Chapter 1: House Proudmoore

(Chapter 1 House Proudmoore)

They say Fontaine was once ruled by two Gods, Egeria, the first Hydro Archon, made her name by uniting all the various tribes that remained after the destruction of Remuria and the death of the original god of this land, Remus, after that, she then established a new nation under the ashes of the Remuria empire, she would then create the majestic creatures made out of pure water, the Oceanids, the new nation born under her rule prospered and its people adored their new god, she was called the 'Queen of All Waters', this was Fontaine's humble beginning.

The second god was Ra, the God of the sun, one of the few gods that did not participate in the slaughter of the nation of Khaenri'ah, they once said he was Egeria's supposed lover, but, who knows? much of the history books barely mention him, but, one thing is for sure, he gave a fraction of his power to the first Proudmoore, which can also be passed down to its successors, his only condition? is to be his eyes for his beloved Egeria and forever serve her, as the god of the sun knew he cannot stay on Teyvat very long if he does, the sunlight would grow weaker and dimmer to the point where the moon shines brighter and so he returned to the sun.

The Proudmoores served Egeria for hundreds of years unconditionally and were completely devoted to her, back then, we were the embodiment of loyalty... then everything changed, when the cataclysm struck and shook the world, while Egeria answered the call of Celestia to destroy Khaenri'ah, a gargantuan beast seemingly appeared out of nowhere in Fontaine, causing severe pollution to the land and sea.

As a response, the Proudmoores, rallied their ships and armies to hunt down the great beast known as Elynas. they were joined by the Oceanids and the Fontaine Armada, led by Basil Elton. The combined fleet of the Fontaine Armada and the Proudmoore fleet pursued Elynas for approximately 35 days, all the while attracting monsters from the Abyss.

For some reason, Elynas had begun to seemingly bleed out, finally, what remained of the combined fleet eventually caught up to the crippled Elynas, in the final battle, every man did their part but, it was ultimately the sacrifice Basil Elton and her crew of the Sposnian that dealt the final blow, the Sposnian lunged at Elynas and was split in half, with one part being lodged in his body... and so the great beast was slain.

Elynas, appearing out of nowhere wasn't the biggest problem Fontaine had during the cataclysm... it was the news of Egeria's death, that was delivered in Fontaine, that shook the entire nation into chaos, House Proudmoore was in a dilemma, of course their duty was still to protect the nation and its people, but, whom shall they gave their eternal allegiance to now?

House Proudmoore prayed to Ra, for answers, begging him for a sign and to give them directions on what course of action they should pursue now, but, they were in the end, kept in the dark...

After the death of the Hydro Archon, a new Hydro Archon, seemingly appeared out of nowhere, to replace the gaping hole Egeria left behind, her name was 'Focalors the God of Justice', though she was loved and adored by the people, House Proudmoore on the other hand, viewed her nothing more than a usurper, interloper, and the false god, that took the real Hydro Archon's place.

Focalors tried many times to rehabilitate the relations of the Proudmoores, she would do her utmost best to live up to their expectations and exert maximum effort to fix the gaping hole Egeria left behind, she needed the Proudmoore's support on her rule and hoped they would serve her as they did with Egeria.

But no... The Proudmoores refused to serve this, half-baked, usurper who seemingly calls herself the Hydro Archon, and so they left for their lands of Stormwind, the fief that Egeria gave to them many generations ago, it was not just the Proudmoores that refused to serve Focalors, but also the Oceanids as well.

And so, the last wielder of Ra's blessed power died to his old age, for 500 years, House Proudmoore still refused to serve the God of Justice, Focalors till this day... As a result, no child born from the Proudmoores wielded the power of the sun.

"Young master? Are you daydreaming again?"

The voice of a middle-aged man called out to me, snapping me out of my daydream, as I was lying down on the grass.

"Mhm... What time is it, Teacher?"

Tempest, asked his mentor in a tired tone.

"It's almost noon, Young master."

His mentor replied to him, while Tempest, got up from the grass he was lying on, Tempest looked at the middle-aged man, his four signature swords from different nations, present, on each side of his belt.

"Father?"

Tempest asked.

"Is still talking with the Fatui from the House of the Hearth."

His Mentor replied to him, while Tempest sighed in disappointment.

"Crucabena... The Knave... What in seven hells is he plotting this time? First, he plans to sell his only daughter to an old bastard Snezhnayan noble through marriage, to secure valuable resources from Snezhnaya, for his selfish gains, second, he plans to sell the blueprints of the armor of the Ghost Program, those blueprints are invaluable to us and Fontaine, I've seen what those Ghost armors are capable of, going from visible to completely unseen to the human eye, thanks to the Fontaine research institute by reverse engineering the Primal Constructs from Sumeru, were only strengthening our rival nations if he keeps doing this..."

Tempest's right hand subconsciously puts itself on his forehead, as the stress is killing him, the fact that his own father willingly sold his own daughter for a political marriage, without a second thought disgusted him.

"What do you plan to do young master?"

