#bosacius and the chasm after the cataclysm too

[avnasace]

(genshin impact 4.1 spoilers)

no but the tidbit from neuvillette about how the gnoses are objects containing power stolen from the seven sovereigns???

whaaat?????

so does this mean that the tsaritsas plan could possibly be to hand the power back to them and have them defeat celestia???

makes sense why zhongli would align with her if thats the case, none of the archons seem to think kindly of celestia, theyre all definetly more favourable to the sovereigns.

[idyllic-affections]

the dendro yaksha.

summary. xiao once had an older sibling.

trigger & content warnings. implied physical abuse, near-death, trauma, et cetera.

tropes, pairings, fic length, & other notes. fluff, angst, hurt/comfort. xiao & dendro yaksha!reader. 0.6k words. they/them pronouns used for reader.

author's thoughts. this concept is one i plan on expanding upon a lot in the future. i'm sure one day i'll write a full-length oneshot of sorts based on the concept, but i think it'll just be brainrots, drabbles, and things of the like for now. xiao, my beloved, he deserves so many good things fr <3

bosacius was not the only yaksha who disappeared into the chasm 500 years ago.

a very long time ago, xiao once had what he liked to regard as an elder sibling. the two were by no means related by blood, but as as immortals, there was hardly any difference between blood and chosen family.

they always protected him, taking the worst of the wrath of that ancient god who'd kept both of them chained. sometimes they'd fall asleep for months on end just to recuperate from the awful injuries they would sustain. never once did they stop doing defending alatus, though, regardless of how much he had pleaded them to.

he appreciated their efforts in a way that couldn't possibly be described, but he didn't want to be alone.

"i'll always come back, dove, no matter how long i'm asleep for," they assured gently, lovingly, "so don't worry, okay? i'll always come back, alatus."

"promise?" he whispered, wide and teary golden eyes staring up into their own.

they smiled, pinching his cheek affectionately. "promise. just try not to anger him while i'm gone, 'kay? can't have you getting hurt."

when morax first liberated them, they were violent, refusing to let him or guizhong or cloud retainer or streetward rambler or marchosius or anyone touch them or their baby dove. no-one could get close. no, no, they were convinced that the gods were only out to get them and their brother.

(and it was only upon the reassurance of a winged, musically inclined—not to mention much younger—deity from a different nation that they calmed down, but that's a story for another time.)

inevitably, however, those doubts subsided. morax was... surprisingly gentle at times, they noted, and guizhong—goodness, did she even have the capacity to fight? she was brilliant, but not strong.

it was only a matter of time before they swore their loyalty to the lord of geo, signing a contract that would last as long as they lived.

it wasn't until the cataclysm that perhaps their contract would come to an end. after all, the situation they were in was terribly grim.

they wanted to live.

they wanted to live, but they were willing to die in defense of liyue harbor.

being trapped in the depths of the chasm wasn't so unbearable for the first while. bosacius may have lost his mind, but still... they liked to think there was a little glimmer of recognition in his eyes whenever he saw them.

that mortal man trapped with them was awfully good company too, but they feared he would succumb to their's and bosacius' combined karmic debt.

eventually, three became two, and two became one.

they were sure that all that was keeping them sane was studying the odd space they were trapped in (that and the fact that they still retained some sway over the dendro element and therefore could craft cute little flower crowns to kill time). it was fascinating, really. it occupied their mind, distracting them from the darkening of their vision and the malicious whispering in their ears.

repeatedly, though, they almost lost their never-ending battle.

they eventually stopped counting the years that passed. their sense of time was terribly skewed, anyway, so they doubted they'd been counting accurately in the first place.

xiao found the collection of flower crowns littered around a particular spot very, very nostalgic and even comforting. his dendro-aligned sibling always enjoyed making such things for him and the other yaksha.

he dared not get his hopes up, though. anyone could've made the crowns.

it was by following the faint trail of dendro energy (which was largely drowned out by familiar karma) that he found them, barely alive.

yet...

despite being so out of it, when they saw xiao, they smiled so, so sweetly. they soothingly squeezed his hands—they were trying to soothe him, he quickly realized. he must've looked frantic if they were so quick to reassure him rather than reassure themselves that he was really there.

"i would say something witty like, 'i told you i'd always come back,'" they giggled, "but it's you who came back for me this time, isn't it, alatus?"

please consider reblogging, it helps me out quite a lot!

[the-travelling-witch]

HOLLY HATES GRANDPAS (zhongli) CONFIRMED/j

I actually really like the thought of Xiao and his relationship being a bit darker I mean didn’t Xiao kill thousands of “people” and creatures for him? I’m not educated on his lore but I know Xiao was some type of warrior to Morax when he was a god? Archon?

