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Narzissenkreuz Institute

An orphanage built over ruins of an ancient civilisation that shut down during the Cataclysm. Many of the orphans that lived within it would become major members of Fontainian society. Most of the World Quests in Fontaine reveal the past of the institute as well as much of the aftermath involved for its members.

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Past

In General

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/image_2023_11_09_230844506.png

Foreground, from left to right: Alain, Mary-Ann, Basil, Jakob, Rene. Background: Lyris.

Alice Allusion:
- The second act of Ann of the Narzissenkreuz is called "Kingdom through the Looking-Glass". In addition, after completing In the Wake of Narcissus, a number of interactables called "Looking-Glass" can be used as portals to enter the dimension inside the Book of Revealing.
- Basil's generation used to play knights and dragons like the most recent generation, and their dragon was called Jabberwock.
- Mary-Ann is the name of the White Rabbit's housemaid, who Alice gets mistaken for in the original book. This references the multiple Anns that appear during the quests. To further emphasise on the reference, an In-Universe book refers to a "Liddell" who gets mistaken for Mary-Ann.
- Annapausis is a realm of talking animals who say nonsensical things, just like Wonderland. It is also an escapist dream world.
- Alain's title as given to him by the Narzissenkreuz Ordo is "White Cavalier from Protection", a reference to the White Knight from ''Through the Looking-Glass".
- There is a caterpillar character in Wonderland.
- Annapausis is sheltered from the passage of time, as "Mary-Ann" wishes that the stories and tea parties from the time of the Narzissenkreuz Institute never end. In the Narzissenkreuz Adventure, the princess' treasure is said to be "Time". All that alludes to the Mad Hatter's never-ending tea party.
Brother–Sister Team: Alain and Mary-Ann worked together as Maréchaussée Phantom agents.
Doomed Hometown: The Narzissenkreuz Institute was flooded during the Cataclysm, which prompted Basil to separate the children and send them off with different adoptive parents. One of them was the adventurer Karl Ingold, who took his adoptive children to Sumeru... where the children would discover a world formula predicting the apocalypse, kickstarting the tragic tale of the Childhood Friends.
Early-Bird Cameo: The Institute was first mentioned in the Nymph's Dream artifact set released in 3.6, and René and Jakob were mentioned in a quest item from the same patch.
Fairytale Motifs: In-Universe. The children of the Narzissenkreuz Institute would roleplay as heroic knights, princesses and evil dragons. Alain usually played the hero, while René played the dragon. As adults, Alain ended up confronting René due to the latter's crimes, and the Nymph's Dream artifact set likens them to the roles they used to play as kids.
Flower Motifs: The name of the orphanage translates to "narcissus cross". Narcissus, also known as daffodil, symbolises rebirth and new beginnings. In the Narzissenkreuz world quests and lore, those themes are very prevalent. Rene had himself be reborn as the Hydro Tulpa Narzissenkreuz, Mary-Ann and Lyris merged to become one new entity. The flower is also named after Narcissus, a man from Classical Mythology who was cursed to only love himself and stare at his reflection all day long, eventually drowning himself. Being trapped in dreams and delusions is another theme of the Narzissenkreuz world quests, as shown by the Dream Land of Annapausis as well as Narzissenkreuz's delusions about being the world's saviour.
Generation Xerox: When Basil Elton, Emanuel Guillotin, Karl Ingold and Dwight Lasker were at the Narzissenkreuz Institute, they would play pretend, with Emanuel acting as the knight and Karl as the dragon. The next generation of children at the orphanage would play the same game, with Alain being the knight and René being the dragon. Alain and Mary-Ann would end up under Emanuel's custody, while René and Jakob under Karl's.
Magic Versus Science: René and Alain are both Child Prodigy geniuses, one practicing magic and esotericism, the other researching mechanics and engineering using hard logic.
- René's magic was based on the power of will and imagination as well as emphasised on the separation between body and soul. He sought to extract the will from the body using various rituals, including some using the power of Oceanids and Primordial Seawater. Meanwhile, Alain sought to replicate human consciousnesses with logic trees and Artificial Intelligence.
- René founded a secretive cult called the Narzissenkreuz Ordo that would be defeated by the Maréchaussée Phantom. In contrast to the Ordo, the organisation that Alain founded, the Fontaine Research Institute of Kinetic Energy, had a lasting impact on Fontainian society and remains a major institute to this day.
- The two clashed as "knight" and "fell dragon" after Alain was horrified with what René had done to Carter using Abyssal power, though René also described Alain as a psychopath due to his cold logic:
That guy only likes things he can figure out completely. If this were a novel, he might be the type of villain who becomes a crazed serial killer just to figure out how the human body works. But he doesn't seem even remotely phased about such statements. On the contrary, he spoke to us about the similarities and differences between humans and machines, and between artificial intelligence and personality. Uh-oh, this is bad, at this rate he might really turn into a villain like that...
Named After Somebody Famous:
- The Guillotins are named after Joseph-Ignace Guillotin, a man who fought for humane methods of execution and became the namesake of the guillotine, a contraption now heavily associated with France.
- Alain's name most likely comes from Alan Turing, the father of computer science, as Alain Guillotin invented "thinking machines" (or artificial intelligence).
- René shares his first name with René Descartes, a French philosopher who was a strong proponent of body/mind dualism. René de Petrichor's theories also had a heavy emphasis on the "extraction of the will".
No Historical Figures Were Harmed: There exists a book series In-Universe called "Great Detective Hurlock". The villains are the Liliacruces Ordo (meaning "lily cross", mirroring Narzissenkreuz meaning "narcissus cross"), and one of their members is called "Miss Jacoba".
Odd Name Out: "Narzissenkreuz" is the only German name in Fontaine (which is primarily French but has the occasional Italian or British) as of version 4.2 (other than Melusine names as their names come from fairies and water spirits of all sorts of European cultures). The reason for that is the fact that the orphanage was built on the ruins of an ancient civilisation, though the architecture of the Institute looks Remurian, while the ancient civilisation that uses German names is Khaenri'ah.
Orphanage of Love: Their time at the Narzissenkreuz Institute are the children's happiest memories.
Picnic Episode: At some point, Carter and Mary-Ann organised for the rest of the ground what was officially a field research trip to Petrichor, but was actually an excuse to get the researchers to go outside. Rene and Alain did stumble across some ruins related to the Golden Troupe though, resulting in Carter lamenting that they still ended up doing research.
Siblings in Crime: René and Jakob ran a cult and performed dangerous experiments together.

