SWIFT SWALLOW.

#⠀⋆ .　࿐　a⠀dream⠀of⠀katarina　┊　THREAD.#⠀⋆ .　࿐　arlecchino　┊　SPARRING PARTNER.#balemouns #feel free to cut us ahead at some point to them at least going down hahaha #once again my setup took more than i thought i intended to move them farther than this LJAKLDA

THE JIANYU IN QUESTION MAKES A VISIBLE FACE　❄︎　of relief when the suggestion sounds over from the far side of camp, shoulders dropping and eyes rolling skyward. or maybe it'd be more accurate to call it a face of exasperated release. "about time. look, here's your chance now, kid——" the finger jabbed in his direction quickly swings over to the entrance to the "chasm" nearby, a gaping whorl in the earth that looked ready to leap up and swallow the sky. anywhere in the cosmos, he's never seen anything like it. "if you're really all that, get in there and show us your stuff."

yanqing knew this was less about giving him the opportunity to " show " anything, though, and more about jianyu being tired of his protests and eager to get him out of his hair and the rest of the real trainees back in order. if it wasn't such a bizarre situation for him, he'd be more sympathetic to the way the lieutenant must feel.

"i already said, i'm not a millelith trainee. . . "

but it's murmured hopelessly under his breath, and he's under few illusions that anyone would hear him, or care to start believing him now if they did.

"hey, yanqing-xiongdi——" a weight collides with him, an arm slung around his shoulders, and he looks back at the grinning face next to his own, speckled with near-invisible freckles. fuke, the boy with half mondstadt parentage. "can your flying swords take out all the bandits down there? i bet they can't, huh. those bandits are aggressive as hell."

tawny eyes blink. "what are y. . . of course my swords can handle some ordinary bandits. the problem is that i've been trying to tell you——"

but fuke is already laughing back to the others, not listening to a word. "what do you think? if yanqing can clear out just one of the bandit camps, then he can tell us his stories of the flying ship!"

a cheer goes up from the other gathered boys, filled with calls half-mocking, half-encouraging ; it's a sound he's too familiar with, and for a moment he could almost imagine this was the cloud knights. his smile turns into one of chagrin and some frustration: the luofu wasn't just some flying ship. but it's clear this was probably his only clear way out, and if there really was a vicious banditry problem, then he also didn't want to leave without even trying to help.

but he doesn't expect, when walking toward the chasm's entrance, for the woman standing there waiting for him to be someone he recognized. the surprise flickers plainly on his face. "you're. . . "

"this is. . . er," the officer standing guard looks briefly to her, "sorry, ma'am, i never got your name. anyway, yanqing, you're to escort her down through the chasm and make sure she finds her way back out safely. i don't know what everyone's joking about over there, but make sure to take this seriously."

her gaze is so unnerving, now that he's seeing her up close——two black crosses stare him down like chasms themselves gouged within her eyes. he decides to nod and figure the rest out later. "understood. my name is yanqing, a. . . new recruit to the force. it's my honor to accompany you."

dukemeropide

Redemption for the Suffering

Wriothesley & Yanqing - Elation | Heliobus Possession

dukemeropide

[cw eye trauma] The house on ████ Street had never been quieter. Its hardwood floors had never been without the patter of stockinged feet, nor its halls without the bellchime of laughter. The drapes in the dining hall were drawn tight against the morning sun, the candles in the chandelier melted down to nearly nothing. The vase in the middle of the long table set for twelve had been knocked over and lily petals, yellowing at the edges, were strewn across a splotchy waterstain on the tablecloth. Dinner had been interrupted. It sat cold on a serving cart by the kitchen door.

A new rose had been painted onto the wallpaper, bigger than all the rest, and a deeper, more sinister crimson than its pastel neighbors. A short, silver arrow protruded from the wall just below it, its shaft splintered. More paint splattered the floor in big, sticky puddles leading through the mahogany door to the sitting room. ████ had paced through these rooms in a circle - kitchen, dining room, sitting room, foyer, kitchen and dining room again. His hands shook, and he was helpless to stop them. They deserved it: he mouthed the words because his voice cracked trying to speak them.

████ was in the sitting room when they’d found him.

(A visitor from Teyvat had been found on the third floor of a restaurant in Aurum Alley.)

The once-green rug was nearly black with blood, arranged with four bodies amidst the ruins of a glass-topped table and a velvet-lined chair. Two of them were missing fingernails on one hand. The head of another lay propped up on the handle of the fork lodged into the eye socket, but except for the mouth which hung open in apparent astonishment, its features were so buried in bruising and blood that they were nearly unidentifiable.

(Four men were found severely injured, two of which died before treatment could be administered. They were identified as local merchants, each wealthy from foreign trade. The restaurant belonged to one of them, and the third floor has historically been used for entertaining important guests, according to neighbors.)

████ stood with his back toward the door, staring emotionlessly at an oil painting of a dozen smiling children hanging over the fireplace. His hair was matted and dark, slicked back from his face with sweat and blood, and his blue eyes possessed the quality of ice. The half dozen footsteps that had carried voices into the room asked him questions he couldn’t hear. He just nodded.

(“Yes, I killed them,” Wriothesley said evenly. Blood streaked his cheek when he turned his head to fix the Cloud Knights with an ice-hard stare from over his shoulder.)

