[ In far contrast, Dainsleif truly seeing someone from the homeland alive and well, not hampered by the curse or twisted into some kind of creature that is no longer human, is...a relief. Despite him not knowing Kaeya's circumstances, as to how he had managed to evade the consequences of the Cataclysm, he doesn't feel resentment or any such thing. For certain, Kaeya himself could be a suspicious individual to have come out not twisted by the curse — and perhaps some in his position may have felt jealous for how he had managed to have done so. Or even assigned blame for him not being able to have done more, despite how young Kaeya may have been at the time.
Though, as someone who had (has?) the title, Twilight Sword, the inability to protect the people properly lies with him. And his failure will live with him until the day he finally is freed from the curse, and passes on. But, regardless, there are things he must do. ]
It has, by now, been around or just a little over 500 years since we have last seen one another. Though you were far younger when we met, your features are distinctive; I would not forget such a face, even with the years shaping it differently from the last I saw of it.
[ That is not to say others from — had no distinctive features, but it is what it is. ]
Perhaps it is. Though, I would have vast preferred for us to meet in a more familiar world. [ Pause. ] I wonder if there may be others...though, if there are, I hope they have also managed to integrate themselves into Teyvat.
[ Five hundred years...he can't even begin to imagine what that must have been like, taking the slow route to the future, watching the remnants of all he'd once known and loved be twisted into monsters both in reality and in the eyes of the rest of the world. It must have been devastating - and though Kaeya's certainly not ready to extend the hand of trust yet, there's a loosening in his frame that suggests that perhaps he's let a fraction of his guard down in face of sympathy for such a plight.
He's always been weak to sincerity, having so little of it himself. And Dainsleif, for all that he is strange and impossible, has been nothing but straight with him so far. ]
My, I'm flattered you find me so memorable. You're not looking half bad yourself, for a man of your age.
[ ...of couse, being sympathetic doesn't mean he's going to stop being as obnoxious as possible as he tries to buy time to gather his thoughts, especially with what Dainsleif says next. ]
Others...and what would you do if you found there were others like us, in the far reaches of Teyvat? [ He tilts his head, the smile never leaving his face, as if he's speaking of nothing but idle speculation. ] Would you seek vengeance on what has been done to our nation, Twilight Sword, as so many of our people would desire?
[ Five hundred years indeed. Dainsleif sees no reason to keep such a thing from the other man...besides, even if there is a irrevocable fact that there are those who might serve better from revealing those things, in this he has nothing to hide. Not to mention, they are both from the homeland, and have clearly retained their sense of self, unlike the others who have turned into creatures who are either mindless or dangerously mad.
Ones that need to be stopped. ]
...
[ Here is Dainsleif slowly raising a brow briefly here at the comment, though he thinks he at least should have expected that. Never change, Kaeya. Anyway, he turns his attention truly upon the question posited to him. ]
Hardly anything, until it may be that they and I would cross paths. But, I don't make for good enough company to linger for long. [ And he is far too occupied in dangerous things to involve them, he doesn't say; unless they are on the same path as the Abyss. In that case, well... ] As for vengeance — that is not my intention. The world is not the same as it was 500 years ago. Nor can anything or anyone make it so, even though some might want it to be as much.
[ What Dainsleif says falls perfectly in line with his own philosophy - suspiciously in line, and Kaeya is a big believer in the idea that things that seem too good to be true usually are. An ally of the Abyss who's managed to keep their wits intact wouldn't just admit their true intentions outright after all, especially in a place where so many of their enemies have gathered.
He studies the other's face carefully, searching for any hint of deception, growing even warier still when he doesn't find one. Normally he prides himself on his ability to read people, and Dainsleif certainly seems to be telling the truth - but what is twenty years of experience but a drop of water compared to the vast ocean of five centuries' worth? He's not so foolish or arrogant as to underestimate what a man who crawled out of the wreckage of Khaenri'ah's ashes intact could be capable of.
(And perhaps part of his paranoia is simply due to how achingly, desperately, he longs for Dainsleif's words to be true. To find a connection to someone who understands when he has thought himself the last remnant of a dead nation - well, it's an obvious weakness, and one far too easily detected by anyone who knows his origins.) ]
Well. [ For all his misgivings, he thinks the man deserves at least some honesty, and the smile drops from his face for the first time. ] I'm sorry to disappoint you, but as far as I'm aware, there is no one else who's survived the curse the way you and I have. [ A shrug. ] But then again, yesterday I would have sworn that I was the last one left, so what do I know?
[ ...Well, there is an irrevocable fact that Dainsleif does, unfortunately seem to utilize some form of abyssal magic. Though, he hasn't exactly gone on to show that sort of thing as of yet; but that is possibly a potential issue for future Dainsleif. Right now, he in the present is catching up with someone he has not seen for quite a long time. Yet, they are changed individuals since the last they saw each other.