Holly I would love to hear your thoughts on it

okay where do i start with this… no seriously where do i start

You said you don’t know much about Xiao, so let’s start there (coming from someone who might know a little too much about him jshsh).

Basically, yes, you are correct that Xiao was fighting for Morax alongside the other Yaksha and Adepti during the Archon War after Morax saved him from his enslavement to an ancient god and gave him the name “Xiao”. Because of his gratitude to Morax, Xiao took on the duty to protect Liyue, something he still does to this day.

Now, what I think is important to mention here is that Xiao is still referred to as a “young adeptus” even in present times, so during the Archon War approximately 2700 years ago, he was much younger still, meaning he was enslaved from a very very young age. (My personal headcanon is that he had golden wings originally and that they have been cut off/ clipped/ ripped out by the ancient god when he was first enslaved.)

But Xiao was not alone in protecting Liyue. He had four fellow guardian yaksha, who were all very dear to him, but who tragically passed after succumbing to what is known as “karmic debt”. Karmic debt is the residual wrath of slain gods, whose hatred and power remain after being defeated due to them being immortal. It causes a physical and mental toll on those who are subjected to it, especially continuously over long periods of time, like the yaksha.

(There were more than these five yaksha, of course, like Pervases, but I’m talking mostly about the five guardian yaksha.)

In the perilous trail quest line we learn more in depth about what happened to the four other yaksha; Indarias succumbed to madness and fear, Bonanus and Menogias killed each other in battle and Bosacius fought in the Chasm during the cataclysm after even forgetting his own name.

Xiao wasn’t unaffected either. Had he not heard Venti play the flute, he would have lost himself to his karmic debt too, which is not unsurprising considering he has been fighting the remnants of gods from the Archon War all this time.

(I feel we are now leaving hoyo’s plane of storytelling and entering my plane of angst, so everything from here on out is interpreted through the messenger that is me… but you guys love my angst right)

And Zhongli isn’t the harmless, senile grandpa who forgets his wallet all the time (which he totally does on purpose) as he makes himself out to be. When Xiao first met him he was the Warrior God, Morax.

Surely, during a war, for someone like him, the first thought on his mind wasn’t how the people around him felt but how he could best utilise the weapons at his disposal to ensure victory.

And Xiao happened to be one of those weapons.

If you look at what Xiao did during and after his enslavement, it’s not much different, is it? He still, as you said, slaughtered and slayed countlessly, just under a different leader.

And sure, the difference here is that Xiao accepted it willingly this time around, yet, as I explained earlier, I think that he was still very much within his formative years (decades? centuries?) back then, where he, for one, learnt that apparently killing is what he was good for. But also, of course, he would perceive Morax as this “good” person who freed him and who he wants to support; and at first glance, there’s nothing wrong with that.

We also see, however, that Xiao holds Zhongli in a higher regard than pretty much anyone else. Even nowadays he still refers to him as Rex Lapis and dares anyone to speak ill about him (or Morax for that matter) though Zhongli has retired both of those names already. Yet Xiao of all people clings to it.

Also what kind of (good) father would let his son literally work away to the brink of insanity?

Yes, I’m aware that Zhongli inquires about how Xiao is doing and that he has medicine made for him (which he doesn’t deliver himself), which is fine and all but also… too little too late huh? It also means that Zhongli is aware of the state Xiao is in and he never bothers to walk his old ass over to Wangshuu Inn and tell the guy to stop? We went over how loyal Xiao is to Zhongli; you’d think he’d listen if he earnestly told him to rest, the old geezer is the reason Xiao does all this protecting in the first place.

And don’t think I forgot about the chasm quest, oh no. I know Zhongli saved Xiao just in the nick of time and we all cried at the cutscene, and I cried so much but also… why does this retired grandpa have to show up so late? He couldn’t have stopped looking at silk flowers two minutes earlier, before Xiao took on the physical and mental toll of sacrificing himself? Sure… if you say so…

(Though probably not his intention, you could read it as another sign of “You are still here because of me” or Xiao could be encouraged in feeling like he once again owes his life to Morax.)

But, what is even more heartbreaking, is how Xiao had been ready to make the ultimate sacrifice this entire time (shown by how he asked Yanfei about what a will is and if anyone could make one). Where do you think that mindset came from?

(Okay, Holly, calm down. Don’t throw hands with the geo grandpa… leave some for Neuvillette.)

And I’m not saying that Zhongli would still make the same decisions today that he made back then or that he is proud of what he has done. Actually, I think he’d feel quite guilty now that peaceful times have been established and he is in the position to take a step back and reevaluate, which is probably where his attempts at healing come from. I’m not saying he is a fundamentally bad person.

(Zhongli: “We did not measure right and wrong during the days of the Archon War in the same manner as we do today.”)

