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trashcanlore · 4 months

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Kabbalah in the Worldbuilding of Genshin Impact; Part 2: Descending to the Garden

Written by Sabre (@paimoff on twitter) and Schwan (@abyssalschwan on twitter)

This theory assumes you’ve completed the Fontaine Archon Quests, as well the Narzissenkreuz questlines. If you haven’t, you will be a) very confused and b) very spoiled.

A Tale of Four Descenders

Four entered the pardes (orchard/garden)...one looked and died, one looked and went mad, one looked and cut down the saplings (apostatized), and one came in peace and left in peace [1].

This Jewish legend appears in multiple locations throughout the Talmud and its commentaries, and is associated with two pre-Kabbalah schools of Jewish mysticism known as Merkabah (chariot) and Hekhalot (palaces) mysticism. Both depicted visions of the throne of God (chariot) and the heavenly palaces, and provided instructions for how one might ascend to heaven to receive some kind of revelation or knowledge. The orchard/garden represents esoteric Torah (Jewish law) knowledge; this is why the euphemism for apostatizing is to “cut down the saplings.” (I know he says “blasphemy” (which is different), but this is reminiscent of what Dottore says at the end of Winter Night's Lazzo.)

The pardes legend first appears as a warning to scholars about the consequences of teaching about the “chariot” to disciples who are not ready. Though it's not mentioned in this specific text, this process of meditating to ascend to the palaces of God is referred to as “descending” in the writings of the Merkabah mystics [2]. In other words, this legend tells the story of four descenders.

In the conclusion of the Sumeru Archon Quests, Nahida tells the Traveler about the existence of the “Descenders." Based on the information she got from Dottore in exchange for her Gnosis, she shares that:

Descenders are “external beings, ones that don’t belong to this world”

There are at least four of them, and the Traveler is the fourth

According to the Fatui, the Traveler's twin is not a Descender

The Traveler is not recorded in Irminsul, but their twin is

Nahida speculates that the First Descender is the Heavenly Principles, but the identity of the second and third are unknown to her. At that point though, we still didn’t know what it was that Descenders do, or what the exact criteria for being one is, only that it couldn’t be as simple as just being from outside Teyvat.

The Fontaine World Quest series about the Narzissenkreuz Ordo fills in some pieces of the puzzle; specifically an additional criterion to be a Descender: they must be someone with a will “that can rival an entire world.”

In retrospect, Inversion of Genesis also hinted at the role of a Descender; The Traveler witnesses the results of someone attempting to change fate and/or the world and failing.

Nahida: Changing the world, changing the past, changing the fates of other people... These are not simple things to accomplish. Nahida: What you were looking for is complete annihilation... But this is just a fantasy. Even if The Balladeer is removed from existence, the world will not heed your will. (Inversion of Genesis)

For most people, actually “changing the world” is impossible. But for a Descender, it might be different.

Will

...Though the results are nothing impressive, this is because the object they chose was pure elemental force, which lacks any will whatsoever. Like the difference between the Director (Lyris) and a Hydro Slime, perhaps? ...Actually thought of a possible breakthrough during the process... Even though the calculated result is unchanged, but if the refinement method is reflected... If the power of... then maybe we can extract the "will" within. Using this method... resist the impact… (Excerpts from Rene's Investigation Notes)

...The true source of the mysterious power unique to this place that the locals call Khvarena is unknown. But based on its ability to eliminate or reverse the influence of the Abyss (in fact, it is a type of annihilation reaction), the two powers are of the same level, that is to say, they are of the same order in terms of rules... ...In other words, both possess the power to "re-write the rules"... ...Regrettably, be it Abyss or Khvarena, all current users are stuck in an "unconscious" stage of being influenced and overwritten by their power… (Bizarre Transcript)

The Gavireh Lajavard region of the Sumeru desert introduced us to the writings of Rene, a precocious researcher with world-saving ambitions and not nearly enough adult supervision, as well as his only slightly Abyss-corrupted bestie Jakob. Like the Khaenri'ahns before him, Rene was searching for a power that had a “will,” believing it necessary to save Fontaine from an unspecified disaster that we would later learn is The ProphecyTM. During their time in the desert (which was right after the cataclysm), Rene determined that both Abyssal and Khvarena power have a will, but pure elemental energy did not.

Some time after their trip to Sumeru, Rene and Jakob would found the Narzissenkreuz Ordo, with the goal of finding a way to save Fontainians from being dissolved in the primordial sea-laced floodwaters. They would do this by dissolving all humans in Fontaine with primordial seawater in a controlled manner, melding everyone together into one Oceanid-like being to survive the apocalypse (think Human Instrumentality Project from Evangelion). Rene had predicted the coming apocalypse with something he called his “world-formula,” and in addition to predicting the doom of Fontaine, it also informed him that “unlike the world depicted in these ancient texts, there will be no more new civilizations born.” The only way this could be changed would be by introducing a new “‘variable’ from outside the system” into the formula (Enigmatic Page 1). Rene’s goal was to become this variable, i.e., a Descender.

Four Worlds

The Tower of Ipsissimus comes from an old concept from the ancient Fontainian kingdom of Remuria, and was used to describe a powerful will that could rule, sustain, and destroy the world. This tower was designed by the Narzissenkreuz Ordo, and it represents the evolution of the human soul and the infinite mysteries of the world. The Narzissenkreuz Ordo believes that people continuously refine themselves through samsara cycles. These include Hyperborea, Natlantean, Remuria, and the first half of the fourth samsara (Khraun-Arya), which we are presently experiencing. Please take note that these are just names given to these eras by the Ordo based on ancient texts, and this evolution refers to spiritual evolution. There is no intent here to antagonize any research results obtained by the Akademiya. The human spirit undergoes the loss of paradise, the defeat of evil dragons, the original sin and baptism, and finally, freedom from the gods.

The term samsara is typically used to refer to the cyclic nature of reality, and can be used to describe concepts like reincarnation. It is not, however, referring to time loops. There is A Lot to unpack about this note, but for the purposes of this theory we will be focusing on the concept of these “four samsaras” and their relationship with the concept of a Descender, specifically that there seems to be the same number of samsaras as Descenders.

You may be wondering - this is Kabbalah world structure theory and we’ve yet to discuss Kabbalah. Well, it’s time now! But before we can get into specifics, we first need to review some terms discussed in Part 1 and then go through some basics of Lurianic Kabbalah. Ah, the irony of calling anything about Lurianic Kabbalah “basics.” Caveat that what follows will be a simplification of concepts that are very difficult to grasp (I definitely don’t know what’s going on).

Creation of the World, Kabbalah Edition Previously, we compared the “limitless light” emanated by God to create the world to the power of elemental energy, and compared the sefirot of the Tree of Life to the seven elements. The sefirot are components of this divine light (like light passing through a prism and refracting) and represent attributes of God that are used to create the world. The sefirot are traditionally depicted together in the form of a tree, which maps out their relationships with each other. For more details on the similarities between Kabbalah and Genshin worldbuilding, consult Part 1 (link) if you haven't read it yet.

Kabbalah focuses on describing the relationship between the infinite God and the finite universe and how it was created, with variations between different schools of thought. In this theory, we’ll be primarily focusing on the ideas of the Kabbalist Isaac Luria. The central idea of Luria’s philosophy was a concept he called Seder Hishtalshelut, or “Order of Evolution,” which refers to the cycles of “exile” and “redemption” (creation and destruction) the world is eternally experiencing. In the Lurianic system, time isn’t linear; the world was created in the past, but it’s also being created now.

The beginning of this Order of Evolution is referred to as the Tzimtzum, or Contraction. This refers to the contracting of the infinite God to make a space where reality could be created. Once this is created, a ray of divine light enters the void and begins to emanate reality. This is similar to the concept of the Pleroma in Gnosticism. The further the divine light gets from the source, the more it starts to break down into separate parts. More specifically, it breaks down into the Four Worlds, which represent stages of the evolution of reality, but also stages of the spiritual evolution of the human consciousness.

The Four Worlds are: 0. Adam Kadmon - Primordial (Original) Man 1. Atziluth - Emanation 2. Beriah - Creation 3. Yetzirah - Formation 4. Assiah - Action Material reality is distinct from these four worlds; the ‘real’ world emanates out of the fourth world, Assiah. Each of these four worlds have their own sefirot structure, which in themselves contain additional sefirot, on and on, like a fractal. Luria called these recursive structures “tree systems” [3]. In Genshin terms, this is like how we have Irminsul, the world tree, but also the other smaller Irminsul trees in domains.

(Fun Fact: this schematic is sometimes called Jacob's ladder) The system of the Four Worlds and their nuances are very interesting in themselves, but for the purpose of this theory, we’ll be focusing on the 0th world, Adam Kadmon, and the symbolism associated with this concept in both Kabbalah and general Jewish philosophy.

Primordial (Hu)Man

The concept of an ‘original man’ is discussed in Philo’s commentary of Genesis, where he describes this being as androgynous, connected to the concept of Logos, and the Idea/Form of humanity in contrast to the ‘earthly man.’ Philo’s definition of the Logos was something closer to the concept of a demiurge-a being responsible for creation of the world. Logos literally means ‘word’ or ‘reason’, and otherwise typically refers to divine reason, or the word of God. It’s important to note that here the use of the word ‘man’ refers to a human being, not specifically a male person. Though often described as a man, the Primordial Man of Kabbalah is considered androgynous (like the Primordial One of Genshin).

The Zohar (a foundational work of Kabbalah) describes the Primordial Man as the “image of everything that is above [in heaven] and below [upon earth]; therefore did the Holy Ancient [God] select it for His own form.” The Primordial Man is the personification of the 10 sefirot together and represents a microcosm of the universe (macrocosm) [4].

Narzissenkreuz: I... I sense "reason." Visitors, are you the successors to Narzissenkreuz, or are you a threat? Narzissenkreuz: Is "Reason" that which grants you such strength? Narzissenkreuz: No, I have noticed. Have you always been in that realm that I pursue? O, you who are equal to a world! (Waking From the Great Dream) Man, as he was before his fall [first sin], is conceived as a cosmic being which contains the whole world in itself (Trends in Jewish Mysticism, pg. 215)

Lurianic Kabbalah considers the Primordial Man to be the highest level manifestation of God that can be conceptualized by humans. The world of Adam Kadmon precedes the emanation of the lower Four Worlds, but each of these worlds have their own corresponding anthropomorphic figure as well [5]. In contrast to the worlds that follow Adam Kadmon, the sefirot of Adam Kadmon are not in a Tree of Life configuration, but rather in the configuration known as “upright,’ arranged in the shape of the human body.

The concept of a Primordial Man exists in other religions and mythologies as well. There’s the Gnostic Anthropos, Adam Kasia of Mandaeism, the ‘Universal Man’ (al-Insān al-Kāmil) of Sufism who functions as an Axis Mundi, the world-soul of Platonism, Gayomart of Zoroastrianism, and more. The symbolism of the human body as mediator between the divine and the material world is not unique to Kabbalah. Kabbalah’s version of the World Tree and Primordial Man both function similarly to the Axis Mundi; they are the same emanations of the divine, just arranged in different configurations.

Will and the Primordial Man In Kabbalah, Adam Kadmon represents the will of God, specifically the will to create. The blueprint for the creation of the world is contained within this being/world, all superimposed together into a “primordial thought.” Within Adam Kadmon, there is no distinction between the individual sefirot, or rather, between anything at all. Everything is contained with this world/thought, but there is no time, no space, and no limitations. WIthout limitations, individual beings and concepts cannot be created. Therefore, the unity of Adam Kadmon had to be broken; specifically into the 10 sefirot, which could then assemble themselves into new configurations and continue the process of creation [6].

