It has been two years since I written the pilot story of the AU of what happened if the Traveler decided to join the Fatui. Going through the trials of life, writer's block and disappointment on how less received this story made it difficult. But I don't want to give up just because there is so little views and no reviews at all.
After doing some polishing, I've decided to rename the Traveler bac as Aether. I would also like to apologize as I have mistakenly mistook Brighella as 'brother' instead of 'bother'. Which is why I misnamed the pilot story as 'The Brother Harbinger'. So now without further ado, the first chapter of the new and improved story called:
Hellraising Harbinger
Chapter 1 An Archon's Offer
Zapolyarny Palace
Childe and his fellow Harbingers sat on a large round table with the Tsaritsa on a larger throne. The Tsaritsa has called all the Ten Harbingers to discuss on the recent situation in Inazuma. There was originally eleven of them, but La Signora was not present. The empty chair was very obvious to the Harbingers. However, the Tsaritsa notice another Harbinger missing.
This one has absolutely no reason to be missing, especially with the prize he held.
"Where is Scaramouche?" The Tsaritsa demanded.
There was no answer from her Harbingers as they suddenly looked around and whisper with one another.
And then Pierro answered.
"We have no clue, Your Majesty. We have not heard from the Balladeer since Sangonomiya Resistance raid on the Inazuman Delusion Factor."
"According to my agents still in Inazuma, the Gnosis was given to Scaramouche." Arlecchino added.
"Yet he is not present among us with the prize!" Pulcinella raged.
"Is that really a surprise?" Sandrone said. "That puppet was not even loyal to his creator, what reason does he have to be loyal to us now that he gained the power of the gods."
The Jester was bristled at that remark. As the one who personally recruited Scaramouche, he is aware that the Balladeer was not truly loyal to the Harbinger cause and only joined because the Fatui were "interesting"
"Enough with the pointless chatter!" The Tsaritsu channeled her killing intent which silenced the whisper of her Harbingers and chilled the room.
"We have lost not one, but possibly two Harbinger in our operations at Inazuma. Jester, I approved of your operation there to claim the Gnosis the Shogun possessed, but not only did you fail, we have lost one Harbinger to death, and the other one to defection!"
Pierro shirked at his seat by the Tsaritsa chastising.
"Beg your forgiveness, Your Majesty." Childe spoke. "Perhaps we should search for the Balladeer at once. Right now, he holds the power his creator once held and will become more dangerous than before. The longer we wait, the more powerful he becomes."
"I agree with Tartaglia." Capitano said. "We have unlocked his hidden power as a creation of an Archon and modified his power. There is no telling how powerful he will become with the Gnosis at hand."
Pulcinella scoffed.
"I was against recruiting that puppet before. Even among us, he never knew when to keep his mouth shut. I always knew one day he will betray us. What the hell were you thinking Jester?"
"YOU DARE QUESTION ME!" Pierro snapped. "I am the first of the Fatui Harbinger chosen my Her Majesty the Tsaritsa herself! You all have no right to question me!"
"Yet look at what happen O venerable leader." Arlecchino said. "La Signore is dead. I am not fond of her, but she has been a useful asset to us. Besides she succeeded in retrieving two Gnosis so far."
"One of them was just a delivery without her lifting a finger." Childe muttered quietly with anger.
"The Balladeer had very little reason to be loyal to us. No one knows why does anything and he treats his subordinates as expandable." Arlecchino continued.
You're not exactly one to talk about betrayal, thought Childe.
"He's not the only one among us that does not treat their subordinates well." Pantalone countered.
Arlecchino ignored that and continued.
"All I am trying to say is why did you decide to recruit him as one of us, he is better off as under us than equal to us."
Pierro was silent.
"Pierro, as the one who first recruited him, why did you recruit him as one of the Harbingers? The Tsaritsa asked.
There was a pregnant pause before the Jester finally answered.
