Archon Quests: Prologue | Chapter I | Chapter II | Chapter III | Chapter IV | Interludes
Character Stories: Mondstadt | Liyue | Inazuma | Sumeru | Snezhnaya
World Stories: Mondstadt | Liyue | Inazuma | Sumeru | Miscellaneous
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Sumeru Archon Quest: Truth Amongst the Pages of Purana
Sub floreis lumen sagacitatis
Under the flowery light of sagacity
Under the flowery light of sagacity
"The God of Wisdom's enemy is wisdom itself, and the oasis of knowledge is a mirage in the desert of ignorance.
In the city of scholars, there is a push for folly, yet the God of Wisdom makes no argument against it."
—Dainsleif
The fourth leg of the Traveler and Paimon's journey across Teyvat leads them to Sumeru, a land divided between a rainforest to the east and a desert to the west, governed by the Akademiya, the most prestigious institute of learning in all of Teyvat. There they find that the Lesser Lord Kusanali/Buer, the Dendro Archon and goddess of woods and wisdom, was sidelined by her own people in favor of continued worship of her late predecessor, the Greater Lord Rukkhadevata, as mandated by the Akademiya and the Six Sages, its ruling body, to say nothing of a brewing crisis involving the corruption of Irminsul, the sacred tree at the heart of Teyvat and source of the Dendro Archon's wisdom, which manifests as Eleazar, a terminal illness endemic to Sumeruans, and the Withering, blights across the land fatal to all life therein, as well as the boiling-over of centuries-old tensions with radical Eremites, worshippers of Deshret, the late god-king of the desert-dwellers who they believe was the rightful god of wisdom before he was usurped by Rukkhadevata. Together with Nahida, Kusanali's avatar for communication with the outside world as a workaround to her centuries-long house arrest, they discover that the Sages had been colluding with the Fatui led by Dottore, the second-ranking Harbinger and himself a former scholar of the Akademiya, to turn Scaramouche into a manmade god and replace Kusanali as a solution to Irminsul's deterioration, all the while manipulating the Eremites in order to cover their tracks. After an encounter with Dottore forced Nahida to cut contact with them, the Traveler fled to the desert, where they assembled a resistance consisting of allies among the forest- and desert-dwellers, disgruntled Akademiya personnel outraged at the Sages' crimes, and an Eremite band who they win over upon discovering the truth that Deshret and Rukkhadevata were never enemies and in fact helped each other when forbidden knowledge the former introduced nearly led to catastrophe. The Traveler then infiltrated the Akademiya disguised as a prisoner following a staged betrayal, where they overthrow the Sages, stop Scaramouche's apotheosis, and free Kusanali/Nahida. After reluctantly erasing Rukkhadevata's lingering consciousness within Irminsul to purge its corruption, and with it Eleazar and the Withering, upon learning that the Greater Lord was infected with Deshret's forbidden knowledge, Nahida resolved to lead extensive reforms within the Akademiya and improve relations between the people of the forest and the desert, as well as gave the Traveler crucial information about themselves and their sibling, revealing that they are not true-blooded siblings, the latter being apparently a native of Teyvat.
Much later, the Traveler meets Dainsleif anew, whom they tell of their vision about their sibling's encounter with Chlothar Alberich, a Khaenri'ahn survivor and founder of the Abyss Order centuries ago, intuiting that the sibling may have joined the Order after witnessing the effects of Celestia's curse on Chlothar's horribly mutated son Caribert as well as a mysterious entity only known as the "Sinner."
Act I: Through Mists of Smoke and Forests Dark
Released: v3.0 "The Morn a Thousand Roses Brings" (August 24, 2022)
Minimum Adventure Rank: 35
The duo then find her inside a small cave, seemingly meditating in front of a censer, the smoke from which causes the Traveler to faint. The next thing they see is a white tree underneath a crimson sky, from which they hear the voice of a young woman uttering a cryptic message: "World... forget me."
