Normal text.

Italic text = Inner thoughts/past events.

Bold text = Abyss Lumine speaking.

Chapter 6

After that bizarre encounter with a dragon and a god in human disguise. Lumine and her flying companion continues on with their way out of the woods on the roads that leads to Mondstadt city, their first stop at this very long journey ahead of them.

Along the way, Paimon had been telling her some knowledge she knows about the nation of wind. It was just some basic knowledges about the land and not about the nation itself, such as the how the winds here can be either a lot tamer or harsher than in other lands sometimes, or that there is one certain region that's not like the other where it snows.

Eventually, as they were chatting, they reached the end of the forest, revealing an open view of the vast green plains of Mondstadt that they saw back on top of the mountain.

Lumine and Paimon look at one another, and smiled. The fairy gestured for her to enter, which she happily like to.

"Someone's coming." But was stopped by the voice in her head.

"Hey you! Stop right there!" A voice of an unknown individual ring through the air, and the two traveling companions stopped in their track to look up and sees a girl in red flying down in the air, landing on the ground right before the two, almost tripped and fall, before quickly turn around and give them a salute. "May the Anemo God protect you, stranger!"

Lumine and Paimon look at one another once more, before turning their eyes to look at the newcomer. The girl before them has long dark brown hair and a pair of orange-gold eyes. She wears a jumper-like outfit perfect for running around outside, red stockings, and white thigh-high boots embellished with gold linings and symbols. A gold-framed goggles is placed around her neck, and on the top of her head, there's headband that made to look like bunny ears.

She looks like an important person, perhaps she knew the way into the city?

"I am Amber, Outrider of the Knights of Favonious." The brunette introduce herself, her eyes glance to inspect both Lumine and Paimon closely.

"Knights of... Favonious?" Traveler Lumine internally pondered.

"The ruling body of Mondstadt. Protectors of the nation of wind, founded roughly about a thousand year ago." Abyss Lumine answered her questions. "Expect that you'll be acquainted with their highest ranking personnel soon."

"I'll be sure to keep that in mind." Traveler Lumine mentally nod.

"You don't look like citizens of Mondstadt. Explain yourself!" The brown haired girl who introduced herself as Amber, demanded. She puts her hands on her sides an narrowed her eyes as she looks at them a little suspiciously, waiting for their answers.

"We're not looking for trouble." Paimon waves her hands while shaking her head.

"That's what all the troublemakers say." Amber retorted, causing the little fairy a gulp and nervously glance at her companion.

She suppose a proper and nice introduction are in line.

"Hello. I'm Lumine." Lumine introduce herself, waving a single hand.

"Lu...mine? Doesn't sound like a local name to me." Amber repeated, her eyes then looks at Paimon once more, taking on her strange appearance. "And this... mascot, what's the deal with it?"

"We're friends."

"Emergency food."

"What did you say?!" Lumine asked... Which she unintentionally released to the outside world, gaining a look from both girls before her. "Ahem, excuse me, carry on." She clears her throat after an awkward pause.

"Well... We're only been traveling partners for two months, but We've already become the very best of friends!" Paimon explained while wearing a happy smile.

"So to sum it up, you're traveling partners, right?" Amber asked.

"That's right, and we're heading to Mondstadt city." Lumine replied with a nod.

Amber hummed while scratching her chin with one hand. "Well look, there's been a large dragon sighted around Mondstadt recently. So it's best you get inside the city as soon as possible. It's not far from here, so allow me to escort you there." Amber said with a nod, her face looks serious when she said about a dragon. And both travelers know this to be true after what they witnessed not too long ago.

"Oh? Aren't you out here for some other reason?" Paimon asked curiously.

"I am. But not to worry, I can keep you both safe while doing that too." Amber nodded before she eyes them suspiciously once more. "Besides... I'm still not sure if I can trust you two just yet!"

"Why so suspicious? That's a rather rude way to speak to guests." Lumine remarked, crossing her arms on her chest as she stares at the brunette.

"Oh, Ahh... I'm sorry. Probably not something I should say as a knight." Amber scratch the back of her head before clearing her throat and put one hand on her chest. "I give you my apologies, uh... Strange yet... Respectable travelers."

"That sounds so fake!" Paimon shouted in protest.

With Amber with them, the Outrider now becomes their guide to the city. She walks in the front, while Lumine and Paimon follows her from behind, keeping a certain distance between them so the two could whisper to one another without having the third uninvited guest evedropping. But a quick glance one or two times towards the red bunny girl sees her glancing back at them several times, curious and cautious.

The silence between the two seem to become unbearable. And eventually, Amber stopped in her track, then turned herself around to face the Traveler.

"So then, suspicious travelers, what brings the two of you here, in Mondstadt?" Amber asked her eyes once again inspecting them, staring at Lumine in particular.

Lumine and Paimon shares a look, before silently agreeing on something. Lumine spoke up.

"I am searching for someone." Amber raised an eyebrow at her. "It was my brother. We got separated during our journey, and it's been a long time since the last time I saw him. I came to Mondstadt in hopes that someone would at least saw him or knew who he is." The blonde haired girl explained, putting one hand on her chest while wearing a somber expression.