"Kunikuzushi, was originally a creation of the Raiden Shogun. He was a 'defective' creation as he shed tears when he was created. And was left behind after his creator sealed his power to find his path. Sometime in his journey to do that, he befriended with a warrior in Inazuma. The warrior was killed for misconduct by an inspector and swordsmith, Mikoshi Nagamasa. To avenge the warrior death, Kunikuzushi plotted the fall of the Raiden Gokaden. He succeeded destroying three of the five sword arts while leaving one dying and the last one, the Amenoma Art, unscathed. With that I realize he was a good weapon against Inazuma with his plots and machination. That is why I recruited him into our ranks."
"I did not anticipate that he would turn on us after I assign him on a post that would benefit both him and Her Majesty. He might have problems with his fellow Harbingers and Fatui, but he at least gave results. The Balladeer never gave me reason to suspect treason."
"Betrayal is always unexpected." Arlecchino said. "Besides, if they do it once, they will do it again."
Childe shook his head at the Knave.
Pierro glared at the Knave.
"Didn't you listen to what I said? Scaramouche was BETRAYED by Inazuma, not the other way round. He didn't turn on his creator, he was left behind! He was like one of Dottore failed experiment that was tossed aside!"
"A pity that 'failed experiment' was not disposed properly." Childe said. "At least he knows how to clean up his mess."
Said Harbinger smiled unnervingly which made Tartaglia feel very dirty.
Suddenly there was a smashing sound. The Harbingers turned and shivered as they see their Archon palm on the table.
"You all can discuss among yourself about the rogue's tragic history and reason later, but for now we must focus on dealing with him and reclaiming the prize he stole!"
The Harbingers bowed their heads in submission.
"Childe, you are to go to Inazuma to investigate on the rogue's whereabout."
Most of the Harbingers gasped at their Archon's order.
"Your Majesty, is that wise" Pierro spoke up. She glared at the First.
"You question my orders?"
The Jester bowed his head low.
"Your Majesty, Tartaglia is well-known to be a brute who dive headfirst into danger without thinking! He is better served as a frontline warrior than convert search operations. Not to mention he is the youngest to us Harbingers. Surely someone with years of experience and subtlety is more suited in finding that rogue."
"Hey! That's rude." Childe argued. "I know how to lay low, thank you very much. As much as I love the thrill of battle, I don't go around starting trouble wherever I go. Unlike all of you."
The other Harbingers glared at the Eleventh Harbinger.
"You action at Liyue caused us to lose the Ninth Company in the Chasm!" Pulcinella bellowed. "Some of my men were lost in the depths thanks to you. As if losing a foothold in Liyue isn't bad enough."
"Don't get all sanctimonious with me. You're the kind of person to sacrifice the least valuable assets for something the greater cause." Tartaglia countered. "Besides I was duped by Morax and the late La Signora to unleash chaos there. Unlike some you lots I do not like harming innocents and treat my subordinates fairly."
The Tsaritsa decide to put her foot down before it escalates to another pointless arguments.
"ENOUGH OF THIS! ALL OF YOU!"
The room temperature suddenly dropped as crystal of ice started to form around the room.
The Cryo Archon took a deep breath.
"Ajax." She uses his real name to prove her point. "I trust that you will lay low and find where our traitorous Harbinger had gone with the prize. Be warned that our position in Inazuma is on thin ice. We have little allies on our side there."
"And perhaps don't make us lose our position there any further." Pantalone muttered.
The Tsaritsa sent him a sharp glare to which he apologizes.
In truth she never cared for how the other nations view her and the Fatui. All she cared was to claim the six Gnosis from the other nations Archon by whatever means necessary. She has no desire to see a world controlled by Celestia.
Especially after the injustice of Khaenri'ah…
She shook her head.
"Moving on, La Signora's untimely demise left the Eight seat empty. Until the rogue is either captured or dead, we will leave Sixth seat for now. It is time to find a candidate to replace La Signora. Is there anyone among your subordinates any of you would suggest?"
There was silence.
The Dottore for the most part refuse to part with any of his subordinates as he likes to keep some stocks of 'guinea pigs' for himself. The rest have no worthy candidates to suggest for such position.
Tartaglia had a suggestion. So far, none of his subordinates are worthy of being a Harbinger. But he knows of one person that can be a good replacement.
"I have an unorthodox suggestion." Tartaglia said with a smile.
