Legend of the Snowman-Mancer 3

Euri Lawrence

I sat alone atop the roof of the Dawn Winery, a bottle of their most recent vintage in hand. Dandelion wine was nominally no different than standard grape wine, but had no equivalent in the world I’d once known. It was light, mellow, and yet had a heady fragrance I could only describe as “windblown freedom.” No, that wasn’t a flavor, but that really was the only phrase I could think of.

It always left me in a contemplative mood, flavored with wanderlust and nostalgia in equal measure. Really, I could see why Venti loved it so much.

“You’re up here again,” I heard behind me. The soulless ginger who had a capitalist deathgrip on Mondstadt’s economy joined me with a sigh. “Are you ever going to stop stealing from my stock, Snowman-Mancer?”

“Ah, Diluc Ragnvindr,” I greeted, lifting my wine bottle in welcome. “Mondstadt’s very own Musk of Moscato, the Bezos of Booze, Zuckerberg of Zinfandel. Greetings, oh exemplar of capitalists.”

“I’m not sure how, but I feel that I am being insulted.”

“You are, but it’s funny, promise.”

“I can take the wine away, Euri.”

“Gasp! You wouldn’t! How else am I to warm myself on those frigid nights? You wouldn’t do that to your best buddy, right?”

“Don’t say ‘gasp,’ you fool,” Diluc said, shaking his head. For all that he complained about me stealing his vintages, he never truly seemed to mind. After all, Diluc and Diona shared a distaste for alcohol despite both being in the business. The man was something of a social drinker, though always in moderation. “How is it?”

“I like it. The vintage is especially fragrant this year,” I said, pouring him a glass. “You should be proud, those otogi wood casks you imported from Inazuma add a little something-something.”

“‘Something-something?’ You truly have a way with words.”

“Hey, I’m no brewmaster. I just know it enhances the fragrance somehow.”

“Fair enough. What brings you up here? You don’t usually stick around to drink after pilfering my stash.”

“I don’t know to be honest. I recently made a small breakthrough in my magical studies.”

“Oh? Celebration then?” He held out his glass for me to toast. “Cheers.”

I clinked our glasses and took a sip. “Partially. I figured out how to anchor my snow constructs into the ley lines a while ago, but it wasn’t until a few days ago that I learned how to incorporate scarlet quartz and starsilver directly into my constructs to reinforce them.”

“Congratulations.”

“Yeah, how goes business?”

“Our export market is growing. We almost doubled our exports to Fontaine from last year,” Diluc said, a hint of satisfaction lacing his voice. He truly was a black-hearted capitalist.

“That’s good. Soft power is itself a form of power,” I hummed. “It might be intangible, but being well-liked is worth more than people might expect.”

“And you say I’m a soulless money-grubber. What does that make you?”

“A lonely hermit whose heart is as frozen as his home, naturally.”

We chuckled quietly. We caught up and swapped a few more stories before falling into a companionable silence. As much as I enjoyed putting on the bombastic, eccentric artist act, it was nice to interact with someone at a more sedate pace once in a while. Diluc was great for that.

He wanted someone who didn’t give a damn about his wealth or knightly background and I wanted someone who wouldn’t pry into my affairs or throw my family name in my face. Really, he was a bro.

It reminded me of another friend, one who’d moved away even before I’d exiled myself.

X

I was thirteen then, a mere year before Eula and I were inducted into the knights. I’d tried building inroads with every Vision-wielder and named character in Mondstadt, but he hadn’t even crossed my mind. Not only did he not have his Vision yet, he was someone I associated with Inazuma, even to this day, not Mondstadt.

I was especially fortunate to have run into him, the future right hand of Ayaka Kamisato and the “fixer” of the Yashiro Commission. Thoma was a good man to know, not only for my future plans, but simply because he was such a good-natured soul.

Even back then, though he was sixteen and lacked the Pyro Vision he'd have later on, his sunny disposition was like a breath of fresh air to me. Where others scorned Eula and I, he was happy to be our friend, even when it earned him the judgment of his peers. Admittedly, his relationship with my sister soured because of her prickly personality, she thought he was a “no-good lazy layabout,” but Thoma and I remained friendly acquaintances.

I first met Thoma when I began to dabble in tailoring. I'd had the first iteration of my trademark winter coat made for me a month ago, but the tailor cheated me. I’d asked for sturdy boar leather as the base layer; she’d replaced that with thin cloth, causing it to tear during training. Of course, I wasn’t able to seek recompense.

