Genshin Impact: Kaveh / Characters

Kaveh (and Mehrak)

Introduced: May 2, 2023 (v3.6 "A Parade of Providence" [second half])
Voiced by: Liu Sanmu (Chinese), Yūma Uchida (Japanese), Lee Jung-min (Korean), Ben Balmaceda (English)

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/kaveh_5.png

Empyrean Reflection

"People who know what drives them to create deserve our respect. Wouldn't you agree?"

Rarity: 4★
Element: Dendro
Weapon: Claymore
Constellation: Paradisaea, the Bird of Paradise

A star alumnus of the Akademiya's Kshahrewar Darshan and a renowned architect, famed for such works as the Palace of Alcazarzaray. Having gone broke following the construction of the Palace, he moved in with Alhaitham, although he frequently argues with him due to their vastly differing opinions. Their arguments are found across bulletin boards in Sumeru City and Port Ormos. The Traveler doesn't meet Kaveh until the end of the Archon Quest, when everything is safe, due to him being busy in a project far away from Sumeru City.

Using his trusty robotic toolbox buddy Mehrak, Kaveh manually detonates Dendro Cores by scanning the battlefield and dealing wide-ranging Dendro damage through his Elemental Talents. His Skill, Artistic Ingenuity, does so in a radius around him, while his Burst, Painted Dome, does so in a cubic area in front of him, in addition to putting Kaveh into a state which infuses all his attacks with a Dendro effect that cannot be overridden by reactions and increases both the damage range of all his regular attacks and his interruption resistance, as well as boosting the damage potency of Dendro Cores generated by the party.^note

