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             A collection of stories between Hagen Alberich and his son Kaeya Alberich. Chronicling their journey through Teyvat and Khaenri’ah; the stories do not go in any particular order only following whatever fragments of memory remain within their minds. 

            Some stories happen after or before the Cataclysm; the only consistency between each tale is the presence of the two Alberichs and their views on their own lives. 

(A aged family portrait that has been lost to time deep underground) 

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The worn down mansion was drowning in silence, with only the sounds of a small cough giving a small disturbance. Hagen Alberich sits next to his son’s bedside, watching over him. Abyssal contamination had gotten to his son, he was frail and lost a lot of weight since he first awoke to the “new” Khaenri’ah.

Sickly and frail cannot survive in the Abyss.

He had been successful at hiding his son from the Abyssal Court that had taken over their nation. No one knew his son still continued to age and grow, the lack of nutrition and food stunted Kaeya’s growth - it became the best protection for him. Yet the battle against time could still not be won, his son was becoming noticeably taller.

He grew exactly 4 inches, could I somehow lie and say that the extra height was due to taller shoes? No, that wouldn’t work - maybe it’s not that noticeable or maybe -

Hagen’s thoughts were quickly interrupted by his son’s coughing fit, the sickness seemed to be determined to make Kaeya hack up his lungs. Yet somehow his son still persevered against it. Lifting his son’s upper body up from the raggedy makeshift bed with his arm, he watches as his son’s cough slowly dissipates.

“Kaeya?”, he shakes his son lightly, “how are you feeling today?”

“Better,” Kaeya’s response is weak and his sickly smile even weaker but he continues,”by tomorrow I’ll be stronger, Father.”

“Yes, yes you will,” Hagen responds softly with a small squeeze of his son’s shoulder. “Rest easy for the rest of the day, I’ll find you medecine and there will be more food by next meal.” He receives no response back except for a small hum of acknowledgement, and soon Kaeya falls quickly back to sleep.

Hagen leaves the room, his soft smile returning to the neutral expression he usually wears. He has taught his son to be a liar, but not an effective one. He knows Kaeya will not get better by tomorrow, in the same way Kaeya knows his father will not find any usable medicine or edible food. They both landed in this middle-ground of delusion and lies, neither wanting to admit the direness of their situation in hope of returning some normalcy to their lives.

Hagen can trick himself into thinking lies are reality, so he goes out to find medicine in the hopes of a miracle. Though the truth is he will need to go back to the capitol where his brother Anfortas was, where most of the medicine was. His old summer home in the countryside he decided to hide away with his son realistically only had the resources for one or two years.

Damn it all, if I can’t find this medicine, he’ll die - he’ll really die. Hagen begins to pick at his long nails vigorously as he traverses to the barren desert of dead grass that once used to be bustling with greenery. His fingers were beginning to draw blood.

Or worse - there’s always worse here. Never better. Dying would be a mercy here. His light jog pace became quicker, frantic. He ran as if he would somehow outrun the rot that Heavenly Principles left for Khaenri’ah. Yet nothing appeared, there was nothing but dead grass and dead trees. He continued to run and search, he ran as far as he could only to be greeted by a cliff.

He slowed down to a stop right at the edge -how long had he been running? Maybe it had been days or maybe only a few minutes, time eluded a person down underground. His sense of time left him ages ago. Suddenly exhaustion and hunger caught up to him, his legs stopped supporting him and he fell face first with a loud thud. After catching his breath he turns himself to face the sky instead of the ground - he looks at the empty, dark blue, starless abyss they called a sky. Maybe the real sky looks like this, an ugly backdrop of deep-sea blue.

His body felt as if it was filled with rocks, maybe if he laid down for long enough his long blue hair would grow into the dead grass, if he were given another 500 years he just might merge with the ground. His thin, light cloak felt as if it was dragging him down. There were no more options, no more running, no more medicine, and especially no more food. Kaeya cannot eat dead grass and whatever somewhat edible animals had long since died or were already eaten. It was either the abyssal sickness or starvation that would claim his son’s life. I’ll avoid the princess and hand Kaeya in to Anfortas - he’ll have mercy for his niece. He’ll help him. Hagen begins to laugh, if not I can count on him to give my son the mercy of death. Yes, he had always been stronger than me - always doing the right thing. He’ll help Kaeya. The heaviness in his body became unbearable, his vision began to darken and he drifted off to a slumber. His last thoughts were dedicated to the life Kaeya could have with his mother within the Ley Lines.

Chapter Text

As if walking through flames, the memories of the past two months burned away from Kaeya’s mind. His right eye taken to who knows where, it’s not like he would know, he spent his time within the castle bed-ridden and sickly. Voices of his father and whoever or whatever was there were drowned out by sharp pains in his head. 

The only joy to be found being the stories his father would tell him in his bouts of fever, even though all the stories became unintelligible to Kaeya. His mind could only take so many retellings of the same batch of Sumerian stories. 

When his sickness finally perished, along with his eye. He received cold comforts for the anguishing surgery he went through, his father weaved him stories of pirates and bandits; he may have lost his depth perception but he did not lose his pride as an Alberich. They do not wallow in embers, or what-not. 

Not many memories survived the two months, but what memory did remain were the guests his father had over. On the days the sickness allowed him to stay awake for a few minutes at a time, through the heaviness and numbing pains his body felt, he heard the guests’ strange echo-like voices.  He had remained mostly isolated from the Khaenri’ah of today but even to him the increase of lectors and mages made him suspicious. Though it was far too late to investigate and any attempts of him questioning his father were thwarted quickly. So suddenly a man who had seemingly zero responsibilities but his son became overwhelmed by strange meetings, with strange beings. 