The Traveler comes to in a hut, cared for by a girl. Introducing herself as Collei, she explains that they have been brought to Gandharva Ville, a stopover for traveling scholars and base of operations of the Avidya Forest Rangers, of which she is a trainee. The Traveler also meets Tighnari, Collei's mentor and leader of the Rangers, who explains to them that the woman they saw earlier, Haypasia, is a trainee scholar from the Akademiya, the most prestigious institution of learning in all of Teyvat, who is currently in a phase of self-imposed isolation, meditating with the use of a special incense called Spirit Borneol, which can have an adverse effect on a select few people. After the Traveler explains their experience under the effects of the incense, Tighnari suggests that they stay in Gandharva for observation, as the Traveler. The duo agree, though Paimon notes that Tighnari may be hiding something from them, and suggests that they start asking Collei the next day.
After inspecting some lamps along the road to Gandharva, the Traveler, Paimon, and Collei head towards the Statue of the Seven. Along the way, Collei recalls the tale of the Greater Lord Rukkhadevata, the previous Dendro Archon, who created Dharma Forest and erected the Wall of Samiel, a barrier made of giant wood, to separate it from the Great Red Sand, ruling with wisdom and kindness before disappearing during a calamity centuries ago, which the Traveler intuits may be the same one that destroyed Khaenri'ah and killed Makoto, while the current Archon, Kusanali, has been found by Sages, the ruling body of the Akademiya and of Sumeru, and has since been living in the Sanctuary of Surasthana atop Sumeru City. She is also delighted to learn from the Traveler that they also know Amber, who she befriended during her brief stay in Mondstadt and with whom she has since been exchanging letters, having intuited the Traveler and Paimon's identities from one of Amber's letters as the saviors of Mondstadt from a rampaging dragon.
After the Traveler explains their purpose for visiting Sumeru, the trio mind the Statue of the Seven, located atop a tall rock, from which the Traveler gains the power of Dendro, as well as notice small, plant-like beings. Once they head down, the Traveler, Paimon, and Collei eat some snacks the latter prepared for her new friends. While enjoying the food, Collei assures the Traveler and Paimon that Tighnari is a kinder man than his stern façade would show, in addition to recounting how the veteran Rangers claim that he hails from an ancient, reclusive race, and how, despite his knowledge in biology, he has repeatedly rejected the Akademiya's invitations to join their faculty on the pretext that his ears could not tolerate the din of Sumeru City. When Collei began teasing Paimon over her panicking over the Traveler fainting earlier, the latter tries to tickle her in retaliation, only for her to suddenly snap at them to leave her be; realizing what she did, Collei apologizes and runs back to Gandharva, to their confusion. The duo follow her back, where they learn that she felt unwell and is resting for the day.
Afterwards, a couple Forest Rangers alert Tighnari about the emergence of a Withering Zone, a corrosive blight on certain parts of Dharma Forest that can slowly kill plants, animals, and humans without a Vision. After Paimon assures Tighnari that they can use the elements even without a Vision, the Traveler helps him purify the Zone by defeating monsters therein and destroying its tumorous core. Afterwards, Tighnari notes the alarming rise in cases of such blights, even correlating it to the progression of Eleazar in several patients, including Collei. On the way back to Gandharva, Tighnari explains that, according to his ancestors, Withering Zones are a manifestation of a disease afflicting Irminsul, a subterranean tree whose roots manifest on the surface in the form of Ley Lines and from which the Dendro Archon draws her power and wisdom.
Back at Gandharva, the trio notice a messenger Dusk Bird from Haypasia, carrying a letter from her asking for help as she has forgotten her rations for her three-day meditation. Before delivering her the rations, Tighnari has the Traveler smell Spirit Borneol anew; this time, they suffer no side effects. In addition to realizing that the latter can use Dendro, Tighnari reveals to them that the Traveler indeed saw Irminsul, and that its disease is a threat to all of Teyvat.
The Traveler wakes up to find Haypasia collapsed, and after being nursed back to health, reading Tighnari's letter, and hearing of the Traveler's strange experience, she explains that they must have also seen the plant-like creature, which she first saw at around the time as Irminsul. While they enjoy a dinner the Traveler prepared for them, Haypasia explains that she is undergoing the "Satyavada Life" phase of her training, wherein she will try to tap into Irminsul with the aid of the Spirit Borneol, a stimulant made from plants created by Rukkhadevata, which requires absolute solitude lest she risk psychological damage, and theorizes that the Traveler may have a naturally high sensitivity that allowed them to immediately see Irminsul, whereas she took three years to do so. Furthermore, she believes that the plant-like creature, known as an Aranara, may have been an emissary of the Dendro Archon sent to accompany her and induce dreams, such as the one the Traveler had, an oddity for Sumeruans given that adults supposedly cannot dream. Afterwards, the Traveler rests for the night at Haypasia's cave before returning to Gandharva.