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A-J

The Ace: Kaveh is one of the most distinguished alumni of the Kshahrewar Darshan, being not only one of its best students, but having also built up quite the resumé that includes the Palace of Alcazarzaray, and is also one of the most well-liked people in Sumeru. Even Nahida has nothing but high praise for him, describing him as having an almost perfect grasp of what it truly means for Sumeru to be a nation of wisdom.
The Alcoholic: The first item he lists when telling the Traveler his favorite foods is alcohol, and he admits to drinking away his sorrows in excess due to the stress of his various troubles. The "Monthly Frustration-Be-Gone" Furnishing Item description also reveals that he buys a basket of various wines once a month, catching them when they're on sale before anyone else knows about it.
All-Loving Hero: Subverted. Although his Character Stories implies that he inherited his sensitivity and empathy from his parents, his excessive altruism is partly a coping mechanism for his father's death and the resulting collapse of his family. This is discussed in his Hangout Event, where he is unsure whether he still helps others to make himself feel better or if it's because he is genuinely empathetic and idealistic.
All the Other Reindeer: Subverted in his backstory; while he had a good number of friends in the Akademiya and earned himself a positive reputation among his peers, he recalls feeling many critical looks from some of the other students for some time due to having lost his father at an early age.
Ambiguously Gay: While nothing is stated explicitly, much of his interactions with Alhaitham suggest strong yet conflicting feelings toward the Scribe, whatever those feelings may be:
- He talks about Alhaitham a lot, as Collei and Tighnari point out, and holds onto the memories of their time as best friends in the Akademiya, lamenting the fact that they aren't close anymore, and even keeps the torn up thesis from the time they worked on a project together for years despite how badly their friendship ended because of it. He's also very Tsundere toward Alhaitham, never wanting to give him the satisfaction of admitting he cares but also gets annoyed when Alhaitham misses opportunities to spend time with him, such as in Alhaitham's Character Demo.
- It's also worth noting that while he is always polite to the Traveler and comes to view them as a friend, his feelings toward them appear to be neutral, and he is one of the few characters who never make a pass at them in any of his official content, not even in his Hangout Event, where even a lot of those that aren't treated like outright dates have some options for flirting or at least have "date-y" looking scenarios in the Hangout Memories. In fact, his only "date-y" looking Hangout Memory is one that gives the impression that he's on a double date with Alhaitham, Tighnari, and Cyno, which the Traveler and Collei have stumbled upon,◊ when viewed out of context.
Ambiguous Situation: Despite the story's (and Kaveh's) claim that King Deshret's technology is still yet to be understood, Kaveh was able to reverse-engineer an ancient machine core from to serve as the power conduit for Mehrak, as well as program it to perform various tasks such as mapping and combat functions when combined with his Dendro Vision. The player is never told how he did this, with the best he can offer being him saying "it's a long story" before giving an explanation for how he came into possession of the core in the first place.
Animal Motifs: Birds in general. Apart from his general inspiration from the Huma bird (see "Mythical Motifs" below), his default attire, Gold Pinions in Flames Bathed, is said to be inspired by the sight of birds in flight, reflected in its color scheme which resembles Dusk Birds found throughout Dharma Forest; its cape, which resembles a pair of wings; his shirt, which has a tail-like back; and a large teal-gradient quill worn behind his left ear.
The Atoner: Discussed in his Hangout Event; In the past, he believes that he frequently went out of his way to help others, even if their problems had nothing to do with him, to relieve the guilt he felt for being the indirect cause of his father's death. However, in the present, he wonders if he still feels this way, as after much self-reflection he can't figure out why he can't walk away from those in need and can only speculate on the real reason for his behavior.
Kaveh: Maybe it's just like what those Vahumana scholars often say — it's hard for people to truly understand themselves. I could be doing things out of endless guilt, or I could be doing them out of a strong sense of empathy. It could even just be a matter of conceit. The potential motivations could number in the dozens, but the actions they result in are the same.
Badass Bookworm: He's a renowned Akademiya scholar with a fair amount of combat experience, which is exemplified in the "Treasure and True Interest" route of his Hangout Event when Fakhr sicks a few Eremites on him and the Traveler. He isn't initimidated by the threat in the slightest, boasting dismissively that he's already fought off more than his fair share of Eremites while working in the desert.
Badass Cape: Shows off his prowess in battle while sporting a red and gold cape around his shoulders.
Badass Fingersnap: While his battle animations show that Kaveh can summon and send Mehrak away at will, his idle animation instead shows him sending away Mehrak by casually snapping his fingers.
Beneath the Mask: While he appears to be quite confident, he is secretly suffering from his poor financial situation and carries unresolved guilt from the collapse of his once-happy family following his father's death, which he feels responsible for.
Berserk Button: He's quite sensitive to criticisms about his work, whether it be decorating or as an architect. One of his Serenitea Pot dialogues is him angrily snapping at the player if they choose to have the Traveler say that they didn't find the Palace of Alcazarzaray all that impressive, only for him to collect himself and claim he's not so easily offended.
- Speaking of Serenitea Pot dialogues, he makes an hissy fit if you admit to place decorations randomly.
Best Friend: Formerly to Alhaitham during their days in the Akademiya.
A Boy and His X: A man and his multi-function automated suitcase.
Break Them by Talking: Sachin's monologue, which only has a negative impact on empaths, is capable of doing this to Kaveh, causing him physical as well as mental anguish.
Breaking Old Trends: All claymore users that use tall character models always perform vicious forward slashes for their charged attack. Kaveh is the first tall Claymore wielder who does not do this, instead performing a Spin Attack that the medium and short Claymore characters do in their charged attacks, albeit he uses Mehrak to swing the claymore instead of physically doing it himself. Navia would follow suit afterwards.
Brick Joke: At the end of the Sumeru Archon quests, Alhaitham mentioned having snagged both of his house keys when celebrating with his allies, and one of his idle animations as a playable character has him realize he still has them in his possession. The joke comes full circle with one of Kaveh's idle animations, where he feels his pockets and realizes his keys are missing, before bemoaning that he apparently lost them again.
Bring It: One of his combat voice lines is "Come at me!"
Brief Accent Imitation: In "A Parade of Providence: Act II," he did a pretty accurate imitation of Alhaitham's snooty drawl and inflection when quoting what Alhaitham said to piss him off to Paimon and the Traveler.
Broken Ace: For all of his renown and academic brilliance, his current life is less than ideal due a variety of factors, including having to conceal the fact that he's in debt from the public, being on bad terms with someone he once considered a best friend while having no choice but to live under the same roof as them, and still dealing with unresolved trauma stemming from his past.
Brutal Honesty: In his "About Cyno" voice line he doesn't hold back on expressing his dislike for Cyno's sense of humor and says that it shouldn't be endured while sober.
The Call Put Me on Hold: This becomes the subject of his Vision profile story; While he was aware of the existence of Visions and the circumstances under which most people would receive them from a young age, knowing that being placed in a near-death situation or having a strong wish often earned others the gods' favor, he would not receive a Vision even after wishing hard and being placed in such a situation, eventually deciding to put the possibility of ever receiving a Vision out of his mind as the years went off. It wouldn't be until he was well into adulthood that Celestia would reward him with a Dendro Vision for his perseverance, gifting it to him after he had opted to stake everything on his ideals.
Can't Hold His Liquor: Played for Laughs. He quickly becomes inebriated after having one drink in his Hangout Event, although Lambad claims that his tolerance is usually higher... only to sober up just as quickly.
Can't Live with Them, Can't Live Without Them: Subverted. Kaveh has been shown to be most volatile when Alhaitham is around, and he frequently complains about him, but he can't help but mention him when he's not around, and nags about Alhaitham missing opportunities in which they could have spent time together.
Can't Take Criticism: Zig-zagged. In Act II of "A Parade of Providence," he rants to the Traveler and Paimon about an off-screen argument he had with Alhaitham about his actions during the second round, seemingly not understanding why Alhaitham was scolding him in the first place and simply being angry about it. However, when Faruzan and Paimon confronted him on the same issue, he reacted relatively calmly and was even willing to explain his actions, implying that it was the delivery, or simply Alhaitham, that triggered him rather than the criticism itself.
Celebrity Is Overrated: He takes great pride in his work as a master architect and sees it as an escape from his worries, but feels constrained by the titles, rumors, and misconceptions that surround his occupation as a result of his celebrity status in Sumeru earned through his work on the Palace of Alcazarzaray. As a result of this, he's pretty dismissive of his fame and downplays it as being exaggerated when the Traveler asks him about it.
Character Catchphrase: In the Japanese dub, "Kimi te yatsu wa…!" ("You...!") He says it in nearly all of his interactions with Alhaitham whenever he pisses him off, which is often.
Character Development: An interesting case in which much of his character development took place off-screen before the player even met him in the story, though by the time they do, it's clear that he still has some growing to do as he picks up the pieces of his life following the incident with the Palace of Alcazarzaray.
My troubles? …Hmm, the most obvious one would be my financial situation. It's not that I can't make Mora, it's just that I can't seem to hold on to it. So many things in this world require money, and if you're not careful, it just disappears… Don't worry about me, though – I'm much better than I used to be. I’ll be more careful to live within my means in the future.
Child Prodigy: In the "Past Mementos" branch of Kaveh's Hangout Event, it's revealed that he was artistically gifted from an early age, having drawn a highly detailed rendering of Port Ormos with crayon when he was under five years old◊. He was also able to enroll in the Akademiya once he reached school-age, which is a rare accomplishment given the difficulty of the entrance exams. Only the best of the best can pass them.
Chronic Hero Syndrome: Combined with a Guilt Complex. He frequently goes out of his way to help others, even if it contradicts his own goals because he would feel guilty if something bad happened to them as a result of his negligence.
Cleavage Window: A male example. The shirt that he wears has a V-shaped collar that exposes the middle part of his chest.
The Cobbler's Children Have No Shoes: He's an architect, but has no house of his own.
Color-Coded Elements: Subverted. He has a Dendro Vision, which is associated with green, but his overall color palette is fairly diverse when compared to others in his element, with the color green only appearing in a minor way in some of his accessories, such as his earrings and Mehrak.
Commonality Connection: Teams up with Faruzan in the first round of the Interdarshan Championship due to both working with machines in their field of research. It’s also revealed that Kaveh previously consulted Faruzan on how to make his mechanical swiftflies small and nimble for his interior design project.
Cope by Creating: The description of his Character Demo "Edifice of Sincerity" suggests that his work as an architect serves this purpose for him:
Drafting blueprints, designing models, and refining proposals… These matters demand the greatest expenditures of effort and thought from an architect. But to Kaveh, they are also things that can calm his heart and distract him from his frustrations.
Cultural Rebel: Downplayed Trope. In Sumeru, he is a highly talented and recognized scholar who chose a career path that is not only acceptable in their culture, but is also supported by the Akademiya in the form of the Kshahrewar Darshan, from which he graduated. Despite this, he struggled for a time in his profession due to the systematic devaluation of the arts, as well as the rejection of designs that incorporated aesthetics, leaving him unable to properly stage his "rebellion" for some years until he was commissioned by Dori to build the extravagant Palace of Alcazarzaray, which brilliantly combined aesthetics and practicality and earned him fame across Sumeru.
Cultured Badass: He's a Vision holder whose interest in the fine arts extend beyond architecture, as he also enjoys painting, sculpting, music, and the theater. He can also play an instrument.
Dark and Troubled Past: Very troubled. Following his father's death, which he came to blame himself for due to his innocuous role in it, things have rarely gone his way, and he's had to deal with his mother's grief, his mother leaving him in Sumeru at a young age and eventually remarrying, the loss of someone he felt was his best friend, struggle in his profession due to his society's systematic devaluation of the arts, and getting into a huge pile of debt while trying to fulfill his dreams, the latter of which left him bankrupt, miserable, and homeless for a time until he was eventually taken in by his aforementioned old friend, Alhaitham, but even that proved to be a mixed blessing due to their nigh-irreconcilable differences.
Dark Secret: The fact that he's bankrupt, which is unknown to most of Sumeru save for a few people in his friend circle that have kept it a secret, such as Alhaitham and Tighnari. He's deathly afraid of word getting out.
A Day in the Limelight: The v3.6 event "A Parade of Providence" gives a little insight into understanding his character, as well as aspects of his backstory involving the death of his father.
Deadpan Snarker: Less so than Alhaitham, though he's not above snarky exchanges.
Kaveh: Hah, that's rich coming from you. If humans aren't humans without their humanity, then you'll probably evolve into some other species in another decade, I wager?
Alhaitham: What about you? Are you going to devolve into a fungus?
Kaveh: At least I'd be a fungus with empathy.
Deceased Parents Are the Best: Subverted; His father died when he was young, and according to Kaveh, he was a man who was too kind for his own good, leaving Kaveh to remember him fondly, so much so that he participated in the Interdarshan Champion to honor him by winning the crown that his father had failed to secure twenty years before. Kaveh's mother, on the other hand, was emotionally neglectful toward him due to her grief over her spouse's death, leaving him to care for and try to cheer her up while dealing with his own grief and guilt over his father's death alone, though he does not blame her. It is eventually revealed in his Hangout Event that she did indeed care for him, despite her awkwardness making it difficult for her to express it.
Determinator:
- After the first Palace of Alcazarzaray was destroyed by the Withering, Kaveh took a chance and built a new one, raising funds for 70% of its construction by selling his childhood home and possessions, as well as using his savings. His dedication to pursuing his ideals earned him his Dendro Vision, which he discovered in the center of his Signature Dish "The Endeavor."
- In his fifth Character Story, after being confronted by Alhaitham about how the pursuit of his ideals has brought him to ruin, he comes to the conclusion that it wasn't the his ideals that were mistaken, but the methods he used to achieve them, and resolves to not give up on them no matter the cost. This determination is reflected in his "Feelings About Ascension: Conclusion" voiceover.
The more power I wield, the more things I can accomplish. Even if achieving my goals comes at a cost, and even if all my hopes and dreams are built on pain and suffering... I don't want to turn back now.
Detrimental Determination: In at least one aspect of his life, his determination to pursue his ideals at any cost has caused more harm than good. He achieved great fame as an architect renowned for their artistic vision when he completed the second iteration of the Palace of Alcazarzaray, reaching the pinnacle of his ideals, despite still living in a society that devalues the arts, and when he transferred his assets, he gained a Vision because of his commitment to his goals, but he still ended up bankrupt because of his decision and has suffered greatly as a result. He acknowledges this in his fifth Character Story.
As the years passed, and he was beaten back by reality time and time again, Kaveh was forced to admit that his persistence born of wishful thinking was not always useful.
