Characters / Genshin Impact: Harbingers

Genshin Impact (Main Character Index)
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Sumeru (Akademiya | Alhaitham | Cyno | Great Red Sand | Kaveh | Nahida | The Wanderer)
Fontaine (Court of Fontaine | Furina | Narzissenkreuz Institute | Neuvillette | Wriothesley)
Snezhnaya (Fatui | Harbingers | Tartaglia)
Transnational Organizations: Adventurers' Guild | Hexenzirkel | Treasure Hoarders
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Others
Khaenri'ah | Monsters (Hilichurls | The Abyss)

The Harbingers

The Harbingers' Constellations

The Harbingers are the eleven highest-ranking officers of the Fatui, answering directly to the Tsaritsa, who receive exceedingly high executive authority from her. They are also all wealthy, powerful members of Snezhnayan society. When members of the Fatui have proven themselves in their strength, a Harbinger chooses them to become their direct subordinates.

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General Tropes

"Let every worthy sacrifice be carved in ice, and with this nation endure for all time."^note From left to right: Il Capitano, Sandrone, Pulcinella, Columbina, Pierro, Tartaglia, Arlecchino, Pantalone, Il Dottore. Not pictured: La Signora, Scaramouche.

• Ambadassador: They're officially Snezhnayan diplomats and ambassadors, working primarily through deceit and treachery, as mentioned in Childe's story. Nevertheless, they're all very capable in combat, enough so that facing a Harbinger is considered both an honor and an achievement.
• Ax-Crazy: Some members appear to not be quite in their right mind, to the point that Paimon believes that Dottore being a “weirdo” is actually pretty normal. They tend to hide this for their status as diplomats but they're all unhinged in some way.
• Badass Crew: They are the most powerful subordinates of the Tsaritsa, with some possessing Delusions to grant them additional power alongside any abilities and elements they may already have, and as Signora and Tartaglia show, their power is enough to stand up even to the Archons, not to mention that only the perception of Scaramouche' power (who doesn't even have a Delusion) alone alarmed Mona, a powerful Hydro Vision user on her own right, enough to put her on the run as soon as she crossed paths with him.
• Been There, Shaped History: Several of the Harbingers played important roles in historical events, or are otherwise noteworthy figures in Teyvat's history.
  • Pierro - A royal mage of Khaenri'ah, the founder of the Fatui alongside the Tsaritsa, and the very first Fatuus who had been leading the organization since its inception.
  • Dottore - The true cause of the Tatarasuna Incident, sabotaging Inazuma's smithing industry and corrupting the Raiden Shogun's abandoned divine puppet into becoming Scaramouche.
  • Scaramouche - The Electro Archon's prototype puppet, tied into numerous critical events in Inazuma's history. He was a central figure in the Tatarasuna Incident, with much of the tragedy arranged to corrupt him so that he could later be recruited by the Fatui. He also arranged the downfall of the Raiden Gokuden, taking revenge on Niwa's descendants for his betrayal. Later, he uses his access to Irminsul to alter the historical record in an effort to erase his own existence. This results in a slightly different record of history, with Niwa remembered as a hero that gave his life to purify the Mikage Furnace and the downfall of the Raiden Gokuden having another cause but the same outcome.
  • Signora - She was the legendary Crimson Witch of Flames, the figure central to the artifact set that shares her title.
• Boss Subtitles: Each of them receives a title card and a subtitle when the game reveals their identity as a Harbinger, showing their alias and "Xth of the Eleven Fatui Harbingers".
• Chess Motifs: The Teaser A Winter Night's Lazzo depicts the battles between the Fatui and Celestia as a Chess match. Interestingly, Signora is depicted as a pawn in it all.
• Dark and Troubled Past: Most ended up in the Fatui because their communities cast them out or they could not otherwise function in the communities they were once a part of.
• Dub Name Change: Only the English dub calls them 'Harbingers'; others address them as 'Executive Officers'. The Italian translation instead calls them 'Messaggeri', Messengers.
• Dwindling Party: Seems to be a case of this, as over the course of the game, two members of the group are removed from the party (La Signora and Scaramouche).
• Even Evil Has Standards: Aside from varying individual cases, the short "The Song Burning in the Embers" implies that none of them particularly liked Crucabena, the previous Arlecchino, due to her cruelty towards the children under her care; in fact, they held her in such contempt that they eventually promoted her killer to take over her position.
• Expy: To the World Serpent, from sister game Honkai Impact 3rd. The organizations are both mysterious, centuries-long conspiracies to overthrow the existing order for the promise of a new world, and are led by a white-haired immortal that survived the destruction of their civilization by a god. Both groups have commanders that wear masks and take on a themed alias, with each group including a Friend to All Children (playable) assassin, a mad scientist, and a (playable) artificial human. This seems to be a Recurring Element, as new-comer Honkai: Star Rail mentions the existence of a chaos-sowing group known as the "Masked Fools".
• Inconsistent Dub: Prior to the release of A Winter Night's Lazzo, localizations outside of Chinese and Japanese tend vary on referring them by their Italian names among Harbingers ("Il Dottore", "Scaramouche") or the public codenames ("The Doctor", "The Balladeer").
• Instant Costume Change: Tartaglia and La Signora's Super Mode boss forms completely transform their outfits in seconds, seemingly forming new ones out of elemental energy that proceed to fade back into elemental particles once you beat them.
• In Name Only: In the new telling of events after the Balladeer removed himself from Irminsul, the seat for the 6th Harbinger (as noted by Mikhail) is said to have been left vacant for years. This resulted in the Eleven Harbingers to become this as, despite the name, they only have ten members (nine with La Signora's death at the hands of the Shogun).
• Ironic Nickname: It would seem the Commedia dell'Arte codenames which Pierro gives to each Harbinger are meant to be ironic.
  • This could actually apply to Pierro himself, with his title of "The Jester". Within Commedia dell'Arte and outside of it, a jester is a comedic character who typically plays the fool to serve as the Butt-Monkey or make jokes. Pierro himself is shown so far to be a levelheaded stoic who commands authority among his fellow Harbingers, even outright ordering them to stop fooling around during Signora's funeral and his imposing appearance alongside his status would make him a difficult person to underestimate in any capacity.
  • Dottore actually lampshades this; he is given a codename after a practitioner of medicine who preserves life while he is anything but. Even the man himself couldn't help but burst into laughter when he was assigned the codename.
  • The role of Capitano in the Commedia dell'Arte is that of a cowardly, sniveling braggart who makes up stories of himself to make him out as more powerful and confident than he actually is. Compare that to Capitano of the Harbingers, who is said to be the most honorable of the group and genuinely powerful in his own right.
  • The role of Columbina is a heroic and clever woman, usually the Only Sane Man that sees the situation for what it actually is and works to resolve it. In contrast, her fellow Harbingers describe the Damselette as "oblivious" and suggest that there's something deeply unnerving about her.
  • Scaramouche means "little skirmisher", but while he has a very antagonistic attitude fitting his codename, it's made clear he prefers subterfuge and manipulation; he manipulated various martial arts families and schools in Inazuma into their destruction while making it seem like a natural decline, and he ensures the Fatui could supply Delusions to the parties involved in the Inazuman civil war all without lifting a finger himself. Even when taking things into his own hands, such as to kill the Traveler, he prefers tricking them into a trap and killing them while they are down, rather than skirmishes.
  • Signora fits most of the characterization associated with codename — being beautiful, well-dressed, using heavy make up, and being a calculating and proud person who likes to demean others — except for one; having a significant other she is married to, or at least someone she is immediately attracted to. Rosalyne lost her lover before she could marry him, meaning she can't actually qualify to be a Signora in the theatrical sense.
  • In the Commedia dell'Arte, Arlecchino is a clownish, happy-go lucky Guile Hero that is well-liked by the audience (enough to be THE mascot for the genre) and is often one of the characters that helps solve the plot's problem. In line with the other Harbingers, she is exactly the opposite: cold, serious and hiding a bat-shit insane personality beneath a cordial mask. Her role in the Fontaine Archon Quest however does allow the Traveler to help solve the issue of the prophecy plaguing the nation such as her attempted attack on Furina helping them realize that she isn't the real Hydro Archon, sending her forces to help the victims of Poisson after the Primordial Sea floods it and giving the location of the ancient ruins with the prophecy to the Traveler as well as having her forces assist with getting Furina to her trial without her noticing it. In a way, her status as by far one of the most moral Harbingers strongly reflects Arlecchino slowly developing into something resembling a heroic protagonist in the plays over the ages, while her demonic traits, destructive power, sinister attitude (especially in combat) and enigmatic ties to Khaenri'ah better reflect the original Hellequin archetype that became Arlecchino later on. This might make her the Harbinger who most fits her title by far.
  • Tartaglia means "stutterer" and is characterized by his stutters and is generally one of the old characters in the theaters; Childe is eloquent with his words and is both the newest addition as well as the youngest Harbinger.
• Multinational Team: The Harbingers are not all originally from Snezhnaya, with several prominent members recruited from the other nations. Their usefulness to the organization and alignment with its goals seem to be the only thing that matters, though many still have very personal business with their original homelands.
  • Pierro, the founder and Director of the organization, was a Court Mage in Khaenri'ah prior to its destruction.
  • Dottore was a scholar from Sumeru, prior to being cast out for his crimes and recruited by Pierro.
  • Arlecchino was originally believed to be from Fontaine, and is still concerned about her homeland's fate to the point of helping the Traveler in order to avert the prophecy. However, she later claims that she isn't Fontainian by birth and would not have been personally affected by the Prophecy and only pretends to be Fontainian when it's convenient for her. Pierro and Dainsleif both know the truth that her heritage is actually from Khaenri'ah with them both noting that she is connected to the Crimson Bloodmoon Dynasty of the kingdom.
  • Scaramouche is originally from Inazuma, and was created and abandoned by the Electro Archon. Discovered by Dottore during a mission, he would be targeted for later recruitment by Pierro.
  • La Signora originally hailed from Mondstadt, and was another directly recruited by Pierro.
  • Pantalone is implied by the Moment of Cessation artifact to be from Liyue.
• Mysterious Watcher: In the supplementary manga, after Diluc learned that the Fatui were responsible for giving a Delusion to his father, the Eleven Harbingers secretly monitored his progress and retaliated when Diluc attacked numerous Fatui strongholds.
• Not in This for Your Revolution: As Tartaglia puts it towards the end of the "Labyrinth Warriors" event story, "nearly every Fatui Harbinger has an agenda of their own", which only mostly parallels those of the Tsaritsa. For example, Tartaglia himself is more interested in fighting, to the point where it is oft-hinted that he'd happily leave the Fatui and join the Traveler simply because their adventures bring him that much-craved adrenaline rush, and Scaramouche, who largely joined the Fatui out of mere amusement, seemingly goes rogue after securing the Electro Gnosis, with Tartaglia having been sent to track him down.
• Odd Name Out: Downplayed, as all follow the Theme Naming of the Commedia dell'Arte, but Pierro and Scaramouche use the French names for their roles, whereas the other nine have the original Italian (which in their cases would be Pedrolino and Scaramuccia, respectively; the French translation actually does use "Scaramuccia").
• Physical God: Kusanali describes the first three of the Harbingers as being on par with the Archons themselves in terms of power, hence her reluctance to fight them.
• Pop-Cultural Osmosis: Googling their names will result in their Genshin version being displayed along with their Commedia dell'Arte version.
• Ragtag Bunch of Misfits: The majority of them are outcasts who couldn't fit in anywhere else. At least five of them (Signora, Scaramouche, Dottore, Arlecchino and their leader Pierro) are not even native Snezhnayans.
• Rank Scales with Asskicking: According to Venti, they have executive authority and extraordinary powers granted by the Tsaritsa that even exceed those of Vision-wielders. Furthermore, according both to Yae Miko and Childe himself, the lower their number, the more powerful they are. At the end of Sumeru's Archon Quest, Nahida also notes that the top three Harbingers have strength on par with, if not exceeding that, of an Archon.
• Really 700 Years Old: Several of the Harbingers are seemingly immortal, having ties to the Cataclysm that shook the world 500 years prior.
• Shout-Out: Many lore theorists have noted that the positions of the chess pieces shown in the "A Winter's Lazzo" teaser references Game 1, move 34 of the chess matches between the IBM supercomputer Deep Blue and world champion Garry Kasparov, notable for showing that Artificial Intelligence could beat man when Deep Blue won the first game. Similar to how Deep Blue utilised the white pieces while Kasparov used the black pieces, the Fatui (the more human faction) are represented by the black side with Signora's hellfire butterfly resting on a fallen black pawn, while the white knight that took out the black pawn is implied to symbolise the gods or Celestia, since La Signora was executed by the Raiden Shogun.
• Specifically Numbered Group: There are, indeed, eleven of them, each with their own assigned number.
• Standard Evil Organization Squad: They're the 11 most elite members of the Fatui. Each is a serious and deadly threat in their own right.
• Teeth-Clenched Teamwork: None of the Harbingers seem to like each other very much. In the "A Winter's Lazzo" teaser, Tartaglia and Capitano express outright disdain for La Signora's methods, Arlecchino more or less calls Pulcinella and Pantalone cowards to their faces and not-so-subtly insults Tartaglia, Sandrone throws snide comments at everyone's infighting, Columbina gives Dottore backhanded compliments about his age that he has already made clear he does not appreciate, and Pierro speaks crudely of the entire rest of the Harbingers and their "foolish theatrics". Scaramouche describes their banquet gatherings to the Traveler as chaotic affairs, full of petty drama and barely-maintained manners, with each of them trying to pass their unwanted assignments off to others.
• Theme Naming: Their Code Names all come from stock character archetypes from the Commedia dell'Arte.
• Unseen No More: Despite various people talking about them and various weapons and artifacts lore bits mentioning them, only La Signora and Tartaglia showed up in 1.0, followed by Scaramouche in 1.1, with the rest of the Harbingers remaining unseen. This changed right before Version 2.8, when "A Winter Night's Lazzo" teaser officially revealed all of them.
• We Have Reserves: After La Signora is killed, a conversation between the two Fatui diplomats in Mondstadt implies that the Harbingers are replaceable should one of them fall.

Pierro

Pierro, "The Jester"

Mocking Mask

Voiced by: Fu Chong (Chinese), Yasuhiro Mamiya (Japanese), Sim Seung-han (Korean), Richard Tatum (English)

"Since the stain of my compatriots' blood cannot be cleansed, I shall become The Jester, who laughs in the face of fate. Since my level of learning could not compare with the sages, I failed to earn the favor of the previous ruler. So too did I fail to stop them from tearing away the veil of sin, ushering in a tide of divine wrath, destruction, and foolishness... Then I shall become instead a fool, a Fatuus, and devote myself to Her Majesty, who understands my pain..."

The Director and the founder of the Fatui. Once a royal mage of Khaenri'ah, after the fall of the ruler he once served to corruption on one side and divine wrath on the other, he joined hands with the Tsaritsa and began creating an organization of outcasts tasked with obtaining the seven Gnoses of the Archons and bringing fundamental change to the rules that govern the world of Teyvat.

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• The Atoner: He created the Fatui in hopes of making up for the fact he did not put a stop to the actions of the foolish and greedy around the king he once served, which eventually resulted in the destruction of Khaenri'ah, with Pierro feeling that so much of his comrades’ blood was on his hands now, he could never wash it away.
• Authority Sounds Deep: Is the Director of the Fatui and The Dragon to the Tsaritsa, and maintains a deep voice throughout all dubs.
• The Chessmaster: And what a chessmaster he is. He's the one who orchestrated everything in Inazuma, from the Tatarasuna incident which left Scaramouche angry at the world and thus giving him an incentive to join the Fatui, to the civil war between the Shogunate and Sangonomiya, to the creation of the Delusion Factory; all of this is accomplished without Pierro having to lift a single finger, delegating the tasks to other Harbingers or even normal Fatui soldiers, and this means the entirety of Inazuma Archon Quest was 400 years in the making.
• Connected All Along: The Sumeru interlude reveals Pierro has met and interacted with the Traveler's sibling in the past when they were still in Khaenri'ah. This unfortunately means that the Traveler's biggest lead to the truth about their sibling is also the one spearheading the opposing side.
• Cool Old Guy: Naturally, by his looks and status.
• Court Mage: Was one in Khaenri'ah before founding the Fatui.
• The Dragon: The number two of Snezhnaya, right below the Tsaritsa, who oversees recruiting the Fatui Harbingers himself.
• Evil Old Folks: The first member of the Fatui Harbingers and old enough to have witnessed the fall of Khaenri'ah.
• Exotic Eye Designs: He has blue eyes with four point star pupils, marking him as another cursed citizen of the fallen Khaenri'ah.
• From Nobody to Nightmare: Once upon a time, he was a simple mage in the royal court of Khaenri'ah. Now? He's a co-founder of the Fatui and The Dragon to the Tsaritsa as the Director of the Harbingers.
• Mundane Utility: Pierro is seen using the Anemo and Geo Gnoses, facets of Celestia's power, authority and the Archon's right to rule... as actual chess pieces.
• My Greatest Failure: His inability to stop the inevitable destruction of Khaenri'ah is this for him, and is his main reason in joining the Tsaritsa's rebellion against the divine.
• The Nicknamer: He's the one who created the titles of each of the Harbingers based on Commedia dell'Arte roles, including his own title "Pierro".
• Purple Prose: He is very grandiose and verbose whenever he speaks.
  Pierro: The long-fated rebellion has begun. Why not take your place at the banquet and join those who shall feast?
• White Hair, Black Heart: Has white hair, most likely due to his age, and cooperated with Dottore to manipulate Scaramouche into joining the Fatui, as well as orchestrating the Inazuman civil war.

No. 2 - Il Dottore

Il Dottore, "The Doctor" / Zandik

Wise Doctor's Pinion

^{Click here to see his appearance in the webcomic}

Voiced by: Wu Lei (Chinese), Toshihiko Seki (Japanese), Park Seong-tae (Korean), Mick Wingert (English)

"Merely an enhanced human? If your great nation can furnish me with sufficient resources and ample time, I could even manufacture that which you would call a god. What say you?"

The second-ranking Harbinger who, in his past life as Zandik, was a notorious scholar of the Sumeru Akademiya once cast out by the Sages for his extremely morally questionable work with trying to creating a god.

