#for the cataclysm breaking in Khaenri'ah

[reginrokkr]

𝐂𝐋𝐗. The belief in the Abyss has been established in Khaenri'ah for a very long time, born from the obsessions with the gods and to one day overthrow them with little regard for the people outside the kingdom as their "enemies", just for living under The Seven. This reverence to the Abyss was further intensified when Khaenri'ah was going through a tough spot for undetermined reasons, although one of them could easily be the fall of King Irmin as the last one of the Blacksun / Eclipse dynasty.

However, not everything was done out of wrong intentions. It's only natural that in a hostile environment would lead to the need for investigation of that which makes the location dangerous in order to protect themselves and to create medicines as a means to build resistance to the Abyss.

While this blind belief isn't exclusive to the native Khaenri'ahns, as it would spread to those who come from other nations that adapted extremists mindsets too, it brought unrest in the society with the excessive experimentation to the point of using a source of energy dangerous for everyone's health and the suspicious apparitions of monsters despite the fact that the borders were well-guarded by Black Serpents and automatons alike.

When people started to be more vocal about their discontentment with the situation surrounded the Abyss, outsiders were first to be blamed and thus were regarded as people who haven't abandoned yet their faith or too obtuse to not accept these "better ways" Khaenri'ah had. The Abyss continued to be a mystery even to nobles and highly restricted, but the issues it caused were to big to not be noticeable. And among the outsiders that were genuinely concerned were also native Khaenri'ahns that disliked the route the society was going. Just like people of other nations wanted nothing to do with the gods and have peaceful lives without worrying about divine judgement, so was the case of some natives of Khaenri'ah.

The arrogance and superiority-complex of many from the high sphere of aristocracy led them to believe that outsiders were still below them and that all the natives have the same mindset as they have. At first, only Black Serpents in keeping in mind the citizens' safety in combination to their own beliefs that what was happening is wrong were the ones who verbalized aloud the unrest, and they ran the risk of being put down by the hands of Black Serpent Knights. But to the surprise of those who fell a long time ago into these obsessions, it wasn't the case and it's because the Black Serpent Knights who supported them and other Khaenri'ahn natives that weren't afraid anymore of voicing their agitation that those who were at the helm of the Abyss as a new religion had to back down and eventually continue their reverence and experimentation clandestinely.

And for some time, it actually worked and people believed that things could only get better from that point onwards, with those who were deep into their obsession for the Abyss now falsely-presumed to have stopped their endeavors until Lumine descended to Khaenri'ah in answer to the wishing ritual that the devotion for the Abyss started to boil again from its clandestine status until everything exploded with the cataclysm.

[ktsumu]

three ticks and i’m home.

pairing: dainsleif x fem!reader, 4.2k words

summary: gods are never innocent; neither are godless men.

(or: a timeline of dainsleif's grief through the life of his broken watch, one that ticks backwards and the one you fixed, first.)

note: someone tell me to stop reading his lore and i will. beware for plot holes because genshin is nuts. crossposted to ao3 also!

content: major character death, destruction, angst, talk of children, you're a clocksmith, angst with like a sprinkle of fluff in one scene, a lot of worldbuilding regarding khaenri'ah + the cataclysm

Five years before.

Dainsleif is a serious guy.

He needs to be — it’s a must-have quality for a Commander. He smiles at children that look up to him, doesn’t leave bars with women who want to. His schedule is so tight that some say it wears a corset, or at least his friends do. He takes his job with the pride of a boy who grew up watching the soldiers march, a boy who now leads them.

Dainsleif runs a tight schedule.

That is, until his watch breaks, and disorder comes soon after.

He complains in the bunks for twenty minutes that night about the chaos his time regulates until one of his friends recommends an old friend, a clocksmith in the heart of the city. 

( “Get a digital one while you’re there. That thing’s ancient.”

“People are allowed to like old things, Halfdan.”

“Not things that break like that.” )

Dainsleif visits you the next day, setting the metal watch on your counter with his arms crossed. His brows tug together and his expression is more wary than it is expectant.

“Can you fix it?” he asks.

You look it over, rubbing your thumb over rust. “Who’s it from?”

“Can you fix it?”

You set the watch back down, looking back up at him with a little grin.

“For a price, Commander.”

Dainsleif swallows, rolling his shoulders back and digging out his wallet.

It takes you four hours to fix his ancient watch, and you even get the rust off of the band for him. You clasp it back around his wrist and tell him to get back to work when he tries to thank you, standing around for way too long. When he leaves, you set aside and refund his money.

15 years since the Cataclysm

“What do you mean you can’t fix it?”

“They call us horologists, sir. Not magicians.”

Dainsleif huffs, leaning on the counter and shaking his head. “My friend recommended you,” he says, pleads. “He said you can fix anything. Even this. Did you try?”

“I—”

“Try.”

The watchmaker tilts his head, an unsure look on his face. Dainslef’s shoulders fall. “Please,” he whispers. “Try.”

The man purses his lips, sighing, and extends a hand. His fingers wriggle.

“For a price.”

Dainsleif takes out his wallet and pays him double what he paid you — the watch takes four days to fix, and he doesn’t remove the rust. Dainsleif collects it with haste.

“Sorry, couldn’t change the time,” he tells his client. “That thing will always run backwards.”

Dainsleif nods. “Oh.”

Four.

Your favourite day is Sunday.

Dainsleif allows himself one day to relax, one day that he’s mandated, and what day other than a day reserved for a god you never had would be a better fit? On Sundays, you stay in bed, under your linen sheets and against his chest. Neither of you move until absolutely necessary; sometimes hours, sometimes less.

“Breakfast soon?” he asks. 

“I thought maybe a little while longer.”

“That’s fine.”

“Ugh, I love it when you agree with me,” you tease, giggling when he scoffs. He agrees with you most of the time; you’re reasonable people. 

Dainsleif sighs, humming when you curl further into his side. He's a serious guy, but that doesn’t count on Sundays. Not during your beautiful, godless mornings. He raises an eyebrow at the vase on your dresser, “Those are new.”

“Hm?”

“Inteyvats,” he comments, “the flowers.”

“Is it so wrong of me to show some nationalism, Dain?”

He grins, shaking his head as you laugh. You laugh and it shakes your shoulders. You laugh and it shakes his chest. 

“I just didn’t know you liked them,” he says, “that’s all.”

You settle, humming against the cotton of his shirt. “I love them.”

“Do you?”

“Yeah,” you nod. “Maybe someday, we’ll have someone to use their name.”

He thinks for a moment, “A daughter?”

You tilt your head back so you can see him, to the point where it aches to hold yourself up like that. “Would that be so bad?”

Dainsleif thinks for a moment — you and a daughter. “No,” he says, “not at all.”

“That’s down the road, anyway,” you laugh. “You know what isn’t?”

“What?”

“Our anniversary,” you say, pressing a kiss to his jaw. “How do you want to celebrate it?”

Dainsleif thinks about your one year anniversary, lying in bed with you on a Sunday, talking about a family and the flower you’ll start it with. He thinks about how content he would be if you did nothing at all but this; lie against his side and kiss his jaw, talk about the daughter he hopes will look just like you. He doesn’t think he could ask for anything more.

“This is okay.”

“Mm, alright,” you say, your smile against his collarbone. “I love you.”

Dainsleif tilts his head so you can stay where you are. “I love you," he echoes, "I love how you speak our language.”

“Oh? What’s so special about it?”

He smiles to himself.

“Tell me you love me again.”

Fifty years since

The watch breaks again on what would’ve been your seventy-fifth birthday.

The smith Dainsleif found this time looks over the stuttering clock hands, the numbers written in something unintelligible to him. He tosses it in his hand, a curious look on his face. “Old watch, no?”

“Very. Could you restore it?”

“By ‘restore’ you mean…”

“Fix it to tell time,” he clarifies. “And to still tick backwards.”

The clocksmith looks up with curious eyes, one of his eyebrows quirking up. “You want me to fix it ... to be broken?”

“If you can.” 

He hesitates. “I’ll do my best.”

Dainsleif lets him swivel around in his chair, flicking a light on over his desk as he hunches over. The shop he operates out of is personal, messy — never Dainsleif’s style, but he can admit it is quaint. Quilts and sewn tapestries line the walls, textbooks from the Akademiya line a bookcase filled with papers; a frame hangs on the wall.

A painting of a flower; inteyvat.

“Excuse me,” Dainsleif coughs, “I can’t help but notice your painting.”

“Hm? Oh, the flower.”

“Yes — you know where it’s from?”

The smith hums a laugh, nodding. “Khaenri’ah hasn’t been gone long enough to forget it.”

Dainsleif swallows. “I was just surprised to see it, is all.”

“Most are,” he replies, his eyes not leaving the watch he works on. He rummages through his drawer for tweezers. “It was a gift for my daughter.”

“Your daughter?”

“Yes,” he replies, happily. “We named her after them.”

Dainsleif takes a deep breath.

Three.

When Dainsleif comes home from his shift, you’re sitting at the table with your chin resting in your hands.

“Good evening,” he greets, shrugging off his jacket and kicking off his boots. He doesn’t seem to notice that you don’t reply in the twenty or so seconds it takes to writhe out of his uniform, or that you don’t bother to even look in his direction at all. The only time he realizes that something in the room has shifted is when you move away from his kiss. “Hello?”

You grit your teeth.

Dainsleif crosses his arms, slowly rounding the table to face you from across it. “What is it?”

You look up at him, finally. “Where’s my blueprint, Dain?”

He blinks. “I — your what?”

“Don’t act dumb,” you say with a pointed finger, your head shaking. Your body might as well be, too. “My analog blueprints, digital ones — they’re all gone and guess who is the only one I trusted enough to tell?”