Dismissing a Compliment:
- In "A Toast To Victory," Alhaitham commends Kaveh for being a master builder and craftsman that has a chance of being appointed as a sage, to which Kaveh reacts by expressing suspicion at the sincerity of the compliment due to Alhaitham supposedly never praising him before.
- At the conclusion of the Interdarshan Championship, Kaveh rejects Sachin's inheritance, opting to donate all of it to charity, and smashes the Diadem of Knowledge to prevent future contestants from being exposed to the negative effects of Sachin's research. After praising him for his "sense of justice and idealism that many aspire to, but few dare to follow through with," Alhaitham dismisses it as ridiculous and points out Kaveh's major flaw, claiming that despite being aware of it, he is too proud to admit to it. He then goes on to say that what Kaveh said earlier was worthy of a victory speech and congratulates him on winning the championship, prompting Kaveh to snapback about him giving insincere praise and to advise him to focus his commentary on the competition rather than his views.
- In his Hangout Event, Kaveh expresses reluctance to accept a compliment from the Traveler and briefly overthinks it, explaining that he's gotten so used to sarcasm that he can't tell what compliments are genuine.
Despair Event Horizon: He crossed it after going bankrupt, spilling his guts to Alhaitham after running into him at the tavern where he was staying at the time. It doesn't last, however, as he becomes determined not to abandon his ideals after being confronted on his choices by Alhaitham.
Dissension Remorse: The fight he had with Alhaitham that ended their friendship still haunts him in the present, and the depth of his regret can be seen by how he has kept the thesis paper he tore up in his sketchbook even after years of separation.
Ditzy Genius: Deconstructed. For all his intellect, he frequently gets himself into trouble since his desire to help others often outweighs making logical decisions and frequently contradicts his own goals. When Paimon and Faruzan point out his decision-making, he explains that it's in his nature to behave this way and that he doesn't feel it has anything to do with his genius since they're his own choices made with acknowledgment of the potential consequences of his actions. This also puts him at odds with Alhaitham, who's also aware of this trait in him and believes that Kaveh's abilities are incongruous with his personality.
Doing It for the Art: An In-Universe example. He didn't earn any Mora after finishing the second Palace of Alcazarzaray, and it bankrupted him not only because he used up all of his funds building it, but also because Dori compelled him to take on the debt from overspending on its construction. Despite this, he continues to be proud of his creation and believes that the fact that his vision was realized is enough.
Dramatically Missing the Point: This occurs in "A Parade of Providence" after Kaveh reveals to the Traveler and Paimon that he and Alhaitham had a quarrel over the events of the second round, with Kaveh being angry about Alhaitham ruining his high from winning rather than acknowledging the real reason Alhaitham was scolding him in the first place, which was because Kaveh tries to solve problems in ways that put him at a disadvantage and create more problems for himself, which is a flaw in his character that Alhaitham perceived him as being oblivious of until the end of the event.
Drowning My Sorrows: Admits to doing this in his "More About Kaveh V" voice line due to the various stresses in his everyday life. He also spent several days in Lambad's Tavern doing this after going bankrupt and feeling the weight of his life coming down on him.
Dual Wielding: In a unique way; the claymore is Kaveh's base weapon, but he also uses his toolbox called Mehrak for offensive purposes in battle.
Early-Bird Cameo: While he wasn't seen in person until Act V of the Sumeru Archon Quest, he is featured in writing on the Puspa Café and Port Ormos message boards, as well as mentioned on the Mahamata bulletin board by Lambad.
Elemental Personalities: Played with. His Vision is that of Dendro, and while his reasons to help others are fueled by Chronic Hero Syndrome, he's genuinely kind and truly likes helping others, which does coincide with Dendro.
The Empath: He has a delicate and sensitive heart, which allows him to recognize and understand the various emotions of others, even when they are unaware of them. This ends up being a plot point in the event "A Parade of Providence," as his empathy makes him susceptible to Sachin's influence.
Establishing Character Moment: Downplayed. Kaveh is first introduced arguing with Alhaitham, with the interaction giving the impression that he is volatile and prone to dramatics. He is, however, relatively calm and mild-mannered during most of his interactions with other characters, including the Traveler, only becoming temperamental when Alhaitham or Dori (to a lesser extent) are involved.
Everyone Has Standards: Shows two instances in "A Parade of Providence":
- He rejects the inheritance Sachin intended for him as his successor, donating it all to desert dwellers in need after hearing from Sachin that they were suffering, despite knowing that the amount of Mora he would receive would solve all of his financial problems and then some. When Tighnari questions him about it later, Kaveh says it's because he'd rather not accept mora from someone if he didn't intend to carry out their wishes, as accepting the inheritance would mean he'd have a moral obligation to continue Sachin's research, which he pointedly didn't agree with.
- He hesitates to let Cyno buy the rare TCG card from him for 1 million mora because he doesn't want Cyno to end up in the same situation as him, that is, miserably in debt, as a result of spending all of his funds on his hobbies, and because he would feel bad taking such a large amount of money from a friend. He only accepts after Cyno reassures him that he has enough disposable income to afford such a purchase.
Exotic Eye Designs: His catlike pupils are outlined in black but filled in to be half-dark red and half-pink, matching the color of his irises. The blacks of his pupils are also partially outlined in a pink that goes into a pale yellow teardrop-shaped highlight at the bottom.
Exposed to the Elements: While he's mostly covered up, his gratuitous cleavage and back windows prove to be an issue when it gets cold, as evidenced by his "When It Snows" voice line.
Brrr... Feels like the wind's creeping in from the back of my shirt... and also the front...
Extreme Doormat: Subverted. His Character Story reveals that he will feel compelled to assist anyone who asks, even if he doesn't want to, due to a lingering sense of guilt from his past. Despite this, it has been demonstrated that he has not been rendered completely incapable of saying "no" to requests and demands made of him:
- In Alhaitham's Story Quest, he quite pointedly refuses to follow through with Paimon's request to give her hush mora in exchange for keeping it a secret that he lives with Alhaitham.
- In the climax of "A Parade of Providence," Kaveh smashes the Diadem of Knowledge in defiance of Sachin's monologue and refuses to continue his harmful research as his successor. He also donates Sachin's entire estate to those in need and has Nahida seal away his research to prevent it from being spread.
- In his Hangout Quest, he is first encountered arguing with his client that kept making unreasonable demands in regards to changing his design to their liking, ending off this interaction by refusing to continue working with him and telling him to find another genius to work with. If the player convinced him to give his client a second chance, he continues stands his ground and doesn't hesitate to use blunt language with his client.
- The "Wealthy Merchant" route of his Hangout Event reveals that he is not afraid to call Dori out on her greed and selfishness, even outright calling her a scammer at one point for trying to charge him 500 thousand Mora for a deal she knew would fail. In the end when she successfully scams him out of his project commission fees, he still takes advantage of her offering to treat him and the Traveler to dinner and decides to recoup his fees by ordering expensive dishes and wine until it's fully covered.
Faster Than You Look: Similarly to Dori, he doesn't directly wield his claymore, instead using Mehrak's grab function to "wield" it and swing it on his command. Unlike Dori, who is a bit slower in combat because of this, Kaveh is able to attack a bit faster than most claymore users due to his claymore being swung like a sword. His second Constellation upgrade, Grace of Royal Roads, gives his attacking speed a further 15% boost while his Burst is active.
Famed In-Story: He is known throughout Sumeru as one of the most prominent figures in the industry, is regarded as an outstanding alumnus by the Akademiya, and is recognized as a role model by the students of the Kshahrewar.
Female Gaze:
- During his introductory scene in "A Parade of Providence," he gets gratuitous shots of his lips, thighs, and butt, as well as his back window.
- His Character Demo "Edifice of Sincerity" gives a gratuitous and long-held shot of his ass.
Fictional Document: Though the player does not see a visual representation of the documents, Kaveh has several of them from various points in his life that he keeps in an old sketchbook as mementos. Among these papers are a torn-up thesis from a project he worked on with Alhaitham at the Akademiya, rent records, and a real estate transfer certificate from when he sold his childhood home.
Flying Weapon: Rather than wielding his claymore by hand in combat, Kaveh uses Mehrak's "grab" function to keep it suspended in the air while he controls its movements and impact remotely.
Foil:
- To Alhaitham on several points:
  - In Chinese, Alhaitham's^note and Kaveh's^note taglines in their character introductions form a duilian couplet, a type of Chinese poetry that requires using words and tones that may individually contrast each other but form complementary lines of meaning as a whole. As Alhaitham was released earlier, his tagline forms the top line of the couplet while Kaveh's tagline completes it.
  - In appearance, Kaveh is a slender Pretty Boy with golden medium-length hair, red irises and prominently wears loose red and white garments while Alhaitham is a muscular Hunk with short grey hair and green and red irises who wears green and black skintight clothing. They also wear wing-like capes that emphasize their Red/Green Contrast, though Kaveh's is fully fitted to cover his shoulders, while Alhaitham's only wears his cape on one shoulder and has the other side hanging loosely off of him.
  - Academically, Kaveh took after his mother and enrolled in the Kshahrewar Darshan, whereas Alhaitham followed up in his father's footsteps instead and became a Haravatat scholar.
  - In personality, Kaveh is dramatic and prone to acting on his feelings of righteousness even at the cost of himself while Alhaitham is cold and rational.
  - Alhaitham has a limited range of facial expressions and rarely smiles, reflecting his usually serious personality. On the other hand, Kaveh is one of the most expressive characters introduced in Genshin Impact, displaying a wide range of facial expressions even in short exchanges, emphasizing that he is far more lively and dramatic.
  - In Nahida's voice lines, she says that Kaveh has "an almost-perfect grasp of what it truly means for Sumeru to be a Nation of Wisdom" while she describes Alhaitham as "holding a body of knowledge more advanced than most could imagine" and doubts his wisdom due to how he views the majority of people.
  - In terms of social status, Kaveh is renowned across Sumeru as one of the most high-profile figures in the industry, idolized by his juniors in the Kshahrewar, and he's viewed as a star Alumnus in the Akademiya. Compared to Kaveh, despite his brilliance as well as his position in the Akademiya, Alhaitham is relatively unknown.
  - In social relationships, Kaveh wants to fit in and, as an empath, has no trouble making friends, as evidenced by his friendship with nearly every Sumeru character prior to the Archon quest. He was also said to have a lot of friends in school. Alhaitham, on the other hand, is asocial and decidedly had no friends before Kaveh due to finding social relationships unnecessary. Even after "befriending" Sumeru main characters like Dehya, Cyno, and Tighnari, he still avoids most social gatherings, and his idea of being friends with them is acknowledging them in public before continuing on his way.
  - From a financial aspect, Kaveh is in debt to Dori due to the project he took on from her and has to room with Alhaitham secretly. Meanwhile, Alhaitham is affluent enough to afford a "cushy house" and sustain his lifestyle, especially after resigning as the Acting Grand Sage.
  - In the Japanese dub, Kaveh uses the informal yet humble first-person pronoun boku, while Alhaitham uses the casual and assertive first-person pronoun ore.
- They often argue about their opposing philosophies, with Alhaitham being pragmatic while Kaveh is idealistic, or Alhaitham being an individualist while Kaveh is a collectivist.
  - This trope is invoked in Alhaitham's fourth Character Story, which explains that the reason Alhaitham took Kaveh into his home in the first place was that he was so different from himself, and Kaveh's presence as a scholar with a different perspective could perfect his outlook on the world. Kaveh's fifth Character Story also emphasizes how their differences form a more comprehensive perspective of the world together.
  As far as Alhaitham is concerned, Kaveh is a familiar face, similarly lacks familial attachments, and is the polar opposite of himself as a scholar — that is to say, an excellent mirror.
  Rationality and sensibility, language and architecture, knowledge and human feelings... Things that can never be integrated are what constitute the two sides of the mirror — indeed, of the entire world.
  - Both of their constellations are birds. Alhaitham is represented by a vulture or peregrine falcon depending on the language, which are birds of prey with mostly black or gray feathers, while Kaveh is represented by the Bird of Paradise, which feeds mostly on fruits and insects, with the males having colorful feathers.
  - One of Alhaitham's idle animations has him look at projections of words, which contrasts with Kaveh's idle animation of him looking at a projection of an architectural design.
  - Alhaitham and Kaveh have both created multipurpose technology that they use in battle along with their abilities, though Kaveh's creation and how he uses it work on a much grander scale. As for Alhaitham, he invented headphones for his music player, and while their primary purpose is noise-cancellation and listening to music, they are also used to target and lunge at enemies via flash stepping. In Kaveh's case, he created Mehrak, a multi-function toolbox that can be used as his assistant in his work as an architect, or for combat.
  - Kaveh counts soup as among his favourite foods while Alhaitham's least favourite food is anything soup-based. Additionally, Alhaitham's special dish is based on the Iranian herb stew Ghormeh sabzi while Kaveh's special dish fatteh originates from Arabian cuisine, swapping the cultures that their characters are inspired from.
  - Both Alhaitham and Kaveh's contrasting senses of self-worth not only results in their opposing social behaviours, but also cause them to become too self-absorbed in their perspectives and ignorant in some areas. Alhaitham is so sure of his "objective" perspective of reality and closed-off to anyone that doesn't interest him that he is unaware that his belief that "healthcare is free in Sumeru" is actually erroneous, while Kaveh's Guilt Complex stemming from his father's death compels him to feel responsible towards any living creature in need, prioritise others over himself and reject pure goodwill, resulting him, as Alhaitham puts it, to never achieve his ideal of "bringing happiness to all" because he does not include himself in that "all".
  - Alhaitham is Brilliant, but Lazy, preferring to put in minimal effort in anything that doesn't interests him and has no ambitions other than living a simple existence, while Kaveh is a perfectionistic Workaholic who would sacrifice his comfort and sleep to make changes to his own work without anyone's input, and has lofty ideals that he strives to achieve despite acknowledging that he may not be able to attain them without losing himself in the process.
  - Alhaitham and Kaveh were raised in single female guardian households after the deaths of Alhaitham's parents and Kaveh's father in their formative years, but Alhaitham's grandmother gave him the love and support he needed to become a self-confident adult while Kaveh's mother inadvertently neglected her son's emotional needs due to her depression, causing him to develop a Guilt Complex and struggle with severe self-worth issues and internal conflict.
  - They have very different fighting styles that contradict their personalities. Alhaitham is noted to be rather lazy, but has a faster, aggressive, and physically strenuous combat style, combining acrobatics with sharp-cornered strikes and targeting and lunging at enemies with his Elemental Skill. Meanwhile, Kaveh is hardworking to the point of being a workaholic and is always keeping busy, but has a slower and more hands-off approach to combat. He rarely directly wields his claymore despite being shown to be able to, instead utilising Mehrak's grab function and syncing it up with his own body movements to control its direction and impact with sweeping circular motions. His ability to buff and manually detonate Dendro cores for extra damage also plays into his hands-off style, as it would involve gaining the most benefit with minimal added effort.
