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aka: Genshin Impact Eremites

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The Great Red Sand

A vast desert west of Sumeru City in Dharma Forest, separated by the Wall of Samiel.
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Aaru Village

The largest settlement in the Great Red Sand, built centuries ago as a refuge for the surviving subjects of King Deshret's civilization following the disastrous collapse of his kingdom.

    Candace 

Candace

Introduced: September 28, 2022 (v3.1 "King Deshret and the Three Magi" [first half])
Voiced by: Zhang Qi (Chinese), Ryōka Yuzuki (Japanese), Jeon Yeong-su (Korean), Shara Kirby (English)

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/candace_5.png
Golden Vow
"A shield is not enough to protect the most important things. That's why I must also wield a spear."

Rarity: 4★
Element: Hydro
Weapon: Polearm
Constellation: Sagitta Scutum, the Arrow Shield

Guardian of Aaru Village and a distant descendant of Deshret, the late god-king of the desert-dwellers of the Great Red Sand. Usually kind and gentle to fellow villagers and visitors alike, she can also be a fierce foe to any who dare disturb the peace of Aaru. She receives the Traveler and co. at Aaru Village during a trek to the desert, and later forms part of a plan where she, alongside many other people around Sumeru, help overthrow the Akademiya Sages and free the imprisoned Lesser Lord Kusanali.

Candace prioritizes on defending her allies and countering enemy attacks with increasing force. Her Elemental Skill, Sacred Rite: Heron's Sanctum, is normally a straightforward bash; in its charged form, she puts on a defensive stance that blocks all kinds of damage, before she performs a leaping thrust either after a few seconds or once she takes enough damage. Her Elemental Burst, Sacred Rite: Wagtail's Ride, summons a bird-like phantasm that damages surrounding foes and endows the active character with the Prayer of the Crimson Crown, which boosts their normal attacks' elemental damage, unleashes rippling waves on surrounding foes whenever they are switched, and infuses melee attacks with Hydro.note 
  • Ambiguous Situation: Candace deliberately invokes this, implying to the Traveler that her amber eye is magical on one occasion and that it's comparatively normal heterochromia on another.
  • Bare Midriffs Are Feminine: Bare midriffed, and an elegant and refined Lady of War.
  • Beware the Nice Ones: While she may be a kind woman and a most gracious host to any and all travelers visiting Aaru Village, Candace will quickly become a terror to those who instigate violence or cause harm within village boundaries. Even the fierce and hot-blooded Dehya —a close friend of Candace— knows better than to get on her bad side. This is best shown once she starts to interrogate some Eremites in the Archon quest.
  • Big Eater: When asked about her favorite food, Candace prefers quantity over quality, since she needs a lot of energy to move around the desert.
  • Blue Is Calm: Her design is prominently navy blue, and she is generally easy-going and speaks in a soothing tone.
  • Bring It: One of her lines when using a tapped version of her Skill has her shout "Do your worst!".
  • Cool Big Sis: The children of Aaru Village look up to Candace as a big-sister figure, never punishing them physically for mere bad behavior, and is shown to be very caring of them when she is not in her duties.
  • Cooldown Manipulation: Her fourth Constellation upgrade, Sentinel Oath, reduces the cooldown time of the charged form of her Skill from nine seconds to six, rendering it identical to that of its base form.
  • Cosmic Motifs: She has a lot of traits that associate her with celestial bodies, in particular those related to Egyptian Mythology. She prominently wears a crescent moon headpiece as well as similarly crescent-shaped accessories; the eye ornament she wears on her forehead is associated with the sun gods Ra and Horus; the tips of her clothing bear starry patterns, like Nut, goddess of the sky; her heterochromia (specifically, a golden left eye and a blue right eye) bring to mind those of Horus, which respectively represent the sun and the moon (albeit the positions are reversed); and according to Candace herself, her shield, which depicts a heron in flight and also appears in her Constellation, was blessed by Bennu, itself the name of another sun god also associated with herons.
  • Counter-Attack: The charged form of her Skill unleashes a powerful spear attack either after the shield generated has taken sufficient damage or a few seconds have passed. Her first-ascension passive, Aegis of Crossed Arrows, instantly triggers the fully-charged attack once she is hit while in her defensive stance.
  • Elemental Eye Colors: Downplayed, but her right eye is navy blue, befitting her Hydro Vision.
  • Elemental Hair Colors: She has navy blue hair, befitting her Hydro powers.
  • Elemental Personalities: Candace has a Hydro Vision and is a calm, adaptable, graceful and kind woman.
  • Exotic Eye Designs: Heterochromia aside, Candace's pupils are distinctly diamond-shaped.
  • Foil:
    • To Dehya, the only other playable female character from the desert as of her release in v3.5. Dehya is a tomboyish Pyro unit whose outfit mostly comprises of black and red and travels a lot around Sumeru as a mercenary, while Candace is a beautiful Hydro unit who wears white and blue and rarely ventures outside Aaru Village as its protector. They're also both kindhearted women who aren't exactly soft, but Candace is more open about it.
    • To Cyno. They are both Egyptian-themed characters wearing Stripperiffic clothing who debuted in the same wish banners, are The Dreaded protectors of their field who canonically wield the Staff of the Scarlet Sands whose fathers (adoptive father in Cyno's case) are Akademiya scholars and are known to have links to divinity from the desert. However, Candace is a tall woman who wears white who grew up in the desert, and her supposed ancestry from King Deshret is actually just a white lie, while Cyno is a short man who wears black, grew up in the Akademiya, and actually hosts a divine spirit within him. Candace is also far more warm and approachable partially due to her work as a hospitable host for visitors to Aaru Village while Cyno maintains a cold and distant demeanour while in work-mode.
  • Good Is Not Soft: A necessary part of her job. Aaru Village is meant as a safe haven for those traveling through the desert, but there's no shortage of threats in such a hostile location, so those who threaten the peace there are shown no mercy.
  • Good Wears White: She wears white and blue, and serves as the protector of her people at Aaru Village.
  • Implacable Woman: Candace is capable of fighting off otherworldly monsters during a sandstorm for hours. When the Traveler, Dehya, and Cyno go to check in on her after one such storm, they find that she's only slightly winded from fighting Rifthounds.
  • Jack Bauer Interrogation Technique: She subjects a trio of radical Eremites to this, with some guidance from Cyno. Paimon notes just how quickly Candace mastered the torture techniques, making her just as terrifying as the General Mahamatra himself.
  • Javelin Thrower: The final hit of her normal attack combo has her hurl her spear forward.
  • Lady of War: Candace is a beautiful woman who wields her spear with elegance and force in equal measure.
  • Luckily, My Shield Will Protect Me: Candace wields a shield, which is fitting for her as a guardian of Aaru Village.
  • Making a Splash: She has a Hydro Vision.
  • Mark of the Supernatural: Candace has heterochromatic eyes, namely a golden left eye and a blue right eye.
  • Martial Pacifist: While she may be a benevolent and peace-loving village guardian, she is very willing to introduce troublemakers to the business end of her spear.
  • Meaningful Name: Candace's name is the Latinized, albeit erroneously assumed as a proper name, form of kandake (Κανδάκη in Greek), the title of the oldest sisters of the kings of Kush in Nubia, a region along the Nile River in modern-day northern Sudan (befitting the partially Egyptian aesthetic of the Great Red Sand), whose oldest son is usually the heir apparent.
  • Mechanically Unusual Fighter: The Shield Bash for the second hit of her standard attack combo is counted as a "Blunt Attack," which enables her to easily trigger Shatter sub-reactions and easily damage ore nodes and Geo constructs. The tapped version of her Skill can also do the same thing.
  • Missing Mom: Candace's mother, according to her father, "began her journey into the eternal night" the day Candace was born.
  • Ms. Fanservice: She's tall and tanned with no blemishes and her Stripperiffic wardrobe exposes her legs and emphasizes her large breasts. Even compared to the other women, Candace might as well be the most fanservice-friendly woman in the cast. Though it's downplayed in that the story doesn't necessarily put emphasis on her good looks.
  • Mundane Utility: Much like Razor, her charged form of her Skill can instantly shatter ore nodes in one go.
  • Nay-Theist: In contrast to the growing outcry of Deshret's more fanatical followers demanding his revival, Candace believes that his second coming would only bring war and needless bloodshed to Sumeru. Likewise, she also asserts that to the average Aaru Villager, neither fervent belief in the Dendro Archon or the Scarlet King will alleviate the day-to-day struggles of desert life.
  • Nice Girl: A polite and kindhearted person whose main job is to defend her village. Playable voice-overs show she's very open about her kindness, immediately offering the Traveler to rest and even bringing them the commodities they need.
  • No-Sell: The charged form of her Skill blocks any kind of damage, with a 250% durability against Hydro attacks.
  • Prophet Eyes: Claims that she can look into the future with her amber eye.
  • Red Oni, Blue Oni: Candace, as the calmer of the two, is the Blue to Dehya's Red.
  • Reduced Mana Cost: Played with. Her utility passive, To Dawn's First Light, shaves 20% off of the party's Stamina consumption while climbing.
  • Semi-Divine: Minimized because even having a Vision alone makes all its bearers demigods ("allogenes," according to Venti, individuals who have the potential to become full gods and ascend to Celestia), but Candace still deserves a special recognition for being a distant descendant of Deshret. In truth, this is a lie spread about the Guardians of Aaru Village to make their job easier. Those who are initiated into the role are informed of the truth. Many don't take it well, but Candace doesn't mind.
  • Shield Bash: The second hit of her normal attack combo and the tapped form of Sacred Rite: Heron's Sanctum has her strike her opponents with a shield.
  • Shout-Out: Her headpiece is one to Yu-Gi-Oh!, as the eye looks virtually identical to the eye design seen on the Millennium Items.
  • Signature Headgear: Prominently wears a gold cresent moon headpiece with a dangling five-petal flower accessory that encircles the back of her head, held in place by a headband adorned with a golden eye symbol on her forehead.
  • Staff of Authority: Candace is seen wielding one of the Staff of the Scarlet Sands (the other half is with Cyno) in official media, and its Flavour Text states that they "grant the right to lead the people of the desert".
  • Status Buff:
    • Candace's fourth-ascension passive, Celestial Dome of Sand, gives the Prayer of the Crimson Crown the ability to increase the damage of the active character's element-enhanced normal attacks by 0.5% for every thousand points of Candace's Max HP.
    • Her second Constellation upgrade, Moon-Piercing Brilliance, adds 20% to her Max HP for fifteen seconds whenever her Skill hits enemies.
  • Stripperiffic: Which is justified given Aaru Village is in the desert; nevertheless, Candace's outfit exposes a very generous amount of skin. Few characters like Yanfei or Dehya come close.
  • Super Fly Reflexes: In the first round of the Interdarshan Championship, Candace easily catches the swiftfly that was resting on Dehya's hairclip. She even comments that "it didn't seem that quick."
  • Super Mode: Her Burst triggers the Prayer of the Crimson Crown state, which for nine seconds provides a 20% boost to the active character's element-infused normal attacks, unleashes waves of Hydro damage on surrounding enemies whenever characters switch, and melee (i.e., sword, claymore, or polearm) units' regular attacks are infused with Hydro. Her first Constellation upgrade, Returning Heiress of the Scarlet Sands, extends its duration to twelve seconds, while her sixth, The Overflow, allows her allies to unleash a wave in tandem with element-enhanced normal attacks (within at least 2.3-second intervals), with damage equivalent to 15% of her Max HP.
  • Team Mom: She serves as this to the Sumeru crew throughout the Archon Quest, actively encouraging everyone to speak their mind and caring for their wellbeing, and makes everyone promise to prioritize their safety above all else when executing their plans.
  • Tomboy and Girly Girl: Candace is more traditionally womanly compared to Dehya's more boisterous demeanor.
  • True Blue Femininity: Navy blue is especially prominent in her design.
  • Upgrade Artifact: A variant—her third and fifth Constellation upgrades, Hunter's Supplication and Heterochromatic Gaze, add three levels to, respectively, her Burst and Skill.
  • Water Is Womanly: Candace utilizes her Hydro Vision to assist her in defending Aaru Village.
  • Weapon Specialization: For her Wish art and Character Demos, Candace is often shown wielding the Staff of the Scarlet Sands (5★); that said, it doesn't do much to augment her combat capabilities, as while its Ascension substat of Critical Rate (9.6–44.1%) helps improve her damage-dealing potency, she has little use for its "Heat Haze at Horizon's End" passive, which grants its wielder an Attack bonus equivalent to 52–104% of their Elemental Mastery stat, as well as gathers stacks of "Dream of the Scarlet Sands" for ten seconds whenever its wielder hits enemies with their Elemental Skills which provides another Attack bonus equivalent to 28–56% of their Elemental Mastery stat (hence a maximum of 84–168%), given that both her Elemental Talents instead scale off of her Max HP.
  • Workaholic: According to Dehya's "About Candace" voice line, she has turned down Dehya's offer to take her out to enjoy herself multiple times because she needs to protect Aaru Village.

    Ajilenakh Dash 

Ajilenakh Dash

Voiced by: Lily Lammers (English)
One of the participants of Nilotpala Cup Beast Tamers Tournament hailing from Aaru Village. She is the head of Ajilenakh Nut Gang, and her ace-fungus is a Floating Dendrofungus named "Magishroom".
  • Boisterous Weakling: She wastes no time trash-talking the Traveler when they meet in the tournament, but unlike her Inazuman counterpart Itto, she can't back up her boasts at all.
  • Competition Freak: Is very competitive and treats anyone like rivals. Fittingly she doesn't take losing very well and demands a rematch for the next season.
  • Distaff Counterpart: Just imagine her as Arataki Itto, but female.
  • Friend to All Children: Given how the kids all look up to her and is part of her crew, she is this.
  • Only Known by Their Nickname: She's a head of a group of friends calling themselves the Ajilenakh Nut Gang, and her friends call her only by her nickname. Her real name is unknown, and her name came from how she wanted to buy lots of Ajilenakh candies if she won.
  • Sore Loser: She gets upset upon losing to the Traveler and Paimon and the latter has to remind her to be a good sport.
  • Warmup Boss: Your first opponent in the tournament, and the easiest. Her team consists almost entirely of offensive fungi with little in the way of tanking, healing, or support, ensuring that only the most basic comprehension of how the game works is necessary to win.

    Isak 

Isak

A young boy who looked after a Village Keeper named Khalil as a grandfather figure.


  • Because You Were Nice to Me: Having apparently been told that Lesser Lord Kusanali was the one who calmed Khalil, a grateful Isak participates in the plan to rescue her by acting as a decoy to help lure Akademiya's guards into a trap.
  • Disguised in Drag: In the Fifth Act of the Sumeru Archon Quest, he disguises himself as Nahida to draw the attention of the Akademiya's guards and lure them into Dehya's trap.
  • Raised by Grandparents: Isak was raised by his grandfather in lieu of his parents, who are busy at work in Sumeru City. Shortly after his grandfather's death, Isak met Khalil, who bore a striking resemblance to the latter, and has since considered him his second parental figure.
  • Tagalong Kid: For the Third Act, he accompanies the Traveler, Paimon, Cyno, Alhaitham, and Dehya in the search for Khalil.
  • What the Hell, Hero?: When he, the Traveler, Paimon, Cyno, and Alhaitham find Dehya having a friendly chat with Rahman, he thinks the former has betrayed them, forcing her to reveal that she has been trying to negotiate for the Village Keepers' release. Afterwards, he then calls her out for doing something as risky as offering to have her right arm cut off in exchange for the Keepers.

    Khalil 

Khalil

A Village Keeper affected by the "Divine Knowledge Capsule".
  • Act of True Love: Proof that Khalil has come to care for Isak as if he really was his grandson comes when an earthquake happens and Isak and the others sink into a hole. Khalil immediately summoned the power left in him by Nahida to grab Isak and mostly protect him from the fall into the ruins.
  • Heroic Host: The Traveler and Cyno suspect that Nahida has been acting through him whenever he seems to have moments of lucidity to teach and accompany Isak.
  • I Choose to Stay: Khalil, having been cured of his insanity, chooses to stay in Aaru village to look after Isak and help with the desert development plans.
  • Identical Stranger: Isak grew attached to Khalil on account of the latter's strong resemblance to his deceased grandfather, who raised him all his life.
  • Only Known by Their Nickname: For much of the Fourth Act of the Sumeru Archon Quest, he is known only as "Isak's grandfather." It wasn't until the end that his original name has been revealed.
  • Parental Substitute: Isak considers him a grandfather figure, who in his moments of lucidity would teach and accompany him. After being cured of his insanity, Khalil decides to stay with Isak in Aaru Village rather than return to Akademiya.

    Shani 

Shani

Voiced by: Mana Nakatomi (Japanese), Elsie Lovelock (English)

An Aaru villager who Alhaitham confronts over her choice of words to the Traveler, Paimon, Cyno, and Isak during their search for the Village Keepers.


  • All of the Other Reindeer: Confronted by Alhaitham, she admits to lying to the Traveler, Paimon, Cyno, and Isak over hearing nothing about the Village Keepers at night out of fear of being an object of suspicion from the villagers, especially the radical Deshret worshippers, what with her mixed lineage.
  • Child of Two Worlds: Shani's parents came from either side of the Wall of Samiel, giving her serious insecurities over her place in Aaru Village.
  • Nay-Theist: Shani shares Candace's view that neither latching onto Rukkhadevata or Deshret's memory will help much with the plight of the people of Aaru Village.

Eremites

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/the_eremites_banner.png
The Eremites' banner

The term "Eremite" refers to various mercenary bands hailing from the Great Red Sand, the majority of whom emphasize the desert-dwellers' descent from an ancient civilization ruled thousands of years ago by the late god-king Deshret.


