*This is ported by Wattpad, feel free to come by as I've focused on making stories there rather here*
So far, it's going well...
1 Chapter is done, 11 left for Mondstadt Season, then upon Liyue with perhaps even more chapters than Mondstadt (due to being a prologue).
Gasped, Lumine woke up, a throbbing and aching pain occurred at her forehead. Her sight is fuzzy but it slowly fades away and sees...
"Lumine! You're okay!" Paimon relived, she now sees the little fairy who is tied up upon the small wooden pole. She attempts to move, and notices that she is tied up. But not as ropes, it was cold ice. The shiver feeling arrives, she attempts to budge, somehow it's not breaking.
"What happened here?" Lumine demanded.
Paimon was about to speak until, "You came to us, holding our ally hostage..." A man's voice came. Someone came, he is tall compared to the likes of Lumine. His clothes are slightly ragged but formal, with tints of dark blue, and dark gray colors. Long jacket, armor ornaments around his arms and legs. He has dark hair, notably frosted ice covered on the tips. Fair skin, and what is interesting from Lumine's perspective, his eyes, unlike the others...
The pupils, it is diamond-shaped, dark blue... Lumine glanced to see another person, he seemed to be almost the same height as her, dressed as a ranger or adventurer, due to carrying a bow. Dark brown and black colors around, has fair skin, golden eyes despite wearing a hood, she can see his dull golden hair.
"Hey!" The same woman that Lumine held hostage to, waving nervously. "So, sorry about that..." She weakly chuckled.
Then the tall man spoke, "Who are you?" He demanded with a soft but intimidating tone.
"Just a traveler..." Lumine sarcastically remarked.
"Don't lie." He refuted. "She has told me everything, how did you two manage to find the dragon?" He demanded again.
"Um... Coincidence?" Paimon suggested. A glare is all to make her yelp from him.
"...You two aren't ordinary travelers." He stated, as summoned a polearm spear aiming its tip blade at Lumine. "You will tell me, or else you want the alternative."
"..." Lumine remains silent glaring back.
"...Read her mind." He commanded as the one with the bow came. He goes closer, making her shift back. Yet, he places his palm on her head, his eyes glowed golden. A sudden surge entered inside her! She screams...
Eyes opened... Lumine looks around, seeing nothing but the sky above the clouds. Was it... All but a dream?
"Lumine..." A familiar voice came... She turned around to see someone... It was...
"...Aether?" Lumine muttered in disbelief. "What... How?"
"Are you okay?" Aether wondered, concerned by her odd behavior.
"Aether!" She runs out to him, reaching out. But... Everything is drawn out, she felt she was pulled back. "AETHER!" She yells before everything changes, the location is different and almost falls by the ledge. She looks around, seeing this place is also familiar... This was the place that-
She sensed behind, turned to see that... Woman again! The one who took her brother! She tried to use her powers... But it's gone! The Unknown God summoned her cubes once again... Everything swarmed all around...
Back at Teyvat? Lumine was on the ground, she looked around, confused. What is going on...? Her head is aching again, she clutches her head again, groaning in pain. Despite that, her body instinctively walks around, through the grasslands, forest, familiar places...
Then she hears another voice groaning, everything she sees is fading away...
"Aaahh!" Lumine screamed, her forehead sweated gasping for breath. "Huh…?" She looks around to see back at the camp. Paimon witnessing with worry, there she saw the tall man assuring the weakened ranger.
"What did you see?" He asked.
"She…" He opened his eyes, strained when doing so, "Is not from this world…" He revealed. This caused some surprise on his face, when he looked at her.
Then, his next course of action, he removed the ice. Lumine noticed that he is the one who has the ice powers. She is free, but then her body tensed by those words, "You and your companion will be under our group." He stated.
"What…?" She grunted…
"You will not attempt to discard it." He added.
"Trying to keep me on a leash?…" Lumine gritted, as her fist clenched before throwing a weak swing, caught by him.
"You are an anomaly. Along with that fairy." He scoffed at her, as she angrily stared at him. Paimon grew worried even more than before. "You are kept on watch. We are going to Mondstadt." He walks off, leaving Lumine on her knees. He goes and supports his mystic archer before telling the woman, "Get them up." He commanded.