  - Alhaitham's Elemental Burst creates an elaborate illusory ceiling that prominently features a four-pointed star at the centre like the one featured in the Musing Tawny Tapestry carpet furnishing, which mentions the Kshahrewar (Kaveh's Darshan) in its description, while Kaveh's Elemental Burst is more simplistic, projecting a cubic space that resembles a laser level (calling back to his occupation as an architect), with his Dendro-infused normal attacks and Elemental Skill feature the same six-petaled design on the Glorious Emerald Tapestry carpet furnishing that the description mentions was made by Alhaitham.
- He and Cyno are both light-haired and red-eyed seniors to a Deadpan Snarker Dendro vision holder named after historical Arab scientists who wear dark green and have similarly green and red/orange two-toned eyes, but Kaveh has a strained relationship with Alhaitham while Cyno's relationship with Tighnari is mostly harmonious, save for Tighnari's lack of tolerance for Cyno's joke-telling. Furthermore, within the two pairs, Kaveh's colourful clothing and occupation as an independent architect contrasts with Alhaitham as the junior with a simple green and black colour scheme and position as Scribe in the Akademiya, while Tighnari is the junior with a more colourful outfit who insists on working outside of the Akademiya in contrast to Cyno's predominantly purple and black outfit and position as General Mahamatra.
- Dori and Kaveh are both loud and highly expressive 4★ claymore users from Sumeru whose grief over the loss of family led them to have contrasting wrapped mindsets and experiences:
  - Dori's bombastic behaviour is a facade that she only briefly puts down in a Teapot conversation with the Traveler at high enough friendship level, while Kaveh maintains a professional calm demeanour most of the time, only having more memorable outbursts in private company or when pushed to his limit.
  - Both gained Visions due to their dogged pursuit of their dreams, but Kaveh gained his Dendro vision after and bankrupting himself to achieve his ideals, while Dori gained her Electro vision and became a successful merchant, but could never save her sister.
  - As a result of their grief, Kaveh became detrimentally altruistic partially to assuage his guilt, while Dori became self-serving and greedy to a fault to fend off her fear of losing something valuable to her again.
  - Both are famous and well-connected personalities but Kaveh has many friends who are concerned about his well-being, while the closest thing that Dori has to a friend is Alice as her business partner and some of her own employees don't even know what she looks like.
First Friend: To Alhaitham when they were students in the Akademiya. After hearing about his reputation from his peers and teachers, Kaveh approached him in the House of Daena, and was curious about him sitting alone among the Haravatat students, believing that he needed help. They became friends after that, and he was Alhaitham's only friend for some time until they eventually clashed and parted ways.
Following in Relative's Footsteps: His mother was a well-known architect, and Kaveh, who expressed interest in designing and building as a child after watching her draw, would follow in her footsteps after enrolling in Kshahrewar.
Friendly Fire Proof: A rare subversion. Kaveh's Elemental Talents are centered on manually detonating Dendro Cores, which deal damage to enemies and allies alike. This can be especially dangerous in co-op, as other characters can be hurt or even killed if someone uses his Talents without properly coordinating attack sequences with their teammates.
Friendship Denial: Kaveh claims that he and Alhaitham used to be friends but aren't anymore despite there being plenty of evidence they're still friends, such as the two continuing to live under the same roof despite their constant bickering and their regularly going to the tavern and cafe together (and Alhaitham consequently regularly covering Kaveh's tab). As well, despite claiming he dislikes Alhaitham's personality, Kaveh is offended when Alhaitham suggests he should move out if that's the case.
Friend to All Children: Played With in the "Treasure and True Interest" route of his Hangout Event; While he is kind to his child students, he is no more so than he is to any other character he interacts with, and he doesn't hesitate to break truth about the difficulties that come with pursuing a career in architecture to them, rather than feeding them lies as Alkami did in order to exploit their innocence. He also gets notably irritated at them when he sees how delusional they are about their futures as a result of Alkami's lies. However, by the end of the route, he demonstrates his care for them by not only having Alkami's training center closed down by the matra so that Alkami can no longer exploit them, but also by accepting them as students so that he can teach them the fundamentals of architecture and prepare them to take the Akademiya entrance exams.
Friend to All Living Things:
- Deconstructed in the event "A Parade of Providence." During the second round, he met foxes in the desert region who began to follow him around and somehow "convinced" him to give them food. While frustrated that they continued to follow him after he helped them and initially attempted to drive them off using Mehrak, he eventually extended his empathy to them due to their predicament and guided them out of the leyline zone. Later, he is shown to be relieved when the round concludes since it ensures no more innocent creatures will be in danger.
- An official Character Short shows him planning to build a cottage for stray cats.
Gadgeteer Genius: As a Kshahrewar alumnus, one of his specialties is machinery, and one of his known accomplishments has been the design of his automated case Mehrak, which can be used as a weapon or assistant in his work as an architect, as well as a toolbox.
Gameplay and Story Segregation:
- Kaveh was out working on a project in the desert while Alhaitham and the others are working to overthrow the Sages and save Nahida during the climax of the Sumeru Archon Quest, having no clue what happened while he was away. However, there's nothing stopping the player from having Kaveh participate in Alhaitham's plan and witness what was going on in the plot if they obtained him before completing the Archon quests pertaining to said plot, and the game will still treat as if he has no idea what happened to the Akademiya's leadership.
- During the first part of his charged attack, Kaveh instructs Mehrak to swing his claymore for him as he walks forward, but even though Kaveh does not spin the claymore himself during this attack, his stamina is drained in a way that suggests he is, just like previous claymore users. It could have been explained as Mehrak's energy being depleted during this attack, but it is instead overlooked.
- As a playable unit, Kaveh has an "In the Desert" voice-over in which he states that, while this is not his first trip to the desert, he can't get used to the heat and is clearly struggling, while also having a "When The Sun Is Out" voice-over where he similarly complains about the effect the sun has on him. However, Kaveh is almost never portrayed as having issues whenever he goes to the desert for story-related reasons, with the only exception being in the event story "A Parade of Providence" when he passed out off-screen after spending too long in the desert heat without proper provisions.
Genius Bruiser: While he's not visibly muscular as far as the players are shown, he has a reputation for being a renowned genius and demonstrates battle prowess akin to the other well-trained characters introduced before him.
Gentleman and a Scholar: While he is hailed as a genius by his peers, he is usually fairly cordial when interacting with others, with the exception of Alhaitham and Dori. This extends even back to his Akademiya days, as he was welcoming to even the "ordinary" people that wanted to work with him.
Good Cannot Comprehend Evil: He is fully aware of people's bad behaviors, even if he doesn't understand it and occasionally attempts to empathize. This is best demonstrated in his dynamic with Dori; he doesn't believe her maliciousness stems from her being a bad person at heart, but rather from something in her past that has caused her current behavior, but his theory doesn't deter him from calling her out on her ruthless greed and self-centered personality.
Good Feels Good: Instead of acting out of self-interest, he finds satisfaction in helping those who are less fortunate and believes that is how the world should operate.
Guyliner: Kaveh wears red eyeshadow on the outer slit of his eyes, most visible when he closes them.
Hair-Contrast Duo: He has predominantly pale blonde hair that gradients into a dirty blonde/brown color and an approachable and well-intentioned personality that leans more on the idealistic side, whereas Alhaitham has predominantly silver hair that gradients into white and a more stand-offish, introverted personality that leans more on the egoistic side.
Hair of Gold, Heart of Gold: He has pale blonde hair with dirty blonde ends in some sections and genuinely cares about others' well-being, wanting to help others in any way he can.
Hair-Trigger Temper: When something bothers him, he can be quite choleric to the point of explosive episodes, and he admits in his Hangout Event that he frequently argues with his clients. Even one of his Paimon's Paintings emotes depicts him being angry◊, emphasizing that anger is a defining characteristic of his, which is something that doesn't go unnoticed by the Traveler and Paimon.
The Traveler, watching Kaveh walk off in a huff: (Kaveh seems to be upset again...)
Healing Shiv: Kaveh's first-ascension passive, An Architect's Undertaking, allows Dendro Cores to heal him (equivalent to thrice his Elemental Mastery stat, with at least a half-second interval) whenever they either detonate on their own or trigger Burgeon or Hyperbloom.
Heroic Ambidexterity: His animations and official material indicate that he is ambidextrous, preferring his left hand. For example, he has two pieces of official art depicting him drafting blueprints with opposing hands.
His Own Worst Enemy: Said word-for-word by Dainsleif in his "Collected Miscellany" video; Despite his academic brilliance, Kaveh has brought most of his woes in his life upon himself because of his tendency to sacrifice his own comfort and happiness to support others, almost all in an effort to assuage the guilt he feels over his past, or to martyr himself on his ideals, leading to self-sabotage that conflicts with his goals.
Homemade Inventions: He invented Mehrak, an automated case designed to carry his unloaded tools, using, vaguely, "the materials he had on hand" in addition to a machine core he bought from a merchant to serve as it's power source. However, unlike other examples of this trope, Mehrak does not appear to be cobbled together, as it has a sleek and uniform appearance and presumably functions as intended.
Hot Teacher: He's very attractive and occasionally works as a visiting professor at Akademiya. He can also become a teacher independent of the Akademiya after taking on Alkami's former students in his Hangout Event's "Educational Organization" route.
Huge Guy, Tiny Girl: Kaveh has the Tall Male model while Dori has the Short Female model. As Kaveh's client, she supported his efforts to build his dreams into reality, then became his creditor who occasionally tricks money from him while he snarks at her for her greed and underhanded practices.
Hypocrite: Twice in his Hangout Event:
- When the players first encounter him in Lambad's Tavern, he warns them against believing that drinking is an elegant pastime because it is bad for your health, despite the fact that he is an alcoholic who drinks himself unconscious every other day.
- He constantly complains about his job as an architect and considers warning Collei against becoming one, even though he loves his job just as much as it stresses him out. The Traveler points this out to him, which he concedes to with a smile, and his Relationship Values meter even goes up by a heart.
Idealist vs. Pragmatist: Many of his arguments with Alhaitham revolve around their differing values and philosophies, with Kaveh being the idealist while Alhaitham is the pragmatist. This is exemplified by their friendship-ending argument during the joint project in their Akademiya days: Kaveh wanted the other participants to be able to keep up with him and Alhaitham due to believing that wisdom should be uncovered by many people and that the gaps in their abilities were obstacles that could be overcome with effort, while Alhaitham felt that the gap in talent between themselves and the other participants was too wide to be compensated even with hard work. Hence, Kaveh wore himself thin trying to help the other participants while Alhaitham refused to help, causing them to clash when the other participants became discouraged and exited the project.
I Just Want to Have Friends: Deconstructed. While his empathy made it easy for him to make friends, his father's death and his mother's move to Fontaine when he was young left him feeling alone and yearning to fit in, resulting in him initially inadvertently and then deliberately disregarding the fact that he was gifted to get closer to others. This caused a number of problems, such as him burning himself out from trying to shoulder the responsibilities of his less talented peers, and the eventual loss of those peers as they became discouraged due to the disparity in their abilities.
Individualism vs. Collectivism: Another recurring topic of Alhaitham and Kaveh's philosophical arguments revolve around Alhaitham's individualism clashing with Kaveh's collectivism. Alhaitham is harsh on Kaveh's altruism due to his self-sacrificial tendencies, while Kaveh criticises Alhaitham's selfishness at not helping others unless he benefits from the exchange when he has a great capacity to do so without disadvantaging himself.
In-Series Nickname: "Light of the Kshahrewar," which he gained from his reputation as a master builder and craftsman.
Intelligence Equals Isolation: While he's had friends throughout in his life, he struggled to fit in with "ordinary" people as a student in the Akademiya due to his disregard for their differences in their abilities and the social emphasis Sumeru placed on elevating the gifted above the common folk.
Intergenerational Friendship: With Zaha Hadi, his mother's former professor and mentor, whom he's implied to have known since he was a child.
In the Blood: He gets his sensitive heart and good yet self-sacrificing nature from his mother and father, respectively.
In Vino Veritas: While he's not afraid to speak his mind under normal circumstances, his Hangout Event demonstrates that he's even more candid when he's drunk.
Ironic Name: The name "Kaveh (کاوه)" means "Royal" in Persian, and despite his high status in Sumeru society as a result of his fame and accomplishments, he doesn't live like royalty due to money troubles, instead leading a simple yet impoverished life in secret.
Irony: Initially, he owned half of Alhaitham's home since it was at first a research center built for their joint research, but the Akademiya later allocated it to them when their collaboration ceased and it fell into disuse. Kaveh gave up his right to property because he didn't need a home at the time, and it was soon converted into a proper home that he would move into after becoming homeless a few years later, though this time under Alhaitham's loose control as his landlord.
Is That a Threat?: During the end of Sumeru's Archon Quest, he interprets Alhaitham's passive-aggressive claim he would've moved out of his house as a result of his personality, as this.
It's All My Fault: He blames himself for his father's death because he encouraged him to compete in the Interdarshan Championship, which led to his father venturing into the desert after losing and eventually dying in quicksand. In "A Parade of Providence," he can learn from the Traveler that Sachin was technically the cause of his father's death, but he will still blame himself for telling his father about the event in the first place, as this is how he met Sachin.
- The above scenario is subverted if Alhaitham is the one who tells him about Sachin's involvement in his father's death: he takes the news a lot better and even thanks Alhaitham for telling him, something that Alhaitham doesn't let slide.
Kaveh: ...Thanks for letting me know all this.
Alhaitham: What?
Kaveh: I said, thanks for letting me know. Hey! Stop acting like you didn't hear me! You're doing this on purpose, aren't you!?
Alhaitham: They say that earnest thanks should be given thrice, so... One more time, please.
Jaded Professional: Downplayed. He is a professional architect who has faced many difficulties working in the industry, such as unreasonable client demands and low pay, as well as a lack of appreciation from clients for the amount of effort put in, leading him to complain about his job and warn others against becoming architects. However, while he complains and suffers a lot because of his job and the pursuit of his ideals, he openly admits that he enjoys his work and is proud of the fact that he can leave his mark on the world in the form of the buildings he created.
Jerkass to One: "Two," in his case. Kaveh is usually friendly and mild-mannered with everyone he talks to except Alhaitham and Dori. He and the former were once best friends during their Akademiya years, but have since fell out over their clashing philosophies and were only forced together again under unusual circumstances, and even then their mutual misgivings for each other has yet to fully heal. Meanwhile, the latter is part of the reason Kaveh is deeply in debt and homeless (itself the reason Kaveh is forced to live with Alhaitham), and shows less interest in helping the man who reconstructed her home than in merely making more Mora; needless to say, he treats her back with the same lack of sympathy, even more so than his old friend.

