#genshin lore
Particular lines from the Chasm reports you can find for an achievement.
From part 1 of the report: I haven’t really seen any violet-red soil, unless you count the clearly corrupted pulsing purple-red down in the underground mines. Is that… the Glazed Sand Crystal? It can’t be, right??
From part 2 of the report: Lumenstone ore actually expands outward, but it drains elemental energy when doing so. That sounds like… corrosion but light colored lol. Anyway, not a good thing, no matter how you look at it.
From part 3 of the report: This is probably the same “crystal” that caused the Chasm to be sealed and that the Fatui went to investigate? God, the terminology is so vague and confusing… But here it’s noted to “grow” so it’s different stuff from the pillar? But it’s not Lumenstone and it probably isn’t Glazed Sand Crystal (since those have names and wouldn’t need to be referred to so vaguely), so I’m just really unclear what this is. Do we just not see it in game so far?
They also discuss the “heavenly star” that fell in the Chasm. imo the star itself returned to the heavens, so it’s not down there. It did probably cause all this in some fashion. It seems like Lumenstone might be from the “chariot” since it glows like moonlight and all that, but I dunno about Glazed Sand Crystal.
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Just noting here about this… mushroom eating stuff, in case it becomes relevant later. (First image is just to show the discoloration.)
Regarding the mushrooms, they are specifically native to Sumeru, though they’ve undergone some mutations due to the energy of the Chasm. There’s also Xamaran, the talking mushroom. This guy started hearing a voice telling him to eat mushrooms, and doing so gave him super strength.
So I guess Sumeru having some kind of mushroom brainwashed zombie apocalypse is not out of the question. The researcher guy does say this kind of thing is known and can be easily cured with no repercussions, but that’s before the mushrooms start mutating.
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The chasm has a few quests about the Fatui, which add some interesting context.
The perspective given to the rank and file operatives is that they are preparing to fight the Dark Calamity from 500 years ago. They specifically mention that the stories of their ancestors’ struggles in that conflict were passed down to them and that they have been told that the calamity will return.
Anton: The calamity that happened five hundred years ago is only the beginning. The war against the dark has never stopped, and one of its battlefields is right beneath our feet.
The Fatui sent down into the Chasm did this as part of a collaborative agreement with the Qixing, basically borrowing the Fatui’s military strength to try to resolve the issue of the “crystal” (and the dark mud) that cause the mine to be closed.
They saw themselves as heroes who would sacrifice their lives to protect the people of Liyue and were not aware of what happened with Osial.
Traveler: About the collaboration with the Millelith…
Anton: That was a long time ago. Shortly after this place was locked down, we contacted the Liyue Qixing.
Anton: At first, things went smoothly… Signora even nailed a few mutually beneficial trade agreements.
Anton: And one of the additional conditions was that Liyue would allow the Fatui to send an advance team into The Chasm… We came to investigate and eradicate the source of the anomalies.
Anton: As agreed, Snezhnaya and Liyue would share whatever we were to find down here.
Traveler: Don’t you have other purposes?
Anton: At least none that I’m aware of. When we entered The Chasm, the local citizens even sent us their best wishes. We all thought… that we would be heroes, sacrificing ourselves for the sake of others.
Anton: *sigh*… Who’d have thought that things would turn out like this?
Other small details:
For the purpose of dealing with the corrosion, they brought a specific device, but it’s unclear if it malfunctioned somehow:
Fatui Action Log: Part IV: “…An explosion has occurred. Cause unknown. The Mokosh Device, which should have theoretically been able to clear the Abyssal corruption from this place, has overloaded and been destroyed…”
There is also a mention of an institution I don’t think we’ve heard of before, the House of the Hearth:
Anton: Katarina and her younger brother, Corporal Nikolay, were brought up in the House of the Hearth. They are the children of Her Majesty the Tsaritsa.
I think this is separate from Arlecchino’s orphan to military pipeline?
They also mention the “polestar of the white night” like Childe’s bow description, which sounds like some fancy nonsense, but given the importance of stars in the setting, I wonder what the “polestar” actually is…
Important lore point seemingly hidden in a minor world quest: Apparently the Qixing sealed the Chasm because they dug up… either the pillar or maybe the crystal you need to unlock where it’s sealed, I’m not clear, and some of the miners who came in contact with it went crazy, calling it a Wish Granter.
Also, just to confirm, the Chasm was closed for several years.
I only saw screenshots of this cutscene with playable Aether, so here it is for Lumine traveler.
She says, “That’s the flower I’ve been wearing in my hair since I woke up.”
She was wearing it during their fight with the Unknown God too, I’m fairly sure? Dunno if she means she was wearing it when she woke up then, or if we’re just supposed to disregard that as a technical limitation and take her at her word.
Also, look at the death flag, finally turning to dust after returning to its home soil…
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Huh… So, I noticed that a lot of Liyue pictures have little birds of light on them, and I wonder what is up with that?
