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Upon entering Stormbearer Mountains, the first thing that Yasmine noticed was how bitterly cold it was.

This was very strange. From what they had heard from the adventurers in Sumeru, Mondstadt was a relatively warm nation, blessed by the Anemo Archon who typically brought good weather. Dragonspine, the infamous mountain famed for its unforgiving climate, was supposed to be the cold area, with wind that carried snowflakes and flecks of glistening ice.

No matter, really. Yasmine didn't expect to spend much time here. A few local specialties to fill up their basket would do nicely. Despite their beauty, the people of Sumeru were beginning to tire of kalpalatas and rukkhashava mushrooms. Their business had to keep afloat somehow, and they had eventually come to the conclusion that to achieve this, they had to 'widen their merchandise to that of other nations'. This seemed like a lot of work just for a few valberries and dandelions.

The wind blew directly in their direction, coating their face in a layer of frost and forcing them to retreat under the rocky jut of a mountain. This wasn't just some wind. This was a blizzard, and they had no intention of facing a blizzard.

Yasmine hated the cold. People back home often teased them about it, commenting on how the ice that ran through their veins (no thanks to their cryo vision) should've provided them with extra resilience to the cold. It was quite the opposite. The daily torture of having to live with a perpetual snowstorm on their person was another hell entirely, and anything colder than their vision would positively knock them flat. Yasmine took a good, long look at their vision and frowned. Who could've thought that a tiny arctic gemstone could cause so much trouble?

Yasmine observed the contents of their baskets, disappointment written clearly on their countenances. A few packaged valberries and a handful of dandelion seeds was the product of hours of labour, dodging hilichurls camps and trekking up mountains until their legs ached. They weren't planning to stay long enough to actually occupy the apartment they had rented out in the City of Mondstadt - they were certain that a note delivered to the Adventurer's Guild explaining their sudden absence would do perfectly well - but with a feeling of rising dread, Yasmine realized that they might actually have to stay in Mondstadt for a bit. In the blizzard. In the cold.

In a fit of misery, Yasmine slouched against the cold rock and groaned, releasing their grip on their wicker basket and watching their fruitless gatherings spill on the grass. They were exhausted. It was warmer in Sumeru. Oh, why didn't they pay someone to do all of this grunt work?

Lost in the thick, impenetrable cloud of their own self-pity, Yasmine barely heard the words that floated in the frosty air.

"Muhe ye! Ye dada! Ye dada!"

Their heart caught in their throat. That scratchy, high voice - abyss mages. Their voices overlapped each other, the crackles of elemental energy seemed to surge in their air...there must've been at least three of them, maybe more. Shame. Yasmine didn't know a lick of Hilichurlian, or whatever they spoke.

"Mimi nunu, Mimi nunu! Muhe ye!"

Where was that feeling of dread?

Yasmine's catalyst began to bob haphazardly in their air above their shoulder. Ah, yes, there it was. Bang on time.

Now, what could they do?

The first instinct was to run for the hills. If they ran fast enough, they could make it to the Whispering Woods and surely there had to be someone on patrol there who could sort out the issue.

No. If there was one thing that Yasmine remembered from their classes at the Akademiya, it was that abyss mages possessed an extraordinary line of sight - Yasmine highly doubted they would make it three steps before they were struck down with an icicle to the back, or an electro projectile, or whatever.

Option two was to stand up and fight - if luck was on their side, there would be no cryo- wait. Wait.

Was the presence of cryo abyss mages - multiple cryo abyss mages - causing the drastic change in temperature? The frost in the air, was that the produce of the rapid appearances and disappearances of them?

Ohh, they were screwed. They had no other options than to run, fight or wait.

Time to put that godforsaken vision to use, then.

Yasmine crawled out from under the rock. They brushed the gravel from their cape and clutched their vision tightly. It pulsated under their fingertips, emitting an icy aura.

They peeked over the rock. Their heart sank into their shoes.

Ice. Everywhere.

