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Since the Geo Archon had retired, the absentee Anemo Archon took it upon himself to show Zhongli around Tevyat. It had been years since Zhongli had seen the world, so Venti was very eager to show Zhongli how the world had changed while the dragon had been his abode. Their first stop, obviously, was to their mutual friend, Ei. It was time for the storm to meet once more.
The Raiden Shogun was ready for them, actually. Zhongli had made the smart decision to send word ahead of their visit to the Electro Archon, something that Venti had never thought about doing. Ei was not explicitly happy to see either of them, but she didn’t threaten them when they teleported onto the shores of Narukami Island. It was a better reception than Venti would have ever received on his own. He was grateful that he had brought Zhongli along.
Ei was not the best tour guide. She seemed just as interested in how her nation worked as Zhongli and Venti did. Like Zhongli, she could tell them the history of each location, but when either would ask what something was, Ei would tell them that she did not know. Venti knew that Ei had spent a long time in her own little world, but it was a little alarming how she knew nothing about the present day of her own nation. She could recall the past with perfect clarity. It was now that she had trouble figuring out. Venti was starting to think he knew more about Inazuma than the Electro Archon did.
This was until they had made it to Inazuma City. Ei explained that she had visited the city with the Traveler, learning a little about how things would change. She told them about Dango Milk, weird light novels, and how the Traveler could capture a moment in time using a device they called a Kamera. Venti smiled as Ei talked about the city she had witnessed in a fond manner. He was starting to think that Ei could no longer be satisfied or happy with things in her life, so he was glad to be proven wrong. No matter how much Ei said she disliked him, Venti could never return that sentiment. Some part of him knew that Ei was merely saving face. She did not want to believe that there was any part of Venti that she could like because Venti was everything she shouldn’t like: change, freedom from responsibilities, and carelessness. But Venti was more than what people made him out to be, and Ei had slowly learned about the hidden depths of the Anemo Archon. She could no longer say she disliked him even if she complained about his company.
Ei decided that she wanted to end the tour when she got back to her physical home. Zhongli thanked her, obviously, and Venti made some poor jokes about what they would do together when Ei visited him in Mondstadt. He was quickly told off, reminded that she would never venture into the nation of freedom and, in her own words, drunkards. Venti told her about the displinced Knights of Favonius like Jean and Albedo along with some of the citizens like Diluc and Fischl. Ei refrained from making comments about people she did not know, and Venti was sure that she saw something more than disdain in her eyes when he complimented some of his citizens.
In his endeavor to convince Ei to visit his nation, he started walking in front of her backwards. She reminded him several times that he would fall, but Venti refused to turn around until Ei agreed to spend one measly day in Mondstadt. He told her that didn’t even have to go to the city. They could go to Springvale, a much smaller town with a lot less people. Ei continued to refuse him, instead telling him that they were going up wooden stairs. Venti looked to the ground to keep himself from tripping as he explained that they could go to Wolvendom, a place devoid of people entirely. He told her about other places all around Mondstadt that didn’t have people but had amazing views. Ei sighed, and he heard Zhongli laugh into his hand. Venti smiled brightly at them both, whirling around to march forward because he didn’t get a proper ‘no’.
That was when he saw it.
It was a huge statue made of light gray rock. It was carved to resemble a woman covered in robes with huge wings on her back looking down at her lap. Her hands were carefully folded in her lap, and her eyes were closed with a serene expression. There were several notches in her wings, but they were empty except for darkness. Venti’s smile slowly dropped. He froze where he stood, his arms falling limply to his side. Ei started talking, her attention focused on the statue. “This is the Omnipresent God. I had this statue commissioned during the Vision Hunt Decree. My orders were to put the Visions in the wings, but we have since removed the Visions since the appealment of the decree. Do you like the statue, Bar-”
Ei stopped talking. Venti didn’t really care if she continued or not. He was no longer paying attention to her. His mouth fell open. His eyebrows started to furrow together. He felt warm tears build pressure behind his eyes. He heard shuffling once more, and Ei’s voice filled his head. “Barbatos, are you-” Ei’s voice faded, another voice finished the sentence she had begun to say. “ -okay?”
A figure sat on the roof of the temple, overlooking the ocean. The figure had flown up there with the majestic wings that grew from her back. She was making music, humming along with the lyre that she held in her hands. It was a performance for no one but herself and the salty wind that whipped at her thin robes. The figure peeked an eye open when she heard a jingling joining in with her music. She turned to see a small elemental floating beside her, trying its best to stay near her when the wind threatened to blow it away. A small smile appeared on the woman’s face. She sat down her lyre, cupping the elemental in both her hands. She giggled softly as the elemental nuzzled into her hands. “It appears I have accidently created you, little one. Oh, dear, I was not meant to create another elemental. Astaroth will surely be upset with me.”
