#irminsul tree

[carrotcouple]

The Sky of Tevyat, The Irminsul Tree and Summoning Circles

Before we start, here’s a disclaimer. These are just weird things I’ve noticed while playing Genshin Impact. I could literally have no ground to stand on at all. I do not know all the genshin lore so I might point out something that isn’t what it actually is. A lot of this information can be linked to characters that I main so you can excuse me as someone who is biased right away if you so desire. I’ll try to keep this as unbiased as possible though. Some thoughts in this are actually thoughts of my wife @rest-in-bees. This post is me seeing a bunch of dots and connecting then but if you’re looking for a conclusion, there is none. 

So I’m sure at some point all of us have looked up at the sky of Tevyat and have gone, huh, that’s the shape of a flower!

I tried to take a clear picture. It was kinda hard. But it’s a ten petaled flower with multiple layers. I at first said ‘oh that’s just the sky programming overlapping and also because of my camera angle, whatever’. And I carried on with my life. I like looking at things from weird angles and messing around with my camera, so I kept looking at this flower and carrying on with my life. Until I noticed that the sky only looked this way in Mondstadt, Liyue, Inazuma and Forest Sumeru. In Fontaine and Desert Sumeru, the sky doesn’t look like this. 

You could just say that they decided to do better for these areas! Mondstadt, Liyue and Inazuma were early on nations and so they have a basic sky that isn’t really well done. At first this is what I believed. But then out of curiosity I decided to see if there are finer tuned details in the Mondstadt sky that would make it seem like they actually somewhat worked on the sky. 

The sky does have details to it. Also to test things out I decided to see what it would be like if I ran all the way from the chasm to Desert Sumeru while looking up at the sky. When you enter Desert Sumeru the sky gets incredibly unclear because of ‘sand’?. As soon as you exit this area, the sky is completely different. I thought this was interesting. Of course, we can still argue that this is still nothing significant! Which! True! 

Anyway, I mostly thought of this and then let it go. But see, I happen to be a Wanderer main. And so one day while looking up at the sky I decided to mess around and completely flip the camera, which resulted in me staring at Wanderer’s hat. 

And I kind of froze because…I was looking at a flower in the sky made of stars, why am I looking at one on Wanderer’s head where there are even dots on the black parts of the hat that look like stars? So then I asked my wife, hey, what kind of Tevyat flower does that look like? A Niloptala Lotus? And she said, maybe? But I think it looks more like a Kalpalata Lotus because it’s layered petals. 

Quick Kalpalata Lotus 101. Kalpalata Lotuses are local specialities found in the forest part of Sumeru. They are used as ascension material for Nahida and Dori. The fun thing about the Kalpalata Lotuses is that legend says that they are the first thing to have ever been created in the forest. Their roots are said to be connected to every plant across Tevyat including the Undying Divine tree. Amurta scholars have proven this wrong, but people still believe it. You can find this information in the Genshin Archive under Materials. 

So the Amurta scholars disproved this. But then it occurred to me that we do know a plant that has it’s roots connected everywhere across Tevyat. The Irminsul tree. Canonically, their roots are said to cause Leylines and you can find its roots in the form of petrified trees in the Chasm, Dragonspine, Shirokoro Peak, and even Mt. Damavand. The Frost Bearing Tree is considered part of the Irminsul tree as well. But here’s the fun fact. Kalpalata Lotuses are not lotuses. They look like lotuses but they’re actually false. Weird when you connect them to their lore similarities to the Irminsul tree, but then you remember that the Irminsul tree can literally falsify history. 

Another thought. We’re told that the sky of Tevyat is fake. 

Anyways, needless to say, I started to become drawn to anything that looked even remotely similar to Wanderer’s Hat or the flower in the sky or Kalpalata Lotuses. 

This is when I remembered that I’d seen something that looked like Wanderer’s hat before. 

Istaroth’s moon dials. They look almost identical to the ring behind Wanderer’s back which is what his hat becomes. 