@swordflown

#⠀⋆ .　࿐　redemption⠀for⠀the⠀suffering　┊　THREAD.#⠀⋆ .　࿐　wriothesley　┊　SPARRING PARTNER.#dukemeropide #hahaha you slayed it with the intro tho #i'm glad that when i come in w batshit impromptu ideas like haha unless ur more often than not like #............ “UNLESS” I GUESS #cheers wriothesley to your new ban from luofu airspace

AT FIRST, THEY HAD THOUGHT IT WAS MARA.　❄︎　a brutal and unprovoked attack shocking the heart of the luofu's commercial downtown, just off of aurum alley's bustling main square, was the same like a bomb going off in the street, silencing everything. the plaza, almost never without its milling consumer crowds, food stands, and roadside performances well into the night, was almost completely deserted——left eerily soundless with trash and bags abandoned on the side of the street, as if something unprecedented had come just to take all the people, leaving all their signs of life behind.

the realm-keeping commission's law enforcement patrolled and encircled half this square in dour uniform, large sections of the pavement and cobblestone secured behind rope and electronic warning signage. in case the attacker tried to escape, they'd evacuated all the businesses in the surrounding area and warned people to stay away until the suspect had been detained, to the discontent of several storeowners who had only been placated by the promise of payout from the commission equivalent to double the previous day's total revenue. in the absence of the department's chief officer, the general himself had approved a substitute from the cloud knights to act as additional security. if any tension would arise between the commissions from such a decision, it was irrelevant for now in the face of the immediate threat. the young lieutenant who'd been sent believed, perhaps naively, that the xianzhou luofu was well-disciplined enough for that.

in an equivalent short-lived lifespan, the boy had scarcely seen his seventeenth summer, and in the years since aurum alley's rise to commercial prominence, he'd never seen it like this before. attacks happened ; crimes happened. but something about today's was different——he could feel it in the air as soon as they arrived.

"right here, up on the third floor," the officer who greets him conveys quickly, and yanqing nods before surveying the building while addressing the rest of the men.

"at the fortune's crane. . . " he utters to himself, before making a decision. "songyan, zhiqie, wu jun, come with me upstairs. the assailant seems to only be one person, but we can't underestimate what they might do. the rest of you, split into pairs and guard each of the restaurant's three main entrances, including the service entrances on the first and second floors."

and if the assailant attacked, they were to use any means necessary to stop him.

this is more than just a random act of violence. after two flights of stairs and the stench of death, the tapestry of gore is a testament to a hatred left to burn like an infection, the glassy stillness of the man's confession at the center of it all a splinter of ice wedged beneath that sore, contaminated with blood and spleen.

a blade of clearer ice would rise to try and meet it, still unsullied by the world's failure. yanqing stays calm but alert, his weapon undrawn, his voice low even as his eyes never leave the line of broad, black shoulders and a blue-white vision. "get down on the ground and put your hands behind your head. you're under arrest and will be allowed to walk peacefully as long as you don't resist. i repeat: get down on the ground and put your hands behind your head."

･ * ⸝⸝　——　𝗢𝗡𝗘 𝗟𝗢𝗡𝗘𝗦𝗢𝗠𝗘 𝗦𝗢𝗡𝗚 .

comm. ELATION⠀:⠀whale in the waters

#⠀⋆ .　࿐　one⠀lonesome⠀song　┊　THREAD.#⠀⋆ .　࿐　childe　┊　SPARRING PARTNER.#tartagliare #thanks for your patience on this starter i've finally been able to circle to yanqing hahaha #interested to see how this goes!#i figure we can interrupt the conversation at any time unannounced and launch into the action

THE DAY BOASTS A MEDITERRANEAN WARMTH ,　❄︎　but the sky is an unbroken blanket of grey, the color of charcoal ash left behind by the fire in the morning, silent in the early dawn. and like swallows returning from the night to roost, his thoughts come to rest on the massacre of the void song whales a long time ago, many amber eras before his life.

yanqing doesn't remember where he'd learned about it——it must have been a long time ago. maybe in a book or scroll someplace, or something one of the knights had told him: a mechanical pirate king who used to roam the stars of a sector a long way from the xianzhou alliance, hunting the celestial creatures for a substance that could be made from their bodies. the hunt had gone on for years and years until the whales in that part of the belt were almost entirely wiped out, where one could go weeks without seeing a single member of their species.

he doesn't remember the way the story ended or what happened to the pirate king, just the fact that he had hunted them nearly to extinction. a belt of the cosmos, empty of song.

normally, yanqing wasn't any sort of animal sympathizer or conservationist, not any more than anyone else. he didn't think much about these kinds of things, or have any reason to——his days consisted of drills and patrols, directives and orders from the general, training and what leisure time he had devoted to his few hobbies.

so why did he come back to this story now, when they were hunting this whale——this whale that certainly wasn't a void song whale, but one that swam in the waters, on this planet where people had never even heard of ones that swam in the stars? if it was because of regret, then he knew he couldn't afford it ; the disruption this creature had already caused its surroundings just by being here preyed on the minds of the weak of will, and it was because he'd believed in his ability to stay true and unwavering as his sword that he had volunteered to sail on his expedition despite such limited knowledge of what they might face. after all, there weren't many others around them.