    General Tropes 
  • Ape Shall Not Kill Ape: Though the harshness of desert life makes conflict between them sometimes inevitable, Eremites look down on those who prey upon their fellow desert dwellers. Especially those that target members of their own band. Dehya's Story Quest is kicked off by her hearing of members of Deshret's Relics raiding their fellow mercenaries and she feels compelled to put a stop to them partly for personal reasons (the group is led by her father) but also just for the principle of the thing. In a World Quest, Jeht after being framed by Babel is denounced as a traitor to her tribe and it's said no other Eremites will harbor her for that crime.
  • Big Bad Wannabe: In the Sumeru Archon Quest, a group of Radical Eremites declare themselves to be the greatest adversaries of the Akademiya and the Dendro Archon under the belief that their god will soon be resurrected, and enact revenge for Rukkhadevata's apparent betrayal of the Scarlet King. In reality, the story of the Scarlet King’s resurrection is a propaganda campaign by the Akademiya to cover their tracks, combined with the fact that the Sages are collaborating with the Fatui to create what they perceive to be a suitable replacement for Rukkhadevata.
  • Blindfolded Vision: Various Eremites have a tendency of wearing blindfolds with no visible eyeholes to protect their eyes from the sun and sand. The explanation for how they can still see is very unremarkable, the fabric is thin enough to be transparent when held up close.
  • Colour-Coded for Your Convenience: The Corps of Thirty is the peace-keeping Eremite brigade identified by their teal-green coloured scarves, while the other Eremites such as the hostile Ayn Al-Ahmar, the believers of The Scarlet King, sport red scarves.
  • Cult: Among the Eremites, there are radical factions, such as Ayn Al-Ahmar that preach that the Scarlet King will soon be resurrected and take revenge on the Dendro Archon. While most Eremites are Only in It for the Money, Radicals are religious fanatics and Conspiracy Theorists. As a consequence, they're the most immoral group of Eremites, and the only ones to have a plan. In truth, they're all being manipulated by the Akademiya, as their grudge against the Dendro Archon and the enmity between the people of the desert and the rainforest makes them the perfect scapegoat for their own plots. Unbeknownst to both parties, Rukkhadevata had never betrayed the Scarlet King, which means that everything about the Radicals' doctrine is a lie.
  • Desert Bandits: They’re primarily found in the desert regions of Sumeru, and they’ve been known to ambush convoys that come from the rainforest towards the town of Aaru Village, to steal their supplies.
  • Dub Name Change: They are called the "Gilded Brigade" in Chinese (镀金旅团, DùJīnLǚTuán)and Korean (도금 여단, Dogeum Yeodan) and is similarly named "Goldbrigade" in German, while in Russian they are known as "The Hermits".
  • How the Mighty Have Fallen: In Deyha’s character quest, a group called the Deshret’s Relics were once the largest and most powerful Eremite organization in the desert, who kept a record room of every Eremite faction in Sumeru in order to keep them wrapped around their fingers. But, when Deyha’s adopted father, Kusayla, destroyed their record room, his group of Eremites proceeded to systematically tear the Deshret’s Relics apart piece by piece over the years, and they were on the verge of succeeding even before the Traveler arrived. Their leader had tried to set a trap for Deyha, the Traveler, and Kusayla‘s Eremite group, in the hopes that he could destroy them and restore the Deshret’s Relics to their former glory, but they proved too powerful, so he chose to end his own life rather than see his life’s work fall apart before his eyes.
  • Know When to Fold Them: Like the Treasure Hoarders, all Eremites will escape upon defeat rather than die in combat, though for tactical reasons rather than out of cowardice. They do this by spreading a special powder that allows them to disappear into sand (unless you defeat them while in a "Frozen" state or by forcing them into deep water).
  • Meaningful Name: The Eremites may have been both named after the people of Sumer's neighbour Elam that was located in modern day Iran, as well as the ancient Greek word meaning "of the desert".
  • Private Military Contractors: A fantasy variant. It is said that the Eremites operate throughout Teyvat, not just on Sumeru and will work for anyone so long as the pay is good.
  • Proud Warrior Race: They are a band of mercs that value not just Mora, but also combat. A lot of them won't pass the chance to fight the Traveler if they spot them.
  • Red/Green Contrast: Most Eremites have red prominently featured in their clothing but the Corps of Thirty wear green.
  • Resistance as Planned: The Ayn Al-Ahmar and Rahman's factions oppose the Akademiya, believing that the Scarlet King will soon be reborn and carry out plans to strengthen themselves and facilitate their god's resurrection. In reality, they’re being manipulated by a propaganda campaign from the Akademiya to cover their tracks as they conduct human experimentation.

Ayn Al-Ahmar

    Mizri 

Mizri

The leader of the Ayn Al-Ahmar.
  • Everyone Calls Him "Barkeep": Tariq and other Eremites call him "Boss".
  • Go Mad from the Revelation: By the time he arrived, Tariq witnessed something clearly wrong happened to his boss. After using Divine Knowledge Capsule, he went insane and attacks his subordinate who tried to check on him. After subdued by Alhaitham, he's arrested by Matra and Corps of Thirty and mutters "World.... forget me" as Alhaitham silently snatches his Divine Knowledge Capsule.
  • Red Eyes, Take Warning: Absorbing the contents of the Divine Knowledge Capsule drove him insane, turning his Akasha Terminal and his eyes red and spurring him to attack anyone on sight.
  • The Unfought: He only shows up in an animated cutscene where Alhaitham quickly dispatches him with a backhand. The Traveler doesn't even need to fight him.

    Mizri's Subordinates 

Tariq & Tumart

Mizri's subordinates.
  • Bullying a Dragon: They decide to pick a fight with Alhaitham (and later the Traveler once they arrive as backup), a Vision holder, by challenging them to a fight by the Wikala Funduq's docks. Even without the Traveler with him, Alhaitham's exceptional combat capabilities mean that they stand no chance even with additional backup.
  • Moveset Clone: They fight like a Treasure Hoarder Scout despite being Eremites, although they disappear into sand like them upon defeat.
  • Those Two Guys: They are seen together when the Traveler needs some information, the boss fight downplays this as Tariq is fought after Tumart's defeat.

Corps of Thirty

    In General 
The peacekeeping and military force of Sumeru City, a brigade of Eremites that have been permanently hired by the Akademiya. They are led by the Parchamdar, Rukh Shah.
  • City Guards: The Corps of Thirty are hired by the Akademiya and stationed in throughout the major cities and settlements of Dharma Forest for peacekeeping purposes. Sumeru residents may approach them for help with locating a lost person, as demonstrated in Yoimiya's 2nd Story Quest.
  • Color-Coded for Your Convenience: They are distinguished from other Eremites by wearing the green of Akademiya rather than red.
  • Dirty Cop: It's heavily Implied that they're at least somewhat in the know about the Sages' suppression and abuse of Kusanali, and have no issue trying to hunt down and capture her when they're falsely given orders to do so. In that sense, it's hard not to see them, or at least those involved, as being this, or just having a massive case of My Master, Right or Wrong.
  • The Guards Must Be Crazy:
    • When the Traveler and Paimon are put into confinement under Azar's orders, the guards don't bother to physically restrain the former (such as handcuffing or tying their hands behind their back), find some way to inhibit their elemental powers despite being informed beforehand that they are able to channel all elements, and/or keep them under heavy surveillance. They never thought about taking away their Akasha Terminal (a modified one that is essential for contacting Nahida, who sealed away her consciousness) either, which Paimon lampshades, and it's a good thing too; had the guards been smart enough to take these countermeasures beforehand, then Alhaitham's grand rescue plan to save Nahida would have been a disastrous bust. Sure enough, this enabled the Traveler to use their Akasha Terminal to pinpoint and establish a strong signal to reach Nahida and contact her via the power of Dendro with no problem.
    • Upon receiving a fake transmission that Lesser Lord Kusanali have escaped, they all scramble in an attempt to apprehend her. Despite the imposter wearing a Cheap Costume version of Kusanali, they all fall for it and give chase. This one is justified as they likely never saw what Kusanali would actually look like and assumed the imposter to be the real deal.
  • Non-Indicative Name: There's significantly more than thirty of them. Supposedly the name reflects the brigade's size at its inception, but needless to say it's grown vastly since then.
  • Red/Green Contrast: Their uniforms have green sashes in contrast to the rest of the Eremites who wear red, showing how they are more associated with the rainforest people and the Akademiya even if they do not belong to that race.
    Asfand 

Asfand

The consultant of The Citadel of Regzar. He originates from Great Red Sand.
  • Cool Old Guy: He is an aging consultant for the Citadel of Regzar who is in charge of taking care of the problems facing Sumeru City.
  • Mistreatment-Induced Betrayal: When Dehya talked about the Sages corruption, he and his crew willingly aided them in overthrowing the sages by turning a blind eye, having been bossed around by said Sages for far too long for them to tolerate.

Tanit Tribe

    In General 
A tribe of Eremites who take in Jeht after the events of the "Golden Slumber" World Quest. However, some of their members may not be as benevolent as they appear.
  • Asshole Victim: Almost all of them (barring Masseira, unfortunately) eventually get cut down by Jeht and the Traveler and left to decay in the nearby dunes. Considering they, excluding Tahdla, were a bunch of power-hungry manipulators who tried to trick the latter two into killing each other on top of all their other crimes, no tears have to be shed for them.
  • Bitch in Sheep's Clothing: They're initially presented as a good-natured people who took Jeht in as one of their own. However, as you complete more World Quests pertaining to their individual members, most of them turn out to be nothing but power-hungry schemers who are more than willing to manipulate and turn on each other for their own personal gain, to the point where they have intentions of overthrowing the Akademia and the Dendro Archon once they become powerful enough.
  • Fantastic Racism: Really not fond of outsiders. The Traveler's first exposure to the tribe is being given the runaround simply trying to find someone willing to give them the time of day. Jeht also feels like she's ostracized from the tribe at times for only being half-Tanit by blood.
  • Permadeath: NPC example. The end of the "For Her Judgment Reaches to the Skies..." World Quest has the entire tribe being slain by Jeht and the Traveler for their treachery and betrayal of the latter two. All of their deaths carry over and their camp remains completely empty for the rest of the game.
  • Religious and Mythological Theme Naming: The Tanit are named after the Punic patron goddess of Ancient Carthage in modern-day North Africa.
  • Smarter Than You Look: Despite being a remote tribe of people oft regarded as less civilized than their rainforest counterparts, the Tanit have a history of well educating their own people primarily off of stolen Akademiya texts. It wouldn't be a stretch to assume that some members like Aderfi and Azariq also picked up a few things from dealings with the Fatui.
  • Walking Spoiler: It's kinda hard to discuss them in detail without revealing anything pertaining to their true nature and/or the aftermath of the "Golden Slumber" World Quest.

    Aderfi 

Aderfi

One of the Eremites of the Tanit tribe.
  • The Mole: At the beginning of The "Dirge of Bilqis" Jeht asked him to keep Benben, unaware that he is secretly in league with the Fatui by selling the construct to them.
  • Red Herring: There are hints of someone among the Tanit feeding info to the Fatui, with Azariq being a likely suspect. Until it's revealed that the real traitor is Aderfi, which is itself a Red Herring for the real traitors being both of them.
  • Venturous Smuggler: He smuggles goods from the rainforest for the Tanit. Books banned from the Akademiya can be found dotting his tent.

    Azariq 

Azariq

Babel's trusted subordinate. After Jeht encounters the Tanit, he becomes her senior.
  • Affectionate Nickname: He calls Jeht a little wildcat.
  • And Now You Must Marry Me: Part of his scheme to overthrow Matriarch Babel and consolidate power for himself was to position Jeht as the next matriarch and ask her to marry him.
  • Foreshadowing: Azariq's TCG deck hints to his collaboration with Aderfi and the Fatui. During the Dirge of Bilqis quest line, there's also heavy foreshadowing right from the start, with Jeht, the Traveler, and Paimon all commenting on how he seems so smart and knowledgeable about many aspects of the mysterious structures and devices, which he passes off as good intuition, but is later revealed to have been working with the Fatui, which explains his knowledge. He also seems to have a lot of information on the Traveler's abilities, specifically mentioning that the Traveler can use the elements before he's even seen them in action, which is a piece of information that most strangers wouldn't know off-hand unless they were *very* interested in the Traveler's feats. He even specifically tries to put the Traveler in risky spots throughout using this as justification, and in hindsight, it could be seen as a way he is trying to gather more information on the Traveler's abilities to send back to the Fatui, and kill two birds with one stone by studying the devices inside the temple without putting himself directly in harm's way (and possibly get rid of the Traveler altogether if things were to go terribly awry).
  • Guest-Star Party Member: Azariq fights with Traveler and Jeht in The Dirge of Bilqis quest, until he is revealed to be a Traitor.
  • Heir-In-Law: Had planned to convince Jeht to marry him in order to gain power for himself.
  • Like Brother and Sister: Jeht introduces him as "like a brother" at the beginning of the Dirge of Bilqis. Subverted after it is revealed that he was a traitor working with Aderfi and the Fatui resulting in his death by Jeht's hands.

    Matriarch Babel 

Babel Tanit

The Matriarch of the Tanit Tribe.
  • A God Am I: Her ultimate goal is to use the Eternal Oasis to become all powerful, even claiming her intent to overthrow Nahida.
  • Bad Boss: She will off members of the Tanit tribe she feels she has no need for any longer, including Jeht who remained loyal to her even after killing the elders. As she was the main target in Jeht's Roaring Rampage of Revenge with the rest of the tribe just being obstacles, her order for the entire tribe to kill Jeht right then and there meant she was willing to sacrifice them all to ensure she comes out alive.
  • Bait-and-Switch: The beginning of the Dirge of Bilqis quest gives a very uneasy feeling, with many of the residents making her seem extremely fearsome. The first glimpse the Traveler and Paimon get of her has her very harshly publicly denouncing a man who is begging for his life, sending him off to be punished for his crimes, which are described as letting the outsider's "poison" onto his tongue. It feels awfully cultish. But when she greets the Traveler, she is warm and personable, and we quickly learn she only has such a harsh attitude when it is very well-justified. Then it turns out she is exactly what people expected her to be when she attempts to have both Jeht and the Traveler killed simply because she doesn't need them anymore.
  • Big Bad Wannabe: Her plan from the beginning was to gain access to the Eternal Oasis to try to make the Tanit even greater than what it is, even going so far as to say that she will overthrow the Dendro Archon. Once her plans go pear shaped, she quickly falls apart at the seams, with the Traveler and Jeht effortlessly wiping the floor with her. She even claims Jeht has destroyed the hopes of all Eremites and Jeht dissmissively state's she just knocked over Babel's "tiny sand dune."
  • Biblical Motifs: Like the bbiblical tower, Babel tried to reach god(hood) and is struck down. The titles of the quests in the Dirge of Bilquis questline even quote or reference passages in the Bible about the destruction of Babel.
  • Bitch in Sheep's Clothing: She is introduced as a benevolent leader of the Tanit tribe. In truth, she is a selfish Manipulative Bitch who took advantage of Jeht to rise to power and then attempted to have her killed too when she decided she no longer needed her.
  • Broken Pedestal: Jeht looked up to Babel upon joining the Tanit and devoted her loyalty to her. The moment Jeht finds out Babel was working with the Fatui along with trying to kill her and the Traveler, all admiration Jeht had for Babel is shattered to the point of killing her and the entire Tanit tribe.
  • Chronic Backstabbing Disorder: She had Jeht kill previous leaders and branding them as traitors while also trying to get her to betray the Traveler. However, regardless of the outcome, she made it clear she had intended to dispose of Jeht once everything was all done. Not only that, but the Fatui she was allied with have a log making it clear she betrayed them too.
  • Death by Childbirth: Downplayed. The notes left by the Tanit mercenary who adopted Babel after her mother's death described her birth as being particularly brutal, even describing the newborn Babel as a "natural-born killer" who "ripped her mother's body apart". The Tanit mercenary ended her mother's suffering as he saw that she bleed so much from the childbirth that she would not survive the night anyway.
  • Dirty Coward: She often sends others to handle certain scenarios rather than get her hands dirty, even choosing to manipulate the Traveler and Jeht into killing each other before having other members finish them off. When Jeht comes for vengeance she send the entire Tanit tribe after her while she retreats to her quarters, only fighting Jeht and the Traveler herself when they break through the tribe.
  • Establishing Character Moment: She's introduced overseeing the punishment of a traitor to the tribe, coldly rejecting his pleas for mercy and sentencing him to what's heavily implied to be death. She then greets the Traveler and Paimon and apologizes for showing them a sadly necessary part of her duties as Matriarch and welcoming them as honored guests. It really sets the tone for how dealing with her is going to go.
  • Evil Counterpart: To Dehya. They are both tall, incredibly attractive female Eremites who are associated with Pyro and whom the Traveler encounters on their journeys through Sumeru. Where they contrast, however, is that Dehya, depsite her somewhat gruff demeanor, is genuinely friendly towards the Traveler and is loyal to her allies (especially Nahida). Babel, on the other hand, is a self-righteous Hypocrite whose friendliness is just an act and is more than willing to stab her allies in the back for more power (and ultimately wants to use the Eternal Oasis to overthrow Nahida). Not to mention that while Dehya is a playable unit, Babel ends up becoming the Final Boss of the "Her Foes Rage Like Great Waters" World Quest Series.
  • Evil Cannot Comprehend Good: After everything, she asks why Jeht has turned on her. Jeht spells out for her that she's evil and Jeht herself is not, so of course she wasn't going to turn on her best friend for Babel's sake.
  • Extreme Doormat: Grovels before Liloupar and makes flowery, fawning requests for help from the mighty Jinni. Subverted in that everyone can tell it's just an act, though Liloupar finds her willingness to debase herself amusing regardless.
  • Faux Affably Evil: She claims to love Jeht like a daughter, and even shows respect to the Traveler, but that is all just to get them to cooperate. Once she feels she no longer needs either of them, as well as to get her hands on the Jinni the Traveler has, she orders the entire tribe to assassinate the two of them.
  • Hypocrite:
    • She frequently talks about having to deal with traitors. However, this turns out to be nothing more than projection as she has a habit of betraying a lot of people she works with, betraying the Traveler, Jeht, and the Fatui.
    • She has Jeht venture into areas forbidden to the Tanit and kill those who betray the tribe and anyone else Babel wants dead as Jeht is only half Tanit. Thing is, notes in the Temir Mountains reveal that Babel herself was adopted into the Tanit and is at best only distantly descended from desert folk, her birth parents both being from the rainforest. She may not know this though as both parents were killed by the Tanit mercenary who adopted her before she could know them.
  • It's All About Me: She cares only about her own power and advancement. She regularly betrays and exploits people and denounces anyone who's in her way as a traitor to the tribe. Even after hearing about the goddess she ostensibly worships being dead and gone, she simply states it doesn't matter as she can still pretend to be said goddess's oracle and unite the desert dwellers under her anyway. When the Traveler and Jeht come for her, she's quick to flee and sends the rest of her tribe to their deaths against the two of them while she hides. And when Jeht finally puts her down, even after admitting she tried to have Jeht killed she's still outraged Jeht would dare raise a hand against her.
  • Karmic Death: Babel turned Jeht into an assassin and had her kill the previous leaders of the Tanit tribe. Fitting enough, she meets her own end at Jeht's hands.
  • Like a Son to Me: Refers to Jeht as like her own daughter and that she wishes her flesh-and-blood daughter, were she still alive, would have grow into a fine young woman like Jeht. Given her true feelings towards Jeht, that might not have been a good thing...
  • Meaningful Name: Like the biblical tower she is named after, she is eventually destroyed for her hubris while attempting to become god.
  • Ms. Fanservice: She uses the design of the Scorching Loremaster, which gives her a very curvaceous and well-endowed figure.
  • Not-So-Well-Intentioned Extremist: First impressions make her come off as extreme in her actions, but we learn that it is revealed that she isn't punishing just any old acts of treason, but treason that involves the Fatui. Given the sort of damage the Fatui has brought upon all sorts of groups and their modus operandi of weaseling their way into internal affairs, her hardline policy against any sort of outside cooperation can hardly be considered extreme. But then it turns back around again when we discover not only was she actually the one who was working with the Fatui, many of the so-called traitors she had Jeht kill weren't really traitors at all, but were actually the previous leaders of the tribe, who Babel had killed as part of her twisted plan to become god-queen of the desert. Worse, she took advantage of the emotionally fragile Jeht by acting like her surrogate mother, and then systematically broke Jeht's innocence by turning her into a killing machine against her rivals. And then, once it seemed that Jeht had outlived her usefulness, Babel tried to have her killed as well. All this makes it clear that there were never any good intentions.
  • Outliving One's Offspring: Her own daughter died before Traveler's arrival in Tanit Camps.
  • Precognition: Babel, taking a design of an Eremite Scorching Loremaster, had already suspected Azariq's disloyalty by her Precognition, though she expresses regret for not taking his life by herself.
  • The Sociopath: Why, yes. She's a Faux Affably Evil Bitch in Sheep's Clothing who is abusive to her minions and wants to overthrow the Dendro Archon for her own selfish reasons. Why do you ask?
  • Villain Ball: Her status as a villain was well hidden and only comes to light when she tries to kill off perceived threats to her power. "Threats" that had no idea what she was up to and only oppose her because she tried to kill them first.
  • Walking Spoiler: A lot of the tropes here contain details about her that occur in the last few sidequests she is in.
  • Was It Really Worth It?: She asks Jeht this right before she dies.
  • We Can Rule Together: She offers this to Jeht once her true colors are revealed, that she can be Babel's right hand and heir as Oracle if she kills the Traveler. When Jeht refuses the offer and corners Babel, the Matriarch admits it was a lie and she was trying to get Jeht to lower her guard so she'd be easier to dispose of.