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• All the Other Reindeer: Back in Sumeru, Zandik was ostracized by his peers due to his dream of creating an "enhanced human" who could surpass the gods. Pierro would later be interested in his ambition and recruit him into the Fatui ranks, where, as Dottore, he rose high up its ranks.
• And Then What?: Defied. Nahida points out that his plan to create a Man Made God could have had considerable consequences, particularly with relation to the Cryo Archon's plans. When she asks him how he planned to deal with that, Dottore brushes it off as something that would have been an issue for a hypothetical "future (him)" and not something worth worrying about.
• Arc Villain: He's one of the main threats of the Sumeru Archon Quest.
• Badass Bookworm: He's man of science first and foremost, and ranks second in the strength hierarchy. As mentioned in the webcomic, he managed to kill Ursa the Drake ^notea dragon that had been terrorizing Mondstadt for 1000 years that not even Vanessa and Barbatos could kill, thus putting Mondstadt in debt with the Fatui and allowing them to stay in the country despite everything they've done.
• Bad Guys Do the Dirty Work: While he is an immoral scientist with little regard for human life, Dottore has repeatedly shown that his methods, while unethical, produce results. He is one of the only people in Teyvat able to effectively treat Eleazar (the other being the God of Wisdom), with multiple victims surviving thanks to his experiments.
• Blasphemous Boast: Subtle, but he's offering knowledge to none other than the God of Wisdom herself, in exchange for her Gnosis. Nahida outright calls him arrogant for the sheer gall of it, since such exchanges are the stuff of legends. But Dottore isn't kidding, and when all is said and done, Nahida accepts the trade as worthy.
• Bloodbath Villain Origin: A series of old notes discovered in the forests reveals his time as a student, and his murder of his research partner, Sohreh. Though they initially didn't get along, he was eventually able to charm her and get her to agree to a late-night picnic with him. He strangled her to death, then let wild animals maul the body in an attempt to cover up his crime. Suspicion led to an investigation, and he vanished shortly afterwards.
• Brainwashed and Crazy: Dottore brainwashes the inhabitants of Sumeru City into believing the Traveler is a hero who has saved the world by hacking into their Akasha terminals. It takes Nahida overriding their consciousness with hers to stop them from swarming her and the Traveler.
• Brown Note: Uses a high-frequency sound to anaesthetize The Traveler and Paimon after taking down the Shouki no Kami, so he can have a word with Nahida.
• But for Me, It Was Tuesday: The creation of an artificial god is a grand undertaking that takes the entire Sumeru's collective wisdom, resources, plus Fatui technological support, that even Nahida calls it the culmination of human wisdom. To Dottore, it was just another mundane experiment. Nahida calls him insane for not considering the long-term consequences of birthing a new god, especially since Dottore supposedly serves the Cryo Archon.
• Characterization Marches On: Justified. The Dottore introduced in the webcomic is a manic, flighty man with a temper. This contrasts starkly with the calm, methodical man encountered in Sumeru that never seems to be bothered by anything and matches wits with the God of Wisdom. This makes perfect sense, with the revelation that his Segments are "him" at different points in his life and intentionally made to bring differing perspectives to the table. The Dottore from the webcomics and the Dottore in Sumeru are two different segments, created from different stages of his life and reflecting differing levels of maturity and experience.
• Child Abuse Is a Special Kind of Evil: Dottore is considered one of the worst of the worst, a truly wicked individual that even his fellow Harbingers view as a ruthless madman. His cruelty and complete lack of morals are established through his usage of children in various experiments, most notably the ones that Collei barely survived. The webcomics involve his efforts to acquire more children from Mondstadt for his experiments, while Sumeru has several incidents of him using children to further his research. In a manner of speaking, he also serves as a major antagonist to the child-like Dendro Archon and made a point to corrupt and emotionally break the child-like Kabukimono. Arlecchino's line about him indicates that Crucabena allowed him to use "rejects" from the House of the Hearth for experimentation in the past.
• Creepy Crows: His mask is styled to resemble a beak, giving him an avian appearance that matches with the accessory draped across his right shoulder and back. This accessory is stylized to resemble a crow head perched on his shoulder, with a large ruffle of black feathers adding to his sinister appearance. His association with disease and death further adds to the effect.
• Cyclops: He is represented in Kusanali's fairytale as a single-eyed crow-like monster wearing fox fur to blend into the fox community.
• Deal with the Devil: On both ends when dealing with Nahida at the end of the Sumeru Archon Quest. The Dendro Archon demands that he kill off his clones in exchange for the Electro Gnosis, lest she destroy it and bring down the wrath of the Heavenly Principles, to which he fell for. He then he offers otherworldly knowledge that even Nahida isn't privy to in exchange for her own Gnosis, knowing that the God of Wisdom would not be able to resist.
• Deconstructed Character Archetype: The Akademiya worships Rukkhadevata solely for her knowledge and intellect without consideration for her other virtues, such as her benevolence, and fosters a culture where interpersonal relationships, even familial ones, begin and end with the individuals' usefulness in each other's academic pursuits. Dottore is this mindset taken to a logical conclusion and personified: a sociopathic, self-absorbed Mad Scientist who only cares about pursuing knowledge unrestrained by ethics, and who would casually throw the Sages under the bus once he got what he wanted (i.e., the Dendro and Electro Gnoses).
• Diabolus ex Machina: His Omega Build appears out of nowhere at the end of the Archon Quest, and instantly puts the Traveler and Paimon to sleep, then bargains with Nahida for both the Electro and Dendro Gnoses.
• Didn't Think This Through: Nahida calls him crazy for not considering the various consequences of birthing a new god, especially towards his own Archon, The Tsaritsa. Dottore just brushes her off, saying he'd rather cross that bridge when the time came.
• The Dragon: As the second of the Fatui Harbingers, he is this to Pierro, who in turn is this to the Tsaritsa.
• Dragon with an Agenda: Implied. He willingly aided Scaramouche (who at that point have gone rogue) to become an artificial god to replace the Dendro Archon as the God of Wisdom, this is despite serving under the Tsaritsa (the Cryo Archon), who is the supreme ruler of the Fatui, and have tasked each of the Harbingers to seize the Gnosis from other nations (which included the Gnosis that were in the Balladeer's hands).
• The Dreaded: Befitting his status as Second of the Harbingers, Dottore is treated as an extreme physical threat by The Traveler and their companions, to the point that part of the preparations to rescue Nahida involves ensuring they can avoid direct confrontation with him. It makes much more sense by the time the Traveler faces off against Arlecchino, the Fourth Harbinger, in Fontaine and still wasn't able to defeat her while she was still holding back her full power while the top three Harbingers are as strong as gods.
• Early-Bird Cameo: Among all of the Harbingers, Il Dottore was actually the first one that appeared during the prequel webcomic released before the game was first released.
• Establishing Character Moment: He makes his first in-game appearance by setting a trap for the Traveler, having brainwashed the crowd and revealing himself mocking the caution of their would-be informant. He then proceeds to walk up to Katheryne, deducing her to be the Dendro Archon in disguise.
• Evil Genius: Considering his terrible yet great academic achievements, he may be Teyvat's smartest man alive. Creating multiple clones just for the sake of 'observation', considering the creation of an artificial god as a rote experiment, and ultimately, offering knowledge that even the God of Wisdom is not privy to, in exchange for her Gnosis.
• Evil Gloating: Does this to Niwa as he lay dying, taunting him by revealing his Evil Plan to corrupt the kabukimono and also lording over how Niwa could never have hoped to beat him. Justified because he was trying to get him to taint his heart with anger so that he could remove it and give it to the kabukimono as part of what he claimed to be his experiment.
• Evil Is Petty: At least, Nahida hints at his motivations being far more petty and simplistic. Her fairytale rendition of Scaramouche's past implies that Dottore was jealous of the people accepting the kabukimono even though he wasn't human after he had found solace in the kabukimono being similar to him. And this possible jealousy might have lead him to murder Niwa and cut out his heart to ensure the kabukimono didn’t experience the social acceptance that Dottore never was able to experience himself.
• Evilutionary Biologist: Was involved in several experiments ranging from injecting the residue of deceased gods into young victims like Collei to using parts of several Eleazar patients to cure a single patient.
• Exact Words: Played twice.
  • While requesting to take Haypasia back to Snezhnaya, he makes a point to inform Tighnari of his departure from Sumeru, convincing the team that he would be out of the picture for their plan. He then promptly orders the troops accompanying him to circle back and abduct Haypasia on grounds of "searching for herbs".
  • True to his word, Dottore does leave Sumeru on a boat, going as far as to smile and wave at the Traveler upon spotting them spying on him, and sails away... only for him to suddenly show up and ambush them later after defeating Scaramouche, revealing that Dottore had created multiple "segments" of himself.
  Nahida: Negotiate with me? I heard you had already left Sumeru. Why are you here again now?
  Dottore: "I" left Sumeru, but "I" also stayed in Sumeru.
• Expendable Clone: Zigzagged. Dottore doesn't hesitate for a moment to sacrifice his clones to get the Electro Gnosis despite their protests and cries of terror. However, he admits they will be a pain to replace in the future.
• Face of an Angel, Mind of a Demon: Zandik was a "handsome" youth that used his looks and charm to lure one of his research partners away from the larger group. Once alone, he strangled Sohreh to death and was initially successful in covering it up as an animal attack. In the present, Dottore has yet to be seen without his mask, so whether he's still deceptively handsome underneath is unclear.
• Fantastic Racism: Displays disdain towards Vision holders, referring to them as "self-inflated fools".
• Faux Affably Evil: He's surprisingly polite and well-mannered in all of his in-game appearances thus far, never once losing his cool or raising his voice, which only accentuates how unrepentantly monstrous he is, with trails of his horrific experiments scattered all across Sumeru.
• Flaw Exploitation: Years after being expelled from the Akademiya for his highly unethical work, Zandik/Dottore managed to worm his way back in by pandering to the Sages' desperation for a new God of Wisdom in the wake of Rukkhadevata's disappearance and their refusal to acknowledge Kusanali as the current one, having offered to help them create a new god for them to prop up.
• From Nobody to Nightmare: He went from an Akademiya outcast to the second-ranking Harbinger, far above the likes of Scaramouche ^{note (spoilers!)}An Archon-created puppet and La Signora ^{note (spoilers!)}The Crimson Witch of Flames.
• Face Death with Dignity: In Act 5 of the Sumeru Archon Quest, Dottore erases all his other segments in exchange for the Electro Gnosis. His other segments' dying responses include questioning his choice, deriding themselves for being "shortsighted", with one sounding irritated at being betrayed by him. One segment's final words were:
  Segment: I hope you'll make this moment count.^{In Sumeru's script}Let's hope that you are worthy of such a choice.
• Forced Sleep: Near the end of Chapter III, Act V, Dottore uses a telepathic brain signal to put the Traveler and Paimon to sleep so he can have an opportunity to negotiate with Nahida for the Electro and Dendro Gnoses alone without their interference.
• The Ghost: Apart from his young, manic version seen in the webcomic, and his Omega-build seen in-game, none of his other segments are seen in-person. And all of them (except the Omega-build) are dead when he had them all "erased" to get the Electro Gnosis.
• Godhood Seeker: Inverted, he doesn't seek to become a god, but to create one.
• Graceful Loser: He isn't even all that mad when Nahida, in exchange for the Electro Gnosis, demands that he erase all of his other segments despite the difficulty involved in creating one, praising her wisdom in removing one of his assets and lessening the potential threat he can pose to Sumeru in the future. It's implied he can just create new clones again, viewing the entire thing as a temporary setback.
• Harmful Healing: Played for horror. Amazingly, his treatment of Eleazar seemingly cures Abbas of it entirely, even granting him a new arm. However, the process is so inhumane it leaves Abbas traumatized, eventually compelling him to tunnel through layers of stone with naught but a hoe to escape from the Doctor.
• Hate Sink: Considering the numerous war crimes under his belt and his Lack of Empathy in general (comes with being The Sociopath), it's safe to say that Dottore was designed to garner much of the players' hatred as possible. Even Scaramouche, Tartaglia, Arlecchino, and La Signora can possibly come across as more likable and sympathetic compared to him so far with their backstories out. It gets worse with The Reveal that his actions were partially responsible for turning the once-innocent Kabukimono into the hate-filled Balladeer.
• Hated by All: No one outside of the Fatui views him in a remotely positive light. In Sumeru, he is a full on Unperson, having been shunned and expelled from the Akademiya, and as a Harbinger engages in vile actions to the present day with no remorse or sympathy, viewing the subjects of his "experimentation" as little more than tools. Even among the Fatui, Arlecchino outright states that she would kill him if it weren't for them being both Fatui Harbingers.
• The Heretic: The Heretic of Sumeru. Not only his real name translates to 'Heretic', he's been excommunicated from the Akademiya, which is a research institute worshipping the Archon of Wisdom. And in the preview of Sumeru, he mentions how he plans to 'do some experiment in blasphemy.'
• Hypocrite: Related to his Fantastic Racism, Dottore is the last person with any right to talk about anyone else being "self-inflated".
• I Hate Past Me: His clones don't get along, even though they're all made from different parts of Dottore's life. This is part of why he was willing to throw them under the bus for a Gnosis, although the particular Segment talking with Nahida does think that the other clones probably wouldn't have taken the deal.
  Dottore: Indulge me, how does the God of Wisdom find my method of seeking knowledge?
  Nahida: It's an insult to the very concept of life. Life inherently has many rules and restrictions, each with its own significance and reason to exist. They can't be broken on a whim.
  Dottore: Hehehehe... Good. Amazing, even. Indeed. It's difficult for humans... to make peace with themselves, not to mention oneself from a different period.
• I Let You Win: While the Traveler and Nahida were busy with defeating the Akademiya and Scaramouche and cleansing the corruption of Irminsul, Dottore was actually still hiding in Sumeru the whole time. While he was certainly in a position to intervene, he was content to simply observe how his experiment played out, and though he is disappointed with the results, he allows events to run their course and only once the day is saved does he step in to salvage useful material - namely, the Gnoses of Electro and Dendro.
• Ironic Nickname: A Mad Scientist without respect for human life, named for a practitioner of medicine. When Pierro granted him the title, Dottore himself reportedly found it so hilariously ironic that he burst into hysterical laughter.
• "It" Is Dehumanizing: His notes found in the abandoned Eleazar hospital never referred to his patients with their name (in contrast with the other doctors), but as "Subject _", showing that he never saw them as anything more than test subjects.
• It's Personal with the Dragon: By the end of Sumeru's Interlude quest, after having learned the truth about the circumstances of his past, the Wanderer (previously Scaramouche) declares that the Fatui will get their just desserts for manipulating and tormenting him, but has more beef with Dottore specifically for his role in killing Niwa and lying about his "betrayal".
• Just Between You and Me: Explains his intentions first to Nahida after incapacitating the Traveler and Paimon, where he revealed the existence of his Segments (hence causing her to demand him to kill them in exchange for the Electro Gnosis), and also in his memory to Niwa after fatally stabbing him, detailing how he had manipulated the circumstances at Tartarsuna in order to secure the kabukimono as a Fatui recruit, causing the Wanderer to seek revenge especially against him when he found out.
• Kick the Dog: Dottore's cruelty and pettiness runs deep, such that he might as well be a professional puppy-kicker. After fatally injuring Niwa, he took the time to taunt the dying man about how his death would be used to Corrupt the Cutie and how surely a human couldn't actually be friends with a puppet (hinting that his view of fellow humans is not so fluffy). Afterwards, he cut out Niwa's heart and gave it to the Kabukimono, lying that it had been a "parting gift" Niwa obtained through murdering an innocent man before fleeing his post. Nahida's fairytale allegory version of these events suggests Dottore's actions were motivated by jealousy.
• Killing Your Alternate Self: In order to obtain the Electro Gnosis from Nahida, the Omega Build Dottore "erased" all of his other segments under Nahida's orders. They can be heard screaming as they are being erased.
• Knight of Cerebus: Although having a more standard introduction, his arrival heralds a much darker side to the Fatui than previously shown, with his connection to Collei's trauma shed light on in-game. In addition, notes scattered throughout Sumeru describe his horrific experiments in greater detail, having used patients admitted to the Eleazar treatment facility at Dar al-Shifa as guinea pigs for his "treatment".
• Mad Scientist: As early as his days in the Akademiya, Dottore was notorious for his highly unethical scientific experiments.
• Mad Scientist Laboratory: He has one in Liyue that reproduces Ruin Guards, but has since abandoned it (fittingly, without first turning it off). In Childe's story quest, he brings Teucer to this lab. He also has one in the desert portion of Sumeru, using the hospital dedicated to treating Eleazar and its patients for his experiments instead.
• Malevolent Masked Man: The segments from the manga have a black and white mask on their faces. The segments shown in "A Winter Night's Lazzo" and in game have a different mask, this type covering the upper half of their faces.
• Master of Illusion: Dottore's specialty is cognitive manipulation, and one of the applications of his ability is to create illusions and hallucinations to his benefit, such as inserting hallucinations into the Akasha Terminals of the entire Sumeru City populace to make them believe the Traveler is a hero as a way to impede them from entering the Akademiya in Chapter III, Act III, and creating life-like illusions of Fatui troops in Port Ormos to throw the Traveler and Dehya off their guard while he sends real Fatui troops to Pardis Dhyai in an attempt to kidnap Haypasia in Chapter III, Act V.
• Meaningful Name: Dottore's original name, Zandik, is a term for a heretic in Zoroastrianism. Dottore seeks to defy the rule of the gods by creating an artificial god and according to his own words, conducts "experiments in blasphemy."
• Me's a Crowd: He created a bunch of clones of himself at different ages, called "segments," to handle various tasks. At least three are known: the young, manic one that appears in the manga, the segment in the prime of his life sent to burn down a sacred tree, and the adult Omega Build that appears in the game proper. At the end of Chapter III, all of them, with the exception of the Omega Build, are dead.
• Morally Ambiguous Doctorate: A villain, who primarily goes by the title of "the Doctor." In a lampshading of this trope, Zandik cackled madly when Pierro gave him the title, amused by the irony of a sociopathic mad scientist like him being given the title of a life-saving profession.
• Never Accepted in His Hometown:
  • He was chased out of his hometown with pitchforks for his heretical experiments.
  • Being nicknamed "The Outcast" in Sumeru. For all his intelligence and accomplishments as a Fatui Harbinger, the sages of the Akademiya still looked down on him for his expulsion, at least until he offered to create a new god for them.
  • He comments on this after Nahida declares her intent to reform Sumeru to prevent him from exploiting the flaws in the system again in the future, saying that he has "no interest in being rejected by this city for a third time."
• Nice Job Fixing It, Villain: When Nahida reads his mind to confirm that he destroyed his other segments, she incidentally glimpses the memory of his involvement in the Tatarasuna disaster. She then passes this information on to Scaramouche, now the Wanderer, who goes from simply wanting to survive the consequences of failing the Fatui to swearing vengeance upon them, Dottore in particular. It also leads him to accept Nahida's offer to allow him to work for her, which not only puts him under the guidance of one of Teyvat's best teachers but in turn gives Nahida one of the best sources of insider information about the Fatui. Worse, after erasing his former life from Irminsul, almost no one in Teyvat has any clue he ever existed, so it's unlikely the Fatui will remember to tidy up this particular loose end.
• An Offer You Can't Refuse: On both the giving and receiving ends towards the end of the Sumeru Archon Quest. He was able to obtain the Electro Gnosis from Nahida because the latter is aware that he outmatches her in combat, but not before she was able to bluff him into killing all his clones in exchange by threatening to destroy the Gnosis and deliberately bring down the wrath of Celestia upon them. In exchange, he was able to convince her to pawn off her Dendro Gnosis in exchange for knowledge that even she is not privy to.
• Omnidisciplinary Scientist: He's an expert on multiple scientific disciplines, from biology^*creation of his Segments, and his research on Eleazar allowing him to stablize his patients, engineering^*his Ruin Guard laboratory in Liyue, turning his menial into a Ruin cyborg, and Scaramouche's mecha body, hacking^*he essentially hacked the Akasha to plant bogus memories in the citizens' mind, theology^*he's familiar with how Gnoses work, and knows how to use it to elevate someone to godhood, and even cosmology^*his knowledge of the world beyond the skies of Teyvat, a knowledge so secret that even the God of Wisdom did not know. And he's no slouch in strategy either. His wide range of interests and expertise in them are justified with the revelation that he has lived for centuries, utilizing multiple copies of himself from different points in his life to revolutionize the process of gathering knowledge.
• Plague Doctor: His symbol, which he also wears on his shoulder, is designed to resemble the iconic bird mask of a plague-era doctor.
• Pyrrhic Victory: At the end of the Sumeru Archon Quest, Dottore secures both the Dendro and Electro Gnoses after attacking the Traveler, forcing Nahida to negotiate them away in exchange for the Traveler's life. But Nahida is smart enough to make Dottore pay a hefty price for each one: his legion of clones for the Electro, and critical information for the Dendro. While this allows the Fatui's plans to continue, Dottore knows he got the raw end of the deal.
• Rank Scales with Asskicking: Having risen to be the Second of the Fatui Harbingers, the highest-ranking officers with authority only below the Tsaritsa. Nahida outright states that the top three can compete with Archons in power, proven by Dottore subtly threatening her during their negotiation.
• Really 700 Years Old: With the state of the papers detailing his past deeds, Dottore is slated to be around a 100 years old at the minimum, possibly older with Pierro having recruited him as the Second of the Fatui Harbingers. Indeed, it is possible that Dottore's segments have replaced the original, given his method of preserving his "perspectives" and the age of some of the segments. When Scaramouche is investigating Irminsul on Nahida's behalf, they see a memory of Dottore from 400 years ago when he was in Inazuma.
• Red Eyes, Take Warning: While they are not glowing, they are fitting for someone utterly evil.
• Ridiculously Human Robots: The Wanderer's character story 4 states that Dottore learnt how to create his Segments through research on the latter's divine puppet body.
• Scale of Scientific Sins: Among his various scientific crimes on humanity are the sins of automation and usurping god, which include:
  • Unwilling Roboticisation of his Fatui minion Krupp after he killed him in the prequel manga.
  • Creating segments of himself at different stages of his life to preserve their perspectives, which Kusanali condemns as "an insult to the very concept of life".
  • Worming his way back into the Akademiya by offering Scaramouche as the solution to their obsession over not having their desired God of Wisdom in Kusanali.
• Scary Teeth: When particularly annoyed in the comics, he's drawn with jagged shark teeth to play up his dangerous, unhinged personality.
• Sinister Suffocation: Some scattered notes in Sumeru's overworld suggest that as an Akademiya student, he killed fellow student Sohreh like this. He made her corpse look like she was attacked by Rishboland Tigers, but an autopsy revealed that the fatal injury was a fractured hyoid bone.
• Smug Super: He always acts haughty and dismissive of others, seeing them as beneath him, even saying he's disappointed by the God of Wisdom for being 'bound by cognition'. But he definitely can back up his talk, since he's the 2nd-ranked Harbinger for a reason, and knows esoteric secrets that even the God of Wisdom herself doesn't know.
• The Sociopath: One of the straighter examples. While his fellow Harbingers have been hinted or shown to have some degree of compassion, it becomes clear that Dottore lacks any form of morality and empathy beyond basic courtesy. Examples vary from charming and murdering a fellow student in his youth, to experimenting on children for the sake of pursuit of knowledge.
• Strange Minds Think Alike: He's the only Harbinger who was close (albeit professionally) to Crucabena, with her sending him any "rejects" to him so he could work on them as test subjects, and both approved of each other's methods; unsurprising, given the two are sociopaths. Though much like the other Harbingers, he (in true sociopath fashion) didn't mourn her death.
• Teens Are Monsters: The original Chinese text in the Wise Doctor's Pinion artifact explicitly states he was a teenager when he was first recruited by Pierro. He already had a history of inhuman experimentation and a reputation of insanity prior to that.
• Teen Genius: At his time in the prestigious Akademiya, Dottore was one of two people to ever gain access to a Ruin Golem, the other being hailed as the pride of the Kshahrewar Darshan, a branch specializing in technology. He would also easily disable a rogue ruin machine (which he potentially activated) and considered the entire institute as a platform for research. When approached by Pierro, he would assert that he could create a god with sufficient resources.
• Tested on Humans: Many people were victims of his experiments. In the manga, he oversaw the testing of physical capabilities of test subjects and went to Mondstadt to pressure them into delivering more children because they were running out of bodies. He was also responsible for the Fatui injecting Collei and others with deceased god residue as part of another experiment. In the game, exploring the desert recovers records of him experimenting on Eleazar patients, and in the Sumeru Archon Quests he brainwashes residents of Sumeru City into believing that the Traveler is a great hero to not only hinder them but also find out whether he can force people to worship the newly deified Scaramouche.
• Token Evil Teammate: Sure, the other Harbingers are no saints, but they at least show some degree of compassion and kindness. Dottore on the other hand basically has a doctorate in sadism, has brainwashed Sumeru City, turned Kunikuzushi into the bitter Scaramouche and emo Wanderer and has experimented on humans including actual children.
• Unknown Rival: At the end of the third Archon Quest interlude, Inversion of Genesis, Scaramouche, now the Wanderer, declares Dottore as his personal enemy. However, considering that Doc had his memories wiped of Scaramouche's existence like everyone else in the world of Teyvat, he would not be aware of the fact that someone is out for his blood in the first place or what he did to draw in his ire.
• Unperson: All mentions of his name in official records is erased in Sumeru. An achievement called "Before My Time," obtained after investigating the abandoned Eleazar treatment facility at Dar al-Shifa, said as such:
  "People don't want to mention his name, nor want to remember his words and deeds."
• Villain Respect:
  • In contrast to the Sages, who belittle and underestimate Nahida at every turn, Dottore takes her seriously from the very start, quickly sealing her ability to jump bodies via the Akasha once he is aware she is onto him. When they meet face to face at the end of Sumeru's Archon Quest, he's impressed that despite being the underdog in this situation, she is still able to come up with a way to threaten him into negotiating for the Gnoses. He also surmises that she forced him to destroy his other segments to obtain the Electro Gnosis because she was sure that he would gladly do so, allowing her to take a threat to Sumeru off the board in a single masterstroke.
  • The description of the "A Time of Insight" artifact shows him displaying an unusual amount of gratitude toward the Eremites, and classified documents in the desert note that he explicitly ordered his subordinates to avoid harming the desert folk in the World Quests.
  Dottore: But first, those dream spirits must be captured. Those sellswords once did much for me. I trust they will not disappoint this time, either.
• We Hardly Knew Ye: In the same cutscene that introduces the fact that Dottore has clones, he kills them all to get the Electro Gnosis from Nahida. The only one that we did know was his younger self shown in the webcomic.
• World's Smartest Man: He might be Teyvat's smartest man alive, as he sees his attempt to create a god as just another experiment, and successfully negotiates for Nahida's Gnosis by offering her knowledge that even the God of Wisdom does not have.
• Worthy Opponent: By the end of the Sumeru arc, he considers Nahida this. He's not at all upset about the Pyrrhic Victory required to retrieve the Electro and Dendro Gnoses, but instead happy that he got to match wits with the God of Wisdom.
• Would Hurt a Child: Several of his experiments have explicitly involved endangering or harming children, many of which were not even remembered as anything but a subject number. His research into Eleazar involved gathering children, one of which was Collei, and subjecting them to horrifying experiments that most did not survive. Likewise, he ordered his subordinates to kidnap and endanger children as a means to lure out the Aranara in hopes of capturing one of the elusive Nature Spirits. The plot of the webcomic is also kicked off by his efforts to obtain more children for his experiments, under the pretense of recruiting for the Fatui.

