Meet Cai Lyu, daughter of a tea merchant who runs a tea shop and companions with Fei, a dragonfly created by dendro (could be considered an elemental being? I'm not sure what exactly classifies something as an elemental being).
Cai Lyu is a playable 4* character, wielding the power of Dendro! Her weapon is undecided, and suggestions along with reasonings of why it would be a good choice are definitely welcomed!
She is female, using the female short model.
She also has the utility passive of having a 12-20% chance to double the product when capturing an animal using the omni-ubiquity net!
Here are some of her chat voicelines:
Chat, Teashop: My dad owns a tea shop! I might be a bit biased, but the tea sold is really good.. Care for a cup?
Chat, Scenery: The scenery is nice here.. Perhaps I’ll take a few photos or sketch it out in my journal.
Chat, Forest Trails: I love walking around forest trails in Chenyu Vale. The sound of nature is all around you, and plants are free to grow wildly. It’s beautiful, really.
More about Cai Lyu will be revealed in time, including leveling up/ascend materials needed, more voice-lines, idles, and more!
For the meantime, take this description of her elemental skill and burst!:
(elemental skill)
Sumons Fei. The jade dragonfly catalyzed by Dendro descends upon the battlefield, dealing Dendro DMG in a small AoE.
For the ability’s duration, Fei will continuously attack nearby opponents with (name for attack thingy. ideas would be appreciated! nothing too fancy), applying Nature’s Bindings.
After an opponent has been affected by Nature’s Bindings, they will be dealt Dendro DMG once per second for its duration(is once per second too little? lmk please). When two opponents nearby have been affected, a connecting chain will appear and the DMG dealt will be increased by 75%.
(elemental burst)
Using a green, glowing net furnished by Dendro, Cai Lyu launches the life-sized snare, capturing enemies within the AoE. Upon bursting, opponents captured will be dealt Dendro DMG and be launched into the air.
After bursting, your team’s movement speed will be increased by 15%.
Now, I'm genuinely curious, does she sound like a good and/or useful character based off what you know? I'm not very sure because I haven't been playing genshin for long enough to know if a character is good or bad. Though, I do know Xinqiu is a good support, Bennett, etc.
And finally, take this writing that explains how you, Traveler, and Cai Lyu meet!
(Note that you, Traveler, naturally makes friends easily with others and others are prone to be rather unusually kind. This is more of like a headcanon, but isn't kind of weird how friendly pretty much everyone is to you? Oh, and another headcanon, Paimon HATES it when it's the tiniest bit awkward. I mean, a lot of people don't like it when its awkward, but Paimon will make the weirdest and most random remarks just to move along the conversation lmao)
---
You're walking along the road in Qiaoying Village, smiling to yourself while gazing at the scenery. You can hear the sound murmuring of the river, and the quiet whisper of the breeze as it lightly tugged at your hair. Paimon floated beside you, chattering about this and that. You weren’t completely sure what she was saying, and your mind was just somewhere else.
At the corner of your eye, though, you see a girl. But, there’s something strange about her. Yes, she is wearing the same clothing as other locals in the town, but she seems.. Different. You notice some of the accessories she’s wearing, including a butterfly brooch, a dragonfly hairpin, and a small bag slung across her shoulder.
She was walking along the road as well, appearing calm and peaceful, but at the same time, alert. She almost immediately noticed your staring and gave you a small smile, but otherwise not addressing you further.
You intended to just leave her alone and simply pass by, but Paimon had other ideas.
“Oh! Hello!” Paimon called, waving. The girl’s eyes got a bit wide after being greeted by Paimon, but she didn’t leave.
She stopped walking and spoke to both of them. “Hi,” her voice was soft and a bit shy.
“Are you a local around here?” Paimon asks, and she nodded. “Oh, alright! I don’t think we’ve met before.. So, Paimon is Paimon, and this is the Traveler!”
“You don’t have to introduce us to everybody we meet, Paimon.” You say, sighing. Paimon just rolled her eyes at your remark.
“I’m Cai Lyu,” Cai Lyu replied, “it’s nice to meet you.”
“You too!” Paimon nodded happily. “So.. you live here, huh?”
