____________________
For days and weeks she wandered alone across the uncharted land, traversing mountains and forests that were yet to be named.
She continued pushing forward, driven by her innate curiosity until she eventually reached the barren plains of grass and hills at the center of the land.
Seeing the monotonous sea of grass that stretches for miles in all directions, the benevolent Fae then casts a spell, transforming a portion of the said plain into that of a majestic field of flowers, the likes of which this world has never seen.
And it was in that field that she would meet her friend and together reshape the land that will one day be called Liyue.
- The Lord of the Mountains and the Stargazing Fae, Chapter 2, verses 1 - 4 (Copperplate no. 1)
____________________
"Twenty one days.... TWENTY ONE STINKING DAYS OF NO CONTACT?!!! ARGHHHHHH!!!" Altria let out a loud frustrated yell that echoed all throughout the forest scaring off the local fauna and causing all the birds within the nearby vicinity to take flight in panic.
"I've been walking in this Root forsaken forest for twenty one whole days straight and not yet once have I encountered any signs of civilization or any sightings of additional humans! Not a single one!"
Well truthfully she did, about twenty one days ago in fact, when she briefly made contact with a man covered in straw clothing. The man appeared to have been forging for food in the forest when Altria stumbled upon him.
Unfortunately, Altria at that time was looking like a mess! She had accidentally fallen on a mud puddle right before she met the poor man causing her entire body to be covered in mud and twigs, making her look like some wild monster!
"Savage straw wearing Idiot, I'm not some sort of ugly mud monster. I'm the all powerful queen of the Fae! I...I just accidentally lost my footing, yes that's right! I accidentally lost my footing!" She mumbled to herself as she recalled how the poor man literally screamed in terror and fled away from her as fast as he could.
She tried tracking the man down, but a sudden outpour of rain had washed away the man's tracks, making it impossible for her to follow.
"I shouldn't have been looking at those pretty colorful birds while walking, otherwise I wouldn't have fallen into that mud pit! Argh that was a rookie mistake...a very stupid mistake!" Altria groaned as she sat on a large mossy rock, burying her face into her hands in embarrassment.
She had been on this planet for about a month now and she spent most of it traversing through this near endless forest! At the start of her journey, she went westward following the setting sun and after 8 days of near constant walking she arrived at the shores of a vast western seastretching well beyond the horizon with not a single island in sight...
...only to be filled by large monstrous fish-like and serpentine creatures that were literally jumping out of the water!
....
....
...
At that point, she 'slowly and carefully' walked backwards into the forest and decided to try her luck going northeast. It was about 2 days after witnessing that monster infested sea that Altria encountered that lone human who ran away from her at contact! Because of the sudden downpour of rain not only did she lose the poor man's track, but she also ended up getting lost as well! Going around in circles for hours until she finally decided to march forward towards a certain direction she believed to be Northeast!
And now here she is! After more than twenty days of walking, she was still stuck in the middle of this seemingly endless forest!
"Damnit, if only I could use flight or some of my other more potent spells. That would make things so much easier. Ughhh, how troublesome." Altria sighed as stretched her arms.
She could, of course, use some of her more powerful magic to get herself out of this conundrum. Using the arts of Thaumaturgy, Sacraments or even some of the faculties of True Magic itself is as easy as breathing for her, but using them would be akin to sending a flare in the middle of the night! The amount of power she would release would definitely catch the attention of any entity that is strong enough to sense it, and that includes whoever is living inside that floating fortress of doom high up in the sky!
"Seems like I still have no choice huh? Back to basics, I guess." She sighed as she got up and dusted herself off.
With a little twirl of her staff, she recast her concealment spell unto herself and began to once more march towards the direction she assumed to be the northeast.
Destination?
Unknown.
____________________
After a few more days of whimsical hiking, Altria became elated when she began to notice that the forest was starting to thin out. She had started to notice that the path ahead was becoming wider, the trees were beginning to become sparse and the ground was more level, which could only mean one thing.
She was finally close to leaving this godforsaken forest!
And sure enough, after climbing up a small hill, she finally saw it.
An expansive grassland that stretched out for miles northward, filled with both green and brown grasses and dotted with numerous gentle sloping hills.
To the east of the biome was a long cliffed coast that bordered the ocean, probably the same ocean she saw the moment she first crashed onto this world weeks ago.
