Chapter Text
Curses, there was sand in his shoes. Not only in his shoes, mind you, but also in his hair. Also, in his eyes, which was precisely what led him to become lost.
Al-Haitham was out on a research trip in the Passage of Ghouls, and some unexpected weather conditions had caused the narrow valley to be flooded with sandy winds from the great cyclone up above. However, Al-Haitham was in a nice and quiet bit of close-off ruins, and so, was unaware of the sandstorm brewing outside.
The second he stepped outside, coarse sand whirled around him and found its way into his eyes before he could properly cover them. Confused and disoriented, he then made the mistake of turning around once or twice while tying a thin shemagh around his face. So, when he finally opened his eyes, he had lost all sense of direction.
Which is why he now had sand in his shoes, hair, eyes, and the added bonus of having no idea where to go. Even worse, he saw a flash of pyro energy somewhere in the distance. Bright red wings flapped the sand away, to reveal the screeching face of a consecrated red vulture.
Among the local Eremites, they were called parindeh morg, or literal birds of death. Just his luck that he had encountered one all on his own, in a climate where the bird would have an advantage over him due to its superior eyesight.
This was absolutely great. He was lost, and was also probably going to sustain minor injuries, not to mention infection, if sand found its way into his wounds, which it certainly would if the storm didn’t calm down in the next few minutes.
Infection meant that as soon as he reached home, Kaveh would force feed him hot soup and disallow him from reading or exerting himself for the next eighteen hours. Ugh, this was going to be an annoying situation no matter how he ended up playing it.
The parindah lunged at him. Blazing claws outstretched, bloody beak aiming for Al-Haitham’s throat, and massive wings blowing hot sand towards him, the bird began to strike.
It towered above him, and could easily take down a man of even twice his size with a single swish of a claw, but Al-Haitham knew how to play it smart.
He summoned his green, glistening shamshir and lodged it in the bird’s beak. Using it as leverage, he hoisted himself up and onto the back of the bird by swinging one leg over its neck and letting his arms do the rest of the pushing. At this location, if he just held on tight enough, neither its wings nor its claws could reach him.
The correct strategy here would be to call on his regular sword, and while the bird was still busy with the shamshir that dug into its beak, he would position his sword at its throat and go for the kill. However, no strategy is infallible. With speedy winds still rushing by his ears though, Al-Haitham didn’t notice, as the bird gathered pyro using its arched tail, right over his head.
He jumped off of the bird’s back and rolled right underneath it, so that its own massive body would shield him from its pyro bolts. The bolts struck the ground next to him, but were unable to touch Al-Haitham himself.
When the barrage ended, he rolled out from underneath the bird and stood again, facing it. He had both weapons in his hands, ready in a fighting stance. But he was back to square one. Even a bird wouldn’t fall for the same strategy twice.
So Al-Haitham called on his vision and his Chisel-Light Mirrors, and started preparing for a long, winding fight.
He had learned many years ago, that upon expending large amounts of energy using his vision, his iris would glow with a green aura. It wasn’t too blindingly green, and he hadn’t even noticed until it had been pointed out to him, but it was a fact nonetheless. Dehya had called it a ‘cool party trick’ and Kaveh had been devastatingly jealous (‘How unfair! Why don’t my eyes glow when I use my vision!?’).
Now, when he got in stance and used his vision, ready to attack the parindah, his iris glowed as usual and his muscles flexed in anticipation for an attack.
Rather unexpectedly, that attack never came. The bird gave a startled screech and quickly cooled off all the battle-ready pyro on its body. It bowed its head, and began to caw and hiss timidly. How surprising.
As he would with any unprecedented situation, Al-Haitham had to analyze this change in behaviour carefully. The bird had mellowed at the very instance of him using his vision, so that had to be the cause. If its species reacted this way to dendro, it would certainly have been well-documented, so that couldn’t be the case.
Then, what was it? Had Al-Haitham been simply too intimidating? That was also unlikely, for the bird was still four times his size. Suddenly, an old research paper drifted into his head.
An analysis of externally observed optical detection traits in desert-dwelling animals : Part IV Animals of the desert were theorised to have special reactions to the eyes of the creatures they encountered, because in nature, specially patterned irises or phenomenon like glowing eyes in the night are traits that can protect one from predators.
Perhaps that was what was happening. The thought that this had never happened to him at any previous instance clawed at the back of his mind, but he chose to store it for later. For now, one of the famed parindeh morg was in his control, and it would be remiss not to take due advantage of that.
“Tell me, what is the way out of this sandstorm and towards Aaru?”
The vulture cawed loudly. It flapped its wings and began to half-fly, half-walk in a certain direction. Since he could see essentially nothing, Al-Haitham followed it. The bird led him out of the sandstorm and onto a familiar path that went to Aaru. It cawed every once in a while and looked at him, as if to say, “Speed up! Why do you humans walk so slowly?”.
When they reached the edge of the storm, the bird bowed its head yet again, hissed in an almost gentle manner, and put something on the ground in front of it. It had offered him tiny crystals of pyro. Al-Haitham pocketed them, and spoke softly to the vulture.
“Thank you.”
It cawed a final time and went flying back to its nest.
Upon reaching Aaru Village, Candace greeted him inside the Chief’s house with a worried look.
“Al-Haitham, where were you? You are so late, I was about to send out a search party! The storm was unexpected, even for us. Are you injured anywhere?”
“Hello, Candace. Thank you for worrying about me, but I took care of myself just fine.”
“Good to know. How did you find your way back? Raef was out in the sandstorm, and he still isn’t back. How exactly did you manage?”
“I had some help.”
“Help? From who? Is there someone else with you?”
“Not exactly. A consecrated vulture led me out of the storm.”
“A consecrated - what? You are telling me, a vulture guided you here?”
“Well, yes, Candace. I have no reason to lie.”
“I - I have never even heard of something like this! You are hydrated, aren’t you?”
“Of course I am. Here, look at these crystals if you doubt me so much.”
“Huh. You weren’t lying after all.”
“Indeed I was not. Anyways, you said Raef was lost in the storm?”
“Yes, but that isn’t really -”
“Then let us go look for him. You know the poor boy has never been good at navigation.”
“Alright, but we will discuss this further once we return.
𖥸 ·༻𐫱༺· 𖤓 ·༻𐫱༺· 𖥸
Al-Haitham and Candace stood in Uncle Anpu’s kitchen. Candace diced the tomatoes lazily, having done it thousands of times in her life. Al-Haitham washed, drained, re-washed and then cooked some rice thoroughly.
As Candace peeled glabrous beans from their stalk, Al-Haitham tossed the now cooked rice and tomatoes on the stove with spice, cardamom, clove, black pepper, and a hint of hot oil. Candace washed the beans and passed them off to Al-Haitham, who added them to the rice and tomatoes and cooked it all in an exquisite spice mix.