The other Harbingers looked at him with a raised eyebrow.
"Unorthodox, Childe? Is it a new recruit?" Dottore asked.
Childe smirked.
"Well, not exactly. But just like how Pierro had recruited a number of us (with varying success), I may be able to bring one outsiders in."
The Jester twitched at the youngest Harbinger's jab.
"As the first of Her Majesty Harbinger, I alone had the authority to handpick any worthy outsiders into our ranks as equal."
He also liked to add that it obviously requires the Tsaritsa direct approval. She alone has the final say on whether the outsider is allowed to be her Harbingers. Of course, so far, none of his choice was denied.
"Yet it is Her Majesty that will ultimately decide on whether he is worthy as one of us, Jester." Childe retorted.
"Enlighten me then, who is this worthy candidate in your mind?" The Tsaritsa asked.
"The mysterious and infamous traveler himself."
There was an uproar among the Harbinger.
The Tsaritsa sent literal chills in the room once again.
"Is that wise, Tartaglia?" The Tsaritsa skeptically asked. "He has been a hindrance in most of our operations throughout three nations so far. Harbinger aside, what makes you think he will join our cause?"
"That is where you will decide, Your Majesty." Tartaglia replied. "If I may be so bold, Your Majesty, this is something you alone can do."
"How dare you ask Her Majesty for favors, as her Harbingers We- "
"I did not ask you to defend me, Pierro." The Tsaritsa shut him down. "Tartaglia, why is this only I can do?"
"The Traveler had shared with me about something interesting that may be able to get him to join our cause. Of course, he will never want to serve under any of us. He might tolerate me, but the last thing he would ever do is be my grunt. Even I don't want that. Which is why now is the golden opportunity to gain a powerful ally on our side."
"And what could be so interesting that we have that will entice him to our cause?" Pantalone asked.
Childe smile widened.
"I am glad you asked. Tell me do any of you know why he is travelling across the nations?"
The other Harbingers, except Scaramouche, whispered among themselves. Pierro decided to answer.
"I only know he was searching for the Archons for answers regarding the whereabout of his sister. But why would he ask them for such an understandable but trivial question? Did one of them have something to do with his siblings' disappearance?"
Some daring Harbinger looked at the Cryo Archon with a questioning look, but she made no comment on that and still held a blank expression.
"That's old news Jester." Childe chuckled. "The only constant is that he is still looking for the Archons for answers. This time it's about something rather disturbing."
Childe suddenly loses his smile.
"What do you mean?" Pulcinella asked.
"Before he found the way into Inazuma, the Traveler had a brief reunion with his lost sibling." Childe said with a dark tone. "She is the Princess of the Abyss Order."
There were gasps from some of the Harbingers.
"Apparently, his sister was on our enemy side because the Abyss Order were once people of Khaenri'ah that were transformed into monsters and seek revenge against the Seven Nations and their Archons for the sundering of their homeland. I don't even know the full detail because it was distressing to Aether. Which is why he is searching for answers about what happened in Khaenri'ah 500 years ago."
There was a murmur among the other Harbinger, this time, it was less hostile than before.
Childe looked at his Archon, who now had a distressing look. Perhaps more than her Harbingers.
"Since he was in Liyue, am I to assume that Rex Lapis did not tell him anything about Khaenri'ah?" the Tsaritsa asked tiredly.
Childe wondered how did she knew about that, but decided not to ask and answered his Archon.
"From what I got from the Traveler, no. For some reason, Zhongli was under a contract to keep that a secret. I wasn't there during that exchange, but from what I got from Aether, it destroyed his friendship with the God of Contracts."
"Last I heard, he was avoiding Liyue on purpose. The Adventure Guild branch there claimed that he has not been doing ANY commissions there. So I guess that could explain why."
"It would seem that Liyue had lost a potential ally thanks to their former Archon." Pantalone chuckled. "That might give us an opportunity to regain some grounds there no thanks to Childe and La Signora."
Ignoring the last jab, Childe continued.
"Like I said, Your Majesty, this all falls on you. Because I doubt any of us (me included) have much sway in recruiting him. Only an Archon can potential sway him."