Staff

Basil

Basil Elton

An orphan raised in the Narzissenkreuz Institute. As an adult, she became the Admiral of the Fontainian Navy, and returned to the orphanage as its Vice-Director after retirement.

Defector from Decadence: Following the Siege of Poisson, she retired from the navy out of disapproval for the Court of Fontaine's actions. However, during the genuine crisis that was the Cataclysm, she returned to her post to defend Fontaine from Elynas.
Gender-Blender Name: "Basil" is a masculine first name.
Horrible Judge of Character: Downplayed. While it is understandable that Basil would entrust the children to her two closest friends, they were questionable picks, as neither were particularly mentally well following the Siege of Poisson. Emanuel Guillotin was described to wish to have no dealings with anyone, and Karl Ingold somehow believed the Girdle of the Sands, a Rifthound-infested location that is the source of the Cataclysm, would be a suitable expedition location for the children under his care.
Lethal Chef: Downplayed. In her youth as well as her early days as Vice-Director, she was terrible at baking, but later managed to hone her skills for the children under her care. Her past bad cooking remains notorious however, as Carter compares her cake to punishment and expresses disbelief when the quartet of the younger generation fondly reminisces of her baking, and Emanuel Guillotin showed suspicion when she said she'll cook when returning from her fight against Elynas.
Religious and Mythological Theme Naming: Her name comes from the Cthulhu Mythos, in particular, the protagonist of The White Ship.
Retired Badass: During the Cataclysm, Basil came out of retirement, returning to her post in the Fontainian Navy and leading her ship, the Sponsian, to fight Elynas. She defeated the beast, albeit dying with him.
Signature Headgear: Basil always had a green feather pinned to her hat, which she confided to Jakob before leaving to fight Elynas.

Lyris (Unmarked Spoilers)

Lyris, the Red Empress

A kind but rather stupid Oceanid who was the Director of the Narzissenkreuz Institute. Rene later convinced her to join the Narzissenkreuz Ordo under the title of Red Empress. She was a core member of the cult, in charge of dissolving people using her Oceanid powers.

Authority in Name Only: Lyris was the Director of the Narzissenkreuz Institute, but since she was The Ditz, it was actually the Vice-Director Basil who handled most of the affairs of the orphanage.
Deadly Euphemism: Inverted, but downplayed. Her title of Red Empress, according to Caterpillar, is because she "took heads". The truth was less gory: she simply dissolved people.
The Ditz: Seymour notes that her intelligence was below average for an Oceanid, hence why she was relegated to being an orphanage director (in order to spread Egeria's love) rather than in charge of intel gathering like more powerful Oceanids. According to artifact lore, on Mary-Ann's first day, Lyris "was even less sure of what to do than the little girl" and ended up giving her a hug that soaked her clothes.
Good Cannot Comprehend Evil: Even though she was one of the most vital members of the Narzissenkreuz Ordo, she simply wished to help her children René and Jakob and be with them, ultimately wanting to go back to the simpler times of the Institute.
I Will Wait for You: Waited for her children in the flooded ruins of the Narzissenkreuz Institute after the Cataclysm, failing to comprehend why everyone had left as she did not understand causality. Eventually, René and Jakob did return and find her, and she became the Red Empress of the Ordo.
Murder Water: Was an Oceanid tasked with dissolving people for Narzissenkreuz Ordo.
Obliviously Evil: While a core member of the Narzissenkreuz Ordo, she never realised what anything she did was wrong.
Red Baron: When René found her again at the ruins of the Institute after the Cataclysm, she is said to have turned red, most likely from The Corruption since she went to fight the Abyss at Sumeru. That earned her the title of Red Empress within the Narzissenkreuz Ordo.

Orphans

Alain

Alain Guillotin

The original creator of the Clockwork Mekas and the Arkhe System five-hundred years ago, and a former member of the Narzissenkreuz Institute before its disbandment. He was also member of the Institute of Natural Philosophy, a Marechaussee Hunter, and would later go on to found the Fontaine Research Institute of Kinetic Energy Engineering.

Absent-Minded Professor: Alain was known to be a typical antisocial genius. While at the Institute of Natural Philosophy, he was viewed as arrogant and aloof by others. He was notably very forgetful about anything not related to his research, even his close ones, as demonstrated by an Ancient Log written by him found within the ruins of the Institute.
...
Researched primenergy machines.
My adoptive father visited, but I was too busy to host him.
Ann scolded me. I'll remember to apologize next time I see him.