Narzissenkreuz: The witness of all, the recorder of all, the designer of all. Narzissenkreuz: Only one who is worth a world can bear that title. (Waking From the Great Dream) If the righteous wish to do so, they can create a world. (Babylonian Talmud, Sanhedrin 65b)

Back in Part 1, we compared pure elemental energy to Kabbalah’s divine light of creation and the ten sefirot to the seven elements. If we apply this analogy to Adam Kadmon, doesn’t a being that could (theoretically) resonate with all elements and would eventually meet their end by being broken up into many pieces sound familiar?

At the end of Act V of the Fontaine Archon Quest, Skirk tells Neuvillette that the Gnoses are actually the “remains of the Third Descender.” Neuvillette, the Traveler, and Paimon speculate that this is possible because as a Descender, they would have also had the same unique compatibility with the elements as the Traveler. Neuvillette’s character stories refer to the remains of the Third Descender as the “seven remembrances,” which were used to create a new “order” for the world, with “all fragments of the primordial…driven to devour each other.”

Rene’s notes in the Tower of Ipsissimus directly tell us that there is a connection between the concept of the Primordial Man and Descenders:

"Lies beneath the great sea" is, itself, an interesting phrase. It comes from ancient Sumeru texts, and should be read as "Narayana*," which also means "primordial human." This, too, is my goal, for not all that comes from beyond may be as one that "descends." That title belongs only to wills that can rival an entire world. That is what I seek, the way to become just such a will, one that can protect the world, sustain the world, destroy the world, and create the world.

[*Narayana (Sanskrit: नारायण, romanized: Nārāyaṇa) is one of the forms and names of Vishnu, depicted as sleeping under the celestial waters, and is associated with creation. This reference aligns with Rene’s goal of using the power of the Primordial Sea to make himself a Descender. ]

In summary, we have four Descenders, we have four samsaras, and we have four symbolic worlds that are only able to exist due to the destruction of a 0th world known as the Primordial Man, who represents the totality of the divine Will to create the world and the Idea of humanity.

Keep all this information in mind, because before we can discuss the connections between samsaras, Descenders, and the Primordial Man, we must take a detour into alchemy and psychology.

Primordial God Impact

Genshin Impact has always been about the primordial - it’s literally in the name: 原神, or yuan shen, which means ‘original god.’ Many other in-game items share this descriptor, including primogems (原石), Primordial Seawater (原始胎海之水), and the Primordial One (原初的那一位). The same characters are also used in the note from the Tower of Ipsissimus when referring to the ‘primordial human’: 原初之人, which as it turns out, is exactly the same word used for the Primordial Human Project.

The Primordial Human Project has been mentioned exactly once, in a cutscene from the Shadows Amidst Snowstorms event in version 2.3. There, Albedo refered to his doppelganger who had been wreaking havoc on Dragonspine as the “failure of the Primordial Human Project.” Albedo implied that he is the “survivor” of an experiment associated with the Primordial Human Project and considers it to be related to his origins as a creation of Rhinedottir, aka the alchemist Gold.

We know very little about Rhinedottir and her motivations. She’s a practitioner of the Art of Khemia, a member of the Hexenzirkel, is labeled a sinner and blamed for the appearance of monsters during the Cataclysm, made a dragon named Durin and sent him to Teyvat during said Cataclysm, where he caused destruction everywhere he went while thinking he was playing, and might have also made Elynas, who had a similar fate. According to Skirk, she, like Skirk’s master, is “pursuing some form of perfection.”

The Great Work

Rhinedottir’s alchemical research was focused on the creation of new life and she was familiar with an alchemical text called the Opus Magnum, which she left behind for Albedo to study. The Opus Magnum is a reference to the real life Magnum Opus, or Great Work, which refers to the alchemical process of creating the philosopher’s stone from the prima materia (original matter). The process typically goes as follows: nigredo (blackness), albedo (whiteness), citrinitas (yellowing) and rubedo (redness). Later Western alchemy would merge the citrinitas and rubedo steps into just rubedo, or include additional steps, such as the peacock’s tail stage between nigredo and albedo. Notably, the order of the last two steps in this process is reversed in the version of the process Albedo learned from Rhinedottir: rubedo is third, with citrinitas last.

This reordering isn’t universal in Teyvat: Rene’s notes disparage this choice, saying that Khaenri’ah is distracted from the true goal of the process:

..."Red" is the foundational principle, the philosopher's stone*, while "yellow" represents gold and mortal temptation. Yellow is simply bait. Red is the final goal. However, Khaenri'ah would likely seek the truth for gold's sake before turning that truth into a bread production pipeline…

[*This is the first and so far, only, time the phrase “philosopher’s stone” has been directly mentioned in-game.]

Rene has a somewhat ironic take on the Khaenri’ahn alchemical philosophy, given that Albedo’s character stories specifically say “Khaenri'ah was an underground realm, with precious few natural fauna. As such, its alchemy focused more heavily on the creation of life.” Rene often has strong opinions - but why would he care about the order of the Magnum Opus?

The Chymical Wedding of Rene de Petrichor

A recurring motif of the Great Work is the ‘chemical wedding.’ This refers to a union of opposites; male and female, sun and moon, fire and water, sulfur (Red King) and mercury (White Queen), etc, and is often depicted as taking place in a fountain. Here, in this drawing from a copy of the Ripley Scroll, sulfur and mercury wed and form the androgynous (like the primordial man) ‘philosophical child,’ which is philosophical mercury.

Philosophical mercury is the underlying principle or “divine flow” that makes alchemy and transmutation possible. Therefore, the goal of the Great Work was to pin down this mercury into matter through the four (or more) stages of the Great Work and make the philosopher’s stone [7,8].

"The Stone that is Mercury, is cast upon the Earth, exalted on Mountains, resides in the Air, and is nourished in the Waters." (Michael Maier's Atalanta Fugiens. 1617.) The cubes represent prima materia. ;)

The chemical wedding is also used as a motif throughout the story of the Narzissenkreuz Ordo. The Book of Revealing includes a schematic of the “Seal of Chymical Marriage,” which consists of a “Tree of Emanation'' and the “Four Orthants,” and was used to seal the Primordial Sea. The Tree of Emanation component is, of course, a version of the Kabbalistic Tree of Life - for more ramblings, feel free to check out my twitter thread here.

The Narzissenkreuz Ordo is likely intended to be a reference to the real life Rosicrucian Order, and the name of the seal a reference to an important text for this order called the “Chymical Wedding of Christian Rosenkreutz.” Other possible references to chemical weddings include Lyris being referred to as the ‘Red Empress,’ Rene using her power to dissolve himself and be reborn through the water, and Mary-Ann and Lyris fusing and eventually producing “pure water” aka Ann. Actually, when you dig into it, there are many suspicious interactions between sun and moon-coded gods in Genshin lore, as well as the doomed wedding of the Seelie and the traveler from afar. My Name For Now made a really interesting video about this, so if you would like more information and speculation, check it out here.

The Philosopher’s Stone and the Self

The philosopher’s stone is the Holy Grail of alchemy: an alchemical substance that can transmute base metals into silver or gold, make someone immortal, cure all illness, make a homunculus, and more. The stone represents perfection and spiritual refinement, either of nature through alchemy, or of the self (the alchemist) [8].

Carl Jung, the founder of analytical psychology, considered the steps of the Magnum Opus to represent the process of the individuation of the self from the collective unconscious. The similarities between his interpretation of alchemical symbolism and the ideals of the Narzissenkreuz Ordo deserve their own separate analysis, but in brief: Jung defined the collective unconscious to be the shared unconscious mind between humans, full of basic instincts and archetypes, which are primordial symbols that exist in many mythologies throughout the world. Jung compared the collective unconscious to the alchemical symbolism of water, which he describes as “wisdom and knowledge, truth and spirit, and its source was in the inner man [9].” The process of individuation separates aspects of the personality from the unconscious (the water) and then eventually integrates all components together, to form the individual self, which can now bring “order” to the unconscious (at least on a personal level)[10]. In other words, the Jungian interpretation of the Magnum Opus is that the final product, the philosopher's stone, is the Self.

If we apply this symbolism to Rene’s journey, it appears he was attempting to refine himself into a philosopher’s stone, which would explain why he was so interested in the work of the Khaenri’ahn alchemists. As he stated multiple times, his goal was to become a “primordial human,” whose will “can rival an entire world.” Rene’s philosopher’s stone is a Descender.

The Primordial Human Project

After Rene’s failed attempt to dissolve himself in Primordial Water and be reborn using Lyris’s power, Jakob turned to his own research to try to save Rene and complete his rebirth. In his log of this time period, Jakob wrote:

...I've been interpreting the data in search of a solution and sharing the results with Rene. There has still been no response, but I can already envision his response with perfect clarity: criticizing the Universitas Magistrorum for putting the cart before the horse, neglecting the fundamental principles underlying everything, and diving straight into the details of how to put those techniques to use... How they inverted even the alchemical stages for other purposes… ...It seems that there was an alchemist from Khaenri'ah named "R" who joined a secret order. From what fragmentary records exist, it appears that they made significant headway.

There are two items of note here; the first is the mention of Universitas Magistrorum, which previously had only been mentioned in a namecard description. The card description reads "O Almighty Sovereign, the Universitas Magistrorum has provided the predictions you requested: The two stars have been captured by the world's gravity…” which may be referencing Khaenri’ah’s summoning of the twins (Inversion of Genesis). From the context of Jakob’s notes, we can infer that this organization was also utilizing some form of the Magnum Opus for an unknown purpose.

The second item of note is the mention of the alchemist “R,” who is almost definitely Rhinedottir, and the “significant headway” that she and this mysterious “secret order” made. It’s very likely that Jakob is interested in Rhinedottir’s work simply because he wants to make a new body for Rene; the log also mentions Remurian golems and experiments with prosthetic limbs. However, the mention of her and the Universitas Magistrorum in the same context, with Jakob’s commentary on the reversed order of the Magnum Opus, gave me the idea that sparked this whole theory (descent into madness): Is it possible that Rhinedottir’s Primordial Human Project was intended to make a Descender?

Sometimes, very important lore gets buried in character stories. For example, the first time the term “primordial (hu)man” shows up - which is in Albedo’s fifth character story.

This art of creation was known as "The Art of Khemia." Albedo had learned of this in his youth from reading his master's notes. The next stage after "soil" is "chalk," which was also something his master had mentioned. "Chalk is the spotless soil, and was used to make primordial man." Now, Albedo understands alchemy in far greater depth than he did in the beginning, and his knowledge on the subject is far more comprehensive. "From soil was birthed chalk." The profundity of this statement is well understood by Albedo now.

Albedo is also the “chalk”; Rhinedottir gave him the title of Kreideprinz, or Chalk Prince. She seems to have a habit of naming her creations after types of soil. Durin was ‘humus,’ the Riftwolves are ‘alfisol,’ and Albedo is ‘cretaceus’. According to her, earth is “the basis of all life” and the “accumulated memories of time and lives,” so it makes sense she’d use soil as the starting material for her alchemical creations.

Albedo seems to be aware of the Traveler’s unique status, although he never names them as a Descender. During his Story Quest, Albedo studies the Traveler to get insight on how to help an alien flower bloom.

Albedo: The only other life form that, like you, has come here from afar, is the seed that I mentioned. Under the effects of Teyvat's natural laws, it isn't even able to sprout, let alone bloom. Albedo: But after I observed you, I had another idea. Albedo: Imitating you helped to inspire my alchemy, and so... Albedo: Is not nurturing otherworldly life also nurturing the world itself?

Following the experiments he performs on them, he reveals to the player that he lied about some of their test results, and even compares himself to the Traveler.

Albedo: I made a point throughout of telling them how ordinary the results were... Albedo: But what was that sediment I saw forming at the bottom of the vial? It should not have been there... What could it mean? Albedo: Those born of earth are bound by its imperfections, but those born of chalk are free of impurities... You and I are alike, both composed of a substance that has yet to be fully defined...