No. 3 - Columbina

Columbina, "Damselette"

Voiced by: Yang Menglu (Chinese), Lynn (Japanese), Yu Yeong (Korean), Emi Lo (English)

"I must say, you're looking very young today, Doctor."

The 3rd of the Eleven Harbingers, a mysterious girl dressed in white.

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• Ambiguous Innocence: This is apparently what makes her extremely dangerous. The Wanderer/Scaramouche describes her as oblivious and innocent at any given time, yet unconcerned and unfeeling at the same time; he even warns the Traveler that someone with a conscience like theirs wouldn't even be able to bring themselves to fight her. Even Childe doesn't like the idea of fighting her and tells the Traveler to be careful around her.
• Animal Motifs: Doves. Her title has the literal meaning of "little dove" in Italian and her headpiece has several winged feathers in it.
• Cloudcuckoolander: At least from how Scaramouche/Wanderer described her as being oblivious, and Arlecchino saying that she'd give "interesting" answers when asked (if she gives an answer at all), Columbina seems to be one.
• Diegetic Switch: She's the one singing the Fatui theme In-Universe at the start of in the "A Winter Night's Lazzo" trailer.
• Dissonant Serenity: In her first on-screen appearance, she is seen singing a beautiful tune with a serene smile on her face, while resting against La Signora's coffin. Both Tartaglia and the Wanderer even warned the Traveler off about her because of this very trope.
• Eerie Pale-Skinned Brunette: Her pale skin contrasts with her dark hair, adding to both her look of benevolence and the feel of discomfort around her.
• Eyes Always Shut: In "A Winter Night's Lazzo", her eyes never opened once underneath her slotted blindfold-esque accessory. Even during the scene where the Harbingers (including herself) are standing up around La Signora's coffin, she still doesn't open her eyes. The lack of explanation for this only makes her more off-putting.
• Face of an Angel, Mind of a Demon: She has an angelic appearance, but something about her seems "off" and even unnerves her fellow Harbingers. Both Tartaglia and the Wanderer offer the Traveler vague warnings that she's extremely dangerous, in spite of her innocent appearance and manner.
• Feather Motif: In a nod to her title meaning "little dove", she wears a hair ornament with white wings in the "A Winter Night's Lazzo" trailer.
• Horrifying the Horror: What little is known about her is that even her fellow Harbingers are wary of dealing with her. Tartaglia will eagerly take on monsters from the Abyss, but for a reason he can't even place, something about Columbina bothers him.
• Mysterious Waif: She has an innocent and childlike appearance, with even other Harbingers not knowing much about her. That she's ranked 3rd suggests she's far more than her appearance would suggest.
• Nothing Is Scarier: Columbina is the Harbinger with the least amount of information known about her. She wasn't even mentioned before A Winter Night's Lazzo, and her colleagues' voicelines about her don't give much further information. This serves to make her more mysterious and therefore more unnerving.
• Older Than She Looks: While her appearance makes her look younger than even Childe, the latter's profile makes it clear that he is the youngest of the group. His voiceline about her also indicates he doesn't know why she's third, suggesting she was already established in the Fatui when he was recruited.
• Passive-Aggressive Kombat: Her only contribution to the Harbingers' gathering is giving Dottore a back-handed compliment about his "youth", knowing full well that this will annoy him.
• Rank Scales with Asskicking: Implied to be the case, given that Tartaglia questions her placement but advises caution regardless when facing her. Kusanali herself states that as one of the top three of the Harbingers she possesses godlike powers.
  Tartaglia: The Fatui Harbingers are ranked by strength, and I have no idea why that girl is No. 3. I'd test my skills with every Harbinger who ranks above me if I had the chance, but when it comes to her... something just doesn't feel right. Anyway, you should be careful around her.
• Soft-Spoken Sadist: Despite her unthreatening appearance and voice, she compliments Dottore about a topic she knows will irritate him, and is implied to be so dangerous that even Childe of all people wants nothing to do with her.
• Virgin in a White Dress: The "Maiden" of the Harbingers dresses in all white, giving her an innocent appearance that contrasts sharply with her authority within the organization.

No. 4 - Arlecchino

Arlecchino, "The Knave" / Peruere Snezhevna / "Father"

Introduced: April 24, 2024 (v4.6 "Two Worlds Aflame, the Crimson Night Fades" [first half])
Voiced by: Huang Ying (Chinese), Nanako Mori (Japanese), Lee Myung-hee (Korean), Erin Yvette (English)

Dire Balemoon

^{Click here to see her undercover (Spoilers!)}

^{Click here to see her as Cinder of Two Worlds' Flames}

^{Click here to see her as a teenager}

^{Click here to see her as a child}

"No one has the power to choose where they come from, but we all have the right to fight for the life we want. In this sense, the world is both unfair and just in equal measure. I don't take in children out of a desire for recompense. In fact, should they so wish, the children are free to leave and pursue a life outside my organization... so long as they're willing to pay the price."

Rarity: 5★
Element: Pyro
Weapon: Polearm
Constellation: Ignis Purgatorius, the Cleansing Flame

The 4th of the Eleven Harbingers and the owner of the House of the Hearth, an orphanage that raises children to become Fatui agents. Originally an orphan of the very Orphanage she now runs, she deposed and killed the previous Knave before taking over the House, working to stamp out her predecessors influence from its halls. First encountered in Fontaine, she and her organisation make their own attempts at saving the country from the Prophecy, leading to her uncovering secrets that she bestows on the Traveler to help their efforts.

Arlecchino burns away all who stand in her path through the "Masque of the Red Death" state she enters upon receiving a Bond of Life, which boosts the damage of her Normal Attacks and grants her a Pyro infusion until cleared. Her Skill, All is Ash, has her summon flaming spikes that inflicts enemies with a "Blood-Debt Directive", which will periodically deal damage to them. Arlecchino can absorb a "Blood-Debt Directive" to grant herself a Bond of Life, either through a Charged Attack or her Burst, Balemoon Rising, where she conjures the image of crimson moon before snapping her fingers to create a explosion of flaming spikes that clears her current Bond of Life and restores her HP based on the amount cleared^note  when fully upgraded, Arlecchino grants herself a new Bond of Life after defeating an enemy with a "Blood-Debt Directive", and a "Blood-Debt Directive" will upgrade to a "Blood-Debt Due" after five seconds, granting her a larger Bond of Life when absorbed; Arlecchino gains 1% All Elemental RES and Physical RES for every 100 attack she has over 1000, up to 20%; the damage boost from Masque of the Red Death is increased and she's granted increased Interruption Resistance while performing Normal or Charged Attacks; "Blood-Debt Directives" becomes "Blood-Debt Dues" upon application, absorbing which will cause AoE Pyro Damage and grant an additional damage reduction; absorbing a "Blood-Debt Directive" will restore Energy and decrease the cooldown for Balemoon Rising; and Balemoon Rising gains a damage increase based on Arlecchino's current Bond of Life, and both it and her Normal Attacks will gain a boost to their Crit Rate and Crit Damage after All is Ash is used.

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• Action Mom: She is "Father" of the House of the Hearth, and as The Spymaster of the Fatui is scarily proficient in the sword and scythe, has Pyro abilities and still occasionally goes on solo assassination missions, not to mention her One-Winged Angel form. Her high ranking as the 4th is an indicator of just how threatening she is.
• Affectionate Nickname: Her childhood friend and "sister" Clervie calls her "Perrie".
• Adopting the Abused: Arlecchino has personally rescued children from Human Traffickers and exploitative foster parents, who then go on to become part of the House of Hearth. While they did not become completely carefree as a result, Lynette's story confirms that their adoption has given them the safe environment that they wanted, and she is quite content where they currently are. However, it's worth noting that when considering what Scaramouche and Tartaglia have to say about her (one of the two calling her a Control Freak), this might suggest Arlecchino's motivations are much more on the sinister side. The latter point is proven false with her Story Quest, where Arlecchino's care for her adoptive children is entirely sincere, with the claims of her sinister motives being little more than rumors she allowed to spread to maintain her image.
  (Arlecchino's) voice was cruel ice, and yet it had a spellbinding, comforting power also. Lynette lifted her eyes, and there she saw the person she would in later days call "Father."
  
  "Father" kneaded Lynette's ears. That touch was not gentle. Indeed, they were as cold as the moon's light. And like that light, it illuminated a corner of the darkness.
  
  "When a cat's ears are folded backward, that often indicates fear or vigilance, and if they stand up and point forward, that usually indicates a good mood..."
  
  Whenever Lyney tells new members of Hotel Bouffes d'ete about the habits of ordinary cats, he will often steal a glance at his younger sister nearby. Lynette's ears are straight, they face the front, and they occasionally flutter outward.
  
