In the end, "they lived happily ever after."
But then what? Some readers can't help but ask.
As a character born from the pages of a story, Durin sometimes finds himself facing that very question. His story seems to have reached a happy ending in Simulanka, yet he never knows where to start when trying to explain what happened afterward. If only he had his mother's magical touch with words, perhaps then he could turn those experiences into another enchanting story of his own...
The Magic Known as Storytelling is the first act of Durin's Story Quest, the Draco Rubedo Chapter. In order to unlock this quest line, the player must have completed Song of the Welkin Moon: Act VI - Melting Moonlight in the Morning Mist and reached Adventure Rank 40.
During the Story Quest, the Traveler helps Durin fulfill his mother's dying wish.
List of Quests[]
- A Mother's Last Wish
- Interlude: A Moment's Rest
- A Prophecy From the Past
- Interlude: A Moment's Rest
- Fate's Accursed Wiles
- Interlude: A Moment's Rest
- Revelation Beneath the Stars
- Interlude: A Moment's Rest
- The Solution of Fate
Summary[]
- A Mother's Last Wish
While travelling across Teyvat, the Traveler and Paimon are telepathically spoken to by Alice, who tells them to head to Starsand Shoal and meet up with Durin. When they arrive, they find him alongside four slain Radiant Beasts. Durin looks at them in his Denial of Darkness form; immediately recognizing them, he reverts to his Confirmation of Purity state and apologizes to them, believing he scared them. Paimon reassures him that it isn't his fault before asking if he's okay. Durin tells them that he felt like his power has been harder to control recently but is confident he can keep the Abyssal energies in check. A book then appears before them and Alice tells them to open it, bringing them into a special space.
Inside, Alice explains that the book the combined work of all the Hexenzirkel witches, though Andersdotter had passed away before finishing up her part, leaving behind a "great" regret. Before she died, she made sure that Alice would give the unfinished book to Durin, believing that he was the only one who could resolve it. He accepts the task to fulfill her dying wish, and both the Traveler and Paimon agree to help him. Before leaving, Alice gives them a magic ink bottle of Andersdotter's, which would be required in order to fill in the book's contents. They then read the book and find the first clue, which tasks them to find Andersdotter's sources of inspiration, which are guarded by knights, leading them to the library of Andersdotter's home nation, Mondstadt.
At the library, the three meet up with Lisa, who reveals that she had previously volunteered to teach Durin how to read, as she was confident she could do so due to having taught Razor. Learning the reason behind their visit, Lisa tells them that another Knight had visited the library and found books that were unlisted in the catalogue; when he tried to grab them, they disappeared, and he saw them again after browsing other shelves. The Traveler and Durin retrieve the books without any trouble and show them to Lisa, who confirms the ones that should only be in the restricted section of the library. As she leaves to reward herself with a cup of tea, the book begins to resonate, dragging the Traveler, Paimon and Durin into it.
The three soon find themselves in the book, finding a Dodoco narrator inside a moderately-sized room. After investigating the room, they find a dragon egg and the two hatch it, revealing a baby Durin. The Traveler realizes the story is about Durin, though Paimon is unsure as to why "M" thought the story wasn't finished. Believing more clues could be found in the upcoming chapters, they then find a message from Alice, who tells them that the next chapter's clues would take time to appear as the ink needed to set. Paimon soon finds herself hungry and suggests a visit to Good Hunter, while Durin agrees to catch up with them after returning the restricted books to Lisa.
- A Prophecy From the Past
The next day, the Traveler and Paimon catch up with Durin in Mondstadt City, who reveals the next set of clues. The Traveler immediately realizes that Venti might know the answer just as Durin notices Anemo energy pointing their way to him. Venti tells them to head to the place where the mages met to play the melody there. Before they leave, Durin asks him if he knew why an author would leave a story unfinished. Venti tells him that there were many reasons, but knowing her mother, states that it isn't his right to pry into it himself.