This leaves us with questions. Assuming Albedo is similar to the ‘primordial human’, what is his role? Is he a Descender, or is he meant to work to become one eventually, like Rene tried to do?

Let’s return for a moment to the Primordial Man and Adam Kadmon. Earlier, we discussed the symbolism of Adam Kadmon; this being represents the divine will to create, also known as the “primordial thought,” as well as the Idea of humanity. Adam Kadmon is the potential for creation unified together, with no distinctions between any concepts. Hermeticism and alchemy have a similar concept, succinctly summed up in the phrase “the all is one,” which can be found written on one of the earlier alchemical drawings of an ouroboros by Cleopatra the Alchemist [11].

In Gnosticism and alchemy, this symbol refers to unity of all material and spiritual things, as well the eternal cycle of destruction and re-creation as things change form [12].

Rhinedottir shared this philosophy, as evidenced by the description for Cinnabar Spindle, Albedo’s sword.

Separate the dust in the flames with joy, and extract the exquisite from the crude. For all in the universe comes from a single source, and all things may be derived from a single thought.

The weapon description also contains instructions for Albedo that likely tie into his expected role as a success of the Primordial Human Project.

You must pursue that which your elder brother, the one-horned white horse, could not accomplish. Reach the far side of philosophy, and create a new destiny for myself and your brothers…

Albedo’s final assignment from Rhinedottir is to learn the “truth and the meaning of this world,” a phrase echoed by the Abyss Twin in We Will Be Reunited. Knowledge is literally power in Teyvat: both Nibelung the Dragon King and later, Deshret, utilized Forbidden Knowledge, also referred to as a “power of darkness from outside of this world”, believing it to be the only effective power to defeat the Heavenly Principles. In fact, it’s even possible that the Dragon King was one of the Descenders despite presumably being native to Teyvat. The process of acquiring the Forbidden Knowledge could have evolved him to true Descender status, although this power appears to be incompatible with Teyvat, especially in the wrong hands. The power of the Forbidden Knowledge is similar to the metaphorical garden of the pardes myth, where out of four “descenders,” only one was able to safely leave, with the esoteric knowledge gained. The philosopher's stone also represents knowledge-it is the lapis philosophorum; literally the 'stone of wisdom'. Knowledge is also how one ascends in Gnosticism, i.e, achieving gnosis.

Perhaps this is the true method to create a Descender and Albedo’s future role: once he reaches the far side of philosophy (learns the truth and meaning of the world) and ‘evolves’ and ‘refines’ himself from albedo through rubedo and citrinitas to the philosopher’s stone, he can change destiny.

This sounds familiar…

Fortuna and Evolution

Rene’s calculations of the world-formula predicted that following the fulfillment of Fontaine’s prophecy, there would be no new civilizations formed from the ruins, as there presumably had been in the past following similar disasters. Rene believed the only way around this was for him to become a Descender, and save Fontaine from the disaster, beginning a new age. It’s implied in the text of the Book of Revealing (the version in the WQ) that the fulfillment of the prophecy would spell disaster for all of Teyvat, not just Fontaine, but even if that were not the intent of Celestia, we can use this example as an analogy for the world-formula of Teyvat.

Rene directly compared the world-formula to the Remurian concept of Fortuna:

Kingdoms rise and fall, and when a civilization is annihilated, a new one will be born after from the ashes, which these books refer to as "Fortuna"... It's somewhat rudimentary, but theoretically at least, it bears striking resemblance to the computational scheme I have formulated and termed "world-formula"...

Let’s spin the wheel of Fortuna and return to the beginning, where we first discussed the four samsara cycles of spiritual evolution and the Four Worlds. Although the samsara cycles don’t refer directly to actual historical events, their names are based on ancient texts. It’s not a large leap in logic to suggest that each of the four samsaras refers to eras in Teyvat’s history- what others in the lore community have been referring to as ‘root-cycles.’ For example, the defeat of evil dragons associated with the Natlantean samsara could refer to the war between the Primordial One and the vishaps described in Before Sun and Moon, or the war between the Heavenly Principles and the Dragon King (which might be the same thing!). The events associated with each samsara must be what ends the samsara, since the fourth, Khraun-Arya, is the current, and represents freedom from the gods, which has not happened yet.

Given that the Descenders can (theoretically) change the result of the world-formula/Fortuna, it can’t be a coincidence that there are the same number of Descenders as there are known samsaras. In addition, if the four samsaras of Teyvat function like the Four Worlds of Kabbalah, that means that a samsara-ending event would be something that results in the evolution of the world. Apep says that during the war between the Dragon King and the Heavenly Principles, Teyvat was in danger of collapsing, and that the victor of the war would “inherit the right to shape the world”. This sounds a lot like Rene’s definition of a Descender: one that can protect the world, sustain the world, destroy the world, and create the world. The death and disassembly of the Third Descender led to a significant change in the “order” of Teyvat when the Gnoses were created to replace the “ruined” functions of the Heavenly Principles. Put another way, Descenders are able to evolve Teyvat into its next stage of evolution.

The fate of the Third Descender and ruined functions of the Heavenly Principles suggest another, alarming component to the relationship between samsaras and Descenders. It could be that as part of the process, a Descender must replace or repair an aspect of the mechanisms that maintain Teyvat. Don’t worry about the Traveler though; the fourth descender of the pardes legend gets to leave the garden in peace.

On the other hand, the first Descender in the legend is the one who dies, and in Genshin it’s the third, so maybe the list isn’t exactly in order. Of course, this comparison to the legend is partly a joke, but it is very interesting that the metaphor for apostatizing is uprooting trees….

Khaenri’ah’s World-Formula

We know from Rene’s notes that Khaenri’ah had their own version of a world-formula, or at least, their records contained information Rene could use to reverse engineer their predictions. We don’t actually know what he found there, but based on the name he gave the fourth samsara and the whole “freedom from the gods” thing, it seems they were trying to evolve Teyvat into the next samsara and make this freedom a reality. We also know that the Khaenri’ahns were searching for a specific kind of power, a power they referred to as both a “perpetual” energy source and a “secret from beyond the skies” that could “throw off the shackles imposed by this world's laws.” This power from “beyond the skies” is thought to be some form of Abyssal power, and the Khaenri’ahns who used it seem aware of a will contained in that power, a “dogma from beyond the heavens.” In fact, it’s possible that this power is the same as the Forbidden Knowledge brought in by Nibelung, which also had an influence on Apep’s behavior when they were infected with it after eating Deshret.

It appears that Khaenri’ah was familiar with something similar to the concept of a Descender, which makes Chlothar’s words to the Traveler in Caribert all the more impactful.

Chlothar: I never imagined that you, of all people, would deny the Abyss... How ridiculous! Chlothar: We once believed that you would bring new strength and hope to Khaenri'ah. Chlothar: To us, you were the Abyss... A wondrous mystery far beyond our imagination and comprehension... Chlothar: ...And the one who controls the Abyss can control everything! Chlothar: We yearned for that future. We looked to you to take us there.

The Future

As mentioned previously, the Four Worlds of Kabbalah are all precursors to the actual material reality, which will be emanated (created) from the fourth world. Luria believed that our world was not yet completely realized and needed another spiritual push from humanity to be actualized. (The mechanics of this won’t be discussed here - so consider this a teaser for Part 3 of Kabbalah theory.) Therefore in Kabbalistic terms, this fifth samara, this fifth world, would be the final and true reality for Teyvat.

This would be why Khaenri’ah needed a Descender or even merely a power that could defy the Heavenly Principles. That was why they summoned the twins, and why projects like the Primordial Human Project existed. It’s ironic that in their desire to remake the world in the image of their dreams, where they were free from the gods and the Heavenly Principles, they chose in the end to bind themselves to a will from beyond the sky, which ended up in catastrophe.

As the letter in the Khaenri’ahn ruins of Gavireh Lajavard says: “The gods are untrustworthy and the demons, ineffable. If there is one thing that can pry open the corners of this hollow world, then it can only be human will.”

Congrats on making it to the end! As you can see, this was already reaching a ridiculous word count, so there were some things I had to leave out, or only briefly touch on. So here are some people and concepts I pretended didn't exist so this didn't get (more) convoluted, but you should read about them: Crowley and True Will, Nietzsche and the overman, Zoroastrianism as a whole, but particularly their version of the Primordial Man, William Blake's prophecies (his Auguries of Innocence is a big inspiration for the artifact lore), Schopenhauer and Will, Atman and Brahman, Plato's concept of the world-soul, SWORDS (in Genshin lore), the Holy Grail legend, and shoutout to Otto Apocalypse the real First Descender. I do want to point out that some of the (real) people on this list, like Crowley, either were terrible people who believed terrible things, or had their philosophy used for terrible things. This also applies to other inspirations for the Narzissenkreuz Ordo. Please keep that in mind when engaging with these people's work.

On a lighter note:

Sabre’s Fun Fact Science Corner aka Miscellaneous Stuff I Need to Put Somewhere

I didn't want to have to get into explaining the lore of another piece of media but yes, this theory was inspired by a binge watch of the last arc of Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood, transmutation circles and philosopher’s stone and all

On the topic of FMAB, the The Black Serpent Knights archive description states: “The long years and a curse seems to have robbed them of their reason and memory. Now, all that remains within that armor is the will to ‘fight for something, someone, and some matter.’” Funnily enough, the subtitle of the Knights is ‘Aldric’ - Alphonse Elric, anyone?

Caribert becomes the Loom of Fate to “weave his own destiny anew”, Albedo has the Cinnabar Spindle and instructions to create a new destiny - I’m sensing a theme here

Rene believed that getting a Vision was a bad thing in the process of actualizing your Will, and resulted in you selling your fate to the world. So he developed a ritual to remove a Vision from an allogene (this is only mentioned in passing by Caterpillar). So even though Albedo has a Vision, he’s not out of the running to become a Descender. But also Rene was wrong about stuff so ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

The anthropomorphic imagery in Lurianic Kabbalah can get pretty bizarre, but in a fun way if you're into Genshin lore. Adam Kadmon is described as emanating divine light out of his face, specifically his eyes, to create the next world. Genshin eyeball lore is my roman empire.

As a full elemental dragon, Apep had a “world” inside their body. Rhinedottir seems to like dragons a lot; I wonder if she considers them to be similar to the primordial human. Also, there's evidence that the Traveler's elemental abilities mimic those of the elemental dragons, rather than the archons.

References:

Toseftah Hagigah 2:2 Babylonian Talmud Hagigah 14b, Jerusalem Talmud Hagigah 9:1.

Introduction to Kabbalah and Jewish Mysticism - Part 3/14 - Merkabah Shi'ur Komah & Sar Torah

Introduction to Kabbalah and Jewish Mysticism - Part 10/14 - Christian and Lurianic Kabbalah

https://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/761-adam-kadmon#anchor10

https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/adam-kadmon

https://www.chabad.org/kabbalah/article_cdo/aid/380321/jewish/Chaos-and-the-Primordial.htm

https://dpul.princeton.edu/alchemy/feature/the-chemical-wedding

https://www.scribd.com/doc/11441835/The-Four-Stages-of-Alchemical-Work

Jung, Collected Works vol. 14 (1970), Mysterium Coniunctionis (1956), ¶372 (p. 278) via Wikipedia

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Analytical_psychology#Individuation

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chrysopoeia

https://www.britannica.com/topic/Ouroboros

https://www.gla.ac.uk/myglasgow/library/files/special/exhibns/month/april2009.html

https://alchemywebsite.com/rosary0.html

https://www.alchemywebsite.com/rscroll.html

#geshin impact #genshin lore #albedo #narzissenkreuz ordo #rene is my poor little meow meow #tfw you write a 6000 word theory because you miss albedo so much

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mikashisus · 6 days

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connections between venti and arlecchino that i found particularly interesting, a rambling 🗣️

ARLECCHINO STORY QUEST SPOILERS‼️‼️

(these r just some cool things i found kinda sus and interesting. this was for fun.)