    Masseira 

Masseira

Father of Tadhla, whom he treats as a "Hunting Falcon".
  • Abusive Parents: He treats Tadhla, his daughter, as a "Hunting Falcon" rather than a person, and even outright manipulated her into fighting the Traveler.
  • Evil Counterpart: Masseira is essentially this to Jebrael. Masseira is downright abusive and manipulative towards his own daughter, resulting in her becoming an emotionless doormat while Jebrael is protective towards his daughter and will do anything to protect her from harm after his (former) friend, Samail, threatened to kill her after murdering his wife.
  • Faux Affably Evil: Masseira never really acts malicious, sadistic, or hateful, and is consistently polite towards the Traveler and everyone else. His terrible treatment of Tadhla is something he simply considers a matter of course, and is largely implied rather than directly shown.
  • A Lighter Shade of Black: For all his winning traits as a father, he does ultimately side against Babel and her plans for dominance over the desert. His name on the list of "traitors" in Jeht's tent implies his flight at the end of the questline is as much about getting away from Babel as escaping the Traveler and in his farewell letter he warns them that they are still in danger.
  • Karma Houdini: He's one of the few members of the Tanit tribe to escape punishment for his actions, having fled to a safehouse hidden somewhere in the valley while the Traveler is away fighting Tadhla. That said, a note in Gavireh Lajavard reveals that a vengeful Jeht is hunting him down for what he's done, so there is some hope.

    Tadhla 

Tadhla

One of the Eremites of Tanit tribe, she is the "Hunting Falcon" to Masseira, her father.
  • Animal Motifs: She's associated with Falcons, in metaphorical sense due taking appearance as the Eremite Galehunter.
  • Badass in Distress: She made her first appearance in "Tadhla the Falcon" after being ambushed by The Fatui.
  • Extreme Doormat: Deconstructed. She was tasked to hunt the three Consecrated Beasts for her "coming-of-age" ceremony to gain her father's approval and then succeeds with Paimon, Liloupar, and Traveler's Help. Unfortunately, her father, Masseira has other plans and gives her another "Hunt", in which she hunts Paimon and The Traveler in the quest "The Fallen Falcon", where you have to fight her because her father downright manipulated her into killing her first friend.
  • Guest-Star Party Member: She hunts the consecrated beasts alongside The Traveler in "The Falcon's Hunt" Quest.
  • Mirror Character: To Jeht. Tadhla's father, Masseira is downright abusive and manipulative towards his own daughter resulting in her becoming an emotionless doormat while Jeht's father is protective towards his daughter and will do anything to protect her from harm after his (former) friend, Samail, threatened to kill her after murdering his wife. Jeht has grown up to be competent, self-assured, and independent, while Tadhla is entirely dependent on her father's approval for everything.
  • Ms. Fanservice: She shares the design of the Eremite Galehunter. See the "Enemy Units" below for more tropes.
  • Shadow Archetype: She is basically what would have happened to Jeht if her father were to turn her into a weapon rather than a person.
  • Uncertain Doom: She uses the same Smoke Out defeat animation as the generic Galehunters. Whether this is just an animation quirk or she really did flee the battle is unclear, though Liloupar's words imply the latter.
  • "Well Done, Daughter!" Girl: Is willing to do anything to win her father's approval. Even if it's to kill the Traveler just to gain further recognition from him.

    Yuften 

Yuften

One of the Eremites of the Tanit tribe who owns domesticated Spinocrocodiles.
  • Never Smile at a Crocodile: Subverted. The Spinocrocodiles in the Tanit Camps are quite harmless, as he is the one who tamed them. After he is killed at the hands of both the Traveler and Jeht, only the Spincrocodiles remain in the pond.
  • Speech Impediment: He speaks with a stutter which even extends to his own thoughts as well.

Other Eremite Factions

    Dehya 

Dehya

Introduced: March 1, 2023 (v3.5 "Windblume's Breath" [first half])
Voiced by: Chen Yu (Chinese), Ayaka Fukuhara (Japanese), Kim Hyeon-sim (Korean), Amber May (English)

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/dehya.png
Flame-Mane
"My people are used to the desert life... But still, I hope that one day, they'll be able to find an oasis of their own... and leave the sandstorms behind for a better life."

Rarity: 5★
Element: Pyro
Weapon: Claymore
Constellation: Mantichora, the Manticore

The most renowned member of the "Blazing Beasts" Eremite brigade and one of the most fearsome mercenaries in Sumeru. When the Traveler first meets her in Sumeru City, she was working as Dunyarzad's personal bodyguard, with whom she maintained in touch even after she left her otherwise lucrative job to return to the life of freelancer. After allying with the Traveler in the process, Dehya later forms part of a plan where she, alongside many other people around Sumeru, help overthrow the Akademiya Sages and free Lesser Lord Kusanali.

Tough-as-nails Dehya sets the battlefield ablaze with the Fiery Sanctum, a phantasmal marker within which radius attacks are periodically augmented with an explosion, as well as, through the Redmane's Blood effect, mitigates damage to her allies in exchange for her slowly absorbing their pain once she is switched in. Her Elemental Skill, Molten Inferno, is a fiery punch that comes in two different forms depending on whether or not a Sanctum is active: Indomitable Flame if there is none, in which case Dehya sets it up; otherwise, Ranging Flame, wherein she retrieves the Sanctum and delivers a downward punch that relocates it. Her Elemental Burst, Leonine Bite, bestows upon her the Blazing Lioness state, where she casts aside her blade in favor of an automatic barrage of Flame-Mane's Fists ending with Incineration Drive, a diving kick; in addition, both her regular attacks and her Skill will be replaced with Roaring Barrage, which when triggered within a short window of time following her automatic strike reduces the delay to the next such attack, and if a Sanctum is active she will withdraw it, then reinstall it once she is done wailing away at her foes.note 
  • The Ace: Dehya is one of the most famous mercenaries in Sumeru on account of her beauty, strength, and sharp intellect (such that Alhaitham once even suggested that she join the Akademiya), to the point that her comrades at the Blazing Beasts wrote a panegyric of her.
  • Amnesia Missed a Spot: Though she loses her memories at the end of each loop in the Sabzeruz Samsara, Dehya's muscle memory is not reset, which allows her to get better and better at using her new greatsword and eventually avoid getting injured altogether. This oddity is an important clue that the loop is based on the mind rather than on time itself.
  • Animal Eyes: Dehya has slit cat-like eyes.
  • Animal Motifs: Lions and lionesses. Dehya is nicknamed "Flame-Mane," has slitted eyes like a cat's and hair intakes resembling cat ears, and mercenaries taunt her by calling her clawed. Her Constellation is also patterned after the manticore, a creature in Persian Mythology with the head of a human, the body of a lion, and the tail of a scorpion.
  • Anime Hair: In a similar vein to Keqing's hair cones, her Hair Intakes resemble a pair of cat ears.
  • Area of Effect: The Fiery Sanctum is a field within which, for twelve seconds, allies within see their augmented with a wide-ranging explosion within at least 2.5-second intervals as well as enjoy heightened interruption resistance and damage reduction in exchange for Dehya absorbing the mitigated damage once she is switched in. Her Skill (when used while a Sanctum is active) and the finisher of her Blazing Lioness state can relocate it, while retaining its remaining duration. Her second Constellation upgrade, The Sand-Blades Glittering, adds six seconds to its duration whenever she relocates it using the former attack, as well as increases the damage of the next coordinated attack by 50% whenever the active character gets damaged beforehand.
  • An Arm and a Leg: Averted. In Chapter III, Act IV, in an attempt to bargain Rahman to exchange the kidnapped Village Keepers for Alhaitham, Dehya offers his group to cut off her right sword-wielding arm to vouch for her honesty. They initially agree to her offer at first seeing that the severed right arm from the Flame-Mane is valuable, up until the last second when Rahman orders his lackey to stop just mere inches of the blade cleaving her arm, explaining to her that there's no sense in cutting his own kin to pieces. They still proceed with the exchange deal while Dehya keeps her right arm. Dehya later admitted that she was exactly counting on Rahman to not go through with it, and joked to Paimon that if she did lose her right arm, she would continue using her claymore with her left arm.
  • Attack Reflector: In her Character Demo, she blocks the Staff of the Scarlet Sands that Candace had launched at an Eremite with her arm gauntlet and sends it hurtling back at her. Candace effortlessly catches it.
  • Awesome, but Impractical: The Redmane's Blood effect allows Dehya to redirect damage dealt to an ally to her instead. However, this is largely unnecessary in a party with either a durable shielder like Zhongli or a powerful healer like Kokomi, and only serves to force Dehya to take unnecessary damage while not giving her any direct benefit (i.e. dealing more damage if her health is low). In addition, the Blazing Lioness state has her unleash a No-Holds-Barred Beatdown, but its targeting is finicky, its damage output is unimpressive without a fully upgraded Constellation, and the player cannot control her movement or direction, leaving her unable to dodge if an attack is heading her way unless the player swaps to another character, ending the Burst prematurely. The Burst can also end prematurely if the player jumps, which could easily happen by accident while trying to escape from being frozen or trapped in a bubble.
  • The Big Guy: Her role in The Coup to overthrow the Sages in the climax of the Sumeru Archon Quest is to provide the physical strength needed to incapacitate the Corps of Thirty guards stationed at the Akademiya.
  • Bodyguard Babes: Apart from her job as Dunyarzad's bodugyard, Dori has also commissioned her on occasion to escort her caravans and considers her the best pick for the job.
  • Breaking Old Trends: Before Dehya's release, The Wanderlust Invocation line-up generally comprised of premium characters, each representing their respective element (except Geo). With her becoming part of the Standard Wish roster from v3.6 onward, Diluc is no longer the sole 5★ Pyro Vision holder representing the standard banner. She also joins him in being a claymore user, making her the first repeat weapon user in the same element.
  • Brutal Honesty: Dehya does not bite her tongue on anything and speaks her mind bluntly. If she has something to say, she will say it. Sometimes this gets her into awkward situations where she confesses her single-minded intentions on the matters at hand. This does not mean she isn't capable of deceit and trickery, however.
  • Consummate Professional: Why she's considered so attractive as a mercenary. While Eremites have a, sometimes accurate, stereotype of being slovenly Dumb Muscle, Dehya is well groomed and intelligent. She honors her contracts and is conscientous in how she carries out her duties, allowing her to be trusted with tasks like watching over a wealthy family's sickly daughter where merely having a strong sword arm would be insufficient.
  • Contralto of Strength: Has the lowest voice among the female Sumeru playable characters, and is also an experienced and feared mercenary.
  • Cool Big Sis: By the time of Chapter III Act III, she has developed into one for the Traveler. To work as their bodyguard, she asks that they pay her with a smile, saying that a good smile is an indicator of good things to come.
  • The Coup: Assists in the plan to overthrow the Sages in Chapter III Act V by taking out all the Corps of Thirty personnel that were stationed in the Akademiya alongside Rahman's group.
  • Critical Hit Class: Her sixth Constellation upgrade, The Burning Claws Cleaving, increases her Critical Rate by 10%, as well as the Critical Damage of the Blazing Lioness state by 15%, besides extending its duration by half a second, whenever her auto-attack scores a critical hit, triggered at least every 0.2 second and with a maximum extension of two seconds and Critical Damage boost of 60% (equivalent to at least four such hits).
  • Damage Reduction: Dehya's first-ascension passive, Unstinting Succor, reduces the damage she receives from the Redmane's Blood effect by 60% every two seconds, as well as bestows the Gold-Forged Form effect onto the party for nine seconds (and within an interval of at least eighteen seconds) whenever she sets up a Fiery Sanctum with her Skill.
  • Dark Is Not Evil: Wears black and red, but is a kind person that is on your side.
  • Deadpan Snarker: She has her moments, which while few and far in-between, show that, again, she doesn't mince words.
    (About More About Dehya: III) "Trading merchants can be a total nightmare. They're always telling me that 'their funds are tied up, so cash is tight', yadda yadda. 'Just a few more days,' they say. If cash is so tight, how'd you pay for that big pile of goods on your cart, hmm? Tsk."
  • Diving Kick: The last hit of her Burst's auto-combo is a Pyro-infused jump kick with enough force to knock heavy foes such as lawachurls off their feet.
  • Don't Make Me Destroy You: In her Character Demo, she reluctantly fights her fellow Eremites who attempted to infiltrate Aaru Village and refused to back off even after she tried negotiating with them. Predictably, she wipes the floor with most of them and has to save the last one from Candace who showed up to finish the job.
  • The Dreaded: Dehya is both feared and respected by many fellow Eremite mercenaries for her fighting prowess.
  • Elemental Punch: The second hit of her Skill has Dehya perform a Ground Pound, and her Burst imbues her fists with Pyro energy. Think of her as being "Pyro Heizou" temporarily.
  • Everyone Has Standards: Dehya is a famed and feared mercenary who stands out among her fellow mercenaries due to the care she puts into her appearance to make a better impression on her employers versus her comrades, who have no qualms about living in stink and squalor.
  • Exotic Eye Designs: Her catlike pupils are outlined in a light blue but filled in yellow. She also has three dark blue lines in pale blue portions of her irises.
  • Face of a Thug: Despite her intimidating appearance, Dehya is quite kind-hearted and plays the Cool Big Sis role to several characters.
  • Fiery Sensuality: Many of the playable Pyro vision holders are good-looking in their own ways (except for Klee who goes The Cutie route instead), and Dehya is no exception, but the story also notably touches on her good looks.
  • Foil: To Candace, the only other playable female originating from the Great Red Sand as of her release in v.3.5:
  • Friend to All Children: Her teaser shows her tenderly putting up the hood of an orphaned girl she was transporting to Sumeru City as she sleeps on her shoulder, then afterwards revealing that she donated her life savings to start a fund for orphans.
  • Gene Hunting: At the end of her Story Quest, she vows to find her biological parents and tell them that she was able to grow into the person she is today because of her adoptive father Kusayla.
  • Genius Bruiser: Dehya is not only very strong and proficient in combat, she's also plenty intelligent and street-smart. Dehya was of great help to the Traveler and Paimon in discovering several important information about the Saberuz samsara despite not being able to tell that she was reliving the day over and overnote , and is capable of tricking a bunch of Eremites into attempting to ambush her (which ends poorly for them) by spinning a tall tale about how she's not actually that good and that Candace was the one uplifting her reputation.
  • Girly Bruiser: Who'd knew she loves her make-ups and spends top Mora for them?
  • Hair Intakes: Her hair has two "vents" that vaguely look like cat ears.
  • Hairstyle Inertia: Her flashback ne the end of her quest shows that even as a child Dehya had the same cat-eared styled Hair Intakes.
  • Hands-Off Parenting: Kusayla used to leave her in the hands of the brigade members so that he could drink and chase women.
  • Hates Their Parent: Downplayed, as she doesn't hate Kusayla, so much as she's aware of all of his issues and is honest about his parenting, or rather the lack thereof. Her disinterest in being involved with him or his Dakan Al-Ahmar band is what led her to cut off contact with him a few years ago, though she's forced to seek him back out again during her Story Quest when she learns that he was apparently behind a series of violent raids, which ultimately turns out be the rest of his gang hunting down undercover members of Deshret's Relics, the brigade they once belonged to, to avenge Kusayla after he died putting the latter's hall of records to the torch to free himself and all of them from servitude. By the end of the Quest, she realizes that despite his flaws, she was able to grow into the mature person she is today by being in his care.
  • Healing Factor:
    • Dehya's fourth-ascension passive, Stalwart and True, immediately restores her HP based on 20% of its maximum value whenever it falls below 40%, with an additional 6% every two seconds for the next ten seconds (hence five bursts), activated at least every ten seconds.
    • Her fourth Constellation upgrade, An Oath Abiding, restores 1.5 Energy and HP based on 2.5% of its maximum value whenever her Burst's auto-attacks hit enemies (within at least a 0.2-second interval).
  • Hidden Depths: Dehya might be a mercenary rather than an academic, but she's plenty intelligent herself, not to mention a worldly individual with a wealth of experience. The Traveler and Paimon need her help to make several important discoveries while investigating the Sabzeruz Samsara despite the fact that Dehya can't tell that she's been reliving the day over and over. Her incredible insight into matters despite being a mercenary impressed even Alhaitham, one of the top scholars in the Akademiya, so much so that he suggested that she become a scholar herself.
  • Hot-Blooded: While she claims that she's Only in It for the Money, Dehya is a compassionate person, which is precisely why you don't want to get her mad. The Traveler sees this first hand when she attempts to break up a fight between Alhaitham and Cyno, as she nearly ends up getting involved herself.
  • Informed Attractiveness: Compared to other characters, the writers have made a point to emphasize how attractive Dehya is. The Blazing Beasts describe Dehya as "smoking hot" and urge her to attend their next recruitment drive, as being part of the same company as the Flame-Mane is a huge selling point and have also made a song praising her as well as her beauty. Dehya's fourth Character Story also describes her appearance in great detail, contrasting the care she puts into her looks to the desert men who care less about those things and choose to live in squalor. The emphasis on her beauty is at least partially justified due to her Character Story explaining that desert folk tends to hold comely young women in great esteem as embodiments of vitality.
    Dehya is an individual of immense beauty, a fact undeniable to all who know her. She is blessed with eyes of frosted sapphire capable of shivering souls, honeyed skin that bears a nigh-resplendent gleam when greeted by sunlight, and a length of wavy, black-and-gold hair that drifts behind her with every light-footed step she takes. [...] Though it is true that Dehya is a ferocious mercenary, she is, always first and foremost, a lovely and carefree woman.
  • Interclass Friendship: In Sumeru where desert-dwellers are often treated as second-class citizens by those from the rainforest and Eremites are seen as little more than their occupations, the friendship between Dehya and Dunyarzad, the daughter of her employers, is a rare exception, and they remain in contact and on good terms even after Dehya resigned. Dehya even mentions how the latter went to Aaru Village to celebrate Dehya's birthday with Candace and Setaria in her 2023 birthday letter.
  • "Just Frame" Bonus: If she uses her basic attacks or Skill within 0.4 second of her auto-combo's punch, it sharply reduces the interval of the next such attack.
  • Lady and Knight: The Knight to Dunyarzad's Lady, complete with the two referring to each other as such.
  • Mirror Character:
    • To Beidou, another attractive, tall, claymore-wielding freelancer (Dehya is a mercenary, Beidou a privateer) who also looks intimidating but is actually kindhearted and is fond of alcohol. Dehya contrasts with Beidou by having a Pyro vision (Beidou has an Electro vision), in addition to being more confident in her appearance (Beidou is camera-shy and not quite comfortable with her own appearance).
    • She and Diluc are both the 5★ Pyro Claymore users available from the Standard Banner with dead fathers who sacrificed themselves to protect them, as Kusayla sheltered Dehya from the violence of being part of Deshret's Relics and Crepus forced to overclock on a Delusion to protect his son from Ursa the Drake.
  • Missing Mom: During her Story Quest, Dehya admits that neither she nor her father Kusayla knew who her mother was due to the latter's reputation for sleeping around. Towards the end, it is revealed that Dehya is not really Kusayla's daughter, having instead found her abandoned.
  • Ms. Fanservice: Dehya's skintight, Stripperiffic outfit essentially consists of the equivalent to a crop top and short shorts, emphasizing her chest and baring her midriff and legs. One of the lines in the Blazing Beasts' song even praises her beauty:
    We love Dehya, she's beautiful and strong. Oh, our precious Dehya, we'll never do you wrong.
  • My God, You Are Serious!: Played seriously, she's as shocked as everyone else when The Traveler deduces the Sages' plan of trying to create a new God of Wisdom.
    Dehya: Huh? That sure didn't sound like a fancy metaphor or anything... You're serious, aren't you?
  • Never a Self-Made Woman: Defied. Due to her dislike for her father, Dehya cut ties with him and prides herself on having made her own way in life. Her Story Quest reveals that Kusayla secretly arranged for both her joining the Blazing Beasts and her being hired by the Homayanis to protect her from Deshret's Relics, much to her suprise and dismay. By the end of the quest, Dehya has gained a greater appreciation for Kusayla and ultimately chooses to be grateful he was looking out for her despite their falling out.
  • Nice Girl:
    • In the same vein as Beidou, despite her intimidating appearance, Dehya is one of the kindest, most caring people in Sumeru, becoming a Cool Big Sis to the Traveler in the third part of the Archon quest. Her teaser even shows her donating her life savings to start a fund for orphans from the desert so that they can lead better lives.
    • In Dehya's Character Demo, "Dehya: Fiery Lioness," after taking down most of the Eremites that were trying to infiltrate Aaru village, she saves the last one standing from Candace's attempted execution and lies to her that they were just sparring to spare him from a further beatdown.
  • No Historical Figures Were Harmed: Dehya's name is an alternate name of al-Kahina (Dihya), a 7th-century-CE warrior-queen of the Kingdom of the Aurès, a nation of Christian Berbers in modern-day northeastern Algeria and the last in the Maghreb region to fall to the advancing Muslim Arabs. In addition, her father Kusayla is named after the previous king of the Aurès.
  • Not the Intended Use: Dehya's fourth-ascension passive (see Healing Factor above) gradually restores her HP whenever it is very low. While this was obviously intended for combat, players have figured out that this also makes her ideal for exploring locations with HP-draining effects, such as Sheer Cold in Dragonspine and Balethunder in Tatarasuna (before clearing it after a World Quest series) and Musoujin Gorge, hence making her nigh-unkillable. This also makes her unexpectedly compatible with the Ocean-Hued Clam artifact set, normally geared towards healers (such as Barbara and Kokomi), which boosts her self-healing and inflicts damage based on the amount of healing.
  • Overrated and Underleveled: For all the hype in the Sumeru Archon Quest about Dehya being a fierce and powerful mercenary with enough renown to earn her own Red Baron title, the reputation she has built up has not been translated well into her kit or multipliers, which makes her out to be a Stone Wall as a playable unit, difficult to kill in exchange for weak damage output. She's also quite clunky to play, with one of her most blatant issues being that she's the first 5☆ character to cancel her own burst prematurely if the player makes her jump at the wrong time.
  • Parental Abandonment: She was left abandoned by her real parents as a baby in the desert. Kusayla found and adopted her, raising her as his own with his brigade members.
  • Rapid-Fire Fisticuffs: Dehya's Burst has her discard her claymore in favor of a four-second-long flurry of fiery punches; in addition, her regular attacks and Skill are changed into a unique punch which, when used at the right time, increase the speed of her auto-punches.
  • Red Baron: Dehya the Flame-Mane.
  • Red Oni, Blue Oni: Dehya is the Red to Candace's Blue, not only having contrasting Vision elements but also personalities.
  • Save Your Deity: While not technically her god due to her desert origins, Dehya helped to suppress the Akademiya's guards and keep them out of commission as part of the group's plan to free Kusanali from her imprisonment.
  • Sparing the Final Mook: In her Character Demo, she saves the last Eremite standing from Candace's incoming attack and lies to her that she was just sparring with him to save him from a further beatdown. She also lets him and his crew off the hook with a final warning because "Candace is in a good mood" and leaves with her.
  • Sprint Shoes: Her utility passive, The Sunlit Way, gives a 10% boost to the party's movement speed when sprinting during daylight hours (6:00-18:00).
  • Staging the Eavesdrop: During her and the Traveler's stay in Aaru Village, she correctly predicts that she's being eavesdropped upon and spins a tall tale about how she really isn't that great of a fighter and has been relying on Candace's aid to build up her reputation to try and bait radical Eremites into ambushing her. They fall for it hook, line, and sinker.
  • Stone Wall: Dehya has ludicrously high Max HP, which makes her a damage sponge in conjunction with the Redmane's Blood effect, where she gradually takes the damage mitigated from her allies within the Fiery Sanctum; in conjunction with her fourth-ascension passive (see "Healing Factor", above), she will constantly regenerate HP whenever it is dangerously low, making her even harder to kill. All that toughness is offset, however, by the poor HP-based damage scaling for both her Elemental Talents unless you have unlocked her first Constellation upgrade, The Flame Incandescent, which increases her Max HP by 20% as well as the damage output of her Skill and Burst by, respectively, 3.6% and 6% of Max HP, as well as her sixth (see "Critical Hit Class", above), which improves her critical damage output.
  • Stripperiffic: Her outfit showcases generous exposure of her bare skin. Justified, as Dehya hails from the sun-baked desert regions of Sumeru, where heavy clothing would be a major impediment.
  • Strong Family Resemblance: Inverted. Dehya looks nothing like her father Kusayla, who uses one of the generic non-playable Sumerian Eremite models. Justified, as he's not Dehya's real father and adopted her when she was a baby.
  • Sword and Fist: She incorporates knuckle sandwiches in tandem with her claymore blade work for her normal attack combo.
  • Taking the Bullet: The Redmane's Blood effect mitigates damage received by the party, to a maximum value based on twice the Max HP of Dehya; once she is switched in, she will gradually absorb the damage over the next ten seconds.
  • This Is Unforgivable!: Her voiceline about Lesser Lord Kusanali has her angrily state how wicked and evil the Sages were, calling them animals and that Nahida's punishment of them was far too merciful, believing she should have at least had them mercilessly beaten and all of their bones broken.
  • Token Heroic Orc: In comparison to the rest of the Eremites who are either morally ambiguous at best or fanatical at worst, Dehya definitely stands out among them for being genuinely heroic with kind-hearted motives and will help others in need for the sake of doing things right. She claims to be Only in It for the Money, but between her close friendship with Dunyarzad and voluntarily assisting the Traveler in overthrowing the Akedemiya to free the Dendro Archon from their abuse, it's clear that she holds herself to a higher moral standard than she lets on and will not turn a blind eye to anyone in need. In some cases, she'll even forego Mora as payment entirely and offer her services free of charge based on good will alone, such as the climax of the Sumeru Archon Quest, where she only asks the Traveler to smile as down payment.
  • Tomboy and Girly Girl: Dehya's tomboyish personality contrasts with many of the other female characters that she often associates with, from Dunyarzard, Nilou to Candace, who are more traditionally womanly.
  • Tomboy with a Girly Streak: Her appearance, demeanor, and job as mercenary suggest that she's a rough-and-tumble lady akin to Beidou. However, talking to her while exploring the Grand Bazaar has her highly praise the perfume sold there, before trying to pass it off as something she heard. In addition, at one point during the Sumeru Archon Quest, she can be seen asking Candace for her opinion on a fabric. One of her idle animations has her pull out a compact to check her lines, and her "Dehya's Hobbies" voice line has her gushing over her make-up box.
  • Tragic Keepsake: At the end of her Story Quest, Dehya keeps the cane-sword Kusayla used in his final years which he tried to gift to her when she was a child, found amidst the rubble of the records room of Deshet's Relics, where Kusayla died setting it ablaze.
  • Tsundere: Dehya has a closer friendship with Dunyarzad than she is entirely willing to admit. When pressed on it, she dismisses Paimon.
  • Upgrade Artifact: A variant—her third and fifth Constellation upgrades, A Rage Swift as Fire and The Alpha Unleashed, add three levels to, respectively, her Burst and Skill.
  • Weak, but Skilled: Discussed in her character details. As men are, in general terms, stronger than women, Dehya is not the strongest mercenary. However, she is still strong enough and has potent combat instincts to compensate for the difference in strength. This is exemplified in her use of a claymore as her weapon. She has the strength required to heft such a heavy weapon, and the technique to ensure the slower strikes it delivers are not a detriment to her in the heat of battle.
  • Weapon Specialization: Dehya is often depicted wielding the Beacon of the Reed Sea (5★), whose Wish banner first ran concurrent with her debut banner. Its Ascension substat is Critical Rate (7.2–33.1%), while its "Desert Watch" passive increases the active character's Attack stat (i.e., applicable to the entire party) by 20–40% for eight seconds whenever they use their Elemental Skill and/or take damage, in addition to a 32–64% boost to Max HP when not protected by a shield. This makes Dehya even tougher than she already is, while also partially ameliorating her low damage output with her Elemental Talents; in addition, with a full Constellation the Critical Rate substat increases the likelihood of Dehya scoring critical hits with Burst's auto-attacks, and with it Critical Damage.
  • Your Mind Makes It Real: She retains the muscle memory of how to wield her new greatsword despite only ever wielding it in a Lotus-Eater Machine, suggesting her mind gave her the experience even though she was not physically wielding an object.
  • Your Mom: Her 'Light Hit Taken' voiceline is a snarky "Your mommy teach you that?"

