#Sumeru lore

[intogenshin]

Alhaitham & the Ibis King

Always wondered why he dresses like this birb, especially because the statue sits at the top of Deshret’s mausoleum alongside the jackal that has close ties to Cyno

The jackal is the symbol of Hermanubis, one of the seven sages of king Deshret and leader of the priest class Kasala belonged to.

There isn’t much actual lore about the sages other than the questionable book The Lay of Al-Ahmad and the fictionalized setting of King of Invokations from Dialogues of the Desert Sages weapon description. What we know for sure about Hermanubis is he established himself in Tulaytullah at some point alongside the Tighnarians and of course that Cyno possesses power related to him.

The Lay of Al-Ahmar describes the Ibis King (who tried to persuade Deshret before his falling but was turned down) as the scribe of scribes, while Dialogue of the Desert Sages portrays him bickering with the Crocodile King.

Dialogues of the Desert Sages describes two sages that had not featured in other lore before:

Saint Bennu: the king’s soul

Saint Shesepankh: a lioness and the king’s will

Bennu is an ancient Egyptian deity in the form of a heron, which outsiders tell Candace her shield has been blessed by

While “shesepankh” is another name for the sphynx, a lion with the head of a man in Egypt and a winged lion with the head of a woman in Greek myth, but the novel specifies it’s a lioness like Dehya

So we have so far among the seven sages of Deshret:

Hermanubis with jackal imagery and a direct connection to Cyno

Ibis King who is the scribe of all scribes and a bird statue with similar motifs as Alhaitham’s

Saint Bennu whose symbol Candace wears

Saint Shesepankh whose imagery is like that of Dehya

The remaining sages are the Goat King (minister of all minister and allegedly right hand of Deshret), the Crocodile King (commander of all commanders), and Apep (who didn’t count themselves among the sages)

So either it’s a coincidence or they might drop a goat and a crocodile character in the future lol although maybe Nilou could count for the goat imagery because of GoF’a horns?

I don’t think this means anything in terms of lore (reincarnation theory has long been dead) but thematically it could stand for something (desert gang has a role in fixing Deshret’s mess after all) also the two statues up there in Deshret’s mausoleum are gay as hell

[lady-asphodel]

𝐆𝐄𝐍𝐒𝐇𝐈𝐍 𝐈𝐌𝐏𝐀𝐂𝐓 𝐑𝐀𝐍𝐓

➥ NABU MALIKATA ( GODDESS OF FLOWERS ) IS AN ICONIC AND UNDERATED CHARACTER

I've recently seen a TikTok talking about players that claim that there is no well-written female characters from hoyoverse while loving any male characters regardless of their writing.

I don't really have an opinion about it in depth, however it did make me think of something. Why is Nabu Malikata only known through Kaveh, as a Kavetham trope, or as Deshret's crush? I bet that most players don't know an actual thing about her lore and how IMPORTANT and IMPACTFUL she had been to Teyvat's history but especially Sumeru's.

Miss girl is actually the cause of EVERYTHING that had happened in Sumeru, and I gamble my dignity as a lore enthusiast that 98% of players didn't know that.

Nabu Malikata after being the only survivor of an ancient, powerful and sacred race : 👑

Nabu Malikata after receiving a restraining order from Celestia: 👑

Nabu Malikata after being one of the oldest beings in teyvat, as old (if not older) than Morax himself and some Dragon Sovereigns : 👑

Nabu Malikata after being one of the only individuals to know the WHOLE truth about the Heavenly Principles and the Abyss : 👑

Nabu Malikata after having a God-King be head over heels for her to the point he created an eternal oasis in her honor: 👑

Nabu Malikata after everything she had foretold indeed came true : 👑

Nabu Malikata after being the Mother of the Jinns and the Kvharena : 👑

Nabu Malikata after being the first one to actually defy Celestia and the Abyss : 👑

Nabu Malikata after sacrificing herself to reveal the TRUTH that doomed Sumeru: 👑

Nabu Malikata after being stripped of most of her powers and blessings yet remained strong enough to do miracles and purify the abyss and forbidden knowledge: 👑

I really should do a dedicated post for her lore itself, explaining it and developing everything etc.