but like many hunts, there's a long stretch of time where there's nothing to do but wait.

wait, and move. . . and wait.

whether its to fill this time or to dismiss the thoughts of that songless expanse of sky so they could no longer be distractions, he looks over at the only other person within earshot. "out of those of us here today," only ten men strong, on the sturdiest ship they could find that could be manned by so few, "you're the only one who seems familiar with what we're searching for."

he says this to the ginger-haired individual who's been standing at the prow, searching the horizon for almost as long as he has. there's a feeling that surrounds him that yanqing has trouble putting his finger on, but it sets him a little on edge ; he tries his best not to show it. "in order to defeat an enemy, we first must know it inside-out. can you tell me what you know?"　/　@tartagliare

blemishes in the snow,

with — aponia ✦ snowswept 2025 : operation: fragmentum, board b.

THAT MUST BE YANQING. a strange feeling of déjà vu washes over kallen as yanqing calls out to them and descends in front of them. she has no time to think anything of it though, and her attention flits to the fragmentum monsters at yanqing's warning. the two shades have noticed their arrival, their shimmering axes poised in response to new prey. they do look stronger, and kallen is reminded of the towering monster that had chased after them earlier, before they had managed to lose it. regardless of the dangers, lady aponia is right. “thank you for coming. we can help.” kallen insists, adjusting her grip on her weapons. “three is better than one, against two.”

as she speaks, with her gaze still fixed on the enemy, kallen finds herself unnerved by how the fragmentum shades seem to be evaluating the three of them, now. how mindless are they, really? the monsters had been so ferocious only moments ago. yet, instead of the frenetic instinct kallen had seen in their predecessors, there is something almost predatory.

“ — !!” kallen reacts a touch too slowly, caught off guard as the shades suddenly rush forward, both of their axes swinging toward yanqing, their initial opponent. “yanqing!” with pistols in hand, she tries to aim —

#⠀⋆ .　࿐　blemishes⠀in⠀the⠀snow　┊　THREAD.#⠀⋆ .　࿐　kallen⠀kaslana　┊　SPARRING PARTNER.#⠀⋆ .　࿐　aponia　┊　SPARRING PARTNER.#virtuouslife #disciplineswrath #GHSnowswept2025

THE TIME THEY HAVE TO TALK ISN'T LONG.　❄︎　"——!!" head turns at the same time her eyes widen and the ground peels abruptly away, a flying sword carrying him back into the sky, clear of the axes in pursuit. the young lady's cry follows him below, and he sets his expression back into focus, sending another spray of crystalline blades groundward, knocking the weapons from the enemies' hands.

as they stagger, grasping for disarmed steel, he raises his arms into a martial stance, yanzhuo tip-down as the flurry around him picks up into a zephyr, array of blades singing a frenetic chime. from here, he could——

suddenly, a gargantuan roar bellows from what feels like the sky, engulfing the street in a frozen blast that throws him backwards out of the air. "ngh!" arms raised to protect his face, he barely keeps his footing as his swords skate him narrowly back down to the ground, head on a turn as he hurries back to where the two women were. the world is transformed into a maelstrom of white, of howling wind and stinging ice quickly turning direction meaningless ; for now, he can make out their outlines ; in a few seconds, who can say. "kallen! grab onto my hand!" the monsters, the buildings——whatever was happening to them now, it's impossible to make out.

what had made that noise?

a glance backwards tries to discern. against all odds, find it he does: up, up. . . through the snow and the gale, a herculean silhouette the size of a house loomed close and was coming closer. what was that?

blade. wherever he was, was he seeing this? there's no time to think about him. turning to run, yanqing grips onto the hand, someone's hand, as hard as he can. "we have to go! we can't take this alone!" not in this unnatural storm, where thick flakes already cling to his lashes as he moves, tear at his clothes and cake into every gap, threatening to swim in his eyes.

･ * ⸝⸝　——　𝗗𝗘𝗔𝗗 𝗪𝗔𝗞𝗘 .

#GHSnowswept2025 : part 2

generalforesight

There’s something charming about the way Yanqing seems to startle, perhaps distressed by the idea of inactivity. Jing Yuan’s smile curls, slow and catlike in place of the internal frown beating in his chest.

Once, a well-known diviner had commented that even his aura was capable of deception. He’d chosen to take it as a compliment.

Yanqing’s instincts are correct, and this alone is enough to lighten the mood. For all that your fingers seem to twitch toward the blade, you first consider the possibilities of what awaits. It’s unsurprising that General and Lieutenant would stray toward similar outcomes, and Jing Yuan himself has spent too much time analyzing the planet’s defense system. Fragile, like thin ice.

Even if the Silvermane Guard have proper protocols, the planet is not possessed of manpower. His own fleet of Cloud Knights were too far away to assist, and if the Stellaron had anything to do with the second freeze… they would be entirely isolated from outside resources soon. “I know.” He agrees at last, letting a few breaths pass in silence as the frozen wind escalates – a metal sign groans as it’s ripped from a storefront. Go inside, the environment seems to urge, there’s nothing you can do. “We cannot that unease – whether of the known or unknown – guide our actions. Remember that a stone rarely shatters on the first strike.” It’s delivered gently, for all that he suspects Yanqing will wear it as a reprimand.