    Haniyyah 

Haniyyah

Voiced by: Amanda Hufford (English)
The well-experienced Eremite woman known for taming any kinds of beasts. She owns a Whirling Pyro-Fungus named Pyro-1.
  • The Beastmaster: She's an expert at taming wild animals, including Sumpter Beasts and Fungi.
  • Book Dumb: She's illiterate, but has thorough knowledge about taming Sumpter Beasts.
  • The Cynic: She disagrees with the idea of humans and fungi befriending and co-existing with each other.
  • Freudian Excuse: Her Fantastic Racism towards the Fungi started when years before Haniyyah was born, her ancestors were trapped in a farm by a horde of aggressive Fungi, injuring several people and forcing to hold up in the farm, even turning it into a village, to survive. Haniyyah was read the reports of the incident as a child as if it was a bedtime story, conditioning her to fear and hate Fungi to the point of wanting to win the Nilotpala Cup Beast Tamers Tournament so she can acquire the means to wipe Fungi off the face of Sumeru.
  • Heel Realization: After being filled in by Miko, Haniyyah realizes her vendetta against the fungi was misguided and feels guilt over blaming them for what happened. She even accepts the Traveler's decision to have her look over their fungi until the wisdom orbs are perfected.
  • Meaningful Rename: At the end of the Fabulous Fungi Frenzy storyline, she renames her fungus "Pyro-1" into "Kindlejoy" to represent the happiness she realized it gave her.
  • Offscreen Moment of Awesome: While both the Traveler and Layla were dueling with each other with their respective Shroom-kin. Hanniyah's Pyro-1 won against Miko's Blitzara in a match that happened offscreen. Downplayed, as it is implied that Miko allowed herself to lose, as beforehand, her Blitzara had the upper hand against Pyro-1.
  • She Cleans Up Nicely: While in Fontaine, advertising and making business deals for the next Nilotpala Cup, she changes out of her Eremite mercenary clothes and into a purple wine and black Fontainian dress that matches her hair. The Traveler comments that her outfit is gorgeous and a garde calls her extremely elegent.

    Hardy Two-Blades 

Hardy Two-Blades

An Eremite Mercenary tasked in Caravan Ribat. He is one of the competitors for the Nilopala Cup Beast Tamers Tournament, and his Ace-Fungus is a Stretchy Geo-Fungus named "Rocksteady".
  • Abhorrent Admirer: After the Traveler and Paimon won the Nilopala Cup Beast Tamers Tournament, he becomes this to them (specifically towards Paimon). He goes head over kneels at the champion and pleads with them (again specifically towards Paimon, due to the Traveler rarely speaking) to become their apprentice. Naturally, Paimon is weirded out by this sudden 180, and the normally understanding and tolerant Traveler advises to run as far away from him as possible.
  • Broken Pedestal: A mild example. After he lost to the Traveler, he began to have second thoughts about his idol, as her plan involved the extermination of all Fungi, and wanted to make a self-reflection of what he had done.
  • Jerkass: This guy isn't exactly the type to be friendly with others, and it is revealed that he subjected his Fungi to a very harsh training. Until his defeat.
  • Hero-Worshipper: Looks up to Hanniyah after she calmed the Sumpter Beast from razing the caravan that he used to guard. He later looks up to the Traveler, and (specifically) Paimon after they become Nilopala Cup champions.
  • Only Known by Their Nickname: He nicknamed it for himself during his Eremite career.
  • Took a Level in Kindness: Not initially upon losing, but it was only after the Traveler's battle with Layla that he becomes much nicer. He is also more gentle with the Fungi after realizing Hanniyah's true goal.

    Jebrael 

Jebrael

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/screenshot_2023_04_08_at_112955_pm.png
An Eremite mercenary escorting a researcher named Tirzad who's looking for ruins to write a paper about for the Akademiya. He was formerly part of the Tanit tribe, but left because of a dispute with Babel.
  • Defector from Decadence: Was part of a group of Eremite radicals called Thutmoses, but left after falling in love and having a child with the researcher Ufairah.
  • Didn't See That Coming: Towards the end of the "Golden Slumber" World Quest, Jebrael lets Samail sit on King Deshret's throne under the assumption that the Golden Slumber will incapacitate him into a Big Sleep for good. What he didn't count on, however, was Samail taking control of the Golden Slumber while asleep to trigger a trap in an attempt to subsume Jebrael and the rest of his crew with him, forcing Jebrael to commit a Heroic Sacrifice in order to let Jeht, the Traveler, Paimon and Tirzad escape Khaj-Nisut unharmed.
  • The Exile: He is an exiled member of the Tanit Tribe prior to joining Thutmose as Samail's comrade due to a dispute he had with Matriarch Babel Tanit.
  • Good Counterpart: Jebrael is this to Masseira, Tadhla's father. Masseira is downright abusive and manipulative towards his own daughter, resulting in her becoming an emotionless doormat while Jebrael is protective towards his daughter and will do anything to protect her from harm after his (former) friend, Samail, threatened to kill her after murdering his wife.
  • Guest-Star Party Member: Fights alongside the Traveler and his daughter Jeht at multiple points in their side quest.
  • Heroic Sacrifice: Sacrifices himself to the Golden Slumber to let his daughter Jeht, as well as the Traveler and his client Tirzad escape.
  • Teeth-Clenched Teamwork: His dynamic with Samail is this. Both had any conflicting mindsets and goals, even before the murder of Jebrael's wife, Ufairah due to Samail's twisted necessity.
  • Uniformity Exception: He looks like a Daythunder with darker skin, scars, a beard, and blue hair instead of the usual blonde.

