For those wondering, if I am still alive...
YES, I AM!
For a long time now I was dealing with two very bad things, things that I wouldn't wish upon my worst enemy. University bullshit and Magic the Gathering addiction. I mean, seriously? Who the hell Wizards of the Coast think they are to, I dunno, release a new Phyrexia set?! Right when my University started pulling curve balls at me?! Fuckin' Phyrexia All Will be Expensive. Well, It doesn't matter now.
Originally, I planned to post this chapter AFTER I finished the Huntsmen and the Librarians chapter, BUT, and hear me out, I really wanted to piss off a friend of mine who really want me to finish it. So, here it is!
Sorry for the delay.
Aznereth: I mean, If Mihoyo had the balls to release a playable character that LOOKS OLD, then yeah, I sure as hell am going to add that idea. Until then, all I have to work with are these immortal beings who looks to be in their 20s or 30s, and actual 20s to 30s adults, not to mention children!
Jajo Camello: Morgott is just the best! If I was in the tarnished's shoes, I would simply drop my weapons and play chess with the guy, right in front of the thrones.
RhoMarck: It will come. It is inevitable.
ParticularFrog: Well... Morgott is here... Mohg... How the hell am I going to fit Mohg and Godwyn... EH, I'll get to it when I get to it, okay?
I'dMakeANameButIDon'tWantTo:
Chad Reader: Reads this story that will add nothing to their lives aside from momentary entertainment and supporting the writer by proxy.
Giga Chad Reader: Comments on the fic to brighten up the writer's day.
Anyways, I'm glad you think that! That was the thing I was going for when I first had the brain fart to create this fic.
With that out of the way, Enjoy!
The wind blew quietly through the plains of Windrise, as Godfrey ventured deep into Mondstadt's uneven terrain as the sun began to set on the horizon.
While carefully following the map Amber had given, the first Elden Lord couldn't help but contemplate how absurd his situation was, especially after meeting his son, who was supposed to be dead after their body dissolved into golden particles before Godfrey's very eyes. He was, a warrior, a Lord, by all states and purposes he was also a demi-god, and yet, there he was, in a seemingly peaceful land he'd never seen before, a place where kindness and innocence seemed to permeate the very soil.
Taking another look at his unusual map, it seemed as if he was getting close to the statue Amber warned him about. "'Tis close..."
Once he finally arrived at his destination, Dusk had fully settled in as the winds grew colder by the second. A statue of the Seven, or so they named it, stood proudly in front of the giant wall of muscle who, in turn, snarled at the figure engraved in the stone. Noticing the huge oak tree towering over the statue in front of it, Godfrey's snarl vanished from his face, seeming to calm down.
He kept his silence and simply approached the stony structure, in turn, the statue reacted to his map and shone a blue light that shone over his map, revealing his location. The first Elden Lord did not say a word, and turned his back on the statue and headed West toward Springvale.
He was, however, stopped by the first of many examples of Teyvat's somewhat violent wildlife. Appearing from... the ground apparently, a trio of cyan blobs with eyes, stood before him, blocking the Warrior's path.
"Is this mondstadt's fauna? Regardless, aroint thee of mine way, or meet thy end."
The Anemo Slimes didn't seem to care about Godfrey's intimidation, as they slowly jiggled their way toward the hulking figure with violent intent which Godfrey understood very well.
"Thy choice is made." He growled as he lowered his stance, trying to grab a war axe that wasn't there. He missed his weapon, but he didn't have time to think about that.
Godfrey quickstepped towards the three raising his right leg, and before they could even attempt to dodge his incoming attack, he brought it down with such strength that most men would be jealous. The moment his foot hit the ground, the three slimes seemed to be launched into the air... Only, two of them did not fall down. The third seemed to pop when his delicate exterior made contact with the debris launched upwards.
Unsure of what to do since he'd never faced such a silly and strange enemy (If you could call it that.), the first Elden Lord waited for them to return to ground level.
The slimes, however, knew exactly what they should do, and headbutted Godfrey, expecting him to fall flat on the grass.