1. first, my thoughts on clervie — specifically what she says in response to learning about mondstadt:

2. the similarities between arlecchino and venti regarding “freedom”:

venti fought for freedom that was earned, and eventually became the god of freedom shortly after he earned said freedom.

he also tested vennessa. he tested her by saying he could grant her freedom and waited to see if she would leave the cell with him, but she didn’t. she stayed and showed him how freedom was meant to be earned, not given. venti was more than satisfied with her answer and left.

venti has shown time and time again that he believes freedom is meant to be earned. at least, that’s how i see his character and his ideals.

now i want to bring up what arlecchino said towards the end of her story quest. i find it interesting how she also believes that freedom is meant to be earned, not given.

pretty interesting.

3. now for my own personal rant and theories:

“freedom” itself is always being mentioned in this game. it started in mondstadt, the nation embodying freedom. the god of freedom himself entered the fray and showed us what freedom truly meant.

liyue was “freed” from their own god, who saw it time to step down from his position as archon and left the task of ruling & protecting liyue to the humans.

wouldn’t say there’s much freedom in inazuma tbh. unless you count the people being “freed” from the vision hunt decree and the sakoku decree.

nahida being freed from the hands of the sages/akademiya.

furina being freed from her curse and the act she played out for 500 years.

i wonder if we’ll see any freedom in natlan too.

ANYWAYS, ALL THIS TO SAY (i didnt mean for this to become a venti rant, i have constant venti brainrot) — i believe that venti and freedom play an ENORMOUS part in the lore of the game and we haven’t seen anything yet.

i am a firm believer that venti is one of the most important characters in this game. bro has lore in literally every nation, maybe with the exception of fontaine (iirc, there hasn’t been anything in fontaine calling back to barbatos).

he even has lore in the chasm and enkanomiya, which says A LOT. i haven’t finished the remuria world quest yet, so idk if there’s any lore about him or istaroth sprinkled there too. tbh i wouldn’t be surprised if there was.

everything always comes full circle when it comes to venti. he’s everywhere, which is pretty cool to think about when you realize that he’s supposed to be the embodiment of the wind, which is everywhere all at once and can hear everything.

which brings me to my last point —

4. this voiceline from arlecchino about the wind.

hmmm.. 🤨

#— ✦ mikashisus ramblings #firm believer of clervie being an anemo vision wielder if she survived #clervie would’ve loved mondstadt and everything to do with the nation as whole including barbatos #someone needs to take away my venti privileges bc the brainrot never stops #yes this is kind of a call back to venti maybe being the most powerful archon #genshin impact #genshin #venti #genshin venti #i did not mean to turn this into a whole thing i originally just wanted to talk about clervie and mond #mondstadt #arlecchino #arlecchino genshin #well aware that arlecchino knowing about venti’s ability to hear shit on the wind might be common knowledge #but at the same time how would she know that bc realistically only venti would know??#unless im just stupid #why do i feel like arlecchino def knows venti is barbatos #i mean it would make sense given that signora knew venti’s identity #I NEED TO STOP RAMBLING

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queen-of-scissors · 1 year

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Re-Creation of Tevat

Part 2 of this:

You click download one more time, oh it worked! The update is also downloaded! Time to play some genshin! What could go wrong? :D

___________________________

As you log into your account once again, you were exited! A New boss and a New story quest?! This is gonna be fun binge playing it the whole night!!

But as soon as you log in, your characters in the screen seemed a bit diffrent.

Some of them are not using their voice lines anymore! And the usually smiley characters seem to lack emotion!

"Hmm is this an another bug? Maybe i need to re-install again-"

And just like that you Heard your mains idle voiceline, guess it wasn't broken afterall!

_____________________

Some playable characters were scared, of you and what you can do if they were to make you upset.

What if you got bored of playing everyday? What if you get bored of them and decide to delete them and only them?

They won't be remembered. No one will honour their death. They will be gone in an instant, and forever.

Npcs however, theyre not sentient, therefore they dont remember anything.

But they are worried about others. İs that a vision holder thing? Why are most of them upset?

Yoimiya's father tries to cheer her up by giving her a special order by him, but she wasnt feeling up to it at these days. Give her a few days, she will catch up with her work soon, profably.

Qiqi didn't remember anything but she felt scared when she was at the dark, she needs to hold Baizu's hand while sleeping now.

Nilou stoped doing dances on your name, in fear that she might do or say something wrong and she might be deleted. Her menager is worried about her, as she was starting to get popular with those dances in particular, why sudden fear for wrath from you?

Knights of favonious now have a Church day to give offerings to you and barbatos, so that you will feel more at esse and less angry.

Speaking of gods..

Venti is dissapointed in you. How dare you kill those innocent people? Even though no one seems to remember you still had no right doing that!

Ei is scared. She swore on eternity, the unchanging and unwielding truth, but didn't knew it would be so easily destroyer in your hands. She doesn't want to live through something like that ever again. She has to be stronger. Than maybe, maybe you will at least be willing to listen to her.

Zhongli's wiew of you didn't change. He knew you were strong and can delete everything with a click of a finger. He was more concerned on why? Did something happen in your world? İs it something they did? He will make sure to ask when you visit Tevat personally.

Nahida is a baby god. She feels betrayed. She always thought of you as the only truth in this world of lies. The world that doesnt even exist in people thought it is. Why would you?! She tought you loved this world? What changed? Why did you downloaded it again now? Why are you playing with their feelings?

(maybe i might update when New gods are present)

____________________________

(you came to tevat and explained)

Venti feels SO MAD AT HİMSELF HE JUMPED İNTO CONCLUSİONS AND SPEAKED BLASPHEMY OF YOU OH DEAR-

Nahida feels a bit better, still traumatised but better. İf you didnt do that than you wouldnt ve able to come to this world. So she forgives you!(just not forgets, checks the codes so it doesnt happen again)

Ei still feels the same. She felt your power. Experianced it firsthand. She will be strong enough to get recocnision from you. To be worthy of your Side.

Zhongli feels relived, he tought something bad happened to you so, he is happy that you're ok. -Also tells you to feel free to tell them change anything you might find boring just in case-

_______________________________

Nahida: creator what is this... Homework folder?

Creator: NO DONT OPEN THAT-

#genshin sagau #sagau #sagau brainrot #sagau x reader #self aware genshin #genshin x you #genshin isekai #genshin impact venti #genshin zhongli #genshin ei #genshin baal #genshin impact sagau #sagau cult au #genshin nahida #nahida

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beehiveofblorbos · 3 months

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been brainrotting Venti recently and all of his lore so just gonna put it somewhere that’s not my head

Some basics on Venti: he is the Anemo Archon of Mondstadt, with connections to wine and song, but with the official dominion of Wind, and his ideal is Freedom. He currently disguises himself as a carefree bard. His character story and Neuvi’s voice lines also declare him to be a god of hope.

when we first meet him he teleports away in a flash of Anemo (he can teleport!!) and we learn when we enter mond that the god Barbatos (an original member of the Seven) has been MIA for a long time. He’s not the one running the place, the Ordo Favonius are, but he does have a church and Mondstadters habitually give each other blessings from the wind. He himself has a habit of sleeping for long periods of time.

okay, cool. Venti himself helps us save Dvalin, casually revealing he’s the Anemo Archon just to get hold of the Holy Lyre. He breaks it when we’re on the quest, but returns it to Barbara magically fixed (and implies that she’ll find it broken again soon). His Gnosis is stolen (guys he can Teleport!!!) from him, but he returns to Windrise to recover.

He also gives us the basics on Teyvat’s elemental powers, and tells us a god’s power is based in how much control they exert over their nation (this is later contradicted by Nahida + Focalors,,,, so chances are that he was lying!)

then we also have Carmen Dei, the only archon story quest to not have a part 2. In “Should You Be Trapped In A Windless Land” (and we’ll explore what wind means in Teyvat), Venti uses his godly powers to help Stanley, a boastful adventurer who has taken on the face and identity of his friend in order to carry on his memory. The friend died in Mare Jivari, the ‘windless land’ likely referenced by the quest title.

Venti then sings the story of how he, “a single thread of the thousand winds” (Venti character story), became an archon. He reveals he too has taken on the face of his friend who died among the revolt against Decarabian in Old Mond that ended with Venti being seated as the god.

(Guys he has associations with death!! It doesn’t stop here, Weinlesefest and Mond legends about your spirit being guided back home by the wind, even the connections in events to Hu Tao like !!!)

He hasn’t appeared much in main story, honestly. But there are so many crumbs that lead back to Barbatos and his homeland of Mond that one HAS to wonder: what is going on with him?

His drip marketing? oh he’s the “prodigal son”. son of who???

(“she was the moment. she was every moment… every second of joy, every moment of rage, every instant of longing, every flash of delirium”)

furthermore we’ve got more from his demo: “full of mystery, born from the branches of time / a history of glory and sorrow, and witness to the divine”.

so he’s the “prodigal son”, “born from the branches of time”, who is “full of mystery”, has “a history of glory and sorrow”, and serves as a “witness to the divine”.

what do his character stories have to say? a LOT. they call him “a single thread of the thousand winds”, “without a shred of divine dignity” (pre archon war). And they claim he became a god once the rebellion succeeded (it kinda makes sense, he was the spirit most associated with them after all, and as we know - gods of Teyvat draw power from their believers)

The 5th story remarks that Venti both should and should not be given credit for Mond’s prosperity, since it’s the doing of the Four Winds (which he established lol) but also he’s the one ensuring that the tales of their deeds are passed on.

ok let’s break this down. he’s the prodigal son? the question of his parentage seems to have found it’s definitive answer. Mondstadtian sayings commonly associate the wind with the passage of time, and there are temples to time and a god of time in Mond, which have now come to ruins. They were worshipped alongside Venti for a long time, but their significance diminished and eroded.

Now, in Enka we discovered records of Istaroth, who was also known by the Enkanomiyans as their Goddess of Time, and is the premier candidate (by lore enthusiast consensus) for the god that would’ve been worshipped alongside Venti.

She is also (I’m convinced) Venti’s mom. Remember, he was said to be “born of the branches of time” and “a single thread of the thousand winds”. What was Istaroth’s epithet? She’s the Thousand Winds. We are literally told he was a part of her.

We also have evidence to support Venti having time-based powers. Remember the Weinlesefest memories brought by the wind? He also “knows all songs, past and future”. And furthermore, he might have just rewound the Holy Lyre instead of actually fixing it permanently.

The real question up for debate is whether or not Venti is part of her or a completely unique entity. Both are possible, honestly. I mean, they coexisted. It’s just that the phrasing “a branch” bothers me because it was the exact same phrase used to reference what Nahida is to Rukkha but that much could just be coincidence.

I think we’ve established by now that he’s seen a history full of glory and sorrow, and that he’s full of mystery. So what’s left?

He “knows all songs, past and future” and he is a “witness of the divine”. And his character story supports that, highlighting the importance of his role as a witness to the history of Mond and the feats of the Four Winds. In light of the Sumeru and Fontaine AQs, where we learned that info can be erased from Irminsul and can only be preserved either through the memory of a Witness from outside the world or the creation of an allegorical tale that seems just fictional enough to bypass the Irminsul censors. Also, the importance of what we see being the truth.

(Oh yeah: forgot to mention that he also tends to play this role in history, where he doesn’t interfere much himself but he picks a hero to address a task and then supports them however they need to get the job done. This traces back all the way to his time with Decarabian; he didn’t fight in the war itself, but he watched the Nameless Bard and his countrymen do it, and recorded it in song. Same for Vennessa and the Revolution against the aristocracy).

(guys he is a god of hope and of freedom)

Carmen Dei the story quest does not have a part two. I fear for the day it does, frankly, because we will learn a LOT about this silly little man.