The following day, the Traveler and Paimon reach Gandharva just in time to witness Tighnari rejecting another attempt by emissaries of the Akademiya to join their project to save Irminsul on account of his duties unless his former mentor, the Sage of the Amurta Darshan, the biology faculty, personally comes to give him a definite answer as to how long he will be away. After the emissaries leave, the Traveler and Paimon report back to Tighnari, who informs them that while he has little information on Kusanali, he can recommend them to a fellow Amurta alumnus and one of his few contacts in the City, and encourages them to say their goodbyes to Collei, who has recovered and is awaiting them at the northern entrance, even as he notes that, among his reasons for declining the Akademiya's request, he finds the letter they supposedly brought from his mentor uncharacteristically polite for someone he otherwise knew to be highly temperamental. There, Collei apologizes for not telling them of her condition sooner, assures them that she will be alright, and gives them the recipe for some of her snacks as a parting gift.
Next, the Traveler and Paimon meet the Katheryne of the Sumeru Adventurers' Guild, who also fails to find anything of value, so she instead recommends them to the Eremites, mercenary groups hailing from the Great Red Sand, in particular Asfand, an acquaintance of the Guild and advisor of the Corps of Thirty, the peacekeeping body of Sumeru City and the Akademiya's official Eremite band. Unfortunately for them, neither is Asfand of any help, admitting that the desert-dwellers are not as religious as their forest-dwelling counterparts on account of their deities having perished long ago, though he does note that Kusanali is not looked as favorably by the people as they do Rukkhadevata.
As the Traveler and Paimon lament their lack of progress, their conversation caught the ear of a young woman who introduces herself as Dunyarzad, a follower of Kusanali. Sympathizing with their plight, she recalls a legend about the man who would become the first Sage embarking on a journey to find the Dendro Archon to avert a calamity, later discovering that during his seemingly futile journey that he has already received her favor, allowing him to prevent the calamity on his own. Their conversation is interrupted when Dunyarzad sights Eremites looking for her, and she runs off while the Traveler and Paimon help cover her escape.
The trio find refuge in Lambad's Tavern, only to be caught by a woman in black. Dunyarzad orders her to stand down, then introduces her to the Traveler and Paimon as her personal bodyguard, Dehya, who informs her that she and her fellow Eremites have been sent by her parents to take her home on account of her health, to which Dunyarzad responds by offering to directly hire her in exchange for allowing her to finish her visit. Dehya ceases pressing the issue and advises Dunyarzad to be discreet in her future escapades, as this time her father brought all their household's Eremites to the search. The trio then meet Lambad, a retired sailor and namesake proprietor of the Tavern, who recognizes Dunyarzad as a scion of the wealthy Homayani family, and offers the Traveler and Paimon the restaurant's top dishes, including a "Charcoal-Baked Ajilenakh Cake," to Paimon's disgust.
While enjoying their dinner, Dunyarzad explains the origins of her faith in Kusanali. As a child, she was frequently bedridden, not even allowed by her parents to have friends of her age. One night, amidst a terrible fever, she heard the voice of a girl who agrees to be her friend, conversing with her and telling her stories of Teyvat throughout her convalescence, and even though Dunyarzad can no longer hear the voice, she has become convinced that she had been talking to Kusanali. Thus, out of gratitude, she is helping organize the Sabzeruz Festival, her birthday celebration, and laments the general lack of interest in Kusanali, in particular the Sages' obsession with continuing to hold festivals of Rukkhadevata, thinking any celebration of the Lesser Lord are deemed tantamount to acknowledging the death of her predecessor. She also introduces the Traveler and Paimon to an acquaintance and a fellow devotee of Kusanali.
