The City of Wine and Freedom

Andromalius, now known as Dubhán, soon reached the vicinity of the City of Mondstadt. It had been around eight to nine hundred years since he last visited Barbatos' city, but it had remained pretty much the same. The outer walls were still tall, following the levelled layout of the city itself. At the very top, the Favonius Cathedral could be seen behind the statue of Barbatos.

"It's been so long..." Andromalius said while walking towards the gates. Two members of the Knights of Favonius stood at the entrance. As Andromalius got closer, they seemed to put their guards up.

"Halt! State the reason of your visit!" One of them –Swan if he remembered correctly– demanded. While he found it slightly amusing, he still decided to comply.

"My name is Dubhán," he started answering, his face calm and collected. "... and I came to visit an old friend of mine."

"Who would this friend be?" The other knight, Lawrence, asked, much calmer than his colleague.

"His name is Venti, a drunkard of a bard incapable of singing one good song." Andromalius said, mocking his friend.

"And who exactly are you calling a drunkard, huh?!" A voice shouted from inside the city of Mondstadt. The one who talked had fair skin, a feminine face decorated with aqua-green eyes and short black hair styled into twin braids that framed his face. This was none other than Venti, Singer of Skyward Sonnets, and the Windborne Bard. Or, as very few knew him, Barbatos, Anemo Archon.

"So you are still cheating people with that androgynous face of yours, Venti?" Andromalius asked, throwing another insult rather than answering Venti's question. And, as if to add insult to injury, he added, "Do they still not allow you to drink because they think you are a minor?"

"That's it, three insults in less than a minute is too much!" Venti shouted before materializing his bow and shooting an arrow at Andromalius, which the latter caught easily.

"Ok, ok... Sorry, no need to make a scene." The Umbra Archon said, appeasing his friend. He didn't want to bring any trouble to the Knights of Favonius over his stupid squabble with Barbatos. "Anyway, see guys? I've come to meet an old friend."

"Yes, it is very obvious now." Swan said while motioning for Andromalius to come into the city. Before he could leave though, he added hastily, "I'm sorry for my hostility before, we're in a highly strung as of the past weeks."

"There is no need to worry." Andromalius said soothingly, reassuring Swan that there was no enmity between them. "I would be the same, were the city I guard in danger because of a threat like Dvalin is."

"Thank you." Swan said with a relieved smile on his face, after which Andromalius and Venti parted towards the only place Venti would ever take a friend.

*

"The Angel's Share, huh?" Andromalius said when they came closer to the building. Of course, he knew about it, and he didn't pretend to be surprised or anything, something Venti caught on to but decided not to comment about. "By the way, I go by Dubhán amidst mortals."

"A novel name it is." Venti commented while moving his face from side to side, as if he was tossing the name from one side of his brain to the other. "So you're back... and you're here..."

"I know what you must be thinking." Andromalius said, already pretending to defend himself from Venti's thoughts. "But I am not here only for the reasons you think I am, and I am also no exactly the same as I was before... none of us are."

Venti just stood there in silence, realizing that what his fellow god had said made too much sense. Which of the Archons had remained the same after the Archon War? And which had remained the same after the Calamity? The answer was, quite clearly, none. Everyone had suffered too much, and too much had taken place.

"Then why are you here?" Venti asked as they entered the pub, not sure of why he would be the first one to receive a visit from one of the oldest gods alive, rather than the likes of Morax or Beelzebub.

"Well... would you believe me if I said that I woke up in Mondstadt territory after five hundred years?" Andromalius said before retelling the events that had taken place earlier that day. He decided to tell the truth about knowing more of what was happening in the world than many, but played it as if he had had a dream, rather than reading about it in a game he played.

"That is... that is..." Venti started muttering, as if possessed by something, until he suddenly burst out in excitement. "That is so song worthy!"

Andromalius at first seemed to be very shocked by Venti's reaction, but when he thought about it... didn't it only make sense? That was just how Barbatos had always been. Upbeat, friendly, joyful, and free, those were the characteristics one had to use to describe the Anemo Archon. He wasn't free of pain or worry, but he just flew through them, like the wind he ruled over. When Andromalius came out of his own thoughts, Venti was already improvising the song to the public present in The Angel's Share.

"A man once known to sin despise

to the depths of his dreams victim fell.

And still Time would offer no respite,

for when he wakes up, prophecies tell,

that no peace will be known in present lands.

A shadow he shall once more cast,

as sin is from this realm vanished by his hands.

And the day will soon come when he shows us at last

who the maker of peace in this vast world is.

He who shook the heavens with a blade of pure wrath,

into our hearts his passion found a way in.

That is the one who for us cleared a path,

The one who from dreams and death arose,

The one who gazeth at us with an eye hidden in shadows."

Andromalius couldn't help but marvel at the way Barbatos could weave such a poem in such a short span of time, off the top of his head, completely improvised. And those weren't only his thoughts, but also the thoughts of the other clients at the pub.

"That was the best we've heard from you!" Someone shouted excitedly.

"That was indeed a superb piece of art." A serious looking man commented calmly.

"We didn't know you actually had it in you, Venti!" Another client complimented.

Many where whistling, others just enjoyed in silence. But reality was that that was the true essence of Mondstadt. Freedom of heart stood above all else. Even when there was just a present and looming danger as Dvalin was, Mondstadters still found it in themselves to enjoy a tale told by a bard who usually sung subpar tunes.

That was the kind of place Andromalius found himself in. That was the city of Mondstadt, the City of Wind, the City of Freedom and Wine.

And he would make sure he made it a better place.

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I took my time because until yesterday I had exams, but I'll be a bit more free starting this Fridays.

I wrote a sonnet for this chapter! What did you think about it? Did you like it?

Pop Quiz of the Chapter: What is the name of Kaeya's Constellation?

See ya!