God

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Gods (Chinese: 神 Shén) are beings from the Human Realm with great control over elemental energy and whose lifespans are much longer than that of mortals. Most of Teyvat's gods are beholden to Celestia, although several gods have displayed wariness or even resentment towards the heavenly citadel.

Before the Archon War, many gods roamed the continent of Teyvat. For reasons unknown, seven divine seats opened up in Celestia,^[1][2] causing the continent to descend into a protracted series of conflicts that ended 2000 years ago. Over the course of the war, most gods were slain or sealed until only seven victors remained; each victor became their respective element's Archon and ruler of one of the seven nations,^{[Note 1]} using their powers to transform its terrain and governing the land according to their ideals.

Overview[]

Very little is currently known about the origins of gods. As evidenced by Boreas and Barbatos, gods can be elevated from a lower existence and given powers from another god.^[3][4] Morax, Raiden Makoto, and Raiden Ei's origins have been left a mystery, and have presently been referred to as gods since the start of their recorded histories.

In the past, gods were expected to have a love for humanity, and use their powers as gods to guide and protect humanity; Boreas, who held a low opinion of human society, was viewed as an oddity.^[5][6] However, after The Seven were established and its original members passed on, the newer archons no longer upheld the duty of guiding humanity.^[7]

Gods cannot be completely destroyed — even if a god's physical form is destroyed, their consciousness is worn away, and they are considered "dead," their emotions and power remain.^[8] Havria's relics kept their special properties thousands of years after her death and were ultimately thrown into the ocean by Zhongli so that humanity would not seek the power of a long-dead deity. Gods who place their power into the land, such as Boreas and Marchosius, may be considered "dead" but can continue manifesting in the world afterwards,^[9] although how this works is currently unclear.^{[Note 2]}

Upon death, a god's power flows out of their body and into the surrounding environment. The consequences of a god's death vary greatly, so what determines the result is currently unclear. Boreas was able to control the flow of power and use it to the benefit of the land when he voluntarily chose death.^[10] The power released upon Havria's death salinized her adherents and Sal Terrae was sealed off afterwards,^[11] but the region as a whole has shown no ill effects following her death. Meanwhile, a god's hatred will have negative effects on the surrounding environment and the people who reside there; for example, the Tatarigami on Yashiori Island afflicted inhabitants of the island with mysterious diseases and drove others to insanity. Wildlife that comes across the remains of a god and consumes it enough will mutate and transform into a Consecrated Beast.

The Seven have come up with various ways of counteracting such effects, such as the Yakshas in Liyue who fight against the power of ancient gods,^[12] and the wards around Inazuma used to suppress the likes of Tatarigami and Kanna Kapatcir's power.

Story[]

Ancient History[]

Based on current knowledge, most if not all gods came into being after the establishment of the Human Realm and hold the Human Realm's power, making them incompatible with the Light Realm and Void Realm's powers under normal circumstances.^[13] Elemental dragons hold power equal to a god's.^[14]

Archon War[]

The Archon War was a prolonged conflict between gods for supremacy that began several thousand years ago and ended two thousand years ago.^[1] The war allegedly began over the seven divine thrones which opened up in Celestia,^[2] which may coincide with the creation of the Gnoses following the "great war of vengeance" which greatly weakened the Heavenly Principles.^[15]

The Guili Assembly, established by Guizhong and Rex Lapis in Guili Plains in the distant past, was one civilization destroyed during the chaos of the Archon War. Shortly after the fall of the Guili Assembly 3,700 years ago, Rex Lapis and the adepti gathered the survivors and took them south of Mt. Tianheng, where Liyue Harbor was established.^[16] Some time afterwards, Havria was murdered by her own people for being weak, and the survivors of Sal Terrae were scattered across Liyue. Rex Lapis subdued countless other gods and monsters, including Osial, Chi, and Orobashi, the latter whom survived and fled to Inazuma.^{[Note 3]}

2600 years ago, in the midst of the Archon War, Boreas warred against the God of Storms, Decarabian. In their bitter stalemate, Barbatos challenged Decarabian for the freedom of Decarabian's people and emerged victorious. After Decarabian's death, Barbatos became the new Anemo Archon,^[17] while Boreas decided himself unfit for the position and chose to pass on instead, using his winds to nurture the new Mondstadt that Barbatos created.^[6]

In Inazuma, the twin gods Raiden Makoto and Raiden Ei emerged victorious, with Makoto assuming the position of Electro Archon and her sister sharing many of her duties while acting as her kagemusha.

Around 2000 years ago, the Archon War drew to a close as the seventh and final victor claimed their seat. These victors were thereafter known as the Seven Archons, and came to possess one of the Gnoses as well as a portion of the elemental Authority for their element. Gods who refused to live under their rule fled to islands within the Dark Sea, regions beyond the control of The Seven, where they became evil gods.^[18]

Of the seven victors of the Archon War, only two remain by the start of the game's story: Barbatos and Rex Lapis.^[19][20] While Raiden Ei was present during the Archon War, she did not assume the position of Electro Archon until her twin sister Makoto perished during the cataclysm 500 years ago. Most of The Seven's current members replaced the original founders of Teyvat's seven nations, with the current Dendro Archon Lesser Lord Kusanali as the newest of them at 500 years old.

Present Day[]

Among The Seven, each Archon is associated with and worshipped by one of Teyvat's seven nations. Most of a nation's elemental environment is based on its Archon's element, although areas affected by divine nails, such as Dragonspine, the Great Red Sand, and Tsurumi Island tend to be noticeably different from their surroundings.

An Archon's power is directly tied to their level of control over their nation. As a result, Venti — who travels as a bard and refuses to directly control the people of Mondstadt — is, by his own admission, extremely weak by Archon standards.^[21]

When a person's powerful wish reaches the heavens, Archons are obligated to give that person a Vision, which is a shard of the elemental Authorities^[15] and allows the recipient to manipulate elemental energy. Vision wielders are known as "allogenes" and are also privileged with the chance of rising to godhood.^[22] In the year that the Vision Hunt Decree was in effect in Inazuma, no new Electro Visions appeared throughout Teyvat, leading scholars to conclude that the Archons' wills play a role in Vision distribution.^[23] However, Ei is surprised to hear of this phenomenon herself and refutes the scholars' conclusion.^[24]

List of Gods[]

The Seven Archons[]

Nation	Image	Personal Names	Common Alias	Divine Ideal	Ascended (Years Ago)	Status[A]
Mondstadt		Venti, Barbatos	Lord Barbatos	Freedom	2,000+	Alive
Liyue		Zhongli, Morax	Rex Lapis	Contracts	2,000+[25][B]	Alive
Inazuma		Ei, Beelzebul[26][C]	Raiden Shogun	Eternity	500[D]	Alive
		Makoto, Baal[26][C]			2,000+	Deceased
Sumeru		Nahida, Buer[27]	Lesser Lord Kusanali	Wisdom	500[20] 2,000+[28][E]	Alive
		Unknown	Greater Lord Rukkhadevata		2,000+[29]	Deceased[20] Erased[28]
Fontaine[F]		Focalors[G][H]	God of Justice	Justice[I]	500[30]	Deceased
		Egeria[31]	Mistress of Many Waters[32][33]		2,000+	Deceased[34]
Natlan		Mavuika, Haborym[35]	Pyro Archon	War	500[36][J]	Alive
		Murata	Lady of Fire[37][K]		1,000+[37][K]	Deceased[38][L]
		Cochanina[39]	Pyro Archon		Unknown	Deceased[38][L]
		Xbalanque	First Pyro Archon		2,000+	Deceased[40]
Snezhnaya		Unknown	The Tsaritsa	Unknown[M]	500[N]	Alive
		Unknown	Unknown	Unknown	2,000+	Deceased

Notes

Other Gods[]

This list contains gods that have been mentioned in the game's lore, persons that have ascended to Celestia, and gods that are currently not known to have been archons.

Image	Name	Other Titles	Region	Status
	Amun	More commonly known as King Deshret; Al-Ahmar; Lord of Deserts[41]	Sumeru	Deceased
	Andrius	More commonly known as Lupus Boreas; Wolf of the North; Great Wolf King of the North; King of the North Wind;	Mondstadt	Deceased, spirit remains extant[42]
	Chi	Qingce	Liyue	Sealed away by Morax[43][44]
	Decarabian	God of Storms; Lord of the Tower; Anemo Archon[Note 4]	Mondstadt	Deceased
	Haagentus[45]	More commonly known as Guizhong; God of Dust	Liyue	Deceased
	Havria	God of Salt	Liyue	Deceased[46]
	Istaroth	Ruler of Time;[47] God of Moments;[47] Tokoyo Ookami[47]	Mondstadt Enkanomiya	Unknown
	Marchosius	God of the Stove; Patron God of the Soil[9]	Liyue	Gave his power to the land, currently in the form known as Guoba[48]
	Nabu Malikata	Goddess of Flowers; Lord of Joy and Happiness[49]; Mistress of Dreams[50]; Queen of All Oases	Sumeru	Deceased
	Osial	Overlord of the Vortex; That Which Lies in the Deep	Liyue	Sealed
	Orobashi	Orobaxi; Watatsumi Omikami; Great Serpent	Inazuma	Deceased
	Remus	Sebastos;[51] Imperator;[51] Dark Lord;[51] Philharmonic God[52]	Fontaine	Deceased
	Shouki no Kami[53][Note 5]	More commonly known as Scaramouche or "Balladeer"; Shouki no Kami, the Prodigal; Everlasting Lord of Arcane Wisdom	Sumeru	Defeated and ostensibly always autonomous,[54] presumed defunct
Unnamed Gods
	Unknown	Heavenly Principles Primordial One; First Descender; First Usurper; Phanes (unconfirmed)	Unknown	Unknown
	Unknown	"Unknown God" Sustainer of Heavenly Principles	Unknown	Unknown
	Unknown	Sea God[55]	Unknown	Unknown
	Unknown	None known. The ancient god who gave Boreas his powers.[56]	Mondstadt	Deceased
	Unknown	God of Thieves[57]	Unknown	Unknown
	Unknown	God of Hot Pot[58]	Unknown	Unknown
	Unknown	None known. The evil god to whom Shenhe was to be sacrificed.[59]	Liyue	Deceased
	Unknown	None known. Xiao's former master[60]	Liyue	Deceased
	Unknown	None known. The god of Chenyu Vale, Fujin and Herblord's former master[61]	Liyue	Deceased
	Unknown	God of Fertility[62]	Unknown	Unknown (possibly fictitious)
Uncertain placement
This lists entities whose godhood has not been entirely confirmed by the game's canon.
	Guhua	None known.	Liyue	Ascended to Celestia[Note 6]
	Kanna Kapatcir[Note 7][Note 8]	Great Thunderbird, Thunderbird	Inazuma	Deceased
	Naberius[Note 9]	None known.	Unknown	Deceased
	Vennessa[63]	Falcon of the West; Dandelion Knight; Lionfang Knight	Mondstadt	Ascended to Celestia[64][Note 6]

Trivia[]

• The term God is unisex, with female figures like Ei and Nahida being referred to as Gods rather than Goddesses. This is not absolute however, such as with the Goddess of Flowers.
• Each gemstone used for ascension has the words and blessings from The Seven for the reader.
• Gods can take whatever form they please; Morax has taken the form of a young man, a woman, and an elderly man,^[65] with Zhongli as his most recent vessel. Venti's vessel is based on the Nameless Bard's.
  • Vessels constructed through an archon's power have different compositions from regular human bodies; for example, Venti cannot be healed normally (in story, not in gameplay), while Zhongli indicates that he cannot get sick. That said, Venti is somehow allergic to cats. These human vessels are nonetheless not untouchable, as Venti is visibly winded and knocked unconscious from La Signora's attack.
• Due to stylistic choices made by original Chinese text and the English localization, some of the terminology pertaining to gods has been the subject of debate.
  • In Chinese, gods before the rise of The Seven are often distinguished by including 魔神 "Demon God" in their titles, but the English localization does not keep this term and usually translates it as "God" or omits it entirely. For example, Decarabian's title of 烈风的魔神 "Demon God of Gales" was localized as "God of Storms," while Guizhong's 尘王魔神 "Dust Lord Demon God" was localized as "Lord of Dust" and Osial's 漩涡之魔神 "Demon God of Vortexes" was localized as "Overlord of the Vortex."
  • Conversely, the term "Archon" is used in the English localization to denote The Seven's members, based on the game's Gnostic inspiration. However, there is no equivalent term in their Chinese titles, which led to early localization issues where many instances of 神 shén, "god" were indiscriminately translated as "archon" without taking context into account. In Version 1.3, the English localization adjusted most instances of "archon" to primarily refer to The Seven, but some instances have not been changed.
    • The Chinese name for Archon Quests is 魔神任务 "Demon God Quests," indicating that the Traveler's journey will involve the gods of old and not just The Seven.
  • The original Chinese text distinguishes some of Morax's accomplishments before becoming one of The Seven with the title 岩之魔神 "Demon God of Geo," as seen in Heart of Glaze and Zhongli's Character Story, That Which Rises From the Sea. In both instances, the English localization opted to translate the title as "Geo Archon" anyways. While Heart of Glaze made no attempt to distinguish the phrase from typical occurrences of "Geo Archon" (which would normally be either 岩神 or 岩之神), That Which Rises From the Sea added the phrase "long before he took that title" to clarify that the story occurred before Morax became one of The Seven.

Etymology[]

• The term "archon" is a Greek word that refers to "A person who claims the right to rule, or to exercise power or sovereign authority over other human beings." Genshin Impact uses its Gnostic usage,^[66] in which the archons are seven supernatural beings subservient to the demiurge, the creator of the material universe who is beneath the Monad, the true God. Each archon presides over one of the seven planets. By reaching gnosis, an understanding of divine knowledge, one can transcend the confines of the mortal world and escape the dominion of the archons.
  • In Manichaeism, a religion derived from Gnosticism, there are five archons who together make up the Prince of Darkness. Here, the Archons are seen as an undeniably evil force.
• The Chinese term for gods that predate The Seven, 魔神 "demon god," stems from the standard Chinese translation for the demons in the Ars Goetia — from which a deity's name is derived — is 所罗门七十二柱魔神 "Solomon's 72 Demon Gods."
  • Barbatos, Morax, Baal, Buer, Haborym, Paimon, and Naberius are directly lifted from the Ars Goetia.
    • Haborym is an alternate name for Aim.
    • Beelzebul is an alternate spelling of Beelzebub, who is associated with Baal but is not from the Ars Goetia.
  • Focalors is derived from Focalor.
  • Decarabian is derived from Decarabia.
  • Marchosius is derived from Marchosias.
  • Andrius may be derived from Andras, or Andrealphus based on his Chinese name. (See Boreas' Etymology section for details.)
  • Havria is a feminized form of Havres, a corruption/misinterpretation of Flauros.
  • Osial appears to be a portmanteau of Ose and either Belial or Furfur, the latter based on its Chinese name. (See Osial's Etymology section for details.)
  • Haagentus, the other name of Guizhong, is derived from Haagenti.
  • Orobashi is derived from Orobas.
  • Istaroth is derived from Astaroth.
  • Amun is derived from Amon/Aamon and the Egyptian deity Amun.
  • Remus's Goetic name, if he has one, is currently unknown.
• The Chinese and Japanese term for "allogenes" is "primordial god" (Chinese: 原神 Yuánshén; Japanese: 原神 Genshin), the same word used in the game's title.
  • In Gnosticism, "Allogenes," also known as the "Stranger," is a Gnostic figure who is half-human, half-divine, and has the power to communicate with other realms. In some writings about Allogenes, he is said to have become fully divine.

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