#and we don’t know the extent to which the archons were involved in what happened to the people of khaenri’ah

[ballads-of-breeze]

Soooo like. The elemental warfare AU fanseries. Are we supposed to think Aether is a misguided villain or

[hellonoblesky]

Gotta wait for all my friends to finish We Will Be Reunited before I scream in depth on our server, so here’s all my thoughts/theories on Chapter 1, Act IV: We Will Be Reunited (ft. thoughts about the Archons (who I think participated, who I think didn't), Kaeya, Gold and their motives, Dain, and Abyss Heralds)

Spoilers ahead!!

(tw/cw: trauma mention, loss)

(also TL;DR's will be at the end of the post!!)

Ok so apologies if this is disorganized, I’m still getting all my thoughts about the quest together

Cryo is the single and only element needed for the domain, which as a Kaeya main and someone with his backstory pretty much memorized, that’s pretty sus?? Especially because I’m pretty sure that the last Abyss domain that had to do with Dain also only asked for Cryo

Dain and the Abyss Heralds share a very very similar color scheme, is it possible that the rest of the royal guard was turned into the Heralds? That would also explain why the Herald ceases their attack once they realize who we are. They need to report back to their royal, not only to update them on the situation with us and Dain, but to make sure we’re an enemy they’re aloud to fight (and possibly injure severely)

Field Tillers.... are they designed for the attack, to reap the lives of other people in order to give wealth in land to Khanri’ah, or to defend Khanri’ah from those who wished to bring it down? Either way, they failed

Kaeya. Has his plan been abandoned (and him by extent)? Or is he actively working with the Abyss Order, to assist them and bring his plan forwards? Was he the one who took (or assisted in the taking of) the statue? It is a Mondstadt statue, after all. And if so, I don’t think Kaeya’s “I triumph over you” poem was a fun little thing that just got thrown in as a cool and funky hint into his backstory. I think he’s letting Venti know (or perhaps reminding him) that Venti has no power over him, and with his Gnosis in the hands of the Tsaritsa and her Harbingers.... he won’t have the power to defend his own land against whatever attacks may come Mondstadt’s way. Also does Kaeya know Dain? Does he know about Dain? Does he purposefully avoid Dain because he knows Dain is anti-Abyss? Does the Traveler's sibling know about Kaeya? Is the sibling the one who set up Kaeya's plan? What. Is. Up. With. Kaeya????

Dain is cursed with immortality for his failure to protect the royal family... but cursed by who?

The Abyss Heralds have similar movesets to Childe, so Skirk is either a Herald, or someone of a high enough rank to command the Heralds to help Childe train.

Also uhhh Gold, we didn't get any mention of them, but now it's entirely possible that instead of overthrowing the government, Gold just snapped after losing everything. Gold's corruption very well could have been their attempt to avenge Khaenri'ah. Maybe they corrupted Durin to strike Mondstadt in rage against our boy Venti?

Speaking of Venti, with the confirmation that Khaenri'ah was destroyed by the gods for being a land free of higher rule... I have thoughts. First of all, it seems Venti didn't partake in the fall of Khaenri'ah considering that he only awoke when Durin attacked and the people of Mondstadt prayed for him to save them. It's possible that Venti was against the destruction of Khaenri'ah and got knocked out by someone else (perhaps the Unknown God?) so he wouldn't interfere with the majority vote.

The Tsaritsa I think was strongly against the Cataclysm. After all, 500 years ago was both when she was traumatized and fell out with Venti. As well as her very very likely being the goddess of love. She probably wanted to negotiate for peace with Khanri'ah so no one would get hurt, Khaenri'ah could continue to create more and more advanced technology and advance their Alchemical arts in peace without threat. That way their arts could spread to other nations and there could be peace while mankind advanced. She also probably didn't want to see anyone (let alone her friends) hurt, but was younger and less aware of her power/hadn't yet come into her full godhood so was forced to stand aside. I think her falling out with Venti was rooted in the fact that Venti is older, and slept through it all until his people called for him. He left the entire godless nation of Khaenri'ah to the hands of gods bent on it's destruction. So now the Tsaritsa is against Celesta because they knowingly condemned an entire nation and she hates that. She may have even been so wrapped up in her anguish that she looked at her people and began to worry that she wouldn't be able to protect them, so she got harsher and harsher on them. Until she was just cold and closed off, hence the "no love left for her people".