    Jeht 

Jeht Ufairah Hindi and Benben

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/jehtofficial.jpg
Jebrael's daughter who accompanies him in his contract to escort Tirzad. Benben was discovered during the events of the Golden Slumber world quest, and accompanies Jeht in her travels after befriending her.
  • Ambiguously Gay: According to Azariq, she "likes hanging out with the ladies more". Several lines during the Dirge of Bilqis questline change whether the player character is Aether or Lumine, with the Lumine-specific lines having more of a Ship Tease bent.
    Azariq: *sigh* Yes, yes, she treats me like a brother. And we'd get along better still, if she didn't like hanging out with the ladies more!
    Jeht if the Traveler is male: And so what? Do you have a problem with that?
    Jeht if the Traveler is female: Hey, hey, quit it! Stop giving them the wrong idea!
    Paimon: Whatever the case... It'll be fine. [The Traveler]'s important to you, isn't [he/she], Jeht?
    Jeht if the Traveler is male: Of course. You're my best friends.
    Jeht if the Traveler is female: Yeah, I mean, I've always seen you as my... best friend, but I'm just worried that... *sigh* Never mind.
  • And the Adventure Continues: Her story continues in the The Dirge of Bilqis questline.
  • Ascended Extra: She went from tagging alongside her father for Tirzad's assignment in the "Golden Slumber" world quests to becoming the deuteragonist of "The Dirge of Bilqis", focusing on her journey to bring her parents' remains into The Eternal Oasis.
  • Berserk Button: By the time of "The Dirge of Bilqis", betrayal really sets her off. Anyone she thinks of as a traitor either to the Tanit or to herself personally, she cuts down in a furious rage.
  • The Berserker: Fatui records on her captivity portray her as a monster that could rip people apart, turning them into red chunks.
  • Beware the Nice Ones: She's an upbeat and nice girl, but she can be utterly ruthless when crossed, and she later gets enraged enough into committing an outright genocide towards the Tanit tribe.
  • Breakout Character: She's perhaps one of the more popular NPCs to the point that she got an official Valentine's Illustration for 2024, making her the first NPC to do so.
  • Break the Cutie: The death of her father, Jebrael, shatters her heart, forcing her Character Development where she starts her own journey to the tribe that Jebrael was once part of. She then kills numerous times and is betrayed by the people she had grown close to, cumulating to the point that when she finds out that Babel had ordered her death, she goes absolutely ballistic.
  • But Now I Must Go:
    • Following her father's death at the end of the Golden Slumber questline, she decides to leave to look for her father's original people and eventually try to pursue her father and mother's dream. She succeeds in the Dirge of Bilqis questline.
    • Happens again after she and the Traveler wipe out the Tanit due to Babel's treachery.
  • Child of Two Worlds: Her mother was of the rainforest as she and Tirzard are from the same clan, while her father was from the Tanit tribe. When she joins with the Tanit, she is considered a half-outsider and is continuously sent to places of "bad luck" where the pure-blooded Tanit would not venture.
  • Cloud Cuckoolander: She's more than a little flighty at times: when you first meet her, she assumes Paimon is the Traveler's flying instructor (and that the Traveler must be a poor student, because they're still using a Wind Glider), then later wonders if Paimon can talk to a Primal Construct core, because they're the same size. She loses this trait by the Dirge of Bilqis, showing how much she's matured since the Traveler last saw her.
  • Contract on the Hitman: She assassinated the various elders of the Tanit on Babel's orders, then Babel tried to set her up to be captured and experimented on by the Fatui, complete with sending a few of the tribe's Falcons after her as well. When Jeht confronts her, she recites some of her kills to remind Babel that the idea of she and the tribe being Jeht's family was false from the start and proceeds to finish the job by killing the last elder, Babel herself.
  • Corrupt the Cutie: Although Jeht was already a mercenary beforehand and still remained relatively good-hearted even after joining the Tanit, working as Babel's personal killer eroded her innocence and turned her into a much more ruthless and violent person.
  • Darker and Edgier: The ending for the Golden Slumber isn't exactly the happiest but seems rather hopeful as she goes on a journey to the Tanit Camps. However, the continuing arc, the Dirge of Bilqis is centered around killing, manipulation, and assassination, some of which is performed by Jeht herself.
  • Due to the Dead: In the Dirge of Bilqis quest, her goal is to bring her parents' remains to rest at the Eternal Oasis.
  • Friendless Background: Implicitly. She refers to the Traveler and Paimon as her only friends, and they only meet her when she's already an adult.
  • Genki Girl: Jeht is presented as an outgoing and nice, but make no mistake, she can turn murderously angry, especially when Azariq and Aderfi were revealed to be the traitors of Tanit.
  • Genocide from the Inside: In the climax of her questline, she massacres the entire Tanit village with the Traveler's help. Not that they don't deserve it.
  • Good Is Not Soft: Once she joins up with the Tanit, she treats traitors to the tribe with no mercy, outright killing them on several occasions. And when she learns that the Tanit were planning to get rid of her and the Traveler, she has no problem with slaughtering every last one of them for their betrayal.
  • Guest-Star Party Member: Fights alongside the Traveler at multiple points in the questlines she appears in.
  • Half-Breed Discrimination: She explains that the Tanit does not believe in blood-mixing with outsiders, so her acceptance into the tribe is "an exception". She's fine with it though, as they treat her well even if they do send her to places of "bad luck" they themselves wouldn't go. She stops believing as such when she finds out that she was never more than a disposable tool for Babel.
  • Hated by All: Downplayed. Just before she kills Babel, Jeht learns that Babel has black-marked her with all of the Eremite tribes, who now will likely kill her on sight. Fortunately, she still has the Traveler and Paimon, as well as Benben on her side, and the notes reveal that she managed to gain a surprising number of young Eremites to her side giving her more allies to count on.
  • Meaningful Rename: After she's joined the tribe, a note written by Jeht is signed with Tanit as a surname whereas before she presumably lacked one. After the Matriarch's betrayal, she cuts out the tribe's name and replaces it with her biological mother's full name added to her own to defy Babel's attempts to treat her as her own daughter and to cut her ties to the Tanit tribe.
  • Mirror Character: To Tadhla. Tadhla's father, Masseira is downright abusive and manipulative towards his own daughter resulting in her becoming an emotionless doormat while Jeht's father is protective towards his daughter and will do anything to protect her from harm after his (former) friend, Samail, threatened to kill her after murdering his wife. Jeht has grown up to be competent, self-assured, and independent, while Tadhla is entirely dependent on her father's approval for everything.
  • Morality Chain: For her father Jebrael, after his former comrade Samail had killed Ufairah, her mother.
  • Ms. Fanservice: She shares her model with the Desert Clearwaters, so she shows off a lot of skin, including her cleavage. Downplayed in that she has scars on her body, unlike the usual Clearwaters, and the story doesn't put any focus on her looks.
  • Roaring Rampage of Revenge: Upon learning that Babel tried to pit her against the Traveler and was planning to get rid of them both for a long while, she utterly massacres the entire Tanit tribe.
    Jeht: Remember with your wounds and fears that I've inflicted! Jeht Ufairah Hindi! Remember this name! Come on! I want you all to remember, it is the owner of this name who destroyed the Tanit!
  • Robot Buddy: Keeps a non-hostile Primal Construct companion named Benben by her side.
  • Theme Naming: The quest names in the "Dirge of Bilqis" line all quote or reference passages from The Bible about the destruction of Babel.
  • Uniformity Exception: Jeht looks like a Desert Clearwater with darker skin, scars and blue hair instead of the usual brown, while Benben looks like the core of a Primal Construct.
  • Unknown Relative: During the Golden Slumber World Quest, Tirzad offhandedly mentions that the Scarlet Sand Slate is something left behind by one of his relatives before she eloped with her lover to the desert - a description that curiously matches up with Jeht's mother Ufairah, who explored King Deshret's ruins together with Jebrael. Jebrael himself also drops a few hints at the connection, such as his obvious familiarity with the Slate itself and a direct reference to Tirzad being a member of Sumeru's Hindi clan. During The Dirge of Bilqus, it's eventually confirmed that Ufairah was indeed that relative, which makes Tirzad and Jeht cousins to some degree. It's a real pity that Jeht chose to pursue her father's bloodline rather than her mother's...
  • Unstoppable Rage: After being sold out to the Fatui and tricked into thinking the Traveler was behind it, she goes on a rampage such that the Fatui needed to drug her into unconsciousness. Then she woke up, broke free again, and fought them so fiercely that they end up trying to escape her. The Traveler even has to beat her into submission just to get her to look at their proof she was set up, with Jeht sheepish over having been so angry she attacked them rather than listen for a few seconds.
  • Vigilante Woman: As a result of her being a "half-outsider", Babel tasked her with the mission of hunting down individuals who were deemed as traitors to the Tanit tribe.

    Kasim 

Kasim

An Eremite mercenary leader working with a group of Fatui agents to try and extract energy from the Withering Zones using specialized machines. Appears in the World Quest, "The Foolish Fatuus."
  • Con Artist: He scammed a group of Fatui agents into believing that a collection of faulty Ley Line Energy Extractors, sold to him by Abattouy for research money, were devices that could extract energy from the Withering Zones, regularly producing falsified experiment results to make it look more legitimate. Although Kasim suspects that they were starting to catch on to his lies anyway, the agents' leader is outraged upon hearing the truth from the Traveler and Paimon.
  • Karma Houdini: Zig-zagged. While the Traveler eventually gives him a good thrashing, Kasim manages to slip away and avoid arrest shortly after. The Corps of Thirty mention at the end of the quest that they'll also be increasing the bounty on his head for his dealings with the Fatui alongside all his other crimes.
  • Miles Gloriosus: He made himself out to be a world-renowned mercenary leader using influence from the Fatui he met while travelling outside Sumeru, when in reality he's nothing but a sleazy con man.

    Kusayla 
https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/screenshot_2023_04_09_at_122026_am.png
Voiced By: Jacob Barrens (English)
Dehya's father and the leader of Dakan Al-Ahmar, introduced in Dehya's Story Quest "Lionsblood."
  • Amazingly Embarrassing Parents: Kusayla had a love of children's heroic tales, which Dehya found embarrassing even as a child, especially when he would drag her and his Eremite comrades into playing the parts of the characters.
  • Commonality Connection: He defended the Homayanis from a band of Eremite raiders while they were traveling through the desert with an infant Dunyarzad. When asked why he would fight his own, his only reason was that he has a baby daughter similar to Dunyarzad.
  • Dare to Be Badass: His followers admit that as silly as him having them act out children's tales was, the idea that they could be heroes fighting for justice was inspiring and was part of their motivation to fight back against Deshret's Relics after Kusayla's death.
  • Dead All Along: Throughout her Story Quest, Dehya is under the impression that her father is continuing to lead Dakan Al-Ahmar and having them engage in acts of violence and thuggery. Only when she goes to visit them to beat them up do they tell her the truth—that Kusayla had died in a Heroic Sacrifice years ago.
  • Evil Parents Want Good Kids: Kusayla was involved in dirty business as a member of Deshret's Relics, whose crimes included looting, blackmail, violence, and fraud. He wanted Dehya to have no part in that life, and set things up behind the scenes so that her life would be prosperous and free.
  • Hands-Off Parenting: According to Dehya, he would often leave her in the hands of his brigade members to drink and philander.
  • Heroic Sacrifice: As his last act, Kusayla went to Deshret's Relics' records room, which held all their blackmail material, and burned it down, freeing many Eremites, including his comrades, from their clutches.
  • Manchild: In Dehya's childhood, he was very fond of acting out hero stories with her, complete with roping in other members of his mercenary band to play the various roles. One of the first things that led to her disillusionment with him was her realizing he wasn't performing this childish roleplaying for her, but rather for his own amusement. There is another layer to these performances, as the other members of Dakan Al-Ahmar admit that in their lives of doing Dirty Business for Deshret's Relics, the idea that they could be heroes was inspiring to them and helped raise their spirits.
  • No Historical Figures Were Harmed: : He takes his namesake from Kusalia, a famous Amazigh warrior and leader who was succeeded by Dihya after his death.
  • Parents as People: Kusayla was extremely flawed as a person and a parent, which damaged his relationship with his daughter and cast him in a bad light for her for the majority of her life. However, a major part of Dehya's Story Quest was her finding that he did genuinely love her and Dehya finally coming to understand him without downplaying his flaws.
  • Pet the Dog: He once rescued baby Dunyarzad and her family from a group of Eremites due to feeling pity for the family, as he had a daughter (Dehya) around the same age.
  • Posthumous Character: He died in the fire he set to destroy everyone's "records" at the Deshret Relic's headquarters long before Dehya's Story Quest took place.
  • Prematurely Grey-Haired: After his big fight with Dehya that led her to cut off all ties with him, he seemingly "aged" a decade overnight, turning his hair gray in the process.
  • The Scapegoat: Kusayla willingly became one to spare Dehya and the Dakan Al-Ahmar from facing the consequences of their "records" and from the Deshret's Relics' violence. His role as one included regularly going to the Deshret Relics' headquarters and being beaten to the point where he could no longer walk without a cane.
  • Sentimental Homemade Toy: Dehya finds the toy sword she used to play with as a kid, which Kusayla began to use as a walking stick.
  • Small Role, Big Impact: It's revealed in Dehya's Story Quest that not only did he save Dunyarzard's family from death when she was still young, but he's also the reason Dehya and Dunyarzard met and became friends in the first place, as he recommended Shahzaman, Dunyarzard's father, to take Dehya on as a bodyguard in hopes that Dehya would eventually lose interest in being a mercenary while living in comfort and try to lead a more peaceful life. He's also the reason Dehya ended up joining the Blazing Beasts since he felt she needed them for protection from the Deshret Relics.
  • Strong Family Resemblance: Inverted, as he looks nothing like his daughter Dehya due to using a generic Eremite non-playable character model. Justified since he's not Dehya's real father and adopted her when she was a baby.
  • Walking Spoiler: At the start of her story quest, Dehya hadn't seen Kusayla for several years, and as it turns out, there were many things that he kept from her.
  • Younger Than They Look: He aged prematurely after his fight with Dehya, physically turning him from a relatively youthful-looking middle-aged man into a sickly-looking elderly man.

    Lunja 

Lunja

An Eremite mercenary who is part of the Farrokhzadan.
  • A Fool and His New Money Are Soon Parted: She and her group were given a handsome pay from the Fatui for helping them to kill a traitor. Unfortunately, she decided to spend it all in a Genius Invokation TCG and was cheated out of her fortune.
  • A Mother to Her Men: She takes great care of the subordinates under her command and even negotiates with the Traveler in exchange for their safety.
  • The Smurfette Principle: Is the only female among the group she leads.

    Rahman 

Rahman

Voiced By: Christopher Swindle

An Eremite leader and an old friend of Dehya's who was responsible for the kidnapping of Village Keepers from Aaru Village.


  • Awful Truth: Like Wanyan in Liyue, he's forced to confront the truth through King Deshret's priest's final words, that Rukkhadevata, the god he and his Eremites had despised and sought revenge on this entire time, was never an enemy of King Deshret and instead helped him fix his mistake to the point of sacrificing much of her power. Rahman says that he wouldn't believe it had he not seen it by his own eyes. But he takes it well, and promises to tell the other Eremites.
  • The Coup: Helps to overthrow the Sages in Act V alongside Dehya and his men by providing the physical strength needed to incapacitate the Corps of Thirty guards that were stationed at the Akademiya.
  • Crisis of Faith: He has a short one, questioning all the grudge his people harbor against the rainforest people, and how it's fundamentally misguided and misplaced. Dehya snaps him out of it, and points out the true enemy of all Sumerians: The Akademiya.
  • Earn Your Happy Ending: The return of Setaria in Aaru Village ending her service in Akademiya as Azar's secretary is seen as a happy ending for the desert folks, including Rahman, who got a chance to have a Ship Tease with Setaria.
  • Eyepatch of Power: Wears an eyepatch over his left eye.
  • Heel–Face Turn: After learning the truth about Rukkhadevata and Deshret, he becomes an ally to the heroes, and during the next Act of the Archon Quest he and his Eremites fight several of the Akademiya's Corps of Thirty goons.
  • Irony: Rahman and his Eremites spent many years resenting the people of the rainforest and their Greater Lord Rukkhadevata for Akademiya's racist policies, and struggling to find a way to get back at them somehow and win the desert folk the chance to prosper once again. However, when he learns how Rukkhadevata actually saved Deshret's people in the past and that they worked together to fight Forbidden Knowledge, he ends up throwing aside his misplaced grudge and helping take down the Sages making life hell for everyone. His efforts and change of heart are rewarded by Kusanali's new administration taking steps to help reconcile with the desert folk, starting with sponsoring Setaria's educational outreach programs. Fighting alongside the people of the rainforest and rescuing their god did more for his people than clinging to that engineered rivalry and his fallen god ever could.
  • Mirror Character: To Wanyan, from Zhongli's first story quest, as both are devoted followers of their deceased gods. Unlike Wanyan, Rahman gets over his cognitive dissonance after finding the truth about King Deshret's demise and helps the group in their plan to free Lesser Lord Kusanali.
  • Save Your Deity: While he is a staunch follower of King Deshret, after being confronted with the truth of Rukkhadevata's kindness towards King Deshret's people, he lead his men to help suppress the Akademiya's guards and keep them out of commission as part of the group's plan to free Kusanali from her imprisonment.
  • Trojan Prisoner: As part of the heroes' plan to break Nahida out of imprisonment in Chapter III Act V, Rahman and Alhaitham conspire to smuggle Rahman's men into Sumeru City by having them arrested and jailed. Cyno initially objects to the plan, since he would have to beat them up badly to make it look convincing, but he relents in the face of Rahman's determination. Later, during Jnagarbha Day, they break out of jail and they corner the Akademiya's guards in the Grand Bazaar, taking them out of the picture.
  • Uniformity Exception: He looks like an Eremite Sword dancer, except with an eyepatch.
    Samail 

Samail

The leader of the Eremite faction "Thutmose" and a former comrade of Jebrael before the latter's departure from the group.
  • Be Careful What You Wish For: He longs to sit on Deshret's throne in Khaj-Nisut, as it promises the Golden Slumber, a paradise of eternal peace and happiness. By the end of the chain, Jebrael lets him claim the throne and enter the Golden Slumber, which is exactly what it sounds like.
  • Can't Kill You, Still Need You: Samail won't kill Jebrael because he still needs him to accomplish his ambitious journey to the Golden Slumber and he still sees Jebrael as his companion. This is despite having murdered the latter's wife out of his twisted necessity.
  • Evil Former Friend: He used to be comrades with Jebrael in Thutmose until he murdered Jebrael's wife, Ufairah.
  • Genre Blind: For his religious fanaticism, he's obviously not familiar with how religions tend to treat concepts of "eternal peace and happiness". As a result, he got exactly what he wished for.
  • Love Is a Weakness: This is Samail's reason for killing Ufairah, Jebrael's wife, because he believes Jebrael's love is an infection for him.
  • Red Baron: The Twin Blades of Thutmose.
  • Stupid Evil: He thought killing Ufairah would force Jebrael into staying in Thutmose. It had the opposite effect.
  • Teeth-Clenched Teamwork: Even before their falling out due to Ufairah's murder, Jebrael notes that he and Samail did not get along during his time in Thutmose.

    Badawi 

Badawi

An elderly former Eremite mercenary who commissions Kaveh to build a library in Aaru Village. He is a quest-exclusive NPC that appears in Kaveh's Hangout Event: Act I - The Pendulum of Weal and Woe.
  • Commonality Connection: Bonds with Kaveh in Refuge in the Sands because of their similar situations of being duped by those who take advantage of their unfamiliarity with certain regions, Sumeru City for Badawi and the desert for Kaveh, and their similarly idealistic views, though Kaveh doubts that they're all that similar in the latter department due to his past being the root cause of his idealistic views.
  • The Idealist: Rather than wait idly by for the Akademiya to close the educational gap between the desert and the rainforest, he uses every mora he has to commission Kaveh to build a library in Aaru Village in an effort to help the future generations of the desert dwellers prosper.
  • Know-Nothing Know-It-All: Averted; Out of fear of being scammed again by another architect, he pretends to be one of these in order to dissuade Kaveh from cheating him out of his mora, though it may backfire, as Kaveh not only abandons the project in frustration over the constant demands for changes, but he may never return to help Badawi if the player does not persuade him to, leaving the fate of Badawi's project unknown.
  • Mock Millionaire: Downplayed Trope. He poses as a wealthy merchant to deter Kaveh from duping him out of mora. However, because of his constant requests for more simplified designs, Kaveh notices something is wrong, later following him with the Traveler and discovering that he's actually a desert dweller who can't even afford the cost of construction on top of Kaveh's commission fees, which is why he tries to reduce the cost by requesting simpler designs and less expensive materials.
  • Nice Guy: As his last act before death, he commissions Kaveh to build a library in Aaru Village to benefit the villages future generations.
  • Stone Wall: He will assist Kaveh in fighting off the Fungi on the way to Aaru Village in the A Whole New Style route of Kaveh's Hangout Event, and has a high HP. However, his attacks are slow, infrequent, and insufficient against the monsters, leaving Kaveh and whoever else is on the player's team to deal with them.
  • What Happened to the Mouse?: If the player fails to persuade Kaveh to give Badawi another chance, he vanishes from the plot of all routes except the Refuge of the Sands route of Kaveh's Hangout Event. As well, despite still being important, he doesn't appear onscreen in the Wealthy Merchant branch due to the focus shifting to negotiations with Dori.

    Irus 

An Eremite who travelled to Fontaine alongside her crew for a job.


  • Know When to Fold 'Em: Realizing the dangers of the Rifthounds that Jakob is summoning, Irus and her crew are quick to surrender to the Melusines while also giving them important information on Jakob's location as payback for double-crossing them.
  • Heel–Face Turn: After Jakob reneges on her and her crew's payment and attempts to have them all killed, she is quick to side with the Traveler and even apologizes for her past actions.