I’m saying that the circumstances of their first meeting lastingly formed the base and nature of their relationship.

I don’t think Zhongli has bad intentions, yet he also doesn’t address their past dynamic either and after what we established, we can assume Xiao wouldn’t either, which is probably why Zhongli reckons it is okay to let the topic rest.

(comment by @watatsumiis: “i feel like xiao literally isnt equipped to bring up these sorts of conversations. he just thinks how hes living is totally normal. like if you were to really twist it, YEAH their relationship could be like a father and son dynamic but in the way that like.. zhongli is a more mature and well rounded person than xiao is and because of his emotional experience he should be the one taking the lead and helping to guide xiao in these situations, even if that means starting the hard conversations.” Thank you for putting into words what my 1am brain couldn’t <3)

When he tells Xiao to go and make and meet friends he probably has very good intentions and there is care there. But we also know making connections is something Xiao is very afraid of, no matter how much he craves having a connection to someone, because he is scared to taint them with his karmic debt.

I also want to reiterate that the god who helped Xiao most with fighting against his karmic debt was Venti, who Zhongli labels as a useless drunk… just saying.

You could say that Zhongli tries to move their relationship from master and weapon to something more familial but his attempts are a little clumsy, probably because their history just runs very deep and old roles are hard to let go of.

To me, Xiao is a character with childlike curiosity but also the resoluteness and stoicism of someone who was forced to grow up too fast. And in a happier ending, someone close and dear to him (me, it’s me) can help him reevaluate his purpose and bring more nuance into a pretty black and white view on things.

However, @/watataumiis and I have been moving into a completely different direction ofc and I won’t spoil what it is here but I’ve been thinking about it a lot since then (and naturally I immediately started self shipping shenanigans bc I can’t not insert myself when Xiao is involved :])

And with that I conclude my crazed ramblings <3

(Again, not saying Zhongli is a bad person or anything, and this also not necessarily the basis on which I write him in x reader fics; you know me, I just like exploring avenues like this. Also I feel like I’m forgetting half of what I wanted to say, but that’s kinda typical; just know that I feel like there are more angsty thoughts under the smooth surface of my late night brain.

And while it’s not my cup of tea, I’m not trying to put down anyone who does see them as a functional father/son dynamic; there is nothing wrong with wanting that fluffy found family comfort ^^)

[genshinnrambles]

A History of Bosacius

This post will cover all currently known lore that references Bosacius, the First Yaksha, who defended the Chasm during the Cataclysm and was one of Xiao’s comrades-in-arms. My goal here is to retrace his steps and add some nuance to the narrative revealed in the 2.7 Archon Quest, “Perilous Trail,” so as to gain a better understanding of who he was. These ideas will expand upon what Xiao told us about Bosacius and provide some light theories about him and the things he encountered.

SPOILERS: Perilous Trail (2.7 Archon Quest, and therefore the entire Chasm world quest), The Crane Returns on the Wind (minor), The Yaksha’s Wish, Tales Behind the Fan, and Xiao’s Story Quest.

Marshal Vritras, the First Yaksha

In Xiao’s story quest, Butterfly Dream, the book Yaksha: The Guardian Adepti revealed the names of the five strongest yaksha in Liyue. However, Xiao himself tells us that they also held the following titles: General Alatus (Xiao), General Kapisas (Menogias), General Chizapus (Bonanus), General Musatas (Indarias), and Marshal Vritras (Bosacius). 

Bosacius’s name, Marshal Vritras, references a Vedic serpent (and/or dragon, in some representations) known as Vritra. He was an Asura, which is a demonic being in Hinduism and a nemesis of the Devas, their good-natured opposites. Vritra was also the enemy of Indra, a Deva who defeated Vritra to restore water to the land after he stole it from them. As noted above, Vritra is referred to as both a dragon and a serpent, and is represented as either one or the other in art depicting his mythology. This is worth keeping in mind in the context of Genshin, which has a plethora of dragon and serpent imagery (ahem, Rex Lapis vs. Osial and all the other water serpent gods he killed, maybe in Dvalin vs. Durin too for reasons stated below), as well as wyrm imagery. In European mythology, wyrms are serpentine dragons with either very small limbs or no limbs at all. Genshin references wyrms through Durin, an artificial dragon whose bones are found in Wyrmrest Valley, and the Ruin Serpent of the Chasm, who’s file name Nidhoggr refers to a wyrm in Norse mythology that eats at the roots of the World Tree, Yggdrasil. 

Xiao refers to Bosacius as the “First Yaksha,” which is a vague enough distinction now to be worth noting for later in the game’s lifespan. Although Xiao, Bosacius, Menogias, Bonanus, and Indarias were the five strongest yaksha who answered Rex Lapis’s summons, there were many yaksha in Liyue besides them. Pervases, who we met in Xiao’s story quest, was one such being.