[sciencemademeahom0]

fr him

[aeroblossom]

so i finally finished dual evidence. do not ask why it took one year. much consideration later, why does no one notice the parallels between decarabian/amos and deshret/nabu malikata

> Influences of or references to Amos' teachings can be found in certain modern political and civil rights speeches. In Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I Have a Dream", King states "we will not be satisfied until justice rolls down like waters and righteousness like a mighty stream", which is an allusion to Amos 5:24: "But let justice roll on like a river, righteousness like a never-failing stream!"

always the anemo/hydro mofos and for what reason

[starcurtain]

Reblogging this because these are all valuable additions to the criminal rap sheet the conversation, but especially these tags:

#on another note#i like to think Mehrak's core is the same as the primal mechanisms and Kaveh has his own Benben situation going on#and if we stretch the possibilities a little bit more then maybe Mehrak is a sealed Jinn that chose Kaveh as its master#(any visual similarities to Deshret and possible character foil shenanigans aside)#my point is: sumeru will pull an icarus eventually and plummet is all because of their endless curiosity#nerds. all of them (affectionate)

I wholeheartedly agree and definitely think that the game going out of its way to state that Kaveh used a machine core from Deshret's era basically confirms that Mehrak is (at the very least) equivalent to Benben, the core of a primal construct. I'm also inclined to agree that the primal constructs may have been, perhaps in later iterations, in-dwelt by Jinn convinced to serve Deshret, making it seem very likely to me that Mehrak could be a Jinni or Jinn remnant. This would make the name "Mehrak" ("little light") particularly symbolic, as the Jinn were said to be born of the light of the moon on the water lilies that sprung from Nabu Malikata's blood.

(Ironically, if Mehrak was a Jinni, that would at least save Kaveh from the law, as a Jinni is... technically not a "machine lifeform." Right? Right. lol)

However, even if the primal constructs have nothing to do with the Jinn, the game does hint several times that the machines were constructed through the use of forbidden knowledge:

So like, not only does Mehrak violate the "no machine lifeform" rule, it also violates the most dangerous core taboo of Sumeru's entire civilization.

One day Mehrak is going to beep-boop its way into starting Apocalypse 2: Forbidden Knowledge Boogaloo and Alhaitham, Cyno, and everyone else who helped Kaveh's and Tighnari's (accidental) sins against humanity fly under the radar are really going to be rethinking their life decisions.

It's okay though, it will be a cute apocalypse and everyone will forgive Mehrak and Karkata right away.

I think one of the funniest things about the Sabzeruz event is that the devs choose to go with Candace, Traveler, and Paimon having a whole "Ooh, two mysterious men are going into an alley to have a 'private' conversation; they must be bad guys!" only to then go "Oh just kidding, it was only Alhaitham and Kaveh doing typical Alhaitham and Kaveh things."

Except the "Alhaitham and Kaveh" thing in question this time was talking about Mehrak, a sentient robot that Kaveh built using absolutely forbidden technology, and which he then whole-heartedly willed would develop a consciousness of its own, violating one of the central taboos of his nation's governing agency, committing what amounts to an inherent and extreme felony punishable by law.

Alhaitham and Kaveh: Listen, we're not bad guys discussing illegal activity here. We're just two men having a private, personal conversation. Happens all the time.

Paimon, Candace, and Traveler: Oh cool, they're not doing a crime; they're just gay.

But they were, in fact, doing a crime.

[lestcat-de-lioncourt]

Legit only unlocked Chatrakam Cave in Lokapala Jungle, Dharma Forest, bc I was hoping there were gunna be loads of Rukkhashava Mushrooms to build some characters but alas (I don't like to spoil areas before unlocking them, I just checked that there was "lots of fungi in there", which is certainly right! Just not those).

It's fun tho, as expected, and motivated me to do loads of quests I otherwise wouldn't of for ages, probably. I also find the Aranara so cute! The very first time we started building the little Aranara statues, I hoped they became a real interactive talking creatures and they got whole areas and the dreamworld!