The elemental spun around in her hands, the little robe the elemental wore flaring out like the petals of a flower. The women cooed affectionately. “Oh, I cannot bear to destroy you. How about I give you a gift instead, little one? I am going to give you a precious gift so listen very carefully. I am giving you the gift of a name. From today onward, you shall be known as Barbatos, one of the Thousand Winds of Istaroth. That is my name.”
The elemental did not respond verbally, but it did nuzzle her fingers once more as if it was trying to show its gratitude. The goddess of time and wind leaned back, bringing the precious little elemental to her chest. She looked up at the sky, and the elemental gazed up with her. “Little one, you must be so excited to explore the world, but please stay with me for a moment longer. Please indulge my selfishness, and then I will give you the greatest gift of all time: freedom.”
“Barbatos,” A voice from the present pulled Venti from his memory. He felt a single tear roll down his cheek. He touched it warily, feeling the warmth slid down his fingers into his palm. He stared at his palm, looking away from the statue for a second. “Are you-”
“-okay?!” The goddess rushed out of her temple as a figure crawled up the steps. The figure crawling towards her was not much of a person. The figure seemed to be trying to turn a green tinted wind into a physical body, but parts of the body refused to retain the illusory magic. The figure was a jumbled work of human-like parts and Anemo energy that sported a pained expression on what little of the face would remain like one.
“Oh, my poor Barbatos, let me help you,” Istaroth said. She grabbed hold of the figure’s shoulders, lifting him into her arms. Istaroth cupped the figure’s face, one hand pressed against human skin while the other was touching pure Anemo energy. That much energy would kill anyone else, but the wind knew better than to kill its goddess. Indeed, the wind knew how to follow orders, so when Istaroth commanded the Anemo energy to fulfill the orders of the figure, the wind finally snapped together to create a human form. Istaroth’s little elemental spirit now looked like a naked boy with long black hair, the tips dyed green to remind Barbatos that it was the Anemo’s power that gave him his form.
“There you are, little one. You do not need to be in pain any longer. Please, come inside with me,” Istaroth spoke calmly with a light voice, guiding Barbatos into her temple. He followed her inside, grateful that she still remembered him and cared about him enough not to let him perish in such a painful way. All he wanted was to look like his fallen friend. He didn’t know that the Anemo would tear him apart.
“Barbatos.” Ei was standing in front of him. She grabbed his hand, squeezing it tightly to draw him back into the present. Venti looked up. He hated the reflection he saw in Ei’s eyes. He hated how much he looked like his old friend, and he hated how this form was only possible because of Istaroth. If he loved those two people any less than he did, he would have shed this form a long time ago. “Are you listening-”
“-to me?” Istaroth asked. She was standing behind Barbatos with an amused expression on her face. Barbatos was leaning off a cliffside, staring at the people that hunted animals below him. Istaroth walked towards him, lowering herself down to sit beside him. She started to preen his wings as Barbatos watched the people with vivid interest. He had been composing a song on a lyre Istaroth had gifted him with when he heard a strange noise from the cliff below him. When he looked, he saw a group of people using weapons against wild boars. They were collecting the boars as they went, and they shouted out how they needed a couple more to feed the people.
Barbatos sat up quickly. Istaroth quickly released his wings so she wouldn’t hurt them. She was about to scold Barbatos, but he grabbed both of her hands. “Mom, will you please teach me how to use a bow and arrow? Please!”
Istaroth looked at him for a moment. She peered down below the cliffside. She watched the people, biting her lip as she thought about it. She turned back to Barbatos once she had come to a decision. “I will, little one, but you must promise not to harm humans with your newfound skills. I am only doing this because I want you to be able to protect yourself. There is word that something will be happening soon… I want you to be prepared.”
“Thank you, Mom!” Barbatos cried out, smiling brightly. Istaroth melted at his smile like she always did. It was moments like these that Istaroth wanted to give Barbatos the entire world. She refrained, however, since the other Shining Shades would not like it. They still despised how Istaroth had grown attached to a breeze elemental spirit.
“Venti,” Zhongli said, stepping closer to Venti and Ei. He was using the human name that the Anemo Archon went under. It was a name that Ei had yet to call him. Venti wondered why she didn’t call him Venti, but he couldn't make himself care at this moment. “You need-”
“- to aim for the red dot in the center of the target,” Istaroth said. Her arms were wrapped around Barbatos’ body, helping him understand how he needed to hold a bow and how far back to pull the string. He was wearing some leather equipment that would keep him from getting hurt, obviously, but Istaroth was being overly cautious. She had hesitantly gifted Barbatos a bow for him to use. She relented in letting him keep it because she saw how excited he got over what she believed to be a simple gift.
