La Chasse aux Flammes... of the games that Mother could have had them participate in, this was by far one of the tamest, it seems that she was in a good mood when planning the events for today.
She behaved as she was split into a group of five, unfortunately Peruere wasn't by her side this time as she and her team were led into the dark corridors the game would take place.
The main goal of the game was to gather as many lit candles as they could before time ran out. Lit candles were stationed randomly around the various darkened hallways in varying amounts. Each team had a specified table to place their candles on at their drop point. Teams were allowed to decide what groups left to search for candles and which stayed behind. This was important since the ones who left were allowed to use any means to bring candles back to their group, either by finding candles, stealing from other group's collections, or by beating up the competition and taking the candles from them directly.
Any candles that went out were considered lost points, so it wasn't unheard of for teams sending individuals specifically to blow out the collected candles of other groups.
Clervie was only one of two of the older members in her team, the other three were new additions to the hearth and had not been trained much in combat yet much less combat in the dark. Looking at her peer, Clervie and them had a brief unspoken conversation before agreeing that she would be the one to go while they stayed with the new kids.
Walking through the pitch-dark hallways, Clervie held a hand to a wall and did her best to not make a noise. Her eyes were wide as she tried to look around to spot any hint of light in the darkness. She didn't know how long she had been in the darkness, time was immaterial, the only way to gauge the passing of moments were the steps she took on her path and her quiet breaths.
She came across an intersection of halls, holding on to the right wall, she followed it down to her left side when her eyes met a pair of glowing red X's angled down at her.
Stifling a yelp, she met the pair of glowing X's with her eyes, "Peri?" she asked, though it was obvious who they belonged to.
"Hmm" Peruere responded, as her X shaped eyes moved to scan the surroundings, not caring to answer the question with more than a grunt of acknowledgement before she started walking off again, ignoring Clervie, she had her own team to support after all.
Clervie stared at her friend as she passed, though she was a nice person at heart, her eyes were quite unsettling, especially in the dark. Waiting a few minutes for her heart to settle down, Clervie turned and went down the corridor Peruere had not ventured through. Kind as she was, the girl was solitary by nature, worked best when working solo, and would not tolerate any tag-alongs, especially from opponents during a competition.
After some exploration, Clervie came across a table with three candles sitting on top of it. Though she was tempted to run up and grab the candles and flee back to her group, she stopped and hugged the wall behind a pillar just outside the light given off by the candle. she heard some scuffling, as she saw a young boy round the corner, his face lit up as he spotted the candles and as he walked towards them another figure swiftly ran into him, knocking him down and starting to wrestle him trying to bind him with rope. surging forward, Clervie grabbed a candle and ran through the door she had entered from, kicking the figure attacking the boy in the head on her way out.
she made her way back to her group as swiftly as she could, occasionally having to cover the flame with her hand to prevent it from giving away her position as she avoided being perused.
In distant areas she could her yelps and screaming, the sound of fists and blunt objects making contact with flesh, objects falling to the floor. Making it to her area, she was met with her team and a girl her age on the floor unconscious. Making it over to their table, Clervie placed the candle down, signifying one point being added to their total and the start of the challenge of protecting their hoard as the light would draw the attention of any other teams passing through. She met the eyes of her team, the boy her age nodded telling her to go again, his face resolute with the scratches on his face and neck from his previous fight.
Clervie continued to go out, sometimes finding candles, sometimes having to hide from or fight the other kids. One time while she was searching, she cane across a set of five candles, she took two, blew out one and broke it against the side of a cabinet, placing the remaining bottem half with the wic in her pocket before heading back with the still lit candle.
Soon, the sound of bells were rung throughout the hallways. The kids who were conscious followed the sound, finding open doors with light on the other side, the unconscious children would have to find the exits on their own later unless their team spent the time to find and carry them.
Clervie waited outside one of the doors where the children were being grouped, she was waiting, looking for Peruere, but not seeing her. Did someone actually manage to beat her? Thought Clervie. Then, the sound of something heavy being dragged could be heard as Peruere entered the light, dragging a large rug covered in a pile of unconscious children of various ages. dropping the end of the carpet after having dragged the children over the threshold, Peruere moved to Clervie's side.
Together they stood with the line of kids still awake, as they waited for the adults to tally the candles each team had collected.