#genshin venti #genshin impact #genshin barbatos #genshin lore #he has me in a chokehold #beelorbo

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dustofthedailylife · 1 year

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3.6 Livestream

Primogem Codes Make sure to redeem them quick, they're only valid for a short time!

9ARE6VLJT34H KBRE7D4KA2MM 7S9X6V4JB2M9

Upcoming Banners

Phase 1: Nahida & Nilou // Phase 2: Baizhu & Ganyu + Kaveh (yes!!!)

Some Highlights

New Main Event features all the Darshans. Looks like we might possibly see a new character for the Vahumana Darshan?

Each Darshan will host their own little mini-game. Looks really cool if you ask me! We also get a free Faruzan from the event. Nice! Can we also talk about Alhaitham in this official art?? *stares*

Layla also gets her own Hangout and we get two new artifact sets!

Nahida Story Quest Part II is also coming out!

And edit since I forgot to take a screenshot of it: We're also getting a new area, weekly boss, and world boss!

Overall looks like a packed patch! I'm stoked! What do you guys think?

#🍁 dust plays genshin #genshin impact #3.6 livestream #genshin #genshin livestream

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wrathful--artist · 1 year

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Caged Bird and Chased Mouse

Part 2.5: The Traveler, Bird, and Eagle

A/N: OKAY I KNOW ITS BEEN A HOT MINUTE, I DONT WRITE AND HAVE BEEN READING FANFICTION AND WENT TO SEE A MUSICAL. Anyways like,,, sends me asks i need some social interactions it doesnt even have to relate to the story, once i get further into this story and have more characters you guys can request headcannon stuff! Also im basing some of the emotion stuff on my personal experience when playing these story quests.

No Warning!

Lumine is exhausted.

She’s currently resting in a room given to her by Dunyarzad, thinking over the last few days. Normally, when helping people like Tighnari, Collei, and Dunyarzad, shes fine thanks to her Creator leading her and showing her with their heavenly warmth. But without it, it has drained her of all energy, unable to give answers that once came easy to her in conversations. Paimon has filled in whenever those moments come up.

While doing Tighnari ‘quest’ (as her adventure guild book tells her, it has unique writing not like how Katheryne has written with an almost robotic font, so Lumine has chosen to assume that it was her lovely Creator), she imagined what it would’ve felt like to have her Creator lead her (her Creator was sure to cry about the poor scientist and his creation, they are such a caring and sensitive deity even for such a non-living, lifeless creature).

During the trip to the City of Sumeru, Lumine has felt a slight tug on her heart- No, her very soul. She is blindly hopeful that shes getting closer to her beloved Creator, the one thing that has been a constant in her long, long trip throughout Tevyat. Perhaps that last mark on her map was a message from her Creator, telling her where to find them, for only their most devote follower.

Lying down in the bed, Lumine has a feeling that something important is going to happen tomorrow, something that will hopefully lead her to that heavenly warmth that she has been depraved up,

Sabzeruz Festival.

_____________________________________________________________________________________________

Nahida has been working hard.

She’s been doing everything in her power, in her small godly body to make sure the Sages wont take them away. She may not remember who they are but Celestia be damned if she let something so familiar and comforting be torn away from her. They’ve been asleep for weeks, almost 2 months, or 57 days to be precise (Nahida doesn’t normally like to count the days of somethings like her imprisonment but she needs to make sure they don’t somehow die or sleep for too long). She didn’t want to let go the warmth the stranger brought to her, that was so unlike the cold and sterile environment of the sanctuary she saw everyday for the past 500 years.

She’s made it so if they tried to remove the stranger from her prison, something would go wrong and mess with the Akasha so horribly that it would be down for who knows how long, and since all citizens were dependent on the Akasha, the sages weren’t willing to take that risk. Especially when their plan seems so focused on using the Akasha for.. something, something big and dangerous. So the Sages had decided to let the caged bird have her toy, for now.

Nahida cuddled up to the prone body of the stranger, wanting to feel more of the comforting warmth she felt in the dream space. She hoped they would meet again soon in the dreamscape, maybe they would do something nice like sing to her or something…

Nahida let herself sleep, and decided to pass the time until the Sabzeruz Festival came by looking at dreams, hoping that with that the stranger’s subconscious would let her in again.

She wishes she had been more greedy and have them talk more, their voice was nice.

___________________________________________________________________________________________

Al Haithem is confused, yet curious.

The Sages ushered him into the Sanctuary of Surasthana, needing him to act as a scribe and record their research for an upcoming plan of theirs.

When he walked in he saw…

It was them. The stranger- no wait, Imposter if he remembered correctly (which he did) - he met months ago, the one who was incredibly suspicious yet intriguing. They gave off a form of aura, that felt… warm. He let them off the hook to see what they’d do at that time, not expecting them to be the infamous Imposter that a few Nations had warned others about. In his opinion, they looked just like the creator, but they didn’t seem malicious by any means. Only scared, as if a tiny mouse being hunted by packs of foxes.

It makes sense though, they’re being hunted by every nation just because they shared the same face. Al Haithem personally thought they were going a bit far, it’s idiotic to punish someone who happened to share a face with the All Mighty Creator.

One of the Sages cough to get his attention.

“Yes?” He replies with pen and scroll in hand, ready to record for them.

“You seemed lost in thought, a dangerous thing for a scribe to be doing, especially with such precious information as this.” One spoke up with an attitude

“Well, I realized I knew who that stranger is in the orb,” Al Haithem points with his pen, where Lesser Lord Kusanali was seemingly cuddling up with the Imposter, “It’s the rumored Imposter, the one who wears the Creator’s face.”

The Sages take a double take, walking towards the center to try and get a good view of the strangers face. It may have been squished slightly against the ‘glass’ but it was, in fact, the same face. The revelation starts a murmur with the Sages, as Al Haithem observes the Imposter,

Feeling a…

Tug in his chest.

______________________________________________________________

Okay okay i know i was gone for awhile, but do you like this filler? Lumine won for which traveler should be the one I use so yeah, shes her now.

oh god so many people to tag

If your name is crossed out it means I could tag you Im sorry :(

Taglist: @no-name-omo @moosieman12345 @tinandabin @esthelily @d0rmiens-fact0rem @lunalily19 @meerpea @justasleepyboi @lunarianillusion @cumbermovels @allblognamesaretakenlikereally @dulleyeddreamer @ello-its-me-ya-boi @jayastronomicnova @apple-ai @campanula-rotundifolia @kokomisimpppp @the-dumber-scaramouche @aintrovertmortal @i-loveyou013

#genshin impact #au #genshin nahida #genshin fanfic #genshin sagau #sagau #imposter sagau #sagau x reader #genshin impact sagau #genshin alhaitham #genshin #not me trying to be a writer again #still an artist #fluff #ig

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itsmespicaa · 1 year

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"Seeds of Stories, Brought by the Wind..." (part 2/2)

(part 1 here!)

⚠️ Contains Sumeru Archon Quest SPOILER !!!

Fun fact: Nahida’s voiceline ‘When it’s windy’ is: “The wind never blows in the Sanctuary of Surasthana...Oh, sorry. That's probably obvious to you.” I’m not crying what tHE FUC-

The fic continuation of the last page is below :D

------------

Venti shouted, waving and practically flying to her, “Buer!”

It seemed that Nahida had just escaped from a room of her people asking for her guidance and advice on what to do next with the Akademiya, from the way she was stunned at the unexpected call of her true name.

“Eh…?”

Without warning, he grasped her smaller hands in his as the wind sang and blew wildly around them, reflecting his unrepressed joy.

Venti laughed: “Ah…it’s been much too long!”

The Traveler ran to them before looking around, worried that others would be suspicious of the strange interaction of their archon and a strange bard from afar. But it seems most had to cover their eyes due to the strong wind just a while ago, and when they turned to Venti with a raised eyebrow, he just winked at them.

“This hardly seems like a proper place for a reunion between old friends–what say you, oh Dendro Archon?”

It seems Venti’s antics finally caught up with Nahida, who smiled back, albeit more subdued than the former. “Alright. Let’s go somewhere more private.”

~0~

In a flurry of white feathers and verdant leaves, they all reappeared inside the Sanctuary, the quiet ambience enveloping them gently like a cradle to a newborn babe.

“Mm, I haven’t been here in a very long time…” Venti sighed, eyes closed as though to listen even closer to the whispers behind the walls. When he opened them again, his eyes reflected the vibrant green like fireflies at night. “It feels familiar and yet…completely reborn.”

Unbeknownst to any of them, the Traveler’s eyes widened slightly at his remarks, lips shaking slightly with words they’ve agreed to never speak of.

“I guess…that’s what happens when you lose your memories,” Venti finally turned to Nahida with a forlorn smile, who had simply been observing him from beside the Traveler. The Dendro Archon clenched her hands together before walking up to him, meeting his gaze.

“...Barbatos,” Nahida started, “just as the wind blows the seeds of every story all across Teyvat, I’m sure the wind has told you of the story that was uncovered in Sumeru as well. I…I apologize for not greeting you in a manner befitting a fellow Archon, but I would like to extend my hand in friendship once more just as I did all those years ago.”

To her surprise, Barbatos simply giggled, his airy laughter jingling like bells. “I never knew how adorably anxious you felt when we first met~!”

Going down on his knees, he enveloped her gently like a mother bird brooding its younglings, catching the other archon off guard. “And our friendship never ended,” he said, his voice tapering off into a whisper, “no matter where you are in the endless river of time, you will always be a dear friend of mine, Buer.”

Nahida felt…comfort, familiar and oh so warm, an old memory that did not feel hers resurfacing from under the rubble, like a tiny sapling that willed itself to survive amidst the harsh and unforgiving nature imposed onto it.

After a second of hesitation, she returned the hug, burying her face in the awfully familiar scent of dandelions and wind, wanting to keep this feeling with her for eternity no matter what.

But alas, nothing lasts forever.

“I also heard from a certain Traveler,” Venti nodded at the quiet person watching them from a distance, “that the wind…never blows inside this tiny bird cage of yours. I see what you mean now.”

He stood up and summoned his lyre, walking to the middle of the platform, to the place she was trapped in for half a millennium. The place where the wind could not reach, where her tears and anxieties remained unseen and hidden from the world, her fate sealed by the people she was born to protect.

Strumming his lyre, he beamed at her: “Time to correct that!”

A gentle breeze flowed within her former cage, caressing her cheeks and the tips of her feet, bumping into her as though asking her to come play with them. Nahida’s eyes glimmered as silver white wings sprouted from Venti’s back, feathers floating in the air as he sang.

Ah…this voice…

Memories flooded her vision as snapshots of beautiful moments blurred past her eyes, untouched by the ravages of time. The tiny sapling grew larger and larger until it touched the sky above, to where they would return to. Singing together with the Aranara, the gathering of the first Seven, memories never lucid enough for her to see in detail but the emotions. Oh the emotions she experienced then…

(...She?)

Nahida did not realize the tears dripping onto the floor until she felt a warm hand on her shoulder, startling her to reality as she watched Venti glide down and extend a hand towards her, a gentle smile on his lips as he beckoned for her:

“Come sing with me? For old times’ sake.”

Ah…How could she refuse?

With a wide grin, she took his hand and sang.

No one but the Traveler and their floating companion would be the witness to this beautiful moment shared between the two neighboring archons, the two old friends separated by time and the earth itself.

One born of the thousands of branches of time, while the other sprouted from the purest branch of an ancient tree.