Arriving at the mages' meeting spot, the Traveler plays the melody Venti showed them and the book responds, dragging them back into the story world. There, they find four witches, all in a Dodoco form, celebrating Durin's arrival with gifts. The three visitors themselves did not bring any and are prompted to look for one, discovering a book, slingshot and sword. Believing these to be a gift for Mini Durin, the Traveler and Paimon allow Durin to pick the gift. Durin selects his gift, allowing the three a spot at the table, where the Dodoco witches talk about Mini Durin's future. Durin wonders what they are actually doing, but Paimon tells him that they must be doing it correctly as the book hadn't been giving them clues. Durin is worried about messing his mother's final wishes but thanks them for the assistance, promising to call them when the next set of clues appear.
- Fate's Accursed Wiles
Another day passes as Durin sends a message to the Traveler to meet up again for the next part of the story. They arrive at Good Hunter, where they find Durin playing against Kaeya in a game of Genius Invokation TCG. They also find Fischl and Klee spectating, each one supporting their corresponding side. Kaeya wins the match while Durin admits that playing the game is a good way to make friends compared to drinking alcohol, which has earned him Diona's respect. Durin then brings the Traveler to Stormterror's Lair, where they enter the story world again and find Mini Durin, now grown up but shunned by society. Durin remarks on how much had changed and manage to convince Mini Durin to open his heart to others. Believing that they had finished the book, the group heads to Good Hunter for a feast. As they leave, Venti and Dvalin watch them from afar, the former telling the latter that they wanted to be friends. However, he cryptically states that the story has yet to conclude.
When they arrive at the restaurant, they find Marjorie and Shuyun, though both are immediately suspicious of Durin, believing him to be the same as the one they remembered in history. The rest are confused as to how they weren't aware of him before Durin collapses and falls unconscious from a burst of abyssal energy, which the Traveler purifies. Taking him away, Jean tells them that Barbara checked up on him and found no issues, but worried that the people might be in harm if his powers go out of control, she decides to inform Albedo of the situation and takes custody of the book, promising to notify them when he woke up.
- Revelation Beneath the Stars
Jean informs the Traveler that Durin had recovered and they pay a visit to him. Durin thanks the Traveler for ensuring he didn't harm others, explaining that when people forgot him, he suddenly felt "disconnected" from his body and only managed to reconnect when his friends spoke his name. Paimon wonders if Albedo's alchemy was the problem, but Durin is confident that his brother wouldn't have had made a mistake. He then reveals that the book continued giving clues, indicating that their story is not yet finished. The clues lead them to Sumeru City, where they find the Wanderer returning a modified book to Katayoun. Both groups are surprised to see each other before the Wanderer is filled in on the situation.
The Wanderer reveals that whenever he tried to write about Durin, it would inexplicably change to the Durin recorded in history. As a Descender unaffected by Irminsul's changes, he believes that the world refuses to accept the Durin before them as a separate entity, resulting in people who weren't close to him believing he was the evil Durin. He offers to help them, wishing to know the book's secrets and having some time to kill. They venture into the book, where they find themselves in a simulated Sumeru. The Wanderer is surprised to find himself transformed into a cat, who Durin saw him as from his perspective. They then explore the story, finding that it appears to emulate the path he had taken after leaving Simulanka. Although the path would still be the same, the Wanderer encourages Durin to follow it, believing there must be something in there that they haven't seen yet. As they arrive at the end of the path, they are brought back to reality, where the Wanderer realizes that the Hexenzirkel had created a solution to allow Durin to exist as a separate entity, finding it ingenious. With his "red tape" finished, the Wanderer decides to accompany them to pay a visit to Albedo, aware that he knew the remaining answers and they decide to wait for his response.