The Archon War and the Yaksha’s Contract

In “Perilous Trail,” Xiao states that Pervases died during the Archon War, which ended ~2600 years prior to the current era. He also notes that Pervases’s death “greatly saddened” Bosacius. As the oldest of the yakshas, perhaps he felt he had a greater responsibility to them and their lives. This quality can also be seen in the promise Bosacius made to them: 

“...as Yakshas we will experience countless wars. Whether we live or die, we must promise to take care of each other and know each others' fate, to the very end.”

As miasmas from the defeated gods grew and terrorized the land, Liyue needed protectors to fend the demons off while Morax did Archon things. The yakshas would serve this role, slaughtering the gods’ remains and defending the land from their vengeful spirits. Though there were many yakshas, the five we’re most familiar with would be recorded in history as “the guardian adepti,” noted as such for their strength.

It is evident from Bosacius’s memory that they cared deeply for one another and had a few moments of respite with each other. The Geo yaksha is seen scolding Bosacius for his lack of a shirt (can’t exactly blame him, it’s too much work to be modest when you have four arms) as Xiao and the Pyro and Hydro yakshas watch in amusement. Bosacius plays a prank on Xiao as he sleeps, drawing on his face as the Pyro yaksha warns him to stop. Just a little bit of information tells us so much - they were each other’s found family, who could understand the weight of their responsibility and provide their souls with “repose,” as Bonanus put it.

Xiao’s comrades dreamed of a “mortal life” once Liyue was finally at peace, but he admits that he never thought the same way as them. I think they all subconsciously knew that this peace would never truly come for them, so Xiao couldn’t allow himself to wish for it. After all, his fight “can never be won, and will never come to an end.” Still, these smaller, more selfish wishes stand in stark contrast to Xiao’s understanding of his brethren: 

“...You could dress up the yaksha's life and call us valiant warriors, veterans of war, but... the truth is, we are slaughterers, and nothing more.”

Tellingly enough, Xiao also remarks that the Traveler and Paimon most resemble his fallen comrades’ words as they urge him to seek that companionship and peace that he’s denied himself all his life. In other words, Xiao’s more solemn and pessimistic perspective is fairly unique to him, and not one that Bosacius shared with him. At least, I can somewhat confidently say that until the events of “The Yaksha’s Wish.”

The Bad Times™

That is not to say that Xiao doesn’t have a point.  

From Xiao’s Story Quest PV, they swore to “restore order through slaughter, purge evil through battle” to vanquish the manifestations of dead gods’s lingering wrath. Prolonged exposure to this wrath and a millennia of killing tortured their psyche, eventually driving them mad. Such is their fate for promising peace in Liyue under their watch.

Eventually, this karmic debt would even catch up with the oldest of the five guardian adepti, when only Bosacius and Xiao remained. Xiao claims that the last time he saw Bosacius was the day that he lost his mind, and he eventually went missing.

This places the events of “The Yaksha’s Wish” world quest during Bosacius’s last lucid days, most likely. The Traveler can stumble upon his sealed wealth in a secluded valley in Jueyun Karst, where he left this will:

Ruin Tablet: "My name is Bosacius, one of the Yakshas. I followed my Lord to fight against and contend with pestilence. Yet though we Yakshas had great might, we were bound by our duties, and stained by them..."

Ruin Tablet: "...Liyue is now at peace, but of our number, none but Alatus and I remain. And for my part, I wish to depart, to be done with this world."

Ruin Tablet: "...My wealth I leave here, sealed by my arts. If you are fated to do so, take them as you please..."

From how it is written, Bosacius seems very sound of mind here in comparison to his constant confusion in “Only Old Memories Remain.” He knows his name, who he is, and is aware of his next steps. Though he would forget himself not long after this, he did not forget this strong wish to depart. So he disappeared without a trace, leaving his fate unknown to Xiao until the events of “Perilous Trail.”

Bosacius’s treasure is also sealed by a light actuator, a very special structure with few counterparts in the overworld. There are currently none discoverable in Inazuma, with only four in Stormterror’s Lair and a smattering of them in the following Liyue locations: Guili Assembly, Qingyun Peak, Tianqiu Valley, Taishan Mansion, and of course his place of departure in Jueyun Karst. 

To briefly remark on them, light actuators have various uses in the overworld. At Stormterror’s Lair, they sealed Decarabian’s old tower from the outside. In Liyue, they are more commonly used for sealing treasure, and in at least one instance seal a location. Undoing the seals at Taishan Mansion lowers the water level of the ruins and grants access to the domain. 