...
On the threshold of a major breakthrough.
Assistant took the day off. I was too busy to visit. Ann scolded me. I'll go tomorrow.
...
On the threshold of a major breakthrough.
Forgot about the visit, am sorry. Will invite everyone to go with me.
Ambiguous Situation: It is said that after he retired from the Fontaine Research Institute and isolated himself in his workshop, he continued focusing on his research, although the product of it was never published and only the traces left behind suggest that he built something.
Beige Prose: Alain writes in very brief and straightforward sentences in his logs as shown above, in sharp contrast to both Carter's log and René's Enigmatic Pages. In particular, he mostly writes factual observations, with the most emotion expressed being limited to phrases such as "am sorry" or "a pain".
The Cameo: He made a brief appearance in Neuvillette's story quest cutscene, talking with Seymour just before his final confrontation with Jakob and Rene in Elynas.
Childhood Friends: With Mary-Ann, Rene and Jakob, having grown up together in the Narzissenkreuz Institute before its disbandment.
Child Prodigy: He enrolled into the Institute of Natural Philosophy to pursue mechanical research and was hailed as a child prodigy, making his peers envious of him.
Follow the Leader: In-Universe example. His creations inspired Fontaine engineers to develop artificial intelligence, though none of them were ever successful.
Foolish Sibling, Responsible Sibling: With Mary-Ann. While a genius, Alain had zero emotional intelligence or social skills, and had to constantly be reminded of the most basic social norms by his sister.
Gadgeteer Genius: He is primarily the reason Fontaine functions as it does with its technological advancements, being the creator of kinetic cores, clockwork mechanisms, and the Arkhe System. He also created Seymour, aka Prototype 4ACV07, a mechanical assistant that resembles a dog but can allegedly simulate genuine intelligence.
Humble Hero: Downplayed, as Alain is more indifferent than humble. He never patented his work because he found the process to be too annoying, and never really tried or cared to make his significant achievements known. A log can be found in the Institute of Natural Philosophy in which a researcher stated they could have patented Pneumousia-powered Meka and claimed the credit under their name (which would have been very lucrative) but refused to. In addition, Alain's other significant achievement, the Artificial Intelligence Seymour (who is still functional 493 years later), is considered a myth in Fontaine.
Ironic Nickname: "White Cavalier of Protection" is ironic, since Alain, despite being hailed as a hero by Fontaine, failed to protect the most important thing to him, his sister.
Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Downplayed, since Alain wasn't actively a jerk, but his lack of social skills gave people that impression. Regardless, he cared deeply for others.
- Alain initially described Carter as unreliable since he caused accidents, but was shown to have been very lenient with him, even refusing to move his lab out of consideration for Carter who might not find it. Most importantly, he completely broke his relation to René and Jakob after their failed treatment of Carter. It is implied that the humanoid Clockwork Meka in Fontaine were named in remembrance of Carter, since later researchers commented on the impracticality of a humanoid shape for the meka.
- The flavour text of the Deepwater Assault Mek mentions Basil Elton's battle against Elynas, and that the designer hoped that in the case of another sea monster attack, underwater meka would be able to reduce the cost of human lives. This shows that Alain, just like the others, reminisces about the times of the Narzissenkreuz Institute and grieves for the Vice-Director.
Married to the Job: He was a described as a rigid person that only cared about his research. This would continue even into his old after after his retirement, as he isolated himself and continued focusing on his until his death.
Nepotism: While Alain's position at the Institute of Natural Philosophy was definitely earned, but people envious of him could definitely have felt this was the case, since it was Alain's adopted father Emanuel Guillotin who had recommended his son to the director of the Institute, Dwight Lasker, who he was Childhood Friends with.
No Social Skills: Thanks to dedicating and immersing himself in research, he lacks social norms when interacting with others and is described as being antisocial because of it.
Posthumous Character: He's long dead by the start of the game.
Pyrrhic Victory: He managed to stop Rene and Jakob's plans during their final confrontation inside Elynas, but he lost his sister in the process. He'd proceed to establish the Fontaine Research Institute of Kinetic Engineering and spend the rest of his life doing research, but the fact that he never published the result of his researches implied that he took the loss of his sister and friends badly.
Red Baron: He is known as the "Lord-Artificer."
Significant Name Shift: In the Wake of Narcissus questchain, Jakob and Narzissenkreuz refer to him by Last-Name Basis, signifying the broken friendship. There are a few times when Alain is referred to by first name however, notably, that is when the childhood times at the Institute are brought up.
The Smart Guy: He was a genius inventor that invented many of the mechanisms that still exist in Fontaine today, as well as being the inventor of the Arkhe system, which powers all of these machines. He's also claimed to have had an interest in studying Ruin Machines and technology from the time of King Deshret, though it's unclear whether this influenced his own inventions or if he came to understand them before the people of the nations from which they originated could.
Sole Survivor: Inverted. Out of the four Narzissenkreuz kids, Alain is the only one to have not achieved some kind of immortality or rebirth (Jakob became an Iniquitous Baptist, Rene became the Hydro Tulpa Narzissenkreuz and Mary-Ann was fused into the Oceanid Lyris), as he is said to have remained a human and died of old age.
We Used to Be Friends: With Rene and Jakob.

Carter

Carter Scherbius

An older child at the Narzissenkreuz Institute, who later became Alain's assistant at the Institute of Natural Philosophy.

Body Horror: After René attempted to use Abyssal magic to save him, his bodily tissues collapsed, but he remained alive and capable of screaming. In order to comfort Jakob who was distraught by the screams of pain, René cut Carter's vocal cords, but they grew back in three days.
Commonality Connection: As he couldn't understand the more intelligent people at the Institute of Natural Philosophy, Alain and René in particular, Carter turned to Jakob, forming a bond with him. Carter did write however that he felt ashamed as an adult to need to seek comfort from a child.
Delicate and Sickly: He suffered from a terminal illness, spending most of his time on sick leave.
The Ditz: Carter was described as stupid by both René and other members of the Institute of Natural Philosophy. It is unclear if Carter is indeed stupid, or if he was simply in an environment consisting of people with above-average intelligence.
Due to the Dead: Alain named the Assault Specialist Mek after him.
Fate Worse than Death: René attempted to cure Carter with Abyssal magic just like he did with Jakob. It went very wrong, and Carter was turned into an abomination. This caused Alain to sever ties with René and Jakob, leaving the Institute of Natural Philosophy to join the Maréchaussée Hunters with his sister.
The Klutz: Very early on, Carter caused a Primal Construct in Alain's lab to reactivate. Though it is also possible that Carter's unstated illness is Eleazar, which would explain his clumsiness.
Surrounded by Smart People: Carter wrote in his records that he often had trouble understanding Alain and Rene whenever the two were discussing research. However, Alain did cherish Carter despite the latter's lack of smarts and frequent absence due to his illness. He was also the one who came up with many of the original ideas behind Alain's creations, the best example being "thinking machines".

