Hello โบ๏ธanon here I was wondering if you could make a honkai star rail story with the reader being a member of the Astral Express crew and their extremely innocent and naive, but when the Astral Express crew arrived at the Xianzhou Loufu the reader is kidnapped by Blade and Kafka after a small battle and the reader is injured and they kidnapped the reader because they were much more useful to the stellaron hunters alive than dead because of their ancestry from a forgotten race that was known as the Ali beautiful creatures with wing made of crystal and the light that shines through their wings can harm those they see as an enemy. (I made up the whole Ali thing but you're more than welcome to write this in anyway you please, and I wish you a good morning/afternoon or goodnight โบ๏ธ)
i'm... useful? to the stellaron hunters?
tw: kinda heavy themes, lowercase writing, character building/ooc for some of the stellaron hunters(never wrote for blade or silver wolf before), new race(??) of people, SLOW BURN?, !!penacony spoilers!!
disclaimer: any similarities between my work and another author's are strictly coincidences.
โ๏ฝกยฐโฉ m.list, navigation -> part one(this one), part two, part three...
a race of people from the extinct planet alirena.
the alirenian empire was once a great civilisation formed of many ships, like the xianzhou luofu. they were all great warriors and each family had distinct occupations that they were to fulfill.
the people, ali, were all fairy-like beings with crystal wings of various colours and patterns. they had great control over nature and ali, who were pathstriders, were some of the most powerful beings in the universe.
since ali are already born with power, walking a path would further heighten those powers. the emperor of alirena walked the path of nihility, but the empire itself followed the propagation. as he proved that the empire should be independent and self-sufficient, when the propagation aeon, tayzzyronth, died, he declared that alirena would become a pathless planet.
calamity befell the great empire when the core of the alirenian ships, the kairer centre, became unstable and started to destroy the very habitat of the ships. the cause of this instability was unknown to the residents, but one thing was made clear - they could not live there anymore.
one of the ali born during this period, callisto. a female ali born to a prominent noble family of purple wings - the highest and most regal colour.
they had direct ties to the royal family as her mother was the emperor's niece and her paternal uncle served in the royal army and gained the respect of the previous emperor.
though nearing the end of the emperor's prosperous reign, a certain train arrived aboard the planet. they tried their best to accommodate the travellers, but the society itself had barely enough food to feed their own children, let alone feed travellers.
appalled at the state of such a grand empire, the travellers decided to leave. however, [name]'s mother had different ideas.
"please!" she begged, dropping her knees onto the barren stone floor. "take my daughter with you!"
even the elder and wiser of the two travellers did not expect a noble lady from this planet to bow to them. taking a closer look, he noticed that it was lady ceallaigh.
"lady ceallaigh," he cleared his throat, "the path of the nameless is filled with uncertainty, do you understand the magnitude of your words?"
she paused, her head lifting up. "no i do not, but uncertainty is a better path to walk on than to live on our dying planet." she paused, feeling tears well up in her eyes. "i understand that as a mother, i have failed, but as a resident of alirena, I must preserve our kind."
lady ceallaigh stood up to prove a point. "you see these rags we wear and you think of us as simply an impoverished, dying planet, but you outworlders can't comprehend the splendour and riches we had before."
"mother..." sounded the little girl. she was in a slightly cleaner state than the other children around her, but she was still messy and had obvious signs of malnutrition.
welt sighed and looked at the deteriorating little girl. "what's your name, child?"
she shivered over a gust of wind. "callisto, what is yours sir?" she asked politely. the little child understood words but had difficulty annunciating the words properly.
"callisto... a beautiful name for a princess of a decaying empire." he sighed, bending to the ground. "did you hear what your mom said? she wants you to come with us."
she nodded and gripped her clothing tighter. "mom has said that for..." she paused, thinking of the right words to use. "forever, she said that people will come, and they will take me away from alirena..."
it was clear to welt and himeko that the child was sad, but complied with her mother's wishes. to comfort the little girl, himeko also bent down and patted her hair.
"i know you don't want to leave your mom and brother, but remember, they always want the best for you." she tucked a strand of loose purple hair behind callisto's ear. "welt and i will try our best to take care of you, okay?"
her lilac eyes bore into himeko's amber ones. despite being much older than the girl, himeko felt an unsettling amount of power from simply making eye contact with her.
"okay... what's your name miss?" callisto asked, her small hands holding onto the arm that remained in her hair.
"himeko, you can call me onee-san if it's more comfortable." she smiled, putting her other hand on top of her smaller hand, bringing it down into her lap.