But then I realized that Wanderer’s little ring in his windfavored state reminded me of summoning circles. Namely: 

I remembered when Ningguang summoned the Guizhong Ballistas and Venti’s skill. I’m sure there are other characters who have displayed this, I just can’t quite remember them at the moment. So then I thought…interesting? What do other summoning circles look like in game? So I went to go look. 

The ones I found in Fontaine look eerily like the same kind of pattern and like Wanderer’s hat. I thought it was really weird that Wanderer’s hat and ring in his windfavored state looked exactly like a summoning circle (this is when I developed a theory that when he tried to erase himself from Irminsul, someone summoned him back and his hat is his summoning circle, but that’s a different post). 

And then I remembered. 

Venti’s statue in Mondstadt is surrounded by a flower like structure that is nearly identical to the sky flower. And Venti’s statue says ‘The Gateway to Celestia’. And I wondered if maybe it was called that because it’s a giant summoning circle that connects Celestia and Mondstadt. 

And then I wondered if Tevyat’s sky above Mondstadt, Liyue, Inazuma and Forest Sumeru is a giant summoning circle. Which is probably a crazy idea. But. Whatever. I have interesting thoughts sometimes. Time to go work on an extensive post about why Wanderer is incredibly sus character lore wise.

[uchihaeirin]

Rukkhadevata ~ who shares the memories?

(Has spoilers based on the 3.2 Archon Quest, Enkanomiya’s lore, the Chasm’s aftermath and Zhonglis 1st story quest)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Ok so, based on the theory that Istaroth and Barbatos are connected, and him having some sort of power in the domain of time (remembering all the songs that were and will ever be made, born from “the threads of time” as said in his trailer etc), meaning maybe (?) even other timelines, shouldn't he be aware of Rukkhadevata’s sacrifice?

Irminsul doesn’t remember her after the delete, Buer doesn’t, the forest won’t either, all Teyvatians won’t, only the Descenders will since they are not from this world, they do not belong in this time and space and as such their memories remain intact, like the Traveler’s. That’s why Morax entrusts us with Teyvat’s stories afterall.

Istaroth being a shade of Phanes could be considered as such too right? Even if we reject this idea, she still holds power over time, and we saw with Ei’s 2nd story quest her ability to have knowledge of events regarding many timelines and even rewrite said timelines. She will probably know everything, IF she’s still alive.

And if we combined that with Barbato’s situation, which seriously we still know next to nothing about him, we could probably guess that he too will share the memories? Not saying that he posseses Istaroth’s mindblowing Asriel-like time editing powers, more like Sans’ knowledge and constant watching over, well everything. 

Remember if we really boil down his character traits with the info we have so far, and maybe the theory that he is not as much of a slacker as he tries to show to be (an inactive god/archon will lead both his country-people and his own self to demise, like Havria) then he really is a very extreme version of Kaeya. And we know that our dear Cavalry Captain is full on theatrics, like Venti and his numerous antics (his storyline highlights on his achievements as a mischiefmaker). 

Seriously his “how could i know about that, I’m just a humble bard” has the same energy with Zhongli’s “Hm? Was I at the Chasm? How curious. I must admit that this is the first time I’m hearing of such thing.”, they are both playing with as and lying at our faces, anyone who thinks that Venti doesn’t know things and actually believes his lies, is just plain stupid, even a brickwall can catch on that.

Do you agee with this theory or not?  I did not come up with this just because he is my favorite archon, I’m actually trying to piece some puzzles here.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

[lionbearfox]

happy birthday, nahida!! 💚✨💚✨

[boycaca]

Hey… hey dont cry…. Nahida and wanderer being born from the same tree, ok?

[illustratus]

Charlemagne destroys the Irminsul (details) by Hermann Wislicenus

[blood-orange-juice]

A thing I absolutely adore about Scaramouche is that aesthetically he is a yokai. 

The whispers in the background and weirdly flickering screen in his trailer and when the Traveler first meets him in Sumeru.

The way he flies like a ghost from modern horror movies and not like any kind of monk. 