Zhongli I don't think is free of charge though. 500 years ago he would have still reigned over Liyue, and likely seen the threat Khaenri'ah was becoming with it's machines stronger than Vision users and it's Alchemy with the ability to create life. It's entirely possible that he partook in the destruction of the nation if the majority vote of the Archons was to bring it down. He may have even brought the Adepti with him, which would make his entire team a deadly force and one that the 'Tillers likely wouldn't stand a chance against. Perhaps the Cataclysm was even the fight that killed Pervases. However, I think that Zhongli regrets his actions, and that's his motivation to handing off Liyue. Perhaps what he traded his Gnosis in to help the Tsaritsa go up against Celestia so he could have a sound mind, and help stop anything like the Cataclysm from happening again.

The Dendro Archon (the dead one, not the current one) I think participated hesitantly and then perished in the conflict. Khanri'ah's specialty was their Alchemy; Khemia could very easily have a reverse form that takes the life away from things. Being aligned with Dendro would likely make the Archon much more susceptible to a reverse form of Khemia's life-giving because Khemia was mainly used to grow plants. Khemia is how the Khaenri'ahn people were able to grow their civilization like they did, keeping agriculture alive underground via means that didn't require the sun. It probably was common practice to use it to grow plants (and kill off weeds).

Baal probably definitely was on the side of wiping out Khanri'ah. Yk, considering how she's the god of eternity and currently is collecting Visions to preserve power in the hands of the gods? She probably went "Khaenri'ah is literally building machines that could pose a Threat. We are not letting this order fall, gods will always rule that's how it's been that's how it will be."

Fontaine's god just dipped and watched the drama unfold, then judged everyone afterwards.

Mureta probably was all in and that's part of the reason Venti is so salty in his description of her. She heard the war, heard the reasons, and went "Where we dropping boys?"

TL;DRs:

Dain's Abyss Ruins only having Cryo as an element is sus because of Kaeya's place as the only playable Khaenri'ahn character (so far)

Abyss Heralds could be the rest of the Royal Guard

Are Field Tillers for attack or defense? Either way, they failed

Is the plan Kaeya's involved in abandoned, did he help the Abyss Order get ahold of the Statue they use, his poetry is probably him rubbing Venti's helplessness in his face

Who cursed Dain with immortality?

The Heralds and Childe share moves, so he probably trained with them

Gold's corruption might just have been them snapping after losing their entire nation

Venti probably slept through/was left out of the decision and execution of the Cataclysm

The Tsaritsa probably hates Venti because Venti probably could have stood up against Celestia but slept through the entirety of Khaenri'ah's fall instead

Zhongli probably participated in the Cataclysm and regrets it immensely

The Dendro Archon may have died in the Cataclysm (specifically via Khemia, I think)

Baal was pretty much definitely for the Cataclysm

Mureta was also very much definitely for the Cataclysm

[alternatefandom]

Death of a Deity, or, resentment of fallen gods across Mondstadt, Liyue, and Inazuma

Inazuma’s release reveals a ton of lore with it, including three major world quests that involves purifying some sort of evil so that previously-dangerous areas can become safe again. As a Xiao main, the topic of evil and resentment interests me very much, primarily because Genshin never quite explains to us what, exactly, is the evil that Xiao has to eternally struggle against, and why he has to do it for all eternity. This post is my attempt to compile everything we know about the evil that Xiao fights against, not just in Liyue, but all over the Teyvat we know.

There are seven nations in Teyvat, each ruled by their own deity. Styled as Archons, these deities won their titles two thousand years ago when they emerged as the victors of the Archon War. But even though they are worshipped as gods, they are not immortal. Archons have died and new ones have risen to take their place. Still, the death of a deity is no simple matter. From Havria, whose death unleashes a shockwave that turned her fleeing followers into salt, to the great serpent of Yashiori Island, whose death unleashes the tatarigami, we can see that the death of a deity has left their marks upon nations...