“The enemy we see is but a fraction of what may lay in wait, and there are no Cloud Knight brigades here…we have only the forces that you see. A handful of Silvermane guards. For Jarilo-Vi, it was impressive…but for anywhere else in the galaxy, it was a mere handful. A single squadron. “What we do now…how about a stroll? The weather is quite nice,” A shiver skitters up his spine, his smile widens. “I can’t say that I am familiar enough with this area, and there are few rules about where we choose to take shelter.”

…and if they happened to stray onto an abandoned patrol route? It would be purely accidental, of course.

#⠀⋆ .　࿐　dead⠀wake　┊　THREAD.#⠀⋆ .　࿐　jing⠀yuan　┊　SPARRING PARTNER.#generalforesight #GHSnowswept2025

EVEN IN THE FACE OF SUCH TENSION ,　❄︎　the general always managed to stay calm. as easy as though it were a lazy summer day. . . like everything about him, yanqing admires it, but he sometimes can't help but wonder where it comes from, or if it's really how he feels. part of what it meant to be a general was to be a face for others to look to, and the strength behind not just the arm, but the whole heart of an army ; of course he couldn't afford to seem troubled by anything.

by comparison, he was like a newborn deer, skittering and scattering all over the place, wearing his worries plain on his sleeve. he's fortunate the general doesn't laugh at him for it. would he be able to command poise like him one day, setting everyone else at ease in the confidence of his certainty? it seemed so impossible.

"of course. i understand."

he couldn't let his unease control him and make him act. instead, he had to think about how to act, using that unease he felt as just one point of information like everything else he could take in. just like in swordplay, if all he did was react to his opponent, he would never truly be their match.

so think, yanqing. in this situation, what would be the most effective thing to do?

take. . . a stroll? eyes lift again where they'd fallen, focused without his knowing, on the snow-packed stones again ; the smile on the divine foresight's face conceals something behind it, maybe a strategy of some kind, even if he can't anticipate exactly what just yet. "wherever the general goes, i'll follow," he replies with energy, falling into step beside his mentor as the wind picks up to an inhospitable shriek. ice and snow buffet against his face and his wraps his scarf around tighter——even the thickest clothing he'd brought felt like silk paper in the face of this cold, but he weathers it well through strands of blond whipping around his eyes and the color of cheeks starting to pinken.

but no matter how the general jokes, it's not at all the kind of weather for an easy walk and conversation, but this crisis aside——or maybe because of it——he was still curious about the festival he'd completely missed. "more than two weeks have passed since you left the luofu. what do you think of belobog? yanqing remembers you spoke of positive memories. . . and the solwarm festival sounded like an impressive occasion. it's disappointing to have missed it."

blemishes in the snow,

with — aponia ✦ snowswept 2025 : operation: fragmentum, board b.

IN THE FRANTIC CHAOS OF THEIR ESCAPE, THE CRACKLING NOISES OF THE WALKIE-TALKIE HAD BECOME, OUT OF NECESSITY, PERIPHERAL. narrowly, the two women had managed to find a proper hiding spot beyond the alleyway, tucked away from the main roads. a proper hiding spot, at least for the time being. now — as kallen lets herself breathe, trying to calm down and recollect herself, she tries to recall what that voice had said in response. maybe a name. block four. what else had been said? as she tries to remember, she squints. then —

blinking, kallen realizes with a start that aponia is speaking to her. my ankle? suddenly, a mild grimace flits across her face, even as she tries to pretend it's fine. “i'm all right, really, lady aponia ... thank you.” the other woman seems to see right through her, though — so she decides against any other protests. “yes, you're right. someone answered. mister ... yanqing. it was hard to hear his reply, but ... i recall he said he's coming to help. i'll tell them we're safe, for now ... ” miraculously, kallen still has the walkie-talkie with her. but before she can tap at it, the same screech of that imposing fragmentum monster pierces through the air. kallen tenses, though the source of the horrible sound seems — more distant than before. uneasy, she decides to ignore the device for now, and turns to aponia, “we should keep moving.”

shuffling through the snow, between adjacent walls and beneath wind-ruined awnings, kallen does her best to stay quiet, to keep an eye out for anything in their surroundings. her ankle still throbs, though the dull pain has grown duller by now. another safe crevice reveals itself soon after, enough for them to breathe, to exhale. but the cycle continues — a threat reveals itself to be slowly encroaching, and so they must move. suddenly, instead of that almost-familiar screech from afar, it's the cacophony of fighting. metal, glass, ice colliding. shattering? but there's no shriek that comes after, no guttural sounds of pure frenzy. “lady aponia, do you think — ” kallen stops in her tracks, whipping her head toward the source, eyes wide. in the distance, three figures. one gleams ice-blue, just like the fragmentum shade they had fought before. the other two move in what can only be described as graceful, terrifying ways —

a momentary pause, as kallen recognizes them by their clothes. “ — i think that's them.” then, she runs to join them, expecting aponia to follow.

continued from.