Paimon looks at her company before sharing a somber expression. "And Paimon is Lumi's traveling buddy, helping her to find her brother." Paimon said with a nod of her head.

"Oh, looking for your family... Huh." Amber looks mildly surprised at their answers. Her eyes look confused, downturned and swings from side to side while looking at the ground.

After a few moments, she clears her throat and wash those conflicted look on her face away.

"Okay! Let me just finish my other stuff first, and then I can help you put up posters around the city." Amber said after her moment of silence.

Lumine widened her eyes a little. "Wait, you're going to help me search my brother?" She asked and shock and confusion.

"Why of course!" Amber nods her head enthusiastically. "It is the job of the Knights of Favonious to help the people after all!"

"But... I'm not from Mondstadt."

"It doesn't matter." The brunette shook her head. "Be it merchant from Liyue, tourists from abroad, or just some random people on the streets. It is the Knights job to help any people in need." Amber explained, putting one hand on her waist as a serious look appear on her face. "Though I may not be able to do much, at least by putting some posters in the city, we could spread awareness to the people who might've seen your brother."

Lumine fell silent after that, only responding with a slight hum. Who would've thought the first person she'll encounter would be the one who immediately lends their hand to help her? Well, aside from Paimon of course.

"Yeah... Good luck with that, I'm sure you'll be finding him in no time." Abyss Lumine sneered sarcastically.

"At least there's someone that wants to help us..." Traveler Lumine sighed mentally.

"So what exactly is it you need to finish doing first?" Paimon asked, breaking the silence between them.

"It's simple. You'll understand in a bit. Just stick with me for a while." Amber said, causing the two travelers to look at each other before shrugging.

They then continue on their journey again, still with Amber taking the lead. They stayed silent once again, in front of them, Amber had taken out a map from her bag and is navigating the area where they're heading towards some spot with a red X marks on it. On her side, Paimon is enjoying the view of the Mondstadt plain, sighing in relief as she feels the soft, gentle, cooll breeze of the winds that brush against her hair. Lumine too is enjoying the calm gentle breeze, whilst talking to her other self.

"Where do you think she's taking us? Didn't she just tell us to get to safety because of that dragon we saw earlier? Why not taking us directly to the city?" Traveler asked, she already guessed that her other self would probably don't know the answer, nor will she care about it, but she ask her anyway.

"Don't ask me, I ain't got a clue." Abyss Lumine replied with a shake of her head.

"Hmm... She did say that she has some things to do first. What do you think that is?" Traveler Lumine asked again, she still can't believe that this is herself that she's talking to.

"Don't know, don't care." And it looks like her guesses are indeed correct. "Though remembering some past events that happened in my world's past... I think I may have a guess or two." Abyss Lumine continued, causing Traveler Lumine to pause.

"And those are...?" The Traveler mentally raised an eyebrow.

"The Dragon of the East's rampage at this period of time did not happen under his free will, or at least, not entirely." Abyss Lumine revealed with a hum, seemingly trying to recollect some events that probably happened back in her past life. "There both internal and external factors that drove him to attack the city he was meant to protect. And one of those factors, is that something or rather someone, were indirectly influencing him, someone... Of a much bigger threat than the beast itself, a threat to the whole world." The spirit of the Princess explained.

That caused traveler Lumine on the outside to stop walking. "Surely you're not talking about-"

"Quick! Get down."

A hand tugged at her arm and pulled the still Lumine down to the ground, cutting off her inner conversation and divert her focus elsewhere, back to the real world.

"What's wrong? Why are we suddenly hiding in a bush?" Paimon questioned when Amber pulled them down to crouch behind a thick bush.

"Shh, keep quiet. They'll hear us if you talk too much." Amber whispered while putting an index finger on her lips, gesturing the two to keep their voice down.

Both Lumine and Paimon are confused by this, but decided to follow her instructions anyway.

After several seconds of waiting in confusion, they all heard footsteps coming from the other side of the bush. Taking a peek from behind, they saw a figure walking pass by. It wasn't a human, but it does have a humanoid body. The creature has grayish brown skin, walking on bare legs, it has a light brown mane like a lion for hair, a pair of what appear like elongated ears sticking out of their head, and then a mask to hide their face.

"Ah! A Hilichurl!" Paimon gasped silently in surprise upon seeing the creature.

"Hilichurl?" Lumine raised an eyebrow. Is that what it's called?

"These are monsters that have been getting too close to the city recently." Amber whispered, eyes locked on her target which walks further away from them "My task this time is clear out their camp." The brunette said, with both Lumine and Paimon nodded.

"I felt a unique vibe coming off of them." Traveler Lumine commented, putting a hand on her chin as she turned to ask her counterpart. "What do you know about this thing, other me?"

"..." But strangely, the princess is unusually very quiet.

"Other me?" Traveler Lumine gets confused by the other's silence, and she asked in some concern. "What's wrong?"

"It's... It's nothing." Abyss Lumine finally replied after a moment. "You should probably pay attention to that outrider if you wanted to get to the city as soon as possible."