One more warier than the other. Dainsleif continues to be not.
But, he believes his judgment to be clear. Even with a thundering pain that ensures he will have to eventually find someplace to rest up again rather soon. At this moment, given the timeline of his arrival, the events of adventuring into the Chasm with the Traveler are not too distant, and the repercussions still present. ]
I see. That's good enough of an answer.
[ At least for him. He has not much else to ask Kaeya, except...there's a moment of hesitation, before he considers a certain topic he imagined might not have much interest in voicing. But, between the both of them, they are the only ones from the homeland. And are relatively sane at that.
(Well, honestly, there's the Albedo situation, but he's a different story and Dainsleif hasn't spoken to him at this time, so...it is what it is.) ]
...I assume that you might recall the name of the homeland. But I do not, despite events involving our homeland still being very much present in my memory. I do not know the reason, though that is how things have ended up.
[ Dainsleif may not have much more to ask, but that certainly doesn't hold true for himself. All his life he's had more questions than answers, a child left forever wondering why he'd been left behind, what his true purpose is, what his homeland is even planning - and somehow, whether a miracle or a curse, an opportunity to find out has finally been presented to him. ]
Is it? You're an easily satisfied man, then.
[ He bites back the retort on the tip of his tongue - 'you aren't even a little curious about how I'm alive?'. Keep it easy for now, he tells himself, there's still time to slowly pry out information in the future. He's played this game enough to know a light touch can often be far more effective than a heavy one, and that the greatest mistake he could make would be to demand too much that he loses more than he gains.
Even so...it's hard to control his own burning curiosity, considering what Dainsleif says next. His eyebrows drift up as he puts a hand to his chin, looking perplexed for once. ]
...I do. But answer me this first before I tell you - do you suspect your memory loss to be an effect from this town, or from the curse?
[ If Dainsleif has been more affected by the corruption than he appears...well, that would change quite a few things about where his sanity is at. ]
Hah, I wouldn't say that. But, I suppose it may seem like the case for the moment.
[ Dainsleif likes to imagine it is a matter that he's more inclined and better served at obtaining his information one small step at a time, even though when he takes action, it isn't with the idea to claim little. Wandering five hundred years to gather intel, however scarce or elusive, has made it more or less how he approaches certain situations. Including this one. Whatever answers he seeks, including Kaeya's own, he will have at the right time...though perhaps there is a part of him that believes he is giving him a bit of reprieve by his own approach.
Though, he would not exactly consider his efforts to be light-handed. Otherwise, perhaps he too may have been able to intermingle with society.
...Or not. The taint of the Abyssal curse still firmly sticks to him to make that a problem, nevermind the immortality issue. ]
I suspect this is from the town. Though many years have passed since the Cataclysm, I recall many things. But I digress...I do recall discussing the homeland on a very recent meeting with the Traveler in the Chasm, though there are holes in my memory when I believe I have explicitly spoken the name. Perhaps one might attribute to the curse, but it is also incidentally the last place I recall being before I found myself suddenly here. So, I do not believe it to be a coincidence.
[ So are the deductions he has made regarding the issue of this memory. Even if, admittedly, his own initial meeting with Lumine and regarding another certain memory is less...clear cut for him. But, that is something Dainsleif isn't exactly keen to bring up at this time. ]
[ Well, he can certainly understand not wanting to bombard someone immediately for information - it's how he himself usually operates after all, and the fact that for once he's erred on the side of rashness really goes to show how shaken he's been by this whole revelation. Dainsleif's patience is a much-needed reminder to slow down and calm the pounding of blood in his veins; they have nothing but time in this town, time enough to reacquaint himself with a man he'd long thought dead with the rest and see whether his words can really be trusted.
As for the memory loss...the theory that it's likely the town's doing certainly does make more sense than the curse targeting one specific name. Though of course that raises some worrying questions of its own, but he has no reason to doubt Dainsleif's explanation on this when there's nothing else in his demeanor that suggests otherwise. ]
I see...I've noticed a few others missing memories as well, so it may be the town has affected us all in this manner. [ But that's a topic better suited for a larger group, and he has little interest in divulging the own gaps in his memories, so he'll quickly move on. ] The Chasm, hm? Ha, how funny...to think we could have run into each other there were it not for fate's little tricks.
