"Oh? A legion named after me?"
"Interesting."
Dvalin hadn't cared at first. He'd only guarded Mondstadt for Venti's sake, after all.
Back then, as the second Wind Dragon freshly born into Teyvat, he'd heard Venti's lyre and, drawn to that song, became an inseparable companion. When Venti lacked the strength to act, Dvalin—friend and retainer—chose to help.
That help lasted a thousand years. Strictly speaking, Dvalin should not have aided a Seven like Venti.
Why?
Because, as the Anemo Archon, half of Venti's authority was stripped from the Elemental Dragon Kings—the ancient draconic mandate itself.
How did that happen?
You have to trace it back to Teyvat's earliest dawn.
When the world was new, there was only one primordial dragon: Nibelung.
Alone and bored, he fashioned the Seven Elemental Dragon Kings in his own image.
Those Dragon Kings then created seven broods of element-born dragons.
That was Teyvat's first age: a world of dragons.
And why did it become this way?
Because Nibelung met someone from beyond this world.
This was the Third Descender—the one who incited the seelie to betray "Heaven," and later ended up as the unfortunate soul turned into a Gnosis by Phanes.
Of course, the true Third Descender didn't die. His consciousness merely descended into a certain youth.
In short, from that outsider Nibelung learned there was a vast cosmos beyond Teyvat.
And—well known to players of "Mi"-worlds—the underlying code is the Imaginary Tree:
All of the "Mi" universes grow on one Tree, share one substrate.
The Imaginary Tree has a filter: Honkai.
Pass Honkai's trial and you persist.
"Honkai Impact 3rd" explains this well.
Fail, and you sink into the Sea of Quanta, become nourishment for the Tree, and vanish.
Thus Nibelung also learned of this culling.
He realized Teyvat was fated for destruction.
As the world's primordial dragon, he would not accept his homeland sinking into the Tree.
The outsider invited him to depart together, but Nibelung refused to abandon his home.
After the outsider left, Nibelung hastily created the Three Moon Goddesses to govern Teyvat in his stead,
then departed into the starry void to seek a way to overcome Honkai.
Not long after the outsider's departure,
the First Throne—Phanes—descended.
Thinking this world masterless, he subdued the Three Moon Goddesses,
defeated the Seven Elemental Dragon Kings, and took Teyvat for himself.
But soon after, Nibelung returned.
Finding his home stolen, he led the Dragon Kings against Phanes.
Nibelung was no match. He fled in defeat.
This was the Primordial War.
(Alternatively, it may have been only "Heaven" versus the Seven Dragon Kings.)
(At that time Nibelung might already have left Teyvat, seeking its salvation.)
(Both versions circulate, but the likelier is that after losing, Nibelung fled beyond the world.)
(As Teyvat's primordial dragon—its guardian, in a sense—he shouldn't be able to leave. Perhaps, in that clash, Phanes struck his "registry" from the world, forcing him outside; only thus can we explain his later return bearing Abyssal power.)
Driven from Teyvat, he sought strength beyond the world, to reclaim it.
And the later war proves he found it: forbidden knowledge—the power of the Abyss.
By the time he returned, many Dragon Kings had gone into seclusion; some lived alongside earthly archons.
So the host he could rally was small. Even so, Nibelung did not flinch.
This time, the battle with Phanes did not end quickly.
The war engulfed Teyvat and nearly destroyed it.
In the "Before Sun and Moon," this is the Year of the Buried Flame.
The end is broadly known:
Nibelung was driven off; the Three Moon Goddesses perished.
Phanes created four Shades—of Emptiness, Time, Life, and Death—to replace the Moons.
To keep the Dragon Kings from rising again,
Phanes tore the seven ancient draconic mandates from them and forged seven Thrones.
Thus began the Archon Wars.
You think the archons had nothing better to do than fight over seats?
There were profits to be had.
So the dragons who still walk Teyvat are incomplete—their authority halved by Phanes.
By rights, Elemental Dragon Kings and the Seven should be enemies.
Only after the Archon Wars did dragons wane, and the archons and humankind took the stage.
Dvalin should have stood against Venti—but he chose friendship instead.
That ignorance stems from the second generation's lack of ancient knowledge.
The second Hydro Archon, Focalors, exploited that gap—she lured the second Hydro Dragon back to Fontaine and used him in her plan.
Look at Apep, the Dendro Dragon King:
What was his first reaction on meeting the Dendro Archon?
Attack. He knew the truth of what Phanes had done.
That's why he refused to reconcile with Nahida.
No matter how kindly she acted, he would not believe her.
Of the first-generation Dragon Kings, it seems only Apep remains in Teyvat today.
The dragons truly have had it rough.
Back to Stormterror's Lair:
Dvalin almost agreed at once, but centuries of leaning on Venti made him glance over instinctively,
seeking his opinion.
Venti smiled, patted Dvalin's massive head, and answered calmly:
"Don't look at me. If you want to join, then join. I won't bind you."
"Like I said before—I won't limit your freedom anymore."
"Dvalin, do what you want to do. Don't mind me. I'm not your master; I'm your friend."
"As a friend, I only hope the choice you make comes from your heart."
"..."
(End of Chapter)
[Check Out My P@treon For 20+ Extra Chapters On All My Fanfics!!]
[[email protected]/Draumel]
[Thank You For Your Support!]