Aaru mixed rice was a simple dish, but a hearty one. It was meant to fill the stomachs of those who had toiled in the sun all day, and the pair cooked their own version of it often, whenever they happened to meet. They ate in silence, not due to some unspoken problem, but because they were simply so hungry, it became difficult to pause between bites and talk.
It was a good meal, and in the desert, far better than what most would be receiving in the night, when the sun set over the dunes and the temperature dropped.
Though, all good things must come to an end, and soon enough Candace and Al-Haitham finished their portion. They handed Uncle Anpu the ladle and told him to eat to his heart’s content, and then stepped out into the veranda.
A gust of chilly wind hit their faces, but they welcomed it. Every time a meal was cooked, the entire house would become a couple degrees warmer, and so the freshness of the desert air was a pleasant change.
“So, Candace. Tell me. How are your pursuits with Dehya going?”
“My - what? How in Teyvat’s name do you know about my pursuit of Dehya?
“Only because Dehya confided in me about her pursuit of you.”
“Her pursuit of me? Do not jest Al-Haitham. She sees us as nothing more than good friends.”
“I assure you, she does not. And don’t even bring up how she has affections for Dunyarzad, I know what you’re going to say, and no, Dehya only sees her as a good friend. You, on the other hand, she sees as much more.”
“Literally, how do you know any of this?”
“Dehya has the tendency to spill quite a lot when she is tipsy.”
“Well, I do trust you on that, but how did you infer that I was interested in her? She obviously couldn’t have told you that.”
“Candace, it is painfully obvious how much you like her. When we were out rescuing Raef, you mentioned her a total of 13 times over 6 hours. That is a rate of around twice per each hour. I want you to think about that statistic for a moment.”
Candace blushed profusely. “Hey, unfair! What kind of weirdo counts how much someone talks about someone else!?”
“This one right here. I have been called much worse than a weirdo before, you’ll have to try harder.”
“Ugh, Al-Haitham! What am I to do now? Do I simply go and tell her?”
“Ah, I would not recommend that. Dehya has something planned for the two of you.”
Candace gasped. “Really? Tell me what it is, please.”
“Not my secret to tell, Candace.”
“You are an utter hypocrite. It’s fine, it might be better as a surprise anyway. Alright, this is enough feelings talk. I need to talk to you about the whole vulture thing.”
“Go ahead, I’m listening.”
“While we were out in the desert today, I recalled a tale my grandfather once told me. It went like this -
Long ago, when Gurabad stood tall, its great king Ormazd visited the Scarlet King’s halls. He asked the King if he had permission to slaughter the vultures around his city. He said to Deshret, that the vile birds plundered what little food his people had in the silence of the night, and left them starving. They stole goats, with such animosity that no trace of the animals could be found later.
The Scarlet King was outraged, for vultures were his beloved. The birds freely paraded his halls, and perched at his side. The Great God King saw excellence in the birds, and forbade anyone from bringing harm to them. He said to Ormazd - “Your impertinence is alarming, child. To say so freely that you think you rest above my rules is a crime of the greatest degree. For this, your city will fall.” And as Deshret had said, Gurabad fell to ruins not long after.
That’s the extent of what I remember.”
“Fascinating that the epics of Gurabad have such intricacies. But I do not understand, why is it that you felt the need to share this with me?”
“I feel you may have the God King’s blessings within you. In the long history of our desert, it was only him to whom the prideful vultures bowed.”
“This leaves me with more questions than answers. Why would I only feel this blessing now? And, is it not understood that the God King left no traceable remains behind? How would I even obtain this blessing?”
“I do not know, Al-Haitham. Perhaps you could ask Lesser Lord Kusanali about this? I hear she is quite a good friend to you now.”
“Hm. That is a good suggestion, I will do that once I return. Until then, do tell me why you chose Raef as a guard? He is so amazingly incapable, I really don’t understand what you saw in him.”
“Actually, this is all your fault Al-Haitham. Ever since you and Kaveh have been making rounds of the Village, the villagefolks’ ideas on forest-dwellers have changed. Now, everyone and their mothers want to send their children to the City so that they may become like you. Thus, we are short-staffed and Raef had to be chosen as a guard.”
“I really don’t think Kaveh and I merely visiting the village had such an impact.”
“There is truth to that. In actuality, it was all the work you did as Acting Grand Sage. I cannot thank you enough, Al-Haitham. I never would have imagined that there would come a day where fights between the two sides of Sumeru would come closer to an end, instead of increasing. You really made a difference.”
“Hm. Thank you, Candace. In all honesty I failed to understand why we had differences in the first place. After all, my own grandparents were originally from the desert, and the Akademiya was less restrictive in who they hired under the sages of that time, and I never received different treatment.”
“Your insight will never fail to amaze me, you know. Anyways, how is Kaveh doing now? I heard he broke his ankle on a trip to Mawtimiya Forest?”
“Oh, don’t even get me started.”
They talked into the night, until sleep filled their eyes and they became drowsy. Then, they slept. Al-Haitham was in Uncle Anpu’s guest room as always. He put a glass of water on the nightstand, fluffed out his pillow, and closed his eyes.
𖥸 ·༻𐫱༺· 𖤓 ·༻𐫱༺· 𖥸
My servants inform me I have a guest. ‘Welcome them in!’, I say. The goddess of Dendro walks up to me. She looks as ethereal as ever.
“Aah, Rukkhadevata. What brings you to the desert this far ahead of schedule?”
“I come bearing worrisome news.Tell me, have you heard any word from Nabu Malikata?”
“Why do you say so? Has something happened to her?”
Worry blooms in my chest. My love was too precious to be lost. There was much unrest among my people, but hers were nothing but reverent.
“My Aranara tell me there is a curse that spreads through her lands.”
“Impossible…she would not let something like that happen.”
“Deshret, you have heard of what is happening in the nation that sits beneath your lands.”
Khaenri’ah and its many failures were the talk of Teyvat, but not something to be so seriously discussed. I steeled myself. There must be something I didn’t know.
“I have heard that their kingdom is falling, but how does that concern my love?”
“There is more. It is falling because of the very curse that may now be purging Nabu.”
A King must be rational and objective, is what my brain said. But the heart is such a mortal device. That moment, mine tore open.
“No, it cannot. No. No. I have to save her, I just need to do something, I must-“
Al-Haitham woke up with a start.
His pulse was racing at immeasurable speeds, he was sweating all over, and his breathing was frantic. It was the middle of the night, and the moon hung brightly in the sky.
What had he just seen?
𖥸 ·༻𐫱༺· 𖤓 ·༻𐫱༺· 𖥸
In the morning, he left without saying goodbye to Candace, for she was out patrolling and he was to return soon in order to reach before his paid leave was over.
His dream from the night before hung heavy in his mind. The ride from the village to the city was long, and all throughout, he had only that dream on his mind.
