less!
'My sanity's clearly gone off the edge…' He thought to himself as he climbed down, trying to quiet his erratic breathing, to little effect.
It was all he could do not to straight-out panic as they got closer and closer. Every foot he managed downwards feeling like an eternity as he feared the sweat on his hands would make him slip and fall to a watery grave. It was no small amount of luck that, some twenty feet down, his feet found purchase on a fair decent area of flat ground to stand on, even if he had to hunch over a little to manage it. And just in time, too, hearing something big barrelling through what he believed to be the tall grass up top, no doubt snarling as they took in the area around them.
So here he was now. Hunkered down between Dadaupa Gorge and Cape Oath, himself propped up on a small ledge, hidden a ways underneath the cliff itself, standing some dozen-and-a-half feet or so under them. Hundreds of feet from the yawning oceans below. A drop like that at this age would likely make for a painful end with one wrong step. Yet that somehow seemed better than whatever awaited him up top.
"Come on, kid!" He heard the same man who cried for his compatriot call out. "You don't need to run and hide! Our boss just wants a word with ya, honest!"
Ah. Totally. And the Abyss Order was just a 'minor annoyance' to the world at large.
These Treasure Hoarders that were chasing him didn't seem very high on the totem pole, which was only to his benefit. Though how and when that could have happened so fast still eluded him, they and the rest of the Mondstadt branch would come at him with all the gusto of a starving beast; which seemed apt to him, given their penchant for spending everything they earned.
'I knew they'd react once I made contact with the Knights, but to panic and throw a hit on me not even a couple of days later…?' He thought with some confusion.
And it was confusion. For all his knowledge of the game, the more general inner workings of various organizations lay beyond him.
Like the upper echelons of the Fatui, for instance. Their main goal was the permanent change of life and existence as they knew it, with the likely intention of getting rid of the Heavenly Principles in the process and becoming the one true god of all in the name of "Eternal Peace".
What they did on more minor scales, or went on holiday? Hell if he knew!
This was much the same. He was fairly certain that whoever had made him a target was due to his parents, with his constant fighting and suffering acting as a sort of balm for whatever supposed crime they made against them. But to go into a full-blown panic? Sending a less discreet group of literal bandits on him such a small time after the whole thing with the church?
Fair to say he hadn't a clue what was even happening anymore. What little he could gleam was that they wanted him out of the picture permanently. Preferably before he spilt the beans on him, whatever said beans were. Not that he knew what they were.
"This is getting us nowhere…!" Another above him growled. "You sure you saw him come through here?"
"He should be here! It's kind of hard to miss a kid carrying a sword too large for him running off towards the cliffs!" He imagined the first throwing his hands up in exasperation. Dominic just hoped he wouldn't connect the dots and look over the lip, cause otherwise this would turn into one long waiting game. Standing here for hours on end didn't sound like fun in the best of times, as is.
"Then where is he?!" The other man all but screamed at him. He then spoke to someone else. "Captain, are you sure this idiot isn't drunk off his ass again?"
"Look man, you don't forget a kid standing over the corpse of your best friend with a bloody weapon!" He snarled back at him.
Dominic flinched at the reminder, his stomach churning at the still vivid memory. The look of fear he gave him as he loomed over the downed man sword posed to strike through his heart. Piercing through before he could react and watching the light fade out of his eyes…
He took a deep breath in and out.
It wasn't like he wanted to do it, his mind rationalized. At the time, it was his best course of action. He'd been chased by these guys for a few hours as it was. Tried to simply run and hide at first, but they were more clever than they let on sometimes. The whole cliff thing was something he believed was so extreme that they wouldn't dare consider it.
But then he got spotted and… with how hot things had suddenly gotten… well, a dead body couldn't talk. Their team was nowhere to be seen then. So, his thoughts had naturally followed to offing him and hiding the corpse, then making some distance in the hopes they'd lost his trail and wouldn't find him. Which didn't work out obviously.
…Though he'd be remiss to not admit how it still disgusted him all the same. It was one thing to kill Hilichurls. Despite knowing what they once were, something that was vaguely humanoid with basic intelligence was leagues different.
But a proper human being you could communicate with?
He knew it was asinine to consider. The cultural states of his world and this one was as the sun and the moon. So vastly different in some respects that they weren't worth humoring.
But, even still… It was how he was raised back then.
"Stow it you two!" A sharp voice snapped at them. "The Treasure Hoarder name is riding on this. I don't need you idiots bickering like children! The kid's probably run for the hills already, far from us from how loudly you two have been shouting at one another!"
"B-but, captain-!"
"But nothing!" He heard one yelp as they shouted, probably from getting smacked upside the head. "Everyone in Mondstadt's already getting run ragged from the rush order. Rather not deal with the client's anger if we somehow fuck this up. We don't need your constant bickering screwing us over!"
Dominic raised a brow, carefully shifting his feet in his hiding place for a more secure hold as the little landing crumbled just a bit. 'So a client is after me as I expected. Someone big enough that even has the Treasure Hoarders on edge…'
He quietly mused to himself on the possibilities as the three prattled on above him.
"What in the Abyss would they want to go after a kid for, anyways?" He heard the first one ask the very question he'd been pondering for years. "They seemed so aggressive over it and everything!"
"Didn't say." Their captain scoffed. "It's not our job to ask questions, only to carry it out and get the rewards."