[galdrgobrrr]

I find it endlessly fascinating how much Alhaitham outside of his character stories is portrayed as someone solely defined by the present. He never mentions his family ever. You don’t even know he’s an orphan unless you read them, or even that his grandma was such a pivotal figure in his life (and inspired some of his current views). He’s so divorced from his past you could be convinced he just popped into existence one day with no fuss.

[nonomives]

Her name's Minnie (like the mouse)

As for her lore, shes a mad scientist basically. She has a weird ideology about science, considering it a form of art. A former researcher of the Fontaine Research Institute, she quit after she found hereelf misaligning with the way the institute handles itself. She now works as a freelancer that takes comissions on the go, her latest one being an offer given by Wriothesley regarding a particular secret project.

Her past is a little cloudy but she was once a member of high society, her mother a diplomat from Sumeru who settled in fontaine after marrying a noble from Fontaine. She's since been disowned by the family due to several complications. Not that she cares.

Whats her vision element? Geo? Anemo? Sike. Its Electro. Misdirection– its on the back of her jacket.

[telephonedear]

additional things i think the Archons would be gods of (feel free to add your own):

BARBATOS, god of:

wind

poetry

song

freedom

hope

children

sleep/rest

death (also grief and mourning)

MORAX, god of:

rock/earth

contracts

marriage

trade

wealth

strategy

BEELZEBUB, god of:

lightning

thunder

eternity

storms

virgins

runaways

BUER, god of:

plants/flora

wisdom

dreams

memories

wonder

youth

purity

FOCALORS, god of:

water (seas, rivers, etc)

justice

fairness

decisions

truth

MAVUIKA, god of:

fire

lava

war

warriors

dance

festivities

TSARITSA, god of:

ice

love (sexual, romantic, familial, etc.)

relationships

marriage

childbirth/fertility

madness (?)

i made both morax and tsaritsa the god of marriage because i feel like they’d be different types- morax would be more arranged (contracted) while tsaritsa’s would be out of love.

i also think that both buer and focalors could be gods of purity, so lmk who you think it should be

again, feel free to add some more!

[nomazee]

dan heng x gn reader — 1.6k — long overdue continuation of my dumb delinquent au (and the two remaining fans cheer in delight), high school au, probably very americanized, probably ooc, very super incredibly vague implications to sad things but it's so blink-and-you'll-miss-it, himeko is dan heng's adoptive guardian in this au, do u guys hate me for the hoops i'm jumping through to squeeze every character in this au, reluctant friends-to-crush-to-lovers fast/slow burn unbearable unspoken feelings trope

drabble no. 1 of this series/universe, u should probably read this first heh...

notes: hi guys, i'm back after taking yet another unplanned year-long hiatus, hope u missed me! (the crowd stays quiet) i bring u another delinquent au drabble because the worms got to me and i couldn't help it OK, OKAY?!?! enjoy! :3

—°+..｡*ﾟ｡*ﾟ+.*.｡.—

Dan Heng hasn’t seen much of you in the last week. 

It’s unusual, he defends his worries to himself, very unusual. Despite not having a single class with you, he sees you often. In the last few months since he’s known you, he’s seen you at least three times a week after school, sometimes bloody and other times free of any injury, but the point is, he sees you. Talks to you, lets you walk him home (and pointedly doesn’t let you take him to any antique stores or overpriced tea shops on the way there). 

Today is Friday, and the fifth day straight that he’s stood in the courtyard behind the school for thirty minutes after dismissal, waiting for you to show up, appearing in a breeze of glitter and dust like a poorly-practiced magician. It’s the fifth day straight that you haven’t shown up, and he’s starting to realize how paradoxical your friendship feels. 

Dan Heng is hesitant to even call it a friendship. It feels weird—it’s like he’s known you for years, like he’s grown up with you on the same block in the same neighborhood, except in truth he’s only known you for three months, and he just learned your birthday last week after (embarrassingly) prying it out of you. He doesn’t know where you live, which front door to knock on so that he can check up on you, he doesn’t even have your phone number. All he can do is circle the perimeter of school grounds, waiting for you to show up, or looking for a top hat somewhere so he can pull you up out of it like he’s the poorly-practiced magician and you’re the bunny that he’s unethically shoved into a top hat. 