His mentor asked him, he looked at Tempest as if he was waiting for his orders on what to do on this matter.

"What do you expect me to do, Constantine? let me remind you I'm only one man, I have no allies, I have no connections, and especially, I don't have Ra's power, while the small villages within Stormwind might offer me some support, what can mere garden tools and pitchforks achieve against muskets and meks? I am caged within Stormwind, departure is impossible without my father's consent."

Tempest replied to his mentor Constantine, but he smiled mischievously and replied.

"I am your ally young master, and I happen to have many connections, if you truly wish to change your family's legacy, then you only need t-"

"Brother!"

Before Constantine could finish what he was saying, Tempest's sister called out to him in the distance.

"Penance?"

Tempest muttered to himself while his sister, Penance walked to him.

"Did something happen, Penance?"

Tempest asked his sister with a hint of concern present on his face.

"Father is looking for you..."

Penance replied to him.

What in seven hells, does he want from me now? Is it my turn to be used in his chess table? Whatever it is, I'm not looking forward to it...

"Should I accompany you, Young Master?"

Constantine asked Tempest.

"No need, he probably prefers me alone anyway, we'll talk later Constantine."

"As you wish, Young master."

Constantine nodded at your answer, Tempest then turned to his sister Penance.

"Brother..."

Penance looked at him with concern present on her face, as they both knew a meeting with their Father always wasn't for their wellbeing, but for his own selfish gains.

"I know things have been stressful for you lately... I'll... I'll try again to convince Father to change his decision..."

Tempest told his sister, reassuring her with a smile.

"Don't bother, brother... he'll just punish you again..."

Penance said with a hint of discouragement in her voice, her head looking at the ground.

Tempest, comforted her sister by hugging her, he then said to her.

"Mother is already bedridden, I can't afford to lose you two... besides I'm already accustomed to his punishments, just have faith in me, dear sister, were in this together."

A tear fell out of Penance's eyes, as she laid her head on Tempest's shoulder, clearly grateful for her brother's words.

"Mhm.."

She simply replied, after comforting her for a time, Tempest, finally let go of the hug.

"I'll be back."

You said to Constantine and your sister.

"Good luck..."

Penance said to her brother and Constantine simply nodded at your words.

Tempest walked through the empty halls of the mansion with maids passing by, from time to time bowing their heads in respect to the Young Master... the halls were decorated with portraits of the past Dukes of House Proudmoore from 500 years ago to the present, Tempest passed by his father's portrait in the walls, stopping his tracks for a short time and looking at the portrait, the painting was his father leading his troops to battle with Fontaine's flag on his left hand and in his right was his flintlock.

"Tsk... you never even fought with your soldiers, you were always behind the frontlines... "

Tempest muttered under his breath, he then continued walking to his Father's office, and before long he arrived at the doorstep.

*Knock knock knock*

Tempest knocked on the door exactly three times and shortly, an answer from the other side of the door came.

"Come in."

The voice of Tempest's father coming from the other side signals his son to come in.

Tempest swung open the door to find three individuals within, on the other side of the table seated on his seat, was his father, Mengsk Proudmoore, and on the opposite side of the table was a woman with dark pink hair and dark green-grey-blue eyes, on the side of her seat was a young boy standing beside her, he had a freckled face and pale blond hair, he was holding a small box on both his hands.

"You called for me, father?"

Tempest, asked his father with no emotions present in his voice.

"I did, my son, sit down."

He said to his son, he tapped the couch signaling him to sit beside him, and he did so without question.

"Well then, Knave, I'll leave you to it."

Mengsk Proudmoore got up from the couch and left his office, the moment Tempest just sat down.

Now Tempest was alone... with the Knave and her servant or son?

"I finally got the chance to meet you, Tempest Proudmoore."

The Knave said to Tempest with a smile... but something feels fake about it...

"Same here, Lady...?

Tempest asked her... Obviously, lying that he doesn't know anything about her, but in truth, he knows her very well... Crucabena, one of the Fatui Harbingers, and director of the House of Hearth.

"Ah! How silly of me, not to introduce myself first... I am Crucabena of the House of Hearth, and this is Freminet, one of my children in my care."

She said with an enthusiastic voice as she gestured to the boy beside her, he simply nodded.

"Nice to meet you as well, Lady Crucabena, Why did you wish to see me?"

Tempest asked her, making his replies short, obviously wanting to end this meeting fast.

"Freminet, My dear, do the honors."

Crucabena told her 'Child', and she clapped her hands twice.

"Y-yes M-Mother..."

Freminet, beside her, replied timidly, he moved closer to the table and put down the box he was holding on it.

"Open it, Tempest."

Her voice was gentle, but it was like she was demanding him.

Tempest took the box from the table and opened it, his eyes widened with surprise seeing the object inside of it... It was... A Pyro Vision? No... He heard of these off-brands of the Visions before, that the Fatui used... A Delusion... Tempest, then looked at Crucabena as she spoke.

"Tempest Proudmoore. Would you like to join the Fatui?"