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Alhaitham preferred to travel alone. But strangely, whenever the opportunity of accompanying his troublesome roommate arose, he never tried to get out of it.
“Are you going to hurry up?” Alhaitham asked his travel companion. Kaveh had paused at the side of the road to sketch some flowers.
“This type of Sumeru rose only grows in this particular region. It would be a shame to waste the opportunity now that I've finally spotted one myself,” Kaveh explained while hatching the shadows on the leaves.
“You could just pluck it and take it home.”
“So it can start welting before I have the time to admire it at its most beautiful? I don't think so, Alhaitham. And don't even suggest that I can draw it on the way back. The domain will still be there tomorrow, the flower might not be.”
Kaveh had made some good points. So Alhaitham seated himself on a nearby rock and read a book while he waited for Kaveh to finish.
“Okay I'm done,” Kaveh said after a few minutes.
“Can I see it?”
Kaveh looked at him with suspicion. Alhaitham didn't ask to see his creations very often.
“Alright,” he answered as he angled his sketchbook towards him.
The Sumeru rose did look pretty. But the way it was slanted towards the right made it appear slightly sad to Alhaitham.
“This petal looks a little more detailed than the others,” Alhaitham said as he traced his finger over a particular part of the page.
“Don't touch the parts I drew on!” Kaveh yelled as he slapped his hand away. “Your oily fingers will smudge the graphite.”
Kaveh let out a disappointed sigh. “But yes, I made that part the most detailed. I wanted to make it so that your eyes are drawn to that part of the flower. While I was sketching most of the sunlight fell on that particular area, letting me see all the tiny creases, different patterns and blemishes. So-“
“This isn't very interesting to me...” Alhaitham interrupted.
Kaveh's nose scrunched up out annoyance. He then turned around and continued their journey with a fast pace and big steps.
“Finally you're making some haste!”
-
It didn't take them very long to reach the domain. But getting inside seemed to be quite the challenge. Long branches and thick vines had wrapped themselves around the entrance, making it impossible to open the doors.
“If only one of us had a Pyro Vision,” Kaveh complained.
“Out of the two of us you seem to be the best candidate for it,” Alhaitham said as he looked around for a way to clear the doorway.
“Why? Because Pyro users are often passionate individuals?” Kaveh remained where he was standing, trusting Alhaitham to do all the work.
“No, because you're always so hot-headed.”
“Hmph!” Kaveh still didn't lift a finger, crossing his arms instead.
“I can see that you're trying very hard not to prove my point right now.”
Riling Kaveh up was one of Alhaitham's favourite things to do. At this point he might as well call it his hobby.
“I can tell from that pun that Cyno had a great influence on you, you must have had a great time with him in the desert.”
“Oh I certainly did, I thought about replacing you with him quite a number of times.”
“Replacing me?! You and Cyno living together, I can't picture it.”
“Most people seem surprised when they find out that you and I are living together, how is that so different?” Alhaitham asked as he knelt in the grass as if he was investigating something.
“Most people?! How many people have you been telling about us?!”
Some mint flowers were growing next to Alhaitham.
“Auditory messages are not the only way you can find out about something.” Alhaitham slowly backed away from the flowers.
“What is that supposed to mean Alhaitham? What, is that, supposed, to mean?”
“If you pluck some of these plants for me I'll tell you.”
Kaveh shook his head in dissatisfaction but did what he asked of him.
“These mints? You truly have the worst taste. These don't make for a nice bouquet at all. You're so unbelievably unromantic.”
“I want that one on your right as well,” Alhaitham said as he pointed towards one particular flower.
Kaveh rolled his eyes while reaching out for the mint. But once he started pulling on it he struggled.
“Hmm, this one seems to be a little tougher than the others,” was the last
thing he said before a Pyro whopperflower jumped out of the ground, budding his head and sending him backwards. The mints he plucked scattered into the air as he landed on his behind. Still disoriented he yelled out to Alhaitham, “Really?! I'm going to strangle you once we get home!”
Alhaitham quickly dashed behind the whopperflower, then created a small cage with his Dendro Vision, pinning the enemy into place. It wrapped its lower body around its head, charging up to fire its most powerful attack.