  It has been a long time since she last folded them back.
• Affably Evil: Arlecchino is a ranked member of the Fatui, oversees the House of the Hearth and can be very threatening whenever she wants to, but her politeness and warmth are so far shown to be sincere, contrasting the differing opinions from her colleagues, such as Childe and Scaramouche/the Wanderer.
  • Many of the children she has taken care of (some of which are Fatui soldiers), though tending to describe her as dangerous, it's clear they have a lot of respect (and sometimes even love) for her.
  • When meeting and talking to the Traveler, she seems to be genuinely polite and amicable with them, and even proposed an opportunity for the two to work alongside each other in the foreseeable future, which they did in finding a way to stop the Prophecy.
  • Even in her playable voice-overs, she acknowledges that her partnership with the Traveler will be a rocky one and their ideals aren't aligned, but still hopes that said partnership can be productive.
• Ambiguously Evil: A running theme with her.
  • She's the overseer of the House of the Hearth. There's some obvious sinister undertones of her practice of Adopting the Abused and turning them into Fatui agents. On the other hand, interactions with members of the House show that she treats them well and they hold her in high regard. Her affection could still be mere Pragmatic Villainy, but if so she's quite dedicated to the act, though Lyney also claims under Wriothesley's interrogation that she is "too important" that even with the well-being of her children on the line, "it wouldn't be fitting" for her personally meet him in the Fortress to negotiate their release.
  • She's a Fatui Harbinger, with all that implies, but actually does act like a diplomat who negotiates with the Fontaine authorities rather than her colleagues' tendency to use the position simply to have diplomatic immunity to hide behind. In particular, she gives every indication of actually wanting to improve relations between Fontaine and Snezhnaya. She's also not terribly concerned about the fate of other Fatui, happily leaving Tartaglia to be thrown to the wolves, which could be a hint at a deeper callousness, a personal animosity between them, or even a case of Even Evil Has Standards regarding his own villainous actions.
  • Like the other Harbingers, she's after the Gnosis. However, even putting aside the fact that the Fatui's intentions for the secured Gnoses remains unclear, Arlecchino seeks the Hydro Gnosis so she can use it to save Fontaine from the prophesied flood before she delivers it to the Tsaritsa. She attacks Furina and is willing to kill her to claim the Gnosis, but upon seeing Furina doesn't have it and how helpless she is, Arlecchino lets her go unharmed.
  • Her stated motivations during Act IV is to protect her homeland of Fontaine from disaster. Her role throughout the Act is mainly antagonistic to the Fontaine authorities, particularly Furina, but that is seemingly motivated by her frustration that the Archon Fontaine's citizens are supposed to rely on seems wholly incapable of protecting them.
  • Her Fatui comrades Tartaglia and Scaramouche describe her as deceptive, unstable, and treacherous. However, not only do they both match the descriptions they gave Arlecchino^note In the Labyrinth Warriors event, Tartaglia outright says he doesn't care for allegiances and disregards concepts of duty and right and wrong for the sake of his lust for battle; Scaramouche introduced himself to the Traveler as a friendly and helpful young man, but after the Traveler was teleported away by Mona, he openly lamented the fact that he missed his chance to kill them and harshly berated one of his subordinates when they suggested something other than what he had ordered, and has shown his own bouts of instability., but when met in person she acts as a calm and fairly reasonable person who ends up being entirely honest about her benevolent intentions of protecting the people of Fontaine. The Traveler even ends Act IV on good terms with her and simply lets her take the Hydro Gnosis after learning Neuvillette offered it to her. Arlecchino herself adds to the ambiguity by saying that her role requires her to have many masks and she wears whichever one she needs, suggesting she'll become whatever type of person she needs to be depending on the objective.
  • Following from the previous point, it should be noted that both Childe and Scaramouche/Wanderer (potential Psychological Projection aside) have reasons to possess biased assumptions against Arlecchino. Tartaglia, for all his Blood Knight behavior, is a Cool Big Bro who Wouldn't Hurt a Child and strongly believes in protecting the innocence of children, since his own was taken away too short, so he would reasonably have reservations with Arlecchino's role in training children to be Fatui agents. While the Wanderer is not only prone to assuming the worst about others, but now heavily resents the Fatui and its Harbingers after the revelation of Dottore's manipulation of him, not helped by the hints that he's also much gentler and kinder to children.
  • Lastly, much like Childe and the Wanderer, she's a playable character. While it does not disqualify her from having a darker side, if she is not at least morally upstanding enough that the Traveler could consider her a friend, she'd be the first.
• Ambiguously Human: "The Song Burning In The Embers" animated short has "Mother" describe her condition as a curse, and she grew up like a human, but her blackened hands are similar to those of a Hilichurl in human form who described his appearance as a result of an "illness", she occasionally glitches as if she doesn't quite fit with the laws of Teyvat, and there's also the mystery behind her One-Winged Angel form, which may be connected to a Khaenri’ahn orphanage that was established to raise children from "outside this world". It's later revealed that she actually isn't originally from Fontaine, but actually from Khaenri'ah, and has a connection to the Crimson moon Dynasty of the kingdom.
• Ambiguously Related:
  • The book Perinheri, added to the game in the version before Arlecchino's release, speaks of a legend from Khaenri’ah about how the mysterious underground nation established an orphanage to take care of children from "outside this world" (possibly refering to Outlanders or even Descenders). A child from this orphanage was asked to crawl through a passage described like a horizontal hearth and went through a rite where he "traversed the fire of two worlds within the hearth, and...(was) reborn." The lore of Arlecchino's Best in Slot polearm, the Crimson Moon's Semblance, mentions that it was "a ritual object that could bridge two worlds" and the title of her second boss phase is "Cinder of Two World's Flames". It later turns out that she was originally born in Khaenri'ah and is connected to the Crimson moon Dynasty of the kingdom.
• Ambiguous Situation: "The Song Burning In The Embers" shows that Scaramouche was present at her Harbinger appointment ceremony. Nothing would be out of the ordinary if the animated short is simply a brief summary of Peruere's Dark and Troubled Past from a outside perspective, but if it's actually a Troubled Backstory Flashback then she shouldn't have remembered him at all since he had Ret-Gone-d himself. Coupled with other hints suggesting connections to Outlanders/Descenders, it could be another Foreshadowing of her true nature of being something not native to Teyvat. Making things even more confusing is that she doesn't have any voiceline about Scaramouche at all, even before Inversion of Genesis.
• …And That Little Girl Was Me: During her Story Quest, Arlecchino expounds on the backstory of Clervie and her best friend Peruere, not revealing to the Traveler and Paimon until the very end that Peruere was Arlecchino herself as a child (although the accompanying pictures depicting Peruere make it very clear that this is the case).
• Anger Born of Worry: Lyney's story reveals Arlecchino became uncharacteristically furious when he requested a Delusion, reminding him what Lynette would think of him throwing his life away so recklessly. She denied his request and instead challenged him to overcome his weakness on his own.
• Animal Motifs: Continuing the theme of Harbingers having motifs, her own motif is spiders. She manages a web of intelligence and workers, strikes with deadly precision when needed and has a powered up form that gives her a total of 8 legs and allows her to walk on strings. Reflecting the sedentary nature of spiders, she has a great connection with her (adopted) homeland of Fontaine and is both met and fought by the Traveler within the nation. As a child, she had a pet spider, for which she ran a funeral when it died, and moments before she killed Crucabena, she kicks her into a ceiling with a webbed pattern, invoking an insect getting stuck in a spider's web.
• Armor-Piercing Question: In Lyney's Vision Story, he initially went to Arlecchino to request a Delusion so that he'd be allowed to go on missions with Lynette, who already had her Vision at the time. Arlecchino's response was to simply, but sternly, ask him "And would Lynette want you to do this?", causing it to hit Lyney that Lynette would never approve of him risking his life like that.
• Ax-Crazy: Subverted. She's described as not having "a sane bone in her body" by Childe of all people, and Scaramouche claimed those who see her crazy side "have gone poof", which doesn't bode well. But when met in person, she acts rather calm and collected at all times. Even moments where she's clearly angry have her expressing more of a vicious coldness than any sort of violent fury, while she only seems to truly act with brutality when dealing with those in positions of power that harm children. When questioned about her reputation, she avoids clearing anything up and instead points out how being seen that way has potential advantages.
• "Back to Camera" Pose: Her body is turned away from the viewer in her splash art, showing off the Pyro vision on her back and her, slim, long and low ponytail.
• Badass Fingersnap: Arlecchino concludes her scene in Overture with one of these, smirking at the audience just before the screen goes black. She also does one as part of her Elemental Burst.
• Benevolent Boss: While her position as the "Father" of the House of the Hearth has some negative implications ala The Fagin, she values her operatives and is described as a significant improvement from the previous overseer. She praises and cares of the House's children such that they consider her a true Parental Substitute and she reciprocates, treating the House as a Found Family. It's telling that one of the few times she speaks negatively of one of her agents is to criticize his tendency to struggle alone rather than ask her for help when it is very clear that the scope of the mission he is given is now beyond what was initially estimated.
• Berserk Button:
  • Judging by what she said to Pantalone and Pulcinella, it's implied to be sheltered aristocrats or anyone who knows nothing about the hardships outside the safety of their homes or sit back and do nothing about said hardships. Her "The Reason You Suck" Speech to Furina regarding her seemingly doing nothing about the prophecy of Fontaine's destruction further supports this.
  • Lyney refers to a rare moment of seeing "Father" angry when he asked for a Delusion and she proceeded to bluntly deny him and reprimand him for seeking Power at a Price.
• Given her abusive upbringing under the tenure of the previous Knave, she has absolutely no patience with people who mistreat children. And if someone was stupid enough to try and harm one of her wards, God knows what she'd do.
• Bifauxnen: Arlecchino dresses in a very androgynous way, which ties into her work as an orphanage director/spymaster and in the Commedia dell'Arte, Arlecchino is often played by a man. Instead of wearing a dress the way her colleagues Signora and Sandrone do, Arlecchino wears a pantsuit and her hairstyle appears to be a short pixie haircut in front, although her side view shows her with long hair tied back in a ponytail and she wears stilettos. Her transformed state is much more feminine, with exposed cleavage and much larger stilettos.
• Bitch in Sheep's Clothing: The Wanderer explicitly describes her as a "wolf in sheep's clothing", warning that she conceals her true nature behind the mask of a cordial, graceful woman. In her appearance in Overture, she compares herself to an actor on the stage, captivating her audience. While she can be quite polite, supplementary material like The Song Burning in the Embers and her web event do show how vicious she can be when she truly wants someone dead and nothing is actively stopping her, suggesting both were recalling her from moments like that.
• Black Eyes of Crazy: Has black irises, and is apparently Ax-Crazy enough that Childe is wary of her.
• Boyish Short Hair: From the front, her hair appears to be chopped into a layered bob. It's only from the back, when she's not wearing a heavier coat, that a slim ponytail can be seen. Flashbacks reveal that she used to have short neck-length hair until she grew it out in the present.
• Breaking Old Trends:
  • In contrast to her fellow Harbingers, Arlecchino's role in Chapter IV is quite different. Her actions throughout serve to help the nation of Fontaine instead of sowing chaos, making her an unexpected ally to the Traveler while their goals align. She readily offers bits of "gossip" and intelligence to the Traveler, and forges an alliance with Navia to provide humanitarian aid during the crisis. Her subordinates are important allies to the Traveler throughout the storyline, and her Fatui operatives are shown assisting in the rescue efforts at the conclusion of the story. Her methods are also less violent, and she obtains the Gnosis through diplomacy while never coming into conflict with anyone else. Whether she will remain an Enemy Mine or not has yet to be seen, but at the conclusion of Fontaine's story, she departs on good terms with the Traveler.
  • Tartaglia and the Wanderer debuted as playable characters during the release of an Archon Quest's finale, or the update afterward. Arlecchino only became playable after a couple updates have passed since the conclusion of Fontaine's Archon Quests.
  • Arlecchino is the first playable Harbinger who wasn't fought prior to her becoming playable, though she becomes a weekly boss after completing her story quest in 4.6, making her the first Harbinger weekly boss to be a secondary weekly boss rather than the one unlocked in the Archon Quests.
  • On the topic above, for the first time since Razor's story quest, Arlecchino is the first weekly boss to be unlocked from a non-Archon's story quest.
  • She's also the first playable 5★ character whose signature 5★ weapon changes when equipped by its intended wielder; in her case, when wielding Crimson Moon's Semblance (a 5★ polearm that is both released alongside her and tailored for her playstyle), it develops a scythe blade.
• Breaking the Cycle of Bad Parenting: After becoming the new Knave, Arlecchino sought to be the antithesis of her predecessor Crucabena, who was quite cruel to her orphans. While her parental relationship with her children is still far from ideal as she still raises them as agents for the Fatui, she nevertheless managed to give them security, purpose, and the freedom to pursue their own paths in life outside of their duties to the House.
• Chronic Backstabbing Disorder: Subverted. Childe describes her as a woman that cannot be trusted, likely to betray even the Tsaritsa if she could benefit from it. However, during the Fontaine Archon Quest, she is shown to preach loyalty to her "family" in the House of the Hearth, resulting in her subordinates being tightly-knit and valuing each other over all else. These turn out to be rumors spread by the Harbingers based on how she killed the original Knave, which they viewed as betraying the House of the Hearth along with killing other members of the House; this is ignoring the fact that she was forced to kill her friends by "Mother" to be made her successor, and later killed her in self-defense and justified vengeance. The main reason she allows these rumors to continue rather than let them know the truth is because she considers being seen as a backstabber to be potentially useful. Tartaglia's opinion also isn't incorrect per se, as her voice lines make clear that while she appreciates the Tsaritsa as much as any other Fatuus, if their goals were to ever differ she wouldn't hesitate to turn against her.
• Chronic Self-Deprecation: Something that attributes to her overall bad reputation is that Arlecchino always chooses to explain things in a way that makes her look like a much worse person than she really is. She didn't end a corrupt system, she betrayed and killed her family. She didn't allow people to leave the House after wiping their memories, she executed the person they used to be. She wasn't a young child who didn't understand her situation, she was a cold and unfeeling monster who ignored her best friend's suffering.
• Combat Stilettos: She wears ornate, blade-like high heels. In her Character Teaser, she uses them to kill a man after placing her foot on his head.
• The Comically Serious: Arlechinno is one of the most serious no-nonsense characters introduced which sometimes becomes comical in her interactions with not so serious children. Her voice line about things she is worried about runs on this as of all things the master spy of the Fatui is worried about it is that she doesn't understand the slang terms the children use.
• Company Cross References: Arlecchino has quite a bit in common with Raven from sister game Honkai Impact 3rd, with similar design elements, fire elemental abilities, and a role in running an orphanage while serving as a commanding officer of a criminal organization. Both also serve as the main antagonist for a chapter set in a high-tech city, Fontaine and Arc City, respectively. Whether she follows the trends of her counterpart or not, is still unknown. Her outfit when attacking Furina is also remarkedly similar to Raven's design, including dark clothes, a black hood, a mask and a red cape that resembles wings. The difference is that Arlecchino ends up not being the main antagonist of the Fontaine Archon Quest with the role instead going to the All-Devouring Narwhal. This is resemblance continues with the debut of her weekly boss form in version 4.6, where she gains similar platform Combat Stilettos and crimson, burning "wings" that can fire projectiles to attack from a distance.
• Connected All Along: The Teyvat Chapter Storyline Preview: Travail characters for Fontaine, Lyney and Lynette, are in fact her subordinates from the House of the Hearth. In particular, Lyney shares a close relationship with the Knave, and is being prepared to eventually inherit her position as "Father" of the House of the Hearth.
• Contralto of Strength: She speaks in a lower range than the other female Harbingers, and has an extremely dangerous reputation among her peers. Tartaglia warns of her supreme self-interest, while the Wanderer outright claims that she is a madwoman with a history of killing those that witness her true nature. While these turn out to be rumors that she let spread to add to her intimidating image, she thus comes across as far more physically threatening than Signora, Sandrone or Columbina. She's also the second-highest ranked female Harbinger, directly below Columbina who is said to have power equal to an Archon.
• Control Freak: Zig-zagged. The Wanderer describes her as having a desire to control others, which goes hand-in-hand with her being the director of an orphanage. However, her Character Story reveals that while she expects her "children" to follow her rigid rules, she also respects their desire to pursue different goals and life choices given how Lyney, Lynette, and Freminet have their own lives outside their operations, and she even erases all the memories of those who no longer want to stay in the House of Hearth, but also want a fresh start. The fact that her best friend wanted freedom above all else, only to tragically get it with her own death thanks to the cruel and unreasonable policies set by the previous Knave, might have something to do with it.
• Cosmic Motifs: Her title is "Dire Balemoon", one of her combat lines is "As everlasting as the moon!" and the name of her signature polearm is "Crimson Moon's Semblance".
• Cowardice Callout:
  • In the "A Winter Night's Lazzo" trailer, her words to Pulcinella and Pantalone, she says that they could never understand what it was like for Signora to die in a foreign land since they always have excuses to remain in the safety of their homelands.
    "Rosalyne died in a foreign land... but you heartless businessmen and dignitaries always with a convenient excuse to remain in the comfort of your homeland... you couldn't hope to understand. So why don't you keep your mouths shut? We don't want to make the children cry..."
  • She accuses Furina of living in luxury while doing nothing about Fontaine's prophecy and the Primordial Sea, while Fontaine's people work hard in order to solve that problem. Given that Arlecchino threatened Furina's life one night while in disguise, she's spot on about her being a coward.
• Creepy Child: Peruere was a quiet loner at the House of the Hearth, carried a curse and had an unsettling appearance due to her Empty Eyes with red X signs instead of pupils. She also had a pet spider for which she performed a funeral.
• Creepy Shadowed Undereyes: While not apparent in her depictions in 2D media, her character model shows she has bags under her eyes, further adding to her sinister demeanor.
• Cruel to Be Kind: Her policy on dealing with traitors or those who want to leave the House of the Hearth. In a rare event of her cooperating with Dottore, she developed "bottled flames", a form of potion that causes the recipient immense pain before erasing any memories they have as children of the House of the Hearth, allowing them to leave with no strings attached to live normal lives. She herself views it as no different from executing them.
• Curb-Stomp Battle:
  • Her victory over the previous Knave was utterly one-sided in her favor, keeping Crucabena on the back foot throughout their duel despite being a teenager at the time. Her "Mother" only managed to land one solid counter, at which point Peruere abandoned any pretense of a fair fight, effortlessly dodging the remainder of her attacks, catching her sword in her bare hand, and finishing her in two brutal blows.
  • The fight against her in her Story Quest is similarly one-sided despite fighting four people, one being the Traveler and another her intended successor. Despite their best efforts, the four are unable to lay even a scratch on her even when Lyney resorts to using his magic for a sneak attack, which she foils with ease before trapping all of them. And even when the Traveler breaks free and attempts to get between her and the traitors she intends to dispose of, she simply stares at them and hits them with nothing but her own Killing Intent, causing them to freeze up and back down without realizing.
• Curse: Her blackened arms are said by "Mother" to be the result of one. In early childhood, the curse appeared to fluctuate based on her emotions as it visibly spread to her knuckles while she was holding her spider's funeral, but it receded to the tips of her fingers after spending time with Clervie. When she fought "Mother", the curse spread towards her elbow as she looked at the wilted Lumindoce Bells that represented Clervie, and presently it has been contained and stabilised in her forearms.
• Dark and Troubled Past: Before becoming the Knave, she was Peruere, one of the children who grew up in the House of the Hearth, under a woman they called "Mother". Said "Mother" raised them to compete against one another and kill each other to become the "King". Throughout her time there, Peruere grew close to one of her adoptive sisters named Clervie and made a promise to watch the aurora together, until Peruere was tragically forced to kill her as part of "Mother's" twisted game, with her being the sole child left standing. Peruere confronted "Mother" and killed her out of sheer rage, and afterwards she was pardoned by the Tsaritsa and given the title of Arlecchino, The Knave.
• Death of Personality: How she "disposes" of traitors or those who want nothing to do with The House of the Hearth anymore. In her Character Story, it's revealed that she let her "disobeying children" drink a special potion made of her cursed flames, that has the ability to erase all the memories related to their involvement with the Fatui, so they could start a life anew.
• The Dog Bites Back: Arlecchino is a former child of the House of the Hearth that seized the title of Knave from her predecessor. What little is known about the former Knave is that she was a cruel woman known for inflicting all manner of abuse on the children, teaching them to fear her and view themselves as meaningless tools for the Fatui.
• Dramatic Irony: Even though her concern regarding Fontaine's prophecy was genuine, the actions she took to try and save Fontaine her way may have been useless at some point or even detrimental to her intended goal:
  • While it's ambiguous if Arlecchino was truly planning on using the Hydro Gnosis to defy destiny, it wouldn't have worked. Focalors' plan to do so was reliant on using a double as a scapegoat to offload the Archon's punishment onto someone else, giving the Hydro Gnosis to the reincarnated Hydro Dragon so he can use the full authority of one of the Seven Sovereigns to transform the people of Fontaine into "true" humans and purging them of the original sin so that they won't get dissolved by the Primordial Sea when it comes up to submerge Fontaine, and sentencing herself to the death penalty. Defying fate with the power of the Hydro Gnosis alone is impossible. While it's unclear if Arlecchino herself was ignorant to this given the Fatui's wealth of forbidden knowledge, her subordinates were blissfully unaware of the fact that Arlecchino's goal was impossible to achieve.
  • Arlecchino suspecting Furina isn't the Hydro Archon could have heavily risked the prophecy being triggered, ruining Focalors plan to save the nation and dooming every citizen of Fontaine.
• Dramatic High Perching: During the transition in her boss fight, she acrobatically scales her spider web strings until she reached a sufficient height to explosively unleash her seraph form before looking down on the duel ring below. It appropriately heightens the sense of threat and also gives her offensive advantage of attacking from above.
• Due to the Dead: In her animated short, she is first seen burying her pet spider that had just died. Years later, after being forced to kill her friend Clervie, she buries her with her sword serving as a makeshift grave marker.
• Dull Eyes of Unhappiness: Her eyes are fully black without any shine to them, just like Caterpillar, save for a pair of red Xs that symbolize death. This could hint at her being some kind of undead Narzissenkreuz Ordo experiment.
• Early-Bird Cameo: She is first mentioned in The Very Special Fortune Slip quest series, which was added in the version 2.4 update, long before she makes her first physical appearance in "A Winter Night's Lazzo".
• Enemy Mine:
  • She states that she's open to working with the Traveler to stop the Fontaine prophecy, seeing them as reliable and grateful that they helped her children in the past.
  • Much like with Childe, this can also be a product of pulling for her in her banner. She lampshades this during her introductory voice-over as well.
• Even Evil Has Loved Ones: Though her fellow Harbingers speak of her as insane and dangerous, those under her care claim that she values loyalty and cares deeply for her wards and her homeland.
• Even Evil Has Standards: For someone described as being Ax-Crazy with a Chronic Backstabbing Disorder, Arlecchino has several virtues of her own, not to mention much of her image is comprised of rumors she pragmatically let spread to keep her image up.
  • She detests the work of people like Pulcinella and Pantalone, calling them heartless. While being the current overseer of the House of Hearth makes her The Fagin, and thus not much better than them, she's not wrong about them either.
  • Chapter IV Act I features the revelation that she killed a Fontanian aristocrat who was either a pedophile or a human trafficker, and rescued the girls he'd captured.
  • When Arlecchino found out that the previous director lied to Freminet about his mother, claiming that she sold him off to pay her debts when she actually gave him away to protect him, she was outraged and immediately informed him of the truth.
  • In Lyney's character story, when he asked to obtain a Delusion to overcome his weakness at the time, Arlecchino genuinely became angry at him for attempting to throw away his life force for more power, while reminding him what Lynette would think of his actions, and she told Lyney to find a way to overcome his weakness himself.
  • If the Phantom of the Night web event is of any indication, her hatred of the greedy goes beyond simply the rich exploiting others to even the money-grubbing actions of the Treasure Hoarders, as she kills a pair of them for trying to rob the mansion owned by the man she herself killed that same night.
    Arlecchino: Avarice is a deadly vice… Even sheer indifference is preferable to greed. Good night, gentlemen.
  • She utterly despises Dottore as shown in her voiceline about him, talking about how he and Crucabena, the previous Knave, approved of each other's methods, with Crucabena often sending him "rejects" to use for his twisted experiments. Arlecchino outright admits that if it wasn't for him being one of her fellow Harbingers, she would kill him on the spot.
• Exact Words:
  • During Arlecchino's first official meeting with Neuvillette and Furina as a diplomat, in a show of polite political maneuvering, she tells Neuvillette that she "respect(s) all the rules of Fontaine's courts, just as (she) respect(s) (him) as Chief Justice," which is very rich considering that not only she is the Director of the House of Hearth, she is sitting right beside Furina who is too terrified to admit she personally assaulted her a short while ago.
  • In her story quest, she strikes a deal with the Traveler where their side of the agreement is to, when the time is right, aid the House of the Hearth according to their own judgement. As the Traveler later reflects on, Arlecchino clearly intended all along for the right time to be when Lyney and the others faced her in a duel and the "aid" the Traveler provides is helping them fight against Arlecchino.
  • One of her rules is that traitors and those who no longer want to stay in the House of The Heart must be killed, and she makes a good promise of it. What she “forgot” to mention is how they are disposed of. She just let them drink a special potion made from her cursed flames that would erase all their memories, effectively “killing” their identity as Fatui, and coming out as new people. For her, because of their similar outcomes, a Death of Personality is no different than a real assassination.
• Exotic Eye Designs: Her eyes have black irises with red X-shaped patterns in them rather than the standard iris and pupil designs of most other characters. This is likely due to her true heritage from Khaenri'ah. Unlike the people from the Eclipse Dynasty who had Primogem crosses in their eyes, Arlecchino has red crosses which might be due to her ties to the Crimson moon Dynasty of the kingdom.
• The Fagin: She's the current overseer of the House of the Hearth, an orphanage that takes in orphans from all over Teyvat and, after they become adults, they are trained to become Fatui soldiers and sleeper agents in other nations. However, it's said that those "with potential" are the ones who are trained to become Fatui agents. Her wards are encouraged to form strong emotional bonds, viewing each other as siblings and her as a figure of both love and fear. The teachings of the House encourage them to enjoy their brief innocence as children, before embracing their duty to become the worst of the worst in the service of their "family" and motherland.
• Fallen Angel: She invokes the image of one. In her playable form, she has a single Pyro wing that enables her to float. When she transitions during the second phase of her boss fight, she first unfurls a complete pair of black and red hot wings before cocooning herself in them to unleash her true seraph form, with her wings having her signature cross pupil eyes. This is reflective of not only how Arlecchino, and the Harlequin character in general, in the Commedia Dell'arte, originated as the devil before being rewritten as a house servant, and also the fact she is of the blood of Khaenri'ah's Crimson Moon Dynasty.
• Fauxreigner: In the Fontaine Archon Quest, she claims to have been Fontainian born and raised, leading to her having a natural interest in stopping the Prophecy. However, she confesses in her Story Quest that she was only raised in Fontaine and never bothered to clarify it, thinking it would be a natural explanation to any and all of her motives at the time and that she was persevering for her Fontaine-native children. In-game observers will note that she does not have the same out-of-water jump that all Fontaine natives have, which could be a red flag to anyone who hasn't played her Story Quest yet. Her actual heritage is from Khaenri'ah, specifically the Crimson moon Dynasty of the kingdom.
• Femme Fatalons: Focus is given to the detail of her hands, with nails that are manicured to almost resemble claws. It adds to her menacing presence.
• Fiery Stoic: Like Diluc, she has a Pyro Vision, and she maintains a calm demeanor whenever she's on-screen.
• Foil: Furina and Arlecchino are both white-haired Bifauxnen women spymasters with Exotic Eye Designs from Fontaine who are known to put on acts to maintain control over others, which makes their differences all the most prominent:
  • In appearance, Arlecchino's minor red details in her design contrast with Furina's largely blue color palette. Additionally, Arlecchino uses the Tall Female model, while Furina uses the Medium Female one.
  • In terms of elemental abilities, they have a Fire/Water Juxtaposition.
  • In personality, Arlecchino maintains a calm and eerily intimidating demeanor, while Furina is dramatic but much more sociable (as long as one acknowledges her position).
  • Arlecchino is undoubtedly capable as the 4th Harbinger, with her numerical rank backing up her combat experience, and has numerous subordinates who are unwavering loyal to her (with at least three of them having their lives vastly improved under her care), while Furina has frequent trouble maintaining the impression of competence that she ought to have, causing her people to treat her and protect her as a mascot rather than an authoritative figure of reverence, and is powerless and combat inept until she gets a Vision of her own.
  • Arlecchino has devilish elements based on her design and title, and she has no qualms about taking lives, while Furina is a Messianic Archetype who has suffered to save Fontaine.
  • Both are cursed women, but Arlecchino's curse appears to be powers Cast from Lifespan and slowly corrupting her body, while Furina's curse extended her lifespan and made her painfully aware of the disadvantages of immortality.
• Four Is Death: Arlecchino is the 4th-ranked Harbinger, and has numerous elements linked to death. She wields a Sinister Scythe in battle and specializes in the double-edged "Lifebond" mechanic that interferes with healing during battle, even having a special mode named for Poe's "Masque of the Red Death."
• Friendly Enemy: As a Fatui Harbinger, she's supposed to be on the opposite side to the Traveler, yet during the Fontaine story arc she's never less than courteous and helpful. It helps that, for once, both sides share the same goal. This extends to her first Story Quest, where she understands that the Traveler & Paimon are only trying to help Lyney, Lynette and Freminet hide Clervie and doesn't consider punishing them.
• Gameplay and Story Segregation:
  • Though she's a Fatui Harbinger, all Fatui enemies in the overworld will attack her on sight like every other playable characters. This is especially noticeable with the Frost and Wind Operatives, Fatui soldiers that are supposed to be under her command, but will still treat her as an enemy in gameplay.
  • Story-wise, the Traveler, Freminet, Lyney, and Lynette end up losing their duel against Arlecchino, as she is much stronger than the four of them combined. However, as a weekly boss, you can bring these four to fight Arlecchino, and have them win against her with no issue.
• Gender Flip: While the Arlecchino character was male in the Commedia dell'Arte (as he is Columbina's lover in most of his appearances), this trope is partially justified by the fact that the role of the Arlecchino could also be played by actresses.
• Given Name Reveal: The "The Song Burning In The Embers" animated short is where her civilian name, Peruere, was first revealed.
• Glass Cannon: Arlecchino is capable of some serious damage output even with just her normal attacks through her Masque of the Red Death stance, but she cannot be healed by any means except through her Burst or a Statue of the Seven, limiting her methods of survivability quite a bit. This can be slightly mitigated with her second passive which increases her damage resistance based off of her ATK stat.
• Glowing Eyes of Doom: Her cross-shaped pupils glow whenever her Ultimate is used, and especially when unleashing her boss form.
• Hand of Glory: Her constellation takes the shape of a clawed hand holding up a flame, and she can manifest Pyro abilities through her blackened hands.
• Heads I Win, Tails You Lose: Even after dwindling her health down in her Story Quest boss fight, a cutscene triggers which has her beating the Traveler, Lyney, Lynette, and Freminet with ease.
• Heinousness Retcon: Played with, creating considerable ambiguity around her character.
  • The first mentions of the Knave involve mention of a power struggle within the House, which resulted in one of the children (so, her) overthrowing their superior. This vague timeline leaves it ambiguous which operatives work for her, as opposed to those (like the ones in Inazuma) continuing to carry out missions assigned by the previous Knave. Tartaglia warns that she's insane and loyal only to her own goals, while the highly-cynical Wanderer describes her as a "wolf in sheep's clothing" that gets rid of anyone that sees past her cordial mask. This contrasts with the experiences and opinions of her direct subordinates in Fontaine, as well as her interactions with the Traveler.
  • Some of this gets cleared up with the release of her Story Quest, A lot of the negative rumors are spread or at least encouraged by Arlecchino herself as she sees it beneficial that people don't know her real motives or thoughts. The rest comes from some of the other harbingers not liking her very much and calling her a traitor for what she did to the previous Knave, not bothering to mention the kind of person "Mother" was. There is also the fact that Arlecchino destroyed pretty much all records of Crucabena, so many rumors are based off the previous Knave are applied to the current.
• He Knows Too Much: According to the Wanderer, most of those who have seen her real, manic personality underneath her cordial façade haven't lived to tell the tale.
• Hypocrite Has a Point: She may be The Fagin, but her authority over her Fatui minions involves loyalty through kindness and love. So when she calls out Pulcinella and Pantalone, whose administrative lines of work pretty much gives them safety as they don't moving from their place and have the dirty work made by other people, no one with a brain will disagree with Arlecchino.
• I Control My Minions Through...: Loyalty, though not without a (mostly unintended) little hint of Fear.
  • Part of the kids' purpose in their Indoctrination is not only to help the Tsaritsa obtain all the Gnoses to overthrow Celestia, but to see the Knave as their foremost master (Respect) and see themselves as a necessary evil (Acceptance). However, Kindness and Love play clear factors in the equation; after Arlecchino took over control of the House and adopted other abused orphans, it's made clear she treats them well despite her cold exterior, and they're told to cherish their years as children before their inevitable mission growing up. Among the few ways to actually anger her, one of them involved Lyney asking for a Delusion, to which she denied because this meant putting his young life in danger. Though all this said and done, some of the children like Lyney still express discomfort over this form of growing up, with the young magician wishing of living a normal life.
  • Arlecchino's Story Quest revolves around her patiently waiting for one of her loyal children to gather a sufficiently large amount of indisputable evidence of the "betrayal" of those that wished to leave the House, while she gives a Somber Backstory Relevation to the Traveler and gets them to promise to help the House as they see fit. During the climax, the "traitors" are exposed publicly and the magician twins, Freminet and the Traveler fight against her in an attempt to convince her to spare their lives, which fails despite their best efforts... but then she reveals that the "traitors" can simply drink a memory-wiping potion made from her cursed flames to induce Laser-Guided Amnesia from their years in the orphanage and leave peacefully. In the first place, Arlecchino could have swiftly resolved the situation and cleared up the "misunderstanding" quietly and internally as seen with Horrer, but going through the complicated process enabled the Traveler to ascertain themselves that Arlecchino doesn't mistreat her charges and understand her (still questionable) methods, while Lyney's respect for her increased to the point that he sees her as the "hero" who managed to show kindness and mercy while sticking to the House's original Resignation Not Accepted principles.
• In the Hood: When ambushing Furina at night in order to extract the Gnosis from her, Arlecchino wears a hooded cloak and mask.
• Irony: Arlecchino is described as being willing to betray anyone if it benefits her, and is implied to have killed her predecessor to claim control over the House of the Hearth. But she preaches absolute loyalty to "family," and her subordinates are a close-knit group that value each other above all else.
• Internal Reformist: Arlecchino's wards describe her as someone that radically changed the House of the Hearth once she took over, abandoning the ideology of self-sacrifice and teaching her wards to value their own lives. Freminet describes the House changing from an abusive Orphanage of Fear under the previous "Mother" into something closer to an Orphanage of Love under Arlecchino's watch.
• Jerkass Façade: She drops hints that her intimidating personality is something of an act she finds useful to keep people on their toes around her. During her story quest she negotiates with Neuvillette for the 'traitorous' members of the House to be accepted into Fontaine even before dueling Lyney and the others supposedly for those members' lives.
• Just Like Robin Hood: In her Character Teaser, Arlecchino kills a Human Trafficker posing as a philanthropist and re-appropriates his wealth for funding for the House of the Hearth, which would be especially useful for the rearing of the children she just took in.
• Karma Houdini: During Fontaine's Archon Quest, while it was all done in the name of saving Fontaine, her House of the Hearth breaks into a number of Fontaine's secure facilities in search of the Hydro Gnosis, and she herself attempts assault on Furina before realizing she doesn't have it either. None of this is punished, and Neuvillette even hands the Gnosis to her, if only because he's now seen the lengths she'll go to in order to get it and wants no more trouble.
• Killing Intent: When the Traveler faces her down at the end of her boss fight, they see a vision of her and a crimson moon that leaves them crippled in fear, allowing Arlecchino to walk by them with ease.