Thoma, being the golden retriever in human form that he was, took one look at the torn cloak and took me to his mother, a tailor herself. They fixed it for me, charged me a fair price, and even agreed to teach me how to sew so that I could repair my own clothes in the future.

Since then, I taught Thoma how to whittle wood with a knife, shared a few campfire recipes Ambrose showed me, and most importantly, taught him how to swim. After all, how many other children around my age were named “Thoma?”

Well, two others as it turned out, but only one other was blonde and only my Thoma had an Inazuman father who’d had to return to his homeland. I was pretty sure his father was a member of the Shuumatsuban who’d been recalled with the impending enactment of the Sakoku Decree. It would certainly explain Ayato’s willingness to take in a random, broke “outlander.”

“So, you’re leaving then?” I asked him. I’d followed him all the way out of the city, southeast and onto Falcon Coast.

The map in the game made it seem as though Cider Lake was entirely isolated from the sea, but that wasn’t the case. Such a massive lake naturally had both tributaries and rivers that poured out to rejoin the ocean.

Several rivers fed into the massive lake, and fed out through a slow-moving river that passed through Windrise and ultimately into the Falcon Coast. There was even a town there that was never shown in the game, one that was mostly overtaken by a dock. Fishing was a popular industry in that area.

Merchant fleets from Liyue and Fontaine had to dock there because their deep-bottomed ships could not sail up into Cider Lake. They would unload their cargo there and either transport them via barge, caravan, or if they were lucky or wealthy enough, via dimension bags. I’d been taught that this was why Mondstadt never had a navy of our own. Assaulting our capital was already impossible from the sea.

The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

Thoma looked up from his luggage with an uncharacteristically solemn smile. “Hey, Euri. I see you got your Vision. Congratulations.”

“Thanks, but you’re avoiding the question,” I said, twirling my new necklace. “Why?”

“I don’t know…”

“If it makes you feel better, I gave Eula a proper scolding. She shouldn’t have called you a societal leach.”

“Shouldn’t she? I mean, she’s not exactly wrong,” he said with an explosive sigh. “I know I’m a bit too laid back. I don’t like working and I guess I just… feel a lack of purpose. Does that make sense?”

“It does,” I nodded. I took a seat on a nearby crate and motioned for him to join me. He was older than me by three years but it certainly didn’t seem that way sometimes. “Mondstadt may be the City of Freedom, but what is freedom without direction? Is a leaf in the wind truly free? Or is it a slave to every current, every whimsy?”

“Don’t get philosophical with me, Euri… But yeah, I guess you get it.”

“So you’re going to find your father.”

“So I’m going to–How did you–!”

“Don’t question it,” I replied with a smug smirk. Then, when it looked like he’d start sulking, I opened my dimensional storage and offered him a sunsettia. “I know things. Just know that and be in awe of my wisdom.”

He took it grumpily. Then, after a moment of thought, he took a big bite. “Fine, oh wise one, is my father okay?”

“Not a clue.”

“Not a–Euri!”

“What? I don’t know everything. Why do you want to go? What do you hope to find in Inazuma?”

“Don’t you know that already?”

“I want to hear it from you.”

“I just… I don’t have any aspirations, you know? You and Eula, you want to be knights. And that’s great! It’s just… not for me…”

“Life isn’t a competition or a race, Thoma.”

“Maybe not, but like you said, I’m like a leaf. And if I don’t shape up, I’ll really be a societal leach. It’s not just you twins either. I’m sixteen now. By the Winds! Some of my friends are already engaged! It feels like everyone’s got their lives charted out. They’ll inherit their parents’ businesses, join the knights, the city guard, some merchant company, whatever.”

“You could do that too. Your mother has a wonderful tailoring shop. You’re strong too, you could easily join a caravan or the guards if you don’t want to be a knight.”

“None of them strike a chord with me. As for what I’ll find in Inazuma… I don’t know. I guess, I’m looking for something to give me that direction you were talking about.” He put on a brave face. “Hey, I even packed a few bottles of dandelion wine, just for pops. It was his favorite, you know, before he got called back.”

“I see. So you’re set on this?”

“I am. A man’s gotta do what a man’s gotta do, Euri. Maybe this is rash, but… but I want to follow through with a decision I’ve made for once in my life.”

I nodded. Then, I stuck my hand inside my dimensional pocket again. I’d only had my Vision for a few months now, and had only recently begun to learn other magics, but this single spell was easily the most convenient thing in the world.