Inside the Grand Bazaar, located underneath the great tree upon which Sumeru City was built, the Traveler, Paimon, Dunyarzad, and Dehya meet the aforementioned acquaintance, Nilou, star dancer of the Zubayr Theatre troupe, who is also helping prepare for the Festival despite the Akademiya's apathy and at times hostility. She describes the origins of the Sabzeruz Festival as the celebration of Rukkhadevata's birthday by her fellow deities, culminating in the Goddess of Flowers dancing and creating padisarah flowers, a tradition she helps maintain even centuries after the passing of almost all other deities apart from Kusanali, including placing padisarahs on the stage despite the fact that they are but replacements created by Rukkhadevata, the bright purple originals having gone extinct alongside their creator. After wandering around the Bazaar and talking with other celebrants, the Traveler and Paimon notice Katheryne walking about, with whom they discuss their respective journeys across Teyvat before the latter returns to the Guild hall. Afterwards, Dehya invites the Traveler and Paimon to meet her at the Citadel of Regzar, headquarters of the Corps of Thirty, where she can help them find someone else who can get them an audience with Kusanali, after she and Nilou find a lodging for Dunyarzad.
At the Citadel, after Paimon teases Dehya for being more thoughtful than her gruff personality suggests, they and the Traveler meet Asfand, who informs them that a short while ago an Akademiya caravan from Aaru Village to the southwest, the largest settlement in the Great Red Sand, was waylaid by bandits and lost a precious cargo related to the Akasha, for which the caravan was sent. Based on his intel, the loot traveled east to Port Ormos, the major trade city of Sumeru, where the Akademiya holds less influence and where, Dehya warns, there are several Eremite bands that are not as friendly as the Corps of Thirty, some of which are fanatical worshippers of Deshret, the long-deceased god-king of the desert-dwellers, whose resurrection they prophesy. Asfand encourages the Traveler and Paimon to head south while posing as students of the Akademiya.
Before Tariq and his team leave, they are confronted by Alhaitham, Scribe of the Akademiya, who warns the Traveler that they are being scammed out of their Mora, before turning to Tariq and threatening to besmirch Ayn al-Ahmar unless his superior comes to negotiate with him. An incensed Tariq agrees to a brawl with Alhaitham the following week on the docks in front of the Pharos Lighthouse, as well as begrudgingly return the money the Traveler paid him. After excoriating the Hotel's staff for their complicity in the scam, Alhaitham leaves, with the Traveler and Paimon chasing after him.
Once the duo catch up to Alhaitham, he admits to having used them to get to Ayn al-Ahmar, then reluctantly accepts the Traveler's offer to aid him in the upcoming brawl after Paimon assures him that they can manipulate the elements even without a Vision. Amazed that neither the Traveler nor Paimon know what they were looking for, Alhaitham shows them a "Knowledge Capsule," a small, crystalline device that can be connected to Akasha Terminals to gain access to information, free from the strictures of the Akademiya-regulated Akasha, hence selling and owning them is illegal, though some fall to the hands of the Eremites, who either use the Capsules for themselves or sell them for exorbitant prices.
When the Traveler insists on learning more about the stolen Capsule, Alhaitham agrees on the condition that they help him in his dealings with Dori Sangemah Bay, a traveling merchant famed for her high-quality Capsules. Believing he is on her blacklist due to being an Akademiya personnel, he urges the Traveler to earn her trust by being able to discern high-quality Capsules through Dendro energy, which the Traveler can detect with Elemental Sight. Alhaitham gives them a list of passwords for Dori's informants and a bag of Mora which he encourages them to be spendthrift with, as well as warns them to keep away from the Matra, the disciplinary force of the Akademiya.
Having won the trust of the informants, and after narrowly eluding the Matra, the duo are introduced to Dori, who admits that the Matra sighting was a bluff to test whether her customers can run fast enough to elude the Matra should they actually come. Once Dori shows them a trove of Knowledge Capsules, the Traveler, appraising them using Elemental Sight, selects the three most valuable Capsules. Impressed at the Traveler's keen eye and extravagance, Dori offers them another Capsule for a major discount, with Paimon selecting the one related to swordsmanship.