"Did you see the way they looked when they made the order?" The second's voice held clear disquiet. "I don't rightly think we want to know how or why the kid managed to piss off the Lawerance Clan of all people- ow! F-fucking-! What'd ya hit me for, Capt-grk?!"
Dominic froze. Barely hearing the Captain's snarling response as the conversation went on. "Don't. Speak. Their names, you fucking idiot! Do you WANT to get us all killed?!"
But Dominic had spaced out from the rest of the conversation. His mind instead focused on-
'The Lawerance Clan..?' His mind repeated, reeling over that lone bit of intel. 'W-what… why are… what did my parents do to piss off the Lawerance Clan?!'
He ran over everything he knew about them, but nothing seemed to add up. As far as he knew, they were a pair of former adventurer partners turned husband and wife. And they never noted any great accomplishments before, either, which still left him begging the question of 'how'.
Despite all the various scenarios going on in his head, the only logical conclusion he could fall on due to lack of evidence was simple, petty revenge. Clan Lawerance was certainly fit for acts like that.
Unfortunately for him, having gotten so lost in thought, any pretense of subtlety had evidently been lost as his foot shifted a little too far to the right. Right onto some worn, loose stone that gave a crack. He could barely react in time to move his foot before he tipped and fell with the falling piece of rock, hitting the cliff face as it went.
"…Huh?" The first's voice grunted. "Did you guys hear something?"
Dominic felt the blood flee his face. His hands covering his lips as he curled in on himself more, desperate to not make any sound as them and their leader conversed.
"Little hard to hear much from me choking out this idiot." He heard a thump and gasping of air as he let him go. "You sure it wasn't the wind or something?"
"Nah! I swear this was different! Was like…" He hummed to himself as he considered. "Kind of sounded like rocks falling, I think?"
…Ah crap.
'Shit shit SHIT!' Dominic swore to himself internally, lamenting his lack of attention. One look over the ledge and he'd be screwed. Either he jumped into the sea and took the hazards, tried to climb down and risk them noticing and chasing him down. If they caught him, he'd probably be tortured and killed by them, or tortured then handed over to Clan Lawerance to suffer an even worse fate.
The only choices ranged from bad to worse, and he couldn't think of a good way out of it.
He heard with growing terror as one of them took a few steps towards the edge of the cliff, his every muscle tensing as a head of brown hair peeked over the ledge.
Then came that bone-rattling roar.
The boy had nearly jumped clear of the little landing in fright. Barely holding on with two hands gripping at some holds he'd found purchase on before he fell to the distant waters below.
"What the hell?!" He heard the second voice rasp, shaken.
Dominic thought much the same but hadn't the voice to say it on account of struggling to stay where he was, and his heart having hopped into his throat.
Both their questions were answered with a much louder roar and a massive shadow that passed over the water in front of him. From the silhouette he could make out the large, bat-like shape of the wings and the large curved horns upon an elongated head.
"Oh shit…!" The first's voice trembled.
"Ursa the Drake…!" Their captain muttered in fear and, shortly afterward, hearing him bolt off. His voice carrying faintly on the wind. "RUN! FIND COVER!"
Clearly, that was the wrong move. He saw the Demon Dragon's shadow carry along the sea. Going around in a circle, even giving him a brief glance of the purple beast with its yellow eyes, which had him turning pallid and hoping they'd not seen him, before they flew inland beyond his sight and towards them.
He didn't hear any screams.
It didn't fill him with confidence of their survival.
And while that was a good thing for his own, being killed by a malicious dragon that might be able to breath demonic fire was enough to elicit some form of sympathy from him.
Not that he'd throw himself out there to help them. He wasn't that suicidal, yet.
Instead, Dominic focused on getting his breathing, which had turned ragged at the constant scares, under control. Taking deep slow breaths while he readjusted himself into a sitting position on his little area of land. His body was much like a totally coiled spring that needed to be unwound, his muscles and brain slowly relaxing until he finally slumped. The adrenaline fading and leaving him with an immense sense of fatigue. Sweat coming down his face and arms in what felt like streams.
"That was too close…" He muttered. At this point, he just wanted to lay down and forget the day ever happened.
It was a shame he didn't have the luxury of time on his side now. With the lot of them actively coming at him, gaining the knowledge of who exactly it was that was after him now, and the very real possibility of them being paranoid enough to believe he may have already figured that out, it was likely he didn't have much time left before they brought in the bigger guns.
In which, they would bring in the Fatui.
If that happened, and he still kept acting how he was right now, he wouldn't last long enough for the Knights to save him.
'They followed me this far. Which means they'll consider the likelihood of my camp being based here right now.'
Which meant he needed to forgo the campsite entirely and stay entirely on the run. The less he had on him in this state, the more probable his chances of surviving this became.
…Still. There'd be another deluge of pain and hell to deal with. And he wasn't so foolish to believe that this would lead to proper justice against his perpetrators.
But, so it goes…
Dominic raised his head. If anyone had seen him from before and now, they would have noted how alive his eyes looked.
"Here we go again."
This was one of the more contentious chapters I've written so far. One that was originally two chapters written separately before deciding they'd be better put together. Though part of me thinks it came out rushed.
Perhaps I should spend some time on this in the future to flesh it out.
All the same, I hope I've done Old Boy Ursa some justice. Though we've barely seen him and have little to work with, It did open a few avenues. Hopefully, I can flesh them out more in the future. Let's just hope I get better with fight scenes...