"Beautiful." Altria couldn't help but whisper as she found herself smiling at the sight before her.
"This area reminds me of the southern savannas back home, only this time I don't see any herds of elephants, rhinos, giraffes or any large predators roaming around. Does this world even have similar animals comparable to those of my own?" She wondered before momentarily shrugging her shoulders and proceeded to walk down the hill.
In the next few days, Altria continued her journey across the uncharted alien grassland, still cataloging and observing the native flora and fauna she encountered along the way. She noted that in this specific biome, the local wildlife seemed to be smaller and less varied compared to the ones she saw back in the forest. The largest ones she had encountered so far were those gelatinous creatures that seemed to be bouncing around in areas with high concentration of Mana.
These creatures which she aptly named as Slimes, appeared to have different variants depending on the type of elemental energies they were exposed to.
"Highly unstable with smooth outer textures. Note to self, DO NOT COOK ONE." She scribbled down in her notebook.
She could still feel a slight tingling sensation in her skin after she attempted to put a small purple colored slime in her trusty iron pan about an hour ago. She placed the it over a fire with a little bit of oil, hoping that it would become a tasty morsel to fill her rumbling tummy, but instead the slimy little critter suddenly went volatile and exploded right in her face, shocking her with a few voltages of electricity and subsequently drenching her from head to toe in some sort of sticky purple goo. The goo itself was fortunately harmless, but the smell was god-damned awful!
After spending a good portion of the afternoon trying to wash off the foul smelling jelly-like residue from her hair and clothes, Altria decided to head somewhere off and get much needed respite. She's been alone traveling for more than a month now, decades even if you count the other worlds she had visited prior to arriving in this one.
So she thought that a little break wouldn't hurt especially that...
"That floating fortress in the sky... it's now gone." She noted as she looked up at the now clear late afternoon sky with a hint of curiosity and vigilance.
During the first few days of her travel in this world she had noted that the flying fortress would constantly change its position in the sky moving westward as the days went by. Last time that she checked it was over the western horizon about a few days ago before completely disappearing from view.
"Strange...maybe it's on some sort of predetermined orbital path...like a satellite. Or maybe its a mobile base of sort scanning the entire planet per region then moves to the next after finishing its work." Altria pondered as she continued to walk towards the eastern coast overlooking the eastern ocean.
Whatever the reason, that floating anomaly was now gone.
For now at least.
This could either be a good thing for her as she can now use more of her abilities without the fear of being discovered by some unknown cosmic entity lurking within it. Or it could mean that whoever or whatever lives inside it, is probably on the other side of this planet conducting whatever insideous business or purpose it might have.
"Great, more things to worry about." Altria grumbled as she continued her trek.
After a short while, she finally arrived at the cliffed coastline. It's already evening and the last vestiges of the sun had already disappeared from the sky allowing the glimmer of the stars to appear one by one.
"Huh? There's no moon tonight? Strange. Was there something wrong with my earlier predictions?"
After carefully observing the night sky and the three odd moons of this world for weeks, Altria had came up with a rudimentary lunar timekeeping of sorts, and according to her calculations tonight was supposed to be the frosty looking one's turn to illuminate the night sky, yet the said celestial body in question was nowhere to be seen.
"What an odd lunar cycle this world possesses. Could it be something to do with their respective orbits? Are those even geocentric in relation to this planet? Nah, let's not think too much of it! The reasons could be plenty, heck maybe the moons just forgot to show up in schedule! Hahaha!" Altria chuckled at her own joke thinking that the great lunar bodies of this world are afflicted by some sort of tardiness!
After finding the perfect spot near the cliff's edge, Altria slowly laid down on the grassy patch of earth and looked up at the now starry sky.
Star gazing.
One of her favorite past times, ever since she was a child. The sight of the endless cosmic sea stretching above never fails to make her feel small...yet at the same time it made her feel that she was a part of something much greater!
So many stars out there.
So many worlds and places waiting to be explored.
So many possibilities.
"Each world I've visited so far has its own unique set of wonders, yet I remember that one special flower that had somewhat managed to grow and thrive in multiple worlds."
Altria stretched out her right hand to the starry sky as if trying to grasp one of the distant twinkling lights.