“Well don't just stand there!” Alhaitham ordered Kaveh. “Make yourself a useful target by standing in front of the domain. It's Pyro Attack will burn the vines, and clear the way for us.”
Kaveh looked dizzy as he jogged towards the door.
“Here sly whopperflower, why don't you attack me and not the horrible man standing behind you!” Kaveh yelled as he waved his arms.
The whopperflower shot out a fierce attack towards Kaveh, who managed to dodge it just in time. The burning spores hit the door behind him, just like Alhaitham had planned. The vines burned to a crisp, fire paving a way for them. After the job was done Alhaitham infused his sword with Dendro and cut right through the deceitful flower, giving it a clean end to its life.
“One of the mints smelled different than the others, that's how I figured out it must have been a whopperflower. A nice demonstration of how auditory messages are not the only way you can acquire new knowledge, don't you think?”
“You're telling me that people found out I was living with you because they smelled the fragrances I use on you? Who would even come close enough to get a whiff?”
“This was just an example. But now that you mention it, maybe the traveler.”
“Alhaitham. If you're trying to make me jealous it's not going to happen. Few people would be crazy enough to get romantically involved with you, I'm very much aware of that. Agh-” Kaveh rubbed his head. “That thing really hurt me.”
“Whenever I injured myself as a kid, my grandmother used to lightly kiss the place that hurt.” Alhaitham gently held the side of Kaveh's face. “Younger me somehow felt like that lessened the pain, isn't that funny?”
“You're going to kiss me right after you caused trauma to my forehead?” Kaveh scoffed at him but he did not remove his hand.
A little kiss was placed to the left side of his temple.
“You also hurt me emotionally, how are you planning to fix that, Alhaitham?”
“I could recommend you a trauma counsellor, if that is what you desire.”
“Ugh.” Kaveh pulled himself away from him. "I hope you're planning to pay for it as well.”
-
The inside of the domain was hot and humid. The water dripping from the ceiling had an angelic ring to in once it hit the puddles on the ground. Lush green bushes bloomed beside a beautifully decorated floor, guiding the way to what looked like an altar. Most of the area was lit by detailed torches. Alhaitham had seen similar patterns in other domains, but few had looked so stunning.
“What was this place used for?”
“I'm not completely sure. But I have a few theories.” Kaveh explained. “Although you probably wouldn't be interested in my ideas anyway.”
“Just because we might disagree, doesn't mean that I wouldn't like to hear your ideas.”
“Well I guess that's a first then.”
“No it isn't, and you know it. I value your take on things, even if some of your opinions are of poor quality.”
Kaveh clicked his tongue. “A lot of the paintings on these walls look like they have been altered, like there was a pattern on these walls before but someone drew over it in a different style. I think it's possible that an old civilisation build these ruins, and a more recent one tried to alter the original designs.”
“And why would they try to alter it?”
“I don't know. Maybe they preferred a certain style, or tried to replace history with their own history. Maybe most of it had faded so they tried to restore it but the original technique was lost.”
“You said you wanted to come here because it would be useful for your next project. But the architecture here doesn’t resemble any of your own designs. Did you want to recreate these paintings?”
“No. The only thing I'm interested in is a mechanism placed under one of the altars. It needs two people to activate it, so I could not do it alone.”
The altar was surrounded by a downward going staircase. The railing was fractured and weeds grew between the cracks. Alhaitham thought it was weird that the altar was placed in a low spot. Usually altars were higher up, to provoke a sense of godliness.
“There is a pressure plate on either side. Standing on it should make the altar rise,” Kaveh said as he walked around the table.
Alhaitham studied the altar before pressing his weight onto it.
“Do you know what this was used for?” Alhaitham asked.
“Not sure. But there is some text on the lower corner. Maybe you can make it out.”
Alhaitham bend down. He dusted the stone off with the end of his coat. A barely visible text revealed itself.
“May our blood reinforce the interminable law,” Alhaitham read aloud.
“Sounds like something someone from Fontaine would say,” Kaveh said as he rubbed his nose. “So are you going to stand on the plate or are we going to be here all day?”
“Kaveh, I don't think this is a good idea.”
