Nat and Ajax were sitting together on a small, rock stool on the large ice covered lake. As they chatted, Nat looked off in the distance, and she felt like the lake may never end. Nat looked over at the pole Ajax held, still nothing giving on the line, snow continuing to lightly fall around them.

“Do you think we’ll catch anything today?” She asked her friend, his stark red hair peeking out from beneath his oversized winter hat, one he most certainly stole from one of his older brothers.

“Does it matter? I’m just happy to be together.” Nat smiled at his response, she enjoyed spending time with Ajax, he was her best friend, and here in Snezhnaya it was hard to find someone who shared the same ideals as you. Though they were young, Ajax just hitting fourteen a few days before, they had a lot of big ideas, much different than their parents. They continued ice fishing until the sun was starting to set, cleaning up quickly as they thought it would be too dangerous to go back to town in the dark. As they were packing up Ajax stopped and stared at Nat, a curious look in his eyes. “We should leave this place,” he spoke.

“We’re packing up to go home, aren’t we?” Nat laughed, and he threw a snowball at her, in retaliation for her smart remark, smacking her in the face, “What was that for? You’re the one who asked a dumb question!” She chuckled, throwing a snowball back, whacking the back of his head.

“I mean, we should leave Snezhnaya.” Ajax finally retorted, shaking the snow off his back, “the Fatui are taking over, and the Tsaritza is losing her mind. We can’t stay here!,” He looked to the sky, deep in thought and dreams, “My father talks about the city of Mondstadt -”

“The city of freedom ruled by Barbatos.” Nat cut in, recalling it from one of the many stories Ajax’s father had told the duo. Ajax was the middle child of the family, with six siblings, and a father who spoke of great adventurers but had also started to fall ill. Nat spent a lot of time listening to his father’s stories, as her family was less involved with her day-to-day life.

“Exactly! We need to be rid of these Fatui Nat, and this lifestyle. We need to go there! To the city of wind and time! So we can be free!” Ajax exclaimed. While Nat was skeptical, the two continued their conversation on their walk home, and in the end Ajax had convinced her to leave their home for good. “Let’s go in three days. That gives us enough time to get what we need, I’ll leave notes for my siblings, I’ll make sure to come back for them too.” Ajax exclaimed. Trusting her friend she agreed.

During the next few days, Nat was able to fly under the radar of her family as she packed up her things, and got maps from the local library. It looked as if Mondstadt was Southeast of them, past the Chasm and North of Liyue Harbor. It would be a long and treacherous hike, but she knew the two of them could do it. In their young and naive minds, they were an unstoppable force when together. In fact, the two had been sparring often with old Fatui swords and bows they had found around town, practicing their skills while at the lake. They had a feeling that they would one day need to protect themselves from the Tsaritza, and they wanted to be prepared.

Going through her stuff was easier than expected, and it was one of the few times Nat was grateful for her absent family. She scrambled together the little bit of money she had in a change purse, first aid supplies, and an extra hat Ajax’s mom had knit her for her birthday that year. She took a photo book that she kept by the bedside table, a necklace of her mother’s, and a locket Ajax had given her, to always remember him by. She rolled her eyes at the thought, it wasn’t needed but she packed it anyway, even though they would be together on their new journey to freedom.

When the day came, they met at sunrise by the lake, hoping to get as much travel in before night-fell. Ajax was ready to go, backpack on and bow in hand. Nat had her sword, which was rather dull, holstered on her belt. They were hypothetically ready for everything, they hoped. They trekked through the snow for hours, planning their new lives and jobs. They decided they would join the Knights of Favonious, take down the Fatui, and meet the Gods of Wind and Time! As they continued their planning, the sun started to set and an anxiety started to form in Nat’s stomach.

“Should we try and make camp soon?” Nat asked Ajax, looking around for a place that was safe from the wilderness.

“Yeah, let’s go a little further and stop for the night,” Ajax agreed, also trying to spot a safe campsite, “from the snow, we’re still in Snezhnaya, and you know how the woods get at night.” Ajax laughed, trying to keep light of the situation. Nat shook her head in agreement and they started to scope out a place to camp. As they were setting up their tent, howls started to tear through the sky. They both immediately recognized them as the howls of wolves, and not ordinary wolves either. The wolves of Snezhnaya seemed to have poison running through their veins, with purple eyes to match their abilities, some locals called them Rifthounds, ancient beings from Khaenri’ah. They were a scary scene for even a seasoned adventurer.