This was because, for once in his life, he did not understand what he had seen.
When Al-Haitham reached Sumeru City, it was dusk. The leaves of the Great Tree cast enveloping shadows over the houses, as if they were laying their claim. He remembered that gods do not sleep.
The Sanctuary of Surasthana was beautiful. The large emerald halls were works of art that Kaveh never stopped talking about, for they were designed by Pir Kavikavus. Al-Haitham walked up to those halls slowly, thinking and re-thinking what he would say to Nahida.
“Nahida? Are you there?”
“Al-Haitham, so lovely to see you! Though the sun has begun to set, I sense there is something on your mind. Tell me, does something bother you?”
“You are clever as a god, Nahida. I have had some revelations while in the desert. I come seeking help, for I cannot understand what it all means.”
“Here. Come a little closer, and sit down.”
Nahida lightly pressed a finger to Al-Haitham’s forehead. A small, green glow emanated from her fingertips as she closed her eyes and searched his mind for what was troubling him. She found both the vulture and Al-Haitham’s dream.
“I see now. You have considered that this may be a blessing from some recent ruins, haven’t you?”
“Of course.”
“You still have questions, and I can sense that.”
“The ruins I was studying had nothing to do with the Scarlet King. Why am I seeing his memories? What is happening to me?”
“Al-Haitham, the ruins of the desert hold more secrets than even I can understand. Something you didn’t expect may have happened. Until we know more, just take care of yourself. Tell me if anything strange occurs again. I will try to find what I can from within the Ley Lines until then.”
“Alright.”
𖥸 ·༻𐫱༺· 𖤓 ·༻𐫱༺· 𖥸
Al-Haitham returned home.
“What took you so long? Ugh, it is so much like you to rush off elsewhere immediately after arriving home.”
“I had to discuss some matters with Nahida, if you must know. Where have you put the chai patti? I could really do with some chai right now.”
“It’s in the second blue cabinet above the stove. Anyways, what matters were you discussing with our god?”
“Nothing for you to be concerned about. Do you want a cup too?”
“Sure, that would be great. More importantly, Collei is passing the second phase of her studies soon. Tighnari is throwing a little get-together. You will be there, right?”
“Of course. I need to make sure she enrolls in Haravatat, and so my presence will be required.”
Al-Haitham handed Kaveh a steaming mug of chai.
“Ugh, you Haravatats and your absolute bull-headedness will drive the poor girl insane. And thanks for the chai.”
“No problem. And you are, shockingly, not incorrect in your assumptions about my Darshan. Collei would actually do much better elsewhere, now that I think about it. Certainly not in Kshahrewar though, that would be a nightmare.”
“Hey! I take offence to that. Your chai never disappoints Haitham, you should give some to Nahida some day.”
“You wish for me to invite her to our home? Hm. She might actually enjoy that. I will let her know.”
“Good. So, I heard there was a really tough sandstorm out where you were exploring? How did that go for you? Got sand in your dumb shoes again? It’s honestly your fault for having those horrendous, unfashionable cut-outs on them.”
“No one else minds my boots except for you, Kaveh. Also, I got lost in the sandstorm as soon as it started.”
“What? Did Candace have to come and rescue you?”
“Of course not, a vulture guided me through the sand and back to Aaru.”
“You must be kidding me.”
“I assure you, I have no reason to lie.”
“Imagine you, of all people, being favoured by an animal. It seems surreal. Teyvat must be falling apart at the seams if something like that has happened.”
“It might just be.” Al-Haitham said, contemplation in his eyes.
“Ugh, you’re in thinking mode now. I’m going to sleep.”
“Goodnight, Kaveh.”
“Goodnight to you too, Haitham.”
𖥸 ·༻𐫱༺· 𖤓 ·༻𐫱༺· 𖥸
When he woke up, Al-Haitham was pleased to realise that he hadn’t dreamt at all. It was a very comforting, yet curious, start to the day.
He ate a Zaytun Peach with some coffee to wash it down for breakfast, and headed up the walkways to the Akademiya. A nervous looking Mahamata approached, and hurriedly blurted out, “Scribe Al-Haitham! You are needed in an audience with the General Mahamatra immediately!”
“Where?”
“In your office, Scribe.”
Al-Haitham nodded and continued waking. The Herbad by the name of Sanfi approached him shyly. “Scribe Al-Haitham, I have re-submitted my application with the proper formatting. Please consider approving it this time.”
“Sanfi, your application is not being rejected because of its formatting, and I have told you this previously. The Akademiya does not possess the funds to support such lofty research.”
“Hey, you can’t say that! My research is absolutely wonderful!”
“Really? Maybe then you’ll be approved this time around.”
Al-Haitham continued walking over to the lift. He stepped inside, went up a few floors, and reached his office. Cyno sat on his desk, with a grim expression on his face.
“Al-Haitham, you’re here. There was a breach in a Knowledge Capsule export this morning, but the culprits have all but vanished from the face of Teyvat. I need access to your database in order to track them down.”
“Alright, follow me to the archives.”
He said to his assistant, “Feruah, cancel my schedule for the next four hours.”
His assistant nodded. Al-Haitham and Cyno made their way over to the Scribe’s archives.
“Who are we looking for?”
“There’s a merchant named Tiaraz. We think he has been held as a hostage, or a potential lever. He will be easiest to track. He has a distinct appearance, I’ll point him out to you on the feed.
There is also Sanga, an Inazuman records manager from the Ormos staff.
Lastly, we have Rashvin. He is a desert-dweller who only made it to Port Ormos a day ago. He was the one carrying over some Capsules from the desert, which he proceeded to scam our merchant party out of in cahoots with the Inazuman. Again, this is only our approximation of what happened.”
“Okay, I have their profiles for you right here.”
Cyno leaned over Al-Haitham’s shoulder to look at what the Scribe had obtained for him.
“Hm. Explain this one section to me? It’s a little convoluted.”
“Fine. I have a lead on Tiaraz, and according to what information I have, there’s a high chance he may be near Devantaka Mountain. There is an Eremite band on the way to that location which is connected to my information network, and they reported to the Ormos headquarters, saying they saw a man with ‘crazy red hair’. I assume that would be Tiaraz.”
“You’re a lifesaver, Al-Haitham. Come on, let’s head there right away.”
“Just a second on that. If we get the elevation wrong, we could be delayed by hours on the chase. Let me look something else up.”
“Okay genius, go ahead.”
“Here, look. Sanga was at the Bimarstan after arriving at Sumeru for altitude sickness. Thus, we should be searching the ground in the valley for more efficiency.”
“Wonderful! I’ll move the matra on station, let’s move.”
And so, Al-Haitham, Cyno and a small group of matra headed to the suspected hiding site of the criminals.
