Chapter Text
How many centuries has it been?
Like every night before this, I sit at the peak of Dragonspine as far removed from humans as I can possibly be. Endless years of practice let me look and sound just like them, but I still avoid them. Why? At this point I’m not entirely sure. It was for my safety at first, that much I know. My father insisting I could never meet my mother’s people, insisting that I would be endangered the same way she was by simply associating with him. My mother let him, the nasty burns that were a fixture along her left side a constant reminder of what humans would do to us if they knew of our associations.
I used to wonder why she stayed with my father when it put her in so much danger. I still remember the day she told me it wasn’t her choice. That he took an interest in her, and she didn’t have an option after that. That she could never return to humanity, even if she did escape, because she’d been branded by a demon against her wishes. She saw hope in me and often said she would do everything she could to nurture the humanity I was born with. She hoped that one day I would be able to live among humans as if I was one of them. I turn to look at my warming seelie companion, a creature I learned to coexist with long ago.
It seemed so much more possible then.
But the yakshas come for all demons, and my father was no exception. My mother fled, taking me with her. It wasn’t until the grief of her death spread through my body that I realized I held the humanity she wanted me to have. I felt grief and fear at the loss of my mother. I was lost in a world I didn’t understand, and any demons that may have taught me to control my inhuman impulses were long hunted to extinction.
How many centuries has it been?
I look down the mountain, details fading to mist and snow. I learned to control those impulses myself long ago, on this mountain. No longer do I see a creature and seek to kill. No longer do I hear a voice a wish to hunt it down. No longer do I surrender myself to the whims of the demon that ran rampant in my mind. I am human, as much as I can be. I am what my mother wished for me to be, and looking at the lonely landscape surrounding me I wonder many things. How my mother would feel to see me. How my father would as well. Pride and disgust, I am almost certain. How many centuries has it been since my father died? My mother? Since the yakshas ended their hunt for my kind? I don’t know, and the mountain does not tell. I wonder if humans would even know what I am. I wonder if humans would accept me. I wonder if I could live among them, live as one of them.
I do not know how many centuries have passed, but I know it is the night of my mother’s birth. A yearly event she loved to celebrate. I do not know how old she would be, nor do I know how old I am, but I know she would be a year older and a year happier. I find myself staring at the powder accumulating on my clothes as emotions swirl like snowflakes within my chest. It’s her birthday, and I know what gift I can give her. What gift I should give her. A gift that is long overdue.
How many centuries it has been doesn’t matter. I will head to Liyue.
The night passes quietly, snow dusting my hair and clothes. I listen to the sounds of the mountain and breathe deeply. This will be my last night in Dragonspine for a while, I hope to remember it well. As the sun rises I begin to move, hearing the sparse wildlife awake as I head down the mountain to the west, to Liyue.
I climb carefully, urging Lucie to stay close as he is my only heat source. The day crawls by, but I know the mountain well and find my way around the fights easily. I reach the edge of Dragonspine quickly and find the mountains of Liyue are closer than ever. The whole region is cliff after cliff, and I realize that unless I know my way around well, I will have a great deal of climbing to do.
Still, I continue. My mother wished for me to live peacefully among humans, and it is time I give her that gift. Nearing a sharp drop-off, I see a village nestled between cliffs. I head down, carefully sliding down to the ground, and find the place deserted. I sense many things within the abandoned village. Ghosts, Hilichurls, even the earth itself breathes. I should have expected this from the land of the Geo Archon, but it is still a surprise to feel the life pulsing through the rock. As I walk I notice a path, leading out of the village and its area between the cliffs.
A group of hilichurls wanders by as I approach the exit, and I freeze in place. I’m not prepared to fight. I have no desire to fight. They stop as well, heads turning to face me as they ready their weapons. Lucie flees inside my coat as I desperately scan their formation for any gaps large enough for me to flee through. My panic only multiplies as I find there are none. I won’t fight them, but I can’t find another way. Climbing the surrounding rocks would only lead to them shooting me down, and hiding in one of the abandoned buildings only delays the inevitable. I see a couple of them load their crossbows, while a larger one raises his shield and prepares to charge. Perhaps I can dodge? There will have to be an opening eventually, I just have to avoid being hit until then. The archers take aim and I prepare to run, my entire body tensing.
It is unnecessary. In a split second the archers are on the ground, and the mitachurl is dead before he can turn around. The others in the group fall just as quickly, and a single man with a strange mask stands among the corpses. He turns to me, removing his mask as he does. I recognize that mask, and quite suddenly wish I had run anyway. Will he notice? I assumed they had all died, but he likely assumes the same of my kind. Will he care? Of course he will. I can see his mouth moving but I cannot hear anything. I can barely breathe for how thoroughly my heart has lodged itself in my throat. Forcing myself to focus, I avoid his gaze, terrified something in my eyes will give me away. He doesn’t seem to notice or care.
“… is dangerous. Few travel this way anymore, you ought to leave.” His voice is irritated, his face mirrors the sentiment. I look back to the ground, breathing deeply in a futile attempt to calm myself.
“Sorry, I ought to have known. Thank you.” The words are barely a whisper, but I have no doubt he heard them. He lets out a huff of annoyance before turning and vanishing, I hear a quiet grumble about humans before he leaves. An involuntary sigh escapes me as I deflate and collapse onto the ground. He thought I was human, thank the archons. I look to Lucie in relief as he exits my coat.
The last thing I need is a yaksha hunting me down.