Luckily for him, though, fifth time’s the charm, and on his (miserable, lonely) walk home, he bumps into you as he rounds the corner to his block. Like, really bumps into you.

He hears a semi-familiar shout of horror as he stumbles back, the sudden slam of pressure on his nose making his eyes water, and he clasps his hands over his nose (it doesn’t hurt that bad, he swears), and then your hands are grabbing his shoulder and giving him a firm shake before he can even process that it’s you he’s just stumbled into. 

“Oh!” You shout, and he registers the tilt of your head through his watery, cloudy vision, “It’s you! I was looking for you.”

Dan Heng feels like— laughing, dryly, or maybe grabbing your shoulders back and shaking you until you reflect on how ridiculous you sound—as if he wasn’t the one wandering school grounds for an hour each day for the last week in search of you, like a lost dog, and god he really hopes no one caught him doing that, but at the very least March 7th definitely saw him, which means it’s going to hit the rest of his social circle eventually and he’ll have to hang his head in shame and stay silent when all his friends ask him why he was moping for five days straight. 

“Looking for me?” he mumbles, repeating your words instead of coming up with a thought of his own because he’s still sort of reeling from the sudden sight of you and the buzzing ache in his nose. “Am I bleeding?” 

“Oh,” you say, yet again, and he feels your hands take his wrists and pull them away from his face so that you can get a good glimpse of him. “Nope, no blood. Thank god. I’d feel really bad if I had to return you to Himeko with your face mangled.” 

“Return me,” he echoes again, and in two seconds flat he sobers up and straightens his posture and finally gets a good look at your face. “What? Where have you been?” 

“Around,” you answer vaguely, like you always do, and Dan Heng is now half a step closer to actually shaking you by your shoulders and turning you upside down until the truth falls out of your pockets like cartoon coins. “I’m back now, though! I wasn’t going to get a perfect attendance award anyways, so it’s kind of whatever.” Your lips quirk up into a stupid smile, and your eyes are scanning his face and his potentially bruised nose bridge. “Did you miss me?” 

“Yeah,” he admits, like an idiot, and he unfortunately doesn’t miss the sudden stalling of your expression, the way your smile freezes for half a second and the twitch in your brow. “No,” he quickly rights, but it’s a moot point by now, “whatever. What do you mean, around? Have you been at school at all this week?” He finally looks down at your clothes, which are very much not any kind of school-uniform-adjacent garb, but rather a collared shirt with some kind of logo on the top left. 

“I’ve been working,” you say, and it’s maybe the most honest and straightforward answer that Dan Heng will ever get from you, so he relishes in it for a moment. “You know, a job. Have you heard of that before? Jobs? Employment?” 

“That’s allowed? Are we allowed to work?” 

“Well,” and you do it again, glance off to the side before coming back to him, “I hope so. I’m not looking to quit this job so soon. They hired me, so it’s all good. I just had to miss school this week so they could train me, but I’ll be back on Monday. You’ll get your daily dose of me again soon, don’t worry!” 

Working. Dan Heng doesn’t know much about your schedule, what you do after school besides annoy him and walk him home and get into fights with seemingly invisible and untraceable and unnameable people, but this feels like one more piece in a thousand-piece puzzle where half the pieces have been drenched in water and bent. He feels two steps away from knowing more about you at the same time that he feels miles away. 

“I’m at the movie theatre,” you tell him, “so you should come visit with your friends some day. Four to ten P.M. on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. You can introduce me to your friends properly, you know,” and you have that nearly-tense, nearly-dishonest quirk of your lips, and you’re looking right at him like you’re trying to tell him something without saying it, “unless you’re too embarrassed to let them meet me.” 

This is not the first time you’ve said things like this, not by a long shot. Dan Heng thinks back, and is sure that you say something along the lines of aren’t you embarrassed at least once for every two times that he talks to you. Scared you’ll get caught with me? you asked him just last week, like being with you was a surefire way to get cursed or shunned or ostracized. Dan Heng doesn't get it, and it doesn't sound like you want him to. 

“No,” he says, steadfast, realizing belatedly that your hands are still around his wrists from when you’d tugged them down off his face, and his skin beneath your fingers is heating up rapidly, but so are the tips of his ears. “That’s not it,” and he really doesn’t have the strength to say anything deeper than that, so he dodges, “what were you doing on my street? Did you go to my house?” 

