Chapter 1: Challenges come with leading an army

(Sangonomiya Kokomi)

Nothing could stop the inevitability of death. Sangonomiya Kokomi knew that all too well. Especially after months of leading her army. She and General Gorou, both witnessed the toll of war. Yet, their conflict was still necessary for the injustice of the vision hunt decree to be corrected.

Among other things, many unanswered questions came up about why visions were being taken in the first place. If individual ambition posed such a threat to "Eternity" then why take the visions now of all times? Why didn't the Archon just try to take visions before?

One quiet evening, Kokomi was at her desk, reading through reports. After major battles, it was her job to look through the post-battle reports. If a soldier passed away during battle, she would have the name crossed out on the list.

The work was taxing, but it came with her duties as the leader of both the Watatsumi Island Resistance and the Divine Priestess.

Looking through the reports now, all those names she was crossing out, her efforts felt more and more helpless. She was the one who was supposed to lead that army, but was she doing enough? Were the human lives lost even worth it? There even were times when she had low morale. However she always did a great job of hiding her insecurities and doubts.

Just as she was finished, she heard a knock on her door. The rhythm was the same that she taught her loyal general Gorou so that she would know to let him in.

"Please enter General Gorou," She said.

He stepped into the room.

"Please excuse me for disrupting your work, Your Excellency," Gorou apologized.

"No worries Gourou, I have already finished my work," she replied. "What is the matter you wish to discuss with me?"

"It's about Captain Beidou," he explained, "She just arrived with more goods."

'She doesn't normally arrive at night,' Kokomi thought. 'Did something happen to her crew?'

"Thank you for informing me, General Gorou, I'll be there as soon as possible."

She followed Gorou as they strolled towards the Alcor. All around them, everything was quiet and dark. Soon they made it to the ship.

As always, the size and structure of the beautiful ship still amazed her. Every time Beidou had the ship docked at Watatsumi Island, Kokomi had to stare at it in awe. It was unlike many of the other ships she had seen before.

Beidou handed a box she was carrying to a crewmate, and ran over towards them. Gorou went to help unload the ship.

"I apologize for not arriving here soon enough," Beidou said, "This past month has been the busiest ever."

"No need to feel troubled Captain Beidou," The Divine Priestess responded. "We have managed to pull through in your absence."

"That's good to hear from you. I didn't think I would be able to make the journey here for a long time."

"Would you mind telling me why you've been unable to come here, Captain?"

"It's a bit of a long story," Beidou replied. "Back over in Liyue, there was a lot going on in the past month. Namely the death of Rex Lapis, and the awakening of an Ancient god."

"It's hard to imagine all that happening here, on top of the Vision Hunt Decree."

"The hero of Mondstadt also went missing during the fight with Osial. There were still some convinced that they were alive. But just before I was set to leave for here, I found their body washed up on the shores of Guyun Stone Forest."

"Are any of the citizens of Liyue aware of their death?"

"As far as I'm concerned, not many are aware. I only had time to tell Ningguang and the Ministry of Civil Affairs about what I saw. The Adepti may have been informed, but it's hard to say."

Just then a Sangonomiya Samurai walked towards them.

"Captain Beidou, Your Excellency, the goods have been fully unloaded from the Alcor," he told the both of them.

"Thank you for all your help, Teppei. Since your patrol is over, you may now head back to your quarters."

Beidou turned to the Resistance Samurai. "Now that I think about it, I don't think I remember seeing you around here."

"Allow me to introduce Teppei. As of right now, he's a member of the logistics division."

"It's a pleasure to finally meet you Captain Beidou," Teppei said, "I have only been here for two weeks, but I've heard about you from the other resistance soldiers."

"The pleasure was all mine," Beidou replied.

Teppei nodded then walked off.

She then turned to Kokomi. "If I may ask, is there a place my crew and I can stay for the night? We will have a long journey ahead of us."

"Of course there's a place for you to stay," Kokomi responded, "please follow me."

Beidou followed her to a temporarily vacant barracks. Most of the soldiers who usually occupied this building were on the front line, so it was alright to have Captain Beidou and her crew staying there.

Beidou left the first thing in the morning. She left so early that there were some soldiers who were unaware that she set foot on the island. Among the goods that Captain Beidou brought, there was food, iron for weapons, and even medical supplies from Sumeru. How the Captain of the Crux Crew managed to get ahold of all those supplies, Kokomi had no idea. It seemed Captain Beidou always seemed to be busy. Luckily Kokomi managed to pass on an important message to the Captain before she left.

Aside from that, it was just the morale boost that she and her army needed. The medical supplies looked to be enough to last them weeks.

That same day, Gorou, along with much of the resistance, went back to Yashiori Island to fight on the front lines. Kokomi meanwhile still had things to take care of on her island. She had faith in her General, even when times were tough.

Along with the Shogunate army, they often had to worry about the Fatui as well. There were a few people, some who Kokomi knew, who believed that it was the diplomats from Snezhnaya who were behind both the Sakukou Decree and the Vision Hunt Decree. However, she never managed to find a single bit of concrete evidence for that claim.

As she trudged along the path, she came across a hastily abandoned Fatui camp. In the distance, members of the resistance could be spotted. It was evident that they were the ones who cleared the small Fatui camp. They all seemed to be from the same special operations unit Swordfish II.

Just then someone from the unit came up to her.

"Your Excellency, we just cleared this Fatui camp a few moments ago," the soldier explained. "Would you like for us to look for anything suspicious, or would you like to investigate the camp yourself?"

"I'll investigate the camp from here," Kokomi told her, "Thank you for all your work here."

"Thank you, Your Excellency. I shall take my leave now."

Soon it was just Kokomi and the two guards who came with her. She ordered them to stand away from her, and be ready if action was needed.

Kokomi then began looking through the evacuated camp. The only useful item she came across was an unsent letter resting on the ground. It detailed a "Delusion Factory" and a "Resistance spy" with no identifying names.

She nearly dropped the note as she read the words. A spy within her ranks… How could she let such a thing slip by her? Was the spy currently at Yashiori Island with Gorou?

"Is there something wrong, Your Excellency?" one of her Guards asked.

"I want you to go to where General Gorou and the rest of the army is," Kokomi responded. "Tell him to look for anyone suspicious and bring them to me."

The guard nodded and left to go find the general. The other guard escorted her back to the shrine. On the way back, Kokomi couldn't stop thinking about the letter. She had no idea who this spy was, or even what a delusion exactly was. All she knew was that such an item was dangerous for most mortals who came in contact with them.

She needed to know what the Fatui's plans were. The lives of many depended on it. But sometimes only time can lead someone to the truth they need. This time Sangonomiya Kokomi could only hope to find answers before it was too late.