Hostile Eremites

Being mercenaries, Eremites are more skilled in combat and utilise actual weapons as compared to the Treasure Hoarders that are found in other regions, and are more than happy to cross swords with anyone they come across.
    General Tropes 
  • Action Girl: As of v3.8, Eremites have the most number of female enemy classes among the human enemy factions with five (i.e., Axe Vanguards, Desert Clearwaters, Galehunters, Floral Ring-Dancers, and Scorching Loremasters).
  • Battle Boomerang:
    • In his Infused Form, the Sunfrost will occasionally connect his swords and send them flying to his opponents like a boomerang.
    • The Floral Ring-Dancer will occasionally send her chakram flying like a boomerang towards her enemies.
  • Blade Below the Shoulder:
  • Blindfolded Vision: The higher-ranking Eremites are distinctive for their red blindfolds, which does little to hamper their combat prowess.
  • Blood Knight: Eremites have among the highest aggro detection radius of the human enemy factions, befitting their bloodlust. In particular, Linebreakers are described as fighting not so much for money as much as for the thrill of it.
  • Braids of Action: Axe Vanguards, Desert Clearwaters, Galehunters and Floral Ring-Dancers are the female units among the Eremite mooks that wear these in their hair. Axe Vanguards tie their hair in one big side plait, Desert Clearwaters wear a pair in twintails on the sides of their head and another pair for their bangs, Galehunters have two long braids that line the sides of their ponytail and Floral Ring-Dancers braid the ends of their twintails.
  • Braids of Barbarism: Daythunders and Stone Enchanters wear braids in their hair, though the other male Eremites don't.
  • Dance Battler:
    • The Sword-Dancer's skills in swordplay is used for performing arts, and this is evident by their fighting stance. One of his attacks even involves performing a gracious slash combo.
    • The Desert Clearwater's combat style has a dance inspired combat and one of her attacks has her cartwheeling on her enemies if they are far enough. They are also occasionally seen dancing to other fellow Eremites (or as a past-time) when not attacking enemies.
    • Many of the Floral Ring-Dancer's attacks has her spin while utilising her chakrams to slash as she moves towards the player.
  • Elemental Powers: They use the power of the elements in battle, but unlike Vision bearers, their power is not innate, coming from an outside force in the form of the ancient spirits they call upon and seal in their weapons.
  • Had to Be Sharp: Owing to their mercenary lifestyle, which translates to fending off various dangers, they possess a relatively large aggro-range than most regular human enemies. Even when they're relaxing, it is much harder to sneak by them due to their sharpened senses (except for the ones by the Thutmose base at Lamb-Devourer Rock where they have a "detection" gauge).
  • I Shall Taunt You: Sword Dancers and Sunfrost are prone to this.
  • Mr. Fanservice/Ms. Fanservice: Among the generic human enemies, the Eremites are the most scantily-clad, which is justified by the fact that they alternate between the sweltering humidity of Dharma Forest and the scorching heat of the Great Red Sand.
    • Daythunders and Stone Enchanters are extremely beefy men who wear outfits that expose their sculpted abs. Although the Sunfrost also has noticeable muscles, he wears a shirt like Alhaitham does.
    • The Galehunter and Scorching Loremaster are tall ladies with ample breasts to match, with the former showing off her toned waist and biceps larger than any of the playable women and the latter wearing translucent Sensual Spandex that fully exposes her curves. Meanwhile, Desert Clearwaters and Floral Ring-dancers are dancing fighters.
  • Non-Standard Character Design: While the low-ranking Eremites share identical models with standard NPCs, the higher-ranking ones have unique designs.
  • Powers via Weapon: High-ranking Eremites are able to channel elemental abilities via their spirit-possessed weapons, in lieu of having a Vision.
  • Villains Out Shopping: When not in battle, they simply love playing music, dancing, playing Genius Invokation TCG, and feeding their Sumpter Beasts.

    Common Units 

Eremite Axe Vanguard, Eremite Crossbow, Eremite Ravenbeak Halberdier, Eremite Linebreaker, and Eremite Sword-Dancer

Introduced: v3.0 "The Morn a Thousand Roses Brings" (August 24, 2022)

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/enemy_eremite_axe_vanguard.png
Eremite Axe Vanguard
https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/enemy_eremite_crossbow.png
Eremite Crossbow
https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/enemy_eremite_linebreaker.png
Eremite Linebreaker
https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/enemy_eremite_ravenbeak_halberdier.png
Eremite Ravenbeak Halberdier
https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/enemy_eremite_sword_dancer.png
Eremite Sword-Dancer
These generic enemies are typically composed of the following:
  • Axe Vanguard, who wield tomahawks and can occasionally fire piles of sand that temporarily impair her enemies' vision.
  • Crossbow, who as his name implies fires bolts onto his enemies, as well as occasionally shoots a Dendro-infused bolt that leaves a poisonous mist that deals gradual damage on enemies within its radius.
  • Ravenbeak Halberdier, who wields a halberd with which he either performs a spinning attack or a dashing thrust before ending with a jumping slam.
  • Linebreaker, who performs a series of agile slashes with his pair of katars.
  • Sword-Dancer, who can adapt between slashing away at his enemies and dodging their attacks, as well as tries to provoke his enemies into attacking.

  • Breaking Old Trends: The earlier regular human enemies introduced, the Fatui and Treasure Hoarders, always have some covering either on their eyes, mouth, or both. The common Eremites are notable for being the first to have their faces fully exposed, with their headgear generally limited to a bandana (or an eyepatch for the Sword-Dancer).
  • Death from Above: The Ravenbeak Halberdier ends his combos with a leaping slam of his halberd.
  • A Handful for an Eye: The Axe Vanguard will occasionally hurl sand onto her enemies, temporarily impairing their vision (reflected in the screen).
  • I Shall Taunt You: The Sword-Dancer will occasionally provoke his enemies into attacking him, either by pointing his sword at them or showing off his sword-dancing skills. This of course, leaves him open (and in the latter case, hitting him with a ranged projectile, such as simple arrow, will floor him to the ground), to the point there is even an Achievement for doing so, itself leading to a couple Shout-Outs:
  • Kiai: Linebreakers shout "Hyah!" when performing a charged attack.
  • Long-Range Fighter: The Crossbows shoot at the player from afar and is vulnerable in close range. They will also pull out a Dendro grenade and use it as a grenade launcher.
  • Mood Whiplash: The instant the Axe Vanguard notices hostiles, she breaks the sitar, she had been calmly playing beforehand, in-half and quickly gets into a fighting mood.
  • Mook: They are generally the lowest-ranking enemies in any given Eremite camp, generally accompanying the higher classes.
  • Navel-Deep Neckline: In contrast to most other Eremites, the Crossbow and the Ravenbeak Halberdier cover up more of their torso, though their washboard abs can still be seen.
  • Poisoned Weapon: The Crossbow will occasionally fire a Dendro-infused bolt that leaves behind a poisonous mist that deals gradual Dendro damage within a small radius.
  • The Smurfette Principle: Of the five common units, the Axe Vanguard is the only female.
  • Villains Out Shopping: When not attacking enemies, they can be seen engaging in various pastimes, such as taking care of Sumpter Beasts, Axe Vanguards strumming a sitar, Crossbows playing a hand drum, and the rest playing Genius Invokation TCG.

    Self-Enhancing Units 

Eremite Desert Clearwater, Eremite Sunfrost, and Eremite Daythunder

Introduced: v3.0 "The Morn a Thousand Roses Brings" (August 24, 2022)
The Eremite Desert Clearwater is voiced by: Yūki Urushiyama (Japanese), Chloe Eves (English)
The Eremite Sunfrost is voiced by: Trent Martin (English)

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/enemy_eremite_desert_clearwater.png
Eremite Desert Clearwater
https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/enemy_eremite_sunfrost.png
Eremite Sunfrost
https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/enemy_eremite_daythunder.png
Eremite Daythunder
These high-ranking Eremites share the ability to enhance their attacks through infusions from their weapons, said to be enchanted with lost spirits from the Great Red Sand, which enhances their combat capabilities, albeit at the cost of temporarily stunning them afterwards. They come in three varieties:
  • Desert Clearwater, who wields a pair of katars enchanted with Hydro-elemental spirits with which she performs either a slash-and-thrust combo, a cross-blade slash, or a slashing cartwheel if her target is far away; in her infused form, her combos are upgraded into a stab-slash and cross-slash, a double-slash and cross-slash, or a cartwheel and cross-slash.
  • Sunfrost, who wields a pair of khopeshes enchanted with Cryo-elemental spirits with which he performs a wild swing around his enemies or a three-slash combo; in his Infused Form, he connects his blades and sends it as a boomerang towards his target.
  • Daythunder, who wields a halbert enchanted with Electro-elemental spirits with which he performs a wild series of slashes or a jumping sweep; in his Infused Form, the damage potency and range of these attacks increase.

  • Awesome, yet Impractical: Their Infused Form provides significant power boosts to their attacks for twenty seconds; after that, however, they will be left dazed for eight seconds, with reduced resistance against the element embodied by their weapon.
  • Cool Sword: Eremite Sunfrost wields two khopeshes packed with Cryo infusion.
  • Dual Wielding: Both the Desert Clearwater and the Sunfrost wield, respectively, a pair of katars and scimitars. The lone exception is the Daythunder, who wields a halberd.
  • Elemental Powers: Hydro for the Desert Clearwater, Cryo for the Sunfrost, and Electro for the Daythunder.
  • Elite Mooks: Downplayed. They’re technically counted as Common Enemies, but are much stronger and more resilient than their generic counterparts. Although they're still outclassed by the Summoner Eremites.
  • Genius Bruiser: The Daythunder is described in the Archive to be better-versed in the lore and songs of King Deshret's Civilization than most of his fellow Eremites, and is no less of a fighter for it.
  • I Shall Taunt You: A Sunfrost will taunt at their opponents if they are away by quipping "Is that all you got?", and do a "come at me" gesture.
  • No-Nonsense Nemesis: Both Sunfrost and Daythunder have little in the way of amusing banter, only concerned with getting their job done as soon as possible. In particular, the former's aggro line has him casually stating he needs to go to work, he expresses impatience when entering an Infused Form, and threatens his enemies that they will meet again when forced to retreat; meanwhile, the latter warns intruders that they are not welcome in his territory when provoked, and will rue being forced to retreat.
  • Powers via Possession: Their weapons are said to possess fragmented spirits whom their wielders can call upon in a pinch, putting them in an Infused Form that greatly enhances their strength and elemental capabilities.
  • The Smurfette Principle: Of the three self-enhancing units, the Desert Clearwater is the only female.
  • Spin Attack: The Desert Clearwater will perform a slashing cartwheel to close the distance if her target is too far away.
  • Sugary Malice: The Desert Clearwater can be very coy towards her enemies, inviting them to fight her, and calling them heartless when forced to retreat.
  • Villains Out Shopping: When not attacking enemies, the Desert Clearwater can be seen dancing for the entertainment of her fellow Eremites.

    Summoner Units 

Eremite Galehunter, Eremite Stone Enchanter, Eremite Scorching Loremaster, and Eremite Floral Ring-Dancer

Introduced:
v3.1 "King Deshret and the Three Magi" (September 28, 2022) [Galehunter, Stone Enchanter]
v3.4 "The Exquisite Night Chimes" (January 18, 2023) [Scorching Loremaster, Floral Ring-Dancer]
Eremite Galehunter is voiced by: Minami Shindo (Japanese), Caitlyn Elizabeth (English)
Eremite Floral Ring-Dancer is voiced by: Chihiro Watanabe (Japanese), Daisy Guevara (English)

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/enemy_eremite_galehunter.png
Eremite Galehunter
https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/enemy_eremite_stone_enchanter.png
Eremite Stone Enchanter
https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/enemy_eremite_scorching_loremaster.png
Eremite Scorching Loremaster
https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/enemy_eremite_floral_ring_dancer.png
Eremite Floral Ring-Dancer
Some of the most powerful Eremites have learned to summon Spirits of Omen, animal-like spirits that aid them in combat whenever they are in grave danger and which can assist them in launching devastating combination attacks, with the caveat that once the spirits have been defeated, their summoner will take substantial damage and be stunned for a few seconds. They are divided into four classes:
  • Galehunter, who wields a bow enchanted with Anemo-elemental spirits which bestows upon her weapons made of Anemo energy, which take the form of either a lance which she performs either a downward throw, a three-hit slash, or a lunge-and-slash combo, or arrows that she can either fire at once or to create a corralling vacuum; when she summons the bird-like Wind Glede, it can then assist her in corralling her enemies while she fires an arrow made of Anemo energy.
  • Stone Enchanter, who wields a pata, or gauntlet-sword, enchanted with Geo-elemental spirits, with which he can launch either a wave of two rock explosions, a slash-and-thrust combo followed with the two rock explosions, a spinning charge, or a jumping slam; when he summons the crocodile-like Stone Drake, his pata can now deliver a powerful slash or block frontal attacks, and both can team up to perform a leaping attack, with the familiar performing another ground pound.
  • Scorching Loremaster, who wields a Catalyst enchanted with Pyro-elemental spirits, with which she launches four fireballs at a time, a burst of flame, or a rain of four fireballs at her victim's location, as well as teleport to her target if they are too far; when she summons the Pyro Scorpion, they can attack together through her teleporting in front of her target and launching a drill made of Pyro energy while the familiar burrows underground before performing a leaping slam.
  • Floral Ring-Dancer, who wields a chakram enchanted with Dendro-elemental spirits, which she either swings in a series of graceful slashes, or from which she generates phantasmal chakrams made of Dendro energy to either slash away at surrounding enemies or send like a boomerang before her enemy, as well as teleport if they are too far; when she summons the Dendro Spirit-Serpent, she can trap her enemies in a phantasmal cage while the familiar rains down six prisms made of Dendro energy.

  • Aloof Archer: Galehunters are archers who wield the power of the wind and a vulture familiar, she won't let you run away.
    Finally, some target practice.
  • Corralling Vacuum: Two of the Galehunter's special attacks involves sucking in enemies, either through her leaping in the air and firing a special arrow made of Anemo energy or having the Wind Glede create a vacuum while the Galehunter fires an arrow.
  • Death from Above: All their combination attacks involve a descending deathblow; in particular, the Galehunter sends an arrow made of Anemo energy flying upwards before descending to deal damage to enemies kept from escaping by the Wind Glede; the Rock Enchanter joins the Stone Drake in a leaping slam, with the latter performing another ground pound; the Scorching Loremaster has the Pyro Scorpion burrow into the ground before performing a descending slam; and the Floral Ring-Dancer has the Dendro Spirit-Serpent fire a rain of six prisms made of Dendro energy. In addition, the Stone Enchanter has a leaping thrust among his regular attacks, while the Scorching Loremaster can fire four fireballs from above her target's head.
  • Difficult, but Awesome: Most long-range-oriented Eremites have long taken advantage of the availability of crossbows for their ease of use. Hence, the Galehunter is notable for using the good old bow-and-arrow and excelling at it, which is helped by the fact that she is wielding a bow infused with spirits.
  • Elemental Powers: Anemo for the Galehunter, Geo for the Stone Enchanter, Pyro for the Scorching Loremaster, and Dendro for the Floral Ring-Dancer.
  • Elite Mooks: Downplayed. They're technically counted as Common Enemies, but are the strongest amongst the Eremites' ranks, possessing monstrous amounts of HP (especially when their Spirits of Omen are out) and are capable of inflicting serious damage.
  • Expy: The Floral Ring-Dancers take inspiration from Chrono Navi Ai-chan from Honkai Impact 3rd, being chakram-wielding dance battlers with long, bright green twintails and identical swinging idle animations.
  • Familiar: This class of Eremites will summon a Spirit of Omen when their health is below 70%, which will fight alongside their owners, including a Combination Attack. They are the bird-like Wind Glede for the Galehunter, the crocodile-like Stone Drake for the Stone Enchanter, the Pyro Scorpion for the Scorching Loremaster; and the Dendro Spirit-Serpent for the Floral Ring-Dancer.
  • Fast Tunnelling: For their Combination Attacks, both the Stone Drake and the Pyro Scorpion burrow into the ground before launching a finisher.
  • Fiery Redhead: Downplayed Trope, but the Scorching Loremaster has pink hair and utilizes Pyro attacks.
  • Hoist by Their Own Petard: Once their Spirits of Omen are defeated, their summoner takes a significant amount of damage and is stunned for ten seconds, with a reduced resistance to the element of their weapons.
  • Mighty Glacier: Compared to the other Eremites, this class can hit hard and, while their Spirits of Omen are active, incredibly tough to defeat.
  • The One Guy: Of the four summoner-type Eremites, the Stone Enchanter is the only male.
  • Religious Bruiser: Stone Enchanters would occasionally speak in the name of Deshret when summoning crocodile spirits.
  • Rings of Death: The Floral Ring-Dancer's primary weapon is a large chakram. She also uses it as a swing for fun during her Idle Animation.
  • Seers: The Scorching Loremaster is described to be an oracle of the Eremites.
    "Your coming was foretold."
  • The Straight and Arrow Path: The Galehunter's lore blurb points out that crossbows are commonplace everywhere in Teyvat, making the fact that she's skilled enough for the much more difficult to use longbow all the more impressive.
  • Tomboyish Ponytail: The Galehunter wears her hair in a long ponytail that goes past her waist.
  • Your Size May Vary: Normally, Stone Enchanters are about the height of a Kairagi or a Fatui Vanguard, but in the rare instances you meet a non-hostile Enchanter, he is only about the height of a Nobushi, a Daythunder, or a Sunfrost.

Girdle of the Sands

The Order of Skeptics

Also known as the Shamaniyya or Nagarjunites. A former branch of the Akademiya which believed in "the transmission of knowledge at all costs" and that "conflict is the natural order of Teyvat." They have long since split from the Akademiya and are rarely acknowledged, but can still be found in the Girdle of the Sands.
    In general 
  • Connected All Along: Not only did they help the the Pari and Dainsleif in quelling the Cataclysm, they also knew the Schwanenritter, whom they acknowledged as the "heroes of Dahri" for combatting the Abyss.
  • Defector from Decadence: When the rest of the Akademyia refused to help fight off the Cataclysm, the Darshan that later became the Order of Skeptics chose to abandon the Akademiya and assisted the Pari and Dainsleif to stop it.
  • Hero of Another Story: They aided the Pari and Dainsleif in quelling the Cataclysm by purifying the Harvisptokhm five-hundred years ago.
  • How the Mighty Have Fallen: They are claimed by some to have once had great academic ambitions and desires, but have become shells of their former selves in the present day. After the Khvarena of Good and Evil world quest, they are now without an official leader and have only two active members.
  • Oddly Small Organization: They used to be a bigger organization in their early years, but in the present day they only have three active members. After the events of the "Khvarena of Good and Evil" World Quest, they are down to two.

    Nasejuna (Spoilers Unmarked

Nasejuna

The current sage of the Order of Skeptics.
  • Evil All Along: After Sorush acquires the last song, Nasejuna reveals that he had chosen to ally with the Abyss Order, having turned against the Order of Skeptics.
  • Karma Houdini: While the Traveler gives him a good thrashing, Nasejuna ultimately manages to escape.
  • Long-Range Fighter: Uses a crossbow near-identical to the Eremite Crossbow during the Traveler's fight against him and Klingsor.
  • Precision F-Strike: In a game with next to no cursing, he drops an unexpected one towards Sorush and the Traveler that kicks off his Evil All Along reveal.
    "Silence! You piss me off!"