Kaeya had incorrectly assumed the moment his sickness faded he would return back to the countryside, the moment he became lucid he was bombarded with lessons. Books upon books of language and history, his life became surrounded by monotonous lessons. The Lectors talked so much it felt like a sermon every time Kaeya attended a lesson. To Kaeya’s dismay his physical lessons he would have had were not given or were made easier due to his weak body. It was one straight month of studying with little to no action, Kaeya’s mind constantly balancing different subjects and cultures along with trying to figure out why his father was seemingly distancing himself from him. 

So it came as a wonderful surprise that his father said they would both be going on a road trip of sorts, just the two of them and not one instructor would be invited along. A change of scenery was needed. Kaeya had started to believe that someone trapped him in some constant groundhog day with how boring and sickening the gray decayed walls of the castle became to him. 

He didn’t have many belongings on him, thus the packing process was depressingly short. Some old clothes, two pairs of socks, a toothbrush and a teddy bear that somehow survived hell with all its limbs attached. Kaeya packed whatever little he had eagerly into his small travel bag, he was instructed to only put necessities, but a toy or two wouldn’t hurt would it? He didn’t really own many toys but he cherished the few he did have; he left two toy soldiers to stand guard near the door of his small room to hold the fort down until he came back. He picked his bag up excitedly and with a mock salute to his little soldier he left swiftly out the door. Walking down the corridors of the castle he picked up the pace, practically skipping and with a small smile on his face – yet he could not shake off the tenseness of his jaw or the sudden dryness his mouth felt. 

His pace became slower once he saw his father near the entrance of the palace talking to one of his instructors, quick hushed words exchanged between them. His father’s usual apathetic face became tense, then quickly turned back the moment he noticed Kaeya standing stiffly in the corridor. Hagen turns toward the lector and collects the books that were in its’ hand, at this sight Kaeya’s face visibly falls. Will his trip also be filled with endless lessons on the winds and the common language? 

Hagen quickly crouches down to his son’s level, quickly hiding the books in his bag, ”Kaeya, starlight, were you able to pack whatever you needed?” 

No response came from his son, he stood there looking at the floor with a pout. For a quick second Hagen clenched his eyes closed and sighed.

 “Kaeya we have to go now, let me see your bag.” He calmly aims his hands toward his son’s bag , Kaeya swings his back away from his father's reach. A small act of rebellion against studying. There was a small surprised pause afterward, and then with quick consideration Hagen grabs Kaeya toward him with a small stumble and swiftly turns his back to face him. He opens the bag rough enough to shake his still standing son slightly with each strong unzipping. 

“Stop sulking,” with a stern tug he looks into the bag to see the clothes, the toothbrush, and then the bear. Hagen picks up the roughly patched bear that Kaeya lovingly named Junior, it was damaged badly, some of its stuffing had gone and one of its button eyes was missing - yet it found a home with Kaeya. It was a small joy within his son’s life, a reminder of the old days; it ate, it sang, and it talked whenever his son imagined him to.

 Could his son afford to bring Junior along? 

“Father? Is something wrong with Junior?”

The bear can stay, it can be lost somewhere down the journey anyway, but for now it can bring small comforts. 

Hagen lightened,”No he’s fine. He’s healthy and strong.” He put the bear back into the bag as gently as he could, soon the bag was zipped up once again. 

“Kaeya, wait here, I’ll be back” 

His father quickly left, leaving Kaeya in his half sulking- half confused state. He falls to the floor with a light thump, His mind zones off as he stares up to the ceiling, the world has gone upside down and he can’t understand it. His memories somehow seem fickle, time passes by without any notice of it, everything seems frozen in a perpetual rot. It is so overwhelming it becomes numbing. 

Before his mind can quickly spiral into one of confusion his father comes back, with new boots and coats.

They were not new clothing in the traditional sense but for underground standards they are in pristine condition. The coat has no holes in them and it seems relatively thick, the shoes are worn but not worn enough where they are fraying expeditiously. Kaeya’s eye shined with excitement, many don’t receive gifts down in the post-apocalyptic state Khaenri’ah was reduced to. Quickly bouncing up, the small boy runs toward his father. 

“How’d you get these? How much did you trade for them? Who’d even let these go?” 

Hagen smiles at his son's amusement and feels at ease knowing that his son had forgotten his troubles to instead focus on the gifts. He teasingly responds back saying, “ Mmm seems as if an angel left these gifts behind for you.” 

“I’m not seven anymore Pa! I’m too old for fairy tales now.” 

“One’s never too old for fairytales, but since you’re so adult I’m sure these fairytale gifts are too childish for you”, for added effect Hagen sticks his nose up to the air in faux disappointment. 

“Ah! No! I love fairytales!”

“So you do! Stand still and I’ll put these on you, alright?’

“Kay’”

His father tenderly drapes the coat over his shoulder, evening the folds out and securing the hood onto his head. Kaeya removes his heavily damaged boots to welcome the new pair, he realizes that just like the coat the boots were also slightly too big. But it’s not a problem for him, he can still walk comfortably and the coat did not grab at the dirt under him. Kaeya felt the richest he’s ever felt in these worn, slightly oversized apparel; he must be the richest kid underground. Hagen steps away slightly and smiles at the sight of Kaeya’s new found joy.