• Klingon Promotion: She inherited the title of Arlecchino from her "Mother" after murdering her. Downplayed in that she did not expect to get the title; the Tsaritsa either decided to be merciful towards her or deemed her more useful alive than dead.
• Lady in a Power Suit: In comparison to the other female Harbingers, Arlecchino dresses in a sleek suit that gives her a more masculine appearance. Among the revealed Harbingers, she oversees the running of a major business for the organization but criticizes Pulcinella and Pantalone as cowards that remain safe in their administrative work.
• Lady of War: Arlecchino is one of the more physically-oriented female Harbingers, and fights with an air of grace in the midst of her brutality.
• Laser-Guided Amnesia: Arlecchino is capable of using her flames to inflict this on others through special means. She does this to several of her "children" in order to kick them out of the House of the Hearth for breaking the rules on betrayals so she doesn't have to actually kill them, instead "killing" their identities as Fatui agents by destroying their memories. She considers this to be a Cruel Mercy.
• Late-Arrival Spoiler: "The Song Burning In The Embers" makes it quite clear that she is the "Father" that Lyney, Lynette and Freminet are referring to.
• Lightning Bruiser: Her attack animations are very swift, and one of her passives grant her an additional 1% all Elemental and Physical RES for every 100 points of ATK that exceeds 1,000, and can obtain up to 20% RES this way, simultaneously improving her bulk along with her attacks hitting harder.
• Lost Orphaned Royalty: The Jester once identified her as a survivor of the Crimson Moon dynasty, an ancient bloodline that was said to have ruled Khaenri'ah during a legendary age.
• Mama Bear: Played with heavily. Arlecchino may seem cold and unfeeling on the surface, and many of her children are adopted, but the care she has for them is plain to see, though it doesn't absolve her from being The Fagin and sending her children on life-threatening missions.
  • When she talks with Furina during the Archon Quest, there is a noticeable sting in her voice as she talks about how Lyney was exposed to a great deal of Indemnitium.
  • Her Character Teaser has her personally kill a human trafficker posing as a philanthropist, after he mortally wounded one of her subordinates who was trying to rescue the trafficked child victims. She later goes to her grave to mourn quietly.
    Arlecchino: Sleep in peace, Snezhevna... my child...
  • When discussing Lyney's qualifications to replace her as the 'Father' of the House, she says that the most important point of all is that he's willing to die for the other members of the family.
• Mask of Sanity: Subverted. According to her comrades, her cordial behavior is apparently a mask she uses to control others more effectively, with her true self being completely insane. In reality, this is a rumor that she let spread along with other ones to boost her intimidating image.
• Master-Apprentice Chain: She is (at least) the second person to hold the Knave's title, having "inherited" it from the predecessor that oversaw her upbringing. And she has already chosen Lyney as her potential successor, with the intention of him taking over the House of the Hearth one day.
• Might Makes Right: Arlecchino firmly believes in this, declaring that only the strongest get to decide the rules, and this is particularly true in the House of the Hearth. That said, unlike how Crucabena forced her "children" to fight and kill each other until only the strongest remained, Arlecchino challenges and encourages her charges to become strong as a means to survive the brutal world they all live in.
• Mirror Character:
  • Wriothesley and Arlecchino are both Fontainians with a red and black color scheme who murdered their abusive and exploitative foster parents and took over leadership of their respective organizations, and are spearheading their own initiative to save Fontaine from The Prophecy (Wriothesley is overseeing the construction of an ark while Arlecchino attempted to steal Focalors' Gnosis). However, Arlecchino has a Pyro vision while Wriothesley is a Cryo vision holder, and while Wriothesley seems suspicious but is ultimately a morally upright character, Arlecchino has been implied by both Childe and Scaramouche to be completely insane behind her affable exterior. They also have subordinates (Lyney and Sigewinne) whose visions create a Fire/Water Juxtaposition.
  • Ningguang and Arlecchino are both crafty and scheming women of high authority who deal with espionage and illegal activity (Ningguang through having Beidou perform them for her) for the sake of their goals. Both have used certain happenings as a front to carry out an ulterior motive; Ningguang used the contest and celebration for a new Jade Chamber to lure out Beisht, while Arlecchino used Childe's disappearance to send her agents to investigate the Fortress of Meropide. Ningguang has spies all over Liyue with agents hidden everywhere and in her hangout quest, it's revealed that she even has children as her informants. She is openly deemed by the Traveler as untrustworthy, but by the end of the Liyue Archon Quest, she proves that she genuinely cares about the future of Liyue. In her hangout quest, she was furious when she learned that someone had lied to one of her child informants, specifically saying that one cannot deceive children. Arlecchino specializes in intelligence gathering and has her wards perform missions involving gathering intel. Arlecchino is regarded as a suspicious individual who the Traveler notes is not one for someone to let their guard down around, but she demonstrates that she genuinely cares about averting the prophecy of Fontaine to save the nation of her birth. Freminet's character story states that she was angry that the "Director" had lied to him about his mother as a child. However, Ningguang is the leader of her nation while Arlecchino is the servant of the Tsaritsa. Ningguang's spies are solely in Liyue, while Arlecchino can have sleeper agents placed all over Teyvat to await further orders.
  • Kamisato Ayato and Arlecchino are both polite, crafty, and scheming individuals who are the heads of organizations that raise orphans and have them perform missions related to espionage, intelligence gathering, and assassinations for the sake of their respective nations, and both inherited their positions from a predecessor. Ayato became the head of the Shuumatsuban from his father after his death, while Arlecchino became the head of the House of the Heath implicitly after killing the previous Knave. According to Ayato, the Shuumatsuban is a secret unit, while the House of the Hearth is more well known. Both of them have agents that are playable characters (Sayu for Ayato; Lyney, Lynette, and Freminet for Arlecchino), but while Ayato's agent played a minor role in the Inazuma Archon Quest, Arlecchino's agents are prominent characters in the Fontaine Archon Quest.
  • She also shares similarities with Xianyun, as both are surrogate parents and serve directly under an Archon. While Xianyun is a good, Doting Parent to those she adopted (often leaning into My Beloved Smother), notably worrying for Ganyu's and Shenhe's well-being, Arlecchino assumed the leadership of the House of the Hearth to protect the children from the previous owner, and despite the orphans also being her subordinates, she genuinely cares about them. Xianyun is completely loyal to Rex Lapis, even after he decides to retire from his position, to the point she almost decides to destroy Liyue Harbor out of grief when she is informed of his supposed death. Arlecchino, on the other hand, serves the Tsaritsa out of convenience, and according to Tartaglia and Scaramouche, she wouldn’t hesitate to betray The Tsaritsa if it benefits her agenda, but at the same time, she looks to protect Fontaine from the prophecy while getting the Gnosis for her.
  • Arlecchino is the second female Harbinger after La Signora with Pyro abilities and a Super Mode boss form based on arthropods.
  • To Eula. Both are tall woman wearing black and white outfits, have roles in their respective organisations in intelligence gathering, and have negative reputations among others that lead to them only having a few close companions. Though whereas Eula's outfit shows off her curvaceous figure and she has blue as a secondary colour, Arlecchino dons a more conservative suit with red accents to give her a more Bifauxnen appearance. While Eula is the head of the Knight's Reconnaissance Company who surveys land and enemy camps, Arlecchino is The Spymaster. And while Eula has begrudgingly accepted her status as a pariah and that it'll likely follow her for a long while, Arlecchino actively encourages the negative rumours circulating about herself, as it adds to her feared reputation and is useful in hiding other information.
• Moveset Clone: Being a Pyro Polearm DPS who harms herself to deal Pyro damage with her Elemental Skill and heals back the self-inflicted damage with her Elemental Burst, it's difficult for one to look at Arlecchino's moveset and not immediately compare her with Hu Tao. Where they differ is how they gain their Pyro-infused damage, as Arlecchino utilizes the Bond of Life status condition that the Fatui Operatives employ, while Hu Tao loses a percentage of her HP.
• Mundane Utility: Arlecchino is shown to be among the more creative Pyro Vision holders in Teyvet, as shown in one of her idle animations where she seemingly uses it to conjure a chair to rest on.
• My Beloved Minions: Arlecchino's subordinates are mostly children that raised in the House of the Hearth, that all view her as their beloved "Father." This affection seems to be mutual, at least based on the actions she's taken over the years to protect and nurture her charges. Lynette recalls "Father" allowing vital intel to be damaged, instead focusing her attention on tending to the siblings' injuries. Likewise, Lyney was reprimanded for requesting a Delusion and encouraged to value his own life instead of throwing it away for the mission.
• My Eyes Are Up Here: Humorously inverted, as she advises the Traveler against eye contact with her. It turns out there's a reason for this - one look into her eyes gets the Traveler to witness the Crimson Bloodmoon behind her, something that, alongside her own Killing Intent, instantly terrifies them enough to pacify them into helplessness.
  "Staring into my eyes is ill-advised. I can't promise you'll like what you see..."
• Mysterious Past: A unique example in that while we know the majority of events which shaped her to become the woman she is today, the actual circumstances that lead to her existence are considerably mysterious. She's confirmed to be of the blood of Khaenri'ah, and not only that, but the Crimson Moon Dynasty which predates even the Eclipse Dynasty which ruled the kingdom at the time of its legendary downfall. Making things even more enigmatic, the book Perinheri describes an ancient orphanage similar to the House of the Hearth that took in children supposedly not of this world, and one of these children crossed the fires of a mysterious hearth to cross two worlds and be "reborn." Her personal weapon, the Crimson Moon's Semblance describes it as an ancient ritual implement to cross multiple worlds, and her boss subtitle as Peruere describes as "Two Worlds' Flame." Her "curse" further adds to this mystery, as do the fact several of her abilities seem to entirely be divorced from either a Vision or a Delusion, particularly during the time before she became a Harbinger. For her part, even she is seemingly unaware of her true nature, expressing curiosity regarding the crimson moon she regularly sees and her own heritage towards an "Underground Kingdom" in her character story. This all makes clear that while her storyline in Fontaine regarding either the Archon or her own followers in the House of the Hearth is over, there's much more to her story that has yet to be revealed.
• Mythical Motifs: Arlecchino is the head of the House of the Hearth, a Pyro user and depicted as a protector of the home and family. All that alludes to Hestia/Vesta, goddess of the hearth from Classical Mythology.
• Names to Run Away from Really Fast: Her real name is Peruere, which means "to perish" in Latin, and you could guess what happened to the previous Knave when the Arlecchino we know today rose to that position.
• Navel-Deep Neckline: She no longer wears an inner shirt in her boss form, leaving a V-shaped window that reaches down to the top half of her stomach and exposes some Sideboobs.
• No-Sell: When fighting her 'children' in her story quest, Lyney uses some magic to let Lynette and Freminet attack her from point blank range, the latter even apologizing (persumably for hurting her) as he does. She effortlessly catches both attacks and asks if his apology was for hitting her with such a feeble attack before throwing them aside.
• Ominous Visual Glitch: As shown in both her Character Demo and her idle animation, Arlecchino's body tends to glitch on occasion, as though she's out of sync with reality.
• One-Winged Angel: Arlecchino's weekly boss form continues the tradition of Harbingers taking on a more powerful form, with a single flaming wing in one form (also available in her playable version) that is very reminiscent of the Trope Namer himself, Sephiroth. Her later stage has her transform further to have six wings that resemble the legs of a spider when folded up.
• One-Woman Army: Arlecchino takes on the Traveler, Lyney, Lynette, and Freminet simultaneously, all who are powerful wielders of the elements, and wins easily, even terrifying the Traveler into submission at the end of the fight.
• Painted-On Pants: Her attire includes skintight black leggings accentuating her legs, being one of only three playable female characters who wear pants instead of a skirt or shorts.
• Pay Evil unto Evil: Lyney recounts their first meeting with the Knave, when she rescued several young girls from a powerful nobleman that had trafficked them. They describe a gruesome scene of Arlecchino covered in blood, having just killed the nobleman for his crimes.
• Person of Mass Destruction: Her battle with the previous Knave shows that her Pyro powers can be really destructive when she decides to cut loose. When she uses her powers to finish the Knave off, the resulting explosion utterly destroys the building they were fighting in.
• Pet the Dog:
  • For someone described by her peers as insane and quick to betray anyone, she's the only Harbinger to show genuine sympathy for Signora's death.
  • The character story of her subordinate, Lyney, reveals a complex relationship between Arlecchino and the children under her authority. Several children came into her care when she rescued them from Human Traffickers, killing the nobleman that had been "collecting" young girls in his manor. While strict to the children, Lyney and Lynette's character stories reveal that she changed many of the old teachings of the House of the Hearth, encouraging her charges to value their own lives and think twice before recklessly throwing their lives away for the Fatui. One story recounts a celebration at the House, where Arlecchino participated in a magic trick to surprise the children and praised them for their cleverness, sharing cake with them. Lyney's story also reveals that she reprimanded him when he requested a Delusion, encouraging him to consider his own strengths and find a better way to help his "family."
  • Adding to the above point, agents raised in her orphanage claim that she teaches them to cherish their brief time as children and to likewise view it as their duty in adulthood to protect their younger siblings' happiness.
  • She and the Fatui under her command helped provide aid for the surviving residents of Poisson after they suffered casualties at the hands of the Primordial Seawater, and personally gave her condolences to Navia after the deaths of Melus and Silver.
  • In her Character Teaser, she personally killed a child trafficker disguised as philanthropist for mortally wounding one of her "children", saving many child victims in the process, and even took the time to visit her tomb and mourn her.
  • According to Freminet in the "Receiver of Friends From Afar" event, she told Lyney, Lynette, and Freminet to take a vacation as a respite from the events of Fontaine before their next missions.
  • In her Character Story, it's revealed that, instead of killing traitors inside the House of The Hearth, she would simply let them drink a special potion made of her cursed flames, that would erase all their memories, so they could start a new, more peaceful life. Even the Traveler lampshades that this fate is much preferable than death, although Arlecchino sees it otherwise.
  • Despite her intentions of making him the next "Father" of the House of the Hearth, she gives Lyney, as well as Lynette and Freminet, the option to leave the House of the Hearth after their duel under the condition they consume the "bottled flames" to forget their time as members. When Lyney makes it clear that the three of them aren't leaving, she proceeds to reassure him that You Are Better Than You Think You Are when he questions why she wants him as his successor on account of how weak he is compared to her, assuring him that he has the conviction and kindness to lead the house and that he'll only grow stronger going forward.
• The Pirates Who Don't Do Anything: Averted. Out of the Harbingers that have appeared on screen as of Chapter IV, Arlecchino is the only one that properly lives up to the title of "protected diplomat"; the Harbingers encountered before her on the other hand seemed to have treated it as nothing more than an excuse to commit crimes and not answer to them. Arlecchino is Affably Evil and relies more on appearing threatening than violence. That doesn't mean she has clean hands, but when you compare her tactics to characters like Scaramouche and Dottore, it's clear she's one of the few who's doing her job correctly. She actually ends up obtaining the Hydro Gnosis through negotiation alone, without any sort of Evil Plan in action, and took her leave from Fontaine once she got what she wanted.
• Playing with Fire: She wears a Pyro vision on her back, indicating that she possesses abilities related to fire. Her animated short, however, reveals that her Pyro powers are actually an innate part of her, the result of some unknown curse. She also wields a Pyro Delusion.
• Power at a Price: Aside from having a Delusion, one of her passives in gameplay grant her an additional 40% Pyro damage bonus while in combat, but will only allow her to receive healing through her Burst.
• Power Floats: Her charged attack allows her to float above the ground, even water.
• Pragmatic Villainy: Many of her comrade's opinions on her are merely rumors that were spread by them, not helped by how Arlecchino destroyed all records of Crucabena, so many of these rumors are based off the previous Knave and thus applied to her as well. However, they turn out to be just rumors, and Arlecchino isn't bothered at all by this, stating that this helps boost her intimidating image.
• Pre-Mortem One-Liner: In her battle with the previous Knave, she says only one line to her right before incinerating her with her flames.
  Crucabena: Surrender. Let your 'Mother' guide you, and you shall become the one true 'King'!
  Peruere: Mother... (slams Crucabena into the ceiling with a powerful rear snapkick) My answer... is no.^note In the original CN, she says "Mother...you're...not worthy", pronouncing "worthy" (配, pèi) with enough distaste to sound like the onomatopoeia for a Spiteful Spit (呸, pēi).
• Promoted to Playable: One of the few Harbingers so far to boast this privilege (along with Childe and the Wanderer), becoming playable in v4.6.
• "The Reason You Suck" Speech: Arlecchino doesn't mince words with calling out Furina for seemingly not doing anything to prevent the prophecy of Fontaine's destruction despite the latter claiming otherwise.
  "At this point, I don't think there's any more need to speak as diplomatic representatives. Allow me to speak to you now as just a Fontainian: you know the prophecy by heart, and also that every part of it is being proven true. Yet here you are relaxing, drinking tea and eating desserts as if it's all nothing more than a few stray bugs in your garden. Do you really think that's acceptable? The prophecy's hanging above our necks like a guillotine. Every faction is looking for a way to either avert the disaster, or save their own. Even the orphans of the House of the Hearth have devoted everything to saving their homeland. But you? It beggars belief just how nonchalant and carefree you have been. For the very beginning, you, the god Focalors... You have utterly failed to take action. [...] I am not alone in my doubts, you know. All the children of Fontaine may be harboring the exact same thoughts right now. O great Hydro Archon, how are you going to save them? Save us? How are the people you've sworn to protect supposed to survive in a land that will soon disappear beneath the waves?"
• Red Eyes, Take Warning: Downplayed; her eyes are primarily colored black, but she does have X-shaped pupils that are colored red. This pairs perfectly with her dangerous capabilities as a Fatui Harbinger and her status as the strongest of the Harbingers who aren't considered "Archon" levels of strength.
• Red Right Hand: At first glance, Arlecchino seems to be wearing black gloves. But taking a closer look at her hands and noting how she has human fingernails on them strongly implies that her "gloves" are actually blackened skin, which is confirmed when she wore a sleeveless hooded outfit revealing her otherwise normal colored upper arms gradually fading into a sickly black color upon reaching her forearms, further adding to her strange and menacing appearance. "The Song Burning In The Embers" reveals that she suffered from blackened hands even as a child due to a "curse" of some sort.
• Refuge in Audacity: When it comes to achieving her aims, there is little that Arlecchino won't at least consider trying, no matter how crazy it might sound on paper.
  • Her idea for overcoming Fontaine's prophecy is to steal the Hydro Gnosis and use it against the Primordial Sea. The Fatui are already after the Gnoses anyway, and so she promised the Tsaritsa she would hand it over once the crisis is taken care of. All that's left is finding it, and she's leaving no stone unturned in her search, not even ones as well-guarded as the Opera Epiclese or the Fortress of Meropide.
  • What does she do when she catches Furina alone without an escort? She attacks her on the spot to see if can make off with her Gnosis. When she realizes Furina doesn't have it, she just leaves her there... and has the audacity to ask for face-to-face meetings later. After all, Slave to PR as Furina is, she would never admit to the attack. Arlecchino is so confident of this that she even mentions the incident to the Traveler to convince them of her theory that Furina isn't an Archon which ends up confirmed by the next Act.
• Screw Destiny: Allegedly, her goal in Fontaine is to stop the prophecy of Fontaine's destruction. Lyney states that Arlecchino is originally from Fontaine, and intends to use the Gnosis to stop the coming disaster. In the end, the prophecy is averted due to the execution of the real Focalors giving Neuvillette his full powers back to stop it while Arlecchino gets possession of the Gnosis and Childe through negotiations with him.
• Sexy Backless Outfit: Her Weekly Boss state gives her an outfit that exposes her back.
• She Is the King:
  • The orphans of the House of the Hearth all address her as "Father". "The Song Burning In The Embers" reveals that this is due to the abuse she suffered under the previous Knave called "Mother", and she took on the title of "Father" to distance herself as much as possible from the horrible woman.
  • In a more literal example, those who excel in the House of the Hearth and crush their opposition are referred to as "King". The young Peruere was set to achieve this title.
• Sheep in Sheep's Clothing: Heavily downplayed since she's not averse to violence and even assassination, but she's the second Harbinger after Tartaglia who's introduced in a friendly manner and actually becomes a valuable ally in the Fontaine arc. Despite this, rumors persist that she could not be trusted, and she would betray anyone, even The Tsaritsa, to achieve her goals. The rumors turn out to be just that, rumors. As she killed the previous Knave, she destroyed much of her records, so the rumors immediately started, along with the previous Knave's dark legacy. She herself has no issue with this, as being shrouded in mystery could potentially be useful. Those directly under her tutelage tell a different story of her, as the cold but fair Father of the House.
• Shout-Out: Her special combat state is named for Poe's famous short story, The Masque of the Red Death. This is especially fitting, considering her distain for aristocrats and politicians that enjoy lives of safety and luxury, while leaving others to suffer. While in this state, based on her Max HP and Lifebond percentage, her attacks cause Pyro damage to her enemies.
• Sickly Child Grew Up Strong: Even as a child, her hands were gray and withered, which seems to have advanced all the way up her arms as she grew. She eventually became so powerful she could deliver a No-Holds-Barred Beatdown with her bare fists to her "Mother".
• Sinister Scythe: Invoked as her weapon of choice. Arlecchino wields a scythe as her go-to-weapon, both as a weekly boss and as a playable character; the way the latter works is due to a scythe blade made of energy being conjured at the point of the polearm she is currently wielding. The blade on her own polearm, Crimson Moon's Semblance, even has a unique appearance.
• Sliding Scale of Gameplay and Story Integration: Lyney is set to succeed her as the one behind the House of the Hearth. Mechanically, they are very similar. Both are onfield DPS Pyro characters with an emphasis on Normal Attacks and are one of the few characters to have their third Constellation increase their Normal Attack level, leaving their Skill unupgraded. Both also use Rainbow Roses and Fatui Insignias as Ascension Material.
• Slouch of Villainy: One of her idles has her use her powers to conjure a chair that she proceeds to do this on.
• The Social Expert: Among her fellow Harbingers that appeared in-game since Chapter IV, Arlecchino demonstrates the most strategic, precise skill in ensuring that she dominates every conversation. Leveraging the social atmosphere of the "tea parties" she attends, maintaining a polite manner of speech and using Exact Words, she gets away with insulting Neuvillette and Furina to their face upon their first meeting with "praises" about their leadership, then in her second meeting subtly puts pressure on Furina and Traveler by continuously offering them cake and sharing mundane-sounding but private "intel" that she knows about them, implying that not only she may already know too much, but also she will continue to investigate them. She also confesses her almost successful assassination attempt on Furina with no consequences as she spoke privately about it to the Traveler, telling them it would be useless to tell others due to Furina's desperation to cover it up and leaving before Neuvillette learns of the incident.
• Social Darwinist: Subverted. One of the rules of the House that she insists on is settling disputes via duels. Despite this, even when she defeats Lyney, Lynette, Freminet, and the Traveler in her fight with them, she chooses to follow their wishes with only a thin pretense that she's reconsidered her own approach. She later scoffs that strength is the ultimate arbiter of right and wrong, saying that following one's convictions is more important than having strength.
• Spell Blade: If she's under the effect of a Bond of Life equal to at least 30% of her max HP, her attacks get a Pyro conversion.
• Spider Limbs: Her "bone wings" in her boss form imitate the appearance of having these when she isn't opening them to attack.
• Stationary Wing: She doesn't need to flap her wings to remain afloat.
• The Stoic: She presents herself in a perpetually cold, aloof, and unfeeling manner regardless of the situation. She was also like this even as a child, implying that her coldness is just the way she normally is.
• Superior Successor: Admittedly, "Mother" set a very low bar to surpass, but Arlecchino is not only way stronger than the former ever was but also a better guardian of the children she takes care of.
• Super-Strength: Possibly due to her curse, Arlecchino is much stronger than the average human despite her lithe physique. During her fight with the previous "Mother", she is able to block all of her strikes barehanded and kick her with enough force that it sends her crashing into the ceiling, shattering the windows on impact.
• Surprisingly Realistic Outcome: She killed Crucabaena in a duel... and was immediately thrown in a Fatui prison before being pardoned by the Tsaritsa. No one may have mourned Crucabaena, but killing a Harbinger is still a serious offense.
• Sweet Tooth: She claims to have one, comparing herself to Paimon and Furina in their shared love of an exclusive and highly sought after cake. This is proven to be true since she is later shown with slices of cake to go with tea she is having by herself. Cake was also one of her favorite foods as a child, having shared them quite often with Clervie.
• Symbol Motif Clothing: Diamonds. Arlecchino has patterns of diamonds on her outfit, most notably on her pants and on the markings on her arms. Appropriate since in the Commedia dell'Arte, the character Arlecchino is known for wearing clothes with black and red diamonds.
• Sympathy for the Devil: Played with since she's also a Harbinger, but Arlecchino's the only Harbinger that was particularly close to La Signora. Arlecchino recounts how the Fair Lady often visited the House of the Hearth and genuinely liked being around children (despite them playing pretend behind her back), and states this could've been a way for Signora to cope with her loneliness over her losses. She also expressed genuine despair for Signora's death, and as seen in "A Winter's Night Lazzo", scolds Pulcinella and Pantalone during Signora's funeral for their cowardice compared to her, who died in the battlefield. It's also justified since Arlecchino being close to Signora means she would know her tragic past better than her Harbinger comrades.
• The Spymaster: Arlecchino runs the House of the Hearth, which raises orphans to become assassins and spies for the Fatui.
• Take Up My Sword: Her closest friend Clervie wanted to change the House of the Hearth's inhumane methods but failed due to several tragedies that happened in her life that rendered her efforts moot. As Peruere (now known as the new Knave) takes up the directorship of the orphanage after eliminating her predecessor, she exactly does that.
• Tattoo as Character Type: Arlecchino had her arm tattoos since she was a teenager, when her curse was spreading to her elbows. It suggests her close ties to the occult with the tattoo acting as a Supernatural Seal, and adds to her menacing appearance as the ruthless 4th Fatui Harbinger.
• Tea Is Classy: She conducts her meetings with the Hydro Archon over tea, conducting these meetings like a friendly tea party rather than the more threatening meetings one would expect from the Fatui. She's also seen enjoying tea by herself.
• Teeth-Clenched Teamwork: While she maintains professionalism over her views to certain Harbingers, she is also open about her poor opinions on several of the other Harbingers, namely those with administrative duties as cowards. She openly admits that were he not a fellow Harbinger, she would have killed Dottore for wanting to experiment on her children.
• That Man Is Dead: She's discarded her previous name and identity as Peruere in favor of her new name and role, Arlecchino the Father of the House of the Hearth. She even recounts her backstory while referring to Peruere in the third person. Interestingly, her One-Winged Angel form does indeed bear the name Peruere, though what this means for her character is ambiguous.
• Then Let Me Be Evil: It's implied that Arlecchino is invoking this, judging from a note that summarized the ideals she teaches which include encouraging those to "be the evil amidst good, the poison amidst the herbs, the wolf in sheep's clothing, the mercury in a golden chalice" for the sake of their home and goals.
• Token Good Teammate: Downplayed, as she's still a cold and ruthless Harbinger who doesn't hesitate to resort to violence and killing, but based off of what's been revealed about her so far, Arlecchino is among the more benevolent Harbingers alongside Capitano and Tartaglia, who treats her adoptive children with genuine love and care, with the dark rumors surrounding her simply being just rumors that she intentionally allowed to spread to keep up her image. Furthermore, her story quest hints at a growing conflict between her and other Harbingers, with her openly discussing the possibility that the Rooster and Regrator are plotting against the House of the Hearth.
• Tomboy and Girly Girl: With Clervie when the two were children. Clervie had long hair and wore white dresses and had a more cheerful demeanour, while the short-haired Peruere dressed in black shirts and shorts and was rather gloomy.
• Tough Love: Arlecchino is seen by members of the House of the Hearth as a cold and stern caretaker who nonetheless provides security and purpose to orphans and other exploited children. While she does train them to be Fatui, she's always made her intentions plain and has never been sadistic or manipulative about it. For people like Lyney, Lynette, and Freminet, she's infinitely superior to their prior so-called guardians.
• Tranquil Fury:
  • When she's angry, it usually takes on this form. When Freminet related to her the lie the previous Knave had told him about his mother, Arlecchino said nothing — but "her eyes began to burn with wrath" before she calmly told him the truth. When Lyney asked her for a Delusion, Arlecchino gave him a Death Glare before calmly rebuking him and telling him to overcome his weakness by himself.
  • The only time she drops this is during the first half of her battle with the previous Knave, being forced to kill her best friend Clervie pushes her over the edge and she attacks "Mother" in a fit of barely controlled rage. For the first time we see her face twisted into a snarl of hate and she is outright growling at her. "Mother" uses this to her advantage, insulting Clervie and commenting that her dreams where always doomed, which causes Peruere to blindly attack and is easily countered. Its not until she calms down by seeing Clervie flowers, that she is able to finally turn the fight and easily defeat "Mother" with her superior skill and power.
• Tsundere: Not exactly in the most traditional sense, but she does have the usual tsundere habit of saying one thing but doing the exact opposite, fitting to the "cold and unfeeling" director of the orphanage but also inverting her predecessor's Bitch in Sheep's Clothing treatment to her wards. She rarely expresses her true feelings, but her actions tend to show a very caring and loving person. She says that no one is allowed to leave the house alive, but because she considers memory loss a type of death she makes a special potion that anyone who wishes to leave can take and be made to forget everything to do with the Fatui. She says she will not help such people, despite the fact that she had gone to Neuvillette and made arrangements that anyone who left the house would not be prosecuted for past crimes.
• Übermensch: Believes that following one's convictions is the only thing that matters in the world. This is reflected in her overall character story and personality, where she goes out of her way to reform the House of the Hearth to her own moral standards and out of rejection of her predecessor's cruel method of parenting, but still trains her wards to become skilled servants of the Fatui, albeit with the caveat of allowing them to leave by erasing their memories. At the same time, despite these moral traits she's a genuinely cold and ruthless individual, has no aversion to killing those she believes as deserving of it, and makes clear in her character quotes her true loyalty is largely to herself and her own goals, not the Tsaritsa. Fittingly, the people she seems to despise most are those who exploit others while lacking in will and vision themselves, with a special hatred for decadent aristocrats who coast off their high position in life rather than facing any true hardship.
• Unreliable Expositor: Arlecchino's personality and motivations are very different, depending on who is discussing her. Childe's initial description of her paints a madwoman without an ounce of loyalty, ready to betray anyone at any moment. Likewise, Scaramouche describes her as a "wolf in sheep's clothing," hiding her madness beneath a polite mask and even suggests a history of her murdering people that learn her secret. These views contrast sharply with the experiences of her subordinates, children that view her as a stern but caring mentor that has improved the conditions of the House and encouraged them to value their own lives. These contradictions are left a mystery until her Story Quest where you learn its a combination of false rumors and a malicious smear campaign by The Rooster to paint her in the worst light. Arlecchino for her part doesn't mind so much as she prefers to keep her true motives secret and as such does little to quell the rumors and in fact helps them spread in some cases.
• Upgrade Artifact: A variant—her third and fifth Constellation upgrades, "You Shall Become a New Member of Our Family..." and "For Alone, We Are as Good as Dead..." add three levels to, respectively, her Normal Attack and Burst.
• Vigilante Woman: Fontaine has a serious child trafficking problem, and many nobles use their status to commit crimes while posing as generous philanthropists who help poor children. Lyney and Lynette's backstory, as well as Arlecchino's Character Teaser, show her murdering such individuals and exposing their crimes to the press.
• Villainous Friendship:
  • Downplayed in regards to Childe. Compared to the other Harbingers, Arlecchino doesn't have much to say against him; while she is cold and dismissive of the other Harbingers, her voice line about Childe is decidedly more warm and even with a hint of amusement at his headstrong nature. When the two speak with one another in her Story Quest, Arlecchino keeps her secrets but is more coy about it and otherwise the two banter like old friends even devolving into complaining about their bosses.
  • She also seems to have been on good terms with La Signora. Arlecchino's voice line for her is remarkedly sad; Signora was one of the first Harbingers Arlecchino acquainted herself with, and she claims she could sense the loneliness Signora harbored from the loss of her lover. Out of all the Harbingers, Arlecchino is the only one who was genuinely upset at Signora's funeral.
    (About The Fair Lady) "I found her sacrifice to be a great shame. May she be reunited with her lover in death."
• Weapon Specialization: In the Wishes, Arlecchino runs alongside a polearm called Crimson Moon's Semblance (5★). It has Critical Rate (?–22.1%) as its substat, and bestows the wielder the "Ashen Sun's Shadow" passive, where the wielder gains a Bond of Life equal to 25% of their max HP when striking an enemy with a Charged Attack, and can do so once every 14 seconds. The passive also gives the wielder a 12–?% Damage boost while under the effect of a Bond of Life, which can increase by an additional 24–?% if the Bond of Life is greater than 30% of their max HP. Given that Arlecchino's playstyle revolves around giving herself a Bond of Life to access her stronger arsenal of attacks, this lets her converted Pyro attacks hit even harder than before. Aesthetically, the polearm blade will also change into a scythe blade, which also happens with any polearm only when they're wielded by her; however, this one's appearance is unique compared to the others.
• Well-Intentioned Extremist: While her fellow Harbingers suggest that Arlecchino is quite the opposite, according to Lyney, who is her subordinate, she fits this trope better than the others. At least in said subordinate's case, Arlecchino rescued him and his sister from fosters that were even worse. She also plans to use the Hydro Gnosis to prevent the incoming apocalypse in Fontaine, which (if true) is the most beneficial motive of the Harbingers thus far. Turns out that yes, she does genuinely want to help save Fontaine (even going out of her way to help the surviving residents of Poisson after they got ravaged and suffered casualties by the Primordial Seawater) and aids the Traveler in finding a way towards averting the prophecy as it looms closer. While she ultimately doesn't get to avert the prophecy her way via using the Gnosis, she is nevertheless satisfied after Fontaine is saved, and she is able to obtain the Gnosis for the Tsarisa without resistance through negotiations with Neuvillette.
• White Hair, Black Heart: Save for some strands of black, her hair is white, and she has a reputation as one of the more deranged Harbingers.
• White and Red and Eerie All Over: Combined with Red and Black and Evil All Over, Arlecchino's motif heavily borrows from the traditional colors of a harlequin, using them to give her a sinister air about her. Her white hair and light-colored jacket are accented with red and black decoration, while her lower half flips to black with red accents for a stark contrast.
• Willfully Weak: The entire boss encounter with her is confirmed by Lyney to be the result of her holding back, and even then, she utterly defeats all four challengers, to the point that when the Traveler breaks out of her bindings to try and continue the fight, she immediately paralyzes them with fear from sheer Killing Intent before bounding towards them in a mere moment, reaching out to them, and casually pushing them out of the way while all they can do is relent, making clear she could have killed them easily at that moment, but chose not to. The entire sequence shows that, befitting her high rank among the Harbingers, we've seen far from her full power.
• The Worf Effect: Like Tartaglia, eventually you face her in combat, one of the dreaded Fatui Harbingers. Unlike Tartaglia and other Harbingers you've faced so far, she's the Fourth Harbinger, just a step below Physical God-level power. And she will show the Traveler the vast gulf of power between her and the weakest Harbinger, a witch who's lost much of her power, or a mechanical puppet who's made the Sixth more for his toughness.
• Wouldn't Hurt a Child: Unsurprising, given she's the overseer of the House of the Hearth. Going into specifics, the way she disposes of traitors who no longer want anything to do with the orphanage is by drinking a special potion made of her cursed flames, which would erase all their memories, allowing them to start anew. Even with this in mind, however, Arlecchino isn't pleased when doing this.
• You Are Better Than You Think You Are: When Lyney expresses doubts about his abililty to succeed her as "king" of the House of the Hearth, she counters that he holds tightly to his convictions and is willing to die for the rest of the family. The only point she concedes is that he is lacking in strength, and she immediately adds that someone with his potential will inevitably become much stronger than he is now.
• You Kill It, You Bought It: Her backstory has her kill the previous "Mother" of the House of Hearth, who was also the previous Harbinger. For this reason, she was arrested, shipped to and imprisoned in Snezhnaya, ironically fulfilling one of her childhood promises of watching the aurora there. But then the Tsaritsa (through The Jester) extends a full pardon and bestows the 'Knave' title upon her, along with its dark legacy.
  The Tsaritsa: I hereby pardon your crimes, and bestow upon you a new name. This title and its legacy of bloodshed are now yours to bear, my poor, mad, cursed Knave.