After a couple days, the Traveler and Paimon return to Dori to buy information on the whereabouts of the Divine Knowledge Capsule, which she reveals has already been won by Mizri, leader of Ayn al-Ahmar. The duo return to Alhaitham to relay the news, in addition to presenting him a picture Dori secretly took of the auction. Upon receiving the information, Alhaitham dismisses them while waiting for the day of the fight.
On the day of the brawl, the Traveler takes on Tariq and his Ayn al-Ahmar comrades on Alhaitham's behalf. After the Traveler makes short work of them, Mizri appears, albeit in a trance, and violently beats up Tariq, forcing Alhaitham to knock him out and shut down his Akasha Terminal, even as he secretly steals a crimson Knowledge Capsule, the same one Mizri won at the auction. As the Matra take away a half-conscious Mizri, the Traveler and Alhaitham overhear him mutter "World... forget me"—the same words the former heard when they first saw Irminsul. The matter settled, Alhaitham admits that he, too, has little information on Kusanali, so the duo decide to part ways with him so they can catch the Sabzeruz Festival. As they walk away, Alhaitham turns to the Capsule he stole from Mizri, contemplating whether to immediately return it to the Akademiya or personally pry into its secrets.
Minimum Adventure Rank: 35
A Forest of Change
Through an underground passage west of The Chasm, the Traveler and Paimon reach Sumeru, a land divided between Dharma Forest to the east and the Great Red Sand to the west, where Paimon immediately suggests finding the Dendro Archon to inquire from her the whereabouts of their sibling. Along the way they meet a woman crossing a stream, to whom Paimon tries to ask for directions to Sumeru City, only for her to ignore them. Annoyed, Paimon urges the Traveler to follow her instead.The duo then find her inside a small cave, seemingly meditating in front of a censer, the smoke from which causes the Traveler to faint. The next thing they see is a white tree underneath a crimson sky, from which they hear the voice of a young woman uttering a cryptic message: "World... forget me."
The Traveler comes to in a hut, cared for by a girl. Introducing herself as Collei, she explains that they have been brought to Gandharva Ville, a stopover for traveling scholars and base of operations of the Avidya Forest Rangers, of which she is a trainee. The Traveler also meets Tighnari, Collei's mentor and leader of the Rangers, who explains to them that the woman they saw earlier, Haypasia, is a trainee scholar from the Akademiya, the most prestigious institution of learning in all of Teyvat, who is currently in a phase of self-imposed isolation, meditating with the use of a special incense called Spirit Borneol, which can have an adverse effect on a select few people. After the Traveler explains their experience under the effects of the incense, Tighnari suggests that they stay in Gandharva for observation, as the Traveler. The duo agree, though Paimon notes that Tighnari may be hiding something from them, and suggests that they start asking Collei the next day.
Further Observation
The Traveler and Paimon find Collei talking with Tighnari, who is about to depart on a lengthy patrol without her. Seeing that the Traveler is spry for someone still under observation, Tighnari suggests that they join Collei on a patrol east of Gandharva, as well as clean up a nearby Statue of the Seven.After inspecting some lamps along the road to Gandharva, the Traveler, Paimon, and Collei head towards the Statue of the Seven. Along the way, Collei recalls the tale of the Greater Lord Rukkhadevata, the previous Dendro Archon, who created Dharma Forest and erected the Wall of Samiel, a barrier made of giant wood, to separate it from the Great Red Sand, ruling with wisdom and kindness before disappearing during a calamity centuries ago, which the Traveler intuits may be the same one that destroyed Khaenri'ah and killed Makoto, while the current Archon, Kusanali, has been found by Sages, the ruling body of the Akademiya and of Sumeru, and has since been living in the Sanctuary of Surasthana atop Sumeru City. She is also delighted to learn from the Traveler that they also know Amber, who she befriended during her brief stay in Mondstadt and with whom she has since been exchanging letters, having intuited the Traveler and Paimon's identities from one of Amber's letters as the saviors of Mondstadt from a rampaging dragon.