You’ve been caught. Sheepishly, you let go of his wrists, one hand going up to scratch the back of your neck instead, looking at his neighbor’s dead half-dead rose bush next to the sidewalk. “I kind of figured maybe I’d check in on you, or something. Ask to hang out. But when I came at three, you weren’t home yet, so I just kind of hung out with your mom. I was leaving just now. Figured you were busy, or something?” 

It’s an open-ended question, one that Dan Heng is very unwilling to honestly answer—if he did, he’d have to admit that the task that was oh-so-arduously occupying his time after school was sitting in the courtyard like a grieving wife waiting for her spouse to come home from war. He shakes his head instead of explaining anything—that should be enough of an answer. 

“She gave me cookies,” you continue in lieu of a real response from Dan Heng. “Seriously, am I the only one that eats them, or am I, like, stealing your only source of food every time I come over?” 

“The first one. I hate those things. They’re dry. I don’t understand how you eat them like that.” 

“Woah! Rude! Whatever, more for me. Hey, you’ll help me with all that schoolwork I missed, right?” You punch him in the shoulder playfully, which might’ve knocked the wind out of him had it been aimed any closer at his sternum. “I think we have almost all the same teachers. And I'm a quick learner, so it won't be so bad for you."

“Fine,” he says with a faux reluctance that would really only be convincing to a child, “I can walk you home.” 

“Haha,” and you punch his shoulder again, soothing it this time with a pat before you trail your hand up to the side of his neck, clasping the side of it with your warm palm, like you’re holding his pulse in your hand, and Dan Heng holds his breath so you won’t easily feel the rapid thump of blood underneath his skin, “maybe next time, champ.” 

You’re smiling again, laughing when you look at the paling expression on his face, like you know something he doesn’t, and he barely has time to feel disappointed at your easy rejection before you laugh, breathy, one more time, and say goodbye. 

(Himeko, to Dan Heng’s utter misery, hounds him for “details, the whole story, what did they say, Heng?!” the second he steps into the threshold of his house, keys still dangling from his hand. Terrible, awful, miserable. He does in fact, tell her everything.)

[lyss-sketchbox]

I hope this doesnt start a war but with the recent drop of Natlans AQ i wanna know

Yes im also including natlan because imo a nation's AQ seems to have equal quality across acts

[that-foul-legacy-lover]

Foul Legacy, from the depths of the Abyss, and you, descended from Khaenri'ah's Crimson Moon dynasty. there's fire in your veins, hands burned agonizing charcoal black- you refuse to touch anything but your own skin, out of fear that you'll end up surrounded by destruction and carnage. if you breathe carefully, you can keep the raging flames to a mere flicker, but any stress or worry makes them flare and spark, your hands searing with pain and footsteps leaving charred marks in the grass. you don't want to destroy- you don't want to hurt anyone- so you keep silent, withdrawing from people and walking alone. your only respite is pure water, where the fire cools and you're left in relative, fleeting peace.

it's not surprising when the Abyss finds you. it seems to find all remnants of Khaenri'ah, creeping up and consuming them whole... but the Abyss finds you not in the form of an endless void, but as a monster- a friendly, curious monster with crimson horns and twilight armor. he tilts his head when he meets you, walking a few circles around you and delicately poking at your features, taking a few steps back when you flinch. his crystalline gaze trails down to your hands, tiny flickers of fire running over your fingertips, and without hesitation the beast waves his claws, a tiny narwhal made of water floating over and landing on your skin with a soft blooping sound. it soothes the flames, the pain slowly fading into a dull pulse, and the creature lets out a happy trill at the sight of your wide eyes.

you, the Heir to the Throne of the Crimson Moon, and Foul Legacy, your loyal Abyssal monster.

[nemoys]

hyv had no reason to tell us of 4ggravate's appearance in cyno's second sq other than to make us shut up over missing them i can't breathe

[lilyandthegenshinbrainrot]

i DO think it's very funny that the more we travel,,, these new gods certainly have a lot of confidence in their ability to protect themselves against Celestia !! and yet there's certainly a lot of forbidden knowledge and divine,, retribution of the past gods leftover in their lands !!

the closest thing in Liyue and Mond to these are the Chi of Yore quest about the old serpent and,,, perhaps the Wind and Time temples ??