"okay," she tried to use the new nickname, "onee-san."
himeko pulled her into a hug and carried the child on her hip, firmly securing callisto in her grasp with two hands.
"my dear callisto!" said lady ceallaigh. "don't forget me, little one. mommy prepared a little gift for you, i hope you like it." she pulled out a silver bracelet with a purple gem in the middle.
as she fit it over the child's arm, it was big and dangled a bit, but the mother reassured her that she would grow into it. until then, her mother hopes that she behaves with the new people and comes to visit her when she grows up.
"a purple dimension stone..." welt said, putting his hand on his chin, pondering for a while. "alirena must have been prosperous to put dimension stones on jewellery."
a call from himeko woke him from his trance. "coming!" he said but turned to look at lady ceallaigh. "don't worry, my lady, callisto will be safe with us. although..." he looked into her equally-as-captivating purple eyes. "i wonder why you told her to come back. i'm sure that with your advanced technology, you would be able to calculate that by the time callisto reaches adulthood, alirena would have entirely engulfed itself."
the lady sighed, watching her daughter fade into the distance. "yes, we all know. staying here means certain death, but we cannot part with our beloved planet." she laid a hand on the railings of the dock and brushed the rust around. "we long-life species can only die in war, or the collapse of a flagship. we'd rather die in the comfort of our home than in some far corner of the galaxy."
"i... understand, lady ceallaigh." welt did not know what to say to relieve the tense atmosphere. there was nothing to do that he would console the people who sentenced themselves to death. "i wish your daughter prosperity and hope that you will act as a beacon of hope for your people."
lady ceallaigh smiled faintly. "as do i... as i always have been."
by the time welt made his way back onto the express, he saw that himeko was not present in the main parlour, but saw callisto and pompom chatting.
catching his figure in the distance, pompom ran up to welt. "where have you been?"
"what do you mean where have i been? i was talking to callisto's mother, you can't just take someone's child without getting to know them first. you never know, what if callisto inherits something from her mother?" welt sighed, rubbing his temple.
at this point, himeko saw welt and pompom together, callisto sitting by herself on the red seats.
"welt! you're finally back, how did the talk with lady ceallaigh go?" she asked, picking up the ragged child and walking towards the two.
the man sighed, "it was quite a solemn exchange." he said, after a while of suspense. "lady ceallaigh remained adamant at the continuation of their species, but why only send her daughter away?" he rubbed his temple at the thought.
"onee-san, mister welt..." callisto said, himeko flinching a little as she forgot that callisto was in her arms. "i'm tired, if it isn't too much to ask, do i have a room?"
callisto rubbed her eyes hazily as himeko set her down on the ground. upon further inspection, she looked around 11-12 but was too short for her age. normal children would still be playing around, but her lower legs were covered in filth, hair was in tangles at the bottom.
one surprisingly bright thing - her wings. they were a gorgeous purple colour, almost regal at how beautifully they reflected the dim lights of the train parlour. welt, even as a senior member of the crew, had not laid eyes on ali and had only read about them in the express's oldest records of the databank.
at this moment, the next member of the express came out, well awake from the good sleep he had and the noise of the other members.
"what's going on?" he asked. it was dan heng, the youngest now the second youngest member of the crew. he specialised in managing the databank and being... well... a loner.
"dan heng, come and meet callisto - our newest member."
the teenager peered down at the younger child and patted her head. she used her smaller hands to cling onto his clothing, causing a pang in his heart. suddenly, he felt as if he could massacre a whole planet for laying their dirty hands on her even though she was dirty herself.
"you're..." she peeped. "a vidyadhara, aren't you?"
welt almost dropped his cane at this. though from the xianzhou luofu, dan heng was a normal xianzhou species, a person cursed with immortality.
"no little one, i'm just an exiled citizen of the luofu. dan heng, at your service." he bent down on one knee and kissed her little hand, making her smile a little.
"i've never seen dan heng so happy."
"neither have i, do you that fate has drawn them together?"
"the path of the nameless is filled with uncertainty, if something changes our lives, we should respect it dearly."
the two elder members whispered among themselves, holding back smiles and talking about the adorable sight.