The fact his constellation is a kokeshi doll (there’s a popular belief that those dolls were made to hold the souls of murdered unwanted children). 

Just the way his story develops, that very specific shift from something horrible and unnatural to bitter and serene beauty (and the fact that you cannot simply kill a yokai, you need to acquire the knowlege of how it was created first). He could have been another episode of Ayakashi/Mononoke series.

He’s not a ghost, he is an artifical creation, and yet it’s so surprisingly fitting. A lot of older yokais are just inanimate things that became animate for one reason or another (sometimes the most ridiculous things like umbrellas, lanterns or scrolls in a badly kept library). And a sentient puppet is technically just that, an inanimate thing made animate. It’s like... the most natural parallel to draw and yet I’ve never seen anyone do that.

Mihoyo, you mad lads.

[ghostlude]

“hey man hows your wips going” zhongli x oc love child

[mistymohloh]

Made in archicad+lumion

[the-gayest-sky-kid]

Elaborating on before actually I would like to talk about how Dainsleif hasn't actually said anything bad about Venti (and Nahida now), meanwhile he has taken a more passive agressive tone in Zhongli's and actually calls out Ei in their collected miscellanies. I'd say that with Nahida it's understandable because she hasn't had any involvement, including now that she's taken Rukkhadevata's place, but with Venti it's a bit more confusing.

Dainsleif: A huge statue, a grandiose Cathedral... The people of Mondstadt clearly spent a great deal of resources and energy to construct them.

Dainsleif: But how aware of this was the Anemo Archon on receiving this gift, and how much did he give back in return?

Paimon: Faith doesn't ask for anything in return though, does it?

Dainsleif: Hmph, as long as the gods have a clear conscience about it all, there's nothing I can say about it.

And I have to note that, at least in the english dub, Dainsleifs voice doesn't imply any malice towards the Anemo Archon. In fact it sounds a lot softer until after Paimon's response. ( Video 31:06 to 31:34)

Dainsleif: Correct, and just as our little friend said... I might say something bad about the Church at any time.

Dainsleif: When a non-believer steps onto holy ground, the result is never pretty.

Dainsleif: I have never received the favor of the gods in the past. I don't see any reason I would need it now or in the future, either.

After that bit of dialogue he says this about him not wanting to enter the church, which I find interesting! He says the church, rather than just the anemo archon. Usually this would be one in the same but in Mondstadt's case it's important, because the church as a whole has *nothing* to do with Barbatos (which is a whole 'nother subject that would be fun to discuss). Barbatos for the church is essentially just a name they place their faith in, because no one has seen him for 1000 years. He also doesn't single out Barbatos in his comment afterwards, or in any comments about the seven afterwards.

Dain's comments on Venti in his collected miscellany are also interesting.

"As we all know, poetry and language flow like the wind... Venti captures this spirit in his ballads. Flora and fauna he sings seem to have a life of their own, and transport us to the moon and the stars. This self-proclaimed "Best Bard of the Mortal World" gets his strength, his unwithering inspiration, from the wind. But what Venti seeks in life, is not eternal fame for his ballads. Rather he'd be happy with a cup of wine and a lyre to sing the marvelous stories of the world. Yes, that would make Venti the Bard very content indeed."

(Thank you to the person who wrote all these down by the way)

He doesn't even take the opportunity to insult the anemo archon the entire miscellany!!!! In fact the closest he gets to that is his comment about Mondstadt not seeing him for 1000 years earlier, but that's only because he's making a comment about how Venti appeared during the cataclysm by saying for him it's "only been half that time". Later on in Ei's miscellany he makes a point about the archons being born arrogant, but for Venti's he points out the reason Venti sings isn't for the fame, but to share the stories of the world.

Meanwhile in Zhongli's collected miscellany:

"While Liyue Harbor grows restless on the eve of disaster, as the host of the rite of parting, Zhongli still calmly goes about his work. The world around him may be descending into chaos, yet he remains unperturbed, sipping his tea and watching a good show. Quite the fascinating character. As Liyue faces the turbulence of change, does he believe it is none of his business? Or is he also a player of this game, acting behind the scenes? It may be some time before the answers finally emerge... But no matter, for time is not something I lack."