    Pyrrho 

Pyrrho

The Skeptics' designated muscle and fighter.


  • Break the Haughty: He is introduced as being standoffish towards the Traveler, and remains so even after Sourush tells him to stand down and is her designated Yasnapati. It took Nasejuna's betrayal for him to finally eat his humble pie and apologize to the Traveler for his earlier attitude.
  • Broken Pedestal: He's almost always singing Nasejuna's praises, until the Traveler and Paimon inform him about Nasejuna defecting to the Abyss Order and all his other crimes against the Skeptics.
  • Swiss-Cheese Security: Sosi doesn't consider him to be all that competent at his job as a fighter, to the point where she's thinking of hiring more capable personnel.
  • Trigger-Happy: Melee variant, he is all too eager to have a swipe at the Traveler when first meeting him, to the point that if they select the option to spare their life, he tells them that it's too late to beg for forgiveness.

    Sosi 

Sosi

The Skeptics' sole female member.
  • Broken Pedestal: Zig-zagged. While she considers Nasejuna's treachery to be inexcusable, she chooses to stay with the Skeptics out of the desire to continue their research.
  • The Smurfette Principle: Is the only female member of the Order of Skeptics.
  • You Are in Command Now: She seems to have become the Skeptics' unofficial leader after Nasejuna's betrayal, even when it is only herself and Pyrrho left.

Former Members

    Aryadeva 

Aryadeva

A former elder among the Order of Skeptics who left to pursue writing light novels.
  • Cool Old Guy: He’s an aspiring light novelist and a fan of Genius Invokation TCG.
  • Properly Paranoid: He had suspicions that Nasejuna was up to no good when the latter came to him to ask about the Khory Drums, prompting Aryadeva to entrust the one he had in his possession to an acquaintance in the Akademiya which led to the events of "Khvarena of Good and Evil". When the Traveler and Paimon talk to him again after the quest, he correctly guesses that their presence means Nasejuna's plot failed.
    Aryadeva: The Glory Days of the Order of Skeptics are bygone legends by now. Rather than harboring their dangerous delusions, it's better to see their desires manifest in light novels instead.
  • Writers Suck: He moved from the desert to Sumeru City to pursue his dream of writing light novels. It's implied however that he isn't exactly the best of writers, as he mentions that the manuscript for his book Can a Trainee Combat Mage Whose Normal Attack Summons a Jinni that Will Start a Full-Out Free-For-All Really Graduate From the Magic Akademiya? has been rejected multiple times by the Yae Publishing House, causing him to think that the editors there must be really strict when it comes to submissions.

Historical Members

    Nagarjuna 

Nagarjuna

The first leader and founder of the Order of Skeptics.

    Klingsor (Spoilers Unmarked

Klingsor

A member of the Skeptics hundreds of years ago, only to eventually defect to the Abyss Order after allegedly finding evidence proving the Skeptics' origins to be false.
  • Boss Subtitles: "Forsaker of the True Way".
  • The Corrupter: He convinced Nasejuna to turn against the Skeptics by claiming that their origins were a lie, with the two conspiring to obtain the the five Great Songs of Khvarena.
  • The Dragon: To Nasejuna after the latter reveals his allegiance to the Abyss Order.
  • Face–Monster Turn: Formerly a ranger in the Order of Skeptics hundreds of years ago who harbored doubts about their origins, he became an Abyss Herald after respectively finding evidence allegedly proving his suspicions and embracing the power of the Abyss, killing the investigation team sent from the Akademiya to explore the ruins of Khaenri'ah.
  • Hypercompetent Sidekick: It's pretty clear he's the real threat between him and Nasejuna during the Traveler's fight with them, considering Klingsor is a Hydro Abyss Herald while Nasejuna is still an ordinary human.

The Pari

A race of avian-like creatures descending from the Divine Bird Simurgh who reside in the Vourukasha Oasis in the Girdle of the Sands.
    General Tropes 
  • Amazing Technicolor Population: The Pari come in a variety of colors. Sorush is reddish-pink, Zurvan has both blue and purple parts, Mihir is mostly reddish-brown with green thorn-like appendages, and Rashnu is dark pink with a light purple hat-like head appendage.
  • Barred from the Afterlife: The Pari were born to contain contagion from the Cataclysm. As such, their life cycle is entirely separate from that of other life in Teyvat, confining their souls to Teyvat's surface to prevent any trace of contamination from returning to the earth along with them.
  • Connected All Along: Zurvan fondly remembers Dainsleif, who had nearly succumbed to his corruption before the Pari found him and stabilized his condition. He would go on to help them and the fledgling Order of Skeptics extinguish the Sign of Apaosha before being found by the Traveler's sibling.
  • Extra Parent Conception: Nabu Malikata created Khvarena with her powers and gave Khvarena to Greater Lord Rukkhadevata for protection, who then turned her into the Simurgh. During the Cataclysm, the Simurgh drank the Holy Water remains of the Hydro Archon Egeria and burst into many individual pieces, creating the Pari. Notably, Voruukasha Oasis, where the Pari reside, has a soundtrack titled The Caress of Three Mothers.
  • Gender-Blender Name: Each Pari (except Jarjar, who is named after a male character from Star Wars, and Fedhri) is named after a male divine entity from Zoroastrianism, even though all of them are female.
  • Heart Symbol: Each Pari has a heart-shaped symbol on their chest, with Rashnu having a second one in the middle of her forehead.
  • Martyrdom Culture: It's been ingrained in the Pari that their ultimate fate is to sacrifice themselves for the greater good.
  • Midair Bobbing: The Pari are able to float midair in the same way Paimon does.
  • Mirror Character: They're more or less the desert's equivalent to the Aranara, both responsible for containing contagion in their part of Sumeru. Lampshaded as the Traveler and Paimon repeatedly compare the two, a comparison the haughtier Pari don't like to hear.
  • Nature Spirit: In Chinese, they are called "Flower Spirits", and were born from the powers of Nabu Malikata.
  • One-Gender Race: All Pari use feminine pronouns.
  • Religious and Mythological Theme Naming: The name "Pari" is derived from the Peri, beautiful, feminine winged spirits from Persian Mythology, in addition to most of their kind (except Jarjar) being named after prominent figures from Zoroastrianism:
    • Fedhri, who is found near the Amrita Pool, is highly likely named after Eredat-fedhri, a young maiden who, after dipping into a lake, mothered the Saoshyant, a savior figure who will lead Ahura Mazda's forces of good in the final battle against evil.
    • Mihir takes her name from Mithra, the divinity of contracts, light, and the sun, who guards the bridge between the worlds of the living and the dead alongside Sraosha and Rashnu.
    • Rashnu is named after the divinity of justice, who guards bridge between the worlds of the living and the dead alongside Sraosha and Mithra.
    • Sefana is taken from Safana, one of the 101 names of Ahura Mazda.
  • Shout-Out: Jarjar is named after Jar Jar Binks.
  • Unknown Relative: During The Recollector's Path Event, Paimon notices the similiarities in appearance between Oceanids and Pari and wonders if they're distantly related. Both are solely female avian looking creatures with similiar silhouettes. And Paimon's dead on the money. The Pari are, in a complicated way, creations of the previous Hydro Archon, just like the Oceanids.
    Paimon: Haha. Paimon hasn't discovered any world-shaking secrets, has she?
    Sorush 

Sorush

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/screenshot_2023_05_29_at_84523_am.png
Click to see her appearance as Bloomguard

The main Pari that the Traveler accompanies in the World Quest "Khvarena of Good and Evil". She also takes center stage in the event questline "The Recollector's Path", which takes place immediately afterward.


  • Badass Cape: She is the protagonist Pari who eventually becomes the Bloomguard to cleanse the pollution in Tunigi Hollow, and is the only one wearing a cape that flutters behind her. Her Heart Symbol is also engraved on her cape pin instead of on her chest like the other Pari.
  • Character Development: "The Recollector's Path" Event has Sorush go through a great deal of growth as she accompanies the Traveler to fulfill tasks assigned to her by Zurvan. She comes to understand the flaws in her previous mindset brought on by listening to the embellished "historical records" of the Order of Skeptics. By the end of the event, she acknowledges that she was placing the renown gained from deeds above the deeds themselves, and grows into a more mature mindset with regards to the duties of a Bloomguard.
  • Cool Crown: She receives the Chaplet after proving herself worthy of becoming a Bloomguard.
  • Glory Seeker: Throughout most of the "Khvarena of Good and Evil" questline, Sorush makes it clear that her primary concern is that her deeds and sacrifice be inscribed into history and remembered for ages to come.
  • Hero of Another Story: She's the protagonist amongst the Pari and one of the deuteragonists in the Traveler's journey.
    Sorush: We should not allow this preamble to delay us so... I am the protagonist of this hymn... I alone...
  • I Just Want to Be Special: A lot of her arrogance is due to her desire to be remembered as an Inspirational Martyr.
  • Informed Ability: She mentions that she can fight and has apparently fought the Fatui by herself, but while floating alongside the Traveler, she'll disappear in a Paimonal fashion when combat starts.
  • Pink Heroine: Her main colour is pink, and she eventually becomes the Bloomguard of the new generation.
  • Religious and Mythological Theme Naming: Sorush's name is the New Persian form of Sraosha, the divinity of conscience and one of the guardians of the bridge between the worlds of the living and the dead in Zoroastrianism.
  • Self-Sacrifice Scheme: She makes it blatantly clear she'll sacrifice herself to save Sumeru as well as her more selfish desire of being remembered as a hero like Simurgh. Has some shades of Martyr Without a Cause as well, as when Paimon tries to suggest alternate methods, Sorush shuts them down.
  • Wrong Genre Savvy: Sorush shows strong shades of this during "Khvarena of Good and Evil" due to the influence of the Order of Skeptics inflating her ego with praise and giving her an overly-grandiose view of the her actions and the significance of them. She comes to recognize this during her Character Development in "The Recollector's Path".
    Sorush: Indeed. Regardless if it is I or the humans of the Order of Skeptics, those who condition themselves to accept hyperbole as ordinary will see themselves become like this.

    Zurvan 

Zurvan

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/screenshot_2023_05_29_at_85928_am.png

The first and eldest of the Pari.


  • The Older Immortal: She is the first ever Pari that was born, and has wrinkles on her face that reflect her age.
  • Religious and Mythological Theme Naming: Zurvan is named after the primordial creator deity of infinite time and space in Zurvanism, a Zoroastrian sect that believes him to be the father of Ahura Mazda, the God of Good and supreme deity of the more mainline sects, and his evil twin Angra Mainyu.
  • Screw Politeness, I'm a Senior!: The Pari are generally haughty and egocentric, even toward each other, and Zurvan is actually one of the nicer ones but she's certainly not above using her seniority and experience as an excuse to be impolite and boss people around.
  • Stealth Mentor: The "training" she assigns to Sorush (and by extension, the Traveler and Paimon) during "The Recollector's Path" ends up forcing her to self-examine and recognize the flaws in her worldview, leading to Sorush becoming much more mature and grounded by the end of the event, if still arrogant.

Historical Figures

The Great Red Sand was once home to a magnificent civilisation ruled by three gods (King Deshret, his lover the Goddess of Flowers, and his friend Greater Lord Rukkhadevata) who, unlike gods in other regions, ruled harmoniously over their lands with each other. However, the death of the Goddess of Flowers drove King Deshret to insanity that led to his own death, causing his subjects to break up into numerous fragmented kingdoms that often warred against each other, and in the present their ruins are scattered all over the Great Red Sand, testament to thousands of years of mortal delusions of grandeur ever since.

During the Reign of King Deshret

    Kasala 

Kasala

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/kasala.png
Voiced by: Meng Xianglong (Chinese), Tsuguo Mogami (Japanese), Seok Seunghoon (Korean), Daman Mills (English)
A priest of King Deshret who witnessed and survived the fall of his god's kingdom thousands of years before the game's current events.
  • Animal Motifs: Is shown wearing a jackal headpiece similar to Cyno's.
  • Red Herring: Kasala's narration implies that Greater Lord Rukkhadevata and Lesser Lord Kusanali are one and the same person since the former shrunk into the size of the latter after Rukkhadevata expended most of her power to stop the spread of forbidden knowledge. Not only was this a completely separate instance, but a similar outbreak happened in the Cataclysm that resulted in the real Rukkhadevata's death and the birth of her replacement.
  • The Reveal: His record of the downfall of King Deshret and his kingdom in Act 4 of the Sumeru Archon Quests reveals the truth behind several questions that were raised in earlier Archon Quests:1) Eleazar is not a natural disease but rather a product of King Deshret bringing "forbidden knowledge" from beyond to his kingdom, 2) Greater Lord Rukkhadevata never betrayed King Deshret but rather helped him to contain the damage caused, with King Deshret sacrificing his life and Rukkhadevata sacrificing her powers to do so, and 3) Kusanali is highly likely to be an amnesiac, weaker and younger-looking Greater Lord Rukkhadevata, though this one is later proven to be false.
  • Uncanny Family Resemblance: His appearance is so similar to Cyno's that it's heavily implied that he is the latter's ancestor.

    Ferigees 

Ferigees, Guardian of Eternal Oasis

The greatest Jinn ever known after being granted governance of the oasis by King Deshret.
  • Flunky Boss: She summons two Primal Constructs and an Algorithm of Semi-Intransient Matrix of Overseer Network in battle.
  • Mercy Kill: Liloupar frames her suggestion for the Traveler to defeat her as this. Considering Ferigees has been trapped in a stationary machine as part of her duty for thousands of years...
  • Politically Incorrect Villain: Casually assumes Jeht is a "desert slave" when she sees her. Paimon wryly comments that she really is Liloupar's sister.
  • Soul Jar: She gave up her body to possess the machine at the Orchard of Pairidazea and serve her duties as guard.
  • Stationary Boss: She cannot move due to possesing the machine guarding the Eternal Oasis, and summons monsters to fight the Traveler instead.

Gurabad

    In General 
An ancient city located in the Desert of Hadramaveth, which only lasted three generations before falling to ruin.
  • Family Extermination: Under Liloupar's machinations, her children poisoned all 300 of their siblings and her husband, then her daughter Shirin encouraged her grandson Shiruyeh to murder his father (Liloupar's son and Shirin's half-brother), and finally, Liloupar released the power of the Abyss, which swallowed Gurabad and her surviving family members with it.
  • Massive Numbered Siblings: If the in-game book The Tale of Shiruyeh and Shirin is accurate, Ormazd had 300 children, not including Shirin.
  • Royally Screwed Up: The royal family of Gurabad has it all - manipulation, betrayal, murder, even incest.
  • Was Once a Man: The in-game book The Tale of Shiruyeh and Shirin, which recounts the history of Gurabad, implies that some of its citizens turned into Hilichurls when Liloupar unleashed the power of the Abyss onto the city.

    Liloupar 

Liloupar

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/screenshot_2023_04_08_at_110426_pm_8.png
Liloupar in the present
The Jinni queen of Gurabad and Ormazd's wife, as well as Shirin's and Parvezravan's mother. The Traveler meets her during the Dirge of Bilqis world quest.
  • Ascended Extra: Liloupar went from only being mentioned in historical lore before version 3.4 to actually appearing and helping in the Traveler in the Desert of Hadramaveth during the Dirge of Bilqis world quest.
  • Been There, Shaped History: She was the one responsible for the fall of Gurabad.
  • But Now I Must Go: She leaves the Traveler for the ruins of Gurabad at the end of the Memories of Gurabad quest, saying that it is her destiny to "face its retribution", though some shade of her power remains in her bottle to maintain its uses in the desert.
  • Cassandra Truth: She's quick to state that Matriarch Babel is manipulating everyone around her but no one listening to her acts on it. Lo and behold, once the Jinni is gone, Babel betrays Jeht and the Traveler.
  • The Chessmaster: She carefully orchestrated her revenge against her husband to the point where she told him the "prophecies" about what was going to happen to him, his family and his kingdom, and they all eventually came true.
  • Colour-Coded Emotions: The two glowing orbs inside her bottle change colour depending on her mood. They are usually yellow, but can turn red when she is angry, blue when sad, etc.
  • Disproportionate Retribution: Liloupar was, understandably, unhappy that her lover Ormazd became a tyrant. Her plot to take revenge on him, however, involved bringing ruin upon not only him, but also the next two generations of his descendants and the entirety of the city of Gurabad, so much that King Deshret punished her for her actions by splitting her soul into seven parts. As she explains it, jinn feel emotions much more intensely than humans, love and hate alike, so the betrayal she experienced felt like it needed three times the retribution for her to be satisfied.
  • Divine Punishment: Was on the receiving end of one from King Deshret for her crimes towards Gurabad, who sentenced her to have her soul split into seven parts and imprisoned in separate locations in the desert.
  • Even Evil Has Loved Ones: At the end of the Dirge of Bilqis questline, Liloupar leaves the Traveler and Paimon to go back to Gurabad where she sensed her daughter Shirin's and her grandson Shiruyeh's presence, seemingly concerned that they would be lonely. She also comments that she feels "the power of the darkness growing stronger" and "only a mother's power can face it head-on."
  • Evil Matriarch: Without exaggeration, Liloupar is the worst mother/grandmother in Teyvat, past or present, having used her children and grandson as pawns in her revenge plan against her husband. When the Traveler briefly views Liloupar's memories of the chaos in Gurabad, the narration notes that despite the lamentable fates of her descendants, she was more preoccupied and joyous that her revenge had been successfully carried out. She even admits that Shirin's suffering pleased and empowered her.
  • Exact Words: Liloupar "prophesized" that Shirin's relatives would have a sweet end...they died via poisoned honey.
  • Excellent Judge of Character: While Ormazd would be a point against, and her low view of the Eremite people isn't at all called for, every manipulation and betrayal in the Tanit Tribe, she saw coming from miles away.
  • Familiar: She can be equipped as a pet just like Shiki Taishou and Endora, following the player in the overworld in addition to helping with the exploration of the Desert of Hadramaveth region. In the story, she tells the Traveler her true name, binding herself to them as a servant.
  • Genie in a Bottle: How her current self appears as.
  • God Save Us from the Queen!: Her manipulation of her descendants to enact revenge against her husband results in the deaths of hundreds of Gurabad's citizens as well as the fall of the city. King Deshret returned too late to stop her and could only punish her for her crimes.
  • Interspecies Romance: Liloupar, a Jinni, fell in love with and married Ormazd, a human.
  • Long-Lived: She is thousands of years old and still alive after the Dirge of Bilqis world quest ends.
  • Mr. Exposition: Is the one that explains the history of Gurabad to the Traveler.
  • Manipulative Bastard: Liloupar led her family to do the dirty work of destroying Gurabad and themselves with only some words of "encouragement". For example, when Shirin was born, one of Liloupar's prophecies was that her daughter would "fall in love with a great hero and bear a child who would surpass their father", while Liloupar also warned Ormazd to ban Shirin from family dinners after she was wed. Consequently, Shirin was isolated from her family and falsely promised a happy married life, but when she found herself having an Awful Wedded Life to Kisra instead, her resentment drove her to commit Family Extermination. Then when Kirsa exiled their son because of his fear of Liloupar's "prophecy" coming true, Shirin goaded her son into committing Patricide.
  • My Secret Pregnancy: It's unknown whether Jinn gestate the same way that humans do, but at the very least Liloupar managed to birth Kisra without Ormazd ever noticing.
  • "Not So Different" Remark: When Jeht asks Liloupar why the Jinni is so antagonistic towards Babel, she responds by sharing her backstory and comparing how she also manipulates her “children” for her own ends. As it turns out, Babel had been manipulating Jeht to further her ambitions, and her plans end up destroying almost the entire Tanit tribe, much like how Liloupar ended up destroying her kingdom.
  • Person of Mass Destruction: The ruins of Gurabad and its sordid history are her Villainous Legacy.
  • Pet the Dog: As described in Took a Level in Kindness below, Liloupar grows to respect Jeht enough that by the time she meets Tadhla, another young Tanit woman caught in the tribe's manipulations, she has nothing negative to say about the huntress and goes along with the Traveler in trying to warn her to rest when she's hurt and trying to break her out of her harmful view of herself.
  • Pink Is Feminine: In the desert murals, Liloupar is depicted as a figure entirely in pink while her husband is dressed in white, red and some black.
  • Politically Incorrect Hero: She's an ally during the Dirge of Bilqis questline. That doesn't stop her from making racist remarks about desert-dwellers throughout the quest.
  • Politically Incorrect Villain: In addition to her past crime of destroying Gurabad, Liloupar treats every Eremite she meets with racist contempt, using borderline slurs such as "slave" or "sand licking lackey".
  • Power at a Price: Liloupar had warned Ormazd that her blessings came "at the price of sharp retribution". When he became a tyrant king, she took revenge and plotted his demise and the ruination of his family and kingdom.
  • Roaring Rampage of Revenge: Her reason for orchestrating the fall of Gurabad.
  • Sealed Evil in a Six Pack: Her soul was split into 7 parts and those fragments were sealed in different areas of the Desert of Hadramaveth.
  • Shrouded in Myth: Between the thousands of years from the fall of Gurabad to the present day where the Jinn are Sumeru's fantastical race with the least interaction with humans (The only known Jinni which isn't a historical figure is Dori's Jinni), the truth about Liloupar has been distorted by fear and hearsay. When Liloupar binds herself to the Traveler, Jeht worries for them because the various things that she was taught about Liloupar and the Jinn are only partially true or close to superstition.
    Jeht: Don't worry, I've covered my ears!...The books say that the words of the Jinn have magic in them, and that their stories have the power to lay curses!
  • Soul Jar: Though she once had a human form, when the Traveler meets her, she is simply two glowing orbs in a bottle.
  • Soul Fragment: Her soul was split into seven fragments and imprisoned in different locations as punishment from King Deshret for orchestrating the fall of Gurabad. A portion of the Dirge of Bilqis world quest involves the Traveler traveling to recover her soul parts.
  • Inconsistent Spelling: The in-game book The Tale of Shiruyeh and Shirin spells her name as Liloufar with a "f" instead of a "p".
  • Took a Level in Kindness: When she is first found by the Traveler and Jeht in the Dirge of Bilqis world quest, Liloupar is an absolute Jerkass who casually throws racist insults at everyone she meets. As the quest progresses, Liloupar treats Jeht in a more respectful way, and even dispenses occasional wisdom.
  • The Unapologetic: She contemptuously asserts that she did no wrong when Paimon asks if she's going back to Gurabad to make amends for her crimes.
  • Voluntary Shape Shifter: Upon meeting the Traveler, Liloupar laments that she is unable to shape shift into A Form You Are Comfortable With due to her punishment.