It was a gathering of purely cryo abyss mages, cryo hilichurls, cryo...slimes? Bad, bad, bad, very bad. Ohh, Yasmine wasn't going anywhere.

An abyss mage, unshielded and performing some sort of ritual over an extinguished fire, turned around mid-jig.

They made eye contact.

Instantly, the shield was up again, wand in hand - the other mages, hilichurls and slimes were catching on, taking the offensive, and the air swirled with ice so merciless that Yasmine can hardly see.

They stood there, utterly frozen as mages soared towards them, and the vision on their hip was still and silent, and the weapon over their shoulder was useless.

The mage was so dangerously close now that Yasmine could see that mask in full detail. Tens of abyss mages were flying at breakneck speed behind, and slowly, Yasmine came to the conclusion that they were fucked.

"Uhh, uhh, HELP! SOMEBODY HELP ME!!"

How embarrassing.

"Nini zido! Nini zido! Nini zi-"

A blast of fire sent water splashing everywhere. Yasmine ducked, hands over their head as water vapour flew at them like a rushing wind.

Mages here and there simply disintegrated. Slimes exploded into puddles. When the air was silent, they slowly raised their head.

"Oh my God, are you ok? I'm so sorry I didn't get here sooner! I was caught up with some paperwork and then my pen exploded and I had to get more copies of the paperwork and..."

Yasmine took in the appearance of the person before them. Messy black hair (it looked like it needed a good brushing), a ripped sleeveless shirt, shorts, and a catalyst hovering over their hand. A red gemstone, attached to their hip, began to glow.

"...and once again, I hope you're alright! I'm Adam, by the way. Adam Hearst. I work at the Adventurer's Guild. But you don't look like you're from Mondstadt, so I don't know if you know what that is. Do they have an Adventurer's Guild where you live?"

Yasmine nodded slowly. Adam's brain seemed to move at a hundred miles per hour. "Yeah, we do...isn't there an Adventurer's Guild in every nation?"

"There is?! Seriously? Oh, that's so cool! Do you work at the Adventurer's Guild in your nation? What nation are you even from? What's your job? Wait, I didn't even ask what your name was!"

"Number one, I don't work there. Two, I'm from Sumeru. Three, I'm a merchant. Four, my name is Yasmine. Nice to meet you."

"How long are you planning to stay in Mondstadt, Yasmine?"

Yasmine frowned. "Uh, I was supposed to stay here for less than a day, but I didn't get all of the things I wanted," they shook their empty wicker basket, "so I'll be here for a bit longer."

"Do you have anywhere to stay?"

God, he asked a lot of questions.

"Yeah. I rented an apartment in the city. I should be heading there now, actually." They looked up at the sky, now a deep shade of blue. "It's getting late. Do you live in the city also?"

"I do! I live in one of the apartments by Good Hunter, the best restaurant in all of Teyvat! I'll take you there tomorrow, they serve breakfast at a discount if you take a friend, did you know that?"

Friend?

"This is the fourth attack this week." With a frustrated sigh, Adam pressed a thumbtack into the map and ran a hand through his dishevelled hair. "Shouldn't we be really worried by now? It's not just common hilichurl attacks now - people's lives will be at stake if we don't do something."

"I'm sure you know what I'll say," replied Kayjax, Adam's laid-back, easy-going partner, picking at his nails. "It's just some abyss mages getting together for who knows what. Probably a ritual for good weather or something something. Let them do their thing, ok?"

"We can't just 'let them do their thing', though! There's this merchant from Sumeru who was almost caught up in a fight with them today! If I hadn't been there, who knows what could've happened to them?"

Kayjax sat a little straighter in his chair. "Which is understandable and all, but can't we deduce it as simply being in the wrong place at the wrong time? You can't always be the hero, Ad-"

"Ugh, you don't understand, KJ!" Adam slumped into his chair. "Look, we get monthly reports of the abyss gatherings in every parts of Mondstadt, right? It's hasn't been this bad in over a decade! And if it's not abyss gathering then it's a Fatui attack. And if it's not that, then it's Archons knows what, Archons knows where. What's changed? What's the new incentive for all of the attacks?"