Jakob (Unmarked Spoilers)

Jakob Ingold, né Baker

A former member of the Narzissenkreuz Institute and Narzissenkreuz Ordo, Jakob was born with a special constitution that allowed him to survive the consumption of Elynas' blood, transcending beyond humanity in the process. He became the model case for Rene's plan to create transcended "neohumans", though it'd later become apparent that he is the exception, and not the norm.

All for Nothing: Jakob sacrifices himself to awaken Narzissenkreuz and dies crushed under the falling Doomsday Clock. But Narzissenkreuz is defeated and admits his wrongs, following the group back to Annapausis. Jakob is never brought up again in the remainder of the quest, and Narzissenkreuz does not acknowledge his most devoted follower's efforts.
Big Brother Worship: Towards Rene, his adopted older brother. Funnily enough, the worship later becomes more literal as Jakob completes René's attempt to be reborn as a water elemental and gives him the name Narzissenkreuz, thus creating a literal god worshipped by the Ordo.
Childhood Friends: With Alain, Mary-Ann and Rene, having grown up together in the Narzissenkreuz Institute before its disbandment.
Complexity Addiction: His plan to get Elynas' blood involved him pretending to befriend Mamere while "hiring" Irus' Eremite squad to harass her. Since Mamere was already shown to trust him and call him a friend, believing that he was one of the few who understood her art, it couldn't have been too hard for Jakob to just ask her for paint directly.
Death from Above: Dies crushed by the Doomsday Clock of the Ordo as it falls after striking midnight.
The Dragon: To Rene. As a child, Jakob would usually play the wicked mage who assisted the fell dragon Narcissus (played by Rene). In the Narzissenkreuz Ordo, Jakob was the "number two", right under his brother, the cult leader.
Even Evil Has Loved Ones: Jakob did not wish to confront the Guillotin siblings at Elynas. Even though Mary-Ann became his enemy, he was devastated when she died, and blamed her death on Seymour.
Evil Is Petty: In addition to never having stopped blaming Basil Elton for dying, well into his adulthood, as well as his Never My Fault tendencies (see below), Jakob insults Caterpillar during battle, saying that the latter has had no signs of "metamorphosis" and will return to the void, having no place in the new world. This contrasts with how Narzissenkreuz comments on Cater's progress after defeat.
Greater-Scope Villain: Jakob's original research into the Primordial Sea was later improved upon by Marcel/Vacher so he could produce Sinthe and continue killing young women in Fontaine for twenty years until he got caught and later killed by the end of Act II of the Fontaine Archon Quest.
Grew a Spine: Villainous example. After René failed his attempt to be reborn through water, leaving Jakob alone for the first time in his life, Jakob had to maintain the illusion that all was going well to the rest of the Ordo all while saving René in secret. This leads Jakob to dissolve several Ordo members who discovered the truth, firmly cementing Jakob as a villain in his own right, rather than a crybaby simply following his brother's bad influence.
He Knows Too Much: After René failed his attempt to be reborn via water, Jakob lied to the rest of the Ordo while trying to bring back René. When some members of the Ordo found out, Jakob dissolved them and used them for experiments. One such victim was Mr. Eliphas, who can be found in the skies of Fontaine and fought for an achievement.
How Dare You Die on Me!: He refers to Basil's death to Elynas as her abandoning the orphanage children. This grudge still persists to the present day, as upon seeing the photo of the Narzissenkreuz Institute members, he names everyone in the picture, except for Basil who he ignores completely.
Immortal Immaturity: He has lived for more than 500 years, remaining an unhealthily fanatical worshipper of Narzissenkreuz throughout that time. In addition, even after 500 years, he still harbours grudges against Basil Elton (as a child, he interpreted her death as abandoning the children) and Seymour (for Mary-Ann's death).
In-Series Nickname: He is called "Purple Dude" and "Purple Guy" both in Ancient Colours and Search in the Algae Sea.
Jerkass to One: To two specifically, Seymour and Caterpillar. After his true nature is revealed in Elynas, he continues to be polite, until he insults Seymour, calling the mechanical dog "piece of soulless crap". Later, in the fight in the Ordo's room, when Seymour and Caterpillar arrive, he continues to call the former Just a Machine and comments that Cater is a monster bereft of memory and wisdom. This continues after Jakob is beaten up.
Just a Machine: How Jakob views Seymour, calling the latter a "piece of soulless crap".
Manipulative Bastard: He used Mamere's wish for people to understand her art so that he could claim them for a sinister plot. He also hires some Eremites with no intention of actually rewarding them.
Mirror Character: To Vacher, as both dissolved people as experiments in order to bring back a loved one. In fact, Vacher would stumble upon Jakob's notes, giving him that exact idea. Though Jakob succeeded, and Vacher failed.
Never My Fault:
- When dissolving Ordo members who found out that they were being lied to, Jakob justified his immoral actions to himself by thinking that since the members were loyal to René, they should not have a problem with being dissolved for the sake of bringing back René.
- Instead of reflecting upon his own actions or that of the Ordo after Mary-Ann's death in Elynas, Jakob blames Seymour, her loyal Robot Buddy, for failing to save her.
Not the Intended Use: Jakob can transform into the Iniquitous Baptist boss and is fought in this form. However, he does not employ its elemental shield. Any achievements linked to the regular Baptist boss are also linked to Jakob, including Despite the Barrier Between Us... an achievement unlocked by beating the Baptist without destroying its shields, the shields Jakob never uses, allowing this achievement to be unlocked for free.
Resignations Not Accepted: He dissolved members of the Narzissenkreuz Ordo who tried to leave upon finding out that Jakob had been lying to them about René's situation.
Signature Move: Jakob has one that leaves the victim alive, but "makes the breath of life escape the body through the orifices". In the Search in the Algae Sea quest, Caterpillar instantly realises Jakob is on the move when the group finds one such victim.
Undying Loyalty: To Rene (and then Narzissenkreuz). Having been orphaned in the same incident, Jakob, then a fragile crybaby child, quickly grew dependent on his older brother figure. Said older brother would then save his life during an expedition to Sumeru. 400 years later, Jakob is still around making sure his brother's plans come to fruition, and he is ready to sacrifice himself for those plans.
Unequal Rites: Jakob dismisses the way the Abyss Order uses Abyssal power, calling them "benighted primitives" and refusing to be associated with them. He also criticises Khaenri'anh alchemy for inverting the stages of citrinitas and rubedo and "neglecting the fundamental principles underlying everything".
Used to Be a Sweet Kid: Jakob was noted to be easily driven to tears in the past, a far cry from the man he'd eventually become.
Would Hurt a Child: Upon being confronted by the Traveler while ransacking Mamere's home, he realizes that fighting the Traveler directly would be foolish and offers the mercenaries under his command seven times their usual fee to attack Mamere instead (she's technically a few hundred years old [like the rest of her kind], but she is still called a child by the other Melusines). Lucky that Seymour stepped in to protect her.