He opens his mouth, closes it. “It wasn’t me,”

“Who else was it, then?” you shout, standing up to try and match his height. “Who? Tell me, Dainsleif, who else could it have been?”

He swallows, pulling one of your dining table chairs out. It squeals against the floor like it hates him just as much as you do. “Sit, please.”

“You know what I think, Dain?”

“Sit down, please.”

“I think you stole them for the factories you Guards don’t tell anyone about,” you whisper, “the metal soldiers you make.”

“They’re field tillers,”

“Field tillers don’t have missiles in their chest,” you spit. The air thickens as you shake your head.

He gestures to the seat you once sat in, but you don’t bite. Not that easily, not ever.

“Lie to me again and I’m gone for good.”

Dainsleif swallows again, folding his hands and looking down at them. You’re scorned and he’s holding the heat; there is no explanation he can offer that makes this look any bit okay to either of you. He’s dug his grave — now, he lies in it, shovel at his side.

“Tell me,” you plead, “tell me what you’re making an army for.”

Dainsleif shakes his head.

“Gods don’t like godless men,” he says, so low you hardly hear him. So simple, like he's being reasonable.

You shake your own. “Godless men don’t even like themselves.”

His eyes meet yours.

“I want my designs back,” you tell him, more desperate than you let on. “Every page, every scribble, everything. And I don’t want anything made with them.”

Dainsleif takes a deep breath, his eyes averting themselves back down to the table. He doesn’t need to see your face anymore — not when he knows you’ll hate him once he tells you.

“You can’t.”

“You—”

“I can’t,” he says. “It’s too late.”

150 years since

“Wow, this watch is beat.”

“It is — can you fix it?”

This one is in Fontaine, the clocksmith is — she’s eclectic, a little disorganized like you were, with a scary love for crushed velvet by the look of her shop. There’s metal dust everywhere and things that don’t belong to clocks or watches, but someone swore up and down she knows her stuff. Knows it well, too. 

She looks back up at Dainsleif with a wink. “Got Mora?”

He tosses a pouch on the counter. “Anything you need.”

He doesn’t bother watching what she takes from it, instead opting to turn and watch the bustling streets outside. He’s fond of Fontaine, it’s full of life and running water — every shop is full from wall to wall.

The girl he’s trusting to fix his watch is trying to speak to him, but he’s not listening; all he can see is the eye of a Ruin Guard that hangs in the window of a pawn shop across the street; marked down to half value, less if you trade-in for credit. Dainsleif thinks about the lives those parts were worth almost two centuries ago. 

No one in Khaenri’ah was ever worth just a couple hundred coins. 

Two.

Taverns in Khaenri’ah have so many songs that they fill walls with the lyrics.

They are loud and they are lively — you know something’s wrong when you catch one quiet and half-empty. The windows all made of stained glass, rustic to contrast the world around them; taverns in Khaenri’ah are like a world of their own. In them, people dance like such.

You dance that way, yourself. Not with him, but it’s nice to watch you spin again.

Dainsleif watches you clutch someone’s shoulder; he doesn’t know who he is but he’s wearing his uniform, someone he leads. He thinks he remembers you saying that you made an exception for him — you don’t date ‘snobs from the Royal Guard.’

(Dainsleif has hope that, maybe, you still remember your pact and, maybe, you try to keep it now.)

The wooden floors groan beneath stomping feet and gliding boots, the room a whirlwind of exhausted workers and the select few from the Guard that deem little places like this worthy of their presence. 

He catches your eye for a second, only one, but your smile fades quick enough for your dancing partner to whisk you around again. A blur of your dress, and then, you’re grinning again.

Halfdan sets a drink down on the bar in front of him, kicking out the stool beside Dainsleif and sitting down. He follows his commander’s eyes and they land on you; they typically do on Friday nights.

“It’s alright,” Halfdan says, with a heavy-handed pat on his back. “Everyone has the one that got away.”

Dainsleif shakes his head, you laugh against his knight’s chest. “It’s different.”

“How so?”

“It does not matter, now, does it?”

“Mm, and yet, you’re still watching her.”

Dainsleif sips on the drink that was brought to him, turning to face the bar instead. Halfdan purses his lips, drumming his fingers on the table.

“You know,” Halfdan says, “I worry about the … field tillers.”

Dainsleif nods. “They’ll work.”

“Godless doesn’t mean we need to create our own, Captain,”

“You don’t know the things that I do,” Dainsleif cuts, harsh but not mean. “All of this has been discussed before. Let us make the orders, Halfdan, let yourself follow them.”

Halfdan hesitates.

“Captain Dainsleif,”

“Halfdan.”

“I apologize for overstepping,” he says, “but I’m just afraid of what will happen to us.”

Dainsleif rolls his shoulders back, nodding subtly. He clinks the bottom of his glass against the table.

“I am too,” he replies, tilting his head back and his glass up.

When he sets his glass back down, swallowing with a wince, he turns around. You’re the only one still on the floor, and you’re looking right at him.

500 years since

Dainsleif has spent his life figuring out where to drink. He finds that Mondstadt is the best place to.

The taverns there are quiet enough, and he isn’t bothered by anyone — they’re less lively than the ones way back when. It's a blessing that he isn’t haunted by the laughter, and a curse that he forgets what it sounds like. The tap beer is good, too. Mondstadt only serves you in bottles or chilled glasses.

But Dainsleif knows that no good comes after two in the morning, and nothing good comes from watching the Knights of Favonius pour in. 

(It’s a little too familiar; he’s watching his bloodied soldiers laugh and topple to the bar.)

Dainsleif leaves enough Mora to cover his tab and tip, and bolts for the door.

He makes a beeline through the center, cutting the body of the bar in two as these faces he recognizes comment on his attire. He knows he looks like a fish out of water, he feels like a fish out of water. Five hundred years spent in this place and he still feels hated — he’s sure the next five centuries won’t change.

He knocks shoulders with someone near the door: “Woah there, pretty small hallway this must be, huh?”

He’s about to apologize, too, maybe count it as his crooked form of atonement, until he looks the guy he hit in the eye. Yes, eye — there's only one showing. The other hides beneath an eye patch.

He’s looking at him, but somehow, he’s now looking at you.

He’s lost in them, his eyes, and this new guy seems to notice — judging by the way he’s dressed, Dain guesses he’s a captain. He clears his throat.

“I know you’re heading out, but maybe another drink wouldn’t hurt?”

Dainsleif panics, because now he’s trapped. He doesn’t see you until he sleeps — not until he’s locked in bed somewhere, until it doesn’t matter what he says because no one else is there to listen but you and him. He can’t see you here, and he can’t see him.

“Sorry, but I’m afraid that I'm in a rush. I apologize for hitting you.”

(He doesn’t get very far.)

The man takes his wrist, making him turn around. 

“Please?” he asks, but it’s not really begging. More like a proposition, probably. “I’m not sure how to say that in Khaenri’ahn.”

Dainsleif lets out a breath.

One.

It is your old day, Sunday , when Dainsleif enters your shop again, the broken watch on his wrist thrumming against his pulse point with every jerk of its hands.

The bell rings above your door and he’s almost surprised the door isn’t locked — he remembers unlocking it for you after he had to go, way back when. Kissing you goodbye, apologizing for holding up your business. You aren’t far, either; you come out with a smile that fades quicker than he likes to admit.

“Hi.”

“Hello,” he says, all too formal. He winces, almost. “Uh, it's broken again.”

“Of course it did. It’s ancient.”

He just sighs a laugh, nodding, undoing it from his wrist, from beneath his sleeve. “Yes, it is. Do you think you can fix it again?”

You glance between him and the watch. Him, and the watch. “Let me see it.”

“Of course,”

“Okay.”

You examine it with delicate fingers, screwing off the back of the body with a small driver, squinting at its insides. Dainsleif watches you.

“Dain, this thing isn’t gonna last long.”

“I don’t mind. I can pay double.”

“Why do you like this watch so much?” you laugh, dropping it on the counter and crossing your arms. “I mean, they don’t pay you enough for a digital?”

Dainsleif shakes his head. “I like this one.” He coughs. “You fixed it, first.”

“Yeah, and I’m shocked it still works.”

“You craft well.”

The two of you don’t speak for a moment; you dwell on the watch, its body pulled apart on the table. Your fingers pull at your threading jeans, and Dainsleif must see you mutilating your pants because he leans on the counter, lowers himself to you.

He lets you look at him for a moment. “What is it?”

“Nothing,”

“What is it?” he asks again, like it isn’t the second time.

You take a deep breath, tilting your head up.

“I’m sorry about your designs. Every day.” He shakes his head, looking in behind you. Your desk is still full of paper. “I will reap what I sow, and that’s the only comfort I can give you.”

“I know.” “I’m sorry. Endlessly, I am.”

You huff. “I’ve had better things since. It’s not what bugs me, Dain.”

“What is it, then, my dear?”

Your tongue pushes against your cheek, regretful hands reaching out to grip his own. It’s like you know you’re doing yourself no favours, but you’ve always been a masochist.

“Are we going to be okay?” you ask. “Not us. This place.”

He can tell you’ve been sitting with this thought alone, he’s just not sure how long. Since you brought up the field tillers? Since his last expedition? When was he last here, he’s not entirely sure.

His thumb wipes over your knuckles. He doesn’t tell you whether you’re going to be okay.

“I will protect you,” he whispers, “even in my dying breath.”

The second time he meets the Traveller is when they ask him.

“What happened to Khaenri’ah?”

ZERO.

There is little you can see in smoke and ash. What Dainsleif can see, it is blurry and most likely dead.

(He doesn’t want to think about what happens to those who live — simply surviving is not enough, they’ll seek retribution in the living, too.)