HE WASN'T JUST IMAGINING IT.　❄︎　the enemies in this block of the city were stronger. dust and shards of ice scatter and break as he skids backwards from a blow of the shade's hefted axe haft to his stomach, something that only should've dislodged him from any normal opponent. it looked like any ordinary man in every other way, even wearing the same armor and uniform as the soldiers they'd been fighting and sleeping beside the past several days. this fragmentum——how close was it to mara? it'd been explained as aberrations born from the corruption of space, but could that really be it?

"tch, you're still no match," he utters obstinately to no one under his breath, straightening and sending another volley of gleaming blades flurrying toward the opponent like darting swallows. some shatter off the weapon raised to parry, others embedding in their mark and forcing the figure to stagger.

but this is only one. the moment it does, a glimpse of movement forces yanqing back on the defensive ; a leap saves him from the cleaving blow of another axe on his right, then the boom of a cannon narrowly missing its mark, flooding the air with smoky and misplaced heat that makes him cough. with teeth grit, blade lifts——clang——blocking the next strike, and he hurries to get his feet underneath him as blow after blow comes relentlessly, bearing down and forcing him across the ice-wetted street. at the first split-second opening, a fist strikes out instead of sword with a cry, flat-palmed blow to a pressure point at the center of the torso doubling the soldier in half, giving him just enough time to move away.

breathing hard, he scans the surroundings——behind the fragmentum line, two shapes coming out of an alley through the smog. more of them?

no, as sunlight gives the emergent forms new color, breath catches in his throat. people. theirs! that must be——"kallen!" he doesn't know which one that is, but a lift of icy wind carries him over the heads of the enemy to land lightly in front of both, dispersing the smoke as a cloud. gleaming sword raised defensively, he half-turns his head to look back at them without taking his eyes off the onslaught:

"please stay back. these monsters are stronger than the ones we've been seeing."

what is the worth of a sword unswung? || yanqing & blade

operation: fragmentum - board b

"Hm?" To give chase is an art he's seldom taken part in these days. It's no wonder then that his blade cuts through the forms of fragmentum so easily. In reality, his blade has never reached it's intended target so the imagination here will simply have to do.

There's little time to think before they're overtaken. Blade hold not hope, but some expectation he sees must've been misplaced. With a click of his tongue and a momentary scowl, he takes hold of the back of Yanqing's collar before running into a wider part of the city block.

"How far you still have left." Of the swarm of crystalline pests that surround them, a few make their attack immediately, the rest seeming to bide time whilst their numbers grow in the thin alleyways.

What would be a quick job with little effort given is instead a job that drags along due to sheer volume and little else. From the side or from the back, a dive bomb overhead, regardless of their tactics, they're cut down all the same.

Yanqing shouldn't require the same level of protection as an untrained Silver Wolf, yet here Blade was, offering it nonetheless for reasons that would draw a sigh from him if he had the energy to offer for it. The last thing he needed was another body added to the dubious list of those who've met their end at his sword. Is this what the Luofu has to offer as its best?

Eventually all that's left of the swarm is a residual mist that settles just above the ground. If their task was to waste time... they certainly achieved it.

The momentary lull lets his eyes search until drawn to a crate filled with in tact swords. None compared... but one couldn't help but be curious of how quickly they'd dull or otherwise break.

"They are nothing like what you have." They are far cheaper, far more replaceable. "Use them or don't."

Haphazardly he tosses three blades over to him. No matter how many blades the young man carries, he doubts they will be quick enough to cut him down, not within this lifetime. Offerings for a stress test of the new blades slowly funnel in through the alley and Blade is once again off to do all it is he knows how to.

#⠀⋆ .　࿐　what⠀is⠀the⠀worth⠀of⠀a⠀sword⠀unswung　┊　THREAD.#⠀⋆ .　࿐　blade　┊　SPARRING PARTNER.#neverendingdeath #GHSnowswept2025

EVEN WITH THE ADDITIONAL EQUIPMENT ,　❄︎　the fighting is bitter and grueling. donnie and the soldiers of the silvermane guards had warned them that this would be a war of attrition, and to be careful about wasting their strength. it, much like food and water and gunpowder, was a resource they couldn't afford to squander. yanqing understood this principle, of course, but this was the first time he'd ever had to consider it on such a large scale: not just conserving his energy over a single session of training or the course of one battle, but the whole span of a defensive war, the scale and endpoint of which were beyond anyone's ability to know.

he could understand how despair could come so easily, in such a light. the hexafleet's battles were so rarely siege warfares——and even when they were, xianzhou had been the one on the offensive, able to pull in and out as the situation developed. to be on the other side, to know you were trapped without means of escape while the enemy just came and came and came. . . until days or weeks passed, maybe much longer than that. . .

he nurtured a new respect for the people of belobog. luka had carried something with him in each swing of those fists on the wardance stage that eclipsed all the training the cloud knights could offer.

the last of the horde of flying creatures has shrieked its dying call to the wind, giving him a brief reprieve to catch his breath, when the communication device at his hip crackles to life. it's the first time he's heard anything from it since the night has begun. "th. . . s kallen. more fragmentum have appeared in our block. more than one. is this happening anywhere else?"

kallen. which one was kallen. . .