"Ok, ok, keep your hat on. How about...ugh ok, how about I get one of the Knights of Favonius to go and sort it out? Would it put that wonderful mind of yours at ease?"

Adam frowned and took a bite of the doughnut in front of them. "Fine. But you have to get it done today. Knowing you, you'll put it off until the last minute and we seriously need to make some progress on this."

"You have my word, then."

----

The cat in the poor servant's arms bounded out of their hold and scampered down the alleyway. The bowl of warm cat food went untouched.

"Is this shhheriously how the Knights of F-Favonius conduckt themshhelves? Playing with kittens in the shhhtreets?"

This was precisely the situation that Neutral Awle was praying they wouldn't get themselves into.

"Oh, I-I'm not an actual Knight of Favonius! I'm just a servant, s-see?" They held a handful of their servant clothing - a hotchpotch of miserable grey fabric stitched together in what could barely be called an apron, worn over a off-coloured white shirt and black trousers - and offered a friendly smile to the obviously drunk Knight. "And I'm on my break, so-"

"Ah, SHUDDUP!" A tremendous kick sent the bowl of cat food splattering against the wall. Neutral flinched badly at the sound, scraping their elbow on a particularly rough bit of plaster before scrambling to scoop the remains back into the bowl.

"We don't pay- don't pay you to fffrolick in the shhhtreets with cats all day. Get to woooork!"

Neutral bowed their head. Even if they tried to argue, they doubted that the Knight would even listen. "Y-Yes, sir. Sorry. I'll get to work right away."

Work for the Knights of Favonius, they said. You'll gain so much respect, they said.

Neutral didn't know when to laugh or cry. Day after day, they suffered constant mistreatment from half of the Knights, while the other half smothered them in gifts and hugs and breaks and always failed to acknowledge the raw effort they poured into this godforsaken job. And all of this, all of the crying and the breakdowns and the sleepless nights for who? Their family? Their family would be mortified if they saw their child scraping cat food from the back of the Knights of Favonius headquarters.

The hot tears that dripped down their face just made matters worse. The Knights were dealing with abyss attacks on the daily, and here they were, crying over a telling-off from someone who retained full authority to do so. How could they just sit there, playing with cats when Knights were out there, risking their lives to keep the people of Mondstadt safe?

Neutral only wanted to help. Why couldn't they help? Why didn't anybody want their help? Why-

"Hey, are you one of the Knights?"

Their heart skipped a beat. Hurriedly wiping the cat food on their apron they turned with a winning smile to the person (hopefully) seeking their assistance. However, as soon as the stranger looked at them, all confidence flooded out of them into the autumn breeze. "Hello."

Technically, they weren't one of the Knights, just a servant, and they thought to mention this. But the person in front of them, an unfamiliar individual donning a large witch's hat that covered their left eye (fully exposing the right one, under which rested a dark eyebag), seemed rather tired, and it seemed improper to deny them assistance. Neutral would welcome any task with open arms.

"Right, so, this might be a bit much, but do you think you could take care of an abyss gathering on the outskirts of town? My part- assistant and I have a bit too much on our hands to take care of it at the moment."

Oh.

"A-an abyss gathering? How...how many are we talking about? Would you happen to know the element of which they wield?"

"Uh, cryo, I believe. And there are quite a few. Sorry for the inconvenience."

Oh dear.

No, Neutral thought. This was not something that they would back down from. This was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to prove themselves worthy of respect. "Oh, alright. Where are they?"

"Stormbearer Mountains. Just by the fishing lake. There are some slimes also, but not the large type. They're rather docile according to my assistant."

"O-Ok. I'll see to it now."

"You're a gem."

When the stranger left, the polite smile on Neutral's face dropped. They sank to their knees and covered their face with their fish-coated hands. "Archons, what have I gotten myself into?"

