With the plan set, everyone split up to take on their assigned temples.
Jean and Lisa were in charge of one, while Kaeya brought Jiang Bai and Klee along for another, and Amber took Aether and Paimon for the third.
As the Lionfang Knight, Jean's combat abilities needed no explanation; Lisa was formidable in her own right. Jiang Bai naturally stuck with Kaeya and Klee—he knew them best. Amber and Aether teamed up for similar reasons.
As for Paimon… she didn't exactly count as combat power.
On the way to their designated temple, Jiang Bai finally voiced the question he'd been wondering about.
"If I'm not mistaken, Stormterror is supposed to be the Anemo Archon's companion—one of Mondstadt's protectors, right? Why would it attack the city?"
He'd learned about this during some idle chats with Albedo, so he had a general sense of Mondstadt's system.
Mondstadt's Four Winds guardians: the Dragon of the East Wind, the Lion of the South, the Wolf of the North, and the Falcon of the West.
The original Four Winds were: Stormterror Dvalin, the Lionfang Knight Vanessa, the North Wind Wolf—the former Northern Knight—and the Knights of Favonius themselves as the Falcon of the West.
Even the Knights' insignia was based on a falcon's silhouette.
"That's right. I'm impressed you know so much about Mondstadt's history. Honestly, there are plenty in the Knights who can't keep their history straight," Kaeya said with a note of irony.
Mondstadt wasn't his first homeland, but he knew its history like the back of his hand.
"These days, hardly anyone in Mondstadt remembers the Four Winds."
Over the centuries, Dvalin fell into slumber, Vennessa ascended to Celestia, the Wolf of the North was reduced to a lingering soul, and only the Knights of Favonius remained active.
The stories of the Four Winds faded, their temples fell into ruin, forgotten by all—left to beasts and monsters.
"As for why Stormterror turned on Mondstadt… honestly, it's a bit embarrassing." Kaeya shrugged, his tone tinged with regret.
"Mondstadt's been harassed by demonic dragons more than once. When Dvalin first awoke, no one recognized him as the Dragon of the East Wind—they just assumed he was another monster, and fought him off again and again.
"With every battle, Dvalin started to believe Mondstadt had betrayed him. The people he once protected were now turning their weapons on him…"
"Anger and resentment and all sorts of negativity just wrapped themselves around him. The fighting kept escalating, and by the time the Knights realized he was Dvalin, it was too late for any reconciliation.
"This time, he went so far as to attack Mondstadt itself."
Even Kaeya let out a sigh at how such a simple misunderstanding had gotten so far out of hand.
But what was done was done; all they could do was try to make it right.
"Well, you really brought this on yourselves." Jiang Bai had no mercy for the Knights on this one.
Honestly, the Knights of Favonius were clearly in the wrong here. If I were Dvalin, I'd probably be even more vengeful.
Imagine protecting people for centuries, and then one day, they all turn their blades on you. Who could tolerate that? I know I couldn't.
Klee's ahoge drooped as she realized what this meant, her spirits falling.
"So the big dragon was a good dragon all along…"
She'd been fired up to fight what she thought was a bad dragon, but knowing he'd once been Mondstadt's guardian made her hesitate.
Empathizing with Stormterror's pain, Klee felt her nose tingle.
"If everyone treated Klee like that, I'd be really sad too…"
She tugged at Kaeya's sleeve, looking up at him.
"Big Brother Kaeya, can we go talk to the dragon? Let's apologize to him!"
A child's world is simple—if you do something wrong, you apologize, and then do your best to make it right.
Just like when she'd blown up a fisherman's catch and made Fisherman's Toast to say sorry.
Kaeya ruffled her hair, his eyes gentle.
"Klee, that's a good idea, but right now Stormterror won't listen to us at all. If we want to apologize, we'll need to calm him down first."
He could sense Stormterror's emotions were completely out of control—maybe even influenced by something else.
Before the dragon calmed down, any attempt to talk would be pointless.
"Okay!" Klee pumped her fists.
She was going to help the dragon!
"The place we're going now is exactly where we can help calm him down."
Jiang Bai shot Kaeya a look, questioning with his eyes:
Is it really a place that will calm the dragon, and not just something to reassure the kid?
Kaeya returned a look of his own.
Of course.
Weaken Stormterror's power, and he'll settle down.
Klee missed all this silent communication between the adults. Re-energized, she stretched her arms and charged ahead.
"Let's hurry up! We can't keep the big dragon waiting!"
"Don't run so fast—you'll trip!"
---
Meanwhile, on the other side, Traveler Aether was asking Amber about Stormterror as well.
But everyone's understanding was a little different, and Amber's take on the dragon was nothing like Kaeya's.
History hadn't been her strong suit; all she knew was that Dvalin had once been one of the Four Winds, but she wasn't sure what he'd actually done for Mondstadt.
So, for Amber, the dragon that had brought disaster to Mondstadt wasn't worthy of much sympathy.
"This temple's been abandoned for ages. Mondstadt folk never come here anymore, so it's probably full of monsters. We need to be careful."
Looking at the ruined scenery, Amber couldn't quite explain her feelings, only managing a soft sigh.
"Even Stormterror himself has given up on his own temple."
"Stormterror's own temple?" Aether echoed, puzzled.
He still had no idea who this rampaging dragon really was.
Amber sighed again. "Yeah… I don't want to admit it, but Stormterror really was once one of Mondstadt's Four Winds."
Stormterror had been gone from Mondstadt's memory for so long. Ever since the war with Durin five hundred years ago, he'd fallen into a long sleep.
Five centuries was enough to forget a great deal, enough for people to lose respect for their old guardian, especially now that times were good.
Aether said nothing.
He didn't know enough to comment.
The temples of the Four Winds really had been abandoned for ages—cobwebs everywhere, hilichurls nesting inside.
Jiang Bai, meanwhile, finally got to see Klee's combat ability firsthand.
He and Kaeya barely had to lift a finger—he just put a shield on Klee to keep her safe.
Then Klee lobbed a few bombs, and the monsters were instantly blasted to smithereens.
Turns out, when she said she'd protect me, she really wasn't just making it up…
"See? Klee's awesome!" Klee declared, hands on her hips, full of pride.
---
A depiction of Aether stumbling upon Venti and Dvalin's conversation:
Venti (trying to explain): "Dvalin, listen to me!"
Dvalin (aggrieved): "They hit me!"
Venti (trying to soothe his little dragon): "It's all a misunderstanding—"
Dvalin (still upset): "They hit me! And it hurt so much!"
Venti (not catching the real issue, still trying to explain): "They didn't mean it, they just didn't recognize you—"
Dvalin (feeling wronged and getting angry): "I protected them for so long, and not only did they not recognize me—they attacked me! And it hurt! It hurt so much! Waaah! (▼皿▼#)o"
Venti (who was trying to help, now just making it worse): "⊙０⊙"
Dvalin (maximum aggrieved, maximum rage): "Your dragon got beat up—do you even know how much it hurt? You're not even comforting your dragon! You don't care if your dragon's hurt! And you're still siding with them! (▼皿▼メ;)o Aaah! I'm so mad I could just explode!!!"
Venti: "⊙﹏⊙"
Despite how upset the little dragon was, he didn't hurt Venti—instead, he flew to Mondstadt to vent all his anger and frustration there.
Honestly, even if the Traveler hadn't shown up, Venti still wouldn't have been able to calm the dragon down…