From “The Outlander Who Caught the Wind”:

Venti: Oh, we can't advance any further. The ruins seem to be guarded by ancient seals.

Paimon: Is this the work of Dvalin?

Venti: No. These ruins were once part of an ancient city. Dvalin just happens to be nesting in these ruins for now.

…

Venti: This light actuator is connecting to the others...

Venti: I've never encountered such annoying historical relics as these.

From “Bough Keeper: Dainsleif”:

Dainsleif: Do you remember the Light Actuators that once sealed this ruin?

Dainsleif: If the Abyss Order is interested in this location, then they will not neglect those mechanisms.

There is currently very little information about these relics beyond this. What I have recently noticed, however, is that they have some peculiar characteristics that loosely parallel both the Chasm’s celestial nail and the Irminsul trees in Teyvat’s domains. Specifically, activated light actuators can be one of two colors: blue or orange-gold. Similarly, Irminsul trees in domains can either glow blue or light gold. I have yet to establish a pattern about why certain trees glow a certain color, but it’s an interesting visual difference nonetheless.

Secondly, certain “patterns” rise from the bottom of activated light actuators that resemble the constellations that float around Paimon and the purified Chasm nail. Lastly, and perhaps most weakly supported, the Chasm nail has a peculiar phenomenon about it that can only be noticed by turning off the Music Volume in the Paimon menu - it has a sound, that sounds something like an wind instrument and the sound of bubbles, as if it was submerged. I’ve found no videos of this, so just trust me bro or try it for yourself and tell me what you think :) It’s best heard while climbing on the side of the nail.

Similarly, activated light actuators have a sound to them, though it’s different depending on what color it is. Try this same technique at the orange-gold light actuators in Taishan Mansion, then compare that to the light actuator at Tianqiu Valley, which has a tune, much more like the Chasm nail.

“A sky-blue crystal that glitters so brightly that it brings forth echoes of the heavens above, which cannot be seen from underground...

If you hold it up to your ear, you can almost hear a soft sigh coming from within.

This might sound strange, but this crystal also gives off a faint warmth.” 

-Description: Lumenspar

What does this have to do with Bosacius? Well, he said he sealed his treasure with “his arts.” I find it interesting that these arts, or at least the structures associated with them, have more than one similarity with a heavenly power and the ancient petrified trees that connect to the ley lines. It was also pointed out to me that the architecture on the actuator pillars resembles the architecture of Enkanomiya/the Chasm’s civilization, adding another layer of mystery to him and the yaksha’s relationship to ancient Teyvat. As a final, potentially unrelated but still interesting point, Bosacius wielded the Calamity Queller polearm during the battle at the Chasm, which was forged from Lumenspar by the mountain people. Lumenspar is speculated to be part of what makes up these celestial nails, due to the warmth the Skyfrost Nail provides in the Sheer Cold.

…Anyway, mysterious connections to ancient Teyvat aside, Bosacius came to wield the Calamity Queller after a fateful part of his journey, when he met the mountain people.

The Tenacity of the Millelith and Vermillion Hereafter

Bosacius wandered for countless years, until his “evil-exorcising travels” brought him to the Chasm.

The people he met are referred to in several weapon and artifact lore pieces as “the mountain people,” and are said to have their origins in the Chasm. The mountain people may include the Tianheng Thaumaturges, considering Yelan’s ancestor Boyang may have been one of them if he is not from another clan of thaumaturges, but this is purely speculative on my part and requires a deeper dive to prove than I have time for right now. In any case, they made their living in the Chasm following the impact of the star that turned the soil to Glazed Sand Crystal. His first encounter with them is detailed in the Moment of the Pact of the Vermillion Hereafter set:

This place known as The Chasm has shone with a cinnabar luster since ancient days.

The mountain miners and the metropolitan merchants still tell the legend of a Yaksha...

People say that the lone traveler with four arms once came to the barren wastes where the star fell.

Hearing that this wandering figure's evil-exorcising travels had now brought them hence, the tribes-people of the mountains came forward one after another:

"Guest from afar, please accept our wine, and hear our plea."

"You may consider our aged spirits bitter and hard to swallow, a far cry from the sweet brews of Mt. Tianheng that even Rex Lapis praises."

"But the heavens have graced us with stores of precious stones and marvelous jade, and we carve the jagged rock for a living."

"Thanks to the grace of Rex Lapis, our lives are, while not ideal, at least free of terror."

"Yet things have changed, and a dark shadow is cast over the blessing we have received from the fallen star."

"We do not have any precious gifts to present as a pledge, but still we beg for your succor."

The guest heard the elders' plea, and silently drank every drop of that bitter wine.

The guest promised nothing, and did not chastise the mortals for their insolence, but simply turned east, disregarding all attempts to make them stay.