#genshin impact #venti #nahida #rukkhadevata #sumeru archon quest #archon quest spoiler #ALSO FUN FACT: the ost that played during the mond archon quest played during the nahida rescue scene :) im not crying you are AAAAAAAAAAAAA #I LOVE PAIN WOOOOOOOOOOO #QWQ #THEYRE FRIENDS YOUR HONOR LET THEM MEEEEEETTTT #AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA #SOBS #im never getting over how neither venti nor zhongli remembers rukkhadevata i cant do this yall ;-;#also in case that wasnt obvious; venti slowed down time for a bit to say goodbye to rukkhadevata for the last time before he too forgets ;-;#being a creation of istaroth has both its perks and downsides and venti didnt know what this counted as hhh _(:"

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genshin-impact-updates · 11 months

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"Duel! The Summoners' Summit!" Version 3.7 Update Details

Dear Travelers,

Below are the details of the Version 3.7 update "Duel! The Summoners' Summit!" and the update compensation.

〓Compensation Details〓

Maintenance Compensation: Primogems ×300 (60 Primogems per hour the servers are down)

Issue Fix Compensation: Primogems ×300 (please refer to the relevant compensation mail for more details)

〓Scope of Compensation〓

Maintenance Compensation: Travelers who reach Adventure Rank 5 or above before 2023/05/24 06:00 (UTC+8).

Please claim before the end of Version 3.7.

Issue Fix Compensation: Travelers who reach Adventure Rank 5 or above before 2023/05/24 06:00 (UTC+8).

Please claim the compensation mail before 2023/05/27 06:00 (UTC+8).

Our developers will distribute compensation to Travelers via in-game mail within 5 hours after the update maintenance is finished. The mail will expire after 30 days, so don't forget to claim the attached compensation in time.

〓Update Schedule〓

Update maintenance begins 2023/05/24 06:00 (UTC+8) and is estimated to take 5 hours.

〓How to Update Game Client〓

PC: Close the game, open the Genshin Impact Launcher, and click Update.

iOS: Open the App Store and tap Update.

Android: Open the game and follow the directions on-screen.

PS5™ and PS4™: Highlight Genshin Impact from the Home Screen, press the OPTIONS button and select "Check for Update."

Please do not hesitate to contact Customer Service if you encounter any issues installing the new version. We will do our very best to resolve the issue.

〓Update Details〓

I. New Character

4-Star Character "Cat Upon the Eaves" Kirara (Dendro)

◇ Vision: Dendro

◇ Weapon: Sword

◇ A courier for Komaniya Express, a delivery company in Inazuma. A nekomata who loves her job and human society.

◆ Elemental Skill "Meow-teor Kick"

◆ Kirara can deal AoE Dendro DMG while also temporarily applying Dendro to herself, creating the Shield of Safe Transport. When obtaining a new Shield of Safe Transport, the Shields will be stacked, and the duration will be reset. Holding the Elemental Skill will have Kirara enter the Urgent Neko Parcel state. When in this state, Kirara's movement speed, climbing speed, and jumping power are all increased, and her Stamina Consumption from climbing is increased. She will deal Dendro DMG to opponents she crashes into.

◆ Elemental Burst "Secret Art: Surprise Dispatch"

◆ Kirara uses the Special Delivery Package on opponents, dealing AoE Dendro DMG. After the Special Delivery Package explodes, it will split up into many Cat Grass Cardamoms that will explode either upon contact with opponents or after a period of time, dealing Dendro DMG.

II. New Equipment

New Weapon

Ibis Piercer (4-Star Bow)

The character's Elemental Mastery will increase by 40 within 6s after Charged Attacks hit opponents. Max 2 stacks. This effect can be triggered once every 0.5s.

◆ Ibis Piercer (Bow) and its refinement materials can be redeemed in the "Duel! The Summoners' Summit!" event.

III. New Main Story

1. New Story Quest

Yoimiya's Story Quest - Carassius Auratus Chapter: Act II "Star-Pickers' Passage"

Permanently available after the Version 3.7 update

◆ Quest Unlock Criteria

• Reach Adventure Rank 40 or above

• Complete Archon Quest Chapter III: Act V "Akasha Pulses, the Kalpa Flame Rises"

• Complete Raiden Shogun's Story Quest - Imperatrix Umbrosa Chapter: Act II "Transient Dreams"

• Complete World Quest "The World of Aranara" from Aranyaka: Part II "Dream Nursery"

2. New Hangout Event:

Hangout Event: Kaveh - Act I "The Pendulum of Weal and Woe"

Permanently available after the Version 3.7 update

◆ Quest Unlock Criteria

• Reach Adventure Rank 40 or above

• Complete Archon Quest Chapter III: Act V "Akasha Pulses, the Kalpa Flame Rises"

• Complete Alhaitham's Story Quest - Vultur Volans Chapter: Act I "The Illusions of the Mob"

IV. New Genius Invokation TCG Update

1. New Cards and Duelists

◆ New Character Cards: Venti, Zhongli, Raiden Shogun, Nahida, Shenhe, Tartaglia, Amber, Hu Tao, Yae Miko, Xiao, and their corresponding Talent Cards.

◆ New Character Cards: Cryo Cicin Mage, Abyss Lector: Fathomless Flames, Electro Hypostasis, and their corresponding Talent Cards. Their Tavern Challenges have also been added.

◆ Numerous Action Cards have been added which can be purchased from Prince at The Cat's Tail.

◆ New invitation duels and Guest Challenges added to the Player List.

◆ Added 20 new Open World Players. Reach Player Level 9 to unlock 10 new Open World Players, and reach Player Level 10 to unlock the other 10 Open World Players.

2. The Forge Realm's Temper

When the "The Forge Realm's Temper" event is open, you can select stages to challenge.

In each stage, you can configure the difficulty of different parameters. Adjustable parameters include: stage difficulty, the health of opponents, and the number of rounds to complete the challenge within.

Each set of parameters has corresponding points that will be obtained for completing the challenge.

After completing the challenge, points will be obtained based on the difficulty selected for each parameter. The best score obtained for each stage will be recorded, and will allow you to claim rewards that correspond to certain scores.

3. Arena of Champions

◇ Unlock Criteria: Unlocks when Player Level reaches 4

The Arena of Champions will open on the 1st and the 16th of each month. Challenge records from previous seasons will be cleared at the start of each new season.

Players will be matched with opponents of appropriate skill at the start of each challenge.

Obtain 5 victories to complete an Arena of Champions challenge attempt. 3 defeats will result in a failed challenge attempt.

If your challenge is successful, the Character Cards in the deck used will be recorded in the Character Honors record for that season.

Up to 9 records can be saved for the Arena of Champions. After 9 records have been saved, saving a new record will delete a previous saved record, beginning with the oldest.

Up to 10 records can be saved for challenge decks. After 10 records have been saved, saving a new record will delete an old record, beginning with the deck record with the fewest victories or the oldest record.

◇ Genius Invokation TCG Unlock Criteria:

• Reach Adventure Rank 32 or above

• Complete the Archon Quest "Song of the Dragon and Freedom"

V. Other Additions

New Recipe:

○ Kirara's specialty: "Energizing Bento"

New Achievements added to the "Memories of the Heart" category

New Namecards:

"Kirara: Neko Box": Reward for reaching Friendship Lv. 10 with Kirara

"Travel Notes: Secrets": Reward obtained via the BP system

Added some prompts for loading screens.

Added Set 23 of "Paimon's Paintings" chat emojis.

Added Gadget Quickswap Function: After adding Gadgets to the Quickswap Menu, hold the Gadget icon to quickswap Gadgets. The Quickswap Menu can contain 4 Gadgets.

Spiral Abyss

Floor 11 Ley Line Disorders changed to:

• All party members' Normal Attack DMG increased by 50%.

Updated the monster lineup on Floor 11 of the Spiral Abyss.

Updated the monster lineup on Floor 12 of the Spiral Abyss.

Starting from the first time that the Lunar Phase refreshes after updating to Version 3.7, the three Lunar Phases will be as follows:

Phase I:

Drumming Moon

After the character's Normal Attack hits an opponent, this opponent will be afflicted with a Sign of Snaring. After 3s, the Sign will be removed, dealing True DMG to this opponent. After a character's Normal Attack hits an opponent with a Sign of Snaring, the DMG dealt by the Sign's removal will be increased. This DMG can be increased for no more than 9 times.

Phase II:

Potent Moon

After the active character's Normal Attacks hit opponents, the DMG dealt by this character will increase by 12% for 2s. This effect can stack up to 5 times. Each stack's duration is counted independently. This effect can be triggered once every 0.05s. This effect will be canceled when the character leaves the field.

Phase III:

Willowy Moon

After the character's Normal Attack hits an opponent, the Physical or Elemental RES of this opponent will decrease by 6% for 2s, matching the Attribute of that attack. This can stack up to 6 times. RES decreases of different types can co-exist, and their stacks and timers will be independent of each other.

〓Adjustments & Optimizations〓

● Genius Invokation TCG

Optimizes the icons generated by Normal Attack "Frostflake Arrow" of Character Card "Ganyu" and Combat Status "Sparks 'n' Splash" of Character Card "Klee."

Optimizes the defeat menu presentation in Genius Invokation TCG.

Optimizes certain description texts and punctuation in Genius Invokation TCG.

Changes the status name "Normal State" of the card "Winged Dendroshroom" to "Aerial Superiority" in Genius Invokation TCG challenge.

Optimizes the effects described of Combat Status "Inspiration Field" for the Character Card "Bennett" in Genius Invokation TCG: After Bennett equips "Grand Expectation," the DMG increase requirements of "Inspiration Field" will be changed from "If this character has at least 7 HP" to being always active. The description of the "Inspiration Field" created by Bennett with "Grand Expectation" equipped is different from one created by Bennett with "Grand Expectation" unequipped.

Adjusts the effects of the Talent Card "Undivided Heart" used by Character Card "Ganyu" in Genius Invokation TCG: Ganyu will no longer get the +1 Cryo DMG effect after equipping this card.

Adjusts the number of charges required and DMG dealt by the Elemental Burst of Character Card "Ganyu" in Genius Invokation TCG: The number of charges has been increased from 2 to 3 and the Cryo DMG dealt has been increased from 1 to 2. The other effects of this Character Card remain unchanged.

Adjusts Elemental Skill Hydro DMG dealt by the Character Card "Fatui Mirror Maiden" in Genius Invokation TCG: "Deals 3 Hydro DMG..." is now adjusted to "Deals 2 Hydro DMG...".

Adjusts the effect and description for Summon "Ushi" summoned by the Character Card "Arataki Itto": "When your active character receives DMG, Arataki Itto gains Superlative Superstrength" is now "When your character takes DMG, Arataki Itto gains Superlative Superstrength."

Adjusts Event Card "Send Off" in Genius Invokation TCG: "Choose one Summon on the opposing side and destroy it" is now "Choose one Summon on the opposing side and cause it to lose usages by 2."

Adjusts the effect of the Equipment Card "Lithic Spear" in Genius Invokation TCG: Now even defeated characters will be included in the calculations.

When your Character Cards include "Maguu Kenki," all non-Cryo Elemental Dice will be used first for Elemental Tuning and playing your hand in Genius Invokation TCG.

Adds rules and descriptions relating to concepts such as "Defeated," "Food," "Calculation Order," "Charged Attack," and "Plunging Attack" for Genius Invokation TCG.

Adjusts the description detailing "Charged Attack" in Genius Invokation TCG. After the update, the description is as follows: Before your Action Phase, should the total number of your Elemental Dice be even, your Normal Attack will be considered a Charged Attack.

Adjusts the "Other Rules" tab in Genius Invokation TCG Rules into the "Other Rules" and "Special Entry" tabs.

Invitation Duels will now take place in the all new Invitation Duel Room for Genius Invokation TCG.

● Audio

Optimizes the sound effects for character footsteps when they walk across different surfaces.

Optimizes the sound performance of certain quest NPCs.

Optimizes the English, Korean, and Japanese voice-overs for certain characters along with the English and Japanese voice-overs for certain quests.

Adjusts the Korean voice-over related to certain items.