L-Y

Large Ham:
- In the Japanese dub, Yūma Uchida gives Kaveh a more youthful tone that's slightly more prone to dramatics than the other dubs, especially when he's speaking passionately about his work as an architect.
"Let's bring them into the limelight!"
- That said, at least in English, Ben Balmaceda has him command the enemy to "Feast your eyes!"
Last Episode, New Character: While he was mentioned in several character voiceovers and appeared on Sumeru bulletin boards, he wasn't properly introduced in the story until the denouement of the Sumeru Archon Quest, having missed everything that happened due to working on a large project in the desert at the time.
Light 'em Up: Played with. While Kaveh is a Dendro Vision holder, said powers manifest as bright green holograms with flower-like patterns. In addition, while using his Burst, Mehrak manifests a cube made of light. With a full Constellation, his Burst allows his normal attacks to be periodically augmented with explosions of light.
Like an Old Married Couple: He has this sort of relationship with Alhaitham. They frequently bicker, sometimes in public, which other Sumeru residents who know them comment on and aren't bothered by because it happens often, but they continue to live together in a somewhat domestic setup and appear to be the closest to each other and understand each other better than anyone else, which allows them to show sides of themselves they don't often show others, such as the otherwise mild-mannered Kaveh allowing his explosive temper to come out most frequently around Alhaitham, and the calm and rational Alhaitham becoming more bratty and petty when he's with Kaveh.
Like Father, Like Son: He resembles both of his parents and inherited aspects of their personalities, such as his father's kind and empathetic heart, as well as his idealism and selflessness, while he inherited, albeit superficially, his mother's stubbornness, perfectionism, and awkwardness.
Locked Out of the Loop:
- He arrives after Sumeru was saved and the sages were banished, as he had been out in the desert of Sumeru during the majority of Chapter III. So when told of it from Alhaitham, he has a hard time believing it.
- Averted in the event "A Parade of Providence"; If the player chooses not to inform him about his father's past involvement with Sachin, or simply fails to complete the side quest that will reveal this information, Alhaitham, who had been researching Sachin and Kaveh's father independently, will tell him instead.
Made of Iron: In the event cutscene of "A Parade of Providence," he recovers immediately after crash-landing on his head and neck and being thrown across the ground, reacting initially as if he had a mild headache, but shrugging it off a few seconds later.
Manly Tears: He sniffles a little after winning lots against Faruzan in "A Parade of Providence: Act II," believing his streak of bad luck has finally begun to change.
The McCoy: Kaveh is emotional, values the arts, and won't hesitate to help others in need, even when he doesn't have much capacity to do so. A bulletin board in Port Ormos records him offering to introduce some retrenched workers to a client and giving them his money despite being broke. He ends up arguing with Alhaitham about the value of doing such a thing.
Alhaitham: I wish you could do less meaningless things. Some people will succeed and some will fall, that's how the world works. Why interfere with it just to act like a goody-two-shoes?
Kaveh: Here the Scribe goes again with the mysticism. Why did I do this, you say? Because it makes me happy! And don't you forget that mutual assistance, fairness, and righteous anger are also what drive the world, not nonsense like 'the fittest survives'!
Meaningful Appearance: In a few ways:
- He's an architect whose earrings resemble the square and compass, the Masonic symbol that is representative of the tools of the architect and the builder.
- Creative people are sometimes characterized as wearing writing utensils behind their ears, with these usually being pencils. Quills are one of the standard writing and drawing tool in the Genshin Impact setting, and Kaveh wears one behind his left ear.
- According to his outfit description, his outfit was designed to evoke thoughts of birds in flight, with these most likely being Dusk Birds, calling back to his Animal Motif. His feather would also fall into his bird motif.
Meaningful Name: His name likely derives from Kaveh the Blacksmith, a prominent figure from the Shahnameh, an epic poem about Persia's mythical past, with that Kaveh having led a rebellion against the evil ruler Zahhak.
Mechanically Unusual Fighter:
- Like Nilou before him, Kaveh specializes in speeding up Dendro Core explosions; unlike her, however, he can do it manually on regular Dendro Cores.
- He's also the second Claymore user after Dori to (usually) not wield his claymore himself in combat, as he instead uses Mehrak's grab function to suspend his weapon and guides its movements remotely. He does occasionally use the Claymore himself, however, such as when he's staggered or to do his one-handed plunging attack.
Mind over Matter: Kaveh uses Mehrak's energy to perform a form of telekinesis, allowing him to control his claymore's movement and impact remotely.
Mirror Character: Has some similarities in common with Nilou:
- Both are art-aligned characters, albeit in vastly different fields, as Nilou is a dancer and Kaveh is an architect.
- Both have Persian-inspired elements to their characters.
- Both faced rejection and struggled for recognition in Sumeruan society due to the Akademiya's rejection and devaluing of the arts. Although they both eventually came to be respected in their respective fields, it happened at different points in their lives, with Kaveh gaining recognition in his backstory at a high price, while Nilou rose to fame by the end of the Sumeru Archon Quest.
- Both have kind-hearted personalities and a desire to help others, although they differ in that Nilou is simply mild-mannered and helpful because she can be, while Kaveh is a far more impassioned empath whose excessive altruism comes from a place of pain and guilt.
- Gameplay-wise, both kits revolve around Bloom reaction, with Kaveh's focusing on manually detonating Dendro Cores, while Nilou's converts them into more powerful Bountiful Cores that also detonate much faster.
Missed Him by That Much: In the v3.8 event "Secret Summer Paradise", Idyia mentions that he had visited Veluriyam Mirage before the other characters and helped redesign many of the buildings there, explaining why many of the buildings reflect his style. While the players are not able to meet him in the Mirage, they do get a sense of his presence outside of the buildings, as there is a play called Skycastle Saviors that appears to be based on him and features a character called the "Miraculous Architect" whose personality calls to mind his own.
Momma's Boy: As his father died when he was fairly young, while he has high regard for his father and feels responsible for his death, his character stories place far more emphasis on his guilt over his mother's grief following the ordeal and how he felt responsible for it. Furthermore, his Hangout Event devotes an entire route to learning more about his mother and, in part, her relationship with him, whereas his father is only mentioned briefly by him in two routes when not being discussed in his mother's diary.
Money Dumb: Not quite, but still present in some form:
- While he has money problems, it's less because he's bad with saving and spending and more that he's occasionally too charitable for his own good, at times giving others Mora out of his own pocket to support them despite his own poor financial situation. He's also very particular about how he makes Mora, only wanting to earn it honestly and refusing to accept more than he's owed or needs from his clients.
- Prior to the release of his Character Stories, his debt to Dori appeared to be set up to give the impression that he is this... only to defy expectations by revealing that he somewhat willingly went into debt to complete the Palace of Alcazarzaray, fully aware of his impulsiveness and the consequences of his actions, but feeling it was necessary due to the unlikelihood that he would ever be given another opportunity to demonstrate to the rest of Sumeru that practicality and aestheticism can coexist in the realm of architectural design if he gave up on the project.
Motifs: He has several:
- "Mirrors." His title is "Empyrean Reflection," and he represents the opposite side of the two-sided mirror that reflects the world, encompassing sensibility, architecture, and human feelings, as well as benevolence, compassion, and comprehension, whereas Alhaitham represents the other side, encompassing knowledge, language, and rationality, as well as learning, thinking, and doing.
- "Home," particularly in his backstory. He's an architect who builds houses for others, but he doesn't just lack a home of his own after selling it; he lost it even before that when his father died, and his childhood home became a place devoid of love and affection, with no inhabitants to make it truly feel like the "home" it once was, which he came to blame himself for.
- Kaveh holds onto and strives for near-unreachable ideals, which are simultaneously symbolized through usages of paradise and the heavens as motifs, and are emphasized through his title "Empyrean Reflection," his Constellation the "Bird of Paradise," and his sixth Constellation Pairidaeza Dreams.
Mundane Utility: Mehrak can be an effective combat weapon in conjunction with his Dendro Vision, but Kaveh primarily uses it as an assistant for his work as an architect, such as using his Dendro Vision through it as a blueprint projection feature when showing off his designs to his clients.
Mythical Motifs: His Constellation is patterned after the Huma, a bird from Persian Mythology said to represent good fortune and grants happiness for the rest of one's life to those who catch a glimpse of its shadow, reflecting Kaveh's readiness to bring happiness to everyone around him even to his detriment. In addition, its name alludes to the mythical bird being called a "bird of paradise" in Ottoman literature, which was later used as the scientific name for a real-world bird species found in eastern Indonesia and Papua New Guinea which early European explorers thought to resemble the mythical bird. Finally, apart from the general avian motifs of his default outfit (see "Animal Motifs" above), its name, "Gold Pinions in Flames Bathed," alludes to some myths describing the Huma's phoenix-like ability to die and be reborn out of a pyre every few hundred years.
Never My Fault: He shows signs of this in "A Parade of Providence." Rather than accepting the event points Faruzan offered him, he chose to leave his fate to chance by drawing lots, knowing there was a good chance he would lose, and then bemoans the fact that he did. Later, when the Traveler meets up with him, he's still thinking about how unlucky he's been, and speculates on what started his life's downward spiral, citing when his mother moved to Fontaine, meeting Alhaitham in a library, or getting into debt because of the Palace of Alcazarzaray as possible starting points.
Nice Guy: Kaveh is a generally kind, idealistic man with a philosophy that includes treating others fairly and assisting those in need, even if it occasionally comes at the expense of his own comfort and happiness. When once questioned by Alhaitham why he wastes his time doing such things instead of just leaving people to try their luck, he answers that doing so makes him happy.
No Hero to His Valet: He's a famous architect in Sumeru, as many of the cast members tell the player, and he's regarded as a role model by his peers in Kshahrewar. Even various NPCs mention his fame and praise him, which Kaveh dismisses in his "More about Kaveh: I" voiceover. However, despite being fully aware of Kaveh's status, genius, and other capabilities as an architect, Alhaitham regards him with little reverence because he knows Kaveh better and for a longer period of time than anyone else.
No Historical Figures Were Harmed: Kaveh can also be read as the Genshin Impact equivalent of Plato, especially when his relationship with Alhaitham, who appears to represent Aristotle, is considered;
- Kaveh''s philosophy, idealism, corresponds to Plato's way of thinking, whereas Alhaitham's philosophy, egoism, corresponds to Aristotle's.
- Aristotle and Plato famously debated opposing philosophies, which Kaveh and Alhaitham frequently do in between their other trivial debates.
- Plato was Aristotle's senior, which mirrors the seniority Kaveh claims over Alhaitham in both age and graduation status.
- Both Kaveh and Alhaitham's◊ respective Portrait poses visually call to mind the poses of Plato and Aristotle in the famous "The School of Athens" painting.
No Indoor Voice: While he's capable of speaking at a normal volume and does so in most conversations, he has no regard for other people's eardrums when he's angry, especially in the English dub.
Noodle Incident: According to a discussion on The Mahamata bulletin board, Kaveh went into Lambad's Tavern to collect several crates of the wine he and Alhaitham had purchased together a few days prior without Alhaitham's knowledge. Whether Kaveh stole the wine or simply brought it home for them is never explained, nor is this incident addressed in their subsequent conversations.
Odd Couple: As a romanticist, Kaveh contrasts very heavily with the stoic and pragmatic Alhaitham. In Nahida's voice line about Kaveh, even she is surprised to hear that they are roommates.
Odd Friendship: With Tighnari and Cyno, both of whom he befriended sometime before the Sumeru Archon Quest:
- In the case of Tighnari, he’s a renowned botanist from the Amurta Darshan and the leader of the Avidya Forest Rangers with a mostly subdued and sarcastic personality, while Kaveh is a renowned architect from the Kshahrewar Darshan and a passionate aesthete. Despite their differences in academic pursuits and careers, they are shown to be close enough that Tighnari was originally the only one other than Alhaitham in their core friend group to be aware of Kaveh’s bankruptcy, and has been helping him out wherever he can in that regard.
- With Cyno, he is a fearsome Mahamatra that doesn’t often hang with scholars but became good friends with Kaveh after meeting him through Tighnari. They're comfortable enough for Kaveh to playfully tease him in Alhaitham's Character Demo.
Only Friend: During their years at the Akademiya, he was Alhaitham's first and only friend, and they were known to be close. Their relationship collapsed, however, and they are still not on good terms years later.
Parental Abandonment: Twenty years ago, after losing the Interdarshan Champion, his father joined an investigative research project in the desert to investigate the Order of the Skeptics and never returned, eventually dying there. Years later, while Kaveh was still a student at the Akademiya, his mother relocated to Fontaine for work, eventually remarrying and starting a new family there, and has had little contact with him since.
Parental Neglect: After his father's death, he was emotionally neglected by his grieving mother, who was borderline catatonic from the shock of it. She eventually moved to Fontaine for work sometime after he reached school age, completely unaware of his lonely and guilt-ridden mental state.
Perpetual Poverty: Downplayed. He's forced to live a simple life because of his debt to Dori and is currently in a state where he can't afford to a place of his own and occasionally has to rely on his friends, namely Tighnari, to treat him to meals. His "Kaveh Troubles" voiceover and Hangout reveal, however, that he doesn't have a problem making money and that he could probably live a decent life with a little more effort to live within his means.
Perpetual Smiler: As a playable unit, his default expression is a smile.
The Philosopher: Among the mortal Sumeru cast, he and Alhaitham are the ones that fall into this role:
- As an idealist, he has frequently debated with Alhaitham, an egoist, on their opposing philosophies through the years they have known each other, never reaching a consensus. This dynamic is alluded to in his "Old Sketchbook" Item Story:
  Page 31: Some academic notes and architectural drawings.
  Postscript: "Our views are aligned, and they are complete." This line has been struck out.
  "Our views are contradictory, but it is through contradiction that more speculation and philosophy may be born." This line has been retained.
  
