vitriolic

rancorous

warnings: gore, violence, fire, burns, descriptions of being burned alive

you were excited to finally make it to liyue after all the pain and torture you had gone through in mondstat. you know you probably wouldn't be treated any differently, but you hoped your hunters would be less likely to look there.

   you had been in the wagon for hours now, so you risked a peek outside, and were met with the most beautiful scenery you'd seen. you know liyue is pretty, but that was just through a screen, in real life it's so much better. the view was so breathtaking that you didn't even notice the person trailing behind you, neither did you notice them look straight at you.

   you put your head back in the wagon before you got caught, and realized just how tired you are. it would still be another few hours before you got to the agreed upon destination, so you decided you'd be safe enough to take a small nap, figuring any big problems would wake you up.

   the sight you woke up to was considerably less peaceful than the one you fell asleep to, there was fire all around you and you could places where your skin had started to melt and char. the sticky, nauseating, painful feeling was almost enough to make you lose consciousness, but you know they'd just kill you if they found you again, so despite the feeling of your skin melting off, and the thick layer of ash covering what skin you still had, you slowly managed to get out of the still burning cart.

   you somewhat recognized the area the cart has stopped in, and then remembered that it was right next to the oceanid. figuring you had no better option, you stumbled all the way to her arena, slowly making it before collapsing as soon as you stepped foot into the cooling waters.

   when you woke up, all you could feel was the soothing feeling of hydro washing away all of your wounds. you looked around as you got your wits about you, but when you looked down at yourself to check on the burns, you were frozen in shock. the blood all over that you distinctly remembered being red, had become a bright, shimmering gold. reaching down to touch it, you felt the sticky, damp feeling of mostly dried blood.

   "you should lay down longer, your grace, i've healed you, but you could still reopen your wounds." the surprisingly comforting voice of rhodeia came from behind you, and you found yourself listening to her, despite what you thought would be best.

   "are you able to tell me what happened yet? i couldn't take it if whoever did this to you went unpunished." you found it endearing how she cared for you, and it was right then that you realized, somewhat ironically, that the nonhuman creatures had showed you more kindness and humility than the humans had.

   she gathered you in a cooling embrace, and then gently urged you to relay all that had happened upon your arrival. seeing this as your chance for revenge, you immediately told her everything. from the impostor on the throne, to how had been relentlessly hunted for the last three days.

   "humans are such foolish creatures, they can't even recognize the one they claim to worship. i deeply apologize on behalf of everyone for all that you have had to endure." she scoffed during the first part of her statement, but her voice got more gentle and sweet the longer she spoke.

   she set you down on the smooth stone ground, and then created some small water animals, which then swarmed around you and cuddled into your body.

𝑟ℎ𝑜𝑑𝑒𝑖𝑎'𝑠 𝑝𝑜𝑣

   she couldn't believe how ungrateful those pathetic humans are. first, they don't recognize how clearly perfect you are as their creator, but then they take it even further by hunting their god, at the command of an impostor! deciding she'd do everything in her power to protect you, and so she sent hydro mimics to every corner of teyvat, all with one message, "protect the creator."