No. 5 - Pulcinella

Pulcinella, "The Rooster"

Voiced by: Wang Xiaobbing (Chinese), Chō (Japanese), Kang Koo-han (Korean), Dave B. Mitchell (English)

"We are gathered here today to remember our dear comrade. In honor of her sacrifice, all work should halt for half a day as the nation mourns her passing."

The 5th of the Eleven Harbingers, who oversees matters in Snezhnaya.

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• Ambiguously Human: With his short stature, pointed ears, and unusually large nose, he more closely resembles Klee and Nahida than other humans. Klee is likely half-human given that her mother is from another world, while Nahida is the Dendro Archon who was born from a branch of Irminsul and her predecessor's magic. In spite of this, Pulcinella is not identified as nonhuman by Tartaglia, leaving his true nature up in the air.
• Control Freak: Arlecchino and the House of the Hearth believe that his reciprocated dislike of her is because he's bothered by the idea of there being a group of intelligence agents outside of his control. This is what prompts him to "reward" the Knave's successful acquisition of the Hydro Gnosis by "honouring" them with a vital role in Project Stuzha, which she and the children all realize is an attempt to cull their numbers and potentially dismantle them.
• Early-Bird Cameo: Before making his full appearance in "A Winter Night's Lazzo," Pulcinella first appeared in the "Teyvat Chapter Storyline" trailer as the character representing Snezhnaya with his Face Framed in Shadow, implying that he will be one of the first playable characters to be released at the start of Chapter VI.
• Evil Mentor: Pulcinella took a personal interest in a young recruit named Ajax, and oversaw his historic rise through the ranks of the Fatui. As the 11th Harbinger, Tartaglia, he continues to view Pulcinella as a mentor and even part of his family.
• Face Framed in Shadow: Prior to "A Winter Night's Lazzo," his appearance in the "Teyvat Chapter Storyline" trailer has his face completely covered.
• Friend to All Children: Rare villainous example. Childe praises him for being good with children, even trusting Pulcinella to watch over his siblings while he's away. The Wanderer/Scaramouche doesn't think so based on his voice line for him, however.
• Hat of Authority: Wears a feathered top hat and is among the highest ranking officials in Snezhnaya.
• I Have Your Daughter: Or rather, Family. The Wanderer's voice lines about him has him speak that only someone foolish enough would believe that he is truly an Affably Evil Benevolent Boss figure and the underlying image and threat of Pulcinella willing to look after your family is him secretly putting your family hostage and use them against you.
• Insidious Rumor Mill: He is at least partially responsible for spreading rumors about Arlecchino's insanity and treachery, having told Tartaglia a very twisted version of her past that casts her in the worst possible light. She isn't surprised in the least bit, considering their rather poor opinions of each other.
• Mayor Pain: Is implied to be one as Pantalone addresses him as "Mayor" and criticises him for only allowing half a day off work for Signora's passing.
• Miniature Senior Citizens: Is positively tiny. Given that he has Pointy Ears, it's unclear whether this is a result of his age or because he is part of a race that is naturally short.
• Pointy Ears: His ears make it apparent that he's not human.
• Pragmatic Villainy: The survivors of the 9th company describe him as incredible pragmatic, readily throwing away things of lesser value in exchange for greater reward. As such, none of them are surprised that their superior may have abandoned them to their fates.
• Sinister Schnoz: Has a large nose, which refers to how the original Commedia incarnation tends to wear a mask with a beak-like nose.
• Uriah Gambit: Both Arlecchino and her children suspect that him rewarding their acquisition of the Hydro Gnosis by giving them a key role in his and Pantalone's "Poject Stuzha" is actually an attempt to get many of their agents killed in order to weaken them.
• We Have Reserves: Pulcinella has earned a reputation for his pragmatism and willingness to sacrifice lives for greater gains, which has not endeared him to the House of the Hearth. Arlecchino and its members are wary of him, viewing their upcoming mission from him as an "honor" that merely means taking the greatest risks and suffering the most losses.
• Yellow Eyes of Sneakiness: Beneath his glasses, he has yellow eyes that match with his underhanded nature as a politician. He presents himself as a mentor to Tartaglia and treats the younger Harbinger's family with affection, but Wanderer openly speculates this is merely a means to keep the 11th under his control. Even his own subordinates admit that he has a reputation for pragmatism, and would readily abandon them once they had served their purpose. Tartaglia's suspicions about Arlecchino turn out to have come from Pulcinella telling him how Arlecchino betrayed the House of the Hearth - her family - by killing her siblings and "Mother", the previous Knave. While that is indeed what happened, it also lacked the context on why she did it in the first place, driving a wedge between his protégé and the Harbinger he seems to be the most at-odds with.

No. 6 - Scaramouche (Unmarked Spoilers!)

The 6th of the Eleven Harbingers. Following his tampering of the Irminsul in Interlude Chapter Act III, he is no longer remembered as a member of Fatui. He then decides to wander around Sumeru.

His tropes as Scaramouche are listed on the page of his new identity here.

No. 7 - Sandrone

Sandrone, "Marionette"

Voiced by: Hong Haitian (Chinese), Mariko Honda (Japanese), Gang Eun-ae (Korean), Deneen Melody (English)

"Utterly risible..."

The 7th of the Eleven Harbingers, a young woman being carried around by a massive automaton.

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• Ambiguous Situation: If she is the Harbinger responsible for the events of Questioning Melusine and Answering Machine, then her actions towards Jenck merit questions. While the level of violence she inflicted upon the man falls perfectly in line with her characterization thus far, the theatrical lengths she went to to apologize to the Traveler, Paimon and Talochard was definitely out of character. Did Jenck's methods prove too distasteful for her? Did she not want to make an enemy out of the Traveler? Or something else? Currently only she knows.
• Ambiguously Human: Sandrone's outfit is nearly identical to the Katherynes, "Bionic Snezhnayan Puppets", and she is the only Harbinger that doesn't close her eyes in mourning during Signora's funeral, staring blankly ahead.
• Ambiguously Related:
  • Her maid's uniform seems to share many similarities to Katheryne from the Adventurer's Guild. It's noted that the Guild's HQ is located in Snezhnaya, but what affiliation Sandrone might have with them (if any) is unknown.
  • She also looks identical to how Mary-Ann Guillotin did as a child. Mary-Ann's brother Alain was also the Gadgeteer Genius of Fontaine, who researched "thinking machines" and had built something at the later years of his life. Sandrone was shown to also have interest in "thinking machines" such as the mek Curve from Questioning Melusine and Answering Machine, to the point of ordering his remains to be retrieved regardless of their damage so she can study them. Whether Sandrone is related to the Guillotin siblings still has to be seen.
  • She bears a striking resemblance to Guizhong, the deceased Goddess of Dust, with the two having identical hair and eye colors. The two even share a love of machinery. Whether these similarities are deliberate or coincidental remains to be seen.
• Early-Bird Cameo: This Harbinger was first mentioned in the description of Childe's Character Tale video, which was published a little more than a month since the game launched in 2020.
• Elegant Gothic Lolita: As befitting her title of The Marionette, she is dressed like a Victorian doll, complete with a bonnet and large dress.
• Even Evil Has Standards: At the end of the Questioning Melusine and Answering Machine quest series, when her subordinate Jenck nearly blows up the Traveler, Paimon, and Talochard, causing Curve to sacrifice himself to save them and the explosion to destroy all of Dr. Mosso's research pertaining to him, Sandrone is very displeased. She cuts his tongue out, reduces him to an Empty Shell, and stuffs a note in his mouth apologizing to the three.
• Gender Flip: The Sandrone character was male in the Commedia dell'Arte.
• Greater-Scope Villain: Possibly. The Traveler believes her to have been the Harbinger backing Jenck's plot to take over The Steambird in exchange for him bringing her all of Dr. Mosso's research pertaining to Curve. The fact that Jenck was found catatonic and with his tongue ripped out strongly implies that she was not happy with him for causing Curve's destruction and the loss of all of Mosso's research pertaining to him, to the point of actually apologizing to the Traveler, Paimon, and Talochard for his actions.
• Identical Stranger: She has the exact same hair colour, bangs and eye colour as Mary-Ann Guillotin. Similarly, she has the same hairstyle and color, as well as eye color, as Guizhong, the Goddess of Dust.
• Insufferable Genius: Her fellow Harbingers describe her as having a particularly nasty personality, with little interest in anyone or anything outside of her research.
• Jerkass: Whenever Sandrone comes up, she always seems to have a bone to pick with people. Her first ever mention had her berating a Fatui recruit, she dismisses the Harbingers’ infighting as “utterly risible,” and for some reason she has a particular dislike of Tartaglia. The Wanderer/Scaramouche even says that she has a terrible personality.
• Make an Example of Them: She does this to Jenck as a punishment for what happened to the meka Curve and the loss of all of Dr. Mosso's research pertaining to him, leaving him kneeling on the stage of the Opera Epiclese in a vegetated doll-like state with his tongue cut out and a note shoved into his mouth.
• Marionette Master: No, the Harbinger isn't the giant intimidating humanoid Ruin Machine, it's the girl that's following it. Why do you think she's known as the Marionette?
• Noodle Incident: Tartaglia notes that she seems to hate him in particular, though he can't think of what he did to piss her off so much.
• Punny Name: The word "marionette" comes from Middle French and means "little Mary." She looks identical to Mary-Ann Guillotin.
• Smart People Build Robots: According to Childe, she has immersed herself in Ruin Machine research and the robot accompanying her is one such product.
• Tongue Trauma: At the end of Questioning Melusine and Answering Machine, she leaves her subordinate Jenck with his tongue cut off, along with a note shoved inside his mouth stating that he was being punished for blowing up Curve, the mek she had taken an interest in, as well as for the destruction of all of Dr. Mosso's research pertaining to him.
• Wrench Wench: Implied. Despite her lacking the usual aesthetics of the trope, she is stated to be responsible (and deeply passionate) about her research into ancient machines. In spite of this, the Wanderer claims most of her work ultimately produced "garbage."