She weakly salutes before she goes to help Lumine get up, but she gets shoved away once standing up. She removes the ropes that tied Paimon up, and she quickly floats close to Lumine. She glares at the woman who looked nervous by her anger. The three soon follow the two male leads, the bow user recovers and is able to walk normally beside the tall one.
Silence occurred on the walk through the dirt road, the woman spoke up, "So, you really are not from this world…" She commented.
"..." Lumine silently grunted.
"Okay…" She muttered. "Your name is Lumine right?" She assumed, but no response. "Name's Zandra! Just sharing names, so you don't think of me as a stranger." She introduced her name.
"I don't care…" Lumine scoffed.
"Yeah! You are just using us!" Paimon joined in.
"I know, I know, he seemed like a rude person…" Lumine grunted at Zandra's response to the tall man. "Just so you know… I'll be helping you." She said, making the two confused.
"Why…?" Lumine questioned her.
"Uh, this day has been very interesting since the rest of them are just waiting and barely doing anything. I actually had fun." Zandra mentioned. "It's nice to have a new person to talk to…"
"Uh, how long have you been isolated?" Paimon asked.
"For a few years, yet feels like eternity." Zandra shrugged, "So why are you guys here?" She wondered.
"..." Lumine remains silent, one of them already knows… Why start like this? "Your friend just saw my mind…" She muttered aloud.
"Oh, right…" Zandra winced at this. "...You are wondering who we are, right?"
Paimon spoke up, "Yeah, we are!" She stated. "What are you guys? Some kind of adventurer group?" She guessed.
"Uh, not really…" Zandra replied, with a 'so-so' tone. "We are kinda of a… Secret group?"
"Zandra…" The archer spoke up, irritated she is revealing this kind of info, despite in vaguely sense.
"Well, they are gonna be in the band!" Zandra assured her ally. "Well, that dragon you two saw, that is also our goal to do… We try to figure out the clues. You two can help us."
"Like we are given a choice." Lumine reprimanded.
"Look, whatever Jonathan saw in your head…" Zandra revealed the name of the archer, "I'm sure we can work this out. Together." She smiled.
Just as she listens, sudden sounds are heard as more humanoid creatures arrive interrupting their journey. "Hillichurls!" Paimon exclaimed. Zandra summons her catalyst beside her while Lumine summons her sword.
Jonathan shoots his arrows at those backlines, the tall man summons his spear, and a moment later, he grips the polearm as it glows blue, ice grows out. He swings the weapon, swift speed, the monsters are launched by the slash, ripped apart before disintegrate.
Lumine sees a Hillichurl charge with a club, swinging but only for a recoil… By her parry, before she stabs it in the chest, then her palm glows with Anemo energy, before blasting it away. Zandra shoots out electric bolts, stunning them, then they each get stabbed by the cryo-imbed spear by the tall man, the two elements combined then it is conducted, instantly making bodies drop as they disintegrate.
"On your right!" Paimon pointed out. Lumine dodged an arrow shot from an Hillichurl archer, then it got shot but a small stone pole. She turned to see Jonathan, summoning slightly bigger arrows that are encased in stone or… It must be pure stone arrows. "Woah… These guys are strong…" Paimon muttered. Then the last remaining one got stabbed down by the tall man, who removed it once it was dead. He glanced to see more enemies coming…
"Crazy, they appear more than usual!" Zandra pointed out as she shot them, affecting them with an electric effect. Lumine summons a wind blast, however the electro effect imbues the anemo attack, turning the turquoise energy into purple.
"Yeah, Paimon never sees so many Hillichurls!" Paimon remarked as they got blasted before being shot by stone arrows, suddenly the electro effect was removed as their bodies launched out glowing crystals.
Zandra runs forward, grabbing two of them per hand, she crushed one which releases an energy shield around her body, before tossing one to Lumine. "Use these!" She advised, which Lumine catched, seeing how she does it, crushes it, releasing the same energy shield.