Optimizes the music switching performance when skipping the cutscene animations of Trounce Domain "The Realm of Beginnings."

● System

In the "Adventurer Handbook," "Commissions" and "Embattle" tabs now support pushing the right gyroscope on the controller to view more of the text.

Upgrades the background blur function in the "Paimon Menu > Take Photo" system.

Adds voice lines of the Elemental Skills of "Sprout of Rebirth" Collei (Dendro), "Treasure of Dream Garden" Dori (Electro), and "Admonishing Instruction" Alhaitham (Dendro) in their "Profile / Voice-Over" pages.

〓Bug Fixes〓

● Genius Invokation TCG

Fixes an issue in Genius Invokation TCG whereby when Keqing is Frozen and a Lightning Stiletto is used to switch the active character to Keqing, her skill could be abnormally used.

Fixed an issue in Genius Invokation TCG in which equipping the Talent Card "Grand Expectation" to "Bennett" would result in bonus damage being erroneously applied to his Elemental Burst if his own Inspiration Field was already active and Bennett's HP was less than 7.

● Enemies

Fixes an issue under certain circumstances whereby when challenging the boss Shouki no Kami, the Prodigal, the Neo Akasha Terminal is rendered unable to attack as normal.

Fixes an issue whereby under certain circumstances, there was a chance that the boss "Iniquitous Baptist" would abnormally enter a paralyzed state when only a single Elemental Shield had been broken.

Fixes an issue of erroneous display when defeating the boss "Guardian of Apep's Oasis" in Co-Op Mode.

Fixes an issue whereby the enemy "Ruin Drake's" head might abnormally change directions when Ruin Drake is in a Frozen state.

Fixes an issue whereby when an Anemo Specter was defeated, there would be a small chance that the DMG AoE was not in line with its displayed special effects.

● Quests

Fixes an issue with certain Archon Quests whereby there were issues with abnormal color display of elements on clothing for NPC Aether and NPC Lumine.

Fixes an issue regarding the absent voice-overs for certain NPCs in Gavireh Lajavard after completing the World Quest "Khvarena of Good and Evil."

● Characters

Fixes an issue whereby the Stormeye created by Venti's Elemental Burst can abnormally be destroyed by the boss Guardian of Apep's Oasis's aftershocks of the apocalypse attack.

Fixes an issue under certain circumstances whereby there is a small chance that after "Eons Adrift" Wanderer (Anemo) uses his Elemental Skill, he will abnormally contact other Elements or be unable to properly contact Hydro.

Fixes an issue whereby when "Verdant Strider" Tighnari (Dendro) uses his Elemental Burst, the in-game camera can have a small chance of working abnormally when playing on PlayStation®.

Fixes an issue whereby when "Coordinates of Clear Frost" Mika (Cryo) performs his Charged Attack, should the attack be canceled with a sprint, the special effect for a hit being made will be triggered.

Fixes an issue whereby in some cases, when a character switches outfits, you will be unable to switch over to said character.

Fixes an issue whereby in some cases, after a character defeats an opponent through Elemental Reactions, when they run into the same opponent again, animations of the opponent being defeated will be abnormally displayed.

Fixes an issue whereby Lisa's pupils are displayed abnormally after changing into her outfit "A Sobriquet Under Shade."

Fixes an issue whereby after Ganyu unleashes an Elemental Burst, some special effects within a certain AoE will abnormally appear to be transparent.

Fixes an issue whereby in Version 3.6 when Gorou uses his Elemental Skill, relevant special effects on the ground would display abnormally.

Fixes an issue whereby, under certain circumstances, if Baizhu is interrupted while casting a Charged Attack, his next Charged Attack would have a chance to trigger the interrupted Charged Attack as an extra hit.

Fixes an issue when in the Open World while Co-Op Mode is active, after teammates teleport elsewhere, some characters' effects that should affect other party members are still abnormally effective even from a vast distance away.

● System

Fixes an issue whereby the description texts of some items in "Archive > Materials" were not fully displayed.

Fixes an issue of abnormal display of weapon type in the character details page under certain circumstances.

Fixes an issue whereby under certain circumstances, while conducting the Mystic Offering, there was a chance that the crafted Artifacts would be abnormally selected as the next batch of materials.

Fixes an issue whereby the Shortcut Wheel could be opened abnormally while taking photos.

Fixes an issue in the Characters > Talents page whereby pupils of "Chivalric Blossom" Noelle (Geo) abnormally quiver.

Fixes an issue whereby there is a chance that an abnormal progress calculation might occur to the Achievement "Performance May Decline in Low Temperatures."

Fixes an issue whereby the Achievement "Deja Vu!" could not be accomplished. Travelers who encountered this problem can retry the challenge after the update to obtain said Achievement.

Fixes an issue of the absence of special effects of the weapon "Staff of Homa" when the Graphic Quality is set as "Lowest."

● Audio

Fixes issues with the "Character" interface in which the voice-overs for certain characters cannot be exited and aren't interrupted as normal when switching between characters.

Fixes an issue of missing sound effects in some objects.

● Other

Fixes an issue whereby when using an Android device to play the game, after some characters use their Elemental Skills or Elemental Bursts, the visuals will start flickering.

Fixes an issue whereby starting the game on certain Android devices causes abnormal sounds to trigger.

Fixes an issue in Co-Op mode whereby there is a chance of encountering abnormal challenge totals when the host player is engaging in the "Percussive Prancing Mushrooms" World Challenge in the "Realm of Farakhkert."

Fixes an issue whereby in certain situations, Hydro applications on characters or opponents will not clear as normal.

Fixes an issue whereby the tail model of Tent Tortoise (Wildlife) would display abnormally.

Fixes a text error in the item "Ancient Journal."

Fixes an issue with the description text of Baizhu's Passive Talent "All Things Are of the Earth" for Simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese, German, English, Spanish, French, Indonesian, Japanese, Vietnamese, Turkish, and Italian.

Text before: "Aggravate and Spread reaction DMG dealt by these characters will be increased by 0.8%."

Text after: "And will increase the DMG Bonus provided by Aggravate and Spread by 0.8%."

Fixes some text errors in 15 languages and optimizes text. (Note: Related in-game functions have not changed. Travelers can view the changes in different languages by going to the Paimon Menu > Settings > Language and changing the Game Language.)

Text-related fixes and optimizations in English include:

◆ Optimizes descriptions related to characters in Artifact cards in Genius Invokation TCG.

◆ Optimizes instances of terms "Candace: Grey Heron" to "Candace: Gray Heron," "Tamanooya's Casket" to "Tamakushi Casket," "Nakatani" to "Fujita," and "Eiko" to "Etsuko."

◆ Optimizes the description of Dehya's specialty "Goldflame Tajine."

◆ Optimizes consistency regarding descriptions of characters' talents that produce different effects depending on whether used by tapping/pressing or holding.

◆ Optimizes text of Mika's Character Story 4.

◆ Optimizes descriptions of certain emojis.

◆ Optimizes description of Skyward Pride's effect.

◆ Optimizes some lines in the Story Quest "Lotos Somno Chapter: Act I."

◆ Optimizes some of Mona and Noelle's lines in the Serenitea Pot.

◆ Optimizes some of Paimon's lines in the Archon Quest "Caribert" and the Story Quest "Leo Minor Chapter: Act I."

◆ Optimizes some of Tighnari's voice-overs and Archon Quest lines.

◆ Optimizes Qiqi's idle voice-over.

*This is a work of fiction and is not related to any actual people, events, groups, or organizations.

"PlayStation", "PS5", "PS4", "DualSense", "DUALSHOCK" are registered trademarks or trademarks of Sony Interactive Entertainment Inc.

#genshin impact #genshin impact updates #genshin impact news #official #genshin impact 3.7 #this is from a hot minute ago but that's what they just added lol

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hiraya-rawr · 1 year

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MULTIPLE CHARACTERS M.LIST

<< back to character m.list

must read = ❤️

❤️ I can go anywhere I want – just not home // fic // diluc, thoma, kaeya, kazuha // you confront someone homesick

❤️ lover from another nation // hcs // you're their foreign lover

❤️ I knew you'd haunt all of my what-ifs // multiple // nahida's story quest where they dream of lost loved ones

❤️ You have bewitched me // shorts // Childe, Kazuha, Zhongli, Diluc

❤️ They have bewitched you // shorts // Thoma, Diluc, Zhongli, Gorou

Last Resort // SAGAU fic // in a desperate act to save yourself, you reveal their secrets

❤️ Trapped together // fic // Diluc, Zhongli // Kaeya, Thoma, Gorou

True love's kiss // drabble // Kaeya, Diluc, Zhongli // You've been cursed to sleep for eternity!

❤️ giving them a seelie pet // diluc, ayato, wanderer, zhongli

to pass the kamisato standards // multiple // kamisato mc introduces their lover to their siblings

❤️ Bloodsucker // mature fic // (crack) diluc, (angst) thoma, (horror) zhongli // they're a hungry vampire

Zombie Apocalypse // hcs on what they're like (4/09/23)

Competition // drabble // Ayato & Childe

You're his guardian angel // old fic // Diluc, Albedo, Gorou

The kiss cam lands on you two // shorts // Kaeya, Diluc, Childe, Zhongli, Thoma

You make a suspicious dish // shorts // Diluc, Childe, Zhongli, Kaeya, Thoma

Made with Love Dish // shorts // Diluc, Thoma, Childe

You're a zombie-like Qiqi // shorts // Diluc, Kaeya, Thoma

"I'm leaving you" text // smau // Childe, Diluc, Zhongli, Aether, Thoma, Scara

Fix me up, lover boy // short fics // they like you and they help fix your appearance // elzer, zhongli, diluc, ayato

❤️ Looking for your favorites // SAGAUshorts //(Thoma, Xiao, Zhongli) | (Kazuha, Diluc) | (Wanderer, Scaramouche, Chongyun, Aether, Razor)

How they guard your drink // mature hcs // Diluc, Kaeya, Zhongli, Thoma, Xiao, Childe

❤️ Family Roots 1 // Part 2 // fic // Diluc, Kaeya // reader looks for their "sibling"

❤️ Whispering "I can't do this anymore" in a fight // drabble // Childe, Zhongli, Thoma

The stupidly domestic things you do with him // shorts // Childe, Diluc, Zhongli, Kaeya

Blood Week // HCs // multiple // them on your period

Less than Lovers // mature fic // thoma, diluc // you're more than friends but less than lovers

❤️ You were the enemy all along // short // multiple // how they react to you betraying them

❤️ I wanna ruin our friendship // mature fic // diluc, kaeya, zhongli, xiao // a little burst of courage is all you need

Outburst // HCs // multiple // when elements reasonate with their emotions

Everything feels new // Elemental Reactions // SAGAU fic // the creator takes on a physical form for the first time

On Screen 1// SAGAU brainrot // conversations beyond the screen

Xiao & Zhongli | 1 Aftermath // SAGAU fic // imposter AU where Xiao helps you

Dragonspine (Playable AU) // fic // diluc + kaeya + klee // your player logs out, leaving the team in dragonspine

❤️ A simp in SAGAU // short // you're a simp

#hira masterlist #genshin #genshin impact #genshin x reader #genshin fanfic #genshin masterlist

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worriedvision · 1 year

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Scaramouche red string soulmate au

Part 2 of this fic. Gender neutral reader, contains spoilers for the most recent archon quest. Scaramouche is a tad obsessive here, but I'm hoping I made it clear most of it is just teasing.

The wanderer had a lot of questions about his story. Where did he come from, what was he destined to do, in this timeline only the traveler truly knew exactly what he did before he attempted to remove his wrongdoings.

And what was this red string around his finger? Nahida said it had something to do with two souls destined to find each other, but he was certain it was a trap of sorts at first. It's only after doing some more research that he realises that she was not lying - attached to the other end of this red string was his soulmate!