As for what came after, all now know what happened...

But the simple crystal-sand wine cup that the guest shared with the tribal elders remains to this day as a testament to their pact.

According to Jinwu, the mountain people made their living off porcelain wares created from  Glazed Sand Crystal in the Chasm, one of the blessings granted by the descent of that meteorite 6000 years ago. They were intimately familiar with the Chasm, and noticed that “a dark shadow” was cast over their mine. They begged Bosacius for help defending them from that evil, but he heard their plea in silence and ultimately left them with no promises. 

It is unknown how long ago this meeting occurred before the disaster of the Cataclysm began. But the fact that this meeting occurred at all, even though it occurred when Bosacius had lost himself and no verbal promise was made, actually calls into question something that Xiao stated in “Perilous Trail”:

Xiao: Bosacius had already gone mad before he disappeared. There was no way of knowing if his memories were intact.

Yelan: He still took part in the battle of The Chasm, despite having gone mad?

Traveler: ...

Xiao: We yakshas are not a race that thrive in peacetime. It's likely that he was drawn by the scent of bloody war.

And don’t get me wrong, Xiao may be partially correct, but I’m not convinced that this is the only reason that Bosacius returned to the Chasm to fight. There’s this excerpt from the Calamity Queller lore that suggests another reason:

“The Calamity Queller was also lost, together with the Yaksha who wielded it — both returned to silence.

In times thereafter, those who wielded this spear would largely meet similar fates.

But there were people who would fight without requiring orders or protect people without taking any oaths.

For them, such a fate was hardly one to be lamented…”

And this idea is also seen in the Ceremonial War-Plume from TotM:

“The people claim that the nameless yaksha that defended The Chasm was not, in fact, under the command of Rex Lapis.

Instead, they believe that it was an act of redemption from a longstanding sin... a price paid for cowardice and dereliction of duty.”

Though, it would be remiss to not also note that Tenacity of the Millelith contains several contradictions regarding this “nameless yaksha,” including whether or not he was under the command of Rex Lapis during the battle. But therein lies the point of it all: as heroes are lost to time, as stories are passed down through generations, the details get muddied until the truth is no longer reflected in the tale. 

Take Zhongli’s habit of listening to Teahouse stories and talking with other historians in the Pearl Galley for an example, or how Zhiqiong came to know Azhdaha’s name as “Adakka,” or even the most recent example in “The Tales Behind the Fan” of Zhongli correcting a long-standing myth that Rex Lapis sealed Azhdaha in the Chasm rather than in Nantianmen. It is even seen in Xiao’s uncertainty that the legendary nameless yaksha of the Cataclysm could have been Bosacius at all, for “Bosacius was proud. If he had taken part in that war, he would have announced his name.”

But Xiao does not know that Bosacius was familiar with the mountain people before the disaster began. And so, unknowingly, Xiao adds another myth to his fallen friend’s legend. 

A Perilous Trail to the Depths

With the newest Archon Quest, we also came to know the truth of what happened within the Chasm that ended the dark disaster in Liyue.

Yelan’s ancestors, Boyang and Rongzao, were thaumaturges who fought in the Cataclysm at the command of the Qixing, using the Fantastic Compass gifted to them by “someone important.” From Boyang’s notes, the battle on the Chasm’s Surface did damage to the land beneath their feet and “revealed a great and enigmatic palace in the bowels of the earth.” From this, Bosacius and Yelan’s ancestors discovered the monsters grew weaker near this palace and lured them into the stony crystal halls. Together, with the Millelith in the rearguard, Bosacius and Boyang fought the monsters into the deepest part of the Chasm, where the celestial nail now sleeps. Rongzhao “aided them from the outside,” creating a seal that would act as a barrier between the “chaotic space” and the human world. 

To create that seal, Boyang and Bosacius channeled their energy into the Fantastic Compass with the incantation:

“By heaven's might and the gods of the five regions, yaksha and mortal together take this contraption in hand…”

The purpose of this compass reminds me of the conclusion of the Three Realms Gateway Offering event in patch 2.5: when the Light Realm and the Human Realm join forces, they can beat back the influence of the Void Realm and accomplish amazing feats. Sea Gazer created this catalyst to exorcize demons, and he later became good friends with a human. The two would use this catalyst together, sealing away the demons that threatened the mountains. Yanfei references a book where she read this tale, and I have to speculate it may be one of the same books Xingqiu referenced in “The Crane Returns on the Wind,” which were called Records of Drifting Clouds. Ahem, Hoyoverse, please don’t be shy. Drop the book in-game so we can read it ourselves.

Yanfei quotes this passage from whichever book it was she read:

“When mortal and adepti powers are combined, one can move the heavens and shake the earth. This contraption is proof that mortals and adepti may coexist, that there is unity between heaven and humanity."