"I for one object that." Arlecchino said. "He has been a threat to our operations, why should he help us now?"
"Calm yourself, Knave. In his defense, he has REALLY NO reason to help us in any way." Childe replied. "Besides, if he joins us, he will be helping the HER MAJESTY'S CAUSE, not any of us Harbingers individuals plan."
The Tsaritsa was contemplating on what her most loyal Harbingers. While she is aware of the Traveler's actions in sabotaging the Fatui and Harbinger's operations. Having the powerful Traveler as one of the Eleven Harbinger is enticing.
He is starting to develop a reasonable hatred to the divines, Morax you fool, you have provided me with a precious gift.
Aether's Serenitea Pot
Few days later…
Frustration.
That was what Aether had felt after more than a year of his journey in Teyvat.
This world has it out against me.
All he wanted was to be reunited with his sister. But the one time they finally met after more than five centuries, she brushed him away coldly.
Once you reach the end of your journey as I did, you will see for yourself the true nature of this world.
He remembers Lumine's words.
Truth, what truth. The truth that it is working against me?
After that brief reunion, Aether was hardly the same person. It was made even more worse after he helped resolve Azhdaha issue.
The more he thought about it the more it fills his mind with rage.
I guess that's the price of playing the hero, what the hell is wrong with me.
He never wanted to be the hero.
He didn't want to solve the Stormterror….
He didn't want to be accused as a convict for being at the wrong place at the wrong time….
And he most certainly didn't want to join the revolution against a tyrant god…
But fate says otherwise.
Is fate to blame for my 'heroism' or was it this world trying to brand me as one. Maybe both.
Lately he has been isolated from the rest of the world. Some of his friends across Teyvat had asked for his well-being, but he had rebuffed all of them.
He even removed their permission to enter his Serenitea Pot.
Deep down he knew that they are just trying to help, but he was getting to frustrated to accept anything.
And besides, none of them can truly help him out in his quest, especially Zhongli.
The Heavenly Principles.
The 'laws' set by Celestia. One which none of the Archons he met gave any real details, but from he can get from their tone, it is not something even the gods dared to oppose. Ei only severed her ties with them at best.
"Hey Traveler?"
Aether thoughts were interrupted as he returned to reality. He saw his floating companion looking at him with concern.
She was the only person allowed in his home.
"Yes, Paimon?"
"Are you okay?"
Aether sighed deeply.
"Honestly, Pai. No." He replied.
Aether was laying on the grassy cliff looking the beach in his teapot. The sun was setting, but he wasn't there to enjoy the sight.
"This whole thing is pointless."
"What is, Traveler?"
"EVERYTHING." Aether raised his voice. "Saving Mondstadt from a Fatui and the Abyss. Saving Liyue from Osiel. And finally, saving Inazuma and her Archon from the FATUI!"
Aether stood up and paced back and forth.
"All I want was to find the god that took my sister and reunite with her. And what do I get? My sister was somehow free and is working the Abyss Order, the organization I have been fighting all this time and she tells me to continue this pointless journey to find 'the truth of this world' and what happened to Khaenri'ah. And my only source about the latter told me he can't say because of a goddamn contract."
Aether looked at the sunset.
"DOES THIS WORLD HAVE SOMETHING AGAINST ME!"
He was breathing hard after yelling out his frustration. He looked back and saw his friend looking at him with increasing concern and fear.
Aether calmed down and apologize for his outburst.
"Its okay, Aether" Paimon flew close to him and gave him a hug. "I understand how frustrating this is, but we need to continue our journey. Who knows, maybe Lesser Lord Kusanali have the answer you seek. She is the God of Wisdom."
While he saw the logic, deep down, there was a growing resentment on his already pointless journey for the Archons.
He gently pushed Paimon and looked away.
"But that means I have to go to Sumeru and probably play the hero, Pai. Again. To be honest Paimon, I am already getting sick of all this. I am already doing dirty work for the nations through these pointless commissions for the Adventures' Guild and the respective nations reputation advisors."
