I'll Be Here

Dreams Are Sweet

Weeks passed through inhales and exhales.

Sometimes Zhui would come. Sometimes he would take Alatus to go kill hilichurls. Sometimes he would just come and encourage him to meditate. He did not force Alatus to wear the mask again; he only made him meditate and fight. Sometimes Alatus killed whopperflowers or slimes. One time Zhui summoned a Pyro Regisvine and forced him to fight it, giving him snow to refresh him. Sometimes Alatus meditated by himself, just to pass the time — but no matter what he did, he ended up back in chains by the end of each day, trying to deal with the discomfort until the next time he could move again. He had learned fairly quickly that testing the restraints only caused more pain.

He was numb to the point of boredom until the day the archon brought him to a beach.

Alatus had not left Minlin for the majority of his years, except for one time when Menogias brought him to southern Liyue to see the Sea of Clouds, so he was unfamiliar with the rest of the land in Liyue. He turned slowly. The sky was dark gray and cloudy, with no moon or stars to illuminate the night. He could see the foggy outlines of cliffs around him, with one particularly close rock towering high; beyond that, there was a massive mountain, taller than even Qinyun Peak. The little bit of light in the sky came from the clouds capping this mountain, glowing blue and cold. Alatus marveled, and his natural gentle curiosity took over. "Where is this place?"

Zhui was humming a pointless tune like a child, watching the water and rocking on his heels. "This is Yaoguang Shoal. Not that you know where that is. And that —" he pointed at the cloud-capped mountain — "that is Dragonspine. It is technically a part of Mondstadt, but no one from Mondstadt or Liyue ever goes there."

"Why?" The colorful clouds were mesmerizing. Alatus wanted to touch them.

"Too cold. Adventurers often die from the sheer cold." Zhui stated matter-of-factly, as if he were commenting on daily weather. He turned towards Alatus, not giving the yaksha a moment to process what he'd said. "Today I want to teach you something that your yaksha family never would have." He smiled.

Alatus pushed down his feeling of unease. Just like with the chains, he had learned that it was easier not to resist when Zhui tested him. He didn't know where he was, anyway; even if he could run, which wasn't worth the punishment, he probably couldn't get very far. He looked out longingly at the water. What was on the other side?

"Pay attention when I talk to you, Alatus," Zhui insisted, and Alatus turned back away from the shore. "I am going to teach you a ritual that anyone can do. All the meditation I have had you do was not for nothing. Of course I want you to be able to use your mask to its full potential, but it is also a necessary part of the Dream Trawler."

"Dream Trawler?" The words were unfamiliar.

Zhui put a hand to his chestplate, right over where his heart would be. "It has several purposes, but generally it is a ritual used to separate the soul from the body for any one reason."

Dream Trawler. "What is a dream?" Alatus asked. Dream. Dream Trawler. The name sounded sweet.

"Oh. Right." Zhui rolled his eyes. "I forgot that your family didn't allow you to experience sleep until this recently. I cannot believe that you have never even been knocked out."

He said this as if he had not been the first living thing to make Alatus lose consciousness by force.

"A dream, in its fundamental definition, is just thoughts or images that one experiences in sleep." Zhui waved his hand, procuring a censer and a joss stick. "For humans, dreams in their definition are a result of brain chemistry. But it is also more than that. Their dreams are their ideals, and aspirations, and everything that they want. Apart from their dreams, and their devotion to their archons, humans do not have much other will to stay alive." He touched the tip of the incense, and the sweet fragrance warmed the cool night air. "I actually do not know if yaksha can dream. The next time you fall asleep, Alatus, you should tell me." Zhui smiled, and Alatus cringed inwardly.