The Archon War and Destruction of Khaenri’ah

A Quick Intro: This article will be based upon the lore of the game Genshin Impact. The events of this article take place in a land called Teyvat and is set thousands of years before the storyline of the game picks up. 

In a world named Teyvat, everything was peaceful, until one day. Here’s what happened. Celestia was a place in Teyvat where seven gods could be seated, ruling over the nation. However, as many gods wanted to get a seat, it quickly deteriorated into a war, known as the Archon War. The fighting that followed killed many, notably, a child reincarnated into a zombie known as Qiqi and the lover of the Morax, the future Geo (Earth) Archon. When the war finally ended, seven gods later to be known as Archons emerged victorious and divided Teyvat into seven parts: Mondstadt, Liyue, Inazuma, Sumeru, Fontaine, Natlan and Snezhnaya, which were essentially the states of the nation. Each nation was known for a certain ideal; for example, Mondstadt was known for freedom and Liyue was known for contracts. As many of the original seven faded into nothingness, only two remained: Barbatos, the Anemo (Wind) Archon of Mondstadt, and Morax, the Geo (Earth) Archon of Liyue. 

However, the war proved far from being over, especially in Liyue. Remnants of the gods who lost the Archon War still remained, such as Azdaha and Osial. To protect his nation, Morax summoned the adepti (gods) and the Yakshas (demon slayers). The Yakshas are the best known, and the six of them were called Alatus, Bosacius, Indarias, Bonanus, Menogias, and Pesvases. All wielded a Vision, which was presented to them by a God, and allowed them to channel elemental energy. Unfortunately, corruption from the demons that the Yakshas killed accumulated in their bodies, causing heavy Karmic (a tainting of the soul that slowly ate away at the person until they became savage and did not remember anything from their previous lives) debt, causing them either to go mad or kill each other. Bonanus, due to Karmic-induced insanity and rage, turned on her companion, Menogias, killing him but also dying soon later. Indarias perished from insanity, and Bosacius vanished, only to reappear years later, being attracted to the fighting in the Chasm. However, because he was driven insane, he forgot his name, and was to be known as “The Nameless Yaksha” in the stories. The only surviving Yaksha, Alatus (otherwise known as Xiao), now lives in Liyue Harbor. 

Unfortunately, peace never lasts, and thus another tragic event shook the world of Teyvat when the Cataclysm broke out. The root of this was the nation of Khaenri’ah, which worshiped no god. Since they worshiped no god, the citizens learned how to sustain themselves. They mastered the Art of Khemia, which allowed them to create living beings. However, the alchemist, known as “The Great Sinner ” or “Gold” corrupted these beings, allowing them, and Khaenri’ah’s automatons to spew forth into Teyvat, wrecking the land. Some of the automatons, known as Ruin Guards, Ruin Graders, and the Ruin Serpent, now wander through Teyvat aimlessly. Upon arriving in Khaenri’ah, the Archons began to destroy it, fighting off all the automatons. Unfortunately, the Electro Archon, Raiden Makato, died in the event, making her sister, Ei, the new Electro Archon. Finally, Khaenri’ah was completely destroyed, an event which the Traveler witnessed. 

To punish the remaining citizens of Khaenri’ah, the gods cursed the pure-blooded Khaenri’ans to be immortal while the others would forever be encased in demonic shells. However, the destruction of this nation would have a lasting impact on the land, since the non-pure blooded citizens formed a confederation to forever combat the gods.