After being hit twice by these slimes, Godfrey couldn't help but sigh at the sad attempt at combat being displayed by these creatures, seeing that one of them now had the perfect mark of his chest and abs engraved on its face and the other failed to even make him feel anything pain-wise. So, he did the expected and simply grabbed them both, raised their light body above his own, and tightened his grip, popping them like a Golden Rune as air quickly exited the slimes like a balloon.
When the air stopped leaking from the sentient balloons, their bodies seemed to deteriorate quickly, leaving only their slimy secretions and a few gold coins that were scattered on the ground. Before he could collect them, the coins seemed to float in the air and shot directly into a small pouch Godfrey carried.
Godfrey nodded in understanding. "It seems that Mora is magical in nature, not unlike runes." Quickly counting the amount he had collected and ignoring the air current created by those creatures, he took a mental note to keep an eye out for those strange, round blobs as he continued on his way to Springvale.
This land never ceases to amaze Godfrey, for each step he made towards the Springvale, more and more amused he became. The trees were full of life, the wild animals ran freely and edible fruits were plentiful. There were these plump orange-ish fruits ranging from smaller trees giving off a curious yet sweet aroma that beckoned him.
Now, Godfrey knew better than to gobble up any random fruit that seemed edible, he knew the risks, especially with the suspiciously alluring smell of the fruit. Thus, there he sat, under a tree of sunsettia, examining it thoroughly. "There must be a trick..." He said out loud, holding the blasted thing in his gigantic hands as the moonlight illuminated the land. "Hmm..." He was truly giving it his all, even if he was no expert in the matter.
The shuffling of leaves behind, made him lose his line of thought. "Hmph." How rude. Turning around, Godfrey saw what seemed to be a wild boar. Now, how long has it been since he saw one of these? The lands between were notorious for their harsh environments, giving no quarter for such animals to survive there, only in the most secluded grounds far off the outskirts of the badlands did he ever see something akin to this creature. However, his nostalgic thoughts were short-lived as a new and brilliant idea came to be.
"Come hither." Godfrey attempted to be less intimidating as possible, as he offered the boar to eat the fruit in his hand. This plan wasn't without flaws, though it didn't seem like it. If the boar eats it, then it's not poisonous, if he doesn't, then it is either unedible or the boar is too scared to try. Thankfully, the little guy came closer and closer to him. "Take it." He said as softly as he possibly could as to not startle it.
Trying his best not to move, Godfrey watched excitedly the boar eating the fruit. After finishing his meal, the boar rested his head against the First Elden Lord's feet, acknowledging him as someone the boar trusted. Godfrey, on the other hand, smiled wickedly as he wondered how good must it taste to eat a boar of this size. Before the poor fella could react, the First Elden Lord broke its neck with surgical precision, making it fall limply in the grass. "I am sorry, little one."
It didn't take much time for Godfrey to strap the dead animal to his back, but most importantly, he could finally try that fruit he wanted.
Eyeing the plump juicy fruit from a distance, Godfrey approached its tree with measured steps, overanalyzing the orange delicacy. He carefully pulled it from its branch, releasing the thing's sweet aroma. Uncaring for anything around him, Godfrey took a bite out of the sunsettia's skin, his tastebuds immediately fired up as a sweet colorful taste impregnated his mouth. He frowned, he secretly wanted the fruit to be sour like lemons. "Unexpected, but most welcome." His frown soon vanished, and the tenderness of the taste infatuated him as he kept chewing on its fruity flesh.
Soon, Godfrey would find himself seeking out more of these particular fruits.
Quaffing down on its lukewarm juice, the First Elden Lord couldn't help to smile like a child that just discovered the joy of running for the first time. Should these plants ever appear back in his home, they would have been selectively harvested for the nobles living closest to the Erdtree, and yet, there it was, in the middle of nowhere, free for anyone to harvest. Godfrey was simply thankful for this experience, as he collected a few more and carried on with his journey.
New creatures appeared to stand in his path, this time, they seemed to be more organized and work like a group instead of wild animals. About half-a-dozen small people with black and white fur instead of hair and dark grey skin instead of its usual variations, seemed to have established themselves on the road.