    Parvez 

Kisra Parvez AKA Parvezravan, Spirit of Victory

The second ruler of Gurabad and Shirin's husband and brother.
  • Arranged Marriage: Ormazd offered Shirin's hand in marriage to Kirsa after the latter proved to be of great help with his conquests, as according to Liloupar's plan.
  • Awful Wedded Life: Kisra wasn't in love with Shirin and only stayed to maintain his authority. Eventually Shirin became so twisted by her hatred of him that she encouraged their son to commit Patricide.
  • Brother–Sister Incest: His wife Shirin was his older sister as they were both Liloupar's children.
  • Demihuman: As Liloupar's son, he shares Jinni heritage with Shirin, though it is unknown whether he had a biological human father or was independently spawned.
  • Interspecies Adoption: He was raised by a divine giant bird named Ghoghnus.
  • Long-Lost Relative: Invoked Trope by Liloupar so that Ormazd would offer Shirin's hand in marriage to Kirsa once he established himself as a capable hero, and unlike other examples of this trope, they never seemed to find out.
  • Lost Orphaned Royalty: It turns out that Liloupar was his mother, and had left him with Ghoghnus to bring him in later as part of her revenge against Ormazd.
  • No Historical Figures Were Harmed: Kisra Parvez is the Arabic version of the name of the historical Sassanian king Khosrow Parviz, and both men were known for their numerous successful conquests, having wives named Shirin, and being overthrown by their sons. However, Khosrow and Shirin is immortalised in classical Persian literature as having a loving relationship, while Kisra's marriage with Shirin was a loveless one.
  • Royal Inbreeding: Parvezravan had a son, Shiruyeh, from his union with Shirin.
  • Self-Fulfilling Prophecy: As Liloupar had prophesized that Shiruyeh would be "an ill omen upon the king's land", Parvezravan exiled him to prevent him from becoming a threat, but of course Shiruyeh ended up coming back to overthrow him, as well as leading his followers and Gurabad to their ruin, all according to Liloupar's plan.
  • Separated at Birth: Invoked Trope by Liloupar so that Ormazd never knew about her maternal relation to Kisra and by extension relation to Shirin as a half-sibling.
  • Uncertain Doom: The Tale of Shiruyeh and Shirin claims that he was a victim of Patricide, but Liloupar remembers him turning into a dark monster.
  • Unwitting Pawn: Liloupar birthed him with the sole purpose of manipulating him to carry out her revenge against her husband. She sent him away to be adopted by her husband and wed to his half-sister, then when he became king, she enacted a long-running scheme to nurture a rebellion against him, resulting in him being overthrown by his son.

    Ormazd 

Ormazd Shah

Gurabad's first ruler and husband of Liloupar.
  • Drunk with Power: Liloupar saw him as pure when she first fell in love with him. As time went on, he became more and more hedonistic, corrupt and tyrannical.
  • Explosive Breeder: If the in-game book The Tale of Shiruyeh and Shirin is accurate, he had 300 children other than Shirin.
  • From Nobody to Nightmare: He was once a young shepherd but rose to become a tyrant king.
  • Inter Species Romance: He, a human, fell in love and married Liloupar, a Jinni.
  • Ironic Name: Ormazd is an alternate name of Ahura Mazda, the chief god and god of wisdom in Zoroastrianism, from which the Greek translation Oromasdes was derived from. Coincidentally, this is the same source of Nahida's constellation Sapientia Oromasdes ("The Wisdom of Ahura Mazda"). However, his leadership was anything but "wise".
  • Laser-Guided Karma: From Liloupar's perspective, since he had risen to the throne of vassal-king with her help then betrayed the faith she had placed in him, it was justice that she took all that she gave him away until none remember any of the good that he did and his name returned to its humble origins.
  • No Historical Figures Were Harmed: Ormazd is based on the Sasanian King Hormizd IV (also known as Orhmazd IV). Like his namesake, he was involved in numerous wars and eventually overthrown through assassination, with his throne succeeded by Kisra Parvez.
  • Power at a Price: Ormazd united desert tribes and became the vassal-king of his god Deshret with the help of Liloupar's power. She had previously warned him that her blessings came "at the price of sharp retribution", and sure enough, when he ignored her warnings and became a tyrant, she turned on him and brought ruination to himself, his family and his kingdom.

    Shirin 

Shirin

Daughter of Ormazd Shah and Liloupar, and the second queen of Gurabad. She, alongside her mother Liloupar and her son Shiruyeh are the figures behind the destruction of Gurabad.
  • Arranged Marriage: Ormazd offered Shirin's hand in marriage to Kirsa after the latter proved to be of great help with his conquests, as according to Liloupar's plan.
  • Awful Wedded Life: Her marriage to Parvezravan was far from the loving relationship that she had desired and thought she would eventually enjoy since young, and she was also forced by him to produce mindless and malformed Jinn to power machines that made him rich. The resentment stemming from their unhappy marriage would later lead her to convince her son to kill her husband.
  • Brother–Sister Incest: Her husband Parvezravan was her brother from her mother Liloupar.
  • Driven to Madness: Being unknowingly condemned her to a life of no joy and resentment to the point of mass murder due to her mother's machinations naturally didn't do wonders for Shirin's mental health, and Liloupar comments that "madness became (her) refuge".
  • Even Evil Has Loved Ones: Her son was perhaps the only one in her family that she has a harmonious and positive relationship with, though it's one-sided on her part.
  • Half-Human Hybrid: Shirin's blood is part-human, part-Jinn because of Liloupar's romance.
  • No Historical Figures Were Harmed: Shirin (شیرین) is named after the most influential wife of the Sassanian king Khosrow II (whom Kisra Parvez was named after), who is also titular love interest from the classic Persian tragic romance story ''Khosrow and Shirin''. However, Genshin's Shirin's loveless marriage with Kisra differs from the classical poem's Shirin, who endured countless tribulations to be with Khosrow.
  • One-Steve Limit: Averted. There is a Forest Ranger NPC also named Shirin stationed at Gandharva Ville. No relation.
  • Patricide: She killed her father, then encouraged her son to kill his father.
  • True Blue Femininity: The cover of 'The Tale of Shiruyeh and Shirin'' depicts her as a woman in blue with blue bejewelled earrings.
  • Royal Inbreeding: She married Parvezravan, her half-brother, and had her son Shiruyeh from their union.
  • Unwitting Pawn: As it turns out, Shirin was manipulated by her mother to be the main cause behind the series of events that would lead to the fall of Gurabad.
  • Villainous Mother-Son Duo: Shirin, alongside her son Shiruyeh (& Liloupar) are the historical figures behind the fall of Gurabad.
  • Villainous Princess: Plotted to poison her family as princess before taking over as queen.

    Shiruyeh 

Shiruyeh aka Khorramdin

Son of Kisra Parvez (Parvezravan). He was the last king of Gurabad.
  • Cool Mask: When he went into exile, he was forced to wear a brass mask which became associated with him. His supporters also wore brass masks during their uprising against Parvezravan.
  • Emissary from the Divine: Inverted. He was styled as the emissary of the Goddess of Flowers to gather support for his rebellion, although she was long dead at that point and thus didn't actually send anyone.
  • The Exile: Was exiled by his father upon reaching adulthood to prevent him from becoming a threat to his rule. It did not work.
  • No Historical Figures Were Harmed:
    • Shiruyeh is named after the prince Shiroyeh (based on the Sasanian King Kavad II, birth name Sheroe) from the classic Persian tragic romance story ''Khosrow and Shirin''. Like his namesake, he staged a coup against his father and committed Patricide, then took over the throne briefly and had a plague named after him that killed many of Gurabad's citizens.
    • His revolutionary name Khorramdin is based on Babak Khorramdin, a historical Iranian revolutionary leader.
  • Not Quite Human: As a descendant of Liloupar, he also has Jinni heritage, though the exact percentage is ambiguous.
  • Patricide: 'The Tale of Shiruyeh and Shirin'' claims that encouraged by his mother, he led a rebellion to overthrow his father and killed him, though it is unclear whether this was truly the case as Liloupar only remembers his father turning into a "dark monster".
  • Royal Inbreeding: Was the product of Brother–Sister Incest between Shirin and Parvezravan.
  • Villainous Mother-Son Duo: Shiruyeh, along with his mother, Shirin were the figures contributing to the fall of Gurabad.

Post-King Deshret's Civilization

    Badanah 

King Badanah

There was a decadent king of the Great Red Sand civilization sometime after The Scarlet King's Death. He was a descendant of Zumurud, the Verdant Lord.
  • Ambiguous Situation: Due to how little is known about him, it's unclear just how bad of a ruler he was before he was assassinated by Faramarz and Makhaira, who claimed that his rule would lead to the downfall of the kingdom. This is only further muddled by an inscription that praised Badanah, claiming he was wiser than Muzzudin.
  • Big, Screwed-Up Family: And how. His son, Faramarz, plotted his assassination with Badanah's concubine Makhaira, usurping the throne after it was successfully executed, and would later go on to himself be betrayed by Badanah's 14 other brothers who attempted to claim the throne for themselves.
  • The Hedonist: He indulges food, wine, hunting, conquest, and women which included Makhaira.

    The Nameless Prince 

Faramarz

Son of King Badanah who once fell in love with Makhairah, his father's concubine.
  • Ambiguous Situation: After repeatedly refusing to heed the huntress of Dharma Forests' warning, he encountered the "teachings of death" and met his end, though how he died exactly isn't clear. It's speculated that he succumbed to the effects of The Withering or some other Abyss-related force.
  • The Exile: He was exiled at least three times during his life. The third time stuck, and he would eventually die in exile after repeatedly trying to conquer Dharma Forest.
  • Hero Killer: Was hired to murder Xiphos and succeeded, leading to the downfall of Tulaytullah.
  • Irony: Faramarz conspired to kill his father, king Badanah, to prevent the fall of Tulaytullah while under his reign. However, years later, after being exiled, Faramarz would come to bear a grudge against both the kingdom and its protector, Xiphos, killing the latter and causing the downfall of the kingdom himself.
  • Meaningful Name: He shares his name with Faramarz, a character from the Shahnameh, an epic about Persian mythological history.
  • The Kingslayer: Conspired with Makhaira to assassinate Badanah, who was also his father, and framed it to look like an accident.
  • Posthumous Character: He met his end by mysterious means in Dharma Forest several thousand years before the Sumeru main story took place, though his story can be found throughout the game.
  • Riches to Rags: Several times. He was a prince that took the throne after Makhaira successfully assassinated his father, but abdicated the throne to his uncle Balash due to being too young to rule. Goraz eventually raised an army and killed Balash to reinstate Faramarz, but took the throne from Faramarz in order to claim it for himself, along with Makhaira as his queen, and exiled Faramarz. After Goraz's execution, Faramarz would reclaim the throne two more times before being deposed one final time and was exiled with little wealth.
  • Til Murder Do Us Part: Assassinated his wife and queen, Makhaira, after growing wary of her conflicting loyalties.
  • Villain of Another Story: He was a Hero Killer in Xiphos's story because he ended his life.
  • Young and in Charge: While his exact age wasn't specified, it's stated that he was "relatively young" when he ascended the throne following his father's assassination, and Makhaira as his queen-regent took a more active role in meeting with their retainers to discuss the affairs of state in his stead.

    Makhaira 

Makhaira

The concubine of King Badanah who is known for sword dancing. She was Faramarz's lover.
  • BFS: She was the wielder of Makhaira's Aquamarine.
  • Dance Battler: She was the wielder of Makhaira Aquamarine and incorporated dancing into her fighting techniques, having learned her seven-fold sword dance from her Jinni mother.
  • Chronic Backstabbing Disorder: Strongly implied to be her mode of conduct, as Faramarz assassinated her due to her tendency to align with whoever would keep her on the throne at the time, implying disloyalty to him despite being his lover.
  • Hot Consort: Was one to Badanah, Faramarz, and Goraz.
  • Interspecies Romance: Her mother was a Jinni, implying she's either fully or half Jinni, and she had many human lovers throughout her life.
  • Irony: Makhaira conspired to kill king Badanah to prevent the fall of Tulaytullah. However, years later, her actions would, directly and indirectly, contribute to the kingdom's downfall.
  • Karma Houdini Warranty: Assassinated Badanah so that Faramarz could ascend to the throne and Goraz to appease the rebellion. Faramarz would later assassinate her after he grew wary of her tendency to align with whoever was on the throne at the time.
  • The Kingslayer: After agreeing that his greed and self-indulgence would destroy the kingdom, she drew up a plan to assassinate vassal king Badanah with Faramarz and slew him with her sword dance, framing it to look like an accident.
  • Love Interest: She was one to quite a few people. Some accounts say she was one to Xiphos before she became a court dancer and concubine to Badanah. She was also one to Faramarz, Badanah's son. After Goraz, Faramarz's uncle, claimed the throne for himself and exiled Faramarz, he claimed her as his queen.
  • Meaningful Name: "Makhaira" (μάχαιρα) is an Ancient Greek term used to refer to single-edged blades, although it was used to refer to blades of any size.
  • Motive Decay: While she initially conspired to assassinate the hedonistic king Badanah to prevent the ruin of the kingdom, she would later use the same method for the purpose of remaining in power, readily slaying kings that ascended the throne beside her to appease the rebellion. Faramarz ends up assassinating her because of her disloyalty.
  • Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: While it's debatable how heroic she was, especially in her later years, the fall of Tulaytullah, her original home, and the death of Xiphos, a former lover of hers, were both directly and indirectly the results of her actions.
  • Posthumous Character: She was assassinated by Faramarz a few thousand years before the Sumeru main story takes place, but her story is still told through several weapon descriptions.

    Xiphos 

Xiphos

The crown-prince of the lost myriad kingdoms in the Great Red Sand. His mother disguised him as a servant, burning his Royal garb, including the crown. He is the wielder of the sword that is host of the bloodthirsty Jinni.
  • Blood Knight: Both Xiphos and the nameless Jinni of moonlight that dwelled in his blade.
  • Cool Sword: His signature weapon, dubbed Xiphos' Moonlight, which hosts a bloodthirsty Jinni that sharpened his blade with every battle. He was also the wielder of the Key of Khaj-Nisut, which existed as proof of his heritage and is the key to unlocking the Eternal Oasis.
  • King Incognito: Or prince, in his case. His mother disguised him as a servant and burned his royal garb to protect him from his kingdom's destruction. The only thing he had left as proof of his heritage was the Key of Khaj-Nisut, which was also one of the keys required to unlock the Eternal Oasis.
  • Love Interest: According to some lore, he was Makhaira's lover before she became a court dancer for Badanah.
  • Meaningful Name: He's named for xiphos (ξίφος), a type of double-edged, one-handed straight sword used by the ancient Greeks.
  • Posthumous Character: He was slain by a fallen prince, presumed to be Faramarz, the son of Badanah and Makhaira's second lover, a few thousand years before the time Sumeru's main story takes place, but his story is told through the descriptions of the weapons he once wielded.
  • Red Baron: He was known as Blade of Tulaytullah, and for good reason, as he was the kingdom's protector. After his death, Tulaytullah withered away without his protection.
  • Riches to Rags: Became a wanderer for some years after the destruction of his kingdom before his master, the Old Blind Poet, sent him on a journey to reach his of reuniting the desert people.

Cataclysm Period

    Abbas 

Abbas

Abbas, referred to as Specimen IV by the unnamed doctor, was one of the patients of Eleazar Hospital in Dar al-Shifa. He is the only known escapee, having tunnelled his way to freedom from underground.
  • Uncertain Doom: After he finally managed to escape the Eleazar Hospital, his fate remains unknown.
  • Unwitting Test Subject: He was one of the unnamed doctor's "specimens", and was treated with samples of his fellow patients for his Eleazar.

Alternative Title(s): Genshin Impact Eremites

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