A Cryo warmonger who just turned 18 met a 23 years old Fatui Harbinger in the streets of Liyue. Little did she know he's the 11th Harbinger. Little did he know he murdered her family along with her childhood lover. Time has come for the warmonger to...
In the small nation of Antares, situated at the polar opposite of Snezhnaya, therein lies a warrior who lived by the name of Astreanova. For a lot of reasons preceding her bloodline, she was born in a lineage of warriors which usually favors the men, due to the nature of carnage and war they had to participate in. Over time Astrea preferred to be addressed as a non binary warrior, using more they/them pronouns despite their gender at birth.
Regardless of circumstances, the warrior was raised the same as their predecessor, the First Warmonger; the warrior who fought bravely in the Archon war that massacred more than half of the people, including himself. Becoming a Warmonger is no doubt, a position that could not be shouldered by those who did not possess a vision. The First Warmonger received his Pyro vision at the age of 10. Astrea's capabilities in battle were thoroughly scrutinized even if their performance was better than average. Two years before Astrea received a vision toughened up the child as the soldiers did not put their faith yet in a Warmonger candidate that was born in an opposite gender.
Astrea was left to thrive alone in the city as their family and childhood lover were murdered in a civil war with the Fatui of Snezhnaya as soon as she turned 12. The cold and frigid winter would always remind the child of bloodshed and houses being gaslighted. It was also the age of them receiving a Cryo vision from the Tsaritsa herself. It has been said that the Tsaritsa would only grant a vision in exchange for a parting or death of someone you hold dear. It was a blessing in a curse, though it didn't feel like a blessing regardless of the outcome, due to the fact the warrior received the specific vision on their birthday.
Happy birthday, Astreanova. I'm sorry for your loss, but your journey as a powerful warrior starts today.
Astrea immediately heard an ethereal voice from above and assumed that it was the Archon herself, even if they had previously claimed to live as a godless individual. Astreanova had become a disbeliever of Archons regardless of the circumstances, even if they secretly sought for the vision to preserve her role in the Antares army. That night, the 12 year old child closed her eyes in agony and slowly, the tears cascaded down her cheeks disappeared and faded into ice.
After the dreaded incident, the newfound born-again warrior child continued their intensive mental and physical strength training with the help of the Grandmaster of Antares, who was a mature 30 years old woman called Athena, nicknamed as the Goddess of War. Athena took her in, realizing Astrea was one of the unfortunate children who lost everything their loved in a blink of an eye due to the merciless invasion of the Fatui. Finally at the age of 18, the warrior became nearly as formidable as the Goddess of War and Astrea was able to go on adventures alone.
"Astrea, I shall need your cooperation in dealings with the Fatui diplomats in Liyue and some intel gathering. The details are as follows," Athena proclaimed as she handed her a formal letter. They were discussing their plans for the Rite of Descension.
Despite knowing the unavoidable truth about Astreanova and the Fatui, Athena proceeded with the plan as she wanted to test how far the 18 years old warrior could endure the unavoidable trauma after the mental training she had received.
"I am highly aware of your predicaments about the Fatui, but take it as an endurance test to not immediately slaughter them without proper investigation. I'm offering you this opportunity to explore the other nations in Teyvat as this is also a chance to find out which is the Fatui Harbinger that massacred your family and childhood friend."
"I see....." Astrea paused for a while, unable to process a swift reaction before continuing. "Then that settles it, mutual benefits. I am going to find out who the criminal is even if it would cost me my life."
Athena smiled.
"Best of luck, my dearest warrior."
Departing to Liyue alone isn't the hardest part of the journey for Astreanova. As the Cryo warrior sat on the horse carriage overlooking the stars, nostalgia started to creep inside her mind; reminiscing past memories of stargazing with their one and only first love who was in fact, another girl. The warrior had been pansexual and didn't mind the gender she was dating as long as they're not a Fatui.
She remembered the words she used to proclaim while they were both stargazing at a meadow.
I will always love you, Astrea. If you look at the stars, remember that I'll always be with you.
Emptiness started to creep in the warrior's heart. Their possessive nature towards old memories remained intact throughout her teenage years. She did not want to forget, not too soon. But the bitter truth was always the fact that Astreanova and Aliyah, both being first loves of each other, had initially sworn to die together throughout all odds. It was unfortunate in the end for Aliyah to depart first from the world of the living.
Till death do us part.
Her voice was the last straw Astrea had mused about before they slept - remembering old memories to lull themselves to sleep. Few kilometres ahead; there lies the gate of Liyue, welcoming the warrior into a brand new fate with an unexpected twist waiting at Luili Pavilion and the Northland Bank of Snezhnaya.
A/N: As you can see I'm doing a revised version of this series which would make more sense. I'll update more especially in these few days~ also hopefully more drawings to come! <3 Here's one of our favourite warmonger:
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