It's almost funny !!

Mond's people literally go "we are not keeping any of that shit around!!" and Mond's archon is like "Okay, you are dead now! Time to join the winds <3"

and so there is no ghosts or any of that

Liyue's people is like. we have distinguished and obvious people in charge of handling the dead and the past remnants of the gods from before.

"Those are our exorcists <3 and ofc there is the Vigilant Yaksha who is very intentional in making sure the nation is safe :)"

Everyone else ?

No, they are all very much still reeling and grieving and carrying their dead with them, the ghosts of Inazuma and the entire mental state of their archon, the withering/forbidden knowledge and Khaenri'ah idealization of Sumeru, the corrupted waters + primordial sea of Fontaine,,, they are stuck and unable to move on, and in Natlan it's something that they carry for generations and generations until someone ruins the reputation. We don't know enough to say if that's,,, good but. what the hell guys, I know you're fucking with some dangerous things.

Their confidence alone will not save their nations in the end.

[starcurtain]

Just caught up with Natlan's archon quest and lord help me, I have a burning need to see Alhaitham and Ororon interact.

I truly feel that they would vibe perfectly. Not in a ship way, but like, in the way of Kaveh quietly wailing: "For archons' sake, he's brought another tacky thing into the house. Traveler, please do something; they've been staring eye to eye over the coffee table for like an hour now but haven't said a single word. I don't know what to do. Send help."

[llocket]

NAHIDA HAS NO REASON TO BE WHITE. heres WHY

the reason why i'm making this post is because i am SICK and TIRED of seeing OTHER PEOPLE fight for MY CULTURE in the most INCORRECT WAY POSSIBLE. "nahida rcta queen!", "why are you blackwashing her?", "she switched teams!" all these comments and more under artists' posts that decided to give her melanin.

artists are just giving back her melanin as she is based off a culture with people who have dark skin. this is not racist. this is literally the opposite. i understand if a character already has an established skin colour that's apart of their character (ex. ei or zhongli) though with nahida this makes no sense.

i am indian, do NOT come after me. sumeru is based off of MY culture. i know what i'm talking about. a good 70% of sumeru is based off hindu culture, it's based off south asia.

more of my yapping:

you all need to shut the hell up about saraswati and how nahida is based off saraswati because saraswati's description is saying "shes as white as the moon" and nahida is white. you ALL need to BE QUIET ABOUT THAT.

this is saraswati, for reference:

saraswati is not ever mentioned in genshin impact. NOT ONCE. but, the aranara call rukkhadevata queen aranyani. aranyani is a very obscure hindu god known for taking care of the forest and dancing n stuff

THIS IS WHAT NAHIDA AND RUKKHADEVATA ARE BASED OFF OF. NOT SARASWATI. the only thing that saraswati and nahida (+ rukkha) have in-common is that other than being white and based off a hindu goddess

saraswati isn't even white, the pale as the moon thing refers to a godly glow. so even IF nahida and rukkha are based off saraswati, hoyo does NOT HAVE ANY REASON TO MAKE THEM WHITE SINCE SHE ISNT EVEN WHITE. she has a GODLY GLOW.

literally the only excuse nahida has for being that pale is that she's the avatar of irminsul (a white tree) HOWEVER. they didn't need to make her THAT pale. if they wanted to make her pale skin they should've added more colors like pinks and purples and blues like the actual irminsul

as you can VERY CLEARLY see, they did not do that. they did not even try to take this route.

everything could have been fine if they did take this route or make her eyelashes white and say she's albino if they really wanted her to be white. but they didn't.

indians can be pale, YES. but they aren't this paper caca toothpaste looking ass WHITE like how nahida is. REPRESENTATION FOR SKIN COLOUR MATTERS TOO. ITS NOT JUST THE CULTURE THEY'RE BASED OFF OF.

anyway thanks for coming to my yapping session. i love talking about my culture 👍 desi nahida layouts are here if you want to see :)