only in the darkest moments

by Cinnamon_Key

Summary:

Ajax is on the run. After a series of events (in which Il Dottore had a heavy hand), Ajax has fled the grasp of the Tsaritsa and her Harbingers, knowing that his family will be in terrible danger the second he is caught by the forces on his tail. As a wanted man, he's on a mission to each nation in search of a mysterious artifact that he was sent to research before The Incidents. The legends he managed to dig up before his flight mentioned a great power of destruction, and Ajax knows that if he can find it before the Fatui do, he will be able to bargain his way- and, more importantly, his family's way- into safety once more.

Yet, engaging in a race where your opponent is actively hunting you down is a dangerous thing, and being an ex-Fatui Harbinger makes it twice as hard to go unnoticed. Between dealing with the consequences of his dangerous lifestyle catching up to him, engaging in a worldwide chase across Teyvat, and trying to uncover mysteries long since buried by Gods, Ajax must reconsider all he knows about war, family, and his own memories as he races against evil for the chance to go back to the way it once was.

Notes:

This isn't the first chapter, so if you aren't interested in the author's boring stuff, feel free to skip it. If you're curious about some plot points or about what I'd like in terms of criticism, please read through this before hopping into the story

Chapter 1: A Quick Author Note

Hello!! CinnamonKey here (the author of the work) with a few notes. I went ahead and labelled the sections, so skip to what you want if you're interested:

PLOT/CANON/LORE:
-I must admit, I'm not super into the current canon of Genshin and really wanted to write a work that fit the vibes we got off the Fatui in the earlier days. They will be written a bit differently, and some of them will admittedly be extremely out of character and in their more traditional fanon roles. If you aren't super into that idea, please don't tell me it's OOC, because I assure you I am well aware
-This is an odd combination of pre-canon and almost an AU, so keep in mind it's before the Traveller arises and all, but I'd argue that some things are more reflective of after the Traveller arrived, so just pretend everything is perfectly in the same timeline for my own sanity
-I have a sense of Genshin geography, but I am not looking at a map for hours to plot out paths. You get travelling to countries that touch each other, please accept these crumbs
-EVERY COUNTRY HAS ITS OWN LANGUAGE + COMMON, I DIE ON THIS HILL (I am not bilingual, so I am using Google Translate. Please don't hate me)

COMMENTERS:
-I would love to hear feedback on my work, but please keep it actually productive. I am writing this for fun, and I really don't wanna see any hate comments
-Pleeeaaase tell me your predictions (if you have any) so I can steal them (heh), or tell me about character interaction you think would be funny, or easter eggs you want. I may not reply to every comment, but I swear I will cite your username in the notes if an idea I implement comes from a reader
-I will not be writing smut or romance, sorry; please see the Gen tag! I will, however, be leaving breadcrumbs. If you see them, you can comment. I'll let you have your background yuri/yaoi, don't worry. (Plus a few straight ships, I guessssss.... we'll see)
-I need a beta reader. If you wanna, PLEASE COMMENT. I AM BEGGING YOU; I HAVE NOBODY TO READ THIS FOR ME (T^T)

EXTRA:
-upload schedule is whenever I want, but probably looking into the twice-monthly window
-title is from This December, the song. Not super thematic, but I was listening to it while I came up with this
-at the end of every chapter, I will recommend one fic and one piece of media to broaden everyone's tastes. yippee!!

 

Chapter one will officially launch 7/14/26 (ish)