Lore:
Gladdenstone was doing his normal duties within the Sanctum- cleaning the Realm Mirror, breaking up arguments between the cave's inhabitants, things like that. Suddenly, he heard the gentle thud of a dragon flying into the cave before landing. After a short walk through the twisting tunnels, he came face to face with a dragon he recognized: Lepidolite, a scholar of magic and fellow descendant of the Realm Mirror's creators. As Gladdenstone opened his mouth to greet his friend, he noticed something. The light purple markings across the Skydancer's deep purple body glowed brightly, and Gladdenstone soon saw why.
Behind Lepidolite hovered two figures: the first was a cream Nocturne with golden horns and large red-and-cream wings, blue pants, and a red-and-yellow striped shirt. Upon closer inspection, affixed onto the Nocturne's shirt was an unfamiliar looking badge with a lightning bolt imprinted on its reflective surface. The other figure, much less interesting, was a small brown dog.
"What brings you here, Lepidolite?" Gladdenstone asked. "It wouldn't happen to relate to these two strangers, would it?"
Lepidolite gave a subtle nod, as to not break his concentration. "I need to tell you something important. And as a matter of fact, yes, these two-" he gestured to the levitating Nocturne and dog. "-they may be involved in more ways than one."
"Tell me more," Gladdenstone said.
"Okay then," Lepidolite responded, before taking a breath.
---
"I was in the city for some errands. Gathering insects to replenish food stores, picking up an order of alchemical reagents, purchasing the newest Songs In The Ashes novel. But, I don't think the Arcanist wanted me to have a normal day."
"What makes you think that?"
"There was a storm- I'm not sure if you noticed, but it definitely wasn't natural."
"I did see it forming, but brushed it off at first."
"It had the same feeling as the magical energy from the Realm Mirror. I also caught a glimpse of... something. It looked like an apocalypse from a story, with plumes of lava from erupting volcanoes, fissures across the ground, and meteors raining from the sky."
"How do these two relate to this?"
"I saw them falling from the sky shortly before the storm subsided. I didn't want to just sit by and let them fall, so I rescued them. I brought them here because I thought you could help me put the pieces together- and help them feel more at home here. They're clearly going to be confused, after all."
---
"Interesting," Gladdenstone mused. "Sounds enough like a rift."
Lepidolite tilted his head. "But what could have caused it?"
"Let's take this one step at a time. First, we should get these two to a safe place. We can ask them about what happened once they awaken." Gladdenstone gestured once more to the two travelers. "Then, let's talk through this rift business."
Lepidolite nodded. "Show me where to put them."
---
Gladdenstone led Lepidolite through the winding tunnels. However, there was something Lepidolite wasn't able to shake off. "I feel like someone's watching us." he said.
"Now, Lepidolite," Gladdenstone reassured, "quite a few other travelers came here in the time period after your first visit. I'm willing to bet they'll be curious about your presence."
"Makes sense." Lepidolite chuckled nervously. Finally, his curiosity overtook him, and he glanced cautiously behind him. In the shadows, he could barely catch a glimpse of a Nocturne wearing a black jacket and orange pants. Even though their face was obscured by a metal helmet, Lepidolite could still feel the stranger staring at him as he walked past. However, it quickly returned into hiding, their movements feeling as rigid and emotionless as an automaton, but as fluid and lively as a young dragon. Lepidolite shook his head- surely he had been seeing things.
Finally, Gladdenstone made a sweeping gesture with his furry forearm towards a medium sized room. Within the room were a number of benches that were carved from the same chalcedony that the rest of the cave was made of. On top of each bench was a roughly-woven quilt and numerous cushions. "In here." he said. "Put those two on there. It's not the prettiest, but it should serve as plenty comfort for them to recover."
Lepidolite obliged, allowing the two travelers to rest on their own bench. Then, Gladdenstone gestured once again to a smaller room set off from the current one. "Now, let's talk in here."
---
Within the small room was a single table and numerous bookshelves, again, all carved from the cave's abundant chalcedony. Gladdenstone approached one of the bookshelves, retrieved two scrolls, and opened them on the table. One scroll was a large map of Sorneith, small magical displays of the topography and weather visible. The other was an even larger diagram, showing hundreds of names each connected with lines leading to a set of eleven names: the Mirror's original creators. "This name here." Gladdenstone said simply, pointing at one of the lowest names.
Lepidolite's eyes traced the web of lines until reaching the name Gladdenstone pointed to: Hobart. Upon touching the scrawled name, a magical hologram of a sparkly purple Bogsneak with deep pink wings appeared. "Who is this?" the Skydancer asked.