"we haven't engaged yet, but we could use some assistance——"

a loud crackle, muffling what sounds like a shout. eyes widen. "kallen?!" he shouts into the mouthpiece held up to his face. only more crackling answers. sheathing his sword, he looks around urgently for long, dark hair, any sign of the fugitive. he responds without thinking, sharply as he starts to walk. "this is yanqing in block four. hold your position and take shelter away from the enemy. avoid drawing attention. if you're overwhelmed, retreat as soon as you can. we're coming to help!"

as soon as he lowers his arm, steps break into a brisk jog, head on a swivel. if only he could call out. . . where had that man gone??

precious time is wasted searching the now seemingly empty streets for him, but when he finally catches sight of his ally dispatching some stragglers that still remained, the compounded urgency of all those lost minutes keeps the frustration at bay. "block two needs our help ; they're being overrun by enemy reinforcements. the quickest way to the gate is this way." one hour on the battlefield could be as long as a year ; he can only hope that they'd continued to hold on.

what is the worth of a sword unswung? || yanqing & blade

operation: fragmentum - board b

The call, assumedly to get his attention, falls upon deaf ears. His shard sword is a comforting weight for the moment it rests in his hand. Such sentimentality flies away the moment he sends the sword flying towards a shade. Whether it be that Blade attempts not to go too hard or that he simply has lost touch in the leisure of the events beforehand, it flies wide and barely makes a mark on the foe.

He won't make the same mistake again.

The crunch of snow beneath his heel quickens as he runs past to pick his sword up from where it lay and quickly send a slash up and across the frost bitten fragmentum foe. In spite of where his focus should be, his eyes - hostility and expectation and all that toils behind them - rests on the young swordsman.

What is it he would show him this time? How sharply can his sword pierce through the enemy in front of him or are his strikes still just as predictable as before? This is not the time nor place for a rematch, not of the kind he would like to have.

The next best thing is to simply watch. Mindful as he should be of the time that passes, whether Belobog recovered or entirely fell, his end isn't to be met here. To interact this much is perhaps already too much, but sitting any further to the side is a far less satisfying experience. This is a welcome glance into whether he has anything to be envious of these chilled attackers for, whether or not any trouble that crosses his mind would be with the trouble to act on.

#⠀⋆ .　࿐　what⠀is⠀the⠀worth⠀of⠀a⠀sword⠀unswung　┊　THREAD.#⠀⋆ .　࿐　blade　┊　SPARRING PARTNER.#neverendingdeath #GHSnowswept2025

AT FIRST, IT'S ONLY ONE WHEN HE FOLLOWS THE FUGITIVE.　❄︎　a single enemy, one that yanqing is certain is meant to lure them out. but before he can even call out a warning, the sight of his temporary ally engaging the armored figure gives him pause.

the power behind his strikes, even from a distance. . . heaviness sinks down to his feet, laden with a curdling sobriety colder than any eternal freeze. it's suddenly clear that their battle on dragonprayer terrace hadn't been anything serious for him.

while he had been giving his all.

shame digging like a thorn in his chest lifts when the monster——much more human-like than he'd expected, but if so, then he can think of them as similar to the mara-struck——suddenly goes into retreat, seemingly fleeing into the surrounding streets. "wait!" he calls, breaking into a run again before he loses sight of the pursuing swordsman completely.

running straight into a trap again? yanqing. . . whenever the general chastised him like this during training, it was usually gentle and with a note of humor that made him feel even more embarrassed than if he were just yelled at instead. it's what he hears now in place of the shriek of frigid wind and the pound of his own footsteps, prompts him to raise his sword and call it to his aid. ice flurries amid ice, and two ethereal blades cut the distance between here and there in a split-second, embedding themselves into the retreating monster's form just before it rounds a corner.

soundlessly, it falls, disintegrating into dust. and beyond it in the distance, blocked from sight by its outline until now, is exactly what he'd suspected. that isn't a line of rubble or ordinary shadows——it moves and scintillates, distends and takes shape.

there's no chance to call out again or consider orders. time slows down and speeds up all at once, and then the sea of fragmentum is upon them, a ripping, tearing swarm threatening to overwhelm and swallow him whole.

and it is him and all his training——and the fugitive, somewhere in this raging sea.

what is the worth of a sword unswung? || yanqing & blade

operation: fragmentum - board b

Chaos’ descent is a timeless thing. In some instances it is slow, beneath the noses of those who willfully chose to ignore its warnings. Other times it is fast, so quick that even the most vigilant of soldiers are swept along with its current.

No festival can occur so smoothly. No such prosperity can exist without a preceding tragedy or one that follows soon after. The memories of this festival will be colored by the outcome of their reconnaissance. It’s nearly enough to make him feel sorry for the organizers, but surely they knew better before inviting in such unsuspecting guests. That always is the case after all.

Those who could fight, whether through bravery, foolishness, or sheer curiosity, gather at camp. A rousing speech is made. May Qlipoth’s light guide us all. Where had that light guided Beloboog so far aside from right back to the problems it had before?

“Here on his orders, or testing your swords?” The answer matters not. He is here regardless and they have been given a task to handle. Blade, aloof as the man is, begins on his way before waiting for a response. Their actions in the end will be the same so why does it matter.

The other volunteers have set off and already begun fending off against the Fragmentum with little trouble. He looks to the iced over outskirts that seem as though once occupied. Blade takes a moment to sift through snow and ice alike and for his effort gains little more than cold hands.