Paimon looked at him sadly. While she is frustrated at his growing apathy, she also understood why he was acting this way. This journey has been taking a toll on him, both physically and mentally, there was very little anyone can do to help.
"But what do we do Aether?" Paimon asked. "You're not seriously ending your journey prematurely, are you?"
As tempting as that was, Aether was lucid enough to know that it would be a worse alternative.
This world REALLY have it out on me.
Favonius Cathedral
Few minutes later…
Let's go and see Barbara. Paimon is sure she misses you very much.
Barbara.
She was one of Aether first friends he made in Mondstadt. He first met her when she was hiding from Albert. He always found her cute and her helpful nature soothe his troubled soul. Sometimes, she was with him when doing commissions from the guild and helping the nations problem both inside and outside Mondstadt.
It is safe to say that she was with him almost through the thick and thin.
Teleporting to the Knight's HQ teleport waypoint, he glided to the Cathedral to meet his favorite companion (second to Paimon).
Celestia, I missed her.
He felt bad pushing everyone else away, but pushing Barbara felt worse. But there was nothing any of them could do to help. None of them can help finding out about Khaenri'ah or the Abyss. Two out of three Archons he met so far are unaware of what the cataclysm was 500 years ago. And the one person who knew refuse to talk about it due to a contract.
Shaking his thoughts away, he focused on meeting with his dear friend.
Even after he became isolated from the rest of his friends and allies, there is one person he sees almost daily. Barbara, Mondstadt Shining Idol. Because of his frequent visits, some have speculated that the two were an item which was denied by the two. Currently Barbara's Fanclub, along with the Mondstadtian are mixed about having the two together. On one hand, the Honorary Knight and the Shining Idol would make a good match. An Idol and her Knight was romantic after all. On the other hand, there are few that are against this mostly due to the fact that there are no small number of people that loved Barbara.
But the two just ignore the rumors.
"Aether!" Barbara waved at him while he was gliding.
Smiling, he landed close to her just as the nuns looked on and continue on to their own business. The Church overall was alright with their deaconess being close to the Honorary Knight compared to the mixed reaction of Barbara Fan Club.
Taking notice of his face, a concerned Barbara asked the Traveler if he was alright.
Aether expression changed and he told her, "Not here." And pointed up.
This was their signal for them to climb up to the top of the Cathedral to meet and talk without any attention.
Moments later, on top of the Favonius Cathedral…
"So, is everything alright?" Barbara asked.
Paimon answered, "Traveler has been frustrated as of late. It seems that none of the Archon we met so far knows who took his sister."
Of course there was more to it, but they have to keep some information from Barbara.
Especially about the desecrated Statue of Barbatos.
"I see." Barbara replied while folding her hands on her lap.
"Actually, Barb, there is more than that." Aether said.
Paimon looked at her companion with shock.
"There is a lot I can't talk about," Aether added which relieved Paimon. "But my goal has…changed."
Barbara looked at the Traveler.
Taking a deep breath, Aether spoke.
"Before I visited Inazuma, I met my sister."
Barbara was about to congratulate him, but one look at his eyes she hesitated.
"She was part of the Abyss Order, as their leader. Why she is part of them, she didn't give me a clear answer. She wants me to find 'the truth of this world' at the end of my journey across the nations."
"'Truth of this world'? What does that mean?"
"I have no idea." Aether answered. "But aside from that, she joined the Abyss because of what happened five hundred years ago, in Khaenri'ah."
"T-Traveler." Paimon cried.
"Khaenri'ah?"
Aether frowned.
"It's a nation that didn't have a god ruling over it. Five hundred years ago, it was destroyed. Its people were turned to monsters."
Barbara covered her mouth in horror.
"There is more, but I can't… no I DON'T want to tell you because it will be too much. Especially since you're part of the Church."
Barbara narrowed her eyes and wanted to argue that she is not a naïve child, but a part of her wonder, could she handle it.
"Is it something Lord Barbatos did in the past?" Barbara asked hesitantly.
"From what I could gather, no." Aether answered much to her relief. "I can tell you this: this world, its system, and the Archons that ruled over it, is probably build over the blood and deaths of a nation that never had a god in the first place. This is just a speculation, but this may be the reason why Khaenri'ah was destroyed."