Curses, now there was water in his shoes. The swampy climate of the Mountain really bothered him. No matter, for they were now at the foot of a cave which had fresh footprints leading right up to it.
Someone lit a torch, and the group headed inside cautiously.
After walking for a minute or so, they came to a literal crossroads. The cave split into three small tunnels. This was not ideal.
Cyno whispered, “If we check one by one we will lose our element of surprise and give them time to flee. I want everyone to split up, right now. I’ll go in the cave to the left, Al-Haitham you go to the right, and the rest of you go down the centre route. We have no way of communicating, so if you don’t find something in your cave, just return and wait here for the others, or head to another cave if you suspect backup may be required. Go!”
Al-Haitham followed the General’s instructions and moved to the tunnel at his right. Frogs tittered in the tall grass at the edges of the cave, and moss hung in large bunches. He noticed a shaft cut in one of these bunches, likely from a scimitar. He might be on the right track.
Al-Haitham slowed his breathing and crawled up to the end of the cave. There was water almost everywhere, which meant this was a flooding cave and a dead end was about to arrive. He prepared himself.
He did not prepare himself enough for the sight that befell him. Both Sanga and Tiaraz were nowhere to be found. Instead, he saw Rashvin.
The man was practically writhing on the ground, in intense pain. Con artist or not, the grimace on the man’s face was horrifying.
“Rashvin Ahmed, this is the Scribe, are you conscious? Can you respond?”
The man gave absolutely no response. He was having a seizure, and a bad one at that. Bad enough that Al-Haitham needed to help him so that treatment could be provided.
Al-Haitham didn’t see the shattered Knowledge Capsule at the man’s side.
He dropped to his knees and started positioning his hands and a soft cushion of moss. He touched Rashvin’s shoulder, prepared to brace the frantic movement of a seizing man while assisting him, but something else happened instead.
“Aargh!” Al-Haitham yelped in pain.
He had never been in this much pain, not when he broke his leg falling off a tree, not when his thigh had been split clean in battle, and not when he received a concussion. What was happening to him?
The pain wasn’t stopping. It had been milliseconds, but the hurt made him see white and feel like it had been centuries.
Images flashed in front of his eyes at rapid speed. He saw a glowing blue gem that shimmered into being green, then splashed into water clear as the night skies. A flaming red bird choked on its own tears.
A flower burnt to ashes. He saw a man, dancing. He was sidestepping, twirling and stretching his arms out, twisting his body in all sorts of ways as a woman laughed somewhere else. The man was beautiful when he danced. His golden skin shimmered with a thin layer of sweat, but he showed no tiredness. His movement was like that of whirling sand, as he spun and spun and the bundle of ghungroos tinkled at his feet. He was laughing, but where were his eyes? He had no face that Al-Haitham could see.
Al-Haitham lived many millennia in a single moment of hot, white, divine pain.
He jolted out of it. There was much to think about, but Rashvin was frothing at the mouth in front of him, he needed treatment.
He rolled the man to his side and placed a thick bed of moss under his head, praying that his first aid elective from Amurta hadn’t given him any wrong information.
Rashvin began to ease. He was still unconscious.
Cyno ran into the chamber, breathing heavily.
“Al-Haitham! We found Sanga and Tiaraz they - oh archons, what happened here? Is the suspect alive?”
“Yes, but he suffered a severe seizure, please have your matra fetch some Beshir leaves so we can treat him right now.”
“Alright. You don’t look so well yourself, were you attacked?”
“No. No, I’m alright.”
“Good. I’ll update you on what happened.”
Al-Haitham nodded.
Cyno began speaking.
“All three units of the cave were actually being used as their base. My matra found several recently stolen or reported goods in a stash, while I found Sanga cooking some food, mocking Tiaraz about his captivity. She wasn’t able to do that for too long. I got her to tell me that she and Rashvin were both cooperating to leech some free money off those traders, and all went to plan. Then, she said, Rashvin said he needed some air. That’s all she knows.”
“The rest, I think I can fill in. Cyno, Rashvin wasn’t carrying any ordinary smuggled Capsule. This was a Divine Knowledge Capsule. He must have been fascinated, considered himself special and decided to use it in private. Thus, he ended up seizing.”
“That makes sense. I knew that not all Divine Knowledge Capsules were out of the market yet. However, how did you find out about it? The capsule is empty. It could’ve been any old one and you wouldn’t have known.”
“I. I can’t explain right now, Cyno. Tonight, meet me at the Sanctuary of Surasthana at 9. I’ll tell you everything there.”
“Strange, huh. Hey, the matra are back. Let’s put him on a concoction of those leaves and get going. We need to reach the city on time to get him to the Bimarstan. Let’s move, people!”
𖥸 ·༻𐫱༺· 𖤓 ·༻𐫱༺· 𖥸
Al-Haitham trudges up the steps to the Sanctuary for the second night in a row. He found Cyno and Nahida both waiting for him.
“Al-Haitham, there you are. Cyno told me about today’s events. Tell me, what is on your mind, and what happened in that cave?”
“Nahida, I wanted to update you like you said, and Cyno, I owe you an explanation for the sake of the matra’s procedures.”
Both of them nodded. Al-Haitham continued.
“When I approached Rashvin to give I’m appropriate treatment, I made contact with his shoulder. At that moment, a great sense of pain overcame me. It’s the worst pain I’ve ever felt, and I don’t think I can describe it to you. Then, I saw many images in my mind at once. I don’t remember everything, but there was a vulture, a flower on fire, a bright blue-green gem, and then it cut to a man with golden skin, dancing. It sounds absurd, but it’s the absolute truth.”
“From this I inferred that it must be a Divine Knowledge Capsule, for no ordinary one would have such an effect. My one concern, is that I do not know why I didn’t go crazy. Cyno, you sent a note to my office explaining that Rashvin is still hospitalized, and there is little hope for his recovery. Why did I not go through the same?”
A heavy silence settled over the Sanctuary.
Cyno spoke up first. “I will have my men and women track down that Capsule to the ends of Teyvat. Once we find out where it came from, we might be able to answer your question better. Till then, I’m just glad you’re okay.”
Nahida had a strange expression on her face.
“Is there anything else that you remember?”
“No. What I told you is all of it.”
“Huh. I need time Al-Haitham. I have many suspicions, but it will take many hours of meditation to single one out. Meet me here tomorrow, at the same time.”
“Okay.”
Al-Haitham and Cyno turned to leave.
“Wait. Both of you, please take care of yourselves.”
“We'll do our best, Nahida.”
And so, they walked out. On their way to Al-Haitham’s home, since it fell closer to the Sanctuary, they talked about all the trivialities of the case. Sanga’s background as Inazuman, her utter nerve, and Tiaraz’s current status.
The trivialities carried on, as they do between friends, and then they reached Al-Haitham’s home.