She gave a simple “mhm” in response.
“We’ve visited Qiaoying Village multiple times, but we haven’t seen you around before. Did you move here recently?” Paimon asked, sounding genuinely curious.
“Paimon, don’t get into other people’s personal life,” You say, crossing your arms with an amused expression.
“Hmph, maybe you're right, but Paimon’s still curious.” Paimon lifted her chin stubbornly, crossing her arms in turn.
“Well, I’m usually out in the forest catching bugs..” Cai Lyu said, ignoring both of your bickering.
“Bugs?”
“Yes!” She nodded vigorously. “I like catching bugs and examining them. I write down lots of important things I notice about them in a notebook I have, as well as any other information. Sometimes I keep them for a few days at home, but I always feed them and release them back into the wild.” She sounded very eager and passionate about bugs.
“Oh, wow! Paimon was going to say that you catching bugs and stuff reminded Paimon of Arataki Itto, but he probably only catches Onikabuto and just uses them for beetle battles..”
“Arataki Itto?” Cai Lyu asked curiously. “Is that a friend of yours?”
“Mhm!” Paimon nodded.
“Oh.. do you have lots of friends?” She asked.
“Well.. yeah, kinda. Anyone we meet kind of becomes our friend.” Paimon said, “and we’ve met lots of people.”
“Well, seeing we are practically heroes everywhere, it’s not really a surprise,” You say.
“Ehehe, yeah..” Paimon said bashfully. The conversation seemed to pause for a moment. “Is there somewhere I can get a drink nearby? I’m thirsty.” She suddenly announced.
You guessed maybe that was the partial truth, but to also move along the conversation further rather than just leaving it hanging. Even if it was only the tiniest bit awkward.
“Of course,” Cai Lyu nodded. “And, speaking of which, my father owns a tea shop. I can get a cup of tea for both of you.”
“Oh no no no, you don’t have to. Just a cup of water is fine,” Paimon quickly waved her hands in a polite decline.
“No, it’s my treat.” She shook her head. “You helped the tea industry! It was a good thing Uncle Luo thought you were from the Feiyun Commerce Guild.” The last few words were quieter, as if she was talking to herself.
“Wait, were you eavesdropping?” Paimon asked, clearly hearing her words.
“Well.. I just happened to be hunting for bugs nearby and overheard.. But I guess you could call it that..” She blushed in embarrassment, knowing full well she did eavesdrop. “But still, how did you solve it?”
Paimon glances at you. “(We can tell her later once we get to know her more,)” You tell Paimon, and she nods.
“We just did a bit of.. POW! BOOM! ZAP!” She backflipped and punched the air, “y’know?”
Cai Lyu seemed to know they weren’t telling the full truth– and what did “Pow! Boom! Zap!” even mean anyway? –but didn’t press further.
“Alright. Come on, follow me. I’ll promise you the tea will be good!” She turned around and started to walk along the road. You and Paimon followed.
“The tea will be good, huh? I wonder if the tea will be even better than that one time when Uncle Luo’s assistant guy made teacakes for us.” Paimon said, following.
“Don’t get your hopes up too high, Paimon. And teacakes are different from straight up tea,” You tell her, but your words don’t dampen her excitement. You guessed that a promise of good tea must be as equally as good as a promise of food for Paimon.
You walk in silence besides Paimon and Cai Lyu, simply enjoying the view and silence. Chenyu Vale was unlike other regions. True, there was Watatsumi Island, unique with its blue and purple grass. And Roots of Erinnyes, with it being a giant underwater cave with strange, crystal-like trees. Alongside so many other places, they were all interesting and beautiful in their own way. But Chenyu Vale was so.. different.
It had bright, healthy grass that was sometimes teal in some spots, along with trees varying in color. You had even seen one in Qiaoying Village that was a pale green dusted with a frosty white.
Chenyu Vale also had winding rivers, not that they were particularly note-worthy, considering all regions had at least one somewhere. But they were pretty, clear and turquoise. And a low drifting fog concealed the bottom of mountains, daring you to venture forth and uncover its secrets.