"From what I've heard of him, a skilled Ley Walker, who studies anomalies within Sorneith's magic, as well as where the fabric of realities is weakest. I had thought he could explain the storm you told me about."
Lepidolite nodded. "Very well. I'll send a carrier pigeon."
"No need." Gladdenstone said. "I know someone who can deliver the message."
---
Hobart was relaxing in his rented room. From the window, he could see a sliver of the site of the Forbidden Portal- an important view for studying its magic, alongside his new task of tracking down the dragon he'd heard had fallen there. Once he finished working his way through the heavy amount of paperwork that came alongside investigating such a dangerous place (It was called the Forbidden Portal for a reason, after all), then he could finally continue his research. However, the Portal wasn't the only thing he saw out the window.
The Bogsneak could see what looked like an abnormally large purple raven flying outside the window. At first, he wasn't worried. However, with each passing minute the raven drew closer, finally smacking against the window. Begrudgingly, Hobart lifted the window open to allow the raven to enter, before quickly closing it again.
Suddenly, the raven burst into purple lightning before his eyes. In its place, a regal-looking Skydancer brushed feathers out of her flaxen hair and off her strange purple dress. Beside her flew the same raven. As the Skydancer opened her mouth to explain, Hobart stared at her, too stunned to listen. Even if he was listening, he couldn't understand a word she said.
Then, the raven spoke. "What Her Majesty, the Prinzessin der Verurteilung Fischl, meant to say was that she has a message to deliver, from one who has quite a few inquiries on the nature of a recent magical event."
Dumbfounded, Hobart nodded. "Okay. Take me to them. I'll be happy to answer."
The Skydancer, likely the Fischl the raven mentioned, took his hand before pulling him along into the night. In what felt like moments, the two of them were within a small chalcedony room. In front of him was a metallic gray Tundra and a deep purple Skydancer with lighter purple markings. Fischl waved her claw slightly before walking out of the room, leaving Hobart alone with the two strangers.
---
The Tundra pulled a crude, chalcedony-carved chair away from a table. "Sit here. Lepidolite and I have much to ask of you."
After a moment of hesitation, Hobart sank into the seat. "Go ahead," he said, trying not to make his anxiety audible.
The purple Skydancer spoke first. "What do you know about leylines?"
Hobart scoffed. What a silly question to ask such a renowned Ley Walker as himself! "What don't I know!", he said, leaning backwards haughtily.
The Tundra put his claw to his face. "What we meant was, what can you tell us about leylines? Specifically, this." He unrolled a large map that Hobart recognized- a diagram of leylines throughout the Starfall Isles. Various junctions between the glowing lines crisscrossing the map were circled, with small notes written in rough handwriting. "Do you know about the theory of leylines and other dimensions?"
Hobart nodded.
"What do you think about it?" the Tundra continued.
"I don't believe it." Hobart replied. "The existence of other planets is a proven fact thanks to the efforts of the Aethers on the Astrolab, but there's simply no way to prove that other dimensions run parallel to ours."
The Skydancer sighed and muttered something under his breath. "I knew you would say that."
"If you think you're so smart, what do you know about that theory?" Hobart rebuked.
"I come from a clan where exposure to other dimensions is quite common." the Skydancer responded, his voice still calm. "The leaders of this clan, in fact, were rumored to be different versions of the same dragon. Whether that is true, I do not know for sure."
"Hah!" Hobart called out. "So you don't know for sure if it's true!"
"Then you may want to reconsider where the one who brought you here is from," the Skydancer said.
"Indeed," the Tundra added, "she also originates from another reality entirely, one known as Teyvat. And that," he gestured to Hobart. "is why you are here."
He pointed to each circled area on the map. "Each of these are locations where an entity from another world has fallen as a dragon. So far it seems limited to the Starfall Isles, but it will likely expand further. And that is why we seek your help. Only question is, will you accept it?" The Tundra and Skydancer reached their claws out to Hobart.
Hobart thought for a moment. On one claw, he didn't like lending his services out for free unless it would help him with his own studies. On the other claw, if he proved to the masses of Sorneith that other dimensions existed... he would be famous. Hundreds- no, thousands- of clans around Sorneith would speak his name with awe, fawn over his research, adore him for decades to come. "I accept." he finally said, placing his claw on the other two's. "Now, before we start, I need to know your names."
"I'm Gladdenstone," the Tundra said, pointing at himself. "And this," Gladdenstone gestured to the Skydancer, "is Lepidolite."