Mary-Ann

Mary-Ann Guillotin

Alain's adopted sister, a former member of both the Narzissenkreuz Institute and the Marechausse Phantom.

Adorably Precocious Child: She was described as "cute and not afraid of strangers" by Carter, and despite being the youngest of the group, Mary-Ann was the most responsible. As a child, Mary-Ann was described to have helped her brother in his lab a few times, and he even suggested she join the Institute in the future, though she wasn't interested.
Ambiguous Situation: In a picture, Alain and Mary-Ann have matching hair and eye colours, suggesting that they might be biological siblings, but artifact lore states that Mary-Ann was the last to arrive at the Institute, after Alain and Rene's roles as knight and dragon were well-established in their games.
Childhood Friends: With Alain, Rene and Jakob, having grown up together in the Narzissenkreuz Institute before its disbandment.
Died in Your Arms Tonight: Lyris, the former director of the Narzissenkreuz Institute, found Mary-Ann when she was dying and held her in her arms. Being an Oceanid and possibly due to Mary-Ann being an Oceanid turned human, Lyris was able to merge minds with Mary-Ann, creating the Mary-Ann Oceanid in Annapausis.
Due to the Dead: Alain built the Mary-Ann Memorial Park in the Fontaine Research Institute to commemorate her.
Foolish Sibling, Responsible Sibling: She was Alain's Cloudcuckoolander's Minder who needed to constantly remind him to greet their father when he came to visit him at the Institute.
The Heart: She was said to be loved by everyone in the Narzissenkreuz Institute. Even after Alain cut his relationship with René and Jakob, the latter two still seem to think fondly of Mary-Ann, to the point of Jakob holding a grudge against Seymour for failing to protect her during their final confrontation inside of Elynas.
Only Sane Man: Was easily this among the Narzissenkreuz quartet. René and Jakob do unethical experiments while Alain has zero social skills and constantly buries himself in his work. Meanwhile, Mary-Ann was well-adjusted and normal.
Posthumous Character: She's long dead by the start of the game, though her lingering consciousness could be found at the end of the Ann of the Narzissenkreuz World Quests.
We Used to Be Friends: With Rene and Jakob.
Women Are Wiser: The only girl in the Narzissenkreuz quartet, and by far the most normal person of the friend group.

Rene (Unmarked Spoilers)

Rene de Petrichor

A former member of the Narzissenkreuz Institute and the founder of Narzissenkreuz Ordo, a secret society that seeks to harness the power of the Abyss to create transcended "neohumans" who will survive the foretold destruction of the world.

Accidental Murder: Not really a murder, since Carter didn't truly die. But the attempt to save the terminally ill Carter went horribly wrong.
Childhood Friends: With Alain, Mary-Ann and Jakob, having grown up together in the Narzissenkreuz Institute before its disbandment.
Child Prodigy: Was a child, or a teenager at best, during his expedition with Karl Ingold to Sumeru. There, he managed to comprehend ancient Khaenri'anh research and even derive his own world formula based on it, analyse the Gaokerena and figure out that his and Jakob's body compositions were similar to it, and successfully perform a ritual using Abyssal magic. All that, he kept secret from Karl, so the adult chaperone of the trip had no contributions whatsoever.
Dark Messiah : He manipulated those around him into joining his cult and dissolving people under the delusional belief that he was going to save all.
Dramatic Irony: To save everyone from the apocalypse he saw, Rene/Narsizzenkreuz sought to eventually dissolve everyone, which would have ended up fulfilling The Prophecy if he hadn't been stopped.
Doomsday Clock: Built one, showing the time left before the apocalypse he predicted using his World Formula.
Evilutionary Biologist: He's trying to transcend all of humanity in order for them to survive the apocalypse that he foresaw. He first attempted to use Abyssal power to create neohumans such as Jakob, and then studied Primordial Seawater, killing countless people in his research. It's aptly summarized by the map description of the Ordo:
Great dreams were were once born here, and countless souls, too, melted.
Go Mad from the Revelation: His Start of Darkness is when he discovered the World Formula and calculated that the current iteration of the world will be last one. He saw a future in which "not even Mint and Sweet Flowers would grow", resembling Enkanomiya's ruins, but with the sky shattered.
High-Class Glass: The Fell Dragon's Monocle artifact implies he wore a monocle, befitting his status as "Master" of the Narzissenkreuz Ordo.
Meaningful Name: His first name means "reborn" and his last name is the scent of rain. He dissolves himself and makes himself reborn through water, as an Oceanid known as "The Master". As the Master, upon being defeated by Alain, he claims he will return, no matter how long it takes, in order to ensure the prevention of the apocalypse.
Posthumous Character: René is long dead by the start of the game, though he has been reborn as Narzissenkreuz, who does appear onscreen.
Sanity Slippage: Starting from Carter's fate, as René grows more and more desperate and radical, the records in the Enigmatic Pages start to become more and more unhinged and vague, with the game interface stating "Most of the remaining content cannot be deciphered due to the thoughts expressed being utterly incoherent".
Surrounded by Idiots: Upon arriving at the Institute of Natural Philosophy, he quickly comments that everyone except Alain is stupid in his Enigmatic Pages.
...I was disappointed to discover that quality of the people from the Institute is worse than I expected. I expected the people here to be smarter and more open to new ideas than those in high positions outside, but the reality has been infuriating. Or perhaps it would be more appropriate to call it incomprehensible. It stands to reason that a research institution with such vast resources should possess the greatest talent...
Tragic Mistake: His failure to save Carter. Following that mistake, he became determined to bring back Carter, leading to his research on the Primordial Sea as well as consciousness and will.
Villainous Legacy: Narzissenkreuz might have been sealed in the Primordial Sea since a long time ago, but the effects of the research that he started could still be felt in the present; Jakob would continue his brother's research, and Marcel/Vacher would find some of Jakob's findings during his own research into the primordial sea, which kickstarted the serial women disappearance case.
Well-Intentioned Extremist: Amoral his research and experiments may be, Rene was genuinely trying to find a way for humanity to survive the apocalypse that he foresaw.
We Used to Be Friends: With Alain and Mary-Ann. According to the Fell Dragon's Monocle, he doesn't hold a grudge against them even upon his defeat, understanding their antagonism, even claiming they will have a place in the new world in which he will be reborn.