No. 8 - La Signora

La Signora, "The Fair Lady" / Rosalyne-Kruzchka Lohefalter / The Crimson Witch of Flames

Stainless Bloom

^{Click here to see her boss form}

Voiced by: Ziyin (Chinese), Yui Shouji (Japanese)
Element: Cryo (Delusion), Pyro (true form)
Affiliation: Fatui, Mondstadt, Sumeru Akademiya (formerly)

"Let the darkness of corruption, the pain of the world, and the humans, beasts, and the sin they carry all be purified by silent ice. We share the same goal, you, your Tsaritsa, and I. Cleanse the sources of distortion in this world: short-sighted, ignorant gods and the darkness and corruption of the Abyss. Good. I will do whatever it takes to become an effective instrument in the advancement of our common cause. For even if I dress in pure white from head to toe, the ashes of the dead that have long left their stain on every inch of my being can never be cleansed."

The 8th of the Eleven Harbingers, as well as the very first the game introduces. She is a posh, haughty woman who assaults Venti and the Traveler near the end of the Prologue, appears at the end of Chapter I to reveal the truth about the Morax incident, and returns once again in Chapter II, where she becomes the new weekly boss of the 2.1 expansion.

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• Alas, Poor Villain: Downplayed. After her execution, Paimon comments that while Signora got what she deserved, she can't help but feel upset anyway, though this was less out of sympathy for Signora and more due to her being intimidated by the sheer power of the Musou no Hitotachi that the Shogun used to kill Signora.
• All for Nothing: By the end of the Inazuma Archon Quest, her (final, as it turned out) mission of retrieving the Electro Gnosis from the Raiden Shogun was rendered moot centuries ago when Ei handed it to Yae Miko for safekeeping before she entered the Plane of Euthymia; in addition, by the time of the Fair Lady's death, the Guuji has already handed it to Scaramouche —a fellow Harbinger about whom Signora had nothing nice to say— in exchange for the Traveler's life. In another twist of irony, Scaramouche —the first of Ei's line of puppets culminating in the Raiden Shogun— was able to leave with the Gnosis, while all Signora got was a brutal death from the Shogun, who did not even need the Gnosis to dispatch her.
• Always a Bigger Fish: While Signora is the first Fatui Harbinger the player encountered in the game and is already very powerful, even she is no match for the Raiden Shogun after her duel with the traveler and is easily killed in the process. And to add more salt to the wound, the Shogun didn't even have the Gnosis on her person when she killed Signora, which just proves the oceanic difference in power and how she didn't need it to begin with.
• Animal Motifs: Moths, with moths of flame flying around her, and her Super Mode giving her a fire moth styled mask and moth wings on her back. In the second phase of her boss fight, she even cocoons herself in ice before emerging in her third more insectoid in appearance than before.
• Arch-Enemy: On both the receiving and giving ends of it.
  • The Traveler considers her one for what she did to Venti. The player can choose to have the Traveler openly threaten her in the middle of a Fatui bank, and they have multiple options to select to summarize her crimes during her boss fight.
  • Though she has no love for any of the gods, she despises Barbatos in particular as him coming late to stop the disaster 500 years ago is what led to her loved ones' deaths and she herself spending the next 500 years being tortured by the power she sacrificed herself to in order to clean up the monsters in her vengeance.
• "Ass" in Ambassador: Very much The Baroness, and officially a Snezhnayan diplomat. Chisato even refers to her as a "very arrogant-sounding woman".
• Bad Boss: Though many of Signora's subordinates are loyal to her even post-humously, Childe implies she routinely murders recruits as a show of power. She also hypocritically looks down on Scaramouche for being Harbinger No. 6 and also for his similar conduct as her.
• The Baroness: Played with. She's a very old woman who has gotten no less beautiful with age, combining aspects of both the Sexpot and the Rosa Klebb. Nevertheless, there's no denying she has a highly sadistic personality — her introduction in the story proper has her brutally insulting and beating Venti in a casual way, and before that, a dialogue of a Fatui underling implies that she is quite proficient in torture.
• Barrier Warrior: In the first phase of her boss fight, she starts off conjuring a Cryo barrier to shield her from direct attacks, which constitutes as her health bar and prevents attacks from causing her to flinch.
• Battle Theme Music: Chrysalis Suspirii for the first phase of her boss fight, then Saltatio Favillae for the second.
• Beauty Is Bad: One of the most attractive characters in the game, and one of the most villainous too, as cold as her Cryo Delusion.
• Been There, Shaped History: She was a major figure from the Cataclysm 500 years ago, the Crimson Witch of Flames, who went on a quest of vengeance against the monsters that killed her lover Rostam. 500 years being tortured by her Power Incontinence and stewing on Barbatos and the other gods' failures has however caused her join the Fatui in their quest to topple the current world's order.
• Berserk Button: A line in her weekly boss fight shows that she does not like being called a witch, going to the point where Scaramouche calls her one out of contempt towards her saying that he could very well fight within the Abyss due to his artificial origins. One can only presume that she was somewhat touchy about being feared as the Crimson Witch of Flames.
  Signora: Who dares... call me... A WITCH?!
• Big Bad Wannabe: Despite her arrogance and deicidal ambitions, she only got as far as she did in her plans because of her affiliation with the Fatui, and both the Traveler and the Raiden Shogun give her a fatal reality check on how far beneath the gods she seeks to overthrow she actually is.
• Boss Arena Urgency: Each of Signora's attacks amplifies the Sheer Cold and Blazing Heat effects depending on the phase of the fight by slowly covering the floor with dangerous trails of ice/ashes. Your only protection against them are the Hearts of Flame/Frost respectively, and while you could keep them up to take cover from the effects, eventually Signora will cover the entire floor with ice/ashes that'll overtax their recovery, forcing you to destroy the Hearts in order to dispel the corrupt floor and keep on fighting. And the respawn time of the Hearts are slow so you can't afford to be reckless and destroy every one of them, otherwise you'll be left with no protection for a long while. There's also an achievement that requires you to beat her without destroying the Hearts of Flame/Frost.
• Bullying a Dragon: Despite giving Venti a Curb-Stomp Battle and effortlessly taking away his Gnosis, when Signora tries the same tactic on the Raiden Shogun as a Desperation Attack, she learns the hard way that the other Archons are not as weak as Venti and is quickly slain by the Shogun's Musou no Hitotachi. And this is from her puppet body and lacking a Gnosis to begin with, showing just how powerful the Shogun really is.
• The Cameo: Makes an appearance in the Interlude's third chapter as part of the Balladeer/the Wanderer's memories, her first appearance since her death in Chapter II.
• Climax Boss: The fight against Signora serves as a major point in the story since she is the first Harbinger that the player meets that also managed to take both Venti and Zhongli's Gnosis along with leading the Fatui forces in Inazuma. After her defeat, however, she is easily killed by the Raiden Shogun, the only remaining antagonist by that point in the Inazuma Archon Quest for the player to deal with.
• Colony Drop: In her second phase, one of her stronger attacks her dropping flaming meteors.
• Cruel and Unusual Death: The Raiden Shogun brutally executes her with the Musou no Hitotachi, slicing her to pieces, then blowing her up with a massive bolt of lightning that reduces her corpse to ashes. The Traveler and Paimon are understandably unnerved by this display and get the hell out of there.
• Cute Monster Girl: Signora's second phase turns her into a towering, monstrous being that still retains much of her beautiful figure while mixing in Moth Menace and Living Lava elements.
• Damage Over Time: Compared to Childe, Signora doesn't have as much direct hard-hitting attacks, but makes up for it by gradually wearing you down with Sheer Cold and Blazing Heat.
• Dark and Troubled Past: Her lover died fighting monsters during the disaster 500 years ago and she turned herself into a constantly burning witch to protect her home, only to spend the next several centuries suffering from the flames coursing through her body until the Tsaritsa gave her Cryo abilities to suppress them.
• Death by Irony:
  • One of her lines in battle has her declare that "not even ashes will remain." Guess what happens to her when Raiden Shogun executes her?
  • As the Raiden Shogun advances towards her for the killing blow, she desperately tries pulling Diplomatic Impunity in an attempt to escape her fate. In other words, to make her an exception... exactly what the Shogun said was the enemy of eternity. Even if she never knew it, Signora's plea only ends up angering the Shogun even further.
• Desperation Attack: When she's defeated, she attempts one last attack at the approaching Raiden Shogun. Notably, it's the same attack she did to Venti to pull out his Gnosis. This time, however, it fails: not only is she too weak from injuries sustained in the duel, but even if she'd been successful in reaching the Raiden Shogun, it turns out the Shogun didn't even have her Gnosis in the first place.
• Did You Just Punch Out Cthulhu?: In her very first on-screen appearance, she utterly curb-stomps Venti (a.k.a. the Archon Barbatos), and pulled his Gnosis out of his body like it was the easiest thing in the world. Mind you, Venti was not at his most god-like due to not fulfilling his duties as Archon, but it is still damn impressive for her.
• Diplomatic Impunity: Defied. She tries to use her status as a Snezhnayan diplomat to convince the Raiden Shogun to spare her after she loses to the Traveler. Unfortunately for her, the Shogun is in no mood to listen to her, and executes her anyway.
• Dirty Coward: After accepting the Traveler's challenge to a duel before the throne, she reminds them that the punishment for losing is death. Then when she loses, she tries to weasel her way out of her fate by invoking Diplomatic Immunity. She ultimately dies screaming in rage and terror.
• Disc-One Final Boss: Was built up to be The Heavy of the game, but her death in Chapter II prevents that from happening.
• Do Not Taunt Cthulhu: The first time she got a Gnosis was because she got lucky, as Venti had dropped his guard and was already weak from his hands-off policy of governing Mondstadt. The second time was because Zhongli gave it to her willingly as the terms of his bet with the Tsaritsa. When she tries going after the Raiden Shogun’s Gnosis, she finds out the hard way why you should never challenge an actively-governing god, even if said god never had the Gnosis to begin with.
• Dub Personality Change: In the original CN script, as well as non-English dubs, Signora is still a bitch, but her tragic past is emphasized more and she's much more refined, such as when summarizing Venti's incompetence as an Archon or when she pleads the Raiden Shogun to spare her because she couldn't bear to face death at her hands. The English dub, however, changes her to be much more obnoxious; she instead berates Venti, making it clear she wanted revenge at the Archon who failed to do anything to save her lover and lashes out at the Traveler and Shogun upon losing the duel before the throne by calling them "filthy rats", believing that the latter has every right to spare her even though she accepted her end of the duel and lost.
• Elemental Weapon: In her One-Winged Angel form, she wields a whip made of lava to lash out at you. She'll either use a two-hit swing, a single strike forward, or a triple strike that will create fiery explosions in front of her.
• Evil Counterpart: Back when she was a normal woman named Rosalyne, she was a Mondstadter who moved temporarily to Sumeru to study at the Akademiya, just like Lisa.
• Evil Is Bigger: Signora is significantly taller than the player characters and Venti, which is highlighted by her introduction. Like Childe's Foul Legacy form, Signora's boss form has her getting even taller, towering over the player.
• Evil Is Deathly Cold: Combined with Evil Is Burning Hot with her Super Mode.
• Expy: She shares many traits with Cocolia from the main Honkai-verse games, serving as an early-game antagonist and a blonde Femme Fatale associated with ice and snow. They are both known for their pride and deceptive nature, as well as being introduced attacking a wind god to steal the MacGuffin from them.
• Eyeless Face: Her Super Mode covers both her eyes in a moth mask, to add to its monstrous nature.
• Eyepatch of Power: Has a black, lacy eyepatch over her right eye to hide the deformations to her body from becoming an entity made of Living Lava.
• Fatal Flaw: Pride. She puts herself among the level of most other Archons, being the Crimson Witch of Flames of legend. However, it is outright stated by Nahida that only the three top Harbringers can truly rival Archons in power, and Signora, being No. 8, isn't one of them. Her success against Venti was more due to ambushing him (and him not ruling Mondstadt left him weakened enough and/or acting like he is helpless so that he can free from his obligations to Celestia by having her take his Gnosis without putting his nation inside Celestia's radar and for her to gain closure to her lover's death) and the Traveler, and Zhongli willingly gave his Gnosis as part of a deal with her. This eventually lead to her death, as the Traveler challenged her to a duel in front of the Electro Archon where the loser is immediately executed. She accepts without knowing how much more powerful the Traveler had become between their first meeting and now, and is accordingly killed by the Shogun after losing.
• Faux Affably Evil: Her soft-spoken voice tone and eloquency have no intentions of hiding how cruel and vindictive she really is, even in the presence of the Archons themselves.
  • In Liyue, she shamelessly asks Tartaglia (who dislikes hurting innocents) at Northland Bank if he had fun setting chaos free in Liyue when awakening Osial, in front of Zhongli, and even sarcastically calls Zhongli's words as "sanctimonious" upon him handing her his Gnosis.
  • At Inazuma, she sarcastically apologizes to the Raiden Shogun for wiping the floor with Kujou Sara, tries to invoke But for Me, It Was Tuesday when the Traveler summarizes her crimes all around Teyvat, and casually brushes the deaths of the people whose lives were taken away or put in danger as merely sacrifices towards realizing "the Tsaritsa's dream", when in reality she enjoyed their deaths.
  • She even acts like this towards her own Harbinger colleagues, as recounted by Scaramouche's memories, seeing as they get in a Snark-to-Snark Combat that makes it clear how much contempt they mutually have for each other.
• Fiery Sensuality: She can manipulate Pyro naturally as the Crimson Witch of Flames, and is accordingly one of the more attractive characters in the game.
• Foreshadowing:
  • Much of her backstory is revealed in artifact lore descriptions before The Reveal in 2.1 with the Crimson Witch of Flames set and Stainless Bloom from the Pale Flame set describing Signora's past as the Crimson Witch of Flames and her joining the Fatui.
  • When she first appeared, she had some very harsh choice of words for Barbatos, wondering why he was considered Mondstadt's god. Piecing together the descriptions from the Stainless Bloom and Crimson Witch of Flame, and the Elegy for the End before Chapter II will reveal that she's none other than the maiden from 500 years ago who had to become a monstrous Pyro witch to fight in Barbatos' stead after, her lover, Rostam died, because Barbatos only woke up from slumber when a wave of monsters was already assaulting Mondstadt and had to constantly endure being burned from the inside. That experience has understandably caused her to develop an utter hatred for Mondstadt's Archon.
• Forgotten Fallen Friend: Downplayed, as they were never friends to begin with, but Tartaglia doesn't even mention her death during the Labyrinth Warriors events. Justified as he stopped talking to her since her departure to Inazuma, and acknowledges that death is something the rest of the Harbingers would eventually be prepared for in the worst case scenario.
• Friend to All Children: Tragically subverted. Arlecchino mentions that La Signora used to visit the House of the Hearth multiple times. At first, her arrogant attitude put the orphans off, eventually won them over when she brought gifts; though this wasn't without saying she wouldn't bring gifts to those who disliked her, Arlecchino noted that Signora truly enjoy being surrounded by children back when she was alive, as this helped her cope with her loneliness. Unfortunately for Signora, the kids had simply learned to play pretend to get her gifts, hinting that not even them were fond of her.
• From Nobody to Nightmare: 500 years ago, she was just a simple young woman and mage-in-training. When she returned from her studies in Sumeru and learned her lover had been killed in the Cataclysm, she transformed herself into the Crimson Witch of Flames and went on a Roaring Rampage of Revenge against the monsters plaguing Mondstadt, until Pierro found her, granted her a Cryo Delusion, and recruited her as the 8th member of the Fatui Harbingers, La Signora.
• The Heavy: Initially, Signora had the most plot importance for much of the early game as she spearheaded the Fatui operations in Mondstadt and Liyue and successfully obtained their Archon's Gnoses with her own hands (either by force à la Venti or through willing collaboration à la Zhongli), to the point that the story presented her as the biggest Fatui threat to the Traveler. However, this later turned out to be a red herring because after being bested by the Traveler in a duel at the throne in Inazuma's Archon Quest, she gets mercilessly executed by the Raiden Shogun and is Killed Off for Real, making her a Disc-One Final Boss instead.
• Hidden Depths: As mentioned above, Signora had a soft spot for the orphans in the House of the Hearth, going so far as to bring them gifts. Arlecchino implies that this is her way of coping with her loneliness, by living out the family life she could've had with her lover Rostam had he not died.
  Arlecchino: I imagine she quite enjoyed being surrounded by children, perhaps due to the persistent loneliness that plagued her...
• Hypocrite: Almost everything she does is carried out without any self-awareness.
  • Her entire reason for joining the Fatui is anger towards Barbatos for not being around to help Mondstadt when the monsters spawned by the Cataclysm were ravaging the place, which led to the death of her lover and her transformation into the Crimson Witch of Flames. When the Abyss Order brainwash Dvalin in a similar ploy to raze Mondstadt to the ground, she just hides in the shadows and lets it happen before capitalizing on the confusion the whole crisis caused to steal Venti's Gnosis, indicating that revenge is all that she really cares about anymore. This is further emphasized in the English dub with Venti calling her "invasive vermin", meaning that he had now seen her as an invader towards Mondstadt in spite of her sacrifice for capitalizing on the Stormterror crisis just to get the Anemo Gnosis.
  • Prior to her battle in Inazuma, the Traveler spells out her crimes as why they want to fight her, ending with either Venti or Liyue. Signora responds by chastising them for holding grudges of events long past, even though she's held a huge grudge for Barbatos for centuries and said hatred is retroactively implied to be why Venti was both her first target for Gnosis-stealing and treated far worse in the moment compared to Zhongli or the Raiden Shogun.
  • In addition, she responds to the Traveler's challenge of a duel before Inazuma's throne by reminding them that the loser must die and asking if they're sure they really want that. Afterwards, when the Raiden Shogun is advancing on her to execute her, she's suddenly not a big fan of the "loser gets executed" terms and tries to talk the Raiden Shogun out of killing her.
  • A flashback in Interlude Chapter III shows her berating Scaramouche for his attitude towards his subordinates in the Delusion Factory. This is quite ironic, since Tartaglia mentions that she's been known to kill new recruits on a whim.
• An Ice Person: She possesses Cryo powers granted to her by her Delusion, and freezes Venti with them. In her boss battle, she also uses Cryo powers in the first phase before her One-Winged Angel. Aside from dealing substantial damage, she can cause the "Sheer Cold" status like in Dragonspine with her attacks, which no other Cryo enemies can do.
• I Control My Minions Through...: Loyalty, surprisingly enough (though still with a side of Fear into the mixture). Kokomi's story quest following the events of the main story in Inazuma indicates that Signora's subordinates are actually quite loyal to her, to the point where some remain in the country after the rest of the Fatui pull out to try to reignite the civil war, in order to avenge her death at the Raiden Shogun's hands. Not even all their food going rotten was enough to deter them. Regardless, if Childe's claims of Signora killing recruits at the drop of a hat remain true, there may be some dark implications thrown into that.
• Interface Spoiler: The first time you are about to face her, the Tenshukaku domain shows one of the rewards will be her Funerary Mask, which is described as a Battle Trophy. Since Signora is shown to be incredibly haughty and smug, such trophy is astronomically unlikely to be given willingly, unless she's dead.
• Irony: At the end of the Liyue story arc, she plays Tartaglia for a fool by obtaining Zhongli's Gnosis through a contract without his knowledge, making all his previous actions meaningless. Near the end of the Inazuma story arc however, Scaramouche plays her for a fool by obtaining the Raiden Shogun's Gnosis behind her back through Yae Miko and running off with it, leaving her to die in a fruitless effort to obtain it herself.
• It's Personal:
  • She has an extreme hatred for Barbatos in particular as due to his unwillingness to truly serve as Mondstadt's deity, Barbatos was slumbering at the start of the disaster 500 years ago, leading to the death of Signora's lover at the time to protect Mondstadt from the abyssal forces, and Signora turning herself into a constantly burning and suffering pyro witch to hunt the monsters in revenge.
  • In her place, the Traveler seems to have developed particular enmity towards her by the time of Inazuma due to all the trouble she's caused and gotten away with up to that point. Most notably, challenging her to a duel is one of the few lines to be actually voiced.
• Jerkass: Especially prominent in the English dub, but she's still very much this regardless of the current voice setting. She spends most of her screentime being arrogant, condescending, and contemptuous of the people around her, going so far as to coldly dismiss the people who have been harmed by the Fatui's plots on Inazuma as unimportant nobodies and necessary sacrifices. During the Sumeru interlude "Inversion of Genesis," Scaramouche outright describes her as "being as fun to be around as a raging inferno".
• Karmic Death: As somebody who wants to collect gnoses of the Seven Archons, and is not afraid to get physical in order to do so as seen with Venti, she manages to get killed by an Archon who doesn't even use her own gnosis.
• Killed Off for Real:
  • After losing her duel with the Traveler in the Shogun's palace, the Shogun personally executes her with the Musou no Hitotachi, reducing her to literal cinders. To leave absolutely no doubt about the finality of her death, the game provides a black transition screen with a statement confirming such.
    Signora... is slain.
  • The "A Winter Night's Lazzo" teaser video reveals the other Harbingers have encased Signora's remains in a coffin, confirming her death for good.
• Lady of Black Magic: She looks, dresses and acts the part, and is also an extremely powerful sorceress who has natural Pyro abilities and a Delusion that gives her immense Cryo powers.
• Let No Crisis Go to Waste: While the Fatui were not responsible for the Stormterror Incident in Mondstadt, it was nonetheless thanks to the Abyss Order that she was able to successfully steal Venti's Gnosis.
• Living Lava: Her Super Mode transforms even parts of her body into flames, with liquid fire visibly pulsing through her arms and chest. Her Crimson Witch of Flames artifact set even calls her an "embodiment of liquid fire."
• Long-Range Fighter: Like Catalyst users, Signora mostly fights from a distance and bombards you with various Cryo projectiles with her only physical attack being a close-ranged AOE burst of Cryo. It isn't until she assumes her boss form that she starts using more physical attacks.
• Malevolent Masked Woman: Has her right eye obscured in her normal form, then the entire upper half of her face in her boss form.
• Meaningful Name: La Signora (The Fair Lady) is an archetype in the Commedia dell'Arte, a beautiful and sometimes powerful woman with a vain streak.
• Moth Menace: Her boss form incorporates a moth motif, with a moth styled mask, massive fiery moth wings on her back, and her "hatching" from an ice chrysalis.
• Ms. Fanservice: An attractive woman who wears a very revealing, flattering dress, is one of the tallest characters in the game, and also has one of the largest bust sizes — even in a game full of these, Signora easily stands out.
• Mythology Gag: Her boss form's Animal Motifs is fire moths, which is also the logo of one the major organizations from fellow Mihoyo game Honkai Impact 3rd.
• Navel-Deep Neckline: In her boss form, her neckline goes nearly all the way down to her belly button.
• No-Nonsense Nemesis: Childe describes her as such, citing her attack on Venti and the Traveler in Mondstadt as an example. She attacked while her target was distracted, took what she wanted, and was gone after barely a minute had passed.
• One-Winged Angel: The second stage in her boss fight has her transform into a giant, monstrous woman with a fire and moth motif.
• Playing with Fire: She has natural control over Pyro. This is also her second element used during her boss fight, with her using a Pyro infused whip, unleashing Pyro tornados and various other fire based attacks.
• Power Incontinence: Her Pyro abilities are so great, they turn her into a Walking Wasteland that burns everything around her without her even meaning to, including herself. Before joining the Fatui she spent the entire time being endlessly burned alive by her own liquid fire body and blood, until her Cryo Delusion relieved her from this pain. This translates into her boss fight, as her attacks leaving the ground scorched, with characters standing on it taking damage and accelerating their buildup of Blazing Heat.
• Really 700 Years Old: As she is eventually revealed to be the Crimson Witch of Flames, she is more than 500 years old, yet resembles a woman in her 30's at the very most.
• Red Baron: One of her scarier titles is the Crimson Witch of Flames.
• Required Secondary Powers: Her Cryo abilities granted to her by the Tsaritsa are the only thing that keep the Power Incontinence from her immense Pyro powers at bay, which before joining the Fatui left her a constantly self-immolating Walking Wasteland.
• Rule of Three: She obtains the first two Gnosis with annoying ease. The third one she goes after proves her undoing.
• Sacrificial Lion: Despite being built up as one of the main antagonists of the game, she's executed by the Raiden Shogun towards the end of Chapter II to establish that Tartaglia surviving his fight with the Traveler and becoming a playable character doesn't mean the other Harbingers will survive the story or join the playable roster.
• Sequential Boss: Like Tartaglia, her boss fight has you facing her standard form followed by a monstrous One-Winged Angel form that uses a second element.
• Smug Snake: To the extent that even Scaramouche felt the need to warn her not to get overconfident, which she blew off. That ended up being their last conversation with each other, as Signora would be slain by the Raiden Shogun not long after, all because she was absolutely certain that the Traveler was no threat to her.
• Sore Loser: Despite readily agreeing to a duel against the Traveler, she does not take her subsequent loss well, and pathetically tries to stop the Raiden Shogun's subsequent execution of her.
• Statuesque Stunner: Her Super Mode causes her to grow in size and tower above the player characters, while still retaining much of her beauty.
• Suicidal Overconfidence: She readily accepts the Traveler's challenge to a duel, smugly believing she'll wipe the floor with them like the last time in Mondstadt. It proves to be her greatest and final mistake.
• Supermodel Strut: Fitting with her confident and smug personality, she walks with a deliberate strut that has her swaying her hips from side to side.
• This Cannot Be!: She's in complete disbelief that the Traveler actually managed to defeat her in their duel.
• Too Dumb to Live: Threatening the Raiden Shogun was never a good idea to begin with, but she also ups the ante by attempting to attack her in order to forcibly take her Gnosis. It proves to be the last mistake she would ever make.
• Tornado Move: In her boss form, one of her stronger attacks has her transform into a tornado of Pyro and move about the room, releasing four smaller tornadoes in different directions.
• Tragic Villain: Though she's an obnoxious bitch of the highest order, several details paint out her reasons for her villainy in a clear light, especially in the non-English versions. Back when she was still Rosalyne 500 years ago, she was a sweet and kind young maiden that would sing songs in the square and was in a loving relationship with Rostam, the then-Number Two of the Knights of Favonius. After she went on to study at the Akademiya and went back to Mondstadt and learned Rostam died, she snapped completely and went on to become the Crimson Witch of Flames, whose powers eventually became too much for her to handle and left her a Walking Wasteland. Pierro would find her and she'd be granted a Cryo Delusion that kept her powers in check, becoming La Signora. And even despite being a jackass by that time, Arlecchino's voice-over for her states she still harbored a soft spot for children, thinking this was a way for her to overcome the loneliness that had consumed her for centuries. All things considered, while her horrible actions and personality would end up in her death, maybe Rosalyne wasn't too far gone after all.
• Villain Forgot to Level Grind: The first time she and the Traveler meet, she effortlessly incapacitates both them and Venti before casually stealing the latter's gnosis. Two chapters later, the Traveler has grown strong enough to defeat her even while she's using the full extent of her power.
• Villain Has a Point: In the original Chinese and non-English versions, she shows her standards against Venti for refusing to directly govern his people at Mondstadt, by proclaiming that he caused trouble for them before retrieving the Anemo Gnosis from him. This is left out from the English version in place of her questioning Venti's status as a god for his weakness, producing a Dub-Induced Plot Hole.
• Villainous Breakdown: After the Traveler defeats her in a duel before the Shogun's throne, she desperately tries to dissuade Raiden from executing her as per the duel's terms, before losing her cool completely and in the original Chinese and other dubs, declaring that she could not bear to face death from the Shogun, which was not carried over to the English dub which has her lashing out at the Traveler and Shogun, both before attempting a final last-ditch attack before the Shogun kills her.
  "I am a Snezhnayan diplomat... you know what happens if you lay a finger on me... I swear, if you strike me, I will make sure... the Fatui will make sure that your precious Inazuma... (the Shogun is unfazed and continues walking towards her) Stop! I order you! And YOU! Filthy rats... ALL OF YOU!!!"
• Villainous Friendship: Arlecchino's voice-overs show the two were actually quite close. The Knave's voice line for Signora is remarkedly sad; she was one of the first Harbingers Arlecchino acquainted herself with, and the latter claims she could sense the loneliness the former harbored from the loss of her lover. Out of all the Harbingers, Arlecchino is the only one who was genuinely upset at Signora's funeral.
• Walking Spoiler: She has both a massive revelation and a major event tied to her in Chapter II — she's revealed to be the Crimson Witch of Flames talked about in various lore, and she eventually ended up being slain by the Raiden Shogun. Thus, many of her infos are spoiler content.
• Walking Wasteland:
  • In battle, her Cryo and Pyro abilities cause field effects similar to Dragonspine, slowly killing you if you don't get near a source of warmth or cold respectively to normalize your temperature. Also, her attacks will leave the floor covered in ice and heat that will accelerate the effects and can only be cleared off by destroying the Eyes of Frost or Hearts of Flame.
  • The lore offered by various items shows the reason as to why: her Pyro powers when she went berserk upon Roslam's death were such, they transformed her into one of these, burning and immolating her own self due to her own liquid fire body and blood. The Stainless Bloom artifact lore similarly describes her leaving a massive trail of destruction in her wake in the process. Her Cryo Delusion granted to her by the Fatui was what allowed her self-immolating to stop.
• Whip of Dominance: She's a haughty, arrogant, and domineering villainess and her One-Winged Angel form wields a fire whip as a weapon. She notably becomes more openly sadistic and violent while wielding it.
• White Hair, Black Heart: Has platinum blonde hair and is a villainous, sadistic and violent woman.
• Worf Had the Flu: Her boss subtitle in her One-Winged Angel form is "Crimson Witch of Embers," or "Witch of Burned-out Flame" in Chinese and Japanese. Coupled with the lore from the mask she left behind and her boss drops, it's implied that her powers have been slowly diminished throughout the years, so that it's enough for Traveler to beat her.