Barbatos took a deep breath. He lined the arrowhead up with his target. He had already accounted for the wind, his time with Istaroth sharpening his ability to sense Anemo. He double checked the positioning one more time before letting go of the bowstring. The string slung forward, launching the arrow in the same direction. The string buzzed, hitting the leather pieces around Barbatos’ arms. The arrow embedded itself into the target, a little over an inch from the red dot at the center of the target.
Barbatos whirled around with a bright smile illuminating his face. He wrapped his arms around Istaroth’s shoulders, pulling her closer to him. Istaroth spun them both around. “I’m so proud of you-”
“-Barbatos, focus on me,” The Raiden Shogun said, her hands pressing into his shoulders. Venti stumbled back, pushing the Electro Archon away from him. He cautiously looked back up at the Omnipresent God statue. The figure had not moved. Without the life in its stony eyes, it didn’t look exactly like Istaroth, but it was close enough that Venti felt a surge of tears push past his eyes to land on his cheeks. “Please, focus on me-”
“ -Barbatos, look at me,” Istaroth said. They weren’t at her temple. They were much farther north at a bridge that led to an island where the people of Mondstadt had settled after Barbatos himself introduced them to the island. From the angle they were at, Barbatos could see the wall of Anemo energy that would spit out anyone who tried to enter into the lands beyond Mondstadt city. Barbatos tried staring at the terrifying display of power longer, but Istaroth grabbed onto both of his cheeks. She cupped his face, forcing him to look into her eyes that were filled with such potent fear that Barbatos was starting to grow afraid.
“I know that you want to come with me, but you cannot. This is not your fight. This is mine. I will deal with the threats that lurk in the storm. You will remain here to protect the people. Promise me that you will stay here,” Istaroth said. She was wearing armor, something she had never worn before. Istaroth hated armor because it implied that she would be fighting, and Istaroth much preferred to take a pacifistic approach to life. But she had dawned her divine armor after wrapping Barbatos up in hooded cloth that was meant to protect his identity. She had forced him to wear clothes that would help him blend in with mortals because she wanted him to live among them… without her.
“It is my fight. I did this,” Barbatos tried to argue with her. He was right in most ways. After befriending a bard, Barbatos had aided in the struggle against the god of storms, Decarabian. They had been victorious in their rebellion, but it seemed that many gods still persisted to carry on Decarabian’s legacy. They had sustained the barrier of Anemo that was slowly enclosing over Mondstadt. Those small gods who had accumulated their power were forcing an ultimatum upon the people: surrender to the new gods or die. Istaroth did what she could to set up a protective barrier around Mondstadt’s city, but it wouldn’t be able to hold forever. Someone would have to destroy the remaining gods before things got out of hand.
“No, Barbatos. You are to stay here. You have to promise me. Someone will need to protect the people of Mondstadt. You will need to fuel the barrier while I am absent. And more importantly, you need to keep hope alive. You cannot let the people believe that this is their end. Be their hope and light, Barbatos. Do you remember what I told you the first time we met?” Istaroth said, leaning her body down so she was almost looking up at Barbatos. She was pleading with him, and the tears in her eyes were shining like dew across the grass in the early light of dawn.
“You told me that freedom was the greatest gift of all time,” Barbatos said slowly. Those words drove him to this moment. Those words were what made him befriend that little bard who sang of a clear sky. Those words were what made him decide to assist in a rebellion he had no stakes in because he saw the suffering of the people. Those words were what convinced him to help the Gunnhildr clan even though he didn’t know any of them and it almost ruined him to clear out a spot in Decarabian’s storm for them to survive safely. It was the reason he had challenged Decarabian in the first place, and it was probably the reason he had won that battle.
“You are going to be the symbol of freedom to the people. You are going to be everything that they need. You may think that you will have to do this without me, Barbatos, but you’re wrong. You will always be my child. I will always be with you. I love you,” Istaroth said with a smile. It was a grim smile, but it was a smile all the same. It was a brave smile when Istaroth’s eyes were filled with fear. It was a hopeful smile when Barbatos was filled with doubts. It was a smile that spoke of joy and freedom when the world was anything but. Barbatos wondered briefly if this is how Istaroth wanted him to remember her. She wanted him to remember her as strong and courageous even when they were both shaking with the thought that Istaroth might not come back alive.
Istaroth softly kissed Barbatos’ forehead. When she pulled back, she pressed her forehead to his. She summoned her bow into her hands. Skyward Harp glistened in her hands, the pure unfiltered force of Anemo thrumming through the string. It was her weapon, both in the music it could play and the power that was imbued in each arrow. This weapon was Istaroth’s, but she was pressing it into Barbatos’ hand. He wanted to hand it back to her. Istaroth did not allow him to do so. “Use this. May every fired arrow be for the protection of your people and each chord struck be for their joy.”