  Page 47: An excerpt from a school publication. The original title is unknown, and the preserved content is as follows:
  "The selfish cannot understand wisdom's final destination. Though all of us might claim to have a place in this great hall of learning, we must understand that it is people, and not knowledge, that make our world what it is. Without a vessel, knowledge shall have no home. Universal values must naturally have some merit to be named such, and denying their general meaning does not mean that minority viewpoints will arise accordingly. This is the case with aesthetics. Beauty is something objective that exists in human hearts. It will not lose its value simply because some people cannot understand it."
  
  "To view oneself as some mighty vessel is to fall to the narrowness of the researcher. Know that truth has never existed for the sake of individuals. The logic of the world coexists with nature, and this will not easily change whether it is interpreted as such or not. Excessive belief in the object is self-disclosure just the same, a manifestation of a lack of confidence in the subject. Moreover, one who is sufficiently self-confident will not need to constantly use plural forms of address, such as 'we.' I alone am sufficient to sustain this position — this I can assert."
- His "About Lesser Lord Kusanali" voiceover gives a little insight into his thought process, as he praises her for virtue but wonders if she, too, has struggles, acknowledging that confusion is the beginning of wisdom and wondering how they can achieve true happiness in the face of it.
- He also muses on the meaning of art at the start of his Hangout, wondering whether he should see it as "a divine gift of inspiration from the gods, or an expression of the light of (his) own wisdom." At the conclusion of one of his Hangout Event routes, though he did not come to a definitive answer to his question, he determines that the purpose of his architectural efforts is to leave behind a legacy that future generations can appreciate and interpret, and is satisfied with understanding that the allure of art is that it is "inherently paradoxical and enigmatic", and being an artist means accepting the cycle of pain and joy involved in the process of creation.
Pop-Cultural Osmosis: Kaveh will often be the first and most frequently brought up result in Google searches over the mythological blacksmith or any other actual people who share his still-currently-used Iranian name.
Power Glows: He glows green for 12 seconds after his Elemental Burst, with Dendro particles rising around him.
Pretty Boy: Kaveh's one of the more handsome men in Sumeru, let alone the cast, with quite the chiseled face, prominent eyelashes, blond hair, and a slim physique. He also appears to be a bit toned, as his outfit's cleavage exposes noticeable abs.
Pursuing Parental Perils: Kaveh's father was described as an idealist who was too kind for his own good and died in the desert saving others. Kaveh inherited his father's idealism and tendency to self-sacrifice and would later find himself in a similar situation in the desert, nearly dying as he attempted to escort a trio of desert foxes out of the leyline zone and passing out in the desert due to the heat, only surviving by using the last of his strength to return to the competition site after waking up.
Real Men Wear Pink: While he lacks inherently feminine qualities, he is described as a sensitive (mostly characterized by how quick he is to anger when slighted) and empathetic person, with artsy hobbies outside of architecture such as music, painting, sculpting, and going to the theater.
Red/Green Contrast: Kaveh has red eyes and a red cape and is a passionate individual while his calm roommate Alhaitham has green eyes with red pupils and primarily wears green.
Red Oni, Blue Oni: He is the Red (compassionate, passionate, and temperamental), to Alhaitham's Blue (cold, stoic, and analytical).
Rejecting the Inheritance: He was chosen by Sachin to become the heir to his estate and the successor to his research because he was a genius who could understand the suffering of those who were less fortunate. However, after experiencing the negative effects of Sachin's research through his empathy and hearing Sachin's intentions with him, Kaveh destroys the Diadem of Knowledge containing the fragment of Sachin's consciousness, symbolizing his rejection of Sachin's nihilistic philosophy, and decides to donate all of Sachin's wealth to the desert dwellers in order to improve their lives.
Required Secondary Powers: Because his kit focuses on detonating Dendro Cores, which are capable of friendly fire, he has a first-ascension passive that heals him after he takes damage from them.
Resource Reimbursement: His utility passive, The Art of Budgeting, is guaranteed to refund 25% of materials used to craft Landscape, Building, or Courtyard-type furnishing items.
Roommate Drama: Kaveh is annoyed by Alhaitham's coldly rational and stubborn personality while Alhaitham doesn't share Kaveh's beliefs on the value of art.
Robot Buddy: Kaveh has one in the form of the automated case he created, which he calls "Mehrak".
Sensitive Artist: Kaveh is known to be an architect who values empathy, and his sensitivity and consideration for his clients are reflected in the functional and beautiful designs he creates.
Sensitive Guy and Manly Man: He is the Sensitive Guy next to Alhaitham's Manly Man. While not emotionless, Alhaitham observes the world through a more rational lens and doesn't let his emotions influence his actions. He also is poor with housework, visibly more muscular, and dresses primarily in black and dark green. In contrast, Kaveh is far more emotional and views the world through a compassionate lens, helping others even at the expense of himself. He's also an artist, is tasked with tidying up the house, has a slim body, and dresses in a colorful style.
Sexy Backless Outfit: His shirt has a large diamond-shaped opening that exposes his back.
Signature Headgear: Wears a large teal-gradient quill behind his left ear and six red clips in his hair.
Silly Rabbit, Idealism Is for Kids!: Downplayed; he explains to the Traveler that he was far more idealistic as a student, but that he has since matured after experiencing the harshness of the world and realizing that overly naive people cannot survive in it. In the present, however, he has not become completely cynical, and he still believes in the goodness of the world as well as his ideals, albeit to a lesser degree.
Sitcom Arch-Nemesis: Kaveh and Alhaitham do not get along despite living in the same house, even if not by choice on the former's part.
Skewed Priorities: Inverted and discussed in the event "A Parade of Providence". He nearly forfeited his chance to win points in the second round of the Interdarshan Championship to help the desert foxes who had wandered into the competition zone and couldn't figure their way out, believing that helping them was more important than completing the round at the time. However, the little water he had left didn't last long while he was escorting them, and he ended up passing out in the desert for several hours before returning to finish the round using what little strength he had. When Paimon and Faruzan confront him about putting himself in danger, he admits that, while he was aware of the situation he was placing himself in, there was no comfortable alternative and that his decision-making had nothing to do with his intelligence, as he simply would have felt guilty if he had left the desert foxes.
Slave to PR:
- His involvement in the design and construction of the Palace of Alcazarzaray catapulted him to fame in Sumeru at the expense of him becoming bankrupt, homeless, and deeply in debt to Dori, which no one outside of his close friend circle knows about due to his widely positive reputation, forcing him to maintain a public face. He also had to move in with Alhaitham, a secret he has to keep hidden because it is widely assumed that he lives in a luxurious mansion somewhere.
- At the start of his Hangout Event, the player witnesses him openly arguing with his client over design revisions. When they later ask him about it, he asks them not to tell anyone for fear of it tarnishing his reputation with future potential clients.
Sliding Scale of Gameplay and Story Integration:
- Kaveh is an architect whose attack animations call back to his line of work. His attack animations are in the shape of various angles, such as the reflex angle (180°–360°) and the straight angle (180°). His Skill animation shows him using Mehrak to scan the area around him, while that for his Burst animation is reminiscent of a laser level used in professional building work.
- Tying into his work as an architect, his utility passive allows him to refund a portion of materials used to craft certain types of furnishing items.
- Kaveh is still grieving the death of his father after twenty years, and one of his Ascension materials is, fittingly enough, Mourning Flowers.
- In contrast to most characters, Kaveh's signature dish is not only mentioned in his character story, but its origin is also explained, being a dish his father taught him when he was a child, which he crafted to resemble The Palace of Alcazarzaray after transferring the funds to begin construction of the second iteration of it following the original's destruction by the Withering.
- Kaveh's emotional nature and sensitive heart are reflected in his Hangout Event mechanic, which is unique in that the Heartbeat Value represents his mood changes throughout the quest rather than serving as a health meter for the player. As a result, he can also gain and lose hearts independently of the player's dialogue choices, such as when he reacts to things said by the non-playable characters.
Sliding Scale of Idealism Versus Cynicism: Falls on the "idealism" side, which ends up being the subject of the event "A Parade of Providence". After listening to Sachin's borderline nihilistic monologue, as well as realizing what Sachin had in store for him as his successor, Kaveh destroys the Diadem of Knowledge to prevent it from causing further harm and chooses to donate the inheritance Sachin would have left to him as his successor to the needy in order to help make what Sachin deemed a sorrowful world a better place.
Smart People Build Robots: Being an alumnus of the Kshahrewar, which specializes in technology, his expertise isn't limited to just architecture, as he also built his multi-purpose automated case Mehrak, which he uses for work and combat. He also created life-like mechanical swiftflies for an interior design project which were realistic enough to fool Cyno.
Snark-to-Snark Combat: Most of his onscreen interactions with Alhaitham consist of the two snarking at each other after they get off subject.
Alhaitham: Hm, it seems that you really can't stand my personality.
Kaveh: Hah, what was your first clue?
Alhaitham: Well, then you might as well move out of my house.
Kaveh: Are you threatening me? Stooping to a new low, I see! Ugh, and don't change the subject. You? A sage? What a joke. The Akademiya might as well just close tomorrow!
Paimon: (to the Traveler) ...are they... having a fight...?
The Social Expert: As an empath that is able to understand various human emotions and ideas, he has no issue making friends and is tellingly on good terms with the majority of the Sumeru cast, save for Dehya and Candace, who don't appear to be familiar with him as far as the players are shown.
Somber Backstory Revelation: At the end of the event "A Parade of Providence," he tells the Traveler and Paimon what he knows about the circumstances behind his father's death, and how he feels he's to blame for it because he told him about the Interdarshan Championship in the first place.
Spanner in the Works: In "A Parade of Providence", once the heroes discover the true purpose of the diadem, Kaveh destroys the Diadem of Knowledge, which ends up ruining Dori's Batman Gambit plan to make herself with it and thus become even more filthy rich. Now if only he knew how big of a Laser-Guided Karma he wielded that time...
Spin Attack: Being a claymore user, his charged attack similarly has his claymore spin around him, though he is unique from the others in that he is telekinetically controlling its movements via Mehrak, so he is able to walk in a straight line as the claymore goes 360 degrees.
Status Buff: His first Constellation upgrade, Sublime Salutations, allows his Skill to grant a 50% boost to his Dendro Resistance and 25% to his Incoming Healing Bonus for three seconds.
Star-Spangled Spandex: The bottoms of Kaveh's cape have a sparkly pattern that resembles a red starry sky.
Starving Artist: Downplayed. Although Kaveh claims that the lengthy and challenging commission process makes being an architect less lucrative than many people think, the real reason he lives close to the poverty line is because of his debt to Dori, which he accrued by using his savings to build her palace and taking on the remaining costs from overspending on the project in her place.
Stepford Smiler: He often appears quite cheerful and confident, but this stems from his childhood, as he often had to put on a brave face and smile for his bereaved mother, despite the loneliness he felt following his father's death. "Star’s Blessing" Layla, who is used to dealing with the constantly troubled and anxious "Daylight" Layla, correctly deduces his mental situation due to the internal conflict that's keeping him from committing to winning the Interdarshan Championship.
