Chapter Text
The sky was painted a soft orange, slowly spreading through the sky as Diluc approached the Whispering Woods. After a night of dealing with abyss mages, he found himself slowing his steps to recuperate. The Abyss Order seems more active nowadays. I will have to take care of that.
He looked up at the sky and allowed a smile to grace his face. To be able to see dawn would mean that the darkness was temporarily quelled.
His eyes widened at the sight of a six-winged sky blue dragon gliding through the sky and seeming to lower. He mapped out the trail in his head. So Stormterror is heading towards the heart of the Whispering Woods… He quickened his steps, wanting to know what exactly the dragon planned to do there.
The surroundings turned darker as the trees shadowed over the path and blocked out the rising sun. Diluc continued, approaching what sounded to be a growl, before hiding behind a tree.
Knowledge is power.
So he stayed as hidden as possible as he watched a bard approach Stormterror. The bard was dressed in green, almost matching the leaves of the trees nearby, with a hat with two leaves sticking out. The bard was dressed uniquely enough that Diluc would most likely be able to find him again as he continued to catalogue the cape, the strange pattern at the side of his pants and the diamonds on his leggings.
Even if he decided to wear different clothes, the way his dark blue hair faded into a lighter blue and the hairstyle that mimicked Lord Barbatos was a rarity in Mondstadt.
“Don’t be afraid… It’s alright now. I’m back,” a soft, gentle voice said in a soothing manner. The bard had their hands out, seemingly waiting for the dragon to approach him.
…Is this bard actually talking to a dragon? Diluc couldn’t believe the sight before him and the words the bard used… Is he friends with the dragon?
It looked as though the bard was successfully communicating with the dragon, the dragon was getting closer to the bard slowly and gently. Yet, the dragon suddenly roared towards the sky before roaring at the bard, who turned away and covered his face with his arm. The bard then jumped back in response to the swipe Stormterror made, landing with a few teal feathers before facing the direction he was hiding in.
“Starfell Lake?” the bard furrowed his brows in what looked to be a mix of confusion and frustation.
The dragon continued to make a ruckus and roared one more time, the blue wisps coming from its eyes making him look even more intimidating and Diluc stood still, hiding. Fighting an enraged dragon was not exactly something he wanted to resort to yet, not when he had some leads regarding this to pursue.
There was a blast of wind and the sound of beating wings before the forest was quiet again. He glanced around, seeing the bard had also disappeared and a strange red crystal left where the dragon was at.
Diluc approached the crystal, noting its tear-like shape, before a sharp pain hit him and he stumbled back. He stared at the crystal. The properties of it seemed to make him hurt even without touching it. The crystal was valuable, coming from Stormterror itself, and Diluc wanted to take it. However, he could not get close enough to grab it.
With no other choice, he had to left the crystal behind and continued on his way to Mondstadt City.
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With Stormterror causing destruction and creating storms, the streets Diluc walked through was quieter than usual as he made his way to Angel’s Share. Most citizens sought shelter nowadays, the harsh winds almost cutting during these attacks, and his tavern was one of these places. He wanted to check on it, to make sure Charles could handle any increase in people and offer a hand if needed.
Diluc had told Charles not to reject anyone who wasn’t drinking. They should be allowed to seek shelter from the storms and if one of his buildings was able to provide this protection, he would rather they stay there.
If Charles could handle it, he wanted to look into the temples around Mondstadt. His information stated that they seem to help Stormterror in some way, which could potentially lead to a solution.
After checking the tavern, which wasn’t so crowded since there wasn’t an attack and people didn’t normally drink in the morning, Diluc prepared to head to the temples. A step outside and his hair was being blown harshly.
An attack is happening.
Diluc looked up to see a fog turn the sky into something murky and the dragon he had just seen this morning flying across the city. He immediately opened the tavern door, “Get in!” he shouted as he guided the people nearby into his tavern.
It seemed this time, Stormterror was attacking Mondstadt directly.