The last revelation did not soothe her worries even if she was comforted that her Archon was innocent in all this.
Aether rubbed the back of his neck.
"I am sorry, this was not something I should talk about with you." He apologized. "Like I said, this may be too much for you, especially with your position."
Since she was young, and being a Mondstadtian, she grew up revering the Anemo Archon. Her father being the Cardinal of Daybreak raised her to be a staunch worshipper of Barbatos. It's not as if she was completely unaware of the negative things said about him (courtesy of the Fatui diplomat, Viktor), but she was skeptical about it at best. Now that she thought about it, while there are dozens of teachings about Barbatos taught by the Church, they scarcely talk about the Archons of other nations. She knew their names, and nations they rule respectively, but how it all came about was barely mentioned.
All I remember was them saying 'after the Archon Wars' seven nations was born with the naming of seven Archons, including Lord Barbatos.
Was the Church keeping secrets?
An hour later…
After the initial heavy conversation, the three spent their time talking about Aether's various adventures in Teyvat so far. Paimon smiled as her companion was more cheerful after talking with Barbara.
After waving goodbye to the deaconess, Aether teleport back to his Teapot.
Deciding to tease him a bit to cheer him up, Paimon smirked.
"So, Traveler, when will you confess to her?"
"W-what in Celestia are you talking about, Pai?" he stammered while blushing profusely.
"Oh, come on Traveler, Paimon notice that you spend way too much time with her." Paimon observed. "Also, out of all the friends, you only seem to meet her so far ever since Inazuma."
"I met Kuki last week." Aether said.
Paimon waved her index finger while tsking.
"Come on Traveler, we both know that you ran into her while walking around Inazuma." She corrected. "Besides you seem to smile more often seeing her out of all the girls we met so far. You never smile like the way you did with Barbara when you were on a date with Ayaka."
Aether slapped his head.
"Date, Paimon? We were just hanging out as friends." Aether replied. "Ayaka didn't have much friends before, you know being the Shirasagi Himegimi made it difficult for others to befriend her and vice versa. So, all I did was spend some time with her so that she won't feel lonely."
His expression became sad.
"Besides, I have bigger concern to worry about."
Paimon mentally slapped herself as her companion went back to his brooding way.
"Sorry Traveler, Paimon was trying to cheer you up by teasing you." She apologized.
He gave her a sad smile and patted her head.
Will this never end?
Looking at the faux sunset, the two sat in silence.
Windrise, nightfall…
Looking at great oak, the Traveler pondered on his thoughts alone with no one around. He heard of the legend that this was the site where the Mondstadtian hero, Venessa, ascended to Celestia and became a god that watches over the nation.
Curious why the Church did not mention this hero, god or not, surely she's important.
"Hey Venessa, do you think you can show me how to get up to Celestia?" Aether asked to no one in particular.
"That's impossible comrade. You need a vision first to even TRY to accomplish such feat."
Turning his back, he recognize that voice as the only Fatui he ever could call a friend.
Childe.
"Fancy seeing you here." He said, raising an eyebrow. "Come to enjoy the tourist attraction."
The Harbinger laughed.
"Well, its my first time here in the Land of Freedom. So I was hoping to check out the local attraction."
It was an obvious lie.
"What are you here for?" Aether pressed.
"Such suspicion! I am hurt Traveler." Childe feigned hurt. Aether rolled his eyes. "But you caught me, in truth I was looking for you."
"Me?"
Reaching into his pocket, the Eleventh Harbinger pulled out an elegant letter.
"I am passing a message from Her Majesty, the Tsaritsa." He said while handing the letter to him. "You are welcome to the Zapolyarny Palace with an audience with her."
Taking the letter skeptically, Aether eyed at Childe with skepticism.
"Why would an Archon request my presence? And her of all people."
Childe gave him a smile.
"Let's just say we have a proposition for you. Particularly regarding Khaenri'ah."
Aether eyes widened.
"You can learn the truth from Her Majesty herself and possibly save your time in this, sorry to say this comrade, pointless wandering across Teyvat."