[ That 'little trick' being something he deliberately set up so he could avoid going...but that's neither here or there. ]
....Khaenri'ah. That's what our homeland was once called. [ Even if he doesn't trust Dainsleif fully yet, he can give him this at the very least. A pittance of a payment for the struggles he must have faced in such a long, long lifetime. ]
[ Dainsleif wonders a little at that. Not because he doubts it, but because he is actually glad that they had not run into one another in the Chasm of all places. While he doesn't have any worries about Kaeya's combat ability due to hearing enough rumors while in Mondstadt, and knowing he possesses more than just swordplay, given the kind of machinations present in that area, it could've been troublesome for a first meeting. Better that it be somewhere that isn't hampered by things like, you know, irritating Abyss Heralds, Abyss Lectors, and their wretched henchmen.
Better it be on somewhere that is more neutral ground...like this. Even if this place still isn't exactly ideal in his mind for a reunion. But, maybe there is something to what Kaeya has said—fate oft has its plans. Though he would dare not subscribe to the thought he is constrained ultimately by such things. ]
"Khaenri'ah".
[ He repeats the name of the homeland. The fact remains that it is lost, and it will never be revived in the way that it once was. But, to lose the memory of the name of the place he had been born within and watched torn to pieces...it had not been insubstantial. Not when he is already afflicted with a curse and lost so much already.
Though, speaking of which, he lets out a small cough that managed to slip through. ]
I believe that should be enough for now. Unfortunately, I can't say that my journey with the Traveler through the Chasm hasn't been without peril. So, I must leave for now. If you have any further questions, we may talk later.
[ He turns away and begins to make his departure. ]
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
no subject
Though, as someone who had (has?) the title, Twilight Sword, the inability to protect the people properly lies with him. And his failure will live with him until the day he finally is freed from the curse, and passes on. But, regardless, there are things he must do. ]
It has, by now, been around or just a little over 500 years since we have last seen one another. Though you were far younger when we met, your features are distinctive; I would not forget such a face, even with the years shaping it differently from the last I saw of it.
[ That is not to say others from — had no distinctive features, but it is what it is. ]
Perhaps it is. Though, I would have vast preferred for us to meet in a more familiar world. [ Pause. ] I wonder if there may be others...though, if there are, I hope they have also managed to integrate themselves into Teyvat.
no subject
He's always been weak to sincerity, having so little of it himself. And Dainsleif, for all that he is strange and impossible, has been nothing but straight with him so far. ]
My, I'm flattered you find me so memorable. You're not looking half bad yourself, for a man of your age.
[ ...of couse, being sympathetic doesn't mean he's going to stop being as obnoxious as possible as he tries to buy time to gather his thoughts, especially with what Dainsleif says next. ]
Others...and what would you do if you found there were others like us, in the far reaches of Teyvat? [ He tilts his head, the smile never leaving his face, as if he's speaking of nothing but idle speculation. ] Would you seek vengeance on what has been done to our nation, Twilight Sword, as so many of our people would desire?
no subject
Ones that need to be stopped. ]
...
[ Here is Dainsleif slowly raising a brow briefly here at the comment, though he thinks he at least should have expected that. Never change, Kaeya. Anyway, he turns his attention truly upon the question posited to him. ]
Hardly anything, until it may be that they and I would cross paths. But, I don't make for good enough company to linger for long. [ And he is far too occupied in dangerous things to involve them, he doesn't say; unless they are on the same path as the Abyss. In that case, well... ] As for vengeance — that is not my intention. The world is not the same as it was 500 years ago. Nor can anything or anyone make it so, even though some might want it to be as much.
no subject
He studies the other's face carefully, searching for any hint of deception, growing even warier still when he doesn't find one. Normally he prides himself on his ability to read people, and Dainsleif certainly seems to be telling the truth - but what is twenty years of experience but a drop of water compared to the vast ocean of five centuries' worth? He's not so foolish or arrogant as to underestimate what a man who crawled out of the wreckage of Khaenri'ah's ashes intact could be capable of.
(And perhaps part of his paranoia is simply due to how achingly, desperately, he longs for Dainsleif's words to be true. To find a connection to someone who understands when he has thought himself the last remnant of a dead nation - well, it's an obvious weakness, and one far too easily detected by anyone who knows his origins.) ]
Well. [ For all his misgivings, he thinks the man deserves at least some honesty, and the smile drops from his face for the first time. ] I'm sorry to disappoint you, but as far as I'm aware, there is no one else who's survived the curse the way you and I have. [ A shrug. ] But then again, yesterday I would have sworn that I was the last one left, so what do I know?
no subject
One more warier than the other. Dainsleif continues to be not.
But, he believes his judgment to be clear. Even with a thundering pain that ensures he will have to eventually find someplace to rest up again rather soon. At this moment, given the timeline of his arrival, the events of adventuring into the Chasm with the Traveler are not too distant, and the repercussions still present. ]
I see. That's good enough of an answer.