The dragon roared and the winds coalesced into dark tornadoes, pulling in anyone within its reach. Diluc stayed outside, holding the door close tightly and only opening it to gently push anyone in. His eyes caught the sight of something yellow, maybe blonde being sucked into a tornado. He watched the blur, heart thumping in his chest, as it seemed to leave yet nothing was falling. Where…? He continued to observe the sky and spotted bright blue streaks through the fog, hitting the dragon. Are they up there? How are they remaining up there?
Eventually Stormterror flew away yet the sky remained dark. The tornadoes and tempestuous winds were still blowing but weaker. He could see the person gliding down, a blur of black and yellow. They’re safe then…
This brought up questions. To have a direct attack on Mondstadt happen right after the bard talked to it, it definitely made that bard suspicious but… What exactly happened in the morning? And how did that person stay up there with only a wind glider?
He released the door and stepped inside. A look around showed that many looked shaken, staying far from the exit
“Charles, are you able to handle this?”
“Of course.”
Diluc turned towards the others, “If you wish to leave, please be careful. The winds are still strong outside.” Then he left the tavern, heading towards his next target.
The temples might help to resolve this issue.
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The temples were not an entirely fruitless venture. It seemed that Stormterror drew power from these temples thus breaking the source of power dissipated the harsh winds from Mondstadt City. The winds however did not return to its gentle state, remaining as rough as it had been since Stormterror started attacking.
It also brought to his attention another thing. The Abyss Order being more active appeared to be due to Stormterror’s appearance in Mondstadt as seen from their presence in the Temple of the Wolf. As suspicious as that bard was, he seemed to be more of an ally than an enemy. But he needed more information to confirm that and what exactly the bard was trying to do was also something he wanted to find out. After some much-needed sleep, he was going to Angel’s Share to see if anybody would drop any information on a green bard.
Pushing the door open, he glanced around and his eyes caught onto the familiar green cape. Why is he here? Isn’t he a bit too young to be drinking?
He walked towards the bar, glad that no one was occupying it before asking softly, “Charles, who’s the bard in green?”
Charles looked up from wiping the glasses, “Him? That’s Venti. A very popular bard that comes by almost every night.”
“Almost every night?”
“Yes, there are some nights when he doesn’t come but it’s not in any kind of pattern. There was one day he probably should not have come in, he looked very tired,” Charles looked at him quizzically.
Diluc ignored it, “Which day was it?”
Charles glanced up, “…It was the day Stormterror attacked the city, I believe.”
“I see. Thank you.”
Diluc turned to look at the bard, singing and laughing merrily. For him to be tired on the day of the Stormterror attack... It could be due to other factors. However, he couldn’t dismiss the slight chance that the bard could be colluding with Stormterror or the Abyss Order since the attack did happen right after he talked to the dragon, even if the conversation that morning did not point to anything malicious.
He would have to investigate this more to be sure… Or talk to the bard personally.
When the bard left, he waited for a moment before following him out. However, there was no sight of him nor any sound of footsteps.
The bard just disappeared.
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This continued to happen. The bard somehow vanished into thin air, no matter how quickly he followed behind without compromising himself.
This is ridiculous.
Word had also spread of an honorary knight and that it was a traveller who went against Stormterror. Giving such a title to a traveller from faraway and mostly a stranger at that was… Though he had to admit that that was preferable to the Fatui and the traveller had to have proven themselves in some way to receive such a title.
Diluc had also decided to return to the Whispering Woods where he first saw the bard. But there was no trace of the crystal, either having disappeared or taken.
So the bard remained one of the only few leads he had left regarding Stormterror.
And once again, the bard was in the tavern. But this time, he was determined to talk to him.
When the bard left, he followed right after and with his longer strides, he grabbed the bard by the arm.
“What-”
Diluc pulled him through the backdoor of the tavern and switched on the lights. This should be private enough.
He pushed the bard against a wall, keeping him there so he would not escape.
The bard glanced up at him and seemed to have finally gotten a clear look at him, the fear in his eyes disappearing and replaced with an innocent look, “I haven’t stolen anything from you, I swear.”
What?