Present day

Narzissenkreuz Ordo

Chrysalis of the Phantasmic Moth (Spoiler Alert)

Caterpillar, Chrysalis of the Phantasmic Moth

An Anemo Hilichurl Rogue who was granted awareness by Narzissenkreuz who joins the heroes to stop his former master's revival and ambitions.

See his folder under the Fortress of Meropide here.

Narzissenkreuz (Unmarked Spoilers)

The Master, Narzissenkreuz

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/image_2023_11_17_101355433.png

Incomplete Order of the New Cosmos

A Hydro Tulpa containing the will of René, created after he dissolved himself.

A God Am I: Narzissenkreuz sought to become a Descender, and thus he would be an external variable capable of changing the results of the world formula.
All for Nothing: Rene/Narzissenkreuz has broken his group of Childhood Friends, dissolved or killed countless people during experiments and rituals in the Ordo and dragged his impressionable younger brother down to hell with him all in the name of saving the world. Then, the world was saved without his interference at all by an external variable in the form of the Fourth Descender. Despite that, Narzissenkreuz takes it rather well, and simply says he's tired.
Angst? What Angst?: Lampshaded In-Universe. After realising that all he has done is meaningless, Narzissenkreuz takes it surprisingly well.
Paimon: Huh? Doesn't this sorta thing usually require some inner struggle and hours of persuasion?
Apocalypse Cult: Essentially what the Narzissenkreuz Ordo was. The Master preached that the end of the world was nigh, even building a Doomsday Clock, and the goal of the cult was to dissolve everyone so they may survive the apocalypse.
Assimilation Plot: The ultimate goal behind the creation of the Master was to dissolve and assimilate all Fontainians in order to let them survive an apocalypse predicted by René using his World Formula.
Blob Monster: Takes a form similar to that of Hydro Eidolons, but the colour of Primordial Seawater, in the later parts of the In the Wake of Narcissus quest.
Defeat Means Friendship: After being defeated by the Traveler and forgiven by Ann, Narzissenkreuz agrees to guide Ann to the real Annapausis.
Deity of Mortal Creation: Downplayed, as unlike Shouki no Kami, Narzissenkreuz is not a true deity, but his creator Jakob definitely worships him as such.
Evil Counterpart: To the Hydro Archon. Both wished to save Fontaine from The Prophecy, had 500 year long plans and their respective quests ended with them saying they were tired and just wanted to rest. However:
- Furina was an actress knowingly playing a role. Narzissenkreuz deluded himself and was unknowing trapped in his own dream of being a hero. And while Narzissenkreuz believed himself to be an All-Loving Hero who will save all souls and bring everyone to the new world even if they don't understand him and hate him, Furina was a genuine All-Loving Hero.
- Both endured 500 years of loneliness. But Furina, while interacting with people daily, could not form any connections with anyone as she had to permanently play a role, while Narzissenkreuz was literally alone in the Primordial Sea and willingly sacrificed his friendship with Alain and Mary-Ann.
- Furina was the human part of the Oceanid Focalors, split off from Focalors in order to play a role. Narzissenkreuz, a water elemental, was the reborn form of the human René.
Heroic Wannabe: Believes himself to be the world's saviour, constantly stating that he will save everyone, even if they don't understand his motives. In a way, he has never stopped roleplaying like when he did as a child at the Narzissenkreuz Institute. His delusions eventually get rightfully called out.
I Regret Nothing: Explicitly says that when he is told that his calculations were wrong upon his defeat by the Traveler's hand. Even though his plans have been All for Nothing as Fontaine has been saved as of the Archon Quest, he says that he does not feel like he has done anything wrong, and simply feels tired, wishing to go to rest in Annapausis.
Laser-Guided Amnesia: René initially failed his experiment to be reborn as the Master. In fact, Jakob was the one who completed the experiment, and erased his memories of failures as well as gave him the new name, Narzissenkreuz, so that he could guide the path ahead with absolute confidence.
Literal Split Personality: Not him, but how the Mary-Ann in Annapausis wants to see Narzissenkreuz. One of the members of the Narzissenkreuz Adventure Team is Ney, a counterpart to René, who is said to have been dissolved by the evil dragon Narcissus. This shows how Mary-Ann fondly remembers René, and does not want to associate him to everything bad that has happened to the group. In Rowboat's Wake, when Mary-Ann meets Narzissenkreuz, she says she forgives René, but not Narzissenkreuz.
Mind Hive: The Master has dissolved Emanuel Guillotin, Marfisa and a last unnamed person, and thus carries their consciousnesses.
Murder Water: Was a sentient being made of Primordial Seawater who took the lives of many and also tried to kill the Traveler.
The Nicknamer: Liked to give fancy nicknames to people, for example, Caterpillar was the "Chrysalis of the Phantasmic Moth" and Alain Guillotin was the "White Cavalier of Protection".
"Not So Different" Remark: After being defeated by the Traveler, Narzissenkreuz is told that his delusions about the end of the world are also an act of trapping oneself in a dream, a thus a form of escapism not so different from Mary-Ann's Annapausis.
Peaceful in Death: After reuniting with Mary-Ann in Annapausis, he says that he has spent too much power and is tired, wanting to just go to rest. His form peacefully dissipates there.
Power Parasite: The Master gained the skills of people it dissolved and absorbed, most notably the legendary spear skills of Champion Duelist Marfisa. It also gained intel about the Maréchaussée Phantom as well as Alain's projects on logic trees and artificial intelligence after dissolving Emanuel Guillotin.
Purple Is Powerful: Takes the form of a Hydro Tulpa, but with the distinct purple coloration of the Primordial Sea.
Purple Prose: According to Caterpillar, René as the "Master" was fond of coming up with fancy titles such as "Chrysalis of the Phantasmic Moth".
Sealed Evil in Another World: After his defeat at Elynas, Narzissenkreuz fell into the Primordial Sea. The entrance to said sea in the Tower of Gestalt was then sealed by the Maréchaussée Phantom and Neuvillette. In the Search in the Algae Sea quest, Jakob awakens and frees him.
Shout-Out: In Enigmatic Page X, there is the following line: "I am become Narzissenkreuz".
Villain Respect: René/Narzissenkreuz respected Alain as a fellow genius, and wished for the latter to understand his motivations and assist him in his plans. Narzissenkreuz also gave Alain the laudative title "White Cavalier of Protection".
We Can Rule Together: After the failure of the plan to turn humans into neohumans using Abyssal power as demonstrated by Carter's fate, Narzissenkreuz came up with a new one, involving dissolving Fontaine's population. An idea he had was to then transfer the consciousnesses of the dissolved people into machines. Narzissenkreuz then tried to invite Alain into his project by showing him the results of his calculations using the world formula... As expected, Alain, who was already furious over Carter's death, refused.
Your Mind Makes It Real: The basis of the Narzissenkreuz Ordo's teachings is "will". Later, Narzissenkreuz demonstrates this when he helps Ann overcome Annapausis' defenses by encouraging her to "imagine".