[ At least for him. He has not much else to ask Kaeya, except...there's a moment of hesitation, before he considers a certain topic he imagined might not have much interest in voicing. But, between the both of them, they are the only ones from the homeland. And are relatively sane at that.
(Well, honestly, there's the Albedo situation, but he's a different story and Dainsleif hasn't spoken to him at this time, so...it is what it is.) ]
...I assume that you might recall the name of the homeland. But I do not, despite events involving our homeland still being very much present in my memory. I do not know the reason, though that is how things have ended up.
no subject
Is it? You're an easily satisfied man, then.
[ He bites back the retort on the tip of his tongue - 'you aren't even a little curious about how I'm alive?'. Keep it easy for now, he tells himself, there's still time to slowly pry out information in the future. He's played this game enough to know a light touch can often be far more effective than a heavy one, and that the greatest mistake he could make would be to demand too much that he loses more than he gains.
Even so...it's hard to control his own burning curiosity, considering what Dainsleif says next. His eyebrows drift up as he puts a hand to his chin, looking perplexed for once. ]
...I do. But answer me this first before I tell you - do you suspect your memory loss to be an effect from this town, or from the curse?
[ If Dainsleif has been more affected by the corruption than he appears...well, that would change quite a few things about where his sanity is at. ]
no subject
[ Dainsleif likes to imagine it is a matter that he's more inclined and better served at obtaining his information one small step at a time, even though when he takes action, it isn't with the idea to claim little. Wandering five hundred years to gather intel, however scarce or elusive, has made it more or less how he approaches certain situations. Including this one. Whatever answers he seeks, including Kaeya's own, he will have at the right time...though perhaps there is a part of him that believes he is giving him a bit of reprieve by his own approach.
Though, he would not exactly consider his efforts to be light-handed. Otherwise, perhaps he too may have been able to intermingle with society.
...Or not. The taint of the Abyssal curse still firmly sticks to him to make that a problem, nevermind the immortality issue. ]
I suspect this is from the town. Though many years have passed since the Cataclysm, I recall many things. But I digress...I do recall discussing the homeland on a very recent meeting with the Traveler in the Chasm, though there are holes in my memory when I believe I have explicitly spoken the name. Perhaps one might attribute to the curse, but it is also incidentally the last place I recall being before I found myself suddenly here. So, I do not believe it to be a coincidence.
[ So are the deductions he has made regarding the issue of this memory. Even if, admittedly, his own initial meeting with Lumine and regarding another certain memory is less...clear cut for him. But, that is something Dainsleif isn't exactly keen to bring up at this time. ]
no subject
As for the memory loss...the theory that it's likely the town's doing certainly does make more sense than the curse targeting one specific name. Though of course that raises some worrying questions of its own, but he has no reason to doubt Dainsleif's explanation on this when there's nothing else in his demeanor that suggests otherwise. ]
I see...I've noticed a few others missing memories as well, so it may be the town has affected us all in this manner. [ But that's a topic better suited for a larger group, and he has little interest in divulging the own gaps in his memories, so he'll quickly move on. ] The Chasm, hm? Ha, how funny...to think we could have run into each other there were it not for fate's little tricks.
[ That 'little trick' being something he deliberately set up so he could avoid going...but that's neither here or there. ]
....Khaenri'ah. That's what our homeland was once called. [ Even if he doesn't trust Dainsleif fully yet, he can give him this at the very least. A pittance of a payment for the struggles he must have faced in such a long, long lifetime. ]
no subject
[ Dainsleif wonders a little at that. Not because he doubts it, but because he is actually glad that they had not run into one another in the Chasm of all places. While he doesn't have any worries about Kaeya's combat ability due to hearing enough rumors while in Mondstadt, and knowing he possesses more than just swordplay, given the kind of machinations present in that area, it could've been troublesome for a first meeting. Better that it be somewhere that isn't hampered by things like, you know, irritating Abyss Heralds, Abyss Lectors, and their wretched henchmen.
Better it be on somewhere that is more neutral ground...like this. Even if this place still isn't exactly ideal in his mind for a reunion. But, maybe there is something to what Kaeya has said—fate oft has its plans. Though he would dare not subscribe to the thought he is constrained ultimately by such things. ]
"Khaenri'ah".
[ He repeats the name of the homeland. The fact remains that it is lost, and it will never be revived in the way that it once was. But, to lose the memory of the name of the place he had been born within and watched torn to pieces...it had not been insubstantial. Not when he is already afflicted with a curse and lost so much already.
Though, speaking of which, he lets out a small cough that managed to slip through. ]
I believe that should be enough for now. Unfortunately, I can't say that my journey with the Traveler through the Chasm hasn't been without peril. So, I must leave for now. If you have any further questions, we may talk later.
[ He turns away and begins to make his departure. ]