“Cyno, I’ll take my leave now. Thank you for being concerned, it means a lot. Tell me when something new comes up.”
“I will. Before you go, you should know something similar has happened to me before. Finding out that I had the spirit of Hermanubis within me was a revelation I had not expected, and I found a lot of what was happening to me similar to your condition. Please, tell me when you gain leads, and I’ll do the same.”
“I understand, and I will update you accordingly. Goodnight, Cyno.”
“Goodnight Al-Haitham. Stay safe.”
𖥸 ·༻𐫱༺· 𖤓 ·༻𐫱༺· 𖥸
When Al-Haitham woke up the next day, it was Sunday. Kaveh had left the house early for some commission meeting at Puspa Cafe, as he had told a sleepy Al-Haitham in the morning.
So, he slept in, enjoying the peace and quiet. After the last few days, he really needed it.
He cooked himself an omlette wrapped in a parantha, and had some coffee, pressed from the expensive, special-occasion beans. He bathed the same way, but rubbed rose oil into his skin, the way his grandmother had always done when he was a child. He dried his hair in the sun, by an open window, and read a truly fascinating book (fascinating, because it was outrageously dumb). He had a wonderful morning.
But then, he began to think of the rest of the day. Most Sundays he had various plans so he could keep busy - emergency meetings at the Akademiya, outings with friends or dinner at Lambad’s with Kaveh, Tighnari and Cyno.
Today, he was all free for the day. Yet again, an outsider would probably tell you that this is what Al-Haitham proffered, since he liked making himself scarce. But the outings had all but become a part of his routine. To not have them there, left an empty feeling in his chest.
Well, he must do something to pass his time. Thus, he decided to take a trip to memory land. He had done this before. He would sit down in his study and simply rummage through old boxes from his childhood till he felt content.
He walked to his study, sat on the floor, and grabbed a mysterious box from under a pile of books. It was laden with dust and cracked in some places, but he knew it contained treasures within.
Al-Haitham opened the box, and a metallic, coppery smell filled the air. He immediately recognised it, but that was for later.
He flipped through an album of photos his grandmother had preserved. These were from back when the Kamera was still a novel device, and all in black and white. There was a picture of him at the wedding of his grandmother's friend’s daughter, when he was merely 6 and had the most judgemental eyes you had ever seen on a 6 year old. At the very least, that’s what his grandmother used to say.
The next one was of him when he was a lanky 17 year old. His acceptance letter from the Akademiya was here, and he had reluctantly agreed to a photo as his now weakened grandmother still managed to jump with joy.
There were pictures of him at his dance recitals with Madam Sitara. They were all taken from the back, because Al-Haitham would never have agreed to them being taken at all, and it had to be done covertly. Madam Sitara was a ferocious woman, and a good friend of his grandmother’s.
She would hit him with a long stick of bamboo if he messed up his posture or footwork. It might have been illegal, but it definitely worked. Al-Haitham’s footwork was the finest of all in a minimum of a 10 mile radius.
It was how he was able to bond so well with Nilou. Though he danced kathak, and Nilou did not, dance is very fluid in nature, and its overall connotations remain the same. That made it much more fun to be friends.
That’s where the coppery scent was coming from, his old, worn out ghungroos. The memories hit him like a Sumpter Beast.
The man in his visions the day before had also been wearing a pair of those, and the dance…if Al-Haitham remembered correctly, the golden man’s mudras were strangely similar to the ones he had practiced in his childhood years.
He then had a very intense urge to dance. He didn’t know why, for the first time in almost 5 years his body wanted to move fluidly again. But a man is nothing in front of his subconscious desires. Somewhere deep inside, Al-Haitham too wanted to open his body up again to his old ways of dance.
So, he rolled up the carpet in the living room and put it to the side, ensuring that he had sufficient space on the hardwood floor. Facing away from the door, he rested his music player on the table in front of him, and chose some lengthy classical tunes he had saved before to play.
And then he changed his clothes. He had a dhoti to his size lying around, but no topwear that was flexible enough. Logically, he was home alone, so he took his shirt off. Sitting down in just his dhoti, he tied his ghungroos around his ankles tightly by red string, and began stretching.
He started with a pranam, as tradition dictated. Entering with an amad, then poising himself straight in utpatti, he began to move to the rhythm of the music. Time to practice hast mudrayein. Al-Haitham formed the shape of a lotus with his hands, and then spread them out slowly, while bending his knees. Catching himself from his left hand, he did a singular, slow, chakkar or spin.
He felt all opened up now. Speeding up with the music, his footwork became more precise and his hands spun into many different gestures. He performed successive, rapid, chakkars and his blood began to flow properly, the way it always had when he used to dance. Al-Haitham formed an arc above his head and gradually lowered in a series of chakkars.
It felt wonderful to be back in the body of a dancer. In the back of his mind replayed the moves he had seen that golden man do in his visions. They were above his skill set, but he could certainly try to emulate them.
Al-Haitham had already been dancing for around thirty minutes, but the visions of that man compelled him to keep going. He spun around like the man had done, closing his eyes to feel his movement better.
His feet moved erratically, but with so much power to them that it was difficult for one to look away. His torso stretched more than it had in many months, but it didn't strain him. It felt good. His chaal was balanced and his core strong, and mind in a state of flow. The minutes passed, and he found himself truly adjusting to the movements of the mysterious man from the Divine Knowledge Capsule.
Al-Haitham hadn’t felt this alive in so many years, it felt like waking up from a slumber that lasted millenia. But human stamina has its limits. Tired out, he began to slow down, relax his body with slower movements, and then he heard a loud -
- THUD!
Something had fallen down. As he turned around, he found that it was Kaveh. Well, no. Kaveh hadn’t fallen down, but the groceries in his hand had fallen prey to gravity, and through no fault of their own. Kaveh had dropped his bags at the sight of Al-Haitham.
“Kaveh, what are you doing? Pick up the food, our floor isn’t very clean.”
Kaveh was blushing, furiously. It was clear to even Al-Haitham that he had liked what he had seen. Al-Haitham found it rather amusing.
“I...uh…I - I was just, coming back, from getting groceries. Hello Al-Haitham, how are you?”
“I am fine,” said Al-Haitham, wrapping up his music player, “but you look quite unwell. How long were you standing there? I hope I wasn’t blocking your way.”
“No, you. You weren’t blocking my way at all. Totally not.”
“Oh? Then why were you standing there?”
“Nothing, uh, I just, uh. You dance well, that is all. And I’ve never seen you do kathak. In fact, you never told me that you danced. So, uh, that’s all.”
“Hm.” There was a small smirk on Al-Haitham’s face that he chose to hide by turning around.
“I enjoyed it. A lot. By the way, your dance. It was really good. Just saying, you know.”
Oh, Kaveh had turned into a blushing, melting mess. It was the most amusing sight Al-Haitham had seen since the time Dehya fell face-first into mud while trying to budge her claymore out of it.