One last frozen petal fluttered to the ground, and all was silent.

Neutral was exhausted. The raw cryo energy had turned their movements sluggish almost immediately. They were freezing to the bone, teeth chattering, limbs trembling, the whole shebang. The walk to Stormbearer Mountains was agonizing, a solid half-hour of climbing and climbing and climbing, and had they not stopped to munch on some valberries to replenish their energy then they were fairly sure the first icicle to their back would've been the end of them.

They were bleeding from somewhere, they knew that. Spots of red dotted the pristine grass beneath their feet, and slimy patches of condensate had ruined their shoes. The urge to collapse into fitful sleep overwhelmed them, but the logical, fully-functioning part of their brain that advised them not to pass out in the freezing aftermath of an exhausing fight kicked in, and with a handful of valberries and a resentful grumble to the person who even mentioned this to them, they set off for the walk back to Mondstadt.

However, their walk back to Mondstadt comes to an abrupt halt in the heart of the Whispering Woods.

"Celi...da..da? Nini mumu?"

"No, you fool! Can't you read? Mimi nunu! Not nini mumu, you ninny!"

"Mimi nunu! Muhe ye?"

And then, the more confident, "Celi dada! Mimi nunu!", which dissolved into unintelligible nonsense that Neutral could not make head nor tail of. It sounded like some form of communication...

Maybe just a sneak peek at what was going on would help?

Neutral found a particularly thick tree to hide behind. With their catalyst tucked safely away behind them, they squinted in the growing darkness at two very armored, very human figures holding a sheet of paper

"Once again," whispered Kheas, from atop his throne (which was actually a decorated highchair, much to her fury), "I do not need help."

"Are you suuuure?" drawled Kuma, resting comfortably in her very normal-sized chair. "It's a big, big job, destroying a whole nation. We wouldn't want you to burn the whole place down, would we?"

"Actually, that would probably help," said Alixus, taking a sip of his glass. "We should add that to the list!"

"But that's BORING," groaned Mayuko, dramatically throwing his head back. "Everything about this is so fucking boring. Do any of you even have experience?"

"Experience or not, it hardly matters. And also, please refrain from swearing. There are children in the room, after all." Erik gestured to Atrosisa, who stared at him with such rage that she went rather red-faced.

"I am NOT a CHILD! STOP SAYING THAT!!"

"Do you lack common sense? Cease that screeching at once. We are civilized beings, not caged animals." Celeste's voice was harsh and cold, unbefitting of somebody so seemingly calm and composed. She loosened their grip on their parasole and ran their fingers along the splintered wood. "Goodness gracious, I'm colluding with imbeciles..."

"IMBECILES?! Watch your mouth, you gothic freak! All that lipgloss is making you mouthy, eh?" Da Xia was on the offensive almost immediately - hands slammed on the table and vision pulsating on their hip.

"Lipstick. Unlike somebody here I don't derive pleasure from smearing myself with slime every so often."

Chloe, who was in the middle of applying a fresh layer, pouted. "No wonder your lips look like a dried fish! All that lipstick you use has no moisture. It's like you're rubbing dried paint on your mouth! Every time you talk it sounds like sandpaper rubbing together."

Igor choked the rest of his wine back into his cup. "Alright, alright," he managed between laughs, "keep it kind, Fortuna."

Krone took a sip of their own drink and frowned. Setting down the glass, they said,"We won't get anything done if we're at each other throats all the time. Aspen, keep your opinions to yourself. Achyls, sit down and clean that mess you made. Fortuna, you know what I'll say."

"No, no, it's better when we argue! A bit of animosity never hurt anyone, did it!" Dahigo raised her glass to one of the mercenaries stationed at the wall - dutifully, they provided her with a refill.