You start to smile to yourself, almost lost in gazing at the scenery around you while the river quietly churned. When you had first arrived at Qiaoying Village, the strong odor of tea was the first thing you noticed. It wasn’t an unpleasant scent, but just rather strong. And anyway, you were used to it now.
You nearly bump into Paimon because you were so absorbed in your thoughts, but she doesn’t appear to notice. Instead, she was gazing at a building in front of them.
“-This is my fathers tea shop!” Cai Lyu was saying. “He named it Quali-TEA.”
“Ooh, that’s a good one,” Paimon giggled.
“I bet the tea here then is of the highest quality,” You say teasingly, and Cai Lyu nodded.
“It is, though! My father has been practicing the tradition of tea brewing for a long time.” She smiles at you. “Come in! You’re probably eager to try some.”
“You bet!” Paimon exclaimed, nodding.
She walked up a few stone stairs that lead to a building. It looked like all of the other buildings in Chenyu Vale, with chalky white walls and gray trimming as well as wooden doors and windows. There were a few baskets of fresh tea leaves drying out in the sun, but they were carefully arranged so they didn’t block the entrance. A wooden sign hung above the entrance, saying the words “Quali-TEA”, and "Tea shop" in a smaller font below it.
Cai Lyu opened the door, a bell jingling while she did so. She stepped inside, calling out the words, “Dad, I’m back! And I brought some friends!”
“Cai Lyu?” A surprised voice said from inside, “I didn’t think you’d be back this early.”
You and Paimon stepped inside the small building, your eyes adjusting to the dim lighting. The interior looked somewhat like the exterior, with white walls matching the ones outside. Except inside, the trimming along the walls of the room was brown and wooden rather than gray. Lit lanterns were the only thing lighting up the room, hanging from the ceiling as they emitted a soft light in the room.
Your shoes clatter against the wooden floor as you and Paimon are led to a table. The table itself was made of wood as well, smooth and polished. You sit down in a small stool beside it, Paimon choosing to float beside you instead.
You notice how empty the place is, with only a couple of people who were sipping their tea. Perhaps business isn’t doing so great. You think, this is the place where a lot of tea is made, so why go to a tea shop when you can just make yourself a cup? You briefly consider telling them that they may do better if they set up the shop somewhere else, like Sumeru, where the trek to Chenyu Vale would be the long one and where tea may be more expensive after being exported. You quickly decide against the idea, though, thinking that they could do whatever they want.
You could hear Cai Lyu and her dad talking quietly in the background, and you don’t try to listen in. You can tell Paimon is trying, but failing to catch most of the words. You wait patiently for them to finish their conversation and for the tea to arrive, allowing your thoughts to drift some more.
Only a few more minutes passed by in comfortable silence before Cai Lyu approached your table, holding three cups of steaming tea.
“Have you tried floral tea?” She asks, setting two of the cups in front of you and Paimon, the third one in front of herself, “Usually it’s made each year when the Spiritscent Flowers bloom. The whole village will prepare for the tea-serving ceremonies.” She gave a small smile, lost in her thoughts for a moment, before quickly saying, “Careful! It’s very hot,” to Paimon, whose fingers were just creeping toward the teacup in front of her.
“Oh, uh, thanks!” Paimon nodded and withdrew her hands.
You watch the steam coming out of the teacup, swirling and drifting out of the full cup rapidly.
“So.. you said that the whole village prepares this tea? Every year?” Paimon asked curiously after a moment. You guessed she wanted to talk about something to pass the time while they waited for their cups to cool.
“Yes, but no. The village first collects the flowers for it, and we make the tea with it after it’s withered. The one we make here is just a different version of the one the village makes, though it still is considered floral tea.”
“Oh, alright!” Paimon nodded, eyeing the cup of tea impatiently.
They talked for a bit longer, sometimes with you adding in your own input. Eventually, the tea was cool enough to drink. You lift up the cup in one hand, nodding at Paimon before you together took a sip.
You were already eager to try it, because simply from its aroma you could identify a sweet and floral fragrance. After having a sip, you could suddenly taste the scent of mountains, cool and sweet. Along with that, you could faintly taste a small sprinkle of mintiness, as well as a faint accent of flowers.