Meanwhile, your life hadn't changed all that much. You worked very closely with a Fatui agent, being part of the Fatui yourself. After having enough of seeing other nations being shafted by your organisation, you left and took your chances with Master Tighnari. He, to your surprise, took you in. He was skeptical of your reasoning, but seeing you genuinely trying to learn the job was enough for him.

One day, during an expedition with Master Tighnari, he suddenly pulls you into a dark yet shallow cave, hand clamping over your mouth. Before you can think of what was happening, he tells you to stay calm.

"I know you're here." You hear a male voice sing out teasingly. You see a man hovering quickly towards your area, stopping right in front of the cave. "You know, you shouldn't keep me waiting. I have a very. Short. Temper." He chuckles, slowly starting to hover past.

Looking down at your hand, you are horrified to see this red string of yours was attached to this man. Looking at Tighnari, he gives you a reassuring look that he would protect you.

"Come out now, and let us explore the world." The man calls out. "I promise I won't kill you on the spot." He coos, neither you nor Tighnari making a move to leave.

"Playing a game of hide and seek, hmm?" He chuckles, suddenly picking up a lot of speed and landing on the ground right outside the cave. The only thing keeping you hidden, well the string excluded, was the rock you were both hiding behind. "Very well. I must say, you aren't very good at hiding spots..." The man slowly eases out, walking until he was one turn away from seeing you.

Tighnari still had his hand around your mouth, hoping that this man would somehow decide to keep this chase going on. Perhaps he could think up a way of hiding this string.

However, the man inches his head towards you, an intimidating smirk as he leans down, ignoring Tighnaris presence.

"Found you."

#gender neutral reader #genshin impact imagines #tighnari #scaramouche #scaramouche x gender neutral reader #scaramouche x reader

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empyrangel · 1 year

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I just finished Nahida’s quest and while I’m fuming that the radish got a second story quest before Venti, that doesn’t mean I can’t make part of her quest about him. In all seriousness though, I think this one specific bit was about him. In the part where we have to heal the second elemental being disguised as a fungus but they’re surrounded by real fungi and we can’t startle them, Nahida turns herself into a fungus and she and the first elemental being have a conversation about transformation.

Nahida thinks that shapeshifting should be easy since she’s a god, but the being tells her that it takes time like evolution and even gods can’t bend the rules of time, so the transformation won’t work well. Nahida is able to transform immediately only because of the beings help and experience, and we see these warnings to be true when Nahida is only able to hold her transformation for like 2 minutes before it wears her out and she turns back.

So how does Venti fit into this? Venti took his friend’s form immediately at will, which the being established is impossible for a god or any other being to do. He then proceeded to hold that form for 2600 years. That’s insane compared to Nahida even when she had help.

Which leads me to theory time! The being said that transformation takes time and even gods can’t bend time, but what if you had help from time herself? What if Istaroth took pity on her child for losing his friend and decided to aid his transformation and allow him to hold it? (Let me have my Venti Istaroth crumbs okay?)

Still, even with Istaroth’s help- weakest archon my ass! Venti you are hiding something big time and I want in on it.

#traveler from another world ✨#tell me your secrets wind boy #even after all that people are still gonna claim he’s the weakest archon smh #still extremely pissed about his lack of story quest though #people say that they’re taking so long because it has huge lore bombs #it’d better with this kind of build up #we’d better see istaroth and the nameless bard and also every player should get a free Venti upon completion #it’s the least we deserve #genshin #genshin impact #venti #genshin venti #venti genshin impact #genshin lore #genshin theory #genshin istaroth #istaroth

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erikatsu · 9 months

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ᥫ᭡ THE PALE PRINCESS & THE SIX PYGMIES — THEORY

a theory revolving around the fairytale, dainsleif, and the tsaritsa

cw: sketchy sources (possibly leaked or fanmade info). take this with a grain of salt (says the hypocrite). norse lore connections. small pictures, apologies in advance.

I want to preface this with: there is only one available volume of The Pale Princess & The Six Pygmies in game. This in game story is a fairytale, yet is supposed to hold a lot of secrets/answers about the truth of Khaenri'ah— meaning some things will not add up for the sake of the writers (fanon or canon) not giving away the actual story. and buckle up bc this is long.

In Vol. 1 of The Pale Princess & The Six Pygmies (given to us by Lisa in the quest, "Lost book"), we learn about the "Moonlight Forest" and the "Night Mother". We all infer that the Moonlight Forest is Khaenri'ah and the Night Mother is the Unknown God.

The highlighted portions give us the context clues we need to make the assumption that it is Khaenri'ah. However, I think that assumption is wrong. If we take a closer look, it says the moonlight forest was the one thing the Night Mother could not bear. The Moonlight Forest is part of the Land of Night. It is free from the Night Mother because the moon is the brightest there.

If we think about it, one princess and six pygmies makes seven. There also seven archons and one happens to hold one hell of a grudge towards Celestia. "Oh, but eris what if it isn't related?" oh but trust me, it is.

As if the very first harbinger isn't from Khaenri'ah. Although if that isn't enough for you, they do confirm it in game during the "A Company Vanquishing Into the Deep" world quest.

Did you know that the nail there dropped because of the cataclysm? That was a lore drop in the "Perilous Trial" quest.

Now, if we think about it, Khaenri'ah would not be the Moonlight forest in the fairytale of The Pale Princess & The Six Pygmies because it would become obvious as the story progresses that its a retelling of major cataclysm events. In Vol. 2 (unreliable source: https://genshin.honeyhunterworld.com/i_100216/?lang=EN) it talks about how the Pale Princess ruled her kingdom with kindness and gentleness. The Tsaritsa has also been praised for this same thing (Childe & Scaramouche voice lines)

And let's not overlook what Scaramouche says about love being a form of sin. He pretty much confirms she is the Archon of Love (which Dainsleif also hints at in the story trailer).

Vol. 2 continues on to say that to the princess, the moon was like a hole where the light could pass through, and that if you followed it you could eventually see the world on the other side. She longed to go there, to bring her people there. When she asks herself if it's possible, she receives an answer in response and turns to see a prince.

In Vol. 3 (unreliable source: https://genshin.honeyhunterworld.com/i_100217/?lang=EN), he introduces himself as "the Prince of the Kingdom of Light from the other side of the world." And as he strode through the forest, life flourished around him and made the princess, along with her people, stronger. Together, they set off into the Land of Night so she can bring her people there.

In Vol. 4 (unreliable source: https://genshin.honeyhunterworld.com/i_100218/?lang=EN), the prince and princess arrive at the Kingdom of Pygmies. a "deformed" (focalors) pygmie asks them to help his brothers in exchange for his loyalty. the save a blind (zhongli) one, a foolish (nahida) one, a timid (murata) one, a shrunken (ei) one, and a carefree (venti) one. She promises them sight, wisdom, courage, and reinvigoration in the Kingdom of Light and they begin to follow her on her journey.

In Vol. 5 (unreliable source: https://genshin.honeyhunterworld.com/i_100219/?lang=EN), the pygmies fear of their destination turned into malice turned into evil plots. They planned to poison the prince, and only the deformed pygmy felt guilty about betraying his savior. Unfortunately, the corruption of the land of night made him give in.

In Vol. 6 (unreliable source: https://genshin.honeyhunterworld.com/i_100220/?lang=EN), the pygmies take the prince away. they throw a feast in celebration as the princess has no idea what's happening to her lover. The prince uses what's left of his soul to curse the pygmies. For the rest of their lives, they would feel as if they were being cooked alive in a giant cooking pot. After being cursed, the deformed pygmy decides to bring the prince back to the princess.

In Vol. 7 (unreliable source: https://genshin.honeyhunterworld.com/i_100221/?lang=EN), the deformed pygmy is greeted by the Night Mother instead of the princess. She tells the pygmy, "That foolish princess is now in chains. I destroyed the Moonlight Kingdom and cursed her people before her eyes. They will be in an undead state, lingering at the point between life and death forevermore. No soul and no moonlight" (which foils the curse of khaenri'ah). Before she leaves she tells the pygmy, "In thousands of years time, my greatest foe will descend. He wields a sword that heralds the dawn and wears armor that can reflect the shining sunlight. He shall destroy my kingdom and bring the Prince back to life. The Princess will then be free from her eternal torment. Until then, I fear not a single soul in the Land of Night, for nothing will bring an end to my kingdom except for the catastrophe foretold by the prophecy."

This story would be really fitting for an OttoKallen (Honkai Impact the 3rd) nod, given how it describes both the prince (being able to make things grow and get stronger, which one Otto expy can do– Luocha from Honkai: Star Rail) and the princess (as Kallen also has fair skin, light hair, and bright blue eyes). But, aside from that I think the Tsaritsa is represented by the Pale Princess. As for who the Prince is, I believe him to be Dainsleif. And the Herald (also known as a Harbinger) who will free them both is Pierro.

The Pale Princess & the Tsaritsa are both described as kind and gentle, and being wronged by a celestial being is something they have in common. But also, Fischl's character stories can give us more insight on the story (even though Fischl is technically playing a role, there is lore there). Pierro would be the Tsaritsa's Oz.

(Fischl's character story 3, Fischl's Story "Flowers for Princess Fischl: Phantasmagoria" , and the Shivada Jade Gemstone)

Fun fact: Fischl's and the Fatui's Leitmotif is similar (https://youtu.be/_nNkbJMRryg)

On top of that, Kaeya is the only cryo character who has constellations directly related to love. I don't think this is coincidence.

The Prince being Dainsleif makes a lot of sense if we take a look at Norse Mythology. One-Eyed King Irmin is the ruler of Khaenri'ah, and he parallels Odin (who also happens to be blind in one eye). Dainsleif would parallel Thor. Thor was not only the God of Thunder, but also he is associated with: sacred groves and trees, the protection of humankind, and hallowing. Dainsleif is the Bough Keeper (the Keeper of Irminsul & Irminsul is Genshin's version of Yggdrasil), and is always battling the darkness (the abyss) to prevent another cataclysm.

Another loose tie to Thor is when Dainsleif confirms to Halfdan that Khaenri'ah is not a place, but a people which is what Thor says in Thor: Ragnarok. The cataclysm is pretty much Khaenri'ah's version of Ragnarok (in mythology).

We learn Dainsleif is cursed in the We Will Be Reunited quest when the Abyss Sibling informs us of who Dainsleif is.

They fully blame him for the downfall of Khaenri'ah, and even though he shares the same curse as the other pure blood Khaenri'ahns, Abyss sibling pretty much confirms that the reason he was cursed was different from the rest of the people. Just as the Prince was poisoned and the people of the Moonlight Forest were cursed. It's also not a coincidence that Dainsleif and Pierro are the only true Khaenri'ah survivors we know (so far).

This is where it gets tricky with the story telling of The Pale Princess & the Six Pygmies.

Keeping all this is mind, it could also make sense if the punished one is Dainsleif, working as an agent of Celestia and The Tsaritsa is the cursed one. Either way, it leads me into my last point that kinda ties this all together.

In the story trailer, we know so far everything Dainsleif has said about each Archon has shown up in game. But the one that is seemingly contradictory is what he says about the Tsaritsa. He claims she is a god with no love left for her people, yet she is described as the opposite by two of her harbingers and other members of the Fatui.

Perhaps, he means the Archons and not the people of Snezhnaya. Afterall, all we really know is she was heavily affected by the Cataclysm + is striving to overthrow Celestia.

At the end of the trailer, he speaks to Aether and says this:

Most people believe the "her" he is referring to is Lumine, but considering that Snezhnaya is the last chapter before Khaenri'ah, and technically neither twin is canon, I don't think it is. I believe he is referring to the Tsaritsa and her divine punishment.

TAGGING: @dottores @neuvillettes @rougekithes

#genshin meta #genshin theory #dainsleif genshin impact #the tsaritsa #dainsleif

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