He feels guilty for saying it, but he was glad when the castle fell — relinquished of his sworn duty, free to run to where your shop lives. It came down in a blow of fire, the castle did; more than just four mighty walls, built of minerals made to last. He’s afraid to think of what happens to simpler stones.

(He runs like you stand a chance.)

He’s running in the opposite direction of other people — hell, he’s directing them out of there. Whatever is behind them is a lost cause, for him it’s a little hope. The havoc being brought down on this place is proof that they’re not allowed to have hope, but he promises it’ll be his last bit. He’s assuming they can hear him when he prays for it.

The windows of your shop are blown out. He ignores the sound of crunching glass because you’re screaming his name.

(You stop when you see him, swallowing it. He drops to his knees and says you’re allowed to yell, even when he’s there.)

“Dain,”

“Just breathe, hold on,” he breathes, chest pumping as he starts to heave the rubble off of you, the thick pillars that bar you from moving. He lifts one, another falls down. He lifts that one, and another, and another.

“Dainsleif.”

He’s still heaving, grunting now. Sweat lines his forehead and he’s coughing up soot he smelt ages ago.

“Dain,”

He’s crying.

“Dainsleif,” you spit, grabbing his wrist. You shake your head. “You’re hurting me.”

“I have to get you out,”

“To where?” you whisper, voice shaking. “Where are we going to go?”

Dainsleif doesn’t cry intentionally. His eyes are so wet that he can’t see clearly and they’re cleaning off his cheeks, but if tears were invisible you would never be able to tell.

You shake your head. “I’m not going to die in the street.”

“Don’t be so blunt, dear, please.”

“There is no other way to p-put it,” you say with a shiver, swallowing the hurt that threatens to spill out between your teeth; you smile instead. You feel weak already, even weaker in front of a commander. “Don’t cry about it,"

“I can’t stop it,” he chokes out, shaking his head. He cradles your head in his lap, brushes back your hair until his fingers get caught in knots. “There is nothing I can do.”

The weight of your life, his world, is in his lap, and he thinks about tomorrow. One, or both of you, will be dead, and yet that weight will still be there.

“There’s no one but the gods that could stop this, Dain,”

“I—”

“I love you,” you gasp, “I forgive you. I love you.”

“No.”

“Say it back, you stubborn, stubborn man,” you grit. 

(Dainsleif keels over you, and he says it back. He repeats it until he feels your grip on him loosen, until your head lulls the other way. He repeats it until he feels sick and out of breath, because he knows he will never say it again. He repeats it until he's about to gag.)

He remains in your shop for the next few hours, unmoving, leaned up against the front desk that amazingly still stands. He’s holding your hand.

Dainsleif waits for something. Probably a sentence, to death or otherwise. He waits here for a chance for the roof to cave in, or to be struck down by someone that finds him. He hopes the gods get to him. He hopes this shop still stands if they pry him out of it. He hopes they call him Atlas and tell him to hold it up.

“This watch is never gonna work.”

Dainsleif blinks at the man across the counter, who looks at him with raised eyebrows — probably in shock that he even thought it was fixable — and a condescending frown. “You are sure?”

“Dude, this wasn’t supposed to work the last time you had it fixed. This looks like it’s centuries old.”

“It…”

Is. He doesn’t finish that.

“It’s an heirloom,” he says instead. “It's impossible, then?”

“Uh, yeah. I’m pretty good at what I do, but this is … miracle talk. This should have been up-cycled three hundred years ago.”

“I see.”

The two men stand in silence for a moment, and the clocksmith brings a hand down on the watch.

When he strikes it, he knocks the last bits of air out of its lungs; the watch ticks a final one, two, three times, and Dainsleif hears laughter to his left.

He turns, and there you are.

You’re sitting on a bench, alive, breathing. You’re holding a popsicle and leaning back like you don’t have a care in the world. 

Dainsleif thinks of all the things you can say to him. That you blame him, that you love him, that you hate what he did. That you wish he could save everyone, that you wish he could’ve maybe saved you. That you’re thankful you died and never had to live as a curse. That you think of him, too.

(You don’t do any of that.) 

Instead, you smile, close-lipped and gentle. And you wave.

The watch stops after the third tick. He loses you in a blink for one second, and you’re gone.

“Can you hit it again?”

“When I tell you that was its last life, I really mean it. I’d guess it had ten of them.”

He swallows, nodding, staring down at his broken watch. He’ll never see you again, hear it tick three times and go back to your bed on Sunday, hear it tick three times and listen to you say you love him in his native tongue. He’ll never go home, but he’s glad he saw you one more time.

He’ll never go home, but he’s glad he saw it one more time. 

“So? You gonna try and bargain, or…?”

Dainsleif is staring at the bench you were just in; his fingers itch for it. If he has to spend the next lifetime looking at that bench, he’s going to do it alone, and he’s going to learn how to do it without you.

You deserve to rest — he was the one cursed to live forever, not you. You did not die in vain.

He turns back to the clocksmith, who honestly looks pretty bored of him by now.

“Can I sell the parts?”

[kumiaku]

Okay so just a quick theory on how we might team up with each of the harbingers/how they will be playable.

Unlike Hoyo's other games, namely Honkai Star Rail and Honkai Impact 3rd, the characters in Genshin seem to have the need of two things currently - being alive, and being on 'good' terms with the Traveler. And of course being able to control elemental energy.

In order,

Pierro - unlikely to be playable imo, but if so we'd team up to take down celestia and likely convince him to be better in the future / maybe see eye to eye (haha pun)

Capitano - also feel unlikely to be playable (due to mask + rank + build) but am personally hoping he's playable. but likely a mutual understanding via honor / natlan abyss expansion or smth he is released at the same time and works with us in this expedition.

Dottore - unlikely dottore dottore is playable. feel like he'd get a super satisfying death scene w/ collei/diluc/scara/arle involved somehow. most likely diluc imo. but i think one of his segements will be playable, and will be one that defects from the rest and betrays them, more likely a younger segment.

Columbina - unlikely to be playable for a while, but if so i hope she doesn't have one of the seven elements in teyvat and has like a light/imaginary/dark/quantam element, or is pure physical damage somehow. I do think she will be playable, but maybe in later patches of natlan, likely to be very strange and off putting but perhaps never directly against us or for us? maybe also linked to a potential abyssal or dark sea region?

(if hoyo does release both capitano and columbina in the same patch i will cry.)

Arlecchino - Acquired. Will likely have future content in Snezhnaya/Khaenri'ah bcuz of foreshadowing. Also hoping to get more HOTH members in the future.

Pulcinella - feel like he'd be unlikely to be playable, but he also was in the travail trailer. can't imagine him getting along w traveler too well mainly cuz of his actions w the chasm, scara's line, arle's line, n what we've seen of him so far. but maybe, common interest would make him come to our side? he seems very rational - to the point of not being sympathetic at all imo, so maybe?

Scaramouche - Acquired, obv. Hopefully will have more development/roles in the future especially against the fatui. I want to find out if they had some way to bypass the irminsul deletion of his existence.

Sandrone - Okay, going out on a limb here real quick (its not quick). Bcuz all of the Fatui Harbinger's secondary titles (in this case, the marionette) Sandrone is not the feminine looking doll, but rather someone piloting the mech. Imo I think Sandrone is Alain Guillotine who is inside the ruin guard like mech and who made the kathryne's and the doll the mech carries around. I think this also lines up w Childe's voice line of Sandrone bcuz Alain Guillotine is envious of his relationship w his siblings since they are alive (unlike Mary Ann, who looks a suspiciously lot like the doll) and I think Sandrone aka Alain wont be playable but the Doll/Mary Ann will be and her story will be one of her breaking free of Sandrone. Maybe. This could also line up with Scara and Arle's VO's cuz it's stated Sandrone doesn't talk much/isn't really open so I think it is possible they don't know that Sandrone is actually not the doll but the man inside the mech or smth. I have more to this theory, but I might do this later.

Sandrone TLDR - Sandrone Marionette playable, the feminine doll, not the mech. Maybe mech in her attacks, but not the actually character.

La Signora - Look I'm a La Signora hopium believer, have been since the minute she died in 2021 - only way for her to be playable is for her to have a redesign and resurrection in natlan. 🙏 I'm not religious but I am praying for this. To any god who will listen. If not maybe when we 'reweave the threads of all fate' or whatever, we will get the chance to go back in time/partner with her. Maybe we will go back in time to the actual cataclysm - and actually wait there is the pierro and possible capitano connection too.

Pantalone - Due to popularity and build I want to say I feel like he'll be playable. Don't think he's loyal to the Fatui, very much leaning toward him being loyal to himself. Don't think he'd get a vision though, so I'm not sure. Maybe he'll be one who canonically uses a delusion/recieves a vision on screen/or even modified his body w Dottore's help to make him able to use elemental powers. I'd say either Geo or Hydro if so. Geo just fits idk man. As for him partnering with the traveler, I could see it being in snezhnaya as a way to take down the fatui, maybe he will partner w the HOTH or smth and put full support there. Idk he kinda gives me Adventurine vibes w in terms of gambling to get a win. Esp since every voice line mentions he's very ambitious, and arle said he isn't very rational.

Tenth Seat - Currently unknown and being theorized on. Imo most likely to be either a hexenzirkle member, previous seat of our sibling (with the name innamorati, while traditionally as lovers, in this case perhaps referring to platonic love for sibling? or the usual irony in that not loving romantically? so love but not love.) or the Tsaritsa going undercover as the 'Tenth Fatui Harbinger' and still being the Lover since she is pretty likely to be the Goddess of Love.

Tartaglia - Literally came in 1.1, will continue to be relevant in Snezhnaya. His second story quest will feature his family and be all cutesy in the beginning then bring area of the abyss connected to Snezhnaya, maybe. See Skirk too, maybe? Leads into her story quest and event with the region similar to Albedo and Dragonspine events? Maybe Skirk will be released with Hurricane Torilla's second story quest?