Traveler Lumine wanted to ask about her deceased self sudden change of tone, but when she heard the voice of Amber talking, she decided to drop it for now and focus at the real worl event.

"... Let's tail that Hilichurl we saw just now. With any luck, it'll lead us straight to their camp where we need to go." Amber said standing up, Lumine nods in understandment despite of only hearing like less than half of what she said.

They followed the Hilichurl quietly while keeping some distance away from it. Hopping from one bushes to another, they tailed the creature until it led them back to it's camp, a small clearing where other similar looking creatures have built structures from scraps of wood and cloth to make it their haven.

"Aha, found it." Amber said with a nod.

"Despite their primitive looks, they sure know how to build things." Lumine muttered upon seeing the structures. Despite of how messy it look, there's no denying the existing artistic sense in their built. Wonder if they learn this by mimicking how humans built their house or something.

Amber took out a bow, and she stood up before glancing at both Lumine and Paimon.

"Wait here. I'll be done in a minute." She said, before the brunette jump out of hiding and into plain view, before either Paimon or Lumine could say anything.

Amber landed in the midst of the camp where the Hilichurls were sitting around eating fruits or just simply staring into space. The moment they see her, they made a surprised sound and immediately stands up. They reach for their wooden clubs and staff, gathering around the red girl and surrounded her from multiple directions.

"Oh no, there so many of them! Should we help?" Paimon who view the scene turned to look at Lumine.

Hmm, perhaps they should just observe for now.

One Hilichurl hurls a rock towards Amber, aiming for her head. She tilts to the side to avoid it, and raised her arms which held her bow with the string already drawn. Lumine noticed that she did not picked up any arrows to shoot with the bow.

"She shoots fire from her bow?" Traveler Lumine mentally wondered as she closely observed. "How's she doing that?"

"It was elemental energy, compressed into the shape of an arrow." Abyss Lumine answered.

"Elemental energy? So the people of this world are capable of using magic as well?" Traveler Lumine asked again.

"Yes, but not in a traditional manner." Abyss Lumine shook her head pointed at something. "Do you see that red gem dangling from the bag on her hips?"

Following her directions, Traveler Lumine's eyes went to Amber's hips, there is something attached to her bag. It was an accessory of sort, a big round crimson gem that were embed into a bronze casing. There's a bright orangish symbol visible on the red gem, a symbol that look like a flame.

"That thing? What about it?" Traveler Lumine asked curiously.

"Those are called Visions. It's the device that grant people with control over elemental powers." Abyss Lumine answered, causing Traveler Lumine to raise an eyebrow.

"A device that let's you use magic? That's... Shouldn't it be worrying if everyone has that?" Traveler Lumine mused, sounding a little bit worried.

"Well, they aren't exactly an easy item to acquire." Abyss Lumine said with a little huff. "Only a select few of individual can have those, and not all of them are able to use them to their fullest potential enough as well."

"Ah... I see. So it works more or less the same as in the other worls." Traveler Lumine muttered with an understanding nod.

Before long, those Hilichurls creatures were already dealt with. And Amber stood there among their dead corpses. Breathing a sigh of relief while wiping the sweat off of her forehead. Lumine and Paimon approaches her.

"That was super cool!" Paimon cheered while rubbing her tiny legs together. "Paimon didn't realize until now that you're a Vision wielder."

"Heh, it's nothing." Amber smiled while rubbing the back of her head. "Compared to someone like Kaeya or Eula, I'm still just an amateur."

"Who are those?" Paimon asked curiously.

"Oh, they're other members of the Knights of Favonious. Perhaps if we have the chance, I'll introduce them to you later." Amber promised, with both Paimon and Lumine nodded. "Anyway, that's one Hilichurl camp done. Off to the next. Then we can finally go to the city."

"Now that you mention it, how is it the hilichurls ended up here?" Paimon questioned as the little fairy took a look at the ruins of the camp around them. "These creatures don't seem like the type to set up camp so close to cities like this."

"Exactly. It's more normal for them to be much further out in the wilderness." Amber said before releasing a sigh, her eyes turned to look up to the sky. "But because the dragon, Stormterror, has been around a lot more recently, our orchards have been destroyed and the local market has been affected as well. When the storms hit, we usually end up with at least a few injuries, so the Knights of Favonious have been tied up doing the best they can to defend the area."

"So these annoying creatures have been getting closer and closer to the city?" Paimon asked again.

"Exactly. That said, clearing this camp helped make the area a little bit safer." Putting a hand on her chest, the brunette looks at the pair of Travelers. "That's why you need to come with me! A responsible knight must make sure to see you to the city safely."

"I see. Thank you, we greatly appreciate it." Lumine replied with a grateful nod.

"Hehe, no problem. Just doing my duty." The bunny girl smiled.

They went to next Hilichurl camp, watching how Amber made a quick work of them. And after that, they finally head towards the Mondstadt City now that it had entered their sights. While on this plains, the city looks even way bigger than it was when they overlooking it from that cliff.

As they approached the stone bridge, Lumine wonders what awaits her on this first Destination of her journey.

To be Continued...

A rather short chapter for a few months break. Forgive me, life really hates me lately. Let's hope that I could return to my usual update frequency.