After the Traveler explains their purpose for visiting Sumeru, the trio mind the Statue of the Seven, located atop a tall rock, from which the Traveler gains the power of Dendro, as well as notice small, plant-like beings. Once they head down, the Traveler, Paimon, and Collei eat some snacks the latter prepared for her new friends. While enjoying the food, Collei assures the Traveler and Paimon that Tighnari is a kinder man than his stern façade would show, in addition to recounting how the veteran Rangers claim that he hails from an ancient, reclusive race, and how, despite his knowledge in biology, he has repeatedly rejected the Akademiya's invitations to join their faculty on the pretext that his ears could not tolerate the din of Sumeru City. When Collei began teasing Paimon over her panicking over the Traveler fainting earlier, the latter tries to tickle her in retaliation, only for her to suddenly snap at them to leave her be; realizing what she did, Collei apologizes and runs back to Gandharva, to their confusion. The duo follow her back, where they learn that she felt unwell and is resting for the day.
Chronic Illness
The following day, the Traveler and Paimon find Collei gravely ill, looked after by Tighnari, who informs them that she has overexerted herself due to excitement over hosting the Traveler and Paimon. At Collei's insistence, he reluctantly informs the duo of her history. Since childhood, she was afflicted with Eleazar, a disease endemic to Sumeru characterized by dark and hardened scales on the skin which gradually develops into rapid fatigue, a burning sensation all over the body, and complete paralysis in later stages, hence her clumsiness and his advice against excessive activity. At one point her mother brought her to the Fatui in the hope that they can find her a cure, and while her illness stabilized, Collei was so traumatized she could not even stand being touched. In the meantime, Tighnari asks the Traveler and Paimon to join him in foraging for Nilotpala Lotuses to be used as ingredients for Collei's medicine.Afterwards, a couple Forest Rangers alert Tighnari about the emergence of a Withering Zone, a corrosive blight on certain parts of Dharma Forest that can slowly kill plants, animals, and humans without a Vision. After Paimon assures Tighnari that they can use the elements even without a Vision, the Traveler helps him purify the Zone by defeating monsters therein and destroying its tumorous core. Afterwards, Tighnari notes the alarming rise in cases of such blights, even correlating it to the progression of Eleazar in several patients, including Collei. On the way back to Gandharva, Tighnari explains that, according to his ancestors, Withering Zones are a manifestation of a disease afflicting Irminsul, a subterranean tree whose roots manifest on the surface in the form of Ley Lines and from which the Dendro Archon draws her power and wisdom.
Back at Gandharva, the trio notice a messenger Dusk Bird from Haypasia, carrying a letter from her asking for help as she has forgotten her rations for her three-day meditation. Before delivering her the rations, Tighnari has the Traveler smell Spirit Borneol anew; this time, they suffer no side effects. In addition to realizing that the latter can use Dendro, Tighnari reveals to them that the Traveler indeed saw Irminsul, and that its disease is a threat to all of Teyvat.
Silent Seeker of Knowledge
Upon returning to Haypasia, the Traveler and Paimon find a curious creature, not unlike the ones they saw earlier while cleaning the Statue of the Seven. They then see Haypasia lying on the ground, even as the outside of the cave grew foggy and the landscape altered, leading to a room where they encounter an Abyss Herald who not only seemed invincible, but taunts them that their leader, the Traveler's sibling, has forsaken them and ordered their death.The Traveler wakes up to find Haypasia collapsed, and after being nursed back to health, reading Tighnari's letter, and hearing of the Traveler's strange experience, she explains that they must have also seen the plant-like creature, which she first saw at around the time as Irminsul. While they enjoy a dinner the Traveler prepared for them, Haypasia explains that she is undergoing the "Satyavada Life" phase of her training, wherein she will try to tap into Irminsul with the aid of the Spirit Borneol, a stimulant made from plants created by Rukkhadevata, which requires absolute solitude lest she risk psychological damage, and theorizes that the Traveler may have a naturally high sensitivity that allowed them to immediately see Irminsul, whereas she took three years to do so. Furthermore, she believes that the plant-like creature, known as an Aranara, may have been an emissary of the Dendro Archon sent to accompany her and induce dreams, such as the one the Traveler had, an oddity for Sumeruans given that adults supposedly cannot dream. Afterwards, the Traveler rests for the night at Haypasia's cave before returning to Gandharva.