...except for Mondstadt.

But before we talk about Mondstadt, let's start with what Liyuens have to say about their fallen gods.

Liyue

We are first introduced to the concept of resentment of fallen gods in Liyue. Liyue is a bountiful and peaceful land, but it is also the site of many battlefields of yore. Many deities have met their end in this nation; some passed away peacefully, while others very much don’t.

The leftover resentment of fallen gods is a dangerous thing. Unfettered, it can poison the land, spawn monsters, and cause illness amongst mortals. In Liyue, two notable entities safeguard them against such an occasion: the guardian yakshas, who literally fight agaist the resentment, and Wangsheng Funeral Parlor, who burn bodies of the deceased to ensure that any pestilence does not spread.

In Xiao's collected miscellany, Dainsleif states that the resentment of fallen gods is something to be endured, implying that the fight against resentment is one that will go on for eternity. However, it is interesting to note that Liyue's guardian entities seem to contradict this statement. In her story quest, Hu Tao flat-out states that the 'curse of the gods' have long since been eradicated.

In his own story quest, when talking about the demon-tainted monster, Xiao says that they were tainted by Xiao's own bad karma, instead of resentment of the fallen gods.

We can see that the state of the resentment of fallen gods in Liyue right now remains unclear. Has it been eradicated, or is it still a threat? Is the evil taint in Liyue caused by resentment of fallen gods, or remnants of Xiao's accumulated karma? What will happen if Xiao dies? Will the karma he accumulated be unleashed or will it die with him? Is there anyone who will be able to take over his job? Will anyone need to? The system of resentment suppression in Liyue right now seem fragile, but could Zhongli have retired if things truly are as precarious as they seem?

Inazuma

When we get to Inazuma, we see that the resentment of fallen gods is running rampant. In Liyue, we pretty much only fight demon-tainted enemies during Xiao's story quest, but in Inazuma, they're everywhere. The people of Inazuma call this phenomenon the 'tatarigami', and unlike in Liyue, they have dedicated systems to suppress and even harness it, even though they are defunct for one reason or another.

The first notable evil-purifying system is centered on Narukami Island, at the Grand Sakura Tree. The roots of this tree is connected to the Thunder Sakura roots growing all over Narukami Island. Thunder Sakuras are capable of absorbing filth and evil from the land. However, if the tree absorbs too much filth, it will die. This is why there are barriers placed at its roots. They serve as filters that can be cleaned out every half-century or so, preventing too much filth from seeping into the Grand Sakura Tree and killing it.

Outside of Narukami Island, around Kannazuka, there are also five Thunder Sakuras growing around Mikage Furnace. We know that Thunder Sakuras can purify filth, so it makes sense for them to be planted around the Mikage Furnace. Ostensibly, they can be used to purify excessive tatarigami, keeping the area around the furnace safe for everyone.

However, according to Miyuki (the miko in the Sakura Arborism quest), the Thunder Sakuras of Kannazuka are not used to purify tatarigami. Rather, they serve to suppress ‘the one who lies beneath’; whether it is a fallen deity, a sealed one, or something else, we do not know. In fact, it is important to note that while the Thunder Sakuras can purify filth and evil, it is never explicitly stated that it can purify resentment or tatarigami. The evil and filth that the Sakura trees purify may very well be different to the resentment of fallen gods. Which makes sense; nothing in Inazuman lore suggests that any deity have unwillingly met their end at Narukami Island or Kannazuka proper.

To the west of Kannazuka, though, lies Yashiori, an island battered by the full force of the tatarigami. It comes from the remains of Orobachi, a giant serpent-god slain by the Raiden Shogun. As a defense against tatarigami, the people of Inazuma placed wards to suppress Orobachi’s soul. However, the wards are not enough to suppress the tatarigami altogether: the Kitain family, hailed as the Yashiori Guardians, are tasked with hunting down the tatarigami to keep the people safe. The lore of the Kitain Cross Spear has this to say about them: “having been a demon hunter for so long, it is unavoidable that one might imbibe some of that miasmic, tainted blood.” 