"Right!" Paimon realized, "Any element besides Anemo, combined with Geo, you get them crystallized!" She stated. Just then, one of them comes at Paimon who panicked, but it was blocked by a grab… From Lumine. The hit barely did damage on her due to the shield, then the Hillichurl witnessed its last moments before the sword stabbed through the head.
"Uh, a bit excessive…" Zandra commented, using her arms blocking the club's impact before grabbing its arm, shocking the Hillichurl to death. Lumine glanced, but her glare lessened due to the previous talk… She wondered about Zandra, she seemed… Too friendly…
The tall man just killed the last remaining Hillichurl… "Stop right there!" A female voice gained all their attention, a certain someone arrived, a girl with brown hair and orange-gold eyes. Her attire consists of red, dark brown and white colors. "May the Anemo God protect you, stranger- Huh?" She perked up upon the group itself. "It's you guys…"
"Hey, Amber!" Zandra waved at them. "Long time no see!"
"Y-yeah…" The girl named Amber awkwardly responded. "You guys just left for a year, and now you came?" She wondered.
"We are simply returning back to Mondstadt after one of our adventures." Jonathan explained.
"Right…" Amber replied. "Well, you guys arrived at the worst times, Hillichurls kept appearing all around." She stated, then noticed Lumine and Paimon. "Oh! You got new members!"
"Yep! This is Lumine and Paimon!" Zandra smiled, giving a shoulder hug to Lumine, who looked annoyed by the sudden touch. "They just joined our group."
"Huh, different region? You two look like foreigners… And your names aren't local…" Amber assumed while staring at Lumine and Paimon with slight suspicion.
Really? Lumine glanced at the rest of the group, despite what they did to her. "Um… Right… We aren't from here, we are really far away." Paimon awkwardly speaks out, trying to attempt to make it plausible.
"Huh…" Amber replied. "Anyways, I came here to find anyone who could be in trouble during the dangerous situation, and now you guys are here, we could need the help we get. So, if you guys are fine…" She suggested.
"We will accept." The tall man responded formally.
Amber's eyes glint, "Great!" She gleamed. "Well, to avoid more fights, there's a waypoint nearby that'll lead near the city!" She pointed out the direction, " I, Amber, Outrider for the Knights of Favonius will escort you there." She leads the group, Lumine gazes at Amber, she seems to know them, but the way she speaks to them…
"She doesn't know, does she?" Lumine whispered to Zandra, with a serious tone.
"Yeah, I said we are a secret group…" Zandra muttered back.
"So… You lied to her?" Paimon joined the whisper.
"More like, not telling her the truth…?" Zandra winced, not liking the disliked look by both of them.
Jonathan speaks out to Amber, "So Amber, what dangerous situation do you bring up to us?" He asked.
"Well… More reports of Hillichurls kept appearing more often than ever." Amber explained, with concern. "They start invading trade routes, attacking villages. All because of the dragon…"
"A dragon?" Jonathan perked up. However Lumine knows this is just them pretending to know this now.
"Yeah… Stormterror." Amber revealed the name of the creature. "He's also been part of the attacks, affecting our orchards and the local market has been affected as well. And worst, storms hit, we usually ended up with a few injuries and the Knights of Favonius have been tied up doing their best to defend this area."
"Sounds terrible." Jonathan was concerned.
"It's fine, as long as Acting Grand Master Jean is with us, we can face any challenge." Amber smiled with hope. Then they finally arrived at a floating structure glowing blue, "Here we are!" She pointed out, then turned to Lumine and Paimon. "You both know how to use a Waypoint, right?"
"Paimon knows, just touch it and we can access other waypoints through our minds, right?" She assumed.
"Yep!" Amber nodded. "However, we only have a few that are available. And only Vision people can access it…" She said, but then noticed about Lumine and Paimon. "Oh, you guys don't have a Vision?" She is confused. "When I arrived there, I saw an Anemo attack from a distance…"
"She's special!" Zandra covers up the question, but Lumine stares at her, thinking this is a stupid cover up.
She speaks up, "Look, I can just try and see how we do this." Lumine stated. Amber paused but then nodded.