You find yourself taking more deep, long sips of it, savoring every one. Upon withdrawing your lips from the cup’s rim, you could still taste a sweet, lingering aftertaste.
“Mmm..” Paimon moaned from next to you, “this tea is so good! It’s so sweet and flowery and refreshing! You know what.. This is even better than those teacakes!”
Cai Lyu smiled at Paimon’s declaration. “Thank you. I can give you the recipe if you want,” she offered.
“Oh, no, we couldn’t!” Paimon exclaimed, shaking her head.
“Please. You helped out so much. And I’ll trust that you won’t spread this recipe to everyone,” She said, already beginning to scribble out the recipe on a journal she whipped out. After a few more moments of hurried writing she ripped out the page and handed it to you.
You accept it hesitantly, before curiously reading over it. 1x Sweet Flower, 2x Chenyu Adeptea, 2x Qingxin, and 1x Mint was required.
This will be easy to make, You think, noticing how half of the ingredients could easily be found in the wild. We can make this on our travels whenever we feel like having some tea other than just Chenyu Brew.
You smile a bit, and nod your thanks to Cai Lyu before taking another sip of your tea. Your thoughts wander some more, and you suddenly wish your sibling was with you. Wishing that you could enjoy this tea together, sitting side by side as you both savored the flavors.
It.. wasn’t that Paimon wasn’t good company or anything. You were just longing for your sibling, wanting to go back to how things were before. Going back to traveling different worlds together and gazing at the stars.
“Cai Lyu, do you have any dreams? Ambitions?” You ask, well aware your question is very sudden and random.
“Dreams..?” She asks, blinking. “I.. I do. Just two. I want to travel all of Teyvat and I want my family to all have a good life.” She spoke the last sentence in a lower, softer voice.
“Oh, kind of like us?” Paimon asked, glancing at Traveler.
In a way, Cai Lyu’s dreams were like yours. You do enjoy traveling around Teyvat, though the whole journey was to find your sibling. Not only did you miss your sibling, but you wanted them to have a good life, and be with you.
But there was always that small, lingering doubt. What happens if you aren't strong enough? What if your sibling doesn’t want to come with you? What if your sibling hates you, views you as nothing?
You push aside the thoughts, somewhere where they may haunt you at night, but not during the day. You almost wished to be oblivious of them. The feeling of doubt isn’t pleasant.
“Um, Traveler?” Paimon asks, pulling you out of your thoughts.
Your cast away, thoughtful look is brushed aside as you mutter a “yeah” in response.
“Anyway, Cai Lyu, we should probably get going. We have some plans for later today, and we don’t want to be too late for them!”
“Oh, alright. I don’t want to hold you up,” she said, nodding. “See you later.”
“Mhm! Hopefully next time we can have some more delicious tea!” Paimon said, emphasizing on the ‘delicious’ part. Cai Lyu just laughed as they waved goodbye to each other.
You descend down the stairs in front of the tea shop, Paimon following. You reach the road, and begin walking alongside it.
You look back once to see Cai Lyu standing at the entrance, and she smiles at you. As you walk away, her sweet smile is the only image in your head.
“Hey Traveler.. Can we make some of that floral tea? You know, the one with the recipe that Cai Lyu gave to us?”
“Of course, Paimon,”
“...”
“Paimon wonders how she’s doing..”
“Chasing her dreams, most likely.”
---
Received x1 Recipe, Herbaceous Tea.
Herbaceous Tea
⭐⭐⭐
Restores 26 - 30% of Max HP to the selected character.
Regenerates 450 - 790 HP every 5s for the next 30s.
Ingredients
1x Sweet Flower 2x Chenyu Adeptea 2x Qinxin 1x Mint
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
A refreshing, floral brew. Upon tasting it, you are transported to the mountains, cool and sweet. Among the other tastes, you can detect a faint hint of floral and mintiness that ties everything together. Once your lips pull away from the cup, you find yourself longing for more, even though traces of its flavor remain lingering on your tongue.
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And now that that is done with, feel free to ask Cai Lyu questions! Depending on the question, you may get a response in a format like a voice-line (ex, "What are some of your hobbies?" would be one where you get a response like a voice-line. "What inspired you with the idea of Cai Lyu?" would be responded to normally).