The following day, the Traveler and Paimon reach Gandharva just in time to witness Tighnari rejecting another attempt by emissaries of the Akademiya to join their project to save Irminsul on account of his duties unless his former mentor, the Sage of the Amurta Darshan, the biology faculty, personally comes to give him a definite answer as to how long he will be away. After the emissaries leave, the Traveler and Paimon report back to Tighnari, who informs them that while he has little information on Kusanali, he can recommend them to a fellow Amurta alumnus and one of his few contacts in the City, and encourages them to say their goodbyes to Collei, who has recovered and is awaiting them at the northern entrance, even as he notes that, among his reasons for declining the Akademiya's request, he finds the letter they supposedly brought from his mentor uncharacteristically polite for someone he otherwise knew to be highly temperamental. There, Collei apologizes for not telling them of her condition sooner, assures them that she will be alright, and gives them the recipe for some of her snacks as a parting gift.
The Trail of the God of Wisdom
Arriving at Sumeru City, the Traveler and Paimon are handed Akasha Terminals, earpieces that allow their users to tap into knowledge collected by Rukkhadevata. As they cannot find any other information about Kusanali from the Terminal other than a retreat of what Collei told them, the Traveler and Paimon decide to ask Rohawi, Tighnari's aforementioned acquaintance, who also fails to be of help, claiming that the Akasha seems to have scant information on Kusanali and that he is more of a gossip-monger concerning the politics of the Six Sages, the ruling body of the Akademiya and heads of its six Darshans.Next, the Traveler and Paimon meet the Katheryne of the Sumeru Adventurers' Guild, who also fails to find anything of value, so she instead recommends them to the Eremites, mercenary groups hailing from the Great Red Sand, in particular Asfand, an acquaintance of the Guild and advisor of the Corps of Thirty, the peacekeeping body of Sumeru City and the Akademiya's official Eremite band. Unfortunately for them, neither is Asfand of any help, admitting that the desert-dwellers are not as religious as their forest-dwelling counterparts on account of their deities having perished long ago, though he does note that Kusanali is not looked as favorably by the people as they do Rukkhadevata.
As the Traveler and Paimon lament their lack of progress, their conversation caught the ear of a young woman who introduces herself as Dunyarzad, a follower of Kusanali. Sympathizing with their plight, she recalls a legend about the man who would become the first Sage embarking on a journey to find the Dendro Archon to avert a calamity, later discovering that during his seemingly futile journey that he has already received her favor, allowing him to prevent the calamity on his own. Their conversation is interrupted when Dunyarzad sights Eremites looking for her, and she runs off while the Traveler and Paimon help cover her escape.
The trio find refuge in Lambad's Tavern, only to be caught by a woman in black. Dunyarzad orders her to stand down, then introduces her to the Traveler and Paimon as her personal bodyguard, Dehya, who informs her that she and her fellow Eremites have been sent by her parents to take her home on account of her health, to which Dunyarzad responds by offering to directly hire her in exchange for allowing her to finish her visit. Dehya ceases pressing the issue and advises Dunyarzad to be discreet in her future escapades, as this time her father brought all their household's Eremites to the search. The trio then meet Lambad, a retired sailor and namesake proprietor of the Tavern, who recognizes Dunyarzad as a scion of the wealthy Homayani family, and offers the Traveler and Paimon the restaurant's top dishes, including a "Charcoal-Baked Ajilenakh Cake," to Paimon's disgust.
While enjoying their dinner, Dunyarzad explains the origins of her faith in Kusanali. As a child, she was frequently bedridden, not even allowed by her parents to have friends of her age. One night, amidst a terrible fever, she heard the voice of a girl who agrees to be her friend, conversing with her and telling her stories of Teyvat throughout her convalescence, and even though Dunyarzad can no longer hear the voice, she has become convinced that she had been talking to Kusanali. Thus, out of gratitude, she is helping organize the Sabzeruz Festival, her birthday celebration, and laments the general lack of interest in Kusanali, in particular the Sages' obsession with continuing to hold festivals of Rukkhadevata, thinking any celebration of the Lesser Lord are deemed tantamount to acknowledging the death of her predecessor. She also introduces the Traveler and Paimon to an acquaintance and a fellow devotee of Kusanali.