"Very well, I'll remain last in case it doesn't work…" Amber assured the two. The group step in, touching the structure until a second pass, and they disappear. Lumine and Paimon reach there, while Amber watches… The two followed, and upon the touch…
Lumine feels a surge of energy, this time it's passive. Relaxed, she opened her eyes, everything looked blue, stars all over. She looks down to see no floor but blue and stars, looking up she sees the similar structures that are glowing yellow, those must be other waypoints… Closing her eyes… She thinks of Mondstadt, the city! She thinks of the place, until she opens her eyes, seeing a red waypoint… She reaches to touch…
She is here. Lumine is standing upon in the middle of multiple structures, there are tall buildings all around. Noticing there is the group, this must be it. Then suddenly Paimon and Amber appeared behind her as she turned to see them.
"Huh." Amber intrigued, "So you can access through waypoints." She inspects Lumine and Paimon, "You don't even have a vision, yet you can use Anemo?" She wondered. Lumine then shows a small Anemo orb channeling from her palm. "Wow…" Amber wowed, but she regained her composure. "Anyways, welcome to Mondstadt!"
Amber leads the way, the group follows. Then Paimon glanced, noticing the people were looking gloomy, "Paimon never expected this to be bad…" She commented.
"Yeah…" Amber somberly nodded, "So, knowing you are new companions of Xavier's group…" She spoke when Lumine mentally noted the tall man's name, Xavier, while Amber continued. "I am wondering why you two joined them…" She wondered.
"Oh! About that…" Zandra spoke up, hearing the conversation. Nervously muttering, not knowing what to say.
Lumine and Paimon wanted to tell the truth, but knowing them… Lumine decided to play safe. "I lost my brother…" She replied.
Paimon nodded, "Yeah, she lost her brother from a faraway place, I am here to help her find him too." She added.
"Oh…" Amber feels sympathy for Lumine, as Zandra is surprised by her 'lie'. "I'm sorry to hear." She said, "How about I can help you put posters around the city, it's the least I can do." She assured her.
Lumine widened her eyes, stuttered by that. "You're sure?" She asked. "I'm… Just a stranger."
Amber smiled at her, "As the Outrider for the Knights of Favonius, I will help any stranger in need. It's something I can do for him as well, given he also helped Mondstadt." She mentioned Xavier and the group.
"They… Helped?" Lumine asked.
"Oh, I guess they didn't mention you yet." Amber replied.
"Yeah…" Paimon weakly nodded.
"Well, they did help before…" Amber pondered. "It was a year ago, but they can explain it better." She said, "So right now how about a gift for you?" She suggested.
"What is it?" Lumine asked.
"Well, how about you follow me and I'll show you." Amber smiled and gestured to her to follow. Lumine and Paimon walk up to her.
"Wait, is this just for Lumine, what about Paimon?" Paimon wondered.
"Well, the gift I have is kinda useless for you…" Amber replied as they were going upstairs. "But after I give this to Lumine, I can treat you all with a Sticky Honey Roast."
"Mmmm…" Paimon drooled, hearing the food. Just then, they took time going up the stairs and reached the top of the city.
"Well, here we are!" Amber stands proud upon, then turns to the two. "Allow me to present…" She turns to take out what appears to be a pair of large wings. "Ta da! A Wind Glider! It's an Outrider's feature, helps you ride the wind, and one of Mondstadt's traditions." She stated.
Lumine is admitted to be surprised by this, she takes it as Amber watches her expression of interest, "It's like my wings…" She muttered.
"What?" Amber heard her sentence.
"Um, what she said, this isn't the first time seeing a glider!" Paimon covered up Lumine's words.
"Oh…" Amber understood, "Well, that means you know a thing or two about gliding. Would you like to give it a go?" She asked.
"...Yeah, I can." Lumine replied as she equipped the wings on her back.
"Great! Then let me join you!" Amber stated. "It's to make sure you have a professional trainer with you, attempting to glide without a license is illegal…" She lets Lumien follow up to somewhere higher. Reaching to the top of the balcony near what seems to be a Cathedral. Amber smiled as she stood on top of the balcony fence, "Alright, watch and learn!" She jumps, deploying her glider and floats down towards the market place.