"Star’s Blessing" Layla: It's like he's smiling on the outside, but there's no joy inside. Only sorrow.
Strong Family Resemblance:
- While Sachin's ability to recognize Kaveh due to his resemblance to his father was only hinted at in the event "A Parade of Providence," Faranak's drawing of his father confirms the resemblance between them.
- While she isn't seen onscreen, his mother's former mentor Zaha Hadi says Kaveh looks a lot like her.
Stuff Blowing Up: Both of Kaveh's Elemental Talents cause Dendro Cores within their damage radius to burst instantly. In addition, his fourth Constellation upgrade, Feast of Apadana, confers a 60% damage boost to the Cores he generates.
Summon to Hand: Can summon Mehrak into his hand instantly, which he appears to do using his Dendro Vision.
Surprisingly Realistic Outcome: While his creation of the Palace of Alcazarzaray earned him great fame in Sumeru and taught the nation's residents to see the beauty in architecture, his fame not only doesn't prevent him from facing common issues encountered in his profession, such as unreasonable demands from entitled clients for alterations to his designs, burnout, the length of time it takes to get paid, but it also hasn't completely changed the minds of Sumerian residents, as they still hold the opinion that the arts aren't entirely worth discussing.
Stone Wall: While his defense isn't particularly strong or weak if Kaveh is kept on the field, he becomes nearly unkillable in Bloom-oriented teams thanks to his first-ascension passive, which allows him to heal from all types of Dendro Core damage.
Super Mode: For twelve seconds, his Burst gives all his regular attacks heightened damage range and infusion with a Dendro effect that cannot be overridden with reactions, increases his interruption resistance, and boosts the damage of Dendro Cores his allies created beforehand. His fourth-ascension passive, A Craftsman's Curious Conceptions, allows the state to gather up to four stacks of a 25-point Elemental Mastery boost whenever his attacks connect (with at least a 0.1-second interval and to a maximum of 100 points); his second Constellation upgrade, Grace of Royal Roads, adds a 15% boost to his attacking speed; and his sixth, Pairidaeza's Dreams, allows all his regular attacks to be occasionally augmented with a wide-ranging attack that damages all enemies based on 61.8% of his Attack stat and automatically detonates Dendro Cores within their radii (within at least three-second intervals).
Super Gullible: He has a strong sense of justice and empathy, which, when combined with his guilt complex, makes him vulnerable to manipulation. As an example, according to Alhaitham, he once purchased a dozen keychains from a merchant who claimed the proceeds would be used to feed impoverished children.
Sword Lines: While every character that uses a sword or claymore has sword lines when they attack, Kaveh’s uniquely resemble an angle being measured out with every swing, taking the form of a straight or reflex angle. This becomes more obvious during attacks performed during his Elemental Burst Painted Dome, which gives his claymore Elemental Infusion.
Symbol Motif Clothing: He is a Dendro Vision user, which is associated with nature powers, and he wears various accessories that evoke the image of nature, such as golden flowers and butterflies on his cape.
Teen Genius: He is said to have excelled in school, earning him a reputation in the Akademiya long before his rise to national fame as the designer behind the Palace of Alcazarzaray:
- His work as a student on the joint-research project titled "Decoding the Runes and Architectural Philosophy of King Deshret's Civilization" with Alhaitham contributed to architectural studies, successfully improving the load-bearing structures of some special terrain features in Sumeru, which greatly improved the lives of those living in remote regions.
- He also often used to take on various projects exploring tomes from King Deshret’s kingdom with his fellow Darshanmates, with it being stated that they made significant results in their research despite their young ages.
Theme Naming: Almost all of his Constellation upgrades refer to well-known Persian buildings, dovetailing with Kaveh's specialization in architecture, though there are differences in which structure is being referred to depending on the language. In English, there are:
- Grace of Royal Roads: A highway rebuilt by King Darius I (the Great) running westward from Susa (in modern-day southwestern Iran) to Sardis (in modern-day western Asian Turkey).
- Profferings of Dur Untash: The Elamite name of Chogha Zanbil, one of the few extant ziggurats outside Mesopotamia.
- Feast of Apadana: A large hypostyle in Persepolis, seat of the Achaemenid Empire, believed to be a royal palace.
- Treasures of Bonkhanak: The Sassanid name for Ka'ba-ye Zartosht ("Cube of Zoroaster"), a building variously described as a treasury, a Zoroastrian fire temple, or a mausoleum.
- Pairidaeza's Dreams: A type of enclosed garden in Persian culture.
They Call Me MISTER Tibbs!: In the "Treasure and True Interest" route of his Hangout Event, he advises one of his students to refer to him as "Mr. Kaveh" instead of just his name when he returns as their instructor. In the Japanese dub, the correction is from "Kaveh-san" to "Kaveh-sensei."
Trademark Favorite Food: Alcohol, warm soup, anything with cream or cheese in it, and fresh fruit.
Trademark Hated Food: Dislikes anything too hot or spicy because of his sensitive tongue and has to wait for it to cool before eating.
Tsundere: He claims to dislike Alhaitham, despite plenty of evidence to the contrary, such as his bringing up Alhaitham when he isn't present, which even Collei and Tighnari comment on.
- He begins both of his "About Alhaitham" voice lines by complaining about him, but he also defends him, and in the second voice line, he laments the current state of their relationship and the fact that they aren't as close as they used to be back when they were students.
- Despite having graduated from the Akademiya years ago, he still kept the cover of the torn-up thesis he and Alhaitham worked on together in his sketchbook as memorabilia.
- In the "Wondrous Times" route of his Hangout Event, Kaveh first encourages Tighnari to start his dinner party without Alhaitham, believing that he wouldn't turn up. When Tighnari goes ahead and does so, he initially agrees and then suddenly changes his stance and awkwardly suggests waiting for Alhaitham a little longer.
Unexpected Gameplay Change: Similarly to Layla's Hangout Event, Kaveh's is a little unique, though the differences are comparatively less noticeable on the first playthrough due to a lack of an explanation:
- The Heartbeat Value is essentially the player's health bar in previous Hangout Events (except for Layla's), and they gain or lose hearts depending on the dialogue options they choose, with it determining whether they fail the quest (if possible). In Kaveh's Hangout Event, his icon replaces the Travelers, and the Heartbeat Value instead reflects his mental state throughout the quest, allowing him to gain and lose hearts in accordance with his mood and even without the influence of the player. For example, he can both gain and lose hearts during interactions with non-playable characters and is first seen doing so at the start of the quest after becoming burnt out from his argument with Badawi, losing all three of his hearts and forcing the player to begin with zero hearts.
- He is also uniquely the only character thus far to not have a Heart emote animation, with his unique reactions being limited to Happiness (Music Notes), Anger (Anger Mark), Distress (Heartbreak), Thinking (Thought Bubble), and Shock (Exclamation Point) regardless of what the player says to him. It was likely replaced by his Sadness animation, which is a unique animation but lacks an emote.
Ungrateful Bastard: Discussed. Kaveh acknowledges that Alhaitham has helped him a lot in recent times, but can’t find it in himself to thank him due to their current strained relationship and because of Alhaitham's personality.
- Kaveh does manage to thank Alhaitham at the end of "A Parade of Providence" if Alhaitham tells him about his father, which leads to this exchange:
Kaveh: …Thanks for letting me know all this.
Alhaitham: Uhh, what?
Kaveh: I said, thanks for letting me know. Hey! Stop acting like you didn't hear me! You’re doing this on purpose, aren't you?
Alhaitham: They say that "earnest thanks should be given thrice", so… one more time, please.
Unnamed Parent: Downplayed. His father's name is never revealed, although a postscript in his old sketchbook reveals that his mother is named "Faranak."
Unseen No More: He is referenced by several characters (Collei, Tighnari, Dori, Cyno, and Nilou) who were released pre-v.3.2 and mentioned in message boards across Sumeru prior to making his first physical appearance in the denouement of the Sumeru Archon Quest arguing with Alhaitham over the news of the changes within the Akademiya.
Unwitting Instigator of Doom: As a child, he innocently told his father about the Interdarshan Championship, having become interested in the crown awarded to the victor. Spurred by his son, the man joined the Championship, setting off a series of events that resulted in him meeting Sachin, falling under his influence, leaving his family to help Aaru Village, and ultimately dying in the desert after getting stuck in quicksand. Kaveh began to blame himself for his father's fate after realizing his remark had indirectly contributed to it, even after learning of the other causes.
Upgrade Artifact: A variant—his third and fifth Constellation upgrades, Profferings of Dur Untash and Treasures of Bonkhanak, add three levels to, respectively, his Burst and Skill.
Vague Age: While his age is never explicitly stated, much of his official material hints at him being in his mid-to-late 20's, particularly in the "Past Mementos" branch of his Hangout Event, where he states that he was less than 5 years old over 20 years ago and hadn't been born yet over 30 years ago.
- Another big clue to his age comes from the event "A Parade of Providence", which states that his father died 20 years ago, around the time Kaveh was still young but had reached the age where he could attend school in the Akademiya, which is heavily implied to be between the ages of 7-9 years old for child enrollees.
Vocal Dissonance: While he still has a distinctly masculine voice in the other languages, his Korean voice actor Lee Jung-min gives him a comparatively deeper voice that contrasts somewhat with his Pretty Boy appearance.
Weapon Specialization: In combat, he very rarely uses his claymore alone, preferring to fight with his toolbox, Mehrak, which he uses as a Catalyst to not only swing his claymore but also to execute various Elemental attacks via his Dendro Vision.
We Used to Be Friends: He used to be best friends with Alhaitham when they were students in the Akademiya, although an academic clash during the research project they worked on together brought their relationship to an abrupt end. His fifth character story went on to explain that their friendship began to deteriorate as a result of the things they learned about one another while working on the project, including the fundamental differences in their personalities, worldviews, how they interact with others, and their academic directions. And while these were all things that caused their connection to waver, it was Alhaitham weaponizing Kaveh's trauma surrounding his guilt over his fathers death during an argument that served as the final nail in the coffin of their friendship, and the two parted ways after Kaveh declared he rejected ever befriending him.
What the Hell, Hero?: He missed the events of Archon Quest Chapter III due to being out in the desert working on a large project while it was happening. Alhaitham calls him out on this when he returns in Act V: "A Toast To Victory".
Alhaitham: So, what great building did our master architect work on this time?
Kaveh: Like I need to tell you! Keep your nose out of my business.
Alhaitham: No, I think we deserve to know. Where were you when Sumeru needed you most?
Workaholic: In the "Leisurely Gathering" ending of his Hangout Quest, he reveals that he hasn't gotten a good night's sleep in months because of his clients constantly asking for revisions on work. This is at least in part self-inflicted, as we learn that his desire to be satisfied with his work conflicts with his tendency to prioritize the feelings of his clients over his own, leading him to constantly make revisions to his work at night. This is what led to his burnout at the start of the hangout as well as to him finally say no to a client who kept demanding unreasonable changes.
You Are Not Alone: The theme of the first "A Dear Memento" path in his Hangout Event. Despite being aware of his friends' support, he felt guilty for dampening their moods with his problems that couldn't be easily solved by encouraging words, while also feeling that relying too heavily on them would be setting a bad example as their senior. However, after reading the note his mother left for him in her diary about companionship and being reassured by the Traveler that it's normal to rely on friends in times of need, he attends Tighnari's dinner party, leading to the ending "Leisurely Gathering" in which he and his friends enjoy a meal together while discussing Collei's future.