“Good to know, Kaveh. I’ll go get cleaned up, you think of what you want for dinner till then.”
“Absolutely. Yes. Yeah. Okay.”
Al-Haitham had the biggest smirk of his life plastered onto his face as he turned away to walk back to his room.
(A conversation at Lambad’s between two friends, later that day:
“Tighnari, his back muscles. I could write poetry on his body alone. I could make buildings in its honor. I’m not saying that I like him, archons no, don’t you dare spit that nonsense again, but you had to be there. Trust me, if you saw him dancing that way, you would’ve felt the same.”
“I’ll believe it when I see it, Kaveh. Which, I really do want to see it. I don’t trust you in the slightest, Al-Haitham could’ve been face-planting on the side of the road you still would’ve worshiped him, but the very concept of him doing kathak is just mind-blowing to me, and will be so worth seeing.”
“Okay, first of all, I don’t worship him at all, I just said he looks good, OBJECTIVELY, don’t make it weird. Secondly, I know right! We’ll try to get him to dance in front of the whole group. I don’t know if he would agree to shirtless, but his clothes are so see-through it might not be much of a stretch. Thirdly, do you think Nilou knows?”
“Ah, first of all, Kaveh, we all know he looks good but you’re the only one who talks excessively about ‘oh, his charming eyes’, ‘oh, the way he moves his lips!’, and all other sorts of lewd nonsense. Second of all, I really don’t think he would agree to that request, but it’s worth it to try. We could get Nahida involved, he’s soft for her. Thirdly, I am convinced that Nilou knows and that she’s betrayed everyone by keeping it a secret.”
“I won’t even fight with you anymore, it's worthless to try and get a point through your skull, I don’t do the things you say, but you won’t admit it. Also, Nahida being involved would totally make him fold! Great idea! Lastly, do you want to go and harass Nilou for not telling us?”
“Absolutely! Come one, let’s go find her.)
𖥸 ·༻𐫱༺· 𖤓 ·༻𐫱༺· 𖥸
It was late at night. That is, it was the perfect time to visit Nahida. Al-Haitham was still tired from his workout earlier in the day, so he trudged along to the Sanctuary of Surasthana for the third night in a row, a little slower than usual.
As he walked through the gate, he saw Nahida, enveloped in a deep trance.
He called out to her.
“Nahida, I’m here.”
She awoke, eyes still glowing green from her meditation.
“Oh, Al-Haitham. Sit with me here, I have some clues for you.”
Al-Haitham sat down on the ground next to Nahida with his legs folded. Nahida was perched on a small branch that stretched out of the floor. They looked ridiculous, but neither of them cared much for it.
“Do you know what that green gem on your chest is?”
“It’s just something I’ve had since I was born. I don’t know much about it other than the fact that it hasn’t affected my life in any meaningful way, and that my grandmother told me it was entirely normal.”
“Alright. Do you know where your family comes from? I attempted to look it up, but I had no time, for Hat Guy required my attention.”
“That’s okay. My family came from the desert. Not from Aaru Village, since that place has no records of them, but from a small settlement near Lamb-Devourer Rock. Last I checked, it has devolved into a ruin like all other settlements in the desert.
My grandmother and grandfather both belonged to that tribe of people. When they were young, around 7 years old, their families, and many others, moved to the City due to threats of bandits and looting. There they fell in love, and had my father. My father fell in love with a girl from his class at the Akademiya, and they had me.
They died due to an unidentified animal attack on a trip to the swamp north of Mount Damavand when I was 2. I never knew them well.
That is all about my family that may be relevant to you.”
“I’m sorry you had to grow up without them.”
This stung at something in Al-Haitham’s heart, but he pushed it aside.
“There’s no need. Continue with your questions.”
“Okay. Lastly, are you aware that the Traveler has successfully shut down the atmospheric disturbances of sand over the Scarlet King’s tomb?”
“Yes. I saw it had calmed down on my trip to the desert earlier this week.”
“Perfect. Now listen to my theory.”
“Go ahead, O Goddess of Wisdom.”
Nahida chuckled like the child she was.
“Well, imagine that the tomb is a tower that is broadcasting a signal. The storm overhead was blocking the signal from reaching outward, and when the Traveler fixed it, the tower became functional.
Now, a signal is created for the purpose of sending it to a receiver. If it were to be sent to humans or gods or some other species or family in general, we would have multiple cases like yours.
However, it’s just you. When we think about a variable special to you, it is the gem embedded in your chest. That is the one thing setting you apart from the rest of Sumeru, for I must admit I have never seen, or heard of a gem like yours.”
“What do you conclude?”
“That the now-clear tomb is broadcasting, and the only viable receiver is you, or more specifically, the gem within your chest.”
“Huh.” Al-Haitham touched the gem, contemplation drawn on his face.
“This theory may not be correct, but it’s the best explanation we have right now. You are blessed by the Scarlet King, Al-Haitham.”
“Huh.”
“Try being a bit more expressive?”
“I apologise. It’s just that, how am I the only one with the gem? How did it even end up embedded on my skin?”
“I don’t know, Al-Haitham. There are so many things about you I do not know.”
“Tell me, Nahida. Was the Scarlet King a kathak dancer?”
“How…?” The goddess was confused.
“When I was dancing today, the visions from yesterday flooded back to me. If what you say is true, and the man I saw could have been the Scarlet King, then he must be a talented dancer.”
“Deshret’s mother originated the dance form, and he was one of her greatest pupils. This is an obscure portion of history, since there are those who do not wish to imagine their god as a dancer, but you have been able to discover it all by yourself. This is truly fascinating, Al-Haitham.”
Al-Haitham was about to comment how yes, it was fascinating, and what should he do about it, but he was stopped in his tracks as an ugly screeching filled the air.
A fungus appeared in the doorway to the Sanctuary.
Normally, all fungi were respectful to Nahida, and didn’t even dare to venture into the city. But this one was both abnormal, and had managed to sneak past the city in the middle of the night.
Its shape was that of a normal fungus, but black scales covered almost every inch of its torso. It looked sickly, like a rotten fruit given life.
“Nahida, that’s an Abyssal mutation of a fungus, get behind me, now!”
Al-Haitham activated his vision. In that split second, Nahida saw something in his eyes, but she wouldn’t mention it until after things had cooled down.
“I will lend my power over dendro to you. Go forth, end that beast.”
Al-Haitham ran at the mutation. The creature got ready to attack him as soon as he got close. But Al-Haitham, the clever man, sidestepped at the last moment, and cut off its hind leg with his shamshir while saving himself from a sprawling attack.
It cried out in pain, and then roared in anger, both being ugly noises. Al-Haitham made swift work of shutting it up with a quick, Nahida-boosted, strike to its face, and then ended its miserable life with a clean stab to the heart.