Well, doesn’t that sound familiar.

The tatarigami in Yashiori seem to be the closest account of resentment that we know from Liyue. Like in Liyue, the people of Yashiori had to resort to literally battling the tatarigami, but unlike in Liyue, they have no immortal adeptus that can bear the burden of karma for them. Eventually, due to various factors, even the Yashiori Guardians succumbed to tatarigami. What remains behind is an island ravaged by illness and natural disasters, a grim example of a society built upon the ashes of divine war with no divine being who cares enough to protect them.

Mondstadt

Unlike Liyue and Inazuma, somehow, Mondstadt does not seem to be troubled with the resentment of fallen gods. This is probably because unlike Liyue and Inazuma, Mondstadt was never the site of grand archon battles. During Decarabian's reign, Andrius kept the land frozen in a blizzard, and after Decarabian's fall, Andrius chose to pass away peacefully, using his power to nourish the land instead of leaving resentment behind. There are no accounts of other gods dying against their will in Mondstadt, save for Decarabian himself.

And yet, we do not see traces of resentment anywhere in Mondstadt, not even in the ruins of Old Mondstadt. The darkness that corrupts Dvalin comes from the Abyss, and so is the corruption of the dragon Durin. So the big burning question is, where did Decarabian's resentment go? Did he choose to pass away in peace after all? Did Venti manage to purify his resentment somehow? Does this mean that resentment can truly be purged, and if so, what does this mean for Xiao? Or are we just reading too much into the whole resentment thing?

The Solution to Tatarigami

So, if the resentment of fallen gods is something that can never be purged, what can the people of Teyvat do to protect themselves? Is burdening a divine being with pain and bad karma the only reliable way? Well, the good news is that there may be another way. From the Tatara Tales world quest, we know that tatarigami can be harnessed and even purified, to an extent. So even though a solution does not exist right now, there may very well be in the near future. There is light at the end of the tunnel for our friendly neighborhood Yaksha; one day, he may be able to follow his lord into a peaceful retirement, after all.

[ms3ox]

So...about that new archon quest...

Khaenri’ah Theory

Before Present Storyline

> Archon War

~circa 2000 yrs. BP (bp = before present)

> Celestial Thrones determined by the Archons created

~circa 2000-1500 yrs. BP, original Gods include: Zhongli (Morax), Decarabian (Old Anemo God), Baal, Hydro Archon, Cryo Archon (NOT Tsaritsa yet), Dendro Archon (old one, I think the new one came 500 yrs. BP)

WARNING! THIS WILL CONTAIN MAJOR SPOILERS FOR THE NEW (1.4) ARCHON QUEST AS WELL AS CHARACTER STORIES!

___________________________________________________________

We begin with:

The nation of Khaenri’ah, the only nation in Teyvat WITHOUT a presiding God/Archon

Khaenri’ah, because of its godlessness, became known as a nation of human excellence

It can be deduced—also in part to the fact that many citizens of Teyvat do not know what a missile is— that Khaenri’ah, ESPECIALLY existing 500 yrs ago, was a very technologically advanced nation

It would also seem that much technology has been lost to Khaenri’ah’s destruction

I.E. ALBEDO. ← he has smth to do with it, he does not breathe (as seen in dragonspine, he is the only model that does not produce visible air), he has a star on his neck, he is not a human

Albedo may be a homonculus, made of chalk, a product of this human excellence !