Neither Clervie nor Peruere's team had placed first, that honor went to a team made up of several of the older children who had folloed the other teams to their bases and either stole or snuffed out their candles leaving them at the top with a total of 7 candles, Peruere's team had 5 with three having been stolen or blown out while she was away, and Clervie's team with 4 having had two of their candles stolen. The remaining teams had been unlucky enough to be located nearer to the first team's location and were constantly harassed.
Finally it was time for presents, Clervie was called forward to a table with a small pile of presents. Some of these were genuine, and some were traps that while embarrassing to be hit with, were thankfully non-lethal.
Gently testing the first box, shaking it slowly from side to side while feeling its weight, and tapping the side with a finder, something felt off, so she turned the top away from herself as she pulled the top off the box open. with a loud popping noise, a mechanism inside the box flung a few spoiled eggs out, which splattered against the floor a few feet away. Crucabena clicked her tongue in disappointment.
Clervie proceeded through the presents, some were from the other children, small hand-crafted paper objects and cards and some were yous given by the adults. Unfortunately, Clervie was unable to detect all of the traps, the light dusting of glitter and charcoal staining her face and clothed attested to.
Finally, the last and largest present was placed in front of her, it was about half as tall as she was. Suspecting that this was most likely a trap, she crouched down near one of the sides of the box as she used a book she had received to push up the lid. However, the trap she was expecting didn't spring. Slowly standing, she looked into the box to find a gleaming mechanical dragonfly the side of a medium dog with what looked like a remote and a manual resting on the special cushions placed to protect everything contained within.
It was an interesting gift, far more intricate than any of the gifts she had been expecting, however she did not have the chance to test it as the sun had been claimed by the horizon and the adults were growing weary of overseeing the energetic children. With some help, the dragonfly was taken to Clervie's room to be stored.
Once she was alone in her room, Clervie carefully took out the broken candle she had stashed earlier and hid it behind a few of the books on her shelf, she then picked up the manual for the dragonfly construct and started to read it...
-To be continued
[POV: Clervie - 3rd Person]
Clervie was walking down the halls of the mansion, looking around for things she could take with her on her next escape attempt. Since her first escape attempt at running from the Hearth she had learned that she needed a few vital supplies, Mora, Clothes, and a weapon, food was abundant in the world of Teyvat, you couldn't wander more than a few hundred meters anywhere apart from the Sumaru desert without coming across an edible plant.
Clervie had been wondering how she would escape this time prior to her birthday, coincidentally that problem had been resolved by the last gift she had been given. Looking at the mechanical dragonfly, one would not assume it to be capable of carrying much, it had attachments to pull a small banner as it flew, but given it's size it seemed unlikely to be able to bare the weight of a person. That was unless one read the manual that came with the machine. While the size was fairly small compared to the machines designed to carry humans into the skies, within its housing was a remarkably powerful engine. Without a specific trigger, the engine would only run on "low" gear to conserve fuel and prevent accelerated wear on its components. The manual detailed the method to remove the limiter on the engine, which would greatly increase its carrying capacity and maximum velocity.
To ease any suspicions about the device, Clevie had purposefully taken the toy outside to play with in front of the other children. one of the kids asked if they could try being carried by it. In front of the adults, Clervie made a makeshift seat out of the chains used to carry the banner and some cloth.
The Dragonfly rose into the air, but stopped as the chain was pulled taught, the child's weight proving to be too much for the low gear to lift. The child was disappointed, but Clervie was relieved as the adults didn't try to take the toy away after seeing it unable to lift a child smaller than Clervie. She got some light scolding for potentially putting her sibling in danger if it had worked, but nothing more than that.
The day prior to her planned escape attempt, Clervie asked to get the fuel refilled, having used half of it when learning to fly the machine and play with the other kids to lull the adults into a false sense of security. Since Pneuma and Ousia were secondary fuels compared to commonly used Indemnitium the adults didn't mind refilling the toy from what they had in stock.
In the end, Clervie managed to take an old spear that was hung on the wall in an out of the way area of the mansion. The blade was dull and slightly rusted and the wood was showing spots of rot, but it was still useable.
At long last, the night came for Clervie's latest escape attempt. She was sure this time that she could make it, she felt the wind outside beckoning to her, but she put those thoughts aside for the moment. Packing her bag, she placed a couple coins of Mora she had gathered from around the mansion, the broken candle she had stolen from the game on her birthday, a couple apples and pieces of bread she had stashed for the beginning of her journey, some clothes to change into, a screwdriver and small wrench, and the manual for piloting the Dragonfly. While it wouldn't help the people tracking her find her location, it seemed that the section about removing the limiter had been written precisely for her, and after her escape, she did not want to cause any trouble for the person who made the machine.