Marechausee Hunters

Seymour

A Recon Log Mek found by Mamere within Elynas. It is then revealed that Seymour was created around 500 years ago, and is still looking for his master, Mary-Ann Guillotin.

Affectionate Nickname: Both Ann and Mary-Ann (the Oceanid) call him "silly dog". It is implied that Mary-Ann Guillotin did so too in life.
Artificial Intelligence: Seymour is a "thinking machine" developed by Alain to accompany and protect his sister. Seymour is capable of fluid speech and is capable of problem solving logical reasoning using his large database. However, Seymour remains rigid and always acts according to his programmed goal of protecting Mary-Ann.
Become a Real Boy: At the end of the Wake of Narcissus quest, Seymour is asked what he wants, and not what he is programmed to do (protect Mary-Ann). He decides he wants to visit Mamere again.
But Now I Must Go: After being with Mamere for some time, he tells her that he needs to go on a journey of his own. After reuniting with Mary-Ann in the Annapausis, he returns to Mamare so that they can go on a new adventure outside of Fontaine with Ann and Lyris.
The Cameo: Appears in the cutscene at the end of Neuvillette's story quest alongside Alain and in Furina's teaser trailer.
Cutting the Knot: In order to solve a riddle at one of the Four Orthants... Seymour simply looks up the riddle in his database and finds something similar in literature. The answer works. In short, he just googled up the answer to a riddle.
Guest-Star Party Member: Fights alongside the Traveler at multiple points in the questlines he appears in.
Robot Buddy: Was this to Mary-Ann Guillotin while she was alive, assisting and protecting her during her Maréchaussée Phantom missions.