Anyway those are some of my convoluted thoughts, gotta go and get ready for work, any comments/reblogs/tags are appreciated bcuz i'd love hear other people's thoughts for future genshin lore theories/speculation.

[yuesya]

Genshin Impact AU? Would Twins Satoru and Shiki get put in the roles of Aether and Lumine? Would Geto also show up here and in what role? I vote for Amber!Geto because Baron Bunny is basically Amber's shiki'd curse spirit (lol)

Which would cause more chaos being left to their devices for 500 years???? Raging cursed spirit(?) Shiki or OP chaos gremlin Satoru

Or OR!!! The same age Shiki and Satoru fuck around with their curse techniques and oopsie themselves into Teyvat causing general mayhem (just realized this isekai plot works for any crossover and Shiki Satoru pair lmao)

Or OR!!! OR! Nanami and Shiki get the most stressful (for Nanami) vacation possibly in the history of ever. (Since poor Satoru's weekend at Worst Cube's)

I don't think I'd have any of the zenith cast outright replace characters, but AU Satoru and Shiki in Teyvat would certainly result in some very chaotic situations lol.

Nanami vacation... Nanami never got a vacation in canon, did he? Wasn't it part of his last thoughts when his mind was kind of wandering and dissociating a bit, after his near-fatal encounter with Jogo (and subsequently actually-fatal encounter with Mahito). If Nanami lands in Teyvat at least he'd finally get a break from exorcising curses. I didn't play Genshin when Klee's summer islands were a thing, but from what I've heard those were great haha.

Part of me thinks it would be fun if Shiki landed in Khaenri'ah before everything went south for Maximum Chaos, but we don't really know much about what happened there in Genshin lore at all, so. (Shrugs)

Or, if we're going along with Inazuma things for the parallels with Japan... Shiki landing in Inazuma during the time of the Archon War? Shiki getting mistaken for one of the native yokai on the islands? Oh, or maybe Shiki arrives in Inazuma right when the Cataclysm is going on. Or getting mixed up in Tataratsuna events could be fun, too... hm...

I haven't done much Ekanomiya exploring yet but I hear the lore there is really interesting, too.

ANYWAYS we're going to be sitting firmly on this for now because 1) I still have lots of Genshin exploring to do, 2) We're not even far along enough in zenith to be considering these AUs given the [REDACTED] stuff we'd most likely be touching on, and 3) I think I have enough on my plate to be juggling with already lol.

Happy to see that others think a Genshin AU might be fun, though!

[idkfitememate]

Btw you mentioned you had cool OC's but I don't remember seeing them very much, could you explain a little about them? What fandom are they for? If not multi fandom lol, and what's their backstory? Also you totally don't need to respond if you don't want to lol. Have a great rest of your day/night and remember to drink some water and get rest!

-🐗

Oh no I want to 🐗 anon. I want to. ꒰ᐢ. .ᐢ꒱

Gonna stick with OC’s for Genshin rn because that’s what the majority of my posts are about but let it be known that nearly every fandom I’m in or have been in has at least one OC.

Really only one of my Genshin OC’s has a lot of lore/backstory, but all of them have something (I also have OC concepts if anyone ever wants/needs some help with creating one!!)

And that OC would be…..

Ludwig Fritz Köhler von Leichenberg!! My little psycho Priest man~~ My little guy~~

It all ties into my personal Genshin AU but… we’re not gonna get (too) far into that rn-

ANYWAY-

Ludwig is the High Priest of Mondstadt in this cannon. He goes out on basically his equivalent of crusades whip is why he’s not present most of the time. This ties into my “added nation” The Fae Wilds.

His main job as the high Priest is to ensure that fae don’t make their way into Mondstadt, or at the very least non of the very bad ones-

I’m not gonna go too deep but the lore of his job and his backstory basically goes as follows:

Before the fall of Khaenri'ah, The Fae Wilds were directly connected to Mondstadt, to the point where there were human settlements there. Fae weren’t cruel and over all everyone was happy.

With the cataclysm, The Fae Wilds were also taken out, or at the very least corrupted. Now it’s where the tormented souls of Mond find themselves. Returning for revenge is all they can do.

The role of the High Priest was developed immediately after the corruption of Fae, though the corruption was slow spreading so people still kinda lived in the Wilds, just closer to Mond. The High Priest is chosen by Barbatos himself, and is basically the highest position in Mond. Everything, every decision and otherwise goes through him. Though, of course, freedom is still the main thing. The people choose to follow the Priest.

Unfortunately for him, Ludwig lived in one of these settlements. The corruption began to rapidly spread, and his family died to it. He was there to witness their deaths and their rebirths as Fae… the bad kind.

He was saved by Barbatos, which immediately made him obsessed with the God. When brought to Mond by that current Priest, he was considered a blessing. He became a nun - I know men can’t do that but let’s be real Genshin would - and soon quickly raised up the ranks.

The Priest before him was a horrible guy (I mean he was a pervert and Ludwig was a little choir boy, if you catch my drift), and as such was punished - killed - for his crimes. Mond went without a Priest for a few years, then Ludwig was selected.

This solidified his obsession with Barbatos.

The High Priest role allows the human chosen to live until killed via a Fae, but it comes with extreme healing abilities and such so it’s really, really hard.

Ludwig has held the position for… well over three hundred years.

He’s hypersexual, but not in the fun way. In the “Please someone help him and teach him that sexual touch is not the only form of love” way.

He’s strict with the few rules Mond has. And unfortunately breaking these rules often leads to what the other Nations would call “torture” and “cruel punishments”… Ludwig doesn’t think so though!

He is a catalyst user, but (like Wrio) has his own special weapon, which is a large - and I mean HUGE - church bell connected via chain to a small hammer. think flail style (Like Gyomei).

He is - naturally - a Anemo vision. And his actual catalyst is a bell.

He has killed before in the name of Barbatos… he’ll do it again to. Watch out Fatui.

He actually did kill a few Fatui during (before Traveler) the Stormterror event. It was in front of The Lady as well when she dared ask to kill Dvalin.

He cannot hold a beer. Not at all. All it takes is a whiff of alcohol and he’s out like a damn light-

He’s dating Varka but he has two hands just saying…

He hates Barbara’s fan club because he had one like it. He beats up her fans on a daily basis.

He knows Venti is Barbatos. He just chooses to not tell him so he can have freedom.

Anyway he has a shrine in his home filled with Barbatos stuff-

Upon realizing Venti liked apples he tried to make it so you needed a license to pick apples so they could persevere them.

(It didn’t work btw-)

He’s just a little guy. My little guy~

Anyway the other ones are….

Detleif! My Centaur boi! Apart of the non lethal Fae from the Wilds (really just Demi-Humans) dubbed wind spirits. He helps Mr. Ludwig in keeping the more… wild Fae out of Mond.

He’s a sweet man who lost his daughter in an accident, - ahem she was killed - and he do be Anemo. He wields a bow!

… He’s my horse for the cavalry-

Then we have Ella! She’s my weird Hilichurl. If anyone read the old posts I called her a he, she went through a small change lmao

She can speak and has retained “human” intelligence compared to her brethren, and is actually good friends with Ludwig. She and Mr. Ludwig have made a deal where hilichurls and humans live in peace in Mond.

She’s the Hilichurl representative!

Also she’s a winged Churl… lol that’s not important-

She technically doesn’t have any actual vision. Think I’m gonna keep it that way

And finally an Undertaker for the graveyard by the Church! Under the works, all I know is that they use a claymore and aren’t a Anemo Vision holder.

And that’s really all I got! I’m open to questions about them and going in more depth if anyone’s curious!

(And willing to write fics for them… anyway-)

[viisiond]

DIANA PENDRAGON

Diana was a former jeweler within Khaenri'ah up until the Cataclysm. From that point on she had begun wandering Teyvat's surface, taking an interest in magic and the mages on the surface and becoming one of great importance. Joining the Hexenzirkel and continuing her research in order to undo the curse put upon her by Celestia for being a pureblooded Khaenri'ahn. However MANY years after the fall of her home and wandering aimlessly, gathering knowledge upon knowledge, learning culture upon culture, Diana ended up meeting a woman named Azrael and the two became fast friends- Diana finally having someone on par with her vast knowledge and despite most of her writings being behind the marble doors of her Archives within the Hexenzirkel's base, Diana kept the more personal research and information within a grimoire that was always on her person. [We're talking homebrew spells, potions, dark magic/arts, her own experiments, etc.] While on a trip to Fontaine again, Diana had found herself caught in a torrential downpour with a man known as Richard Breton- the two running into each other and going to find somewhere to wait out the rain- while they sat there in the church they began to fill the silence with talks of both the nation they were in and Diana's ever growing collection of knowledge, sharing it with someone who seemed genuinely interested in her talks... and the longer she stayed in the nation of justice, the more she fell in love with him. However, the further she got close to Richard, the more Azrael began pushing and pushing for more of her information, more of what Diana had hidden from the world... And it began to make her wary, seeing Azrael growing in power herself made Diana have to take a step back from their friendship. Once she did, Diana had officially sealed her archives within the hexenzirkel along with left in order to marry Richard and start their family... It wasn't until their first child, Miranda, was born did Diana officially cut off Azrael, having seen her learn how to manipulate the abyss and the ichor that flowed through it was enough for Diana to say enough was enough... but it left her wide open for the other. And as they went about their lives, Diana enjoying the quiet life of being a hatter's wife and learning the trade with her new husband in Fontaine, Azrael was growing stronger and far more powerful by the day... but she would never reach the level that Diana was on. ....and finally, their final daughter was born, Lettie. Diana was content with their girls (Miranda, Daenerys, Ophelia, Celeste, Kaelin, and Lettie) but she was forever worried about the future for them, knowing that their mother was of another world, knowing her library (her archive, the work she put her LIFE into) could be broken into at any moment...and knowing her former best friend was steadily growing stronger by the moment. And while Diana had found a way to break her curse throughout her journey by the time her 2nd oldest was born, she didn't know how long it'd be until Azrael came after her family... So once Lettie was 4, she left them. She disappeared and left only her grimoire behind for her youngest to have when she was older. Lo and behold, she was right about Azrael coming after her for her grimoire- which resulted in the two witches fighting, Diana losing her life by her old friend drowning her in a fit of rage when Diana revealed she no longer possessed the book she so desperately wanted...