"come on now callisto, let's get you all cleaned up and looking like a real member of the crew!" himeko said as she picked up the child and walked towards the rooms, leaving the two boys and pompom together.
the boys shared glances at each other and welt shook his head while grinning. "pompom wants to go too! wait for pompom himeko!"
the little conductor decided that it was not to be left with the two male members of the crew and made a b-line for himeko and callisto.
now, many years into the future. welt has aged quite a bit, joking about his old frail bones has become almost second nature to callisto.
himeko, on the other hand, has somehow remained modestly beautiful - although that brown liquid, coffee, was it? tasted vile to callisto.
after callisto's chaotic introduction onto the astral express, himeko delighted in adorning the younger girl in various different clothing. in callisto's childhood, she would always wear pinks and purples, cute little skirts and the most adorable hair clips!
however, teenage-callisto was not such a fan of these brightly coloured garments and preferred to wear more neutral colour schemes. she was very autumnal and everywhere she went you would see her wear that cute red scarf that contrasted the rest of her outfit.
modern-callisto hasn't changed much from her teenage years, but her new ability as a necromancer really crept march out.
she uses spirits from the world to make her temporary servants and command them, she can also make an enemy one of her pawns. callisto can take reduced damage from enemy attacks she has active spirits.
callisto can brainwash enemies and makes them think of her allies as innocent people, making them slow down.
"march!" callisto said, her voice flowing like honey. she was trying to find the pink-haired girl, scouring the entire train. "where is she.." as callisto almost gave up, a giggle came from behind the couch.
"cali~" she said, propping herself behind callisto. "come on, dan heng is waiting for us." she walked to the train door.
"okay okay, i'm coming." callisto said, following behind march. she adjusted her red scarf. the duo got off the train and were greeted by peppy.
"hello peppy~" march said, crouching down to pet the dog. it barked and led them to asta, where she was not-so-patiently waiting. "hi asta! what do you need us for this time?" march asked, waving at her.
asta waved back. "after the attack on the herta space station, all the researchers have been panicking." she sighed, rubbing her temples. "could i get you guys to find some way to calm them down? also, miss herta has also instructed you to meet her in her office."
"alright. we'll go see her first then." callisto says.
she drags march to herta's office where her puppet is lying on the floor, not standing as she usually was. callisto drops march and runs over to herta. although a puppet, there are still signs of life that can be checked.
first, herta's electrical current has been turned off from the back. second, her eyelids are closed on their own. third, her right arm has been twisted the other way, with a frayed joint.
calllisto stands up and looks at herta's unconscious puppet body.
"looks like the work of a professional. who ever it may have been must be very familiar with herta's movement and work pattern." calllisto looks at march who's still recovering from the fall she dropped her from. she walked to march, amused. "this is your handy work, isn't it march?"
march sighs. "how could you accuse me? i was on the express the whole time with you." she said, doing her usual thing and feigning innocence.
"march oh march... or should i say.. sparkle?" march sighs, her voice changing to a lightly lower one.
"alright, alright, i won't play anymore... how did you know that it was me?" sparkle crosses her arms, looking up at the taller woman in spite. "how did you know that it was me? did you not have an inkling of doubt in your mind? what if you accused your friend?"
callisto smiles at sparkle. "you fools are so naive sometimes.. when you've been with a person for a long time, you're bound to pick up small differences in their mannerisms." she bends down to sparkle, semi-teasing her height. "here, i'll give you some tips."
callisto holds out her finger.
"firstly, extroverted and compassionate people like march 7th wouldn't leave me, a cold-hearted murderer, to determine the cause of death. she'd most likely rush over to herta first thing as they're friends."
callisto holds out a second.
"secondly, the control switch in herta's puppet body is in a place only people close to her would know. the fact that you knew where it was means that you got it from someone..."
callisto holds out a third.
"thirdly, you're a fool of the elation. what's there not to joke about?"
callisto rises to her full height. "the question now is: who did you get the information from? and how did you manage to pull all of that off? what's your motive? is it sinister? or is it for jokes again?"
sparkle scoffs and crosses her arms. "you'll find out soon enough!" and the little girl stomps away, angry that someone cracked her code.
callisto chuckles and goes to herta, switching her main power system back on. "feeling better?"
herta shudders, stretching her puppet joints. "did you catch her?"
"by 'her', i suppose you mean sparkle?" callisto says, standing up to her full height.
herta scoffs. "yeah yeah whatever that fool's name is. where's march?"
"march should be on the express still. probably sleeping through her alarm." callisto looks at her watch. "now that you're back and running i should go back to the express for march."
"i agree. if i see that fool again i'll-" herta trails off, not finishing her sentence.
"yes, ma'am, we know you're angry." callisto bows as a funny gesture, trying to lighten up the mood.
herta scoffs and crosses her arms, watching the taller woman leave her office. "an ali huh.."
โ๏ฝกยฐโฉ continues part 2! โ๏ฝกยฐโฉ