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The creation of life belongs solely to two individuals in the modern authority of Teyvat, the first is the God King of Teyvat, the Heavenly Principles Phanes, and the second is his daughter, Naberius, the Shade of life. Together, these two gods spent 400 years terraforming and creating life suited for humans.
Other lifeforms were created alongside humans in order to progress humanity, such as the angels. The divine daughters and envoys of the Heavenly Principles. They were born to guide humanity through hardships and give them knowledge to build civilization. Humans were always the prized and most cherished species of the Heavenly Principles.
This is the story of When the Doves Held Branches.
This was a story that Egeria's mother told her. It was one of the very few instances where they were able to be daughter and mother. Since her mother is the Shade of Life, her duties rarely allow her to visit, as the stability of the world is the priority. However, she always yearned for her mother, no matter what.
Egeria currently sits beside the vast blue ocean. She could see her reflection whenever a wave hit the shore. The expression on her face was melancholy at best.
“When can we meet again? It's been so long, mother.” She was alone in this region of Teyvat, so no one could hear her thoughts and feelings.
“You know, I always wondered what it would be like to have a place called home. Other gods have started making their kingdoms and ruling over their citizens through different ideologies.” The ocean is vast and touches every part of the story, and with it, it carries stories from faraway lands.
“I wonder what my ideology would be. How would I lead people if I became a ruler?”
The waves stop right next to her, but they don't return like they're supposed to. Circular ripples in water begin to appear, causing Egeria to be startled and immediately jump to her feet.
“That depends on what you desire for your people to uphold, my dear daughter.” A water reflection of Naberius appears before her.
“Mother! How?” Egeria immediately gets closer upon recognizing her mother.
“Even from a distance, no matter what, I will always watch over you. I'm sorry I can't be there in person.” Naberius said with sadness.
“No, no. It's ok. This is more than enough. It's great to see you again, mother.” Egeria's mood was elevated immediately upon seeing her mother.
It's been centuries since they last saw each other. The War of Funerary Flame changed all of Teyvat permanently. The remaining dragon sovereigns died, and the abyss corrupted the planet. Even worse, her aunts were cursed to turn into seelies due to Koitar's actions, and her grandfather had their function ruined by the Dragon King.
The voice of her mother was always a source of comfort for her, as this region of Tevyat is isolating, and it's difficult to reach the kingdom her sister established with King Destret and her aunt. “What brings you here, mother?”
“I wanted to see you. It pains me to see you with such negative thoughts blooming in your heart and mind, Egeria,” Naberius said, looking straight into her daughter's eyes.
She lets out a sigh, but a smile could be seen. “Always so observant.”
“Additionally, I came for another reason as well. After a bit of pestering, I was able to get Istaroth to tell me some possibilities.”
“Go on.” Egeria urged her to continue.
“As you know, Istaroth rules over the concept of time and is able to see events in the future that are intertwined with fate. Fate is the beginning and end of all aspects of the world; individuals are able to make any choices they desire; however, the outcome has long been set in stone.” This was something she was not expecting from her mother, but surely my future won’t be that bad, right?
“What fate did she see?” She asked.
“A tiny glimpse of the future. As such to uphold justice, one needs the resolve and virtue to provide fairness to all, even against the most precarious of individuals,” Naberius said with a smile and a giggle.
“Justice? Resolve? What are you trying to tell me?” Egeria tried to get her to expand more on the convoluted message.
“You yearn for a home.” She said bluntly.
“I do.”
She decided to expand further on her statement, “I’m giving you the seed to build a kingdom, your kingdom, with the concept of justice at the center of it.”
She started to understand what her mother was trying to tell her in her eccentric but loving way. Her sister was exactly the same, but talked words of wisdom instead. In the past, they had long hours of discussion about the aspects of life, and creative humans strive to build a better future. It was one of the reasons why her sister decided to co-rule; then maybe it's time for her to start ruling and guiding her people.
“It’s about time I start leaving,” Naberius said regretfully.
“It’s okay, mother, I understand. Your duties are important.” She tells her mother.
“You and Rukkhadevata are my greatest joy and importance, no matter what.” She reassures her daughter.
“I’ll see you again, mother.”
“Yes, and one last thing, remember the name Focalors, it was a name that kept on appearing, but Istaroth could not pinpoint the source,” Naberius explained, before the ripples in the water started to fade, and then the waves started to resume crashing onto the shore.
“I will, goodbye, Mom.” She lightly waves at her mother's fleeting image.
“Goodbye, stay safe.” With that, she was gone.
“...Focalors…” Egeria repeats the name to herself and thinks of the possibilities of when the time will come when she will use that name.
—-------------------------------------------------------
“You… really do look just like her,” Egeria said, staring at the oceanid she had birthed and given human form to. White hair and blue eyes appear in her eyes.
Late into the night in the throne room of Fontaine, only Egeria and an oceanid are present. The room is vast, with the throne at the far end of the room overlooking everything. On the sides of the room are large scales that represent the justice and fairness of Fontaine. Water constantly flows into them at a steady pace, which is the only noise that can be heard in the room.
Compared to other births of oceanids, and transforming them into humans. She took more time to make this particular oceanid by adding a portion of her divinity and essence. The very divinity and essence that flows in her mother and grandfather. Her reasoning for doing this was that she wanted a family member close to her in her kingdom, and this is the last oceanid she would create and transform into a human. However, she did not know that her appearance would come out like this.
“My lady. What do you mean?” The oceanid responded questionably.
Thousands of years ago, her mother appeared to her in the reflection of the ocean; this interaction would plant the seeds for the Kingdom of Fontaine. She started creating Fontaine by birthing the Oceanids; however, many yearned to become humans, and she followed through with their wishes as their ruler and leader.
However, that greatly angered her grandfather, and her ultimate fate was to be imprisoned for centuries. Her mother would occasionally visit and tell her stories of the outside world, while continuing to petition for her release. After the death of the God King Remus, she was free, and her mother was not surprised. Her freedom came with the position of becoming an archon, one of the seven thrones of Celestia. With her ideal being the concept of justice and fairness for all people. Justice shall lead to prosperity.
But to serve Celestia, to serve the very family member who imprisoned her and told her of a prophecy that would destroy her kingdom, left a bitter taste. But that can be put on hold for now, and the oceanid in front of her takes priority, “You need a name, my child.”
“A name…I can’t think of one.” The oceanid was lost as she could not come up with a name for herself. She has only been alive for a short couple of minutes and has no experience or history of the outside world to come up with a name for herself.
“Don’t worry, I have a name for you. It’s been within my heart for centuries; it's special since the individual who came up with it is your grandmother,” Egeria replied.
“Grandmother?” She looked at Egeria questionably. No one else was present in the room for her birth, and that was normal as Egeria’s family, all of them have to say the least interesting personalities.
“Yes, if she ever visits, I’ll introduce you to her, but given who she is, she very much knows who you are.” A slight smile appears on her face. To not be alone constantly, to not travel to the desert to meet her sister every couple of years, or travel to the nation of winds to meet her cousin. She finally has someone with her, a daughter of her own.
The oceanid looks happy and thinks of the day she meets another family member, “I see, I’ll look forward to the day I meet her.” Circular ripples in the water that flows into the scale appear and then disappear without anyone noticing.
“You shall be named…Focalors… Your name is Focalors.”