Here he comments about Zhongli's decisions, and taking into account his tone of voice... not the fondest.

The Raiden Shoguns collected miscellany:

"Neighbouring the Dark Sea, Inazuma has witnessed many a war. For the pursuit of Eternity and the prosperity of Inazuma, the Raiden Shogun stuck stubbornly to her path, but what let some bloom, made others wither. There is no gain without the pain of loss. When facing their fears, Archons and mortals are all the same, yet Archons are born arrogant — by attempting to grasp the heavenly principles, she brought a disaster upon mortals. Perhaps, some may say I'm overstating what happened, but... I'm just speaking from experience after all."

Here in Ei's he just goes and talks about her decisions and the results they had.

And then in Nahida's miscellany we get this:

"Humans often place gods on a pedestal, awestruck by their unfathomable power. Very few ever come to the realization that gods are not the rulers of Teyvat, but merely another form of living being in this world. A god who lacks strength may have little to no advantage, even over mere mortals. Even I have no spiteful words to say about a god such as this. I will leave her be. Perhaps the God of Dendro will continue to propagate herself for as long as Irminsul continues to exist. As for the significance of Irminsul to the whole of Teyvat... I will leave that for those not under this world's control to discover for themselves."

This is the one other time Dainsleif is nice about a god, though with his comments here he actually says it aloud.

On another note, Dain says that "A god who lacks strength may have little to no advantage, even over mere mortals. Even I have no spiteful words to say about a god such as this". I have to wonder if this has anything to do with Venti's statement about being the weakest among the seven, and if that's why he continues to stay neutral with his comments on Venti (even if Venti's word isn't the most reliable here).

Anyway, the question is why Dainsleif maintains this neutral/somewhat positive? stance towards the anemo archon (other than the possibility above). He has every opportunity to comment on his absence or choices, but doesn't. We still don't know much about Venti's actions during the cataclysm but we know he was there in Khaenri'ah. I wonder what exactly went on...

[myjustice]

humoring the looping implications from furina's salon solitaire character story.

furina has seen clorinde, navia, lyney, lynette, freminet, chevreuse, & all of fontaine dissolve into the primordial water via the great flood once or twice before but since those memories were taken away from her she doesn't remember them, she only vaguely recognizes that some time looping was present.

[abyssmalice]

"Sentient plant-things sure suck don't they."

[tea-cat-arts]

What do you mean “if I have an AU I want to make comics for, I actually have to make the designs and draw the comics???” Why can’t I just magically manifest them into existence??? Anyways, here’s some KevinSu fam and MobiKlein fam designs and concepts for a “Flame Chasers + whoever else is convenient for me get reborn into Genshin and slowly regain their memories from Honkai” AU

Mobius and Klein were Tanit scholars/doctors

(OG Klein is the one on the far left btw. I know I changed a lot of her design elements and I’m not sure how clear that is, so I’m just specifying here. Also, it’s on the side of her belt so idk how well y’all can see it, but she has a hydro vision)

They left the tribe pretty early on (if you’ve played that quest™️, you know why. If you don’t, I’m not gonna spoil it here)

They also left so Mobi could investigate the withering and see if it might have any connections to the Honkai/ see if there was any chance of the Honkai leaking into Teyvat

Klein never got her Honkai memories back, but she still fell in love with Mobi anyways and they’re still lab partners. Mobi got her memories back fairly early on

Klein got Eleazar, so they decided to move from the desert to Sumeru city to seek better medical treatment

She’s fine now and made it through the end of the arcon quest, so she got cured 👍

Mobi is a professor at the academia

Her students are terrified of her

So usual Mobius shenanigans

Being a professor also put her in a position where she’s closer to Irminsul, so she’s content with the situation

The matra know damn well she’s continuing her artificial life experiments, but they can’t prove shit so she’s in the clear

Alhaitham was the first successful clone baby she made, Klein jr was the second

The thing Elysia did to Su’s arm stuck through the reincarnation, so Su got his memories back very early on