The Dragonfly was in the shed where tools to maintain the courtyard were stored, she had left it there after asking permission saying it was getting annoying to drag to and from her room.
Putting the bag onto her back, Clervie carefully opened her door, looking from side to side, she carefully stashed the bag within a large vase as she walked to the lavatory. After she was finished, she walked out and came face to face with "Mother."
Looking up Clervie said, "Sorry did I disturb you?"
Shaking her head Crucabena replied, "Yes, what are you doing up at this hour, you're not planning on running away again are you?"
"No Mother, just drank too much water after training this afternoon." Said Clervie, what she had said wasn't a lie, she had drunk a lot of water in the evening before heading to bed, something other children had seen and could be her alibi for if Mother decided to test her words.
"Hm." Grunted Crucabena as she turned around and started to walk back down the passage, "Just go to bed.." Said Crucabena as she faded into the darkness.
"Yes Mother..." Clervie said meekly. She was surprised, things had been going smoothly in the house for the past few days, but when she had looked at Crucabena's face, she had a faint blush and smelled of alcohol. It seemed that tonight was more ideal for an escape than she had planned.
Quietly, Clervie walked to her bedroom door and opened it and closed it. Afterward, she heard the click of another door down the hall. She didn't know how, but no matter how quietly she did it and looked for traps, Crucabena always knew when she opened and closed her door.
Quietly moving back to the vase, Clervie pulled the bag out of it. Walking down the dark halls, Clervie followed the path she had mapped out. Having been determined to escape this house for a long time, Clervie had carefully observed the movements of the guards as they patrolled the hallways at night. The first few times she had escaped, they had planned routes that they would follow, now they assigned each of the guards an area that they would patrol in whatever means they saw fit. Despite how random and whimsical their routes may seem, every person will eventually fall into a pattern, finding a path or pattern that was efficient and comfortable. Having observed these guards for months, Clervie had learned their patrol walking speed, and the routes they usually took while on the lookout, she even knew that the adult in charge of patrolling the halls around the courtyard was lazy and would typically sneak away to take a nap while on duty.
Sneaking around where she knew the guards were unlikely to be and even having to hide in the shadows when she heard a guard walking her way, Clervie eventually made it to the courtyard. Carefully, Clervie opened the door to the shed and closed the door behind her, careful not to let the hinges make a noise. Groping around in the dark, Clervie found the flint they used to light the torches and brasiers used during night trainings, carefully she struck the flint, causing sparks to briefly light up the surroundings. Pulling the brokrn candle half out of her bag, Clervie chewed off the excess wick before striking the flint close to the nub left at the top of the remaining wax.
It took a few tries, but eventually it was lit. Knowing the light from the candle leaking through the cracks of the shed would soon give her away, Clervie pulled out the tools she had stashed in her bag and opened up the side of the Dragonfly. Following the instructions written in the manual, she took out several gears and components restricting the fuel input to the engine and components designed to slow the shaft powering the wings.
Placing the pieces into her bag, Clervie put the bag back onto her back as she wrapped the chains made to carry banners together and wrapped it with some cloth from the shed before carrying the contraption outside.
Starting the Dragonfly, Clervie was surprised that it was still quiet despite its engine moving a lot faster, she had expected it to make much more noise with the limiters removed. Using the remote to command the Dragonfly, she made it hover, so the wrapped knot of chain was at waist height. Sitting down on it Clervie felt like she was being watched and looked around the courtyard and through the windows but saw no one. Clervie sighed in relief as she looked around the yard one more time. Her eyes lingering on the area Marelle was always set up, she resolved herself that she would get strong soon so the others would not have to play that game anymore.
With a determined look, she turned the dials on the remote and felt the wind move around her as she was lifted off the ground and into the air.
Unbeknownst to Clervie, Peruere stood, her back against the wall beside one of the windows overlooking the courtyard. Having known Clervie for so long, she could recognize the signs of her preparing to escape. She was sure Mother would have too, if she had spent more time around her daughter, but nonetheless she silently wished her friend luck as she quietly made her way back to her own room. Maybe this time her friend would find the freedom that she craved...
[POV: Carman]
Ryuzu woke me up in the middle of the night.
