The solo flight to Mondstadt was a pure, unadulterated joy. Ren soared through the open, blue skies, the wind a happy, familiar song in his ears, the green, rolling hills of the land of freedom a beautiful, welcoming sight.
He landed just outside the city gates, and his arrival was met with a warm, friendly, and very enthusiastic, welcome. Jean and Lisa were there to greet him personally, their faces alight with genuine, happy smiles.
"Ren! Welcome back to Mondstadt!" Jean said, her usual, weary, and official, demeanor replaced by a simple, friendly warmth. "We were so happy to hear you were coming."
"We've missed our favorite little genius," Lisa purred, giving his head an affectionate, gentle pat.
He was not just a diplomat; he was a friend, returning for a visit. Jean, brushing aside any talk of him staying at an inn, insisted he stay in the Knights of Favonius's own, personal, and very comfortable, quarters.
The next morning, the "official" meeting took place, though it felt less like a formal, diplomatic event and more like a gathering of old, and very curious, friends. They met in Albedo's spacious, sunlit laboratory, a place of comfortable, intellectual chaos. Jean was there, of course, along with Lisa, a very intrigued Albedo, and a shy, excited Sucrose.
Ren, feeling completely at home amongst these brilliant, friendly faces, opened his case and began his presentation. He explained the man-made Visions, his voice full of a simple, clear, and passionate, enthusiasm. He showed them the Pyro gauntlet, the Hydro brooch, and the Anemo wristlet, explaining the principles of the Resonance Chamber and the Elemental Conduit.
Lisa, her emerald eyes sparkling with a pure, scientific glee, was the first to volunteer for a test. "As the one who is, ahem, the most sensitive to the flow of the elements," she declared, with a playful, dramatic flourish, "it is only logical that I should be the first to try." She chose the Hydro brooch, not wanting to interfere with her own, innate Electro affinity. She pinned it to her uniform, and with a small, delighted gasp, she summoned a perfect, shimmering, and completely harmless, ball of water, which she proceeded to playfully levitate around the room.
The test was a success, but they all knew they needed a true, non-Vision-bearing subject. A name was immediately, and unanimously, agreed upon.
A short time later, a young woman with a bright, hopeful, and slightly nervous, look on her face was escorted into the lab. It was Ellen, the young, aspiring knight whose greatest, and most seemingly impossible, dream was to one day be just like her hero, Jean.
Jean explained the situation to her, her voice gentle and encouraging. Ellen looked at the Anemo wristlet Ren held out to her, her eyes wide with a disbelieving, and incredibly hopeful, light.
She put it on. Ren, with a patient, gentle voice, guided her. "Just feel the wind," he said. "Imagine a gentle breeze, right in your palm."
Ellen closed her eyes, her face a mask of intense concentration. She held out her hand. A small, almost invisible, shimmer of air appeared, and then, with a soft, gentle whoosh, a small, perfect, and beautifully swirling, vortex of pure, gentle Anemo energy, a miniature whirlwind, formed in her hand.
She opened her eyes and stared, a single, silent, and very happy, tear tracing a path down her cheek. She had done it. She had touched the sky. She had, for a single, magical moment, become just like her hero.
The test was another, resounding success. Jean, with a gentle, but firm hand, took the wristlet back from a reluctant, but deeply grateful, Ellen. "You'll have your chance to get one for real, soon," she promised. "During the official rollout."
Ren, watching the happy, hopeful look on Ellen's face, felt a deep, profound satisfaction. He then looked around at the assembled group of Mondstadt's finest, a mischievous, playful twinkle in his own eyes.
"We should probably make sure we keep all of these locked up, though," he said, with a perfectly straight face. "Especially the Pyro-reactive ones. We wouldn't want them to fall into Klee's hands."
The reaction was immediate, and hilarious. Jean and Albedo both went pale, a shared, look of pure, parental, and slightly traumatized, terror on their faces.
"Naturally, a best course of action." Albedo murmured.
"Speaking of which," Ren asked, his tone one of pure, innocent curiosity. "Where is Klee, anyway? I haven't seen her since I got here."
And then, as if summoned by the very mention of her name, a familiar, and extremely loud, sound echoed from the direction of the nearby Starfell Lake.
KA-BOOOOOOOOOOM!
The massive explosion sent a flock of terrified birds scattering into the sky, visible through the windows of their laboratory.
Jean just closed her eyes, a look of pure, and completely resigned, pain on her face. "I believe," she said, with a very long sigh, "we have just found her."