He grew up on the same block as Fu Hua over in Liyue harbor, but she didn’t get her memories back until her late teens

Su grew up hearing a lot of stories about the chasm, and he was worried that it might have something to do with the Honkai

But he didn’t actually have the clearance to investigate that, so had to go to Sumeru Academia to get the research clearance only to find out about Eleazar and the Withering and get significantly more anxious

Imagine his face after being told he has to go through med school again lmao (at least there’s legitimately different illnesses and treatments in Teyvat, so he does have something new to learn)

Anyways, he ran into Mobi and Kevin at the Academia

Kevin grew up in Mondstad and got his memories back in his early 20s. He moved to Sumeru city because he thought it’d be the place with highest chance of him running into someone he knows so that they can explain wtf is going on

Kevin and Su got married somewhere along the way I guess, but that’s not important right now

Anyways, Mobius basically stole their genes off their clothes or something so she wouldn’t have to use any of Klein’s in the prototypes for her experiments

Alhaitham was the first successful artificial life she made and she just sorta handed him off to Kevin and Su and they both sorta just “aight, guess we have a kid now”

Mobius still got to be his grandma though and watched him a lot while Kevin and Su (well, Su mostly. Kevin was there more as a bodyguard) were off doing research in the chasm (which is why Alhaitham is the way he is)

[reginrokkr]

✧ @delusionaid & @jueying asked: [ META ] + home

Dain has a complicated relationship with the concept of home dating back since relatively-peaceful days in Khaenri'ah that he spent. There is no doubt that he sees it as his homeland and its people something precious to protect and to feel a sense of pride for all the achievements the sum of people who lived in the kingdom accomplished, and that he still feels strongly for it as there is a new official artwork of him holding an inteyvat in his hand, a symbol of the tenderness of home as well as a flower that blooms in a place that is incompatible with life (flora and fauna unless artificially made), ergo against all odds. Nevertheless, it is also a place of conflict with his own beliefs as nuanced in Chiori's miscellany, where he says that one must follow the law established in a land regardless of the beliefs you have. To me, this is telling that he knows Khaenri'ah isn't an idyllic home and that he still chose to stay and protect its people, all of them and not just the aristocracy.

Since the moment Khaenri'ah was destroyed, it's safe to say that he lost the home he had and it's possible that he learned more from its darkness as years passed, either on his own or during his dispute against the Abyss Order since its conception. He's a nomad with a mission, going from one place to the next with nowhere to really stay and call his home anymore. Nevertheless, due to his connection with Irminsul —spiritual, I'd say—, lingering a little while under the glow of trees that are reminiscent of the holy tree or the very tree itself (there are descriptions of a kingdom established at the roots of Irminsul which may or may not be Khaenri'ah, if it is, then it would give another layer of homesickness to him), where he feels at ease and safe from any external danger until he's done resting.

Going a little further with this and playing with the concept of realm of consciousness or memory palace, Dain's own is an entire field of inteyvat flowers under a gentle true sky (as a sign that he knows of the source of all fate and can look past the layer of false sky created possibly by Phanes to act as an hermetic layer around Teyvat) that changes from hues associated with day to night and Irminsul.

[gierosajie]

a thought process. Scaramouche could be made out of sakura tree wood. following that logic. maybe he can grow sakura flowers. like a sakura flower crown. he cannot control this.

KSBDJSBF That cursed doll thing with their hair growing longer, except it's flowers and Scara is like those grass head thingies you water and stuff. Not even Dottore could keep the flowers at bay, so it's another reason to wear the hat besides being too pretty for this world

Also, I know it's probably wisteria– but imagine the flowers growing in a way that looks like Makoto's hairpiece

[waivyjellyfish]

A little about Dokuro family, and a bit about the world of this story.(OC)

Dokuro is a family that must work as watchmakers for 100 generations and protect Irminsul from the Worms of Nothingness because of the deal with Irminsul.