Guoba during flashback (saw this in a youtube vid and that’s what prompted this):
The upcoming event (in the corner):
It’s easier to see in this background image pulled from the beta files:
Keqing’s holiday outfit:
Keqing is a weird case because her outfit is actually patterned with butterfly wings, so the birds are a bit out of place. Still, it might just be a visual choice with no particular meaning.
But the ones in Guoba flashback and the upcoming Chasm event are suspiciously similar.
Are they supposed to be yakshas? Pervases was a bird, and Xiao is specifically “Golden-winged” but I’m not sure about the others. Bosacius seems to have been an ox man.
Also. I love this screenshot
I finally FINALLY finished the story quest so I can reply to this lol. I’m only how many months late?? But I’m here now and ready to slap the whiteboard.
@5aph join us at the round table
Note: I’m going off Mihoyo’s cutscene trailers so Lumine is the “evil” twin and Aether is the one we play.
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Honestly, I think we’ve been pretty spot on with our theories. Maybe not the specifics but in general we have been. I still believe in the theory we made last time where: because Khaenri'ah never had a God, they had to find a way to survive in a different way. Creating machines and using alchemy/khemia instead of visions or having an archon.
Now it’s confirmed that Dainsleif used to be a part of Khaenri'ah and worked as some sort of guard (PRINCE KAEYA AU WHERE) but this makes me wonder. If Khaenri'ah was already going to shit when Dainsleif was “mortal” how the fuck is Kaeya okay?? Was Khaenri'ah just a shit place to live and that caused his father to take him to Teyvat to save their already ruined world? It’s been 500 years so were their just a group of humans somehow living? Or maybe Khaenri'ah is separated from Teyvat and therefore, time passed faster/slower?
Honestly, I think the Unknown God was talking about how Khaenri'ah people were building machines that were stronger than vision holders (according to Dain and Mr.Wolf). If Record of Ragnarok has taught me anything, it’s that God’s are assholes. Plus if you think about it, that’s kinda how the electro archon is. Venti doesn’t really care about his Archon duties and Zhongli found empathy/humanity through Guizhong but I fully believe in Dictator Zhongli if Guizhong never existed. I’m assuming that Khaenri'ah people were oppressed or were getting a bit too cocky, either accidentally turning themselves into monsters through khemia or the gods did that themselves, then Unknown God appears and you know the rest. Or maybe, and hear me out, the beginning cutscene we see is a timeline where the Travellers actually succeeded in their mission to help Khaenr'ah. But because of our arrogance to change destiny, we got sent back and everything was either undone or the Unknown God threw everything to shit while we were asleep. Once we woke up, everything was already ruined and etc.
But either way, she probably destroyed Khaenri'ah. Her powers are these cube things, right? And during the flashback with Lumine overlooking what appears to be Teyvat or Khaenri'ah, we see those same red cubes. But there were definitely more Gods, especially if we are going all the way back into the past. I remember Zhongli/Archon war, there were numerous Gods fighting each other. But I think she might be a part of Celestia (maybe like a guard, the same way as Dainsleif?) and not one of the original Seven but I could be completely wrong. Every Archon seems to have an element and she doesn’t, plus her cubes trap people and who knows what else.
Maybe it’s because I’ve been reading Tokyo Revengers but this feels like an “I’m going into the past to change the future”. Instead of Aether + Paimon, it’s Lumine + Dainsleif and they go through the same journey as us. All the stories we hear from Barbara might have come from when Lumine first travelled through Teyvat. I definitely think that the first sibling tried to save Khaenri'ah but failed and using the second sibling (aka us), they are trying to re-write the destiny they experienced. The one where everything goes to shit.
I definitely believe that both Dain and Lumine had the same idea. They wanted to stop the Gods and they both dislike them. But due to some unfortunate incident, Lumine became “corrupted” in the sense that the “end justifies the means” while Dainsleif wanted to rely on himself and not involve others. So they separated and that’s why even though the Abyss Order and Dain share a common goal, he’s actively fighting against the Order. Plus, considering that this was in the past, I would assume that Venti/Zhongli aren’t the same happy/calm people like they are during our adventure. Plus I think Paimon is a better friend compared to Dain when it comes to emotions too.
As for the Tsaritsa, yeah I would agree that she is trying to do the same thing. We’re not 100% sure if she’s trying to wage war against Celestia or there is an ulterior motive but Childe did say that Tsaritsa wasn’t a bad person. But honestly same?? Where is Venti + Zhongli in this?? Give me more lore crumbs plss.
Now the upside-down Archon statue. We see the statue chained up and the symbolism is literally screaming in our faces. perhaps this is something Khaenri'ah people did because they had no archon? Not exactly the same way since I don’t think they could lug a giant statue away but using Archon objects to draw power to use them as a catalyst? Re-watching the cutscenes, apparently, they are using the statue as a base, attaching osial’s limbs to construct a mechanized god. Since the statue holds abyss power which corrupted Dvalin and it was strong enough to kill a human (like we saw with the thief) it makes sense.