Currently, in present day Teyvat, Diana's influence is only found within Magic and how it's presented as an art and as a weapon. Her archives still sealed shut and the only key being within the black leatherbound Grimoire now in her 17 year old daughter's possession... The only thing the girls had to remember their mother by besides images and stories from their Auntie Azrael, a former friend of their mother's and the same one who left her murder a mystery to the guards of Fontaine... But sooner or later, her archives will reopen and the truth her youngest sought for her whole life will be found: Just who exactly was Diana Pendragon? And why was she so important...?

[cyviya]

Long-forgotten memories - Dainsleif

!!english is not my first language, angst!!

Once again, Dainsleif had been tailing an Abyss Herald, but once again did he lose track of it. The portal opened at some random forest, leaving him there. He was roaming around the forest, hoping to find some clues about where to go next.

Suddenly, something caught his eye. At the roots of a nearby tree, there was something shining. He didn't think much of it at first, maybe it was some gemstone dropped by a careless merchant. Then he thought that everything was worth investigating, so he approached that shining object. As he got closer, he started to get a weird gut feeling, a feeling that he could not describe. This feeling piqued his interest towards whatever object may lay at the roots of the tree.

As he got close to the object, he felt like time had come to a halt. The object in question was some sort of pendant. It seemed to be quite old and worn down, but the most interesting part of the pendant was the centerpiece. The centerpiece was the emblem of Khaenri'ah.

Was this pendant an object that survived the cataclysm of Khaenri'ah 500 years ago? He picked the pendant up in his hands to examine it, his touch gentle as if the object could break down at any moment. He felt that this piece of jewellery was somehow...familiar. He turned the object around in his hands and he found some letters of the old language of Khaenri'ah carved on the back of the pendant. Unfortunately, the letters did not stand the test of time, and were barely discernible.

Dainsleif tried his hardest to make out what the letters wrote out. He finally figured out that letters spelled out a name, perhaps it was the name of the pendants owner. He felt a sense of triumph as he discerned the letters, but that feeling soon turned into a feeling of emptiness.

The name felt so familiar to him. Was it the name of an old acquaintance of his from 500 years ago? He tried and tried to remember who the name belonged to. He digged deep into his eroded memories, but found nothing. It seems that the curse had made him forget the owner of the name, but couldn't erase the connection he felt with it.

He just stood there in silence, holding the pendant in his hands, staring into the distance. If this person was acquaintance of his, what happened to them now? If this pendant was the only thing he found of them, are they still in this world?

dainsleif finding old artifacts from khaenri'ah but being unable to remember who they belonged to is my favourite flavor of angst.

[ac-liveblogs]

Posting some notes here re; the Cataclysm so I don't lose them

Each region's plot should relate back to the Cataclysm in some major way. The Cataclysm is the impetus for the creation of the Fatui and the Abyss Order, and is the primary mystery the Traveler wants to solve, so it should be a recurring major plot thread.

Genshin has a lot of plates spinning too, and not all of the information a player needs to understand what's happening is actually in the main story.

Mondstadt - Dvalin, + meeting Dainsleif. Mash up the first two We Will Be Reunited chapters, but save the reunion with the sibling for later.

Diluc and Kaeya should be aware of Dainsleif; Diluc might ask Lumine to keep an eye on him. Leave unexplained for now.

Liyue - The Chasm; Rex Lapis sealed Abyssal Forces beneath the Seven Star Array and the Abyss Order seeks to break the seal and free them + Traveler's reunion with their sibling moved here.

Inazuma - Ei's trauma regarding what happened during the Cataclysm/disdain of Celestia; she plans to totally isolate Inazuma from the outside world + the eyes of Celestia by increasing the power and range of the Storm Wall to preserve Inazuma as it is forever. Shift the Sacred Sakura Cleansing Ritual into the main plot.

Sumeru - Eleazor/the Withering + introduction of Forbidden Knowledge, Irminsul. If Forbidden Knowledge infects Irminsul, it should have a negative impact on reality in some form. Rather than make the Samsara a repetitive loop, this could leak into the Akasha Terminal first and result in the Samsara turning into a nightmare that the Sages can't shut off. (If everything is connected via the Akasha Terminals/Dendro Gnosis, this might be a more organic way to see what's going on with Scaramouche as a god rather than inexplicable forest hallucinations)

Fontaine - Change Elynas into one of Rhinedottir's creations, focus on the Abyssal corruption bleeding from its body out into the waters of Fontaine (most pure Oceanids fled Fontaine, but the Oceanids-turned-citizens have been exposed to the corrupted waters). Instead of a physical illness, long-term deterioration of the citizens' mental states by Abyssal Corruption (the dramatization of the trials etc) (related to Venti's storyline later down the line) + the Seven Dragon Sovereigns and their stolen Authority (Neuvillette judging Archons - not just Focalors, but Barbatos as well.)

This is a good point to bring up Childe's Abyss connections, but have Lumine and Childe arrested together and Lumine witness his nightmares while they're in Meropide.

I have no idea what to do with Skirk yet. Boot her from the main Fontaine storyline and save her for a later point.

Abyssal corruption may exacerbate erosion.

Abyss Order activities should result in an uptick in attacks from Abyssal creatures.

Some minibosses around Teyvat should be Rhinedottir's creations or other Abyssal creatures.

5 Sinners of Khaenri'ah and the Hexenzirkel should be introduced as concepts sooner.

[romaritimeharbor]

Well since you’re okay with it, here she is!

Meet Runa! A travelling merchant from Natlan who is secretly searching for the truth about Khaenri'ah and a cure to help the cursed immortal Khaenri'ahns from their eternal torment. She has a hydro vision and use a polearm as her weapon. She has a bodyguard name Dongmei, another OC of mine who is helping Runa in her quest to learn what happened to Khaenri'ah.

Now her backstory:

Few days after a birth happened, a baby was abandoned somewhere very far from the nearest civilization. Whoever left her there definitely wanted her dead but fortunately that didnt happened as her cries alerted someone. A pure blooded Khaenri’ahn women heard her cries and found her. The women used to run an orphanage back in Khaenri’ah and was a mother figure to all the orphans there. But the cataclysm happened and the orphans she cared for either die from the cataclysm itself, turned into monsters, or became immortal like her but those children arent with her, they were seperated due to the cataclysm. For centuries, the women went into a depressive state due to her mind not fully accepting what just happened and the guilt for not being able to do anything to save the children (and adding that up with immortality and erosion? Yeah she is not okay) It wasnt until she heard the baby’s cries did she break out of that state. Once she realized the poor baby was abandoned, she decided to raised the baby as her own, just like she did for so many back in Khaenri’ah and gave her the name Runa.

Now the erosion really messed the women up but somehow even with her unstable mind, she was still able to raise Runa as best as she can with the circumstances the both are in. And for 7 years, Runa was a happy girl living in a shack in the middle of nowhere with her mother. Runa was taught the Khaenri’ahn language and culture by the women. The women taught her as if they were still back in orphanage and nothing was wrong. Those seven years were really peaceful for Runa, until it wasnt anymore. One day, they were out hunting for food. Her and her mother had done this many times before yet something happened. They had caught a boar in a trap they had placed yesterday, her mother was supposed to kill it but she didn’t. She was still, she was mumbling something. Runa tried to snap her out, but nothing was getting through her mother. The women’s behavior was normal, she’s done this many times before and Runa always snap her out of her trance but why wasnt this working now? Suddenly, the women attacked her with an axe. As if she was the boar they were supposed to kill. Runa did her best to dodge but eventually she got hit and blacked out. By the time she woke up, her mother was beside her sobbing and apologizing. Her head was bandaged and uh Runa couldnt recall what had actually happened. (So what truly happened is that Runa didnt actually got hit at all. She tripped over a rock when trying to dodge and hit her head on a tree. By the time she blacked out, her mother came to her senses and quickly brought Runa back to their shack and instantly bandaged her up)

Ever since that day, the women became distant with Runa, fearing that she might hurt her daugther again. Runa was confused and hurt by this action because she actually doesnt remember what had happened that day due to her subconsciously blocking the trauma of her mother attacking her and also because of the wound on her head. The women also started to teaching Runa how to do a lot of stuff that they usually do together to be done by herself. She didnt think anything of it at first, she was just happy her mother was interacting with her. But then, after she finally was able to do everything by herself, the next day comes and she woke up to an empty shack with no sight of her mother and a note on the table. At first, Runa thought her mother just went hunting but when she read the note, her whole world went crashing down. In the note, her mother explained that she is leaving her due to the fear of hurting her again because of her very bad mental state which was caused by a curse and hopes that Runa will continue to live on by herself happily.