“Ajax,” she whispered, “they’re close.” Nat knelt down, anxiety started to pulsate through her, as she threw her bag back on, holding her sword tight. Nat had never felt this way before, she felt unprepared, scared, and in that moment she vowed to herself to become the best knight in all of Mondstadt, if they made it there, so she would never have this feeling again.

“Stay low and quiet. Hopefully they’ll pass by.” He answered, holding his bow. Unfortunately, Ajax was wrong. After a few moments a pack of wolves stalked into their camp site, sniffing them out easily. Ajax pushed Nat behind him, his bow ready to shoot, and Nat drew her sword, not sure what it would actually do against the pack. The alpha started to crouch, ready to pounce, and the rest followed suit. “Run.” Ajax whispered, and the two took off in a full sprint as the wolves followed suit. As they ran, they started to look for a Plan B. Finally, they decided to try and hide. “Let’s climb the tree,” Ajax yelled, and Nat agreed.

Ajax started to climb first, reaching for Nat’s hand to help her up. Right as she was about to be out of reach of the danger, a wolf caught her foot, dragging her down and knocking the wind out of her as she hit the ground. As she tried to catch her breath, and scrambled to get herself up, a wolf lept on top of her, pinning her to the ground. She tried to fight back, reaching desperately for her sword that had landed just out of her reach. Amid her scrambling the wolf swatted at her, cutting her arms, and leaving a gash across her nose. Suddenly, she felt the weight of the wolf leave her, and she realized Ajax had jumped from the tree, tackling the wolf off of her.

Ajax and the wolf tumbled, and before she could say anything she watched her friend fall out of sight.

“AJAX!” She screamed, as she found her way to her knees, looking for her friend. She found a cliff’s ledge, and crawled to it. When she looked over the edge, she couldn’t see the bottom, but could hear his screams still. She felt a tear fall down her cheek, co mingling with the blood from her nose, and a pit grew in her stomach, feeling helpless and guilty all at the same time. Without warning, a huge beam of blue light shone out of the abyss in front of her, knocking her back, and silencing Ajax’s screams.

At that moment, she knew her friend was gone, and so did the wolves. With no chance to mourn her friend she grabbed her sword and prepared to protect herself against the pack. She swung, wounding some of the wolves, but she was clearly outnumbered and untrained. She tried to run, but tripped on a snow covered rock, as she lost her footing she pummeled into the snowy ground, scraping her hands on hidden stone.

As she prepared for the worst, a yellow light shone down on her from the sky, blinding the wolves, stunning them for a moment. When Nat opened her eyes, a Geo Vision was in her hand. As she held the Vision, she realized that Morax had blessed her with his powers, and she felt a strange sensation flow through her. A new level headed ease came over her, and she felt the need to figure out what could help her. She imagined herself in a little hut, protected from the wolves. Just like that, the little hut appeared. She was safe, and warm, and her little rock hut provided her a chance to fall asleep somewhere where the wolves couldn’t get to her. She sat there for a few moments, the Rifthounds banging on her walls, but they did not fall. Nat was exhausted from the fight, her loss, and using her new found powers, and she soon fell asleep.

When she awoke at dawn the wolves were gone, and she broke down the wall of her hut, which was surprisingly easy, something she assumed was due to her vision. Nat walked over to the ledge of the cliff and looked down. Even with the sun rising and shining light over the ledge, she could not see the bottom. She let out a muffled cry, and created a marker using her new vision, leaving it there to remember Ajax by, even if she were the only one who knew where he was. She picked up her belongings, and carried on to Mondstadt, promising her friend that she would continue to fight for him and their freedom. She knew she would be back one day to show Ajax she made it, for them.

She soon found herself out of the Snezhnayan cold, removing her shawl, revealing more wounds than she had realized she had. Nat put her shawl away, and attached her vision to her belt loop, playing with her new found powers as she continued her journey. These powers were exhausting to use, as a new vision holder, but it seemed like she could create objects her mind envisioned, but of course the items were all made of stone. She created hearts, daggers, and flowers with the stone, keeping her mind preoccupied from what had happened back in Snezhnyha. She found that with her power came a sense of calm only an aged Archon could feel, and she wished to share the feeling with Ajax. She gripped the locket from Ajax in her hand, reminding Nat that he would always be with her as she continued to travel forward. She didn’t know how long it would take, but she would make it to Mondstadt.