Istaroth pulled back slowly. She cupped her hands together, and something began to glow in the depths of her palms. Eventually, the light condensed into a crown. It buzzed with the eternal power of time. It was the circlet that commanded each second and allowed every hour to pass without delay. It was not the source of Istaroth’s power but rather the symbol of it, and symbols did carry a certain amount of power with them. It was proof that she was one of the Shining Shades of the primordial one. Istaroth rarely wore her crown, but she kept it locked away within the folds of the timeline to protect it from thieves. She hadn’t even let Barbatos gaze upon it until this very moment. Istaroth’s hands lifted the crown, but she wasn’t giving the crown to Barbatos. She was giving it to-. “Please protect your-”
Venti collapsed onto his knees. That was the last time he had ever seen his mother. She had never returned from the battle. The small gods were defeated after some time, but Istaroth must have died alongside them or spent the last amount of her energy to seal them away. Venti hadn’t even learned about her passing until the day he had been summoned to Celestia to receive his gnosis and the official title of Archon. Venti wished that he could have been with her in those final moments. He wished that even if he couldn’t save her- couldn’t change her fate- he could have been allowed to hold her hand as she faded away to wherever gods are meant to return to when they died.
One thing remained with Venti, however, who was Istaroth talking about? Who did she give her crown to, and who was Venti meant to protect? Was she talking about the people of Mondstadt? But why did his memory cut off right at that moment? Was there something he was missing? Why were parts of his memory of that time fuzzy at best and completely blank at worst? Venti shuddered to think that he could have forgotten something so important.
“Barbatos!” Ei snapped with such desperation in her voice. Venti looked up at her. She was standing over him, slightly skewed to the side so Venti could still see the Omnipresent God staring down at her hands. Venti almost reached a hand towards the statue, but he decided against it. He had exhausted enough energy going down memory lane initially. He didn’t want to recall more bittersweet memories of the goddess who gave him life, power, and a purpose. Istaroth was the reason he chose freedom as his ideal. She was one of the reasons he loved music as dearly as he did. She was the one who taught him how to use a bow and how to use Anemo. She had made Barbatos in many ways, more than just the initial creation. She had made who he was today, and he wished that he could have one more minute with her to thank her. He wanted just a second more to tell her that he loved her.
“It looks just like her,” Venti said slowly with a voice that broke right in the middle. Venti couldn’t remember the last time he had felt this cold and depressed. Whenever he felt the sharp tide of negative emotions, he would bury the feelings down with alcohol to cover them up. He didn’t feel like drinking at the moment, though. He didn’t want Istaroth to see him drinking, even if it was just a motionless statue of her.
“What? Venti, who are you referring to?” Ei said. She looked between him and the statue. Zhongli was intently staring at the statue like he was trying to see what Venti saw. Neither of them would be able to understand, though. While Istaroth had been around long before either of them, she usually remained in her temple. She was known by both of them, but Venti was the only who had ever interacted with her.
“Istaroth… the Omnipresent God, it looks just like her. Seeing it reminded me of her, and I must have lost myself in the memories,” Venti admitted quietly. He almost called Istaroth ‘Mom’, but they could have made him start sobbing. He was barely holding in his whimpers as it was. Tears were pouring from his eyes, but they were manageable. He couldn’t afford to let anything more slip past.
“Oh… yes, indeed, it was made in Istaroth’s likeness. I did not know her well, but she was the goddess of time. In fact, she was the goddess of wind, as well, before you were the Anemo Archon,” Ei said with a slow nod. She said it like Venti didn’t already know. Istaroth was the goddess of time and wind. She was the embodiment of change in a lot of key ways. She was everything Venti aspired to be. “This statue has become the symbol of eternity.”
“She never would have agreed with you,” Venti said. For a moment, he wasn’t sure if he had said it or not. He only realized that it had slipped out when both Zhongli and Ei turned to look at him. They had never looked at him this seriously before. Venti was almost sure that he had upset Ei with the look on her face, but he didn’t care. He kept talking because Venti just didn’t know when to quit. “Istaroth was a firm believer in freedom. She said it was the greatest gift of all time. She believed that people deserved to forge their own paths and destinies. She would never force anyone to give up their Visions. She would never force her people to remain stagnant. She wanted them to change. She wanted them to grow. She wanted them to live the lives that they wanted. She never would have accepted the Inazuma you created with the Vision Hunt Decree. Time does not mean eternity, Ei. Time encompasses eternity, but it also encompasses change. It is a beautiful statue, though… I’m sure she would have loved to know that someone remembers her other than me.”
“I… see,” Ei said simply. The three Archons sat there in silence. Venti, on his knees with silent tears running down his face. Zhongli, his arms crossed as he stared up at the statue of one of the few people who had existed long before him. Ei, looking out at the people of Inazuma with a strange expression on her face. Eventually, Ei turned to Venti with something close to a smile on her face. “I will be visiting Mondstadt soon. It would be in your best interest to prepare for that.”
Venti smiled.