- The Solution of Fate
The group receives a letter from Albedo asking them to meet him on Dragonspine. They head to the mountain and the Wanderer takes note of the original Durin's massive form and the destruction it would have wrecked if it revived. Albedo then arrives and examines Durin. He explains that the witches had a plan to allow Durin to live, requiring the use of Barbeloth's astrology, Rhinedottir's alchemy and Alice's magic. The only thing they were missing now was the magic as the book brings them back into the story, where Albedo has been converted into a Simulanka-like resident due to Durin's perceptions, while the Wanderer turns into a cat. While exploring the area, the group comes upon a heart, and Durin suggests destroying it, though it does not work and results in a bad ending, though Alice's magic reverts them back to the previous point.
Since destroying the heart proved fruitless, the group ponders on their next action before Durin's head throbs, forcing them to make several decisions, all of which lead to Durin reverting to his original fate or dying in Simulanka. Wondering what to do, Durin decides to literally break out of the story. Though his head continues to throb, he pushes on with the encouragement of his friends. A flashback later occurs revealing how Andersdotter wanted to bring her Durin to Teyvat, wanting him to live a happy life. However, in order to do so, she would need to continue writing and even then, the story would have to end at some point. Andersdotter refused to give up and pressed on, revealing that she wanted Durin to write his own story so he could continue on when she passed. Durin meets a manifestation of his mother, who entrusts him with her pen so he could continue his story, defying his original's fate in a climatic battle. Returning to reality, the group is surprised to find Durin wearing a more free outfit. Albedo checks up on him again and notes that the previous symptoms were no longer there, and they decide to celebrate with a party, although the Wanderer has no interest and tells Durin to call him if he needed help.
The Traveler later speaks to Alice, who had picked them as the "reader" while Durin was the "writer" so her magic could take effect. Venti joins in, having observed their progress. Durin apologizes to him for possibly endangering his people while Alice insists he shouldn't worry. Alice then remarks about Albedo's talent and that they could've celebrated if they were all together. She then calls Barbeloth, who asks Durin to stand in front of her cup. After a quick observation, Barbeloth no longer sees his fate among the stars, prompting him to ask her what she meant. She dodges the question but tells him that he was a very lucky child before the Traveler does so, but she no longer responded to them. Venti then whispers to Durin to fulfill a final regret, which he eagerly accepts as he flies with Dvalin, befriending the dragon. Meanwhile, a fragment of Andersdotter's consciousness bids farewell to Alice, pleased at how her child had grown. As a reward for their efforts, Alice gives them a copy of the newly made book.
Characters[]
21 Characters appear in this Quest:
- Albedo
- Alice
- Andersdotter
- Barbeloth
- Diona
- Durin
- Dvalin
- Fischl
- Jean
- Kaeya
- Katayoun
- Klee
- Lisa
- Marjorie
- Oz
- Paimon
- Rhinedottir
- Shuyun
- Traveler
- Venti
- Wanderer
Trivia[]
- Unlike other Story Quests, which can be completed in a single day, a minimum of five days in real time are required in order to complete this Story Quest.
Other Languages[]
| Language | Official Name | Literal Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| English | The Magic Known as Storytelling | — |
| Chinese (Simplified) | 名为故事的魔法 Míng Wéi Gùshì de Mófǎ | |
| Chinese (Traditional) | 名為故事的魔法 Míng Wéi Gùshì de Mófǎ | |
| Japanese | 物語という名の魔法 | |
| Korean | 이야기라는 이름의 마법 Iyagiraneun Ireumui Mabeop | |
| Spanish | La magia de la narración | The Magic of Narration |
| French | La magie connue sous le nom de narration | The Magic Known as Narration |
| Russian | Магия повествования Magiya povestvovaniya | The Magic of Storytelling |
| Thai | เวทมนตร์ที่เรียกว่าเรื่องราว | |
| Vietnamese | Phép Thuật Mang Tên Câu Chuyện | |
| German | Die Magie des Geschichtenerzählens | |
| Indonesian | Sihir yang Bernama Cerita | |
| Portuguese | A Magia Conhecida Como Contar Histórias | |
| Turkish | Hikaye Anlatımı Olarak Bilinen Büyü | |
| Italian | La magia conosciuta come narrazione |