Going off of historical analysis, Khaenri’ah may very well be modeled after Ancient Rome and the return of antiquity during the Renaissance

In Florence—500 years ago in our world— the ending of the plague brought a new wave of the ideas of Humanism, the celebration of the accomplishments of man; focused on the idea of human greatness

As we also know, historically, the Ancient Romans were also very technologically advanced for their time, building waterways, roads, and buildings that have been able to stand the tests of time for hundreds and hundreds of years

With humanism, however, came the idea that people would put themselves BEFORE God, an idea that had been previously deemed sacrilege

Seeing as many nations in Teyvat are modeled after real nations (i.e. Mondstadt → Germany, Snezhnaya → Russia, Liyue → China, Inazuma → Japan, etc.), it would make sense if Khaenri’ah is modeled after Italy, specifically during the formative ages of the Renaissance

It would also make sense that these people, seeing as they could achieve so many great things, would not see the need for a god or even denounce the gods as a whole, therefore representing that humanist line-of-thinking

This, understandably, would have angered the gods in Celestia because they might have felt that their authority was being questioned, therefore they had to eliminate the “threat”

The Destruction:

500 years before the beginning of the storyline, the Gods of Celestia strike down Khaenri’ah turning it into The Abyss.

✒️ Important Characters: Kaeya, Childe, the Tsaritsa, Dainsleif, and Lumine (written from perspective of an Aether player)

Overview:

Khaenri’ah, as a nation built and governed by its people, had become a target for the gods

The government—from what we know— was guarded by the 7 Protectors, strong, chosen warriors who dedicated their lives to fight for Khaenri’ah

The gods (presumably) did not like the humans having autonomy like the people of Khaenri’ah did

In a coordinated attack, the divine thrones destroyed Khaenri’ah, turning it into the abyss and cursing its people, either killing them or turning them into abyss monsters

There are a few Khaenri’ahn individuals who are separately affected by the curse however, including BUT NOT LIMITED TO: the Protectors and royalty

These individuals are most commonly cursed with immortality, but that may not be the only reprecussion

Characters:

Now, lets go over the most important characters who may have been directly or otherwise involved in the destruction.

Kaeya

-Kaeya’s personal story talks about how his father told him about the land of Khaenri’ah, where they were both from

-In his profile it states that he is also 22 years old.

-There are multiple ways to explain this but I am going to use the theory that he and his family were Khaenri’ahn royals (or a part of the Eclipse Dynasty family) who were cryogenically frozen for safekeeping during the destruction

-500~ years later, they woke up, and upon seeing the destruction cause around them, the family—including Kaeya— saw fit to leave

-Under normal circumstances, this theory would have no backing, but Kaeya says a line quite frequently in battle that may elude to the validity of this theory:

“This moment will be frozen in time!”

-Another user also pointed out that Kaeya’s elemental burst looks very similar to the cryo abyss mage’s shield reformation sequence wherein a bunch of diamond-shaped ice chunks rotate around it periodically until the shield is regenerated

-This further supports that Kaeya is involved with the Abyss, and by proxy, Khaenri’ah

-It has become common speculation that Kaeya is a spy, which makes sense seeing as everything about his demeanor screams “shady”

-From this standpoint, Logically, we can speculate that Kaeya may be a spy of some sort looking to restore the Khaenri’ahn monarchy

Lumine

-She and Aether canonically travel to Teyvat ~500 years ago where they witness firsthand the destruction of Khaenri’ah

-It is likely that the god who stopped them—the Sustainer of Heavenly Principles, I believe her title was— was a god who was involved in the destruction, and did not want humans meddling in Celestian territory at that time

-While the god’s motive for fighting the twins is still largely up to debate, the cubic cage that Aether gets sucked into may have put him to sleep, only for him to wake up 500 years later, thus leaving Lumine to face the destruction alone

-In the various game trailers, we see Lumine running through decrepit areas which sometimes look like Celestia, and another territory that is unfamilair

-If my thoughts are correct, this never-before-seen land may very well be a snapshot from Khaenri’ah itself during the destruction (edit: I’m pretty sure its Old Mondstadt)

-In these small scenes we see a block-like magic slowly chaining the world in very large pillars, which look much the same to the blocky magic the Sustainer used in the introductory scene

-Reasonably, after witnessing such destruction and conjuring a hatred of the gods, Lumine started the Abyss Order and became its princess, an order whose motives are still largely unknown at this point but seemingly want to interfere in the path of the traveler

-Though we still do not know the extent of the Abyssal hierarchy, because of the points of contingency in the goals of the Tsarista and Lumine, it may be logical that they are working together or are somehow related