Tropes Applying to Mehrak

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/npc_mehrak_1.png

Mehrak is Kaveh's multifunction toolbox and assistant that he built using a machine core excavated from King Deshret's civilization.

It debuted in Act II of the v3.6 limited event "A Parade of Providence," with a secondary introductory appearance in Kaveh's Hangout Event Act I: "The Pendulum of Weal and Woe."

Ambiguous Gender: Mehrak is only ever referred to as "it" by other characters, implying that Mehrak isn't gendered.
Ambiguous Situation: As the story doesn't go into too much detail about Mehrak's creation, it's unclear whether the machine core used to build it serves as its primary power source on its own, or if Mehrak is powered to some extent by Kaveh's own Dendro Vision via the core.
Artificial Stupidity: An In-Universe example. While Mehrak has a lot of utility and can act as an assistant to Kaveh in his work for mapping and surveying purposes, he explains that it isn't very smart and can't understand complex commands. This is because, unlike Karkata and Benben, it's not a mechanical lifeform and therefore not sentient.
Color Motifs: Its outer shell is white and green with gold accents, and its green parts, including its "face" and inner lights, are the same color as Kaveh's Dendro power.
Cute Machines: It has a pair of glowing green lights that act as eyes and can display four expressions; neutral, happy, sad, and angry. It also shifts its segments to simulate the expression it's making.
Distinctive Appearances: Mehrak has a distinct mechanical suitcase-like appearance, giving it a different vibe compared to previously introduced benevolent machines. This is because it was built from scratch by Kaveh, save for its unseen machine core.
Do-Anything Robot: Downplayed. It's a hi-tech, multi-function automated case that has utility in combat when used in conjunction with Kaveh's Dendro vision and can also be used as a toolbox, a projector, or a surveying and mapping tool in Kaveh's work as an architect.
Lost Technology: Kaveh created Mehrak from a machine core discovered in the ruins of King Deshret's civilization. It's never clarified what Mehrak was originally, and Kaveh explains that the mysteries behind King Deshret's technology are still unknown, leading to differing opinions among the Kshahrewar on the subject.
Magitek: It is an automated case infused with Kaveh's Dendro Vision.
Meaningful Name: In two ways; Like Kaveh, its name derives from a character in the Shahnameh, but its name also translates to "radiant" in Persian, although the game translates it as "little light", both of which are descriptive of its appearance when it's infused with Kaveh's Dendro powers.
Mind over Matter: While Kaveh doesn't issue verbal commands to Mehrak, and it shouldn't be able to "see" what gestures he's making because he keeps it by his side in battle, Mehrak still reacts almost instantly to Kaveh's body movements and swings his claymore in a similar fashion, implying that the duo fights in this manner to some extent.
One-Steve Limit: Averted. Mehrak coincidentally shares its name with the nobleman addressed in the "Record of Gurabad: Part II."
Out of Focus:
- While it is a core part of Kaveh's playable unit from a gameplay perspective, Mehrak isn't acknowledged in Kaveh's voice lines or in any of his Character Stories, only getting a briefly addressed in the final entry of his Old Sketchbook profile story. In the latter case, the timeline presented in Kaveh's Old Sketchbook suggests that Mehrak was only recently built by Kaveh, explaining its absence from previous parts of his backstory, though its absence from his voiceovers, which take place in the present, is more questionable.
Page 115: Suitcase design draft. Postscript: "Mehrak is an ancient word, one I have used as the name for this suitcase. It means 'little light.' More than anything, I hope it really can understand what I'm saying."
- Mehrak is absent from all routes in Act I of Kaveh's Hangout Event except the "Blueprint for the Future" ending, where it makes a brief introductory appearance and has a cameo in the endings Hangout Memory. It is also only acknowledged verbally once, in a separate route, when Kaveh calls on it for combat.
Power Glows: When Kaveh uses his Dendro powers through Mehrak, it emits a bright green glow for a short period of time.
Ragnarök Proofing: Mehrak was originally a machine core excavated from the ruins of King Deshret's civilization that Kaveh purchased from a merchant and eventually modified to create his automated case.
Red/Green Contrast: Mehrak is primarily green and white with gold accents, contrasting its owner, who has a more colorful outfit but is primarily identified by his red cape.
Remember the New Guy?: While it's stated in Kaveh's Collected Miscellany video that Kaveh is rarely without Mehrak, Mehrak isn't seen or mentioned by Kaveh or anyone associated with him until it's introduction in the v3.6 event "A Parade of Providence."
Robot Buddy: Serves as an assistant to Kaveh in his work as an architect, primarily by helping in performing tasks such as surveying and mapping, and also has utility for him in combat.
Satellite Character: As a likely non-sentient toolbox designed specifically for Kaveh's use, it lacks any characterization or motivations aside from that purpose.
The Unintelligible: It's incapable of human speech and communicates in "Beep-boops." Kaveh prefers it that way because it means it can't give him an attitude.
Visual Calculus: His briefcase does a downplayed version of this with it's architecture inspired holographic effects.

Characters / Genshin Impact: Kaveh

Kaveh (and Mehrak)

Introduced: May 2, 2023 (v3.6 "A Parade of Providence" [second half])
Voiced by: Liu Sanmu (Chinese), Yūma Uchida (Japanese), Lee Jung-min (Korean), Ben Balmaceda (English)

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Characters / Genshin Impact: Kaveh

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Kaveh (and Mehrak)

Introduced: May 2, 2023 (v3.6 "A Parade of Providence" [second half])Voiced by: Liu Sanmu (Chinese), Yūma Uchida (Japanese), Lee Jung-min (Korean), Ben Balmaceda (English)

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Introduced: May 2, 2023 (v3.6 "A Parade of Providence" [second half])
Voiced by: Liu Sanmu (Chinese), Yūma Uchida (Japanese), Lee Jung-min (Korean), Ben Balmaceda (English)