Sealed in the chaotic space with the monsters, the two slowly go mad along with the Millelith soldiers. Over an unknowable amount of time, the Khaenri’an monsters perished one by one, until only Boyang and Bosacius remained. Even in his confused, maddened state, Bosacius still urged Boyang to leave the danger of the chaotic space, which Xiao also did throughout “Perilous Trail” when it concerned the Traveler’s party and their safety. It goes to show that even after officially abandoning his duty as a guardian yaksha, and even after losing his mind, Bosacius still remembered his promise to protect humans from danger, to put their lives above his own. Perhaps this also speaks volumes to his devotion to this duty - that even after abandoning his position, thereby breaking his oath to Rex Lapis, Bosacius still protected humans from the miasmas of the world.

To add to this, something Xiao says in “Perilous Trail” echoes a line from Calamity Queller:

But there were people who would fight without requiring orders or protect people without taking any oaths.

For them, such a fate was hardly one to be lamented…”

And in Xiao’s dialogue at the end of “Perilous Trail,” he says:

Xiao: ...You could dress up the yaksha's life and call us valiant warriors, veterans of war, but... the truth is, we are slaughterers, and nothing more.

Xiao: For Bosacius, perhaps dying in the heat of a great battle was no tragedy.

Xiao: And perhaps the same is true for me. After living for so long... to die in the act of saving others would not have been a terrible thing.

The context of the first line of dialogue is important for understanding the rest of it, which is why I’ve repeated it here. To me, it reveals how little Xiao truly understood Bosacius, and also how little he understands himself. I won’t be too hard on him for this since he wasn’t aware of the prior meeting between Bosacius and the mountain people, but to me this emphasizes that Xiao could only see differences between himself and Bosacius, so much so that he couldn’t recognize all of the ways they were the same. 

Xiao has convinced himself that he is nothing but a killer, and that fighting is all that he is good for. I would also argue that he uses his contract with Rex Lapis as more of an excuse for his continued vigilance towards evil than it is actually worth - that is, that Xiao too does not need the contract to act in defense of Liyue, and that he protects the land not only because he may or may not “thrive more” in wartime, but also because he wants to. What’s more, the Traveler calls him out on it: Xiao knows this is his own deception, that he does not just want to die in some self-sacrificing manner for humans, but also wants to live amongst them and feel companionship. 

In “Only Old Memories Remain,” we get a taste of just how far gone Bosacius was by the end of the Cataclysm. He lost all sense of himself where he was, and why he was there. Boyang did his best to ground him back in the present, but he slipped in and out of these lucid moments. He mistakes Boyang for Menogias, then Alatus, until his mind hallucinates the silhouettes of his comrades on the cave walls. By remembering them, the sacrifices they made, and the time they spent together, he remembers himself and his purpose: to make the ultimate sacrifice beneath the surface itself. After this, it seems he is reduced to what Xiao refers to as a “lost soul” in the space, something between an illusion and something capable of harming its perceiver. It’s not clear to me if the “space” is behind what immortalized his words from the battle, or if it is the Fantastic Compass, or a combination of both. 

Having finally accounted for Bosacius’s fate, Xiao comes as close to what I would call peace regarding his responsibility to his comrades. What he does next remains to be seen, though I think this Archon Quest will force him to reconsider his long-standing belief that he doesn’t deserve happiness or friendship. Bosacius would probably want that for him, at least.

References

~Quests~

Perilous Trail

The Crane Returns on the Wind

The Yaksha’s Wish

Alatus Chapter, Act I: Butterfly’s Dream

The Outlander Who Caught the Wind

Bough Keeper: Dainsleif

~Weapons and Artifacts~

Vermillion Hereafter

Tenacity of the Millelith

Calamity Queller

~Vritra Information~

“Vritra and Other Hindu Dragons” by Yordan Zhelyazkov

“Indra and Vritra”

[bluemoonfantasiesiii]

So I had to scroll down a lot to find your blog, and check if you'd seen my ask, because again I don't follow you I don't know why. I just don't. And that's too simple, Kaeya was five or so, and I'd love to simply say that but it leavs too many loopholes, because of the whole spy ordeal with the father with five hundred years of time it's unlikely you'd continue abandoning your children as spies; and why haven't we seen more Khanrhieans then? Because I'm sure it's not dominant trait but something that can reoccur after skipping three generations. The eyes that is. I think all Khanrhieans who weren't taken in by the cataclysm were taken in by the abyss, some withstanding the curse and being persevered only to wake up later, because it helps avoid the loopholes. And I'm sure if Kaeya's father saw the cataclysm even from a distance would leave reasoning for him to have such dedication; unless the abyss sibling miraculously tracked down all descendants and told them to do that with their next child. Meaning while Kaeya lacks the extreme loyalty to the nation since of course abandonment it being dead, there's still context. This would also explain the lack lf Khanrhiean descent being in the abyss there's likely several rotting.