"it's time." She said, her face obscured by the veil of her Pale Lady costume.
Getting up, I splashed my face with some water to remove some of my grogginess. "About time."
Ever since Dad finalized the commission Crucabena submitted to our workshop Ryuzu had been listening outside at night for the sound of the dragonfly being operated, something she could do thanks to the high pitch sound generator I installed in the wings disguised as shocks to protect the wing joint. So far, Ryuzu had only heard the machine working on its fixed "Low Gear" mode that restricted it's fuel input and rpm output to prevent Crucabena from confiscating it thinking that Clervie would use it to escape. I had written the instruction on how to remove the limiters on the back of the manual and given how callus Crucabena seemed to act about her "children" apart from Peruere who would one day become Arlecchino... it was unlikely she'd bother to read all the way through the manual, especially with how much jargon I crammed into the first dozen pages.
Now Ryuzu had reported that she had detected the sound of the mechanism being activated with its limiters removed. Putting on a cloak and metal mask I followed her down the passageways under our apartment and surrounding buildings.
We came to an exit and Ryuzu picked me up in her arms as she carried me while moving at higher speeds. She scaled the nearest building with me in her arms as she made her way to the edge of the city.
Jumping over a wall, Ryuzu landed on an aqueduct line and ran towards the area she had located and identified as the home base of the House of the Heart due to all the activations of the Dragonfly occurring within its confines.
She stopped for a moment and listened carfully, trying to find the sound of the machine. Opening her eyes again, Ryuzu started to run once more towards the east.
I looked in the direction we were heading, it was dark, the moon only a sliver in the sky amongst the stars, eventually after Ryuzu had jumped down to the ground and had been running for a while into the plains around the city, I saw a small figure in the sky, it looked like a strange bird, but then I realized that was the person we were following.
Ryuzu continued to trail them for a while, carefully making sure to keep among trees and structures that could obscure us from the person above's line of sight.
After about half an hour, the person started to descend, the Dragonfly's wings moving slower as it ran low on fuel.
After a minute, the child landed, her long red hair settling down as their feet touched the ground.
As they did, Ryuzu came forward.
[POV: 3rd person]
As Clervie touched down, she had to suppress a feeling of dejection, the feeling of the wind in here face and pulling her hair to trail behind her was exhilarating, even as distance between her and the ground grew. When she was flying, everything on the ground was small, tiny, it put things into perspective, at the end of the day, they were all small. Their problems tiny compared to the vast land that reached beyond the horizon and the sky above holding countless stars. She felt like a bird, like she could fly away from all the problems on the ground, even if it was only temporary, the wind rushing around her, blowing everything else away, it was hard not to lose herself in it. But she knew she had to keep moving forward, she still had to grow stronger, become powerful enough to defeat her mother and free the other kids still in the mansion.
As she landed, the sound of a fiddle could be heard in the distance, its music conveying a hopeful feeling. At the same time, Clervie felt something round and hard in her pocket as she stood up.
Reaching her hand into her pocket, she pulled out a strange charm, it had a light bluish green orb in the center surrounded with a metal frame around it, the top and bottom of the object had a three-pronged blooming flower motif. The gem had a symbol resembling a pair of wings glowing faintly within it. It was a Vision.
While she took a moment to fully comprehend the event that had just took place, Clervie heard a boy clear his throat behind her.
Drawing her spear while tightly clenching her hand around her newly granted vision, she turned to find an odd pair, a small figure in a cloak wearing a mask, and a woman wearing white and light gray clothes with a vale obscuring her face.
"Who are you, and what do you want." asked Clervie.
"We are...."
-To be continued.
Holy Shiznits folks, this story has gotten over one million views. I know I stated this in the "chapter" with my upcoming community stuff in it, but it means a whole lot to see how far this story has spread. Thank you all for sticking with my story even when it gets a bit dull, and commenting ways to improve it, pointing out typos..., posting reviews, sharing this story with people you know, everything. I have learned a lot, been growing more motivated by the week, and look forward to interacting with you all every time I post a chapter.
I'll be hosting a Q&A on my KoFi for the next week, just to introduce yall and familiarize myself with it, no need to pay or any of that, anyone and everyone is welcome to stop by and chat. I'll be on there daily, and will try to answer questions within 24 hours.
Also Happy Lantern Rite! If you can, make sure to log into Genshin and get your dailies.
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