“I promised my client an unique looking fountain. I need this for my project, Alhaitham! I already invested a lot of time into it but I’m lacking inspiration. Please?”
“How do you even know it's going to work?”
“An adventurer from Mondstadt told me about it.”
“And you just believed them?”
“Hey, I paid a hefty price for this information!”
“What if they just made it up?”
“Fine, go. I'll find someone else.”
If it was anyone else Alhaitham would have walked out. But the idea of Kaveh getting himself into trouble without him seemed even more dangerous.
“You’re being a fool. Risking your life for something as trivial as this?”
“Art is not trivial.”
“Clearly it's less trivial than my well-being. Risk your own life, I'm not participating in this.” Alhaitham turned around as if he was ready to walk out.
Kaveh paused for a moment. Truth be told, Alhaitham always seemed untouchable to him. He had not even considered him getting hurt; it was hard to imagine.
“You’re… right,” Kaveh said, looking incredibly disappointed. “I'll tell my client. The project might be canceled, so... if I can pay this months rent later than normal, that would be nice.”
Alhaitham was satisfied with that, Kaveh’s safety was worth more than any architectural project. He reached his hand out to Kaveh, guiding him to walk back with him.
But as Kaveh reached out for his hand he suddenly stopped. He then looked down to his feet still standing on the pressure plate.
“Alhaitham,” he said with panicked eyes. “I can't move my feet. They're stuck.”
“This didn't happen last time?”
“I don't know, I didn't step on it last time.”
Alhaitham put his hands on Kaveh's leg to try and lift it, but his foot was locked into place.
“Can you remove your shoe?”
Kaveh reached down, trying what Alhaitham suggested.
“No,” Kaveh said after struggling to separate them. “It's as if an invisible hand is holding down my feet.”
Alhaitham looked at the pressure plate. There was no text, only an ingrained logo of what looked like a chain.
Suddenly a click was heard from somewhere in the ruins.
“What was that Alhaitham?!”
Kaveh suddenly jolted an inch downward.
A louder click was heard, slowly the altar rose up.
Another light click, followed by Kaveh sinking into to ground even more.
“Alhaitham, the further down I go the more the altar goes up.”
More of the ingrained text on the altar became visible as less of Kaveh became visible.
Kaveh pointed to the alter. “What does it say Alhaitham?”
“Your project is not important right now, Kaveh.”
The more Kaveh sunk, the harder getting a good grip on him became.
“Stop! Stop! You’re hurting me.” Kaveh’s cries made Alhaitham loosen his hold on him.
A situation as unfortunate as this was enough to make even Alhaitham fright.
“Maybe the sinking will stop once the altar reaches a high enough place.”
“Maybe it won’t.”
“Alhaitham. I need to tell you something.”
“Now is not the time, Kaveh! Just focus on getting out of here.”
Alhaitham looked around desperately, for any clues that would loosen the domains grip on his stubborn, impulsive, fun to mess with, delightful roommate.
The last bits of text revealed themselves. Making for one long poem.
May our blood reinforce the interminable law
For faith is what holds us together
For faith is what keeps us apart
More than one entails stronger than one
May we survive the storm together
And see the flowers bloom in dyads
“I think… I got it.” Alhaitham shared. “But I’m going to have to let you go, okay?”
Kaveh nodded, having just as much faith in Alhaitham getting out of the domain as he had when they were trying to get in.
But as Alhaitham started walking towards the other plate, Kaveh slowly changed his mind.
“Wait! Alhaitham, wait! I don’t think this is a good idea.” Kaveh screamed, hidden from the neck down.
“It’s okay. This should work.”
Alhaitham hovered one of his feet above the stone.
“At least tell me what the inscription says,” Kaveh begged. “Maybe you’re wrong.”
Alhaitham had already made his decision, his heel hit the slab first, followed by the rest of his body weight.
Kaveh held his breath as he waited for another click from the mechanism.
-
“That’s him.” Kaveh hesitantly pointed to the Adventurer relaxing at one of the tavern booths. “Let’s leave him alone, he might he busy.”
“No.”
Kaveh hoped to never be on the receiving end of this side of Alhaitham.
Alhaitham walked over to the carefree looking man. He hovered above him for a split second before he grabbed the man’s collar. “We need to talk outside.”
