Durin soared through the sky.
It saw the beasts living on the snowy mountain, watched them playing in the snow.
It thought they were adorable.
So it descended from the sky, wanting to be friends with them.
But for some reason, the little beasts were terrified of it.
The moment Durin appeared, they shrank back in fear, fleeing into the depths of the mountain as if fleeing from a monster.
Durin was disappointed.
"Well—"
"If no one wants to play with me, I'll play alone."
"Singing alone, flying alone—that's still fun."
So Durin kept singing.
But then it realized something important.
It was not singing alone.
Every day, a voice in the wind sang with it. Though Durin did not know who it was, it loved that voice.
Every time it thought of that song, a smile touched Durin's lips.
It made it so happy.
If only it could meet the singer and become friends.
Durin laughed with joy and flew into the sky again.
But as it took off, it did not notice the black poisonous blood dripping from its body onto the snow, staining it black.
Any creature that touched that blood would die instantly.
Still, during its time on the mountain, Durin had done good things too.
It sang every day.
Its songs reached every corner of the mountain, shaking the snow from the trees so their branches would not break under the weight.
No one knew how many years passed this way.
Durin's flying grew stronger. Its poison grew stronger.
Finally, one day, Durin ventured to the northern edge of the mountain and saw a world it had never seen before.
Lush green grass.
Great trees with thick branches.
Winding streams.
Hilichurls with clubs, and many, many animals playing.
And facing that world, Durin felt a warm breeze, carrying a song and the sound of a harp.
It grew even more curious about that world.
Was the singer in the wind from that world?
What a beautiful world.
How it longed to meet the singer.
Even if they could not be friends, just seeing them once would be enough.
So Durin went to Rhinedottir, hope shining in its eyes.
"Mother, I found a new world to the north. There's green grass, great trees with thick branches, little people with clubs, and animals at play."
For a dragon who had lived all its life on a snowy mountain, that warm land seemed like paradise.
It longed to go there.
Rhinedottir looked at Durin and smiled. "Mother knows that world. It is beautiful. But it is also full of danger."
She knew, of course, that the world beyond the mountain was Mondstadt.
The land she had always wanted.
But Durin was a dragon. It was not afraid of danger.
It said excitedly, "Mother, Mother, I've learned to protect myself. When can I go and play there?"
It wanted to follow the wind, to find the singer, and to sing with them.
Rhinedottir looked at Durin's massive form and said seriously, "My child, your blessing is not yet strong enough. When your blessing grows stronger, you can share it with that land."
A smile curled Rhinedottir's lips as she watched Durin.
Soon.
Durin's poison had nearly reached its peak.
Only one step remained.
When that step was complete, everywhere Durin passed—land, sky, water—all would be poisoned.
That was what Rhinedottir wanted.
Durin was overjoyed.
"Yes, Mother. I will drink your potions every day and make my blessing stronger."
So Durin happily drank the alchemical potions Rhinedottir made.
It did not know that these potions did not strengthen its blessing—they strengthened its poison.
And so, the days passed.
Until one day, as Durin sang at the border between the mountain and Mondstadt, it saw a great green dragon rise from the forest and soar into the sky.
That dragon was different from Durin.
Its body was beautiful as a jewel, and its movements were graceful as a dancer's as it flew among the clouds.
For the first time, Durin saw another dragon.
In that moment, tears welled in its eyes.
It was not alone.
Someone in the wind sang with it, and another dragon danced among the clouds.
It longed to fly into the clouds, to embrace that beautiful dragon, to dance with them.
But it remembered Rhinedottir's words.
It went to her again, asking to go north.
"Mother, I saw a beautiful dragon in the north. I want to dance with them. I want to see that world."
Durin looked at Rhinedottir with the same hope as before, hoping for her permission.
This time, Rhinedottir examined Durin carefully, using alchemy to inspect its body.
When she saw that its poison had fully matured, she smiled.
"My child, go."
"As rain flows to streams, as grass reaches for sunlight, go to that beautiful land."
"Share your blessing with the people there."
She spoke these words to Durin.
Hearing them, Durin leaped into the air with joy, spread its wings, and soared into the clouds.
It was so happy.
Finally, it could leave the mountain and go to that green world.
In its mind, it already pictured itself there, learning to sing from the poet in the wind, learning to dance with the green dragon.
How wonderful it would be.
And of course, it would not forget what Mother had said.
It would share its blessing with that world.
But Durin did not know that the blessing Rhinedottir spoke of was no cure for suffering.
It was a poison that would take lives.
Its arrival would bring disaster to Mondstadt.
...