-Lumine may have also been directly involved in dealing with the downfall of the Eclipse Dynasty and the destruction of Khaenri'ah because she seems to also have been cursed with immortality

-Due to the polarizing goals between Aether and Lumine up until this point, there may come a time during the game where Aether must choose between his sister and Teyvat

-A choice of this magnitude has already partially been revealed in leaks—if these leaks are to be correct, a lot hinges on them— and it would not be out of MiHoyo's wheelhouse to force us into such heavy situations (Honkai players I am looking at you)

-More about this decision theory will be explained under the Tsarista theory

Dainsleif

-Dainsleif, as revealed by Lumine, was a Royal Guard of the Eclipse Dynasty and was cursed with immortality upon the fall of Khaenri'ah

-Lumine also says that during the Destruction, Dainsleif failed whatever duty he had

-Logically, this would mean that Dainsleif failed to protect Khaenri'ah

-For reasons still unknown, Dainsleif hates the Abyss Order/The Abyss in general, and does not side with Lumine

-Though it is speculated that they were once traveling partners, and whatever happened to Lumine led Dainsleif to leave her side

Childe (godammit)

-Jesus Christ, where do I start with this magnet of chaos

-Childe—or Ajax at the time— left his home in Snezhnaya when he was 13-14

-On his journey, he fell into a crack in the ground, and fell into the Abyss

-He states in one of his quotes:

"I once ventured deep into the abyss and came face to face with an enormous beast. I don't know its name, all I know is the sight of it chilled me to the bone. But mark my words, one day I will march back in there and behead that beast, and you, comrade, will be my witness!"

-I believe at some point we will actually be fighting this beast, whether it be one of the final bosses of the Snezhnaya Chapter or one from the Khaenri'ah Chapter, I believe this beast will have something to do with either getting us to Khaenri'ah or it's somehow related to the Tsaritsa

-As he ventured further into the Abyss, he came across a brilliant swordswoman who taught him everything about fighting for 3 months

-However, when he came back from the Abyss, it had only been 3 days (MORE ABOUT THIS WILL BE EXPLAINED IN THE ABYSSAL THEORY SECTION)

-As we can see in his boss fight and in the fights with the Abyss Herald, a lot of Childe's fighting techniques seem alarmingly similar to the ones used by the Abyss Herald

-This leads me to believe that the swordswoman he trained with as a child was either an Abyss Herald herself or a Royal Guard from Khaenri'ah

-From what we also know, Childe is the only Harbinger who is able to wield BOTH a Vision and a Delusion simultaneously

The Tsaritsa

-Though the Tsaritsa was in power in Snezhnaya when the Destruction happened, it is very likely that she is related to Khaenri'ah based on the fact that she "was traumatized by it [The Destruction of Khaenri'ah]"

-Since she, herself, is seemingly still a human, it is reasonable to infer that the Tsaritsa was either: Eclipse Dynasty royalty or one of the Khaenri'ahn Royal Guards

-There is one line Dainsleif says where he tells the audience that she has no love for her people, neither to they harbor any for her

-Which makes sense since she is not originally from Snezhnaya

-While he is an incredibly biased source, Childe says something interesting about her:

"Her Royal Highness the Tsaritsa is actually a gentle soul. Too gentle, in fact, and that's why she had to harden herself. Likewise, she declared war against the whole world only because she dreams of peace. And because she made an enemy of the world, I had the chance to become acquainted with you."

-What is interesting here is that Childe uses the phrase "Her Royal Highness" to describe the Tsaritsa

-In common royal etiquette, based on our world, you address a queen or the highest monarchical power as "His/Her Majesty" whereas other members like princes and princesses are addressed as "His/Her Royal Highness"

-This would imply that the Tsaritsa is not the one in ultimate control, and that there may be someone above her

-Of course this is very reachy-y but Childe's wording here is interesting

-Additionally, the Tsaritsa, as described by this quote, has waged war against the world because she dreams of peace

-We can see her ambitions in action by her confiscating the gnoses of the current Archons of Teyvat