It makes you wonder how Dain got his immortality. Perhaps he was going to become an Abyss Herald himself but something happened, maybe Lumine stopped his transformation since they used to be partners. Or dain is just an op bastard and broke free and fled. I’d like to believe that during the fall of Khaenri'ah, instead of helping the people he simply watched which caused Lumine to feel betrayed and that’s why they went their separate ways.
I also want to point out that our twin is using the same sword that we saw during the opening cutscene. But I think I’ll stop here since this post is long enough lol. Ty for being patient with me (❤´艸｀❤)
hoyoverse really expects us to be fine after this:
brb i’m gonna go cry in the corner AGAIN.
just played the new archon quest, zhongli is best archon no i do not take criticism.
Genshin is notoriously known for hiding amazing lore behind weapons and artifact descriptions and they’ve done it once again. This time, the story revolves around an oni and a tengu warrior (sounds familiar, doesn’t it?).
Legends has it that this ornate hand guard was once fitted upon a sword gifted to the oni who betrayed the Shogun - Magnificent Tsuba, Emblem of Severed Fate
When the oni Mikoshi Chiyo betrayed Ei, her son Doukei fled in shame at the stain his mother’s action left on the Mikoshi name. He hid in a village outside the city (Konda Village?) though his solitude didn’t last long before he met Teruyo.
“What a pain. Well, if you wish to abandon your past, allow me to give you a new name.”
After hearing about his past, the girl who possessed jet black wings sneered disdainfully.
“Well, you shall be called Iwakura. ‘The seat of rock.’ A name that human words cannot harm.”
“Come on, mortal in whose veins runs the blood of the oni, be glad. Smile a little!”
“You should know that names given by us Yougu [sic] Tengu are blessed with divine powers.”
“Besides, the name ‘rock’ suits you — it certainly suits your mind and your muscles, that’s for sure.”
Teruyo, the tengu warrior, renamed him as Iwakura Doukei and challenged him to become her opponent. If Doukei succeeded in besting her in a duel - specifically, managing to touch her - the blade he owns may be named Tengu Victor.
“After all, if you get to that point, you’ll have a sword that’ll let you 'triumph over the tengu.’”
The parallelism with Arataki Itto and Kujou Sara is extremely obvious here. Itto and Sara are well-known rivals. They’ve managed to hoard most of the boards on Narukami Island with their taunts and banter though in their case it’s Itto who challenged the tengu to a duel (or duels? This is Arataki “I Don’t Know What Giving Up Means” Itto).
Anyway back to Doukei and Teruyo.
“This was once the black feather of a certain tengu warrior, and was the treasured souvenir of an ancient swordsman.” Sundered Feather, Emblem of Severed Fate.
After thirteen years since their rivalry began, Doukei finally managed to defeat Teruyo. His blade grazed her wing with a swing so strong, the shrine they fought at was destroyed alongside his blade.
His victory, however, was rather bittersweet.
Teruyo, shall we change the venue for our duel next year?
There are a few place I know of where you can also see the scarlet sakura falling…
As he looked around at the small shrine he had destroyed, holding the tengu’s trembling hand,
These words lay on the tip of Doukei’s tongue even as he stared at the black feathers that he had sliced off.
“You did touch me, after all. I must admit that this is clearly your victory.”
Victory has not been decided yet. Let’s meet again next year, he wanted to say.
Because at her defeat, Teruyo bid him farewell.
“I will never forget a single one of our duels in these past thirteen years.”
“But as a Tengu, I have duties to the clan that I must fulfill.”
…
“Goodbye, Doukei, and please forget me.”
Doukei obviously did not want Teruyo to leave. The line that instantly caught my attention is “ There are a few place I know of where you can also see the scarlet sakura falling” because well, fallen sakura petals is a common trope in Japanese media associated with love.
Had Doukei perhaps fallen for the tengu warrior throughout their rivalry?
“An intricately-designed wine vessel that a world-famous martial artist once drank from.” - Scarlet Vessel, Emblem of Severed Fate
His story didn’t end there. After his win against Teruyo, Doukei mastered the sword technique Tengu Sweeper and founded a sword school. Interestingly, Doukei also became the Kujou Clan’s swordsmanship instructor in which he was known as “Douin”.
But it seemed he never quite forgotten his old rival.
Thirteen years went by like a dream
The scarlet snow flies through the shadowed pass like smoke
You have now gone afar
The Sacred Sakura petals fell then, too, as if they were snow from the sky.
The branch shrine had lost the god it worshipped, but it was still in a fine state.
Laughter as clear as spring water echoed between the mountains.
But never again would the two set foot in that desolate yard.
Clearly, Doukei and Teruyo did not end on a happy note. But I personally find it fascinating how Mihoyo has created Itto and Sara as an obvious mirror to the oni swordsman and tengu warrior from five hundred years ago with their rivalry.
We know from the snippets we’ve seen that Itto still haven’t quite beaten Sara yet but I sure hope that once he does, their ending will be less bittersweet.