It’s not even worth the effort to scoff about it. Thoughts of how they might proceed, how best to handle the sudden situation poke at his mind, but curiosity holds faster. When he stands and starts to press on further, he does so with a mind more curious about his Cloud Knight companion’s actions than any grandeur that might be given by undertaking risky tasks as they were.

The moment he could, he’d like to see how far his blade has come.

[15 minutes] BLADE & YANQING walk from Base Camp to Block One. Time left: 7 hrs 45 min [30 minutes] Salvage attempt. Roll: 6 = Fail. Time left: 7 hrs 15 min [15 minutes] BLADE & YANQING walk from Block One to Block Three. Time left: 7 hrs 00 min

@swordflown

#⠀⋆ .　࿐　what⠀is⠀the⠀worth⠀of⠀a⠀sword⠀unswung　┊　THREAD.#⠀⋆ .　࿐　blade　┊　SPARRING PARTNER.#neverendingdeath #GHSnowswept2025

WHEN THE FUGITIVE HAD ASKED ,　❄︎　yanqing hadn't had any intention of answering. even if he still had many questions after they'd last met at dragonprayer terrace, now wasn't the time for that no matter how he felt about it. the general would scold him if he let the memories of that encounter distract him now. so with a deep huff through his nose, he'd only run his hands over the sheath of the loyal blade at his waist and set off after the man who'd never intended to hear an answer to begin with.

they work mostly in silence.

yanqing is fine with that——he's not sure he has much to say to the other anyway. but from time to time, he can feel his eyes on him, burning and heavy like iron shackles, waiting or maybe assessing with a hunger to them just like when they'd exchanged blows. once or twice, he almost thinks about turning around to ask whether he meant to try something on him while his back was turned, but bites his tongue and reins in his focus each time ; something tells him the other would like nothing more than to see his concentration falter.

as one hour turns to two, it becomes easier. what'd begun as sandpaper scraping wood wears down with time. eventually, he tells himself that this is jarilo-vi, not the xianzhou luofu, so it shouldn't matter what the man's status was and it's not like he had any right to pursue any course of action because of it. today, he was here to help just as much as anyone else——or so it appeared. it didn't mean he wouldn't keep an eye on him——the stellaron hunters were never up to anything good no matter where their footsteps fell——but the truth was that he had no other option but to work together with him for now.

and with that thought, he's able to commit himself with more single-minded purpose, expression rarely straying from its grave set as they cross from the first block to the third. if memory serves, the guard captain and that researcher? doctor? had set out in this direction, but he doesn't see them as they make their way through, sights on the gates to the districts beyond still overrun with monsters.

but as the saying goes, even though the man watches it all day long, the pot will never boil. but the instant he looks away. . .

"!!"

he's knee-deep in a wreckage of barrels and benches that'd been stacked up as a makeshift barricade, about to announce that he'd found some tarp and oil they could use, when the beat of rapid footsteps makes him turn.

the fugitive's back, disappearing toward the gates to the fourth block at a run.

"hey! you——"

no use ; he can only go after him. drawing his sword, yanqing pulls himself from the flotsam and pursues at a sprint.

･ * ⸝⸝　——　𝗗𝗘𝗔𝗗 𝗪𝗔𝗞𝗘 .

#GHSnowswept2025 : part 2

generalforesight

“You’re right on time, Yanqing.” As always, he doesn’t say, but allows fondness curl into a tone that had been only calculating moments before. To his left, one of the guards shifts, breath stalling in a way that informs Jing Yuan that the Belobogian is unfamiliar with the blonde’s name and face.

In truth, Yanqing is early – the tasks laid before him were not small by any means, rallying individuals from different commissions was a task in and of itself… but one always needed to adjust for the odds that Yanqing’s natural tenacity would force others into completing tasks faster than they might otherwise.

It’s the same look that he wears now, and Jing Yuan finds a small smile to accompany acknowledgement. “You’ll excuse us, Lieutenant Colonel.” Said guard gives a stiff nod, wavering a second too long to consider formalities. When Jing Yuan waves him away politely, he eases a quick ‘Goodbye then’, and retreats.

Suddenly, they are alone on the abandoned street, guards stationed around the perimeter of the district while the citizens huddle indoors. Anything to get away from the chill…and the reminder that this planet finds that all their hard-won progress has been erased by a persistent flurry of snowstorms. “The catalyst for this Eternal Freeze has yet to reveal itself, though the Silvermane Guard have acted admirably in defense.”

Even without outside assistance, it’s evident that the Silvermane Guards are no strangers to unexplained disasters. “The priority is the safety of this word’s citizens and its visitors. All of its visitors.” To accentuate his warning, he watches as a frigid wind catches the blonde hair framing Yanqing’s face, already reddening his cheeks. Taking another step forward, he kneels, steady hands removing his borrowed scarf and winding it around Yanqing’s neck instead. “The Fragmentum brought on by the Stellaron can be unpredictable. Tracing the patrol routes may prove to be an exhausting effort.”

Of course they couldn’t do nothing and risk the storm obstructing the paths available, either. “For now, we await orders.”