Precise and methodical, and rather easy, actually.
But that was not the most troubling thing about this encounter, for an Abyssal beast had made it into the very heart of the city. What had happened?
“Nahida, you’re okay?”
“Of course. Thank you for looking out for me, Al-Haitham.”
“It‘s nothing. You are the god of my nation.”
Al-Haitham put his sword down, and the two went back to their original seating positions.
“So tell me, where did that come from?”
“I really don’t know. Al-Haitham, that’s unimportant.”
“What do you mean, unimportant? A literal beast attacked you in your own home.”
“We will get to that later. Al-Haitham, I saw the Scarlet King’s presence within you. When you used your vision, a golden ring of light surrounded your eyes. I know that there’s a green glow you get, but that is merely rare, not exceptional. But this? I have never seen it before.”
He was at a loss for words.
What could he say, when he neither wanted, nor expected the events that had occurred to him?
“Okay, great. Amazing. Now, back to the Abyssal beast. Use your divinity, and tell me where it came from.”
“It was a speck of sand tainted with the Abyss that the wind carried to the jungle, and there it became the monstrosity we saw.”
“Why is this happening? In my entire life, I have never heard of this. And I know that you haven’t either. So tell me, Nahida, why is everything changing so rapidly?”
“I don’t know, Al-Haitham! I need the night to think, and to meditate. Go back home, and take care of yourself. Good night, Al-Haitham.”
“Good night, Nahida.”
𖥸 ·༻𐫱༺· 𖤓 ·༻𐫱༺· 𖥸
“Eat something before you go!”
“Kaveh, I don’t have time, I need to reach the Akademiya early today.”
“Hey, you’ve never ever been early to work! What’s gotten into you?”
“I will tell you when I’m back for dinner. Have a good day.”
“Hey, it’s Collei’s celebration today! Be on time!”
And Al-Haitham shut the door and walked out. What an annoying, confusing man.
𖥸 ·༻𐫱༺· 𖤓 ·༻𐫱༺· 𖥸
Nahida woke from her meditation to a familiar voice.
“Hey, Nahida. Wake up, I want to complain about the Vahumana students and their self-obsession! Nahida…” someone drawled.
She recognised it immediately.
“Hat Guy, how are you? Can we talk later? There’s someone who is -“
Al-Haitham walked into the Sanctuary, carrying a small bag, looking down while adjusting something inside it.
“Nahida, Kaveh made Fatteh for breakfast and I didn’t want to -“
Al-Haitham looked up, to the sight of his god in fear, and a small boy with a disapproving glare.
“My apologies, am I interrupting? I can come back later if -“
“Not at all, please stay. This is quite ideal, in fact.”, said Nahida.
“How is it ideal? This was the man who stopped me from attaining godhood!”
“Mr. Hat Guy, it was not personal. Your plans of ascension were just really disrupting my schedule.”
“Ugh, look at his attitude! Nahida, I’ll come back when you're finished talking to him.”
“No, please, both of you, stay!”, she said, pleading.
“Why?”, said Al-Haitham and Hat Guy in unison.
“Because you can solve each other’s problems! Al-Haitham, you can reject extra applications from Vahumana today because they’ve been annoying Hat Guy, and Hat Guy, you can help Al-Haitham out with his problem!”
“I have no qualms in rejecting more people, but how exactly can he help me? His own plan to become a god failed, I don’t think he’s qualified to talk about it anymore.”
“The nerve on you, you little worm! And what is this ‘problem’ of yours anyways? I don’t think anything you've ever done can compare to even just my creation!”
“Enough, both of you! Please just sit down for a minute. Looking up so much really isn’t good for my neck.”
Reluctantly, Hat Guy and Al-Haitham sat down, still seething with mockery for the other.
Nahida tried to make peace.
“Al-Haitham, tell Hat Guy about your problem.”
“Hm. We theorised that the gem in my chest is a device that can receive transmissions from Deshret’s Mausoleum and that I have a part of him inside me. Also, an Abyssal mutation attacked Nahida at the Sanctuary yesterday, and we don’t know where it came from.”
“Good summarising skills!”, said Nahida.
Al-Haitham gave her a withering look.
“Now, Hat Guy, tell me how you can help me.”
“Humph. We start with finding out where the mutation came from, and then proceed to find out where your gem is from. As long as we find these answers, we will know everything there is to know about the situation.”
Nahida spoke up. “Al-Haitham, hand me the Fatteh before it gets cold. Kaveh’s cooking is to be eaten and appreciated hot.”
As Al-Haitham handed the food to Nahida, Hat Guy grumbled.”I want to try it too.”
“Huh? What did you say?”
“I said, I WANT TO TRY IT TOO. It looks really good.”
“Alright, calm down. I got an extra spoon anyway.”
Three of the smartest people in Sumeru sat down with each other to eat Kaveh’s cooking, and really enjoyed it.
“Who made this? Al-Haitham, you have to hook me up to your supplier.”
“My roommate Kaveh did. He liked cooking, and is quite accomplished at it too. I’m sure he would make extra portions for you if you asked.”
“Great. I will drop by your office tomorrow at lunch, bring extra portions.”
“Uh, alright.”
The saying that the way to anyone’s heart is through their stomach proved rather useful to Nahida that morning.
𖥸 ·༻𐫱༺· 𖤓 ·༻𐫱༺· 𖥸
Hat Guy began to arrange their plan for researching the Abyssal creature, with a full belly and a better temperament.
“Essentially, we take the remains of the fungus to your friend Tighnari and ask him to perform an autopsy on it. Once we get the results, we'll be much closer to an answer.”
“The plan will have to wait till tomorrow. He is busy with a celebration for his daughter today. In fact, I have to leave right now to help him set up.”
“Alright, Al-Haitham, I will see you tomorrow at lunch.”
“Goodbye Al-Haitham! Wish Collei for me!”
“I will. Goodbye, you two,”
Al-Haitham reached home, and began the walk to Pardis Dhyai with Kaveh and Nilou. Cyno was already there at the venue, while Candace and Dehya would be coming in from the desert.
The walk and the climb up to Pardis Dhyai drained them completely after a long day of work. When they reached the garden at the top, the three were already exhausted.
“Hey! Tighnari!”,said Kaveh. “Do you have something cool and refreshing to give us some energy? I fear we will be unable to enjoy the festivities properly if we are dead-tired like this.”
“Hello to you too, and I made sure to get extra Rose Custard for this very reason. I also have some bad news, Candace and Dehya said they had to deal with ‘something unexpected’ at Aaru, and they won’t be here tonight.”
“That’s disappointing,”said Al-Haitham, “I had so much teasing planned tonight.”
Cyno appeared beside Tighnari. “What’s this about teasing? I knew there was something going on between them!”