"What a strange and beautiful little flower. They say that after it blooms it would only last for two weeks before wilting. But if you were to pluck one and take it out of its soil, its own home, the petals would stop growing and turn hard."
She then got up, sitting herself near the edge before looking back towards the grasslands that lay before her.
'So many grasses yet so little trees....or flowers.'
"Only when it finally returned to its home soil would the petals of that flower grow soft once more, and finally turn to dust..."
She took out her staff and placed it neatly in front of her.
"So that flower became a symbol for those who wander far from home...or for those who were still looking for a home, signifying the tenderness of the homeland."
Closing her eyes, she chanted a simple spell passed down to her.
It was a Fae Sacrament. An innate ability possessed by her kind to directly enact physical and environmental Mysteries of the world.
A sacrament unique to her clan...
A sacrament thought to her by her beloved mother.
'Awww, does my little Alcas love the flower field Mama had made for her?'
A single tear trickled down from her right eye as she recalled that earliest and most cherished of memories from the time when all was still bright and innocent.
As she continued to chant, a bright blue magical circle appeared beneath her staff. It then began to expand outward across the grassy plains, enveloping an area that stretched for at least a mile wide.
For every verse she uttered, the magical array grew stronger.
For every ounce of mana that she poured, the immediate area of effect grew larger.
And when the last word of incantation was spoken, a wave of blinding light erupted from the ground engulfing everything that was covered by the magical array!
....
....
...
Even after sensing the end of her spell, Altria kept her eyes closed for just a few more moments before slowly opening them.
She then calmly gaze on at the results of her work.
Gone was the expansive field of green and brown.
And in its place stood a sea of beautiful glowing silver blue flowers stretching across all directions as far as her eyes can see.
The once salty air carried over by the breeze coming from the eastern sea was now replaced by a pleasant sweet fragrance that seemed to calm her very heart and mind.
"It seems I still haven't lost my touch." She mused as she continued to gaze at her work.
Altria then gently picked one of the flowers that sprouted near her feet and began to carefully observe it.
"Almost similar in shape and in color, but alas it seemed that I've failed to replicate that flower. Truly, even with the abilities one possesses, creating an exact copy of something that boggles even my mind was no easy task."
She then looked at her creation with a bittersweet smile.
"It may not be perfect, but it's a start. Now, then what name should I bestow upon your kind little one?" She mused as she playfully twirls the silverly blue flower between her fingers.
Evening Peony?
Azure Freesia?
Evening Bloom?
She chuckled at her own little game of naming. So many names for this newly created specie of flower who's but a glazed reflection of the one from her memory.
"Hmmm...a glazed reflection huh? You know what I got it! From now on your kind shall be called-"
Unfortunately, her musings were cut short when she suddenly felt a strange presence who had managed to enter her field of senses.
It came from the west and is slowly moving across her newly created flower field at a pace almost akin to that of a person walking leisurely.
Someone or something is coming.
And it's heading straight to her!
Altria tightened her grip on her staff, readying herself for a possible confrontation. But as the intruder came ever closer she suddenly noticed something odd.
She sensed no trace of hostility nor of malice coming from it. Instead she sensed... curiosity? How peculiar.
But nonetheless, she also sensed some peculiarities coming from the said entity.
Whoever or whatever it is, it was strong, and elemental.
"Clearly not a mortal. Almost similar or closer to that of a nature or divine spirit..." She pondered for a bit before a knowing smile graced her face.
'How eerily convenient. After I've thought about not encountering any sort of 'divine' beings early in my journey...the cosmos decides to throw a wrench into my plans.'
"Well, I guess there's no need to be hasty. Thankfully this one appears to be the curious type rather than the malevolent I'll smite thee to oblivion kind of divine entity." She let out a short chuckle as she continued to look at the single blue flower in her hand, never once turning around to face the approaching entity.
After a short while, the mysterious presence had finally arrived. It stopped just a few feet behind her, the grass and flowers rustling underneath its feet.
"Pardon my intrusion, but are you the one who created this field of flowers?" A seemingly smooth yet deep and echoing voice asked.
The Fae Queen didn't respond at once. She simply smelled the sweet fragrance of the flower she held for one last time before standing up and turning around to face the speaker.
"Who likes to know?" Altria asked with a calm and curious smile on her face.
____________________