This destroyed Runa. She couldnt believe what she was reading. How can she live happily if her mother wasnt in it? She was in denial and dazed. She just couldnt believe her mother left and just decide to wait for her. Just simply thinking that note was just a prank and she will come back for her eventually but then one day turn to a week and a week turn into a two weeks. For two weeks, she had been living by herself. Eating, sleeping, hunting, all by herself. One day, when she was out hunting, she caught a boar in a trap she made. She was about to kill it but the boar’s whining attracted hilichurls to their location. Knowing that there is now way she can defeat those hilichurls, she tried running away but the hilichurls catched up to her and surrounded her. She was about to be attacked when a group of traveling merchants came and saved her. When the hilichurls were defeated, one of the traveling merchant asked why was she alone. She was wary of them due to her mother sheltering her whole life but she was also curious because this was the first time she met anyone besides her mother. Runa explained her situation and the traveling merchants realized that she was abandoned and decided to bring her with them. Ofc she didnt want to but she was eventually forced against her will to join them.

After some discussion on what to do with Runa, one of the traveling merchant decided to adopt her. She wasnt happy with this and tried to run away multiple times. It took a long time but slowly yet surely, she got used to her new life. Despite that, she never forgot her life before and kept wishing for her mother to come back. It wasnt until she was older that she realized something. Her mother wasnt normal per say. Her new adoptive parent was different. They didnt have a mental breakdown every other day, they didnt have nightmares that they need to hug her and never let go, they didnt do any of that. And when she told what her mother was like, her new adoptive parent tried to gently tell her that her mother wasnt feeling well with her head, that she was sick. She was confused by what they mean but when she got older did she realized it. They were talking about her curse, the one that her mother mentioned to be the cause of her “illness”. In the note her mother left her a long time ago, her mother explained that she got her curse during the demise of Khaenri’ah and in those 7 years of living with her, her mother taught her everything about Khaenri’ah. The language, the culture, the history, everything except it’s demise, she would learn that when she was much older. And when she did, she learned that there was very little information about Khaenri’ah. And so, a goal was born. Runa planned that when she was a traveling merchant herself, she would travel the world to learn what really happened to Khaenri’ah and find a way to break her mother’s curse.

And yeah that’s all. What do you think of her?

(I apologize for it being quite long, i got carried away..)

- 🐱 Anon

HELLO DEAR I AM SO SORRY FOR HOW LONG IT TOOK ME TO GET BACK TO YOU ON THIS!!! I'VE ACTUALLY BEEN THINKING ABOUT RUNA QUITE A LOT SINCE YOU'VE SENT THIS ASK so here i am to finally reply to it <33

i love her?!?!?!? so much?!?!?!?! this is such a cool path to take with an oc, such an interesting idea to explore. the fact that she knew so much about khaenri'ah yet sooooo little at the same time, particularly just the... Not Knowing about it's destruction. ough. i am rooting for her fr!!!!!!! i believe in her!!!!!!

[rhine-gold-archive]

Hi! In a light of your post about ley lines and memories, have you seen the video by Ashikai on youtube, it's called "Khaenri'ah did nothing wrong". I like your posts about Khaenri'ah and would love to hear your opinion, if you're interested of course. Thank you and have a nice day!

Ok, anon, i know i’m answering like 2 days late but I hope you see this post bc I did in fact went to see this video for you and boy, do i have some thoughts. To summarize, the thesis of that video is that despite Khaenri’ah’ titan robots being found in Sumeru, they were not there as aggressors against Sumeru, but to fight the abyss. And that also, Khaenri’ah’ main goal was always to fight the abyss, they and Celestia were chill actually, the cataclysm was an unfortunate Chernobyl-like incident and that Celestia just had to nuke Khaenri’ah to save others. Let’s go through points, shall we.

1.I do agree that Khaenri’ah was not invading other nations, like the battle log on one of the robots straight up says they were here fighting “Dark beasts”. And also, if Khaenri’ah were trying to conquer other countries, we’d hear about it already FROM these nations. Like, Xiao would be bitching about robots as well as demons.

2.Where I start to disagree is the idea that Khaenri’ah and Celestia had no beef. Khaenri’ah 500% had beef against Celestia. Their envoys were in Enkanomiya stealing, killing, just generally Manipulate-Manwhore-Mansplaining to get “Before Sun and Moon” book. The same book that the abyss order so desperately wants to get too. Like, Enjou’s main goal of all his bullshit in Enka was to get this book. 

And it’s all couldn’t be just for pure science or smth, because we know that Celestia is ready to destroy nations because of this book. Orobashi had to make a deal with Celestia to save the people of Enkanomiya after he read that book, and he had to die as a part of that deal. Just bc he read it. So like, the only reason you’d want to get this book so badly is if you plan to actively use it against Celestia and not afraid of them retaliating. 

3. Why Khaenri’ah would have beef against Celestia? Well, there’s another huge theme of genshin that this video is not mentioning, and it’s Destiny. Also known as Fate. As we know, astrology in genshin is not just bullshit, but hard science, stars are not real stars, but rocks - constellations that literally spell out the destiny of every single person. You cannot change your pre-written destiny.

Mona literally spelled this all out in her domain in the recent Golden Archipelago event. People cannot change their destiny, and if they try, it ends up very badly for them, which is why Mona tries to tell them the “correct” way to live in accordance with their preordained fate, so they follow their destiny closely and live happy lives. And she uses an interesting turn of phrase, I don’t remember the exact quote, but she says that she’s “no hero” to try and change how destiny works. It stuck in my mind specifically bc “hero” implies the presence of a villain, an active power that enforces destiny and there would need to be a hero to fight against it.

Rhine, how the fuck is this relevant for Khaenri’ah, you might ask. Well, the video says that the abyss’ goal is restoration of Khaenri’ah, but that’s actually their side-goal. In “We will be reunited”, abyss sibling spells out what really drives them:

“Until the Abyss has engulfed the thrones, my war with destiny will see no end.”

They are at war with DESTINY. And the throne? “Before Sun and Moon” calls Celestia “The Second Throne.” => You need to conquer Celestia to break free from destiny.

also like, let's not forget, not only Celestia forced Orobashi to die bc he READ A BOOK, they also run a full on God's Battle Royale aka The Archon War, turning Teyvat into a bloodbath, so Celestia 100% have their own agenda that is clearly not just so benevolent as "They only dropped Celestial Nails to cleanse ley lines:( They had no choice:("

4. I must mention that yes, abyss order’s goals do not automatically mean that Khaenri’ah had the same goals, BUT. First of all, let's remember that Khaenri’ah’ whole thing was being a nation that refused to bow before the gods. I doubt they’d be thrilled that all of their fates are controlled by Celestia’s constellations.

Second. In the “Travail” trailer, Dainsleif says in Khaenri’ah section that is called “The Dream Yet to Be Dreamed”: 

“In the perpetual meantime of the sheltered eternity, most are content to live and not to dream. But in the hidden corners where the gods’ gaze does not fall, there are those who dream of dreaming. Some say a few are chosen and the rest are dregs, but I say we humans have our humanity. We will defy this world with a power from beyond.”

First sentence is literally what Mona talks about, just following your destiny and not daring to change it. Because how can you truly dream in a world, where your destiny is decided long ago and you cannot change it? “Dreaming to dream” is wanting to be able to break your fate, to have a dream that is not pre-written for you in the stars.   

Khaenri’ah, so focused on the power of humanity without reliance on gods, wanted to break from the shackles of Fate, and for that they had to go against Celestia. 

I in fact think from “We will defy this world with a power from beyond” that Khaenri’ah actually tried to tame the power of Abyss (Rhinedottir was the one who created\summoned riftwolves and they are heavily abyss-associated, not to mention poor Durin who was just a pure mass of abyss corruption, and mb she tried to make creatures made out of abyss, but under her control and failed the control part), but royally fucked up, unleashed the abyss and Celestia used this time of exposure and weakness to nuke them. But that’s speculation, there’s not enough info at this point.

[cyberkiss2uu]

genshin oc hehee >w< he was taking a hot girl nap for 500 years but now he's back and ready to kiss Xiao again... Xueshe i love youu cutie pie... more lore under the page break r whatever

umm ^-^ so Xueshe and his sister Puzui are both also yakshas and fought in the Archon War w everyone 🙏 and then during the cataclysm in Khaenri'ah they were like.. kinda half affected by it idkk and it put them into a sleep stasis ? and they were in a dreamscape similar to Ei's plane of Euthymiya for 500 years ,, They wake up sometime after the Dragonspine quest im thinking during a lantern rite since those always cause old gods to stir and stuff.. some god stirring could be the nudge to push Xueshe and Puzui back into the real world 🤓☝️ theyve been consuming my mind this entire week god someone talk to me about them

[reginrokkr]

So I've been rudely woken up and I can't seem to go back to sleep easily again, so I'll be channeling that into an opinion post over a leak concerning Khaenri'ah that made me silently scream in my pillow until this melatonin gummy kicks me back to bed!

If this leak is to have any credence, apparently there was a revolt against the Vinster King —Irmin— for the shit he was meaning to unfold that was described in a couple of ways such as: rocking the foundations of the world and tearing the veil of sin. These point out towards one action which is "breaking the seal of the Irminsul Maze", whatever that is supposed to mean. In any case, I'm not surprised in the slightest that Irminsul is related to this as Teyvat's Axis Mundi, the one tree that feeds the rest of the world with the elements throughout its Ley Lines and a myriad of things more such as being a barrier from the Abyss, carry souls and record the memories of the world. My personal belief with the little information we have so far on this topic is that whatever Irmin wanted to do is to remove whatever protective barrier Irminsul has against the Abyss to throw everything into it, as it's suggested in the statuettes that represent his figure.

To elaborate a little bit more into the rebellion before jumping at the meaty stuff to me, this rebellion not only overthrew King Irmin but the entire imperial court in itself, which does line up with the General Marshal Anfortas taking over as a temporary regent until a different one is chosen. Now, what confuses me about this is if this was the precursor for the cataclysm to take place in Khaenri'ah or if it was a previous disaster. Given Dain's choice of word, it was as if the destruction happened when the gods descended and that it was destroyed by them, so it's possible that even though King Irmin was indisposed and no royal members had any business in the monarchy any longer, that these events may have happened concurrently while the Alberich regent was present. For my little theorycrafting heart and what I do remember having theorized in the past, I was elated to find out about the rebellion as I wondered about the possibility of something like that occurring in Khaenri'ah inspired by the Princess Mina books.