“Everyone, please take a seat at the table, and we can continue there. Before that, Collei is about to enter! Greet her properly, you all.”
As the young student shyly stepped into the garden, congratulations on completing the second phase of her studies erupted from all around her.
“Collei, now that you’ll be in the city more while at the Akademiya, I got you some dresses to wear. I have dresses, skirts, tunics, pants, everything! They’re just perfect for the casual academic vibe, but pretty too!”
“Collei, I built a little something to keep you company if you get lonely in your new dorm. Say hello to your brand new, equipped with desert technology, Mini Cuilien-Anbar!”
“Collei, this is the book that changed many things about how I understood the world around me back in my Akademiya days. I will pass it on to you, because I fully believe you’ll be able to reach intellectual heights like never seen before.”
“Collei, Tighnari and I have a special surprise for you. This year, we’re talking you to the Lantern Rite in Liyue. You can write a letter to Amber now, and you’ll be able to meet her when you’re in Liyue next month.”
The poor girl burst into tears.
“Thank you everyone, thank you! I will keep your gifts close to my heart. Cyno, Tighnari, thank you so much for taking me to Liyue! I-I can’t believe that I’m surrounded with so much love!”
She couldn’t stop her sobbing. So, Tighnari took her for a walk while the rest of them sat down to talk and to eat.
“How did Kaveh fall in love with his custard? …It whisked him away!”
“It’s not even a joke anymore, Kaveh’s on his fourth bowl of it.”, said Nilou.
“Tell me Cyno, has Tiaraz’s condition stabilised?”
“It has managed to become even worse. You were lucky to survive that, Al-Haitham.”
A collective, “Survive what!?”, rang out from Kaveh and Nilou.
“You didn’t tell them, Al-Haitham?”
“Well, I didn’t see how it was relevant to any conversation.”
“Archons, your priorities are skewed. Kaveh, Nilou, this guy right here was lucky because he survived experiencing Divine Knowledge.”
“No way! Al-Haitham, you actually went through Divine Knowledge!? And you didn’t think to tell me!?”
Nilou said, “Yeah, Al-Haitham. These are pretty important things, you know!”
“Nilou, you shouldn’t even start about that. You knew that Al-Haitham was a literal dancer and you didn’t tell any of us, you traitor.”
Cyno exclaimed, rather loudly, “Al-Haitham is a WHAT? Grand Scribe, you can dance!? You!?”
“I don’t see why it’s such a big deal. I learned a lot in my childhood, and the skills stuck with me. Why is it such a surprise to you all?”
“Um, hello? Because you don’t tell us?”
“Yeah, Al-Haitham. You need to tell us things for us to not be surprised by them. What else aren’t you telling us?”
“Hm. Well, the gem on my chest is receiving transmissions from the Scarlet King’s Mausoleum, and I have seen some of his memories. That’s all, I think.”
Tighnari was back after leaving Collei to write her letter to Amber, and no one even noticed. The entire table sat in silence, stunned beyond words. Until -
“WHAT DO YOU MEAN, THAT MY ROOMMATE IS -“
“You are JOKING. You are KIDDING ME.”
“ - LITERALLY THE GOD KING. THAT IS SO UTTERLY UNFAIR I -“
“I don’t even know what to say. You are insane.”
“ - HAVE COOKED FOOD FOR GODS AND YOU DID NOT THINK TO -“
“Good job Al-Haitham. Now we have TWO people possessed by gods here, that’s going to have simply GREAT effects for Collei.”
“ - TELL ME ANYTHING!? YOU ABSOLUTE BITCH!”
All sorts of responses were yelled out across the table.
Al-Haitham finally said something.
“None of you believe me?”
“OBVIOUSLY NOT YOU LYING PIECE OF -“
“KAVEH, calm down. Just breathe. And no, Al-Haitham we do not believe you in the slightest because the idea is absurd.”
“I’ll just have to convince you then. I have proof.”
Al-Haitham focused on his vision and created a few Chisel-Light Mirrors with it. When he opened his eyes, the shimmering, golden glow around them was unmistakably a remnant of the desert that was long gone.
Responses to this display ranged from - “WHY DO YOU KEEP GIVING ME HEART ATTACKS, JUST TELL ME THINGS FOR ARCHONS’ SAKE” - to “That’s actually pretty impressive. Guess you did luck out, Al-Haitham.”
“Now that we’ve all calmed down, can we talk about Candace and Dehya?”, said Cyno.
“I haven’t heard about this. Spill!”, said Kaveh.
Nilou giggled. “Oh, they’ve been running in circles around each other for the longest time and it is crazily hilarious!”
Al-Haitham shared his bit of gossip. “Not to worry, Dehya is going to ask her out on her birthday, and she has an entire speech ready for it too.”
Tighnari smiled. “That’s adorable. They obviously like each other, so it’ll all work out in the end. Speaking of liking each other, can we quickly run over Al-Haitham the dancer?” Kaveh stared daggers into Tighnari at this.
“How did you find out? I thought only Kaveh, Nilou and Nahida knew.”
“Nothing much, but Kaveh told me all about it at the tavern yesterday night.” Tighnari gave Kaveh a dark smile.
“Really? What did you say to him, Kaveh?” Cyno said that a little too happily.
“Why are you all acting like this? I will have you know, I was completely normally discussing how I ran into him while he was practising in our living room.”
“I don’t recall you running into me Kaveh. I only remember that you stood there, staring, and then dropped our groceries onto the floor. You didn’t exactly run into me.”
“Oohhhh!!!” Nilou was practically squealing at all this new information.
“Kaveh, you didn’t tell me that at the tavern?”
“This just got really interesting…”
“Al-Haitham, you’re actually insufferable and I take back everything I said about you to Tighnari.” Kaveri spooned custard into his mouth, angrily.
“Huh? What did you say about me to Tighnari?”
“Well, technically, I could tell you~”
“DON’T YOU DARE, YOU FAKE FRIEND!”
“So basically, Kaveh went on and on about how hot your back looked, and how gorgeously you moved, and the way your arms stretched out, and he WOULD NOT STOP talking about how you were shirtless. This was publicly necessary, and I’m not sorry, Kaveh.”
Al-Haitham laughed. Actually laughed, with his entire chest. And he continued giggling behind his drink for a long while, until the group got their wits together.
“Tighnari, you broke him.” said Nilou.
“In all my years working with him, I have never seen this man even chuckle. Tighnari, Kaveh. What have you done to him?”
Kaveri blushed like a Sunsettia, and everyone at the table gaped at how Al-Haitham was laughing, silently, behind his glass.
And though they all stared at his strange shift in behaviour, Al-Haitham continued laughing anyway, drunk on the pleasant evening, and on the sound of good company.
A vision flashed in front of his eyes as he laughed.
Our oasis…
𖥸 ·༻𐫱༺· 𖤓 ·༻𐫱༺· 𖥸