Lumine is impressed by her control, then her turn, she jumps off. Developing her wings, she simply cruises out like a leaf floating by the wind. Paimon followed since she can float. "Wow, you're a natural!" Paimon commented.
Then she joins up with Amber, who is clapping seeing her experience. "Amazing job, Lumine!" She complimented, "I should not underestimate your skills like that, it seems like you are already a professional!" She gleamed.
Just then, suddenly the sky has darkened, they look up surprised by that. But Amber realized this weather change means one thing…
"He's here!" A citizen exclaimed, as it was none other than the dragon flying from above. Its vast size flew above the city, up close, then came creating multiple powerful tornadoes swirling around the city.
Many people were running in a panic, knights in armor arrived guiding the people to safety. Then one of the tornadoes came towards Amber, Lumine and Paimon. The trio attempted to run away, but the wind pulled Lumine away.
"Lumine!" Amber yelped as she and Paimon were about to be pulled up, Amber held Paimon close but couldn't find to avoid it… But her arm is grabbed by someone, turning to see none other as Zandra.
"Gotcha!" Zandra yelled, before she panicked when being pulled up… Only Jonathan came in time, grabbing her other arm, but the wind was still strong as the four were being sucked in, until Xavier came in, and stood firm and strong. With that, he pulls them with might, managing to bring the four down on the ground while the tornado is moving away.
The five look up, to see where Lumine has gone to…
Lumine is flying up in the sky, she summons her glider, and sees herself above the clouds. She sees the clear blue sky, it was a peaceful moment until she noticed the dragon flies at her, she swerved side, avoiding the dragon's ram.
Seeing it turning direction… "Don't worry about falling…" A mysterious voice echoed her head, surprising her. "I am giving you the power of a thousand winds. Concentrate, try grasping the wind you have done before. Harness its energy." He advised.
"Who are you!?" Lumine exclaimed, but no response… Seeing the danger coming, she follows the stranger's advice… A powerful energy charges up in her palms. Shocked, but immediately fired a powerful blast at the dragon. The attack hit the dragon, recoiling it back.
Seeing the attack is effective, she then fires multiple energy rapid fire. The dragon swerves around the air and is now flying away… She won't let it get this far. With the new powers she flies after the dragon fires many more blasts.
This goes on, until the Dragon roared and flew faster, away from the city. Lumine sighed, as the power she sensed faded away as she lowered to the ground…
Lumine has landed in the city, thanks to her glider, safely. Amber rushes at her, hugging her. "Lumine!" Realizing she is hugging her, she lets go, "Sorry! I thought you were gone!" She fretted. "How did you do that?! You drove Stormterror away and saved Mondstadt!"
"Paimon is scared, what happened!" Paimon asked.
"I…" Lumine tried to explain… How can she explain this? As the group walks, Xavier is the most curious out of the three…
"You've actually got the power to go up against the dragon…" Another voice spoke, they all turned to see a man with tanned skin, blue hair with streaks of lighter blue, attire while having a half cape, with white collared blouse, and dark trousers with knee length boots. His notable trait has to be his eyepatch, while his other eye is periwinkle, along having a diamond-shaped pupil. And his loose belt is holstering a Cryo Vision. Then he questions Lumine. "Are you a new ally… Or a new storm?"
Word Count - 3665
Pacing is better, more word detailed reveal. I really want this story feel like God Of War: Ragnarok. As you know, or do not, those on the latter I will explain:
Lumine here will have the Adaptational Angst Upgrade, due to making some empathy connection with this character.
I also plan for Paimon to be more useful when the story progresses, potentially gaining Adaptational Intelligence and Adaptational Badass.
Along with the OCs, I feature you Zandra, Jonathan, and Xavier, they will be important within the story goes. Mondstadt will be Lumine's story, while she'll be the main focus of all... They like the other characters in Genshin will get Story Quests.
And thinking to decide, to feature other characters joining adventures through the Archon Quests. Perhaps I will looking at the Fridge within TV Tropes to learn which characters are suitable to go on adventures with Lumine and the team to figure out the truth of this world... Lemme see your thoughts.
With that, enjoy!