“Hey, hey, hey!” The man cried out in a panic. “What’s your problem, fellow?”
“My problem, is that you took my roommate’s money in exchange for misinformation about a dangerous domain. You’re lucky that it didn’t take his life. Otherwise, I would be here to claim yours.”
“Can we have a civilised conversation? I never lied to him. All the info was correct.”
“Then how come he started sinking down into the ground after stepping on a pressure plate?”
The man laughed at Alhaitham's retelling of the duo's experience. “Let me guess, you didn’t step on it at the same time? If you had just followed my instructions everything would have turned out alright.”
“You didn’t think that it was important to mention, that not stepping on both of them would send you straight into the Abyss?!”
“Alhaitham, stop!” Kaveh wasn't as comfortable with dragging people over a tavern table as Alhaitham. “Let’s go. It’s enough.”
“So I assume that you don't want to hear the history behind the domain then,” the adventurer said right as they were leaving.
“I do, actually.”
“Kaveh, no.” Alhaitham was less than ecstatic about listening to more of the man's stories.
“Twenty thousand mora and I'll tell you all about it.”
Alhaitham could only roll his eyes.
“I only have four thousand,” Kaveh said as he inverted his pockets. He gave a wide eyed look to Alhaitham, who looked back at him with despondency.
“Fine,” Alhaitham finally gave in, taking his wallet out to match the price the adventurer was asking for. “But only because I'm a little curious myself.”
“Thousands of years ago the altar was used for a ritual. In it, two subjects would take a long and dangerous trip with delicate and highly valued relics. To make sure that one would not abandon the other, their people made them stand on the two plates at the end of their journey, to ensure that they would try to protect the other as much as possible during their trek. Call it forced teamwork. If only one of them made it back, they were forced to stand on it alone. In other words, send to execution.”
“That's unnerving. And cruel.” Kaveh fiddled with his shirt in an attempt to comfort himself.
“Well, that's not all. A later civilisation had the same opinion as you, it was a bit too brutal for their taste. Those people then had more... let's call it romantic ideas. They instead repurposed the altar as part of their wedding ceremonies. Stepping on those plates symbolised the unwavering bond between two people.”
“And how great are the odds that you're just making all this up?” Alhaitham asked with a raised eyebrow.
“Even if I made it all up, it's still a nice concept, isn't it? Turning something tragic into something more beautiful.”
-
Outside of the tavern the two were met with a cooler air, but Kaveh's eyes still came with their warm hue, matching the shade of the setting sun.
“The domain still gave me some ideas for my project. I’ll make the mora back, dont worry.”
“I don’t care about the mora, Kaveh. But please, promise me… that you ask me to come with you again, the next time you decide to do something stupid.”
Kaveh laughed at that.
“Alright. Because you asked so nicely.”
Kaveh turned his head slightly to face the horizon. The last rays of direct sunlight hit the side of his face in an appealing way, as if they were directed to do so.
“It’s getting late. We should go home,” he shared.
But Alhaitham didn’t hear what he was saying, instead all he was paying attention to was the shimmer in Kaveh's hair, making it look golden. His long lashes, the circles under his eyes, the braid he always tied so pleasingly and... a smudge of graphite low on his jaw.
“I think I get it now.” Alhaitham said.
“Get what?”
Alhaitham didn’t explain, instead he grabbed his waist and pulled him closer.
“Hold still,” Alhaitham said as he licked his thumb, tracing over Kaveh's jaw as if he was gently cleaning it.
“Ew! Alhaitham. What are you doing?!"
“You had a little grey smudge there.”
“Probably one of your hairs.”
“Graphite, i think.”
Kaveh grabbed his hand in a reassuring motion, as if to tell him that it was all okay.
“Are you done inspecting me?”
“I could inspect you for a long time.”
“Very charming!” Kaveh chuckled. “You’re going to make me sink into the ground again if you keep taking like that. Out of embarrassment this time.”
“Or maybe you’ll just”—Alhaitham cut himself off—“Hmm, how unfortunate .”
“What’s wrong?!”
Alhaitham only smiled as he leaned in. “There also seems to be a grey smudge on your lips.”