When they made to return to their position, however, Dahigo tugged them back and whispered in their ear. The mercenary's expression clouded with worry. "Are you sure, madam? Does that not seem rather, uhm, rude? She is a guest, after all, and I'd hate to-"

"I didn't employ you to talk," Dahigo murmured, "I employed you to do. So do it. Thanks."

The mercenary scuttled off.

"What was that about, Dahigo?"

"Nothing. Just an odd request. Kheas, why don't you tell us about some of your 'renowned accomplishments'? Other than taking your first step, of course."

In response to this Kheas took a deep breath to calm herself."Before I begin, I'd like to make it known that I retain a fleet of Teyvat's most dangerous monsters at my disposal. I will not take kindly to being treated like a little boy. Is that understood by all?"

Everybody nodded, mostly out of humour.

"Good. I suppose I'll start with my recent experience in the depths of the Chasm. I-"

"HOLD ON. You went to the CHASM?" Mayuko rose from his chair. "That's so fucking unfair! You-" He pointed a finger to Erik, who simply glared at him, "you're always going on about how I'm too inexperienced to go to the Chasm, but the KID gets to go?"

"Archons, have mercy on me." Rome buried their head in their hands. "We really are colluding with idiots."

"What did I SAY?! I AM NOT A KID! I AM A RENOWNED GENERAL OF-"

"'Renowned general', MY ASS! Don't you have some sort of daycare-"

Mayuko's upcoming barrage of insults was silenced by a very loud, very cold blast of energy that swept through the room like a wave. He resumed his seat, pulled his hood over his head and began to sulk.

"That will do," said Erik, who tugged his glove back on. "As Krone said earlier, we haven't the time for needless arguments. We have enough on our plates as it is. Mingxia, the plannings, if you may."

Mingxia, who had been silently waiting in the corner, came forward with a stack of paper in their hands. "This morning, a merchant from Sumeru was attacked by abyss mages on their way from Stormbearer Mountains. Two people from the Adventurers Guild are looking into it, and one person from the Knights of Favonius has been dispatched to sort it out."

"Control your fleet, Kheas," Alixus mumbled.

"Communication between the Fatui and the Abyss is currently unsuccessful. We are hoping to borrow some books from the Knights of Favonius Library that contain information on the Hilichurlian language. We have yet to be informed as to whether this endeavor is successful or not."

"Fuckin' great," Rome leaned back in his chair and rested his feet on the table. "We're getting nowhere. I told you that we should just burst in and take everything! What good does attacking from the outside do?!"

"Marcellus, I've told you once and I'll tell you again. By attacking the outskirts of Mondstadt and slowly driving our way in, the Knights of Favonius will exhaust their supplies on defending the attackers from outside - leaving them completely vulnerable when we attack and overpower them from within."

"And if you've any sense in that head of yours, you'll commit that to memory," said Igor. "Archons know how many times we have to tell you the same thing over and over again."

"Yeah, okay, whatever." Rome crossed his arms over his chest. "I'm hungry. When's lunch coming?"

Mingxia continued on, "I have requests from some of the mercenaries, which reads as such, 'Please instruct the child to send some advice as to how to communicate with abyss mages. They are exceedingly stubborn and refuse to cooperate-"

"Please instruct the what?"

Once again, Kheas' voice rang through the silent room. "Go on, repeat that. Please. Instruct. The. What?"

Mingxia cleared their throat. "It says child, but-"

"I. Am NOT. A CHILD! WHY IS EVERYONE CALLING ME THAT?!"

Chloe shrugged. "Maybe it's because your four foot two. I don't know, though. Just a hunch."

Kheas had long forgone deep breaths. "Tell that merce- tell that FOOL that I am the renowned general of an army of monsters responsible for the death of an entire NATION. I do NOT want to be called a child AGAIN. TELL THEM- is that chicken tofu pudding?"

Indeed, the servants had come in with lunch.

Bowls of warm noodles and plates of steaming food were distributed to the Harbingers, and any argument that Kheas thought to speak was forgotten amidst the utter joy that chicken tofu pudding brought them.

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