#⠀⋆ .　࿐　dead⠀wake　┊　THREAD.#⠀⋆ .　࿐　jing⠀yuan　┊　SPARRING PARTNER.#generalforesight #GHSnowswept2025 #:oldplead: tysm ciri... i'm v much in the fitting room trying on a new sweater rn SIJDNISD #sorry jing yuan u probably know what that “okay i understand.............. bUT” energy looks like from yanqing by now :joy:

HE'D COME TOO LATE TO HEAR THE CONVERSATION.　❄︎　eyes follow the lieutenant colonel as they leave, too densely garbed in armor to read their expression. and then they two of them are alone, the howl of the brumal wind the only shield to their traveling voices. ". . . yanqing spoke out of turn," he utters as gaze drops apologetically to the ground ; caught up in the urgency of the situation and wanting to know how he could assist, he hadn't thought to wait until the general was finished with what he was already doing. the back of his neck warms with embarrassment to think of how he might've made that situation uncomfortable for the soldier, and in his first handful of hours on jarilo-vi too.

later, he'd have to find the lieutenant colonel again and apologize.

for now, his attention returns to jing yuan, who doesn't scold him this time. ' this eternal freeze '. . . so it was already like the disaster that'd isolated jarilo-vi a long time ago. thin brows knit to imagine such a once-in-a-lifetime calamity happening twice in such quick succession when this place had only recently started to recover and establish connections with the rest of the skies.

to jing yuan's dictations, he nods firmly. protecting the people of this planet and all those who'd come for the festival came second nature——not to mention, with the general here, who knew what other important figures might also be attending. he had to make sure to stay diligent and thorough ; this might have become just as important an assignment as being named luofu's standing representative for the wardance.

but the last thing the general says catches him by surprise. "await orders. . . ?" he'd thought he was getting ready to say that they should prepare for hard work against an enemy that shouldn't be underestimated. but if the general orders, then there has to be a reason. "yanqing understands."

. . .

but he still can't help himself. fawn browns lift to meet his mentor's gaze. "but, isn't there anything we can do? if the fragmentum is like the hordes of the abundance, then waiting only means we'll end up facing overwhelming numbers. on the way here, the soldiers were talking about the last time this happened. . . they said the waves of monsters were never-ending. it just made me think of. . . "

[ SNOWBALL ] - The children of Belobog have learned to have fun even during times of great peril. A stray snowball sinking into Donnie's blonde mop is enough to start a war! You can join these soldiers in their battle, or stand in the middle of no man's land and call for a ceasefire, just be careful not to fall victim to their projectiles.

«────── « ⋅ʚ♡ɞ⋅ » ──────»

fight, fight, fight, fight . . . despite what most people claim, using tee-hee snowball maker and boo-hoo snowball maker at the same time is not cheating. if anything, it's detrimental to herself - because all Aino hears behind her as she is tossing snowballs at any direction is an unending amount of tee-hee! and waaahh...

vaguely - she supposes even using kerplunk-a-tron for this giant snowball war would be less irritating.

her only defense at the moment is . . . well, there's a lady who's using a bunch of mini-looking hers to fight this war. Aino wants to aim a snowball at her, too - but she's focusing on bringing more people into the fray. how so? well -

“ in~coming~! ” the child inventor calls out before tossing two moderately ( read: 6 inch wide ) large snowballs at the same person. some . . . blonde older teen with a ponytail. hehe. “ got you! ”

WHEN HE'D BEEN TOLD THERE WAS　❄︎　a light-hearted fight going on in the city's main square for him to join, he thought it'd be something a little more. . . serious.

a snowball whizzes by instead of swords, the air filling with children's laughter and squeals of excitement. don't get him wrong——it's good that even when everything looks so bleak, people still find the occasion to have fun and put their worries aside for a while. seeing that even some of the adults gathered around the perimeter to chaperone are smiling as they talk to each other and cheer on the kids gives heart that this crisis that'd struck belobog isn't insurmountable. now that he was here, he could see it with his own eyes: people here really were resilient. maybe in a different way from what he knows ; he's not sure he'd see such a commitment to happiness in the ranks of the cloud knights when the luofu came under threat.

but, for someone like him, he'd still be better off seeing what other work could be done or where he could help. it made sense to keep the kids' spirits high ; he understood that sometimes it was necessary to lie a little like that when they were young. but he couldn't join a snowball fight. it's almost a little embarrassing that the lady who'd suggested that he come here had even thought that.

thock, thock!

cold, flaky impact strikes him twice on the back, nearly knocking him off balance with a startled breath. where had——? on a pivot, he spots the culprit: a lone girl some ways back in a bright-colored coat that looked too big for her. "got you!" she calls jubilantly, and a flash of indignation rises up in him first. he hadn't even been playing!

but, with a quiet self-reprimand, he fights to temper it just as quickly. she didn't look much older than lady bailu, and it'd be shameful for him to be seen arguing with a child, especially when he'd already caused belobog enough trouble by taking up more space as it was. so instead, he puts on a smile and gives a forced little laugh, just enough to encourage her innocent glee. "haha, that's right. . . you got me, fair and square. . . !"

#geniuswhizkid #GHSnowswept2025 #thanks for sending this!#happy snowswept to you 🥂

･ * ⸝⸝　——　𝗗𝗘𝗔𝗗 𝗪𝗔𝗞𝗘 .

#GHSnowswept2025 : part 2