There, I pulled out a big, fluffy tube. It was a goat-skin tube that had been rendered soft and pliable, then waxed to be watertight. The tube had been stuffed with a type of sponge from Fontaine, a material that was sold as a novelty by a trader.

“Here,” I said, handing him the bright, red donut. “Consider it a farewell gift from a friend.”

“What’s this supposed to be?”

“It’s a floatation device, what else? You wear it around your waist and it’ll keep you afloat even in a storm.”

“Huh… What am I supposed to do with this though?” Thoma asked. “Euri, are you saying I’ll drown without this? Don’t you have faith in your friend?”

I placed a hand on his shoulder. Considering the Sakoku Decree, this seemed like a fair investment. “Not at all, Thoma. Listen well: You are fortunate, for you will be reborn anew, not once, but twice. Both times, the waves will make you a new man.”

“Really. Because it sure feels like you’re telling me to drown.”

“Of course not. I’m giving you a floatation ring, aren’t I?”

“I really don’t get you sometimes.”

“Don’t worry. No one gets me and that’s okay.” I leaned back on the crate and looked out into the sky. “I think you’ll really like Inazuma. Sure, some of them will hate you just because you’re an outsider, but stick with it, okay? This conviction you feel now? It’ll definitely pay off.”

Thoma shook his head in exasperation. “Are you ever going to explain how you know anything?”

“No, where would be the fun in that? Anyway, remain your sunny, kind self, no matter what others say. If you do, you’ll find a deep, tranquil lake that hides dark depths and a gorgeous flower of ice, as delicate as the moonbeam yet sharper than any sword.”

“Yup. I really don’t get you. You’re a weird man, Euri.”

“You don’t need to get me right now. Just follow your heart, Thoma. You’ll find those who deserve your loyalty soon enough. And then, your fire will truly blaze. Just don’t forget about your old buddy here, alright?”

“Heh, alright, you can visit me in Inazuma sometime, maybe then you’ll tell me what all your riddles mean.”

“Oh, I don’t think you’ll need any help by the time I arrive. I’ve been rather straightforward, after all.”

“If you say so.”

“I do say so. In fact, you’ll be in a position to help me, I think.”

“Alright, a little quid pro quo. Thanks for your… floaty thingie.”

“Take care, Thoma.”

X

I leaned back on the roof of the Dawn Winery, looking out towards the southeast. That was a whole five years ago. I wondered how he was doing.

At first, when I realized that the boy named Thoma I knew was that Thoma, I cultivated the relationship with thoughts of future profit. Or rather, I allowed him to cultivate our relationship. He was such a sociable person that there was little I needed to do save make myself available.

Then, as the years wore on, I came to truly enjoy his sunny disposition. He and Diluc reminded me of one another, though many would say they were polar opposites. Not only did they both have Pyro Visions, they had a way of creating a relaxing atmosphere around them. Diluc did it by lending an ear as a bartender, Thoma, by doing his golden retriever impression. Different, yet the same.

I wondered what he was doing. Had he met the Kamisato siblings already? Had Ayato ended his clan’s succession crisis? Had Thoma take on the role of “fixer” and housekeeper for the Kamisato Clan? Or were they still fighting it out?

I had not lied; Thoma would be a wonderful contact when I inevitably headed out that way. Having someone to verify my trustworthiness, and the reliability of my information, would save me a great deal of time.

Yet, I found myself wishing him well, not for the connections he could provide, but simply because he deserved happiness.

“Hey, Diluc?”

“What is it, Euri?”

“What makes you happy?”

“Peace… Peace makes me happy.”

“Really? How droll.”

I heard him mutter something under his breath. “If you must know, I enjoy chess. Care for a round?”

“You know what? Sure,” I said with a smile. I stood and got ready to hop off the roof. “For the record, I suck balls at it.”

“Truly a way with words, Euri.”

“Winner buys a bottle?”

“Shouldn’t it be the loser who buys?”

“Nah, the victor should do something to soothe the bitterness of defeat.”

He snorted, about as close to laughing as the soulless ginger got. “You just want more of my wine.”

“Of course, as fellow worshipers of Bard-Batos, we ought to share in his sacred drink and–”

“No, not this garbage again. Get out.”

“But what about chess?”

“Out!”

Author’s Note

Double whammy. Diluc and Thoma. Euri is about eighteen here, maybe five years or so from canon.

I think I’m going to stop with Genshin and go play with some of my other plot bunnies. They’re getting lonely.

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