Oh and I studied Norse myth for a long time I wanna point something out Loki wasn't a God but an outsider meaning Gold(can't spell her real name,) if a representation of Loki like you've pointed out, could be an outsider with a blood pact explaining her escape. If we go on the idea the cataclysm was to effect Khanrhieans and those in Khanrhieah solely, and after all Loki's children caused the fall of Asguard. Just thought you might like those points if you hadn't known already. I'm a bit rusty but I'm aware of those. Which in itself could mean her children created the abyss, or were part of the cataclysm and that's why she wanted to be careful with her other creations (Albedo, Subject two) to avoid that occurring again.

Sorry for how long this is. I just have an emaculate hate for loopholes so I kind of had to figure something out.

I mean, you don’t have to follow me if you don’t want to. I don’t really care about follower count that much. I mostly just have this blog to vomit my ideas into the void.

NOW, onto the theorizing! Actually, we know for a fact that Rhinedottir’s children were indeed involved in a lot of shit happening in Teyvat while the Cataclysm was going on.

We know that Durin’s battle with Dvalin and Barbatos was happening during that time. In Ei’s second story quest, we learn the rifthounds were leading and invasion in Inazuma. This is what caused Ei to be too late to save her sister. And while we don’t know for sure if they were Rhine’s or not, we also now know that there were Abyssal monsters in the Chasm 500 years ago as well, which is what ultimately led to Bosacius’s death.

There’s a pattern of Rhine’s creations directly targeting the Archons or people close to the Archons. At this point, I wouldn’t be surprised if the “one-horned white horse” mentioned in the description of Cinnabar Spindle was the one who killed Guizhong.

Honestly the whole thing harkens back to Ragnarök in my opinion. The grand final battle and mass death of the gods and Loki’s children.

[bluemoonfantasiesiii]

Why I think Rhinedottir is directly responsible for the Cataclysm: A Speculation Essay

Who is Rhinedottir?

So at present, we don’t know much about Rhinedottir aside from her nationality, her creations, and the fact that she personally knows Alice - Klee’s mother and the author of the Teyvat Travel Guides.

We know her first and foremost as the Khaenri’ahn alchemist Gold, who created our favorite little homunculus Albedo, his predecessor - the failed homunculus we currently only know as Subject Two - and the venomous dragon Durin, whose remains have now become a part of Dragonspine and whose corrupted blood has created countless anomalies on the mountain.

She’s also one of the only few known practitioners of Khemia, a form of alchemy unique to Khaenri’ah with the goal of creating synthetic life. The only other characters we know of at this point who practice Khemia are Albedo and presumably Subject Two. In other words, people who studied directly under Rhinedottir.

What was Rhine doing during the Cataclysm?

Ei’s second story quest actually gave us quite a bit of new information about Rhine. Specifically what she was doing during the Cataclysm.

At the beginning of Ei’s second story quest, she tells us how the rifthounds came out of nowhere to attack Inazuma during the Cataclysm.

So, what does this have to do with Rhinedottir?

Well, the rifthounds are another of her creations.

So it’s safe to assume that, like Albedo, the rifthounds are loyal to her. Meaning if anyone could have sent them in such an organized and ruthless attack, it would be her, their creator.

Durin was also sent to Teyvat during the events of the Cataclysm. While the rifthounds kept Ei distracted in Inazuma leading to the death of Makoto as Ei arrived in Khaenri’ah too late to save her, Durin was sent to Mondstadt likely to distract Dvalin and Barbatos.

And thanks to the new Archon Quest, we can surmise that Gold’s creations were also in the Chasm during Cataclysm, distracting the Millelith and the Yakshas, even leading to the downfall of the eldest of them, Bosacius.

Why did Celestia destroy Khaenri’ah, and what’s that got to do with Rhine?

With the information we have at this point in the game’s story, the conclusion everyone has drawn is that Khaenri’ah was destroyed because the art of Khemia gave them too much power. After all, if a human being can create life from nearly nothing, what would make them any different from a god?

So before the knowledge of creating life could spread to Teyvat, Celestia tried to silence them by wiping their entire nation from existence and cursing them all to an eternity as empty shells of their former selves.

So what does this have to do with Rhinedottir? Again, the only known practitioners of Khemia at this point are Rhinedottir and the closest thing she currently has to a son.

Unfortunately, Albedo’s existence shows that they missed the one person who posed the biggest threat, and she’s still out there somewhere, possibly creating a new army over the last 500 years.