Irminsul - The tree into the nowhere. Looks like a balloon. It is not clear where it came from or how, but each branch of this tree is a world (canon) from each branch leaves grow and then they are transforming into new branches (AU). The tree grows forever. The basis(the core) is the "our" world, no one from outside can get there. Watchmakers are the function of the tree to regulate its growth and care. They are creatures created by the tree. Worms of Nothingness are the timeless dead worlds and creatures from them.

Branches of the tree (history) - worlds what is created by the minds of people from the "our" world, acquires a real shell as a brunch and nourishes Irminsul so that it doesn't disappear (I think it is possible to say that Irminsul lives on the imagination of those people who live in its core). Each story goes on its own track. Which means a thoughtful plot. The task of watchmakers is to give stories the opportunity to grow and be finished (mostly to reach the intended end). Nonexistent worms eat the important for the plot things and the task of watchmakers is not to let Nothing-worms eat the world/ if the world is eaten, then guide it in another way (that is why stories can have strange twists of the plot)/follow the story to the end (though sometimes they are idiotic). The more the franchise is, the more it’s worth protecting, because Irminsul will get more nutrients from it. But don't forget about small ones, because corrosion begins with small. If the author doesn't have a clear plot/world/character structure, then they will be very weak to resist the nothing-worms. The Nothing-worms aspire to the main branches (canon), the small ones (au) protect it. First the worms pass through Au, and then proceed to the canon. It’s the watchmakers' job to stop them.

Nothing-worms (Worms of Nothingness, what fool coined this name?) - the remnants of vanished worlds that fused together. Driven by the desire to return to the original state, therefore devour living worlds. Practically have no consciousness.

Chronologists (in the common people - watchmakers) - the union subordinate to Irminsul, monitor the course of stories, protect the stories from the Nothing-worms, correct the stories devoured by the Nothing-worms, evacuate those stories that can no longer be corrected.

Dokuro En and Dokuro Mina, survivors of one of the eaten worlds, became watchmakers because they concluded that this was a best way to protect themselves and their family (what was left of it). Made a deal with Irminsul, and now a hundred generations (including themselves) need to work as watchmakers to protect Irminsul, and in return the tree gives them the strength and the ability to protect their family.

The Plot - there is no plot yet, but it is likely to be a collection of stories about the lives of some characters from these 100 generations.

[erabundus]

@snowtombedstar &&. said... Tem would simply love to replace the tassels on his hat with something a little more festive. Red-and-white diagonal stripes like candy canes, perhaps? Or one red, and one green? And some ornaments to hang from the brim, as well!

❝  ...  ❞  head  swivels  to  and  fro  —  as  if  attempting  to  survey  the  DAMAGE.  something  seems  to  emit  a  festive  little  jingle  from  the  movement,  though  the  wanderer's  attempts  to  discern  WHAT  only  serve  to  rattle  the  blasted  thing  around  all  the  more.  he  doesn't  make  much  of  an  effort  to  involve  himself  with  mortal  holidays;  after  so  many  centuries  of  existence,  they  all  become  a  bit  bland.  (  an  indecipherable  blur  of  excuses  to  drink  and  be  merry.  )  perhaps  this  is  meant  to  be  some  form  of  PUNISHMENT,  whether  at  tem's  behest  or  simply  fate  itself,  for  being  such  a  miserable  killjoy  year  after  year  after  year.  assuming  that  is  the  case,  ren  can  only  imagine  he  has  all  the  more  reason  to  DETEST  IT.  

a  heavy  sigh  escapes  the  wanderer's  lips  —  purely  performative,  as  most  things  are.  carefully  (  as  to  not  break  any  of  the  absurd  little  trinkets  )  he  extracts  the  kasa  from  his  head.  nose  wrinkles  slightly  as  he's  finally,  finally  able  to  get  a  good  look  at  what's  been  done  to  his  beloved  hat. talk about a yuletide tragedy ...

❝  here.  ❞  unceremoniously,  he  drops  it  atop  tem's  head instead.  ❝  if  you  want  to  be  festive  so  badly,  you  can  wear  it.  ❞