-The Tsaritsa is most likely siding with Lumine under the same goal; they wish to dismantle the divine thrones in Celestia

-Ultimately, this leads me to believe that a heavy decision will happen toward the end of the Sneznhaya Chapter, likely in the final boss fight (possibly against the Tsaritsa herself)

-And if Aether does have to fight her, that would mean that he is also fighting against his sister since they seemingly share the same goal

-The Tsaritsa wielding the power of the Abyss to create Delusions somehow fits in here somewhere I just don't know how

-But the Tsaritsa is another example of a person(?) who can wield both an elemental power (cryo) and the power of Delusions

Abyssal Theory

In this section, I will be discussing my theories about the Abyss, about how time works there and its relation to Teyvat.

Concerning Time:

So as we know, Childe fell into the Abyss and stayed there for three months, however, in the over world only three days had passed

This means that every 12 days in the over world = 1 year in the Abyss

That means that every year in Teyvat = appx. 30 years in the Abyss

Time moves much faster in the Abyss, which can explain why Lumine is so old, yet may not have been cursed with immortality

Rather, she’s just been spending a lot of time in the Abyss

Concerning Teyvat:

This is where it gets interesting

There is a theory circulating that the Teyvat we are exploring right now is an alternate dimension, or a “flipped” Teyvat

Where it gets interesting is—CONCERNING CHILDE AGAIN— he falls into the Abyss through a crack in the ground

...

He falls.

How is that possible? Isn’t it reasonable to assume that Childe, only having left home for a few hours, was still in Snezhnaya?

Isn’t the only known location of the Abyss in the fallen Kingdom of Khaenri’ah?

How could the Abyss be under Snezhnaya if the Abyss is in Khaenri’ah?

This leads me to believe that underneath our Teyvat is the ruins of Old Teyvat

The Old Teyvat that was ruined by the Destruction of Khaenri’ah

This would also make sense in the context of the directions not being accurate in-game

For example, the wolf of the north, located on the map, is most definitely NOT towards the north, and rather, located in the WEST

The gods, after destroying Khaenri’ah, expanded their destruction to the rest of the continent, and to start over, they created an alternate dimension underneath/on top of Old Teyvat and New Teyvat

New Teyvat being the world we are currently exploring

So, in conclusion, underneath OUR world is an alternate Teyvat that was destroyed by the gods, and the world that we originally came to in the opening scene

This may explain a lot of the places Lumine runs through in those cutscenes, she is running through Old Teyvat

Maybe the people of Teyvat had their memories wiped? This would make sense in the context of the 1.1 event with Scaramouche where he says that “the stars are a lie”, and people may be seeing the “real” Teyvat, or having their memories re-awakened

Concerning the Final Archon Quests:

I believe that the beginning of the Khaenri’ah Chapter will be the end of the Snezhnaya Chapter

By which I mean that whatever final boss we fight in the Snezhnaya Chapter is will ultimately be the one to take us to Khaenri’ah or the Abyss

How this happens, I’m not sure, maybe there is a device in the beast Childe saw that could take us to Khaenri’ah, like the eye of the First Field Tiller, but I believe that the S Chapter and the K Chapter are intertwined

This also makes sense since the Tsaritsa and Khaenri’ah have such strong ties

Maybe we, too, fall into a crack in the ground...?

__________________________________________________________________________________

New Timeline

> Archon War

~2000 yrs. BP; War over the Divine Thrones

> Divine Thrones Established

~2000-1500 yrs. BP; The gods establish Archonhood

> The Destruction of Khaenri’ah/Old Teyvat

~500 yrs. BP; The gods did not like the people of Khaenri'ah and destroyed the land

> The Creation of New Teyvat/Alternate Teyvat

~500 yrs. BP; The gods involved in the Destruction create a new Teyvat since the Old Teyvat has been completely destroyed

> Lumine Creates the Abyss Order

~500 yrs. BP; Abyss Order created to fight against the unfair treatment of the Archons; “Do not trust the gods”

> Fight Against the Archons

~500 yrs. BP → Present; The Tsaritsa and Lumine work together to dismantle the Divine Thrones of Celestia

> Aether Wakes Up

~3 mo. BP; Aether wakes up from his—presumably— 500 year slumber, this is the catalyst to the Archon Quests

Thank you for reading! If you’d like to expand on these theories or point out inconsistencies with the actual lore, please let me know!