Annapausis

In General

Adaptational Personality Change: In-Universe. The Hydro Mimics are all based off real people, but their personalities are quite different.
- Al is based on Alain, and is a Knight in Shining Armor in contrast to real world Alain's aloofness. This is probably explained by the fact that Alain did roleplay as a knight when he was younger, and that he stood on the side of good in real life.
- Jak is based on Jakob, who was known for being Prone to Tears. In Annapausis, he is obnoxious and constantly rants about class conflict. This does tie in with Jakob's Fleuve Cendre origins, his father being a victim of Fontaine's then-ruling class' oppression. Discussed by Ann during her Out-of-Character Moment where parts of her memories surface:
  Ann: He wasn't always like this. He once had a really good heart, and loved to cry. He would take care of the younger children... But one day, he said that he would never cry again, and later still, he changed. This might be due to Rene, I fear... and Rene changed too...
- Mori is based on Seymour, a robotic dog capable of speaking in full sentences. In contrast, Mori has a limited vocabulary and talks in You No Take Candle as one might expect from a cartoon dog.
- The biggest one is the evil dragon Narcissus/Narzissenkreuz as a Literal Split Personality, being separate from the Posthumous Character Ney, who is unanimously agreed to be a hero.
Ambiguous Situation: Whether Colonel Kate is the counterpart to Carter Scherbius. The names are similar, and Kate being an Adaptational Jerkass of Carter is possible given the changes in personality for the other Hydro Mimics. But nothing about Carter has anything to do with Kate's military theme.
Chummy Commies: Jak will not stop making annoying commentary on class conflict and how "Princess" is a feudal title for an oppressor, thus inappropriate for the kind maiden the group is trying to save. He also wants to reform the social structure of the land after Lyris is rescued. Despite constantly arguing with the others, Jak is still a member of the Narzissenkreuz Adventure Team and works with the party. Funnily enough, when you meet his real life counterpart Jakob as an Iniquitous Baptist in the Ancient Colours quest, he is still talking about oppressors, making him more of a Dirty Communist.
Dragons Versus Knights: When you meet Petit Chou and Al, it seems like such a classic premise will play out. Parodied when you meet Jak and Colonel Kate, who are definitely not knightly.
Dream Land: A small dimension in an underwater cavern where nonsensical fictional stories play out. Said stories are based on the nostalgic memories of Lyris and Mary-Ann, with all the characters based on real people.
General Failure: Colonel Kate is the leader of "Kate's Resistance Front". Due to his Zerg Rush tactics against the Hydro Formations, all his troops died. In addition, Kate is a notorious Miles Gloriosus who is constantly bragging, and is quick to refuse to address his failures.
Colonel Kate: We charged bravely into the Bubble Formation! And as for the rest... please, don't ask...
Memento MacGuffin: In the Narzissenkreuz Adventure quest, a treasure the adventure team is after is a pocket watch. In a later quest, the pocket watch is revealed to be a picture of the Childhood Friends before they separated. That pocket watch also mirrors the Nymph's Constancy artifact, a pocket watch Alain gave to Rene before they separated by leaving the orphanage.
Punny Name: Anapausis translates to "cessation of motion" in Greek, which is fitting for a world frozen in time, sheltered away from reality. The owner of this realm is Mary-Ann, hence the spelling Annapausis.
Rule of Symbolism: In-Universe. Caterpillar explains that the Holy Blade of Narzissenkreuz is more accurately described as a key rather than a sword, and that it can take the form of any object with symbolic meaning. It does end up taking the form of a sword, using the wooden toy sword the children used to play with at the Institute as a basis. The Holy Blade is also as powerful as required by the "story" for the Traveler to defeat Narzissenkreuz and loses most of its powers at the end of the quest.
Save the Princess: The entire premise of the story of the Narzissenkreuz Kingdom.

Ann

Ann of the Narzissenkreuz

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/image_2023_11_17_101245022.png

A tiny Oceanid who still lives in Fontaine.

And You Were There: Ann's adventure team and the "villains" present during her questline were based off of the people and foes Mary-Ann knew in life such as the boar Mori being based off of Seymour. Even Princess Lyris, who Ann believes was the only fictional part of the story and had no real world equivalent, was based of Director Lyris of the Narzissenkreuz Institute.
Cruel Mercy: When Jakob asks her to dissolve him and take his consciousness, Ann refuses, saying that he must live to atone for his sins. Unfortunately, Jakob dies anyways.
Half-Human Hybrid: Oddly, where Mary-Ann doesn't seem to show any changes from a standard Oceanid despite being a fusion of an Oceanid and Fontainian, Ann does with her briefly seen human form lacking the distinctive blue hair of other Oceanid's human forms, instead having Mary-Ann's original light brown hair color.
Hero of Another Story: Ann has trouble dealing with the realization that she's part of something larger than the world she knew with the Traveler and Paimon having to say plainly that, in this case, she's the protagonist instead of them.
Odd Name Out: Every other Oceanid previously introduced has had a name based on their namesake Greek mythological creatures while Ann's name does not as it comes from Mary-Ann Guillotin, who was absorbed by Lyris, forming the Oceanid going by Mary-Ann.
Out-of-Character Moment: Has one quite early on in Ann of the Narzissenkreuz, as Jak bickers with the others. She drops the names of the real people the story characters are based off, before quickly dismissing that line of thought. As the quest progresses though, Ann's dialogue goes more and more astray from the Save the Princess premise of the beginning of the quest, as she recalls more and more of her real memories.
Quest for Identity: Ann's main motivation throughout the Narzissenkreuz quest chain. After realising that the story in Annapausis is but a dream, she sets out on an adventure to find out the origin and meaning behind her existence.

Princess Lyris (Unmarked Spoilers)

"Mary-Ann"

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/image_2023_11_17_101706379.png

Princess Lyris, the character

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/image_2023_11_17_100947516.png

"Mary-Ann"

A "princess" whom Ann had wished to rescue. She is actually an Oceanid that merges the memories of Lyris the Red Empress and Mary-Ann Guillotin.

Alternative-Self Name-Change:
- Averted for her, which makes the different Mary-Anns difficult to process for Seymour. However, the game always puts her name in quote marks, unlike the original Mary-Ann, to differentiate the two. At the end of Rowboat's Wake, when she is finally persuaded to leave Annapausis behind, the game's interface drops the quote marks, signifying that Mary-Ann's will to move forward has overtaken Lyris' to refuse the future.
- Her Hydro Mimics are all based on her Childhood Friends (and her dog) and have similar names: Al for Alain, Jak for Jakob, Mori for Seymour and Ney for René. The Odd Name Out is Petit Chou (roughly translating to "Little Dear"), which represents Mary-Ann.
Escapism: She created Annapausis as she reminisces about the happy memories of the Narzissenkreuz Institute. She modelled Hydro Mimics after real children from the Institute, and when Ann confronts her, she blasts the party in her attempt to drive them away, wanting to preserve her escapist fantasy.
Fusion Dance: Is a fusion of Lyris and Mary-Ann Guillotin, created by Lyris' attempt to save the latter after the Battle of Elynas.
Get Out!: After Ann finds out that the world of Annapausis is but a story, she kicks her and the player out of the real Annapausis. Later attempts to come back to her in order to ask for answers are met with staunch refusal, as she does not want anyone to disturb her dream land and wishes to remain in her illusion. The final attempt has her literally blast the party out.
Real After All: At first, she was presumed to be nothing more than a character in a story that Ann was a part of. When Ann meets Caterpillar though, he's the one who reveals that Lyris is real and an Oceanid.

Characters / Genshin Impact: Narzissenkreuz Institute

Narzissenkreuz Institute