These fluffy mask-wearing creatures wielding low-quality wooden clubs and peculiar-looking crossbows built a wooden roadblock, made for stopping carriages and ambushing them, alongside high towers made of rope and crude wood to give their crossbowmen a better line of sight.
What bothered him, however, was that they didn't attack him yet.
Godfrey walked past their spiky barricade and made his way through their camp, only to be stopped by one of them. This one was very different from the rest, it was big, big enough to stand as tall as him, and their mask was more adorned with more details and red markings. But what caught the Elden Lord's attention the most, was the giant Axe it held in its hand. Taunting him.
The creature growled at him speaking in a language he did not understand, though, judging its tone, he didn't seem to be very happy. Did it want his boar?
"I know not what thou art saying, creature." When Godfrey said those words, all of the smaller creatures that once ignored him, said something he couldn't understand in unison and pointed their weapons at him, including the big one. "Come and Face me." Godfrey spoke one last time to the smaller creatures. Dropping the boar he killed earlier that night, the First Elden Lord once again took a battle stance. A wave of nostalgia washed over him.
Unexpectedly, the big one wasn't the first one to attack, instead, one of the smaller creatures with a club attacked while the others observed. Godfrey huffed dissatisfied when the Hilichurl's club ricochetted harmlessly off of his thigh, making the little guy fall to his back. Without giving it a second thought, the wall of muscle grope the small creature's head, raised him up in the air, and forcefully smashed his head into the rocky ground below, killing the creature instantly.
Somehow, the deceased's Hilichurl's companions didn't react negatively to the death of one of their own members, in fact, Godfrey felt as if they'd gotten more aggressive!
Catching a crossbow bolt flying towards him mid-air and destroying it under his grip, Godfrey kicked another one of the small creatures right in the face, cracking its white mask and instantly killing it as the others tried to overwhelm him with their numbers.
Uncaring for the small raincloud created on top of him, the first Elden Lord immediately turned his attention to another small creature, holding a shield this time. With a swift claw-like slap, the shield was launched across the field, alongside its wielder. Another blow bounced off of his muscly body, serving only to entice Godfrey's anger, as he stomped the poor creature into the ground accompanied by the sickening sound of bones breaking in quick succession.
Puffing in satisfaction, Godfrey eyed the big one, quickly noticing another small one, adorned in blue, dancing with a staff in hand. Seeming to accept Godfrey's challenge, the big one approached the Lord with a giant axe in hand, uncaring of his opponent's display of strength and tenacity.
The creature swung its weapon trying to slice Godfrey up, only for him to dodge it last second, by ducking underneath its attack. The creature grunted angrily since they missed its attack, already preparing another swing
Trying something new, the first Elden Lord tackled the creature and they both fell to the ground. The oversized Hilichurl did try to stand his ground, but Godfrey proved to be stronger than it, pinning it to the ground and forcing it to drop his Axe, effectively disarming it.
The two hulking figures punched each other, one trying to shake off a madman from it, and the other trying to straight up knock it out. Planting his two feet on the ground, Godfrey improved his grappling position and lifted the creature off of the ground, and held it over his head for a good second before slamming it back to earth.
Stunned by the gratuitous display of raw strength, the creature watched helplessly as Godfrey took hold of its Axe and nonchalantly brought the massive weapon down on its head, severing it in twain. Looking north of the big one's body, the dancing one stood no chance against the massive weapon smashing against its back and propelling its body towards a nearby mound.
Hastily strapping the boar's body to his back, Godfrey pondered about what to do with the great axe. On one hand, it would prove to be very useful should any more of these creatures foolishly ambush him, however, it came with a great risk of breaking upon usage, especially when considering its shady history. "Hmph." Godfrey let go of the Axe. Should he need to fight again, his body should suffice against any opponent.
Godfrey secretly hoped he would be corrected.
Finally arriving at Springvale, Godfrey was immediately captivated by the most delicious smell. His plan was to simply ask around for directions and carry on, but now he couldn't leave early, not when there is an argument about cooking happening right in the middle of the village!
PS: The Huntsmen and The Librarians is next!