Inside the Grand Bazaar, located underneath the great tree upon which Sumeru City was built, the Traveler, Paimon, Dunyarzad, and Dehya meet the aforementioned acquaintance, Nilou, star dancer of the Zubayr Theatre troupe, who is also helping prepare for the Festival despite the Akademiya's apathy and at times hostility. She describes the origins of the Sabzeruz Festival as the celebration of Rukkhadevata's birthday by her fellow deities, culminating in the Goddess of Flowers dancing and creating padisarah flowers, a tradition she helps maintain even centuries after the passing of almost all other deities apart from Kusanali, including placing padisarahs on the stage despite the fact that they are but replacements created by Rukkhadevata, the bright purple originals having gone extinct alongside their creator. After wandering around the Bazaar and talking with other celebrants, the Traveler and Paimon notice Katheryne walking about, with whom they discuss their respective journeys across Teyvat before the latter returns to the Guild hall. Afterwards, Dehya invites the Traveler and Paimon to meet her at the Citadel of Regzar, headquarters of the Corps of Thirty, where she can help them find someone else who can get them an audience with Kusanali, after she and Nilou find a lodging for Dunyarzad.
At the Citadel, after Paimon teases Dehya for being more thoughtful than her gruff personality suggests, they and the Traveler meet Asfand, who informs them that a short while ago an Akademiya caravan from Aaru Village to the southwest, the largest settlement in the Great Red Sand, was waylaid by bandits and lost a precious cargo related to the Akasha, for which the caravan was sent. Based on his intel, the loot traveled east to Port Ormos, the major trade city of Sumeru, where the Akademiya holds less influence and where, Dehya warns, there are several Eremite bands that are not as friendly as the Corps of Thirty, some of which are fanatical worshippers of Deshret, the long-deceased god-king of the desert-dwellers, whose resurrection they prophesy. Asfand encourages the Traveler and Paimon to head south while posing as students of the Akademiya.
Lost in Prosperity
At Port Ormos, a favorite hangout of Akademiya personnel, the Traveler and Paimon eavesdrop on some scholars lamenting their lack of progress in finding the stolen cargo, which they believe is being held by Ayn al-Ahmar, one such fanatical Deshret-worshipping band Dehya warned the duo about, who will only sell them information for half a million Mora. The duo then head to Shapur Hotel, where the a team is currently located, and pay its leader Tariq in exchange for information. He tells them the story of the Scarlet King Deshret, god of the desert-dwellers who they believe was the rightful God of Wisdom before Rukkhadevata betrayed, usurped, and murdered him, then forced his worshippers to migrate east to Dharma Forest and under her aegis, waiting for the day their god returns to exact his revenge on Rukkhadevata, her followers, and his fellow desert-dwellers who submitted to her will.Before Tariq and his team leave, they are confronted by Alhaitham, Scribe of the Akademiya, who warns the Traveler that they are being scammed out of their Mora, before turning to Tariq and threatening to besmirch Ayn al-Ahmar unless his superior comes to negotiate with him. An incensed Tariq agrees to a brawl with Alhaitham the following week on the docks in front of the Pharos Lighthouse, as well as begrudgingly return the money the Traveler paid him. After excoriating the Hotel's staff for their complicity in the scam, Alhaitham leaves, with the Traveler and Paimon chasing after him.
Once the duo catch up to Alhaitham, he admits to having used them to get to Ayn al-Ahmar, then reluctantly accepts the Traveler's offer to aid him in the upcoming brawl after Paimon assures him that they can manipulate the elements even without a Vision. Amazed that neither the Traveler nor Paimon know what they were looking for, Alhaitham shows them a "Knowledge Capsule," a small, crystalline device that can be connected to Akasha Terminals to gain access to information, free from the strictures of the Akademiya-regulated Akasha, hence selling and owning them is illegal, though some fall to the hands of the Eremites, who either use the Capsules for themselves or sell them for exorbitant prices.
When the Traveler insists on learning more about the stolen Capsule, Alhaitham agrees on the condition that they help him in his dealings with Dori Sangemah Bay, a traveling merchant famed for her high-quality Capsules. Believing he is on her blacklist due to being an Akademiya personnel, he urges the Traveler to earn her trust by being able to discern high-quality Capsules through Dