History Characters / HonkaiStarRail

!Giovanni di Giorgio da Epsilon

[[folder: Hakuhatsu Ki]]

** Her sixth Eidolon Resonance, ''Apocalypse, the Emancipator'', increases her Resistance Penetration against all damage types by 20%, in addition to allowing her Basic Attack and Skill to [[AntiArmor shred through Toughness Gauges regardless of her foes' weaknesses]] and change the properties of these attacks such that they are considered Ultimate damage.

** Her Ascension voiceline says "Never turn back -- the path behind is gone." It's an oblique reference to one of Mei's victory quotes, "To move forward is my only choice."

[[folder:The Republic/Welkin Empire of Glamoth]]

''The Republic of Glamoth was, [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin as the name suggests]], a republican-style government headquartered on the planet Glamoth.''

'''(The glorious [[InsistentTerminology Welkin Empire]] of Glamoth stretched tens of thousands of light-years across the stars, from its root upon the world for which it was named.)'''

''The Republic, once upon a time, became a target for the Swarm of Tayzzyronth, the next victim of THEIR spread across the cosmos.''

'''(The expansion of the fruits of civilization to the frontiers of the universe was halted by the raging insectoids, the hope of Glamoth nearly extingushed.)'''

''In their desperation, the Glamothi turned to genetic experimentation, creating the entity known as "Titania" and a military force for her to command: the Iron Cavalry Regiment.''

'''(And then one day, Her Majesty Empress Titania's gleaming, silver-white iron knights descended from the sky and drove back the invading Swarm. They took the fight to the enemy, swearing to preserve the Empire as a paradise for humanity for ever.)'''

'''(But the people began to fear. Were the Iron Cavalry becoming like their foe, blotting out the sun just like the vile Swarm had on that terrible day? And yet they fought on, fighting the foe that drowned out the stars themselves, bearing the hopes and dreams of an empire and their Empress.)'''

''The Iron Cavalry fought many desperate battles that created a literal ring of shattered mecha, ruined ships and butchered insectoids in the Glamoth star system. And when the guns finally fell silent, there was peace... for life on Glamoth was no more. By one hand or another.''

[[UnreliableNarrator ...Well, those narratives don't quite agree, do they?]]

The nation of Glamoth, whatever its true nature, was an interstellar state that came under massive attack from the Swarm - possibly prior, or adjacent to, the destruction of Tayzzyronth proper. It is most notable today for its leftover technology (which plays a role in the story of ''Star Rail'') and for the mystery surrounding its history - in-universe, sources disagree wildly on the nature of the state, the exact nature of the entities that defended it, and on how it reached its ultimate fate, with the matter being researched and debated by the Intelligentsia Guild to this day. You can learn much of the history of Glamoth via certain ornaments from the Simulated Universe, and the Trailblazer even has a chance to interact with a survivor of Glamoth in the main quest.

* ArchEnemy: The Swarm is outright described as such for Glamoth in one of the given narratives, and it's not hard to see why - both the extant narratives posit that the Swarm was dead-set on consuming Glamoth entirely and were the cause of untold suffering for the nation's people and their defenders.
* CoolSpaceship: The narratives agree that Glamoth did have the ability to build these, and they formed the backbone of the force that fought the Swarm. They also ended up forming a substantial part of the River of Death that now encircles Glamoth's home solar system.
* TheEmpress: Another point on which the existing history fragments disagree heavily. One describes "Empress Titania" as the head of state of Glamoth, commanding the fleets and worlds of the "Welkin Empire" in her glory and wisdom, with the Iron Cavalry reporting directly to her... and the other narrative describing Titania as the end result of Glamoth's genetic experiments, purpose-made to be the Cavalry's commander and otherwise an "Empress who holds no power". Which narrative is true, and just how "powerless" Titania would have been if people like Sam were willing to follow her orders, is a major point of interpretation.
* GoodRepublicEvilEmpire: ''Heavily'' played with. One of the history fragments, the one possibly written more from the perspective of Titania and the Iron Cavalry, describes the government as an Empire and, while portraying itself heroically, uses a lot of the sort of language that an "evil empire" might use in its own internal propaganda (down to outright "vowing to bring the fruits of civilization to all the barbaric borders" of the Empire). The fragment more from the perspective of the Intelligentsia Guild, outward looking in, identifies the nation as a Republic (and claims that the "Empire" was non-existant), but the descriptions of the Republic's methods of trying to preserve themselves are less than flattering and suggest, among other things, rampant human rights abuses in the creation of the {{Super Soldier}}s of the Iron Cavalry. The player is also provided with certain evidence that members of the Iron Cavalry were either lab-grown from conception or were recruited at a ''very'' young age. The true nature of the nation remains ambiguous and heavily up to interpretation, particularly the idea of elements of the depictions being more true or less true at various points in the struggle.
* HumongousMecha: Some of the language used in the existing history fragments suggests Glamoth may have used larger machines alongside the PoweredArmor suits which we can still see an example of today, but it's unclear what the exact nature of the "mecha" were or if this just refers to the armors under a different term.
* KnightInShiningArmor: The more propagandistic of the existing narratives presents the Iron Cavalry as this outright, calling them "silver-white iron knights" and saying "their arrival was like a gift from the gods, bringing the light of day back to the human world". Sam, for his part, laments that he mostly serves as an engine of destruction these days, and would like to be seen in a less violent light more in line, perhaps, with this ideal.
* PoweredArmor: The surviving example of Glamoth "mecha" we see in the game is this, and is similar in proportion, form and function to a [[Anime/TekkamanBlade Tekkaman]] and/or a [[VideoGame/{{Warframe}} Warframe]], with some elements of a Franchise/KamenRider as well. Although it is not HumongousMecha-sized, the example we see is still easily seven feet tall or more.
* SuperSoldier: One place the narratives agree, and that you can see in action with Sam in a few of the trailers, was that the military of Glamoth ended up dominated by soldiers of this sort, formed into the Iron Cavalry Regiment. The one living example we see employs a suit of PoweredArmor which is both incredibly adept at physical combat and exerts incredible control over fire and ignition. If Sam is representative of the power of the average Cavalryman, the Iron Cavalry were an incredibly potent military force.
* UnreliableNarrator:
** Pretty much the main gimmick of Glamoth in the game proper. The items that provide the bulk of their lore (the two pieces of the "Firmament Frontline: Glamoth" ornament set from Simulated Universe World 8) outright contradict each other in their narratives and details, and the "Glamoth's Silent Tombstone" Link Rope notes that the veracity of the narratives and how Glamoth met its end is heavily debated among historians of the Intelligentsia Guild in the present day. Between the items, and some other information you're provided from another source, it's possible to piece together a narrative of what might have happened, but the details are still left up to the player to interpret.
** From the narratives provided, even the more "neutral" Intelligentsia Guild-flavored one, it's also unclear precisely ''when'' this happened. Given the strength of the Swarm as described in both narratives, it seems as if Glamoth must have come under attack from the Swarm while Tayzzyronth was still active, but THEY apparently died ''thousands'' of years ago. And even if the conflict happened after Tayzzyronth perished, the conflict is sufficiently separated from the current day that the exact events are heavily contested, and very few eyewitnesses remain. So when exactly this all happened, and how Sam could still be alive after all that time, remains another matter of speculation and interpretation.

A full listing of tropes concerning Sam can be found in his folder on the Characters/HonkaiStarRailStellaronHunters page. Note that this folder does contain spoilers for the ''Star Rail'' main Trailblaze Quest for Penacony.

** From the narratives provided, even the more "neutral" Intelligentsia Guild-flavored one, precisely ''when'' this happened. Given the strength of the Swarm as described in both narratives, it seems as if Glamoth must have come under attack from the Swarm while Tayzzyronth was still active, but THEY apparently died ''thousands'' of years ago. And even if the conflict happened after Tayzzyronth perished, the conflict is sufficiently separated from the current day that the exact events are heavily contested, and very few eyewitnesses remain. So when exactly this all happened, and how Sam could still be alive after all that time, remains another matter of speculation and interpretation.

'''(The glorious Welkin Empire of Glamoth stretched tens of thousands of light-years across the stars, from its root upon the world for which it was named.)'''

* CompositeCharacter: its Basic Attack is an [[HerdHittingAttack AOE attack]] like Trotter of Destruction, while its Skill is a [[HealingHands whole party heal]] like Trotter of Abundance. Its Ultimate is a SuperMode that adds the property of its skill into its basic attack, in addition to buffing all allies' damage output for 20% for a turn.

* TheReveal: the event organizer, Wilder, later reveals that [[spoiler:this Aether Spirit was part of Asta's collection, and that its "lifelike quality" is because of an anomaly that occurred when uploading its data during its creation; somehow, its data was uploaded completely instead of selectively, hence how it acts life-like and almost sentient.]]
* StarterMon: it becomes the first Aether Spirit that you acquire in the event's story, and it'll be a major focus of the story as the Traiblazer's SignatureMon.
* StatusBuff: its Talent is to increase the ATK of other party members for a turn after it takes a hit.

* RevolversAreJustBetter: He wields a futuristic revolver that can transform into a laser HandCannon as his primary weapon.

Acheron sends her foes to oblivion with swift, precise swordsmanship. Her Talent, ''Atop Rainleaf Hangs Oneness'', allows the party to simultaneously build one stack of Slashed Dream for Acheron and one of Crimson Knot onto their foes whenever they inflict debuffs (to a maximum of nine each), with the latter prioritizing building stacks upon the foe with the most such stacks, receiving them should the inflicting attack hit multiple foes, as well as inheriting stacks from another marked foe should they fall. For her part, Acheron can build both stacks through her Skill, ''Octobolt Flash'', where she slashes onto her foes and leaves afterimages that hack away immediately after. Once she has nine stacks of Slashed Dream, her Ultimate, ''Slashed Dream Cries in Red'', is unlocked, during which she traps all her foes in a monochrome dimension and inflicts them with penalties to all kinds of type resistance, then hacks away at one foe at a time with three strikes of ''Rainblade'', each of which consume up to three Crimson Knots to be able to damage adjacent foes (and whose potency increases proportional to the number of stacks consumed), before ending with a reality-shattering ''Stygian Resurge'' slash on all foes that clears all remaining Knots. In addition, her Technique, ''Quadrivalent Ascendance'', is a swift slash that instantly defeats normal enemies, while against elite- or boss-grade foes and Trotters, it damages all foes at the start of a new wave and chips at their Toughness Gauges regardless of resistances, and grants her a same-named buff that automatically builds a stack of Slashed Dream and Crimson Knot (on a random foe) after using her Ultimate.[[note]]When fully upgraded, she automatically builds a stack of both kinds at the start of her turn, as well as gains a boost to raw damage proportional to the number of fellow Nihility Pathstriders in her party and to Critical Rate when attacking debuffed enemies; new enemies that enter battle suffer greater damage whenever she uses her Ultimate; she automatically gains five stacks of Slashed Dream and Crimson Knot (against a random foe) at the start of battle, as well as up to three stacks of her Technique's buff whenever she builds Slashed Dream beyond the maximum; the preliminary slashes of her Ultimate allows her her to build up to three stacks of a damage boost that last for three turns afterwards whenever she attacks foes afflicted with Crimson Knots, while its finisher is augmented with six additional strikes; and all her attacks can now shred Toughness Gauges regardless of enemy resistances.[[/note]]

** Her sixth Eidolon Resonance, ''Apocalypse, the Emancipator'', increases her Resistance Penetration against all damage types by 20%, in addition to allowing her Basic Attack and Skill to [[[[AntiArmor shred through Toughness Gauges regardless of her foes' weaknesses]] and change the properties of these attacks such that they are considered Ultimate damage.

* GatheringSteam: Besides inflicting Crimson Knots on debuffed foes, Acheron can build up to nine stacks of Slashed Dream to unlock her Ultimate. In addition, her second-ascension Bonus Ability, ''Red Oni'', instantly builds five stacks of both kinds at the start of battle (the Knots on a random foe), as well as allows her to build up to three stacks of that conferred by her Technique (see "ResourceReimbursement" below) whenever she tries to gather Slashed Dream beyond its maximum nine stacks (hence automatically reimbursing three stacks of Slashed Dream for herself and Crimson Knot on a random foe after using her Ultimate).

* {{Ronin}}: As a wandering swordswoman from a lost world with a Japanese cultural motif, Acheron fits the role in all but name.

* SheathStrike: Her announcement post mentions that she always strikes with her scabbard without drawing her sword, as shown in [[spoiler:her fight with Sam]] where she swings it despite not removing it from its sheath. Despite this, the "White Night" music video has her wielding her sword without said scabbard. Her basic attack has her swing her blade onto enemies while it's still sheathed.

* SwordBeam: She launches several while fighting Sam during the ''White Night'' music video announcing v2.0, [[spoiler:and sends a single giant red slash towards Aventurine that shatters his domain along with him in the climax of the ''Cat Among the Yawning Pigeons'' Trailblaze Mission]].

* UpgradeArtifact: Her third and fifth Eidolon Resonances, ''Frost Bites in Death'' and ''Strewn Souls on Erased Earths'', add two levels to her Ultimate and 1 to Basic Attack (''Trilateral Wiltcross'') with the former, and 2 to her Skill and Talent with the latter.

** Her Basic Attack has a additional 50--68% chances of inflicting more Arcana for each damage-over-time debuff (i.e., Wind Shear, Burn, Bleed, Shock) active on her target. Her second-ascension Bonus Ability, ''Viscera's Disquiet'', gives her Skill a 65% base chance to also inflict Arcana in a like manner.

* UpgradeArtifact: By unlocking her Eidolons, you can upgrade her third and fifth Eidolon Resonances, ''As Above, So Below'' and ''Linnutee Flyway'', which will add two levels to her Skill and Talent with the former, and 2 to her Ultimate and 1 to Basic Attack with the latter.

* UpgradeArtifact: By getting his Eidolons, you can unlock his third and fifth Eidolon Resonances, ''Know Thyself'' and ''Sic Itur Ad Astra'', which will add two levels to his Ultimate and 1 to Basic Attack with the former, and 2 to his Skill and Talent with the latter.

* UpgradeArtifact: By getting his Eidolons, you can unlock his third and fifth Eidolon Resonances, ''Thorny Road's Glory'' and ''Snow, From Somewhere in Cosmos'', which will add two levels to his Skill and Talent with the former, and two to his Ultimate and one to Basic Attack with the latter.

* UpgradeArtifact: By acquiring her Eidolons, you can upgrade her third and fifth Eidolon Resonances, ''Pipedream'' and ''Parallax Truth'', which will add two levels to her Skill and 1 to Basic Attack with the former, and 2 to Ultimate and Talent with the latter.

Black Swan condemns enemies afflicted by damage-over-time debuffs with up to fifty stacks of Arcana imposed by her Talent, ''Loom of Fate's Caprice'', which explode at the start of their turn before resetting to one stack, in addition to expanding its damage radius to adjacent foes (also with a chance to inflict Arcana) if they have at least three stacks and allowing damage-over-time debuffs to ignore a fraction of their Defense with at least seven. For her part, Black Swan can inflict at least one stack through her Basic Attack, ''Percipience, Silent Dawn'', which has additional infliction windows depending on the number of her target's Wind Shear, Bleed, Burn, and/or Shock debuffs; one a time with her Skill, ''Decadence, False Twilight'', where she drops down a magic circle on her target and adjacent foes, with an additional chance to inflict a Defense penalty for three turns; and repeatedly at the start of battle on all eneimes with her Technique, ''From Façade to Vérité'', with decreasing chances for every stack successfully imposed. Her Ultimate, ''Bliss of Otherworld's Embrace'', summons phantasmal arms to squeeze the life out of all her foes, as well as imposes Epiphany for two turns, which increases their damage intake during their turn and simultaneously counts their Arcana damage as Wind Shear, Bleed, Burn, and Shock effects, as well as negates the first Arcana stack reduction whenever it is triggered.[[note]]When fully upgraded, she gains a chance to automatically impose stacks of Arcana, whenever her Skill hits enemies afflicted with damage-over-time debuffs, a new foe enters the field, or whenever they are attacked (with an additional window should they manually trigger such debuffs), as well as impose a penalty to her foes' Wind, Physical, Fire, and/or Lightning Resistances if they have the corresponding debuffs; defeating enemies afflicted with Arcana has a high chance to impose six stacks on adjacent foes; and the Epiphany effect imposes an Effect Resistance penalty, as well as restore some of Black Swan's Energy either at the start of the afflicted's turn or whenever they are defeated.[[/note]]

* DamageOverTime: Black Swan has her own unique form of such an effect called Arcana, which stacks up to fifty times and explodes to deal Wind damage at the start of the afflicted enemy's turn before the stacks are reset to one, and whose potency is tied to her Talent's Trace levels. Black Swan has a chance to manually impose the stacks--one at a time with her Basic Attack (depending on Trace levels)[[note]]By 50--68%[[/note]], on her target and adjacent foes with her Skill (a 100% base chance), and repeatedly on all foes at the start of battle with her Technique (a 150% base chance, with a 50% reduction to success rate for each time a stack is successfully imposed)--and when the enemy's turn comes up, each active damage-over-time debuff an enemy has also has a chance to impose stacks (again tied to her Talent) before Arcana deals damage.[[note]]Depending on her Talent's Trace levels, the infliction rate of Arcana per each damage-over-time debuff is 50--68%, and base damage is equivalent to 96--264% of her Attack stat, with a 4.8--13.2% damage multiplier per stack (hence a maximum of 240--660%)[[/note]] Furthermore, her sixth Eidolon Resonance, ''Pantheon Merciful, Masses Pitiful'', gives her a 65% chance to inflict Arcana on any foe attacked by her allies, with another 50% chance to inflict an extra stack for each one she is applying onto enemies (from any source).

* MythologyGag: Her role in the Fables About the Stars trailer is remarkably similar to that of Dainsleif in VideoGame/GenshinImpact's [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TAlKhARUcoY Teyvat Chapter Storyline Preview]], that of a mysterious narrator who provides descriptions and {{Foreshadowing}} of the future characters and plotlines.

* NightmareHands: Her Ultimate has her summon a horde of sinister glass hands to crush all enemies in their grasp[[note]]Depending on Trace levels, damage is equivalent to 72--129.6% of her Attack stat[[/note]], as well as impose Epiphany for two turns, which [[DamageIncreasingDebuff increases her victims' damage intake during their turn]] (e.g., damage-over-time or Arcana activation) for the next two turns[[note]]Depedning on Trace levels, damage multiplier increases by 15--27%[[/note]], negates the stack reset of the first Arcana damage, and [[LiteralWildCard makes Arcana count as Wind Shear, Bleed, Burn, and Shock effects for any ability that involves them]] (such as Luka's enhanced Basic Attack, which triggers Bleed damage, or Hook's Burn-based abilities).

* OhCrap: When Black Swan tries to peer into Acheron's memories, she is utterly horrified by whatever it is she saw and later admits she made a terrible mistake in trying to view the Galaxy Ranger's past.

* PercentBasedValues: Her sixth-ascension Bonus Ability, ''Candleflame's Portent'', increases her damage output equivalent to 60% of her Effect Hit Rate, to a maximum of 72% (i.e., if said stat is at least 120%).

** Her Skill hits a target and adjacent foes[[note]]Depending on Trace levels, damage is equivalent to 45--99% of her Attack stat to all affected foes[[/note]], with a 100% base chance to inflict a stack of Arcana and also a 100% rate to inflict a [[DamageIncreasingDebuff Defense penalty]] for three turns.[[note]]Depending on Trace levels, by 14.8--22%[[/note]]
** If an enemy has at least three stacks of Arcana when their turn comes up, it'll additionally trigger a blast that deals damage to adjacent enemies and inflict 1 stack of Arcana on them.[[note]]Depending on her Talent's Trace levels, splash damage is fixed as equivalent to 72--198% of her Attack stat, and the Arcana infliction rate is 50--68%, identical to the regular rate[[/note]]

** Her Basic Attack has additional chances of inflicting more Arcana for each damage-over-time debuff (i.e., Wind Shear, Burn, Bleed, Shock) active on her target[[note]]Depending on Trace levels, the chance is 50--68% each[[/note]]. With her 2nd ascension Bonus Ability, ''Viscera's Disquiet'', her Skill will also gain this trait, with 65% base chance.
** Her fourth-ascension Bonus Ability, ''Goblet's Dredges'', gives her 65% base chance to automatically inflict a stack on new enemies that enter the field, as well as gives the party's attacks that manually triggers damage-over-time debuffs (e.g., Kafka's Skill) a 65% base chance to inflict up to three stacks of Arcana at a time (one for each DOT debuffs triggered).

* WildCard: [[spoiler: For the sake of solving the mystery of Penacony, Black Swan is willing to ally with multiple of the involved factions. This includes striking up an alliance with Aventurine, before also making one with the Nameless out of both faith in their abilities and as part of her deal with Aventurine, who wanted the [[PlayerCharacter Trailblazer]] brought to him to strike a deal.]]