No. 9 - Pantalone

Pantalone, "Regrator"

Moment of Cessation

Voiced by: Xu Min (Chinese), Takanori Hoshino (Japanese), Seo Yun-seon (Korean), J. Michael Tatum (English)

"The people of the land from which these coins hail revere contracts above all else. In the name of money, I shall respect the contract between us... We shall, by whatever means necessary, become the heart that pumps money around the world. And, when the moment comes, that heart shall cease beating by our will alone."

The 9th of the Eleven Harbingers, and the wealthiest of them all. The head of the Northland Bank, he is in charge of Snezhnaya's economic policies, but his understanding of wealth is very different from the norm.

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• Early-Bird Cameo: Before he made his debut in the Teyvat Interlude trailer released with the Version 3.0 update, Pantalone was actually referenced near the end of Yelan's story quest in Version 2.7 under his title "Regrator" while hinting that he is one of the Harbingers that still has an interest in Liyue. The flavour text of Cashflow Supervision also states that he is the one who introduced Credit Coupons to the Fortress of Meropide.
• Even Evil Has Standards: Downplayed, but during Signora's funeral, he openly admits that even for a banker like him, the fact that Signora's death only stopped the activities of Snezhnaya for half a day seems unconscionable.
• Eyes Always Shut: Most likely to display his duplicitous nature as a Morally Bankrupt Banker.
• Four Eyes, Zero Soul: Implied as he wears spectacles and seeks to gain economic dominance for the Fatui. According to the Wanderer/Scaramouche, he also has a close working relationship with Dottore, who isn't exactly the most morally stable of the Harbingers.
• Identical Stranger: He looks like a dark version of Baizhu, down to his hairstyle and oval framed glasses, hinting at a family relation.
• Man of Wealth and Taste: Among his other activities he tried to smuggle the fur of an ancient, extinct beast into Snezhnaya as a gift to the Tsaritsa... only for Yelan to steal the entire shipment and use the fur to make her own fashionable sleeved white mantle.
• Mask of Sanity: Arlecchino describes him as someone that presents himself as a reasonable and rational person, but is completely driven by rage.
• Morally Bankrupt Banker: In Card-Carrying Villain fashion, he readily admits the majority of Teyvat thinks that "the Northland Bank's true currencies are blood and tears."
• Rags to Riches: In a similar vein to Ningguang, he was born into poverty and managed to claw his way up to become a powerful and wealthy government official.
• Screw the Rules, I Have Money!: Fundamentally believes "Money is the lifeblood of the world, and the pathways along which it flows are the world's arteries" and "the center of the world is a heart made of gold."
• The Team Normal: The "Moment of Cessation" artifact implies that he does not possess a Vision, and this perceived "unfairness" fueled his obsession with worldly power and wealth. He is also stated to lack any notable abilities, earning his authority through his control over the Northland Bank and overseeing the nation's economic policies.
• Windbag Politician: Arlecchino and Tartaglia's discussion about their colleagues includes a complaint about his tendency to monologue at length.

No. 11 - Tartaglia

The 11th and youngest of the Eleven Harbingers, whose friendly nature belies a bloodthirsty man who is not so much concerned with enforcing the Tsaritsa's will as much as satisfying his desire for a good fight.

See his page here.

No. ?? - Il Capitano

Il Capitano, "The Captain"

Voiced by: Wang Wei (Chinese), Ken Narita (Japanese), Min Eung-sik (Korean), Chris Tergliafera (English)

"Though her methods tarnished her honor, Lohefalter's sacrifice is a great pity. Her loss shall not hinder our progress."

One of the Eleven Harbingers, a man clad in full armor. He is currently heading towards Natlan, ready to throw his hat into the wars raging in the nation.

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• The Ace: Indicated to be among the strongest of the Harbingers. Tartaglia of all people admires his combat abilities, stating it was a beautiful sight to see, and Grand Master Varka himself admits Capitano is formidable, believing he'd be able to take down a Ruin Guard even with something like one of Klee's crayons. He also indicates he is more than capable of taking down the captains of the Knights of Favonius, and only he would be able to handle him.
• Badass Normal: According to Varka, Capitano is a completely regular human. Yet he's one of the Harbingers.
• Benevolent Boss: Implied. Victor, one of the Fatui mooks, says that he would rather work for Capitano than La Signora, but with La Signora's personality and conduct taken into account he might be setting the bar a little low.
• Creepy Blue Eyes: He is described as having "eerily dark blue eyes that seemed to glow with an uncanny aura" in Mika's Character Story 4.
• The Faceless: Unlike many of the Harbingers, his entire head is covered with a helmet to add to his threatening image.
• Killing Intent: Mika describes the Knights' encounter with Capitano as a truly terrifying experience, leaving everyone but Grand Master Varka paralyzed with fear. Though Capitano did nothing more than come to the front and speak with Varka, his mere presence filled with Knights with dread and left Mika with the impression of a black shape with terrible, glowing eyes.
• Noble Demon: Though a commanding officer of the Fatui, it seems Capitano has a sense of decorum and honor. He's critical of La Signora's dishonorable methods, and enjoys the respect of both rank-and-file agents and his fellow Harbingers. Grand Master Varka of the Knights of Favonius also speaks favourably of him despite having only encountered him briefly out in the wilderness and being naturally wary of him due to him being a Fatuus.
• Once Killed a Man with a Noodle Implement: According to Varka, he's capable of taking down a Ruin Guard with one of Klee's crayons.
• Strength Equals Worthiness: One of the ways of catching his attention is to display incredible fighting prowess that is on par or even greater than his. Tartaglia's dialogue notes that he is ranked too low to earn his recognition and wants to prove his strength to him.
• Token Good Teammate: Alongside Tartaglia, Il Capitano is indicated through dialogue about him to be one of the most benevolent of the Harbingers, with even Grand Master Varka speaking highly of his character. It also says something when The Wanderer, who has nothing nice to say about any of the Harbingers, can't list any genuine character flaws he has, only complaining about how much others sing his praises.
• Universally Beloved Leader: Praised by almost everyone among the Fatui and known for being righteous and honorable.

"Mother", the previous Knave

Arlecchino, "The Knave" / Crucabena / "Mother" / "Director"

Voiced by: Li Chanfei (Chinese), Yuuko Nagashima (Japanese), Jennifer Sun Bell (English)

"Surrender. Let your 'Mother' guide you, and you shall become the one true 'King!'"

The previous holder of the Knave's title, overseeing the House of the Hearth. A cruel and abusive woman, feared by the children under her authority.

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• Abandon the Disabled: She would send the children that got maimed in duels either on dangerous missions they had no chance of surviving, or to be a lab rat for Dottore.
• Abusive Parents: In addition to being cruel to the children of the House of the Hearth (notably lying to Freminet as to why his mother left him in the orphanage), she was physically abusive towards her biological daughter Clervie as a form of Anti-Nepotism, who had to be bandaged up with Peruere's help. She even ended up pitting Clervie against Peruere in a fight to the death, with the former dying against the latter. This doesn't stop her from still having soldiers loyal to her, as Efim shows.
• Action Mom: She was not only "Mother" of the House of Hearth but also Clervie's biological mother, and she managed to keep Peruere on the losing side with her agility and swordsmanship until the latter calmed down and turned the tide of the battle.
• Anti-Nepotism: According to Arlecchino, she was as cruel to her biological daughter as she was to her wards in order to show everyone that she doesn't believe in favoritism and that all children are equally beneath her.
• Asshole Victim: Crucabena faced a Karmic Death at the hands of one of her victims. Nobody mourned her due to her abusive practices — even the Fatui did not punish her murderer, Peruere, and instead granted the latter a Klingon Promotion, though she was thrown in a Fatui prison for a while.
• Bitch in Sheep's Clothing: She posed as a warm, motherly figure as the Director of the House of the Hearth, all the while abusing her children and forcing them to kill each other. The next Arlecchino chose to be the inverse of this, appearing outwardly strict and unfeeling while in truth looking out for her children's interests.
• Child Abuse Is a Special Kind of Evil: Her defining characteristic. She was both physically and emotionally abusive to the point of the children under her care developing mental disorders such as "Loneliness Syndrome". Her biological daughter Clervie was no exception either. Her worst act was forcing the children to fight each other to the death. While the Fatui are certainly not an innocent organization by any measure, the Director is a particularly terrible individual to the point that her colleagues do not mourn her and instead promote her killer to her rank. According to Arleccino, any children who were too injured to be of use to her were sent to Il Dottore as test subjects.
• Cruel and Unusual Death: Crucabena meets her well-deserved end at the hands of Peruere by being smashed sky-high into a glass ceiling, then brutally incinerated and blown up by Peruere's hellish flames.
• The Dog Bites Back: She was known for her cruelty towards the children, and it's rumored that one of her wards seized both her seat and the House of the Hearth. Said ward was Peruere, the current Arlecchino, who killed her and ended up taking her title after being pardoned by the Tsaritsa.
• Elemental Powers: She wielded the element of either Hydro or Cryo in battle.
• Evil Matriarch: She referred to herself as her minions' "Mother" and ruled through control and fear, turning the House of the Hearth's children against one another. As she puts it...
  Crucabena: (to Peruere) Innocence and kindness are such beautiful qualities... Sadly... they're also useless!
• Evil Orphanage Lady: She specialized in raising Fatui operatives, and her methods ranged from blackmailing to outright torture to enforce her will. The children under her watch were raised to value their duty above all else, caring nothing for themselves or their own lives. Freminet's story reveals that she frequently threatened to harm the boy's mother if he failed, and lied to him about how he ended up at the House.
• Face of an Angel, Mind of a Demon: Though Crucabena might look physically like a nice person, she's anything but kind or motherly, pitting the children in her charge against each other to the death for her own purposes.
• Fan Disservice: Crucabena was a fairly curvy and well-endowed woman with long red hair, but she had a disgustingly vile and repulsive personality, and she abused the children (including her biological daughter) under her care, driving them to kill each other for her own ends.
• Hated by All: With the sole exception being Il Dottore, not even the other Harbingers saw her in a positive light. Her death wasn't even mourned by them, for Celestia's sake!
• Hate Sink: Crucabena was a vile, utterly repulsive woman who ran the House of the Hearth and appeared as a motherly figure, but abused and manipulated the children under her care, including her own biological daughter, who she sent in a suicide mission to fail to kill the person she actually had most interest in. All of this was performed with a sadistic smile, showing how unrepentant she was over her actions. Fittingly, no one in the Fatui bothers to mourn her after she's killed, indicating that even her fellow Harbingers despised her for her actions.
• Hiding Behind Your Bangs: Crucabena's hair tended to cover one side of her face, hinting at her "two-faced" and deceptive nature.
• Icy Blue Eyes: Her eyes were crystal blue, reflecting her elemental powers.
• Jerkass: Cold, abusive, manipulative and unrepentant are the best adjectives that can describe Crucabena.
• Karmic Death: She abused her charges and sent many to their deaths, and eventually one of them rose up against her and took over her "throne".
• Kick the Dog: Freminet's mother brought him to the Director out of desperation, asking her to protect him from the criminals after her. The Director took him in, then told him his mother had sold him to pay off her debts and that she would be killed if Freminet failed in his duties. Years later, her successor would tell Freminet the truth about his mother's efforts to protect him.
• Kill It with Fire: Crucabena was incinerated by Peruere during their duel, which destroyed the building in the process.
• Motherly Side Plait: Subverted. She wore that exact hairstyle, cultivating an image of a warm and motherly figure for some of the children under her care, but unlike the usual examples of this trope, she was cruel and abusive to her children.
• Orphanage of Fear: She ran the House of the Hearth with an iron fist, raising the children to value only their duty and dealing out "brutal" treatment to her wards. Freminet admits that his withdrawn personality is the result of growing up under her watch, and in "Thelxie's Fantastic Adventures", he further reveals that the Director's abuse caused many children to suffer from a rare but potentially fatal condition called "Loneliness Syndrome." He states that conditions greatly improved after the current Arlecchino overthrew the Director, saving the House's remaining children from further abuse.
• Religious and Mythological Theme Naming: "Crucabena" is the Gallic name of the Welsh enchantress Ceridwen.
• The Sociopath: When you abuse the children you adopted into an orphanage, then make them duel with each other to the death until one remains to groom them into being the "King" to your plans, it's a given.
• Strange Minds Think Alike: Unlike with the other Harbingers, she was actually professionally close to Dottore, sending him any "rejects" so he could work on them as test subjects, and both approved of each other's methods. Unsurprising, given the two are sociopaths.
• Virtue Is Weakness: Before her fight with Peruere, she holds a pot of Lumidouce Bells representing Clervie, and comments on how flowers should be pruned before they wilt. During the fight, she insults Clervie for having "useless qualities" such as innocence and kindness, likening her own biological daughter to a wilted flower that should have been dealt with sooner.
• Would Hurt a Child: More like as many as she needs to see her goals bloom. She raised a group of children with the intention of grooming a "King", forcing these children to kill each other to prove themselves worthy. This included her own biological daughter, who is seen patching up her own injuries after an "argument" with Mother. Other children under her "care", such as Freminet, were raised as disposable agents and ruthlessly abused to ensure they would obey her without question.