-devilscasserole

[a-40k-dad]

do your faction leaders interact much outside of battle, do they enjoy any activities together :)

Oh my, we are now in the private life zone answer : yes, a lot happens if we take the extended organigram it is alliance upon alliance of families and people, it is like royalty they’re kinda all in the same club and all hang out together. Sometimes outsiders/commoners do get in but they’ll be under cautious scrutiny for a while.More specifically :

Anariel takes good care of her mother (who doens’t need it), who lives almost permanently within the crystal dome. She is an over 5000 and her bones have started turning into crystal. She’s a stern woman that always thinks her daughter could do better. Her father lives with her grand-father on Rilizar, the green sanctuary planet. They are in the somekind of refuge or monastery in the mountains with people who follow the Grandpa Archon like he is somekind of guru. 

But of all family members, she has the best relationship with grand-uncle Rekal Morr, (the wraithknight) he “lives” on the Craftworld and is the never-resting guardian of the vaults in which the Craftworld’s wraith constructs are stored. She loves to drop by and hang out. Especially because the place is eerie. A bit lifeless except for the few other pilot-less wraithknights who refuse to be removed from those wraithbone bodies. (So it might go something like : *Anariel enters* Pentrarch1 and Pentrarch 2 sitting without chairs around a to-scale low table in the middle of the huge vault (you can’t distinguish a ceiling) : WK1: Oh hi Anariel. Came to see your uncle? (imagine they all talk like Harbinger, but with friendly tone) -A: Yeah, is he still on the 40th level taking care of the Phantoms again today? -WK1 Yup. -WK2 raising its head from the to-scale game-cards-or-cubes-gizmo-or-whatever-eldar-play-things : maybe he needs a tune up, maybe he’s not enough in phase with realspace and sees problems on those constructs where there is actually nothing? -WK3, putting a rack of wraithguards back from maintenance in place : Your uncle needs a break kiddo. -”okay thanks guys, I’ll try to bring it up… I won’t say you suggested it”. (they call her by first name since she came to see them since she was a child, they have a hard time seeing her as anything else than little Anariel, the grand-niece of Rekal. All the pilot-less WK (just a handful) have been able to take control of the construct on their own because of something related to the fact they were first generation dark eldar and that they died an agonising death at a particular battle during the Monkeigh Blitz of M37.)

Anariel is a bit of a loner but she spends time with Elasha on occasion. Elasha is like the over-the-top friend that you love to see but not for too long cause you can’t handle much of it. It is not that Elasha is too much, but she has a sharper tongue than Anariel who’s on the other hand, more of a veteran dork/loner than anything else.

Elasha has like a court of admirers and lots of Eldar try to woe her. First among them is Prince-Commander Feredir Iyandrad, who is annoyingly pressing (he wants the gain influence and favours and put his family in a better position, which is basically what all of them are after) but Princess-Commander Syviis Kelrandri, she has a more primal thing going on, and it might be going both ways. Its something in the air, when people click together on an imperceptible level. I don’t know to what extent this can develop but, yeah. Elasha is very out going and like to party (which involves poetry, music, sessions of collective art-making) and to train her melee skills to perfection.The archcouncilor is an almost-elder. He was an autarch and now his main thing besides his position is bone-singing. Like a hobby of his. He’s got a family, none of them within the system of subtle power struggles (my mini for him has him with an aspect mandible blaster helmet and farseer robes). He doesn’t interact with the others outside of duty. The idea behind him is like the eldest roman dude on the senate that starts to speak and everyone listens, knowing it’s going to be long and tedious but that at the end of it the old cookie might have a point.

Tarron Anastari is a misanthrope, that much has been established but he kinda considers Syviis as an Eldar worth having conversations with, maybe because they have things in common, like their ruthlessness.