Moving on with what King Irmin wanted to do and what it wound up provoking, what continues is pretty much what Dain had explained in 「Bedtime story」 with a bit more of details. As he said, the five who carried the hopes and dreams of Khaenri'ah that would later be called sinners are described as heroes, and the five of them and Dain were supposed to stop him from rocking the foundations of the world. He doesn't give more details about this, but what follows is that not only they couldn't prevent the disaster that would unfold as a consequence of the king's actions, but that apparently, the five heroes' actions contributed to the cataclysm, the destruction of Khaenri'ah and they didn't raise a finger to do anything about it. Apparently, Khaenri'ah was wiped out in a single night for all of this. As a result, the five heroes, the people who carried Khaenri'ah's hopes and dreams would be deemed as sinners and feared by the people.

Something that confuses me about this whole thing is that it's possible that what Dain described as the five of them succumbing to the Abyss and dividing among them this world-shattering power may have happened during their attempt at stopping the Vinster King, which is... odd to me. Mainly because we know that Rhinedottir has been creating these abyssal beasts as far back in time as the Crimson Moon dynasty, the wolves were used as weapons by a part of the army named beastmaster knights until this fell into disuse and automatons started to be used instead. Moreover, there is something odd about the notion that at least two souls (Durin and Elynas'), who were already pre-existing into some other plane of existence, were given a body that ultimately had the abyss nasties. And this was provoked by Gold herself, however she always gave form to what would be monsters later despite the pure souls of at least these two beasts. Surtalogi is known for being the creator of the Foul Legacy, alternatively translated as a technique of extreme evil and his moral compass seems to be questioning to be kind if we think back at what Skirk described about the Narwhal and what Surtalogi's actions with it were, uncaring of the consequences they would lead. The other one we have a bit of information about is Vedrfolnir, a Visionary and the one who inspired Chlothar to create the Abyss Order (probably as a means for the Loom of Fate creation, as Chlothar was already yapping about it before an even bigger tragedy struck Caribert).

All of these evidences point to me that at least three out of the five sinners were already suspicious and yet they were deemed heroes up until that point close to the cataclysm, which is the main point of my confusion. But knowing that part of the populace was also obsessed with the Abyss, it's also possible that, if they had already shared among them the power of the abyss or flirted with it and did questionable things in the past, that these were accepted by those people until it exploded in their face and struck fear in them due to what it can do. This would line up with what Chlothar described as Lumine being Khaenri'ah's hope, the one who was meant to bring prosperity to them because she was viewed as the embodiment of the Abyss, once again nodding towards the collective obsession part of the people had towards it. If maybe this happened a little earlier than the cataclysm did or some people were already fearful of the "heroes" for reasons (all of this is still very obscure for a lack of details) and after having endured the fall of a maddened king, it's little wonder that they would revere Lumine so highly as to make her their princess. Once again, to those who were still obsessed with the Abyss despite what was boiling / caused to Khaenri'ah.

Lastly, on to the part that I feel like connects to Dain even more directly is the part of the Irminsul Maze and... maybe or maybe not the link to one of the titles he holds: Bough Keeper. As if I wasn't elated enough at the even stronger confirmation of his connection with Irminsul, this sealed the deal for me even further. Because what was insinuated was that whatever the five sinners did either backfired terribly and later on they didn't care at all or they themselves snapped and made things worse when they were meant to stop King Irmin. While Dain's actions are obscured, I can't help but be excited at the notion that he tried to do something about Irminsul (either because of his already established connection with it at the time or the newly founded connection after that moment, it's unclear) and that unfortunately it wasn't enough to prevent the disaster nevertheless. Thinking about how irrational Lumine sounded in blaming Dain for failing to protect Khaenri'ah (while, comically enough, being part of Vedrfolnir's project with the Abyss Order and the Loom of Fate and one of the sinners), maybe this could be the reason why she blames him. That maybe he could do something about it, but for xyz reasons he couldn't. Still unfair to pin the blame for the kingdom's destruction on him in my opinion, but at least this would shed some light into this matter. Moreover, if all of this is the way it is (which again, it'd make sense with the shame some Khaenri'ahns seem to bear in other countries to the point of preferring to be seen as evil and not the heroes they were for protecting them, despite the mentality that was present in Khaenri'ah about other nations), it's quite comforting that Dain was seen in such a good light by Halfdan for one, that his last orders and maybe even what he had taught the Black Serpent Knights was kept into their hearts and made them be so honorable as they've been for the past 500 years in other countries. Even though he, ultimately, failed to prevent the disaster in Khaenri'ah / protect it at the end of the day. But I suppose that whenever this happened, those who weren't crazed by the Abyss still appreciated him for his efforts and for at least trying.

[admiral-mason]

You Reap What You Sow - Chapter 9

Genshin Impact SAGAU x Iron Harvest 1920+

Perspectives of the Loyal

Warning: This chapter and the next one will take place at the same time, just from different perspectives. Some stuff might also be out of character since I don't play Genshin Impact.

"Mornings here are beautiful," said one of the šetačs who is part of the squad which accompanied you to the Zapolyarny Palace. He looked up at the sunrise, its golden rays shining with a yellowish-orange glow upon the icy blue structure.

Another šetač walked beside the soldier to accompany him. "Surely better than looking at the mech," he said to his partner, pointing to the TF-987 Čuvar which was in its defensive mode for the entire night. The mech in this stage huddled up like a caterpillar in its cocoon, Its electric blue eye looking for potential threats to the Divine One.

"On days like these, I wonder if there are inhabitants of Teyvat still loyal to the Divine One, instead of joining those who chased them out." The first šetač said. "I mean, surely not everyone hates our grace, right?"

"I'm pretty sure there's someone out there who recognizes the Divine One. If not, then this world truly is blind." The second one replied, looking towards the sunrise.

Albedo looked over a conspiracy board he set up after putting Klee to bed.

He was in his lab trying to figure out the strange occurrences which have been occurring in Mondstadt. First, wild animals refused to hunt. Then, crop harvests started becoming less favorable. Furthermore, the statues of the Divine Creator slowly deteriorated and fell apart despite everyone's best efforts to try and repair them.

And finally, everyone felt as if something was missing, but they couldn't pinpoint what. But Albedo knew exactly what it was.

It was the fact that their Divine Creator had seemingly had their contact severed from them. It's the only logical explanation for all the happenings. They chased out their own creator in that impostor hunt, believing them to be a false idol of sorts. Now, they're paying the price. Teyvat itself is causing this, and Albedo is sure Kaeya knows what is going on as well.

Meanwhile, in Mondstadt, Kaeya couldn't shake the feeling of emptiness while on his break. This occurred a day after the Impostor was supposedly chased out of Mondstadt. And he knew how dire the circumstances were. Market prices were high with the lack of food, and talk about people starving in the streets became regular talk.

He quickly put two and two together. That impostor was the same god that created them all. The same god who watched as Khaenri'ah was founded as a nation without a god to rule them. You gave them their freedom, so they revered you in secret despite upholding the reputation of being a godless nation.

And he liked the fact that the Divine One let their nation flourish on its own, rather than just destroying it. He felt you lamenting at the Cataclysm. Knowing who you were, he felt powerless when he knew he couldn't do much to convince Jean and the other Knights of Favonius that you were the Divine One.

Perhaps this explains why when he went hunting, the animals he encountered allowed themselves to be hunted. It also might explain why bushes have more berries on them whenever he finds them.

So he decided to go to you instead. He didn't know any reasons to leave Mondstadt for a prolonged period of time, though, so he decided to sneak out instead. He would wait for nightfall, then sneak out from the back gate. However, Kaeya didn't know that someone else left beforehand.

When he saw you being chased down, Venti recalled the time when he lost his friend and took on his appearance. Losing his friend was bad enough, and he didn't want to lose you too.

So he helped you using the wind, giving you more speed. When he witnessed you shoot that Knight of Favonius, he wondered what it was and how powerful it could be.

He left Mondstadt two days later. Using whatever Mora he had with him, he bought a coat before picking some apples. Then, he departed for Snezhnaya with the intention of finding you.

After half an hour into departing, he ran into a hilichurl camp. While his instincts told him to run, he heard a voice emerge from the creatures.

"Inform everyone that we can find to not attack Venti. He helped me, so should he need the same, give it to him."

It was your voice. No wonder why they were friendly to him as he filled up on some soup and water. Waving goodbye after some dinner, the bard continued on to Snezhnaya. Upon finding the first instances of eternal snow, he knew he was in the right area.

"I'll find you soon, your grace," the archon disguising himself as a bard thought to himself.

Beidou lay awake on the deck, staring at the moon while everyone else was asleep on the Alcor.

She heard of the hunt for the Impostor, and how Ningguang was involved in it. She was appalled but didn't visibly show her distaste. But everyone on the ship knew how she felt, and they shared her sentiments. They couldn't believe that the people of Liyue just believed that fake on the throne so blindly.

They all felt an emptiness that day, and they hated it. Some members panicked; were you dead? Missing? They don't know. But Beidou assured them that you would be fine.

Then the occurrences happened. Crops failing to grow, animals refusing to be hunted, more aggressive monsters, etc.

Truth be told, she didn't know either. However, she was snapped out of her trance after hearing weird flying sounds. She turned and found a weird contraption of sorts flying in the Alcor's general direction, but it had additions to it. Four flaps on its side, a weird contraption at the rear, and two giant cylinders underneath the central body. Beidou noted that they were far away from Liyue harbor, so it was unlikely that anyone would hear it.

Then the crew of the Alcor woke up and walked to the deck. They saw the contraption as well and looked on with curiosity.

Suddenly, the contraption stopped a few meters in front of Beidou and a trapdoor opened up at the top of it. A person stuck themselves out and threw something at her. She caught it on instinct and found out it was a message in a bottle.

"Hey, who are you?" Beidou yelled at them. But they just went back into their contraption and turned around. She just popped open the cork of the bottle and read the message inside as the other crewmates of the Alcor gathered around her.

"To Beidou, Uncrowned Lord of the Ocean: Your divine figure is safe with us, do not worry. He will call for you. When he does, follow his directions. There you shall see your grace. With best regards, William Mason, officer of Usonia." The message was signed off with a drawing of a shield. It was predominantly blue and had a white eagle in the middle of it. Eight white stars were present as well, four on the top and four on the bottom.

This raised more questions than answers. What was that contraption? Who is this 'William Mason?' Everyone went to bed that day with questions, but Beidou had a hunch that you were okay in the hands of these strangers.

Kujou Sara felt unease and emptiness over the past few days.

When the hunt for the one who impersonated their divine grace was declared, Inazuma had its best soldiers search for them. Sara was one of the first to respond, eagerly taking her spot. Suddenly, issues that were reported in Mondstadt and Liyue were reported in Inazuma.

Alongside said issues, the Pyro Hypostasis wandered outside of its area in Kannazuka and started terrorizing all that came into contact with it. Riftwolves started becoming more aggressive as well. Sara was dispatched to take care of it herself since all the other soldiers were sent to dispatch major issues of riftwolves all over the island nation.

Upon arriving at the spot where the Hypostasis was, she dodged its attacks and tried to crack its shell. But midway through, a massive pack of riftwolves started attacking her. While she was the most revered and powerful general in the Shogun's army, she couldn't handle sheer numbers. She was overwhelmed and thought this would be the end...

...And then they were blown away by fiery blasts. To Sara's shock and disbelief, the Pyro hypostasis protected her. This wouldn't be the case, but then she heard a voice emanating from the elemental lifeform.

"Protect her, Ayin, please. She's one of my favorites. There may be ones that do not recognize her; fight them off by what means necessary."

She knew that voice. That voice was the voice of the Divine One. Then, she remembered. You had guided her when the traveler arrived in Inazuma. She simply looked on at the Hypostasis as it fought against the rifthounds that seemingly didn't recognize her as one of the Divine One's favorites. She flew off while she had the chance, still hearing the Hypostasis fight against those rifthounds.

This is a scenario that Sara is going to excuse herself from.

You found out about some of your vessels today at Noon. Pulcinella helped you sort them out as you ended up with a small list of those who are most likely to be loyal to you other than the Fatui.

Kujou Sara, Sangonoiya Kokomi, Gorou, the Traveler (you had a hunch about this one), Kaeya Alberich, Albedo Kriedeprinz, Yoimiya, Lesser Lord Kusanali, Venti.

It's a small list, but it's speculated that there are more loyal acolytes out there.

"Hey, comrade! You said we could go fishing today!" You heard the voice of Childe as he waved to you. Yes, you did promise him to go fishing today. You looked at Pulcinella as he responded with a simple "go on now."

You walked off in your coat with Childet, Polanian rifle slung over your shoulder and your rifthound and Slugas accompanying you.

Genshin Impact is owned by miHoYo. Iron Harvest 1920+ is owned by Jakub Różalski and KING Art Games.

[hellonoblesky]

Archon war and Khaenri'ah, do you have any thoughts?

I don't think Khaenri'ahn was meant to exist, at least according to the heavenly principals. And it just kinda... Happened without the god's knowledge. Because Idk, the whole seven archons for seven regions and stuff. Plus like, all the godless civilizations seem to be "outside" of the design of the heavens. Like they do happen and Celestia can't seem to prevent them, only punish them if the toe out of line.

Also, do you know the theory about Irmin, Odin and how Khaenri'ah may have had a god? If so, what are your thoughts on it? Do you think so? Why or why not?

By the ideals of the Heavenly Principals, yeah, Khaenri'ah wasn't meant to exist, but I don't think Celestia. Cared that much as long as Khaenri'ah stayed underground and out of the way most of the time? And I think that the main catalyst for the Cataclysm was Gold and the Sages of Khaenri'ah breaking through into the Abyss and likely/possibly "Forbidden Knowlege" and all it's. Weird disease behaviors.

(I mean hey, Enkanomiya/Watatsumi and Serai/Tsurumi islands alone in Inazuma are, while not godless nations, are starkly DIVERGENT nations, and were only cut down (to my knowledge) when they "overstepped boundaries" whatever that means (I'm rusty on Inazuma lore :p I do remember that Orobaxi died post-Archon War in the initial Civil War between the Shogunate and Watatsumi, give or take?? 1000 years pre-game, and I don't remember when the Thunderbird died).

And Watatsumi's still going strong!!! And as I see it, it counts as a godless nation, as in it's god, Orobaxi, the coral serpent of the depths, is dead. They have no god. They believe in him, and maybe he's even still around in some way (see: the final segment of Washizou's Prayers when the Outsider Shrine whispers a warning at the player), but they don't have a god who is fully Present and defending them.

Also I'm not a fan of the "Khaenri'ah had a god" theory I feel it takes away from the nation's origins in. Yk. Being a nation separate from the gods with the express purpose of being separate from the gods, founded on the idea of being separate from the gods. It just. Rubs me the wrong way. At the very least it would have the Scribe of Vindagnyer ROLLING in his grave, practically turned into a partial accelerator.

[strdstd-m]

{Bruh, thinking abt Dain realizing how disastrous the Cataclysm really was & him just breaking down over it, letting out centuries of repressed emotion & grief. How no life whatsoever was spared, no titles, no social standing mattering at all. How indiscriminate, how merciless, how utterly cruel it was for the whole of Khaenri'ah being wiped out. Him stumbling around the wrecked, burning streets, the frightened cries now silenced. The monsters have moved on, to terrorize the rest of Teyvat. Celestia, satisfied by what they'd done, had the Archons also vacate the area. His sword being the only thing keeping him upright as the reality is weighing him down like a steel block on his shoulders. Dull eyes dazedly looking ahead, long-dried tear tracks visible on his cheeks, unsure if the blood on him is his own or someone else's. Pain from injuries are ignored when he finally falls to his knees. Why, why was he left alive after suffering through such a thing? To be some kind of walking example of what Celestia did to those they deemed "unworthy"?

The sheer realization hitting centuries later, for sure after the Chasm Incident. How the royal family trusted him, how his troops followed him such relentless loyalty... how unforgivably he'd failed every last citizen of Khaenri'ah-}

[grislyintentions]

|| HC- Primal Constructs, Heavenly Principles, Tsaritsa's Trauma ||

King Deshret's technology bears similarities with the technology of Khaenri'ah in that they were created to fulfill specific purposes ranging from farming to sentinels. Though their "make and model" is different, they require similar components ie: Restitution modules, self perpetuating/self learning traits, the capability for modifications and improvements, the need for a compatible 'core' that is capable of containing and producing energy output.

It is unclear which came into creation/was invented first but I like to think that part of the forbidden knowledge that King Deshret acquired was partially born from the access to/inspiration of ancient Khaenri'ah technology. From which he made modifications and put into motion plans that incur heavy costs.

I believe that the primal constructs (prospector, repulsor and reshaper) were originally intended to serve as guards (area survey) but also as equipment for heavy duty excavation as there exist in the tunnels many valuable resources like sand grease pupa (which can be sold and repurposed into something else). The reshaper breaks open the tunnels, the repulsor and prospector eliminate any monsters and beasts that the constructs encounter. [In Candace's AU verse, they will be used for these intended purposes]

Now what does all of this have to do with Heavenly Principles being invoked?

As Genshin is created initially by a chinese development company, there are some concepts that are rooted in chinese culture (eg: adepti). Borrowing what I know from chinese media and mythology, the "Heavenly Principles" are a set of laws enforced to keep the natural order of the world in balance. Anyone found going against said principles, humans and gods alike, are punished severely. Gods can be banished to earth or even killed depending on the weight of their crimes. As children, we are brought up with the superstition to never exhibit any form of disrespect against gods for fear of incurring divine wrath. There have been stories told about how the anger of the gods can cause floods, diseases, calamity and topple nations alike. But with recent times, the attitudes and perspectives towards deities and gods are starting to change. The concept of gods not being perfect and that humans have the power to take control over their own fates is prevalent. Don't these themes sound familiar to references of Celestia, Orobaxi's death and the Cataclysm? To summarise: It wasn't just the disrespect towards the gods that caused the invokement of the Heavenly Principles. It was the act of attempting to dismantle the natural order of the world due to acts of hubris (Ref: Rhinedottir being the catalyst for the emergence of these monsters, Khaenri'ah and their rapid development of technology as well as independence from living under the rule of any archons + the indifference of celestia towards mortals > As we have seen in archons like Ei and Zhongli, though they extend care and empathy towards mortals, there is in itself a disconnect/inability to relate to mortal experiences despite their capacity to feel for them. What difference would it make to Celestia to wipe out a whole nation? When, in their perspective, it is as simple as removing the 'root' of a problem? Why would they stop to relate and think about the pain and agony mortals will experience, if they are so far removed from humanity?

I think, this is what deeply traumatised the Tsaritsa enough that she had to close herself off from feeling. According to Childe, she was someone who was too gentle/kind. To know that Celestia cared not for people or even gods like herself must have been agonising. It must have felt like betrayal. And what better way to make them care, than to bring some of that pain to them directly by piercing through the heavens?]