#(temp name)

in this au, narinder is sort of the impromptu leader because his control over death is what makes their cult work-- followers fear death, he can secure a lot of loyalty and secure the old faith's rule for many millennia to come

narinder would often go to shamura for visions of the future so he could plan ahead, always plan ahead

the problem is, the visions for shamura are draining, physically, mentally, and emotionally. they sit through and watch distressing things, then relive it by having to talk about it. not all of narinders plans to subvert or plan around the future even work, and the blame often falls on shamura for not telling him enough, even if that was all they could see. plus, over time, it seemed like narinder only wanted to talk to them for visions, not for being his sibling

they didn't tell him how they felt, though. in fear of making things worse. shamura can sometimes choose when to have visions, but not what is in them.

the final straw was a peculiar vision about a lamb wearing their crown-- something that may spell bad news for themselves if shared. it just didn't look good.

so they tried fleeing, vanishing away from their family. it didnt last too long-- they were caught and dragged back

narinder secured them in an isolated cave of their own domain to prevent them from running away again and tried to convince them to share their visions-- saying that it was for the good of the old faith

shamura, stubborn as they are, still refused to talk. frustration rose within them with passing time, it was a bottle waiting to explode

narinder got his hand a bit too close one day and they lashed out, chomping down, refusing to let go, tugging and shaking until it tore off

so their mouth was caged. narinder made a few attempts to get them to speak after, promising forgiveness and freedom, but they still refused

he eventually stopped visiting.

silk cradle was then used as a place of exile-- heretics and nonbelievers are cast far away from the lands of the old faith to either struggle in the wilderness or die horribly, hunted down by spiders

the lamb was one of these heretics. by coincidence, they managed to find shamura in their cave

jean (38) the world’s most exhausted professor. aether’s second favorite, he offers to bring her food when she feels like she’s Dying before/after class and has to work out everyday or her body will Deflate without her brain. help her. the main admin of the council/committees.  

lisa (38) is jean’s partner and Theorized Wife but nobody actually knows their business together aside from the professional side. lives off of coffee and aether’s number 1 favorite because she likes to mother him around (and then some) and dote over him not knowing about the things he Does. she gets him to do errands for her and sleeps until he gets back. also one of the admins of the council/committees.  

diluc (22) the young owner of the family bar. also the reason why venti is still Alive and will gladly do it if it means venti attracts customers. he has seen aether’s content at least twice in his life and will never recover.

zhongli (29) is a returning college student who’s going back for business related purposes. venti introduces him to aether and almost manages to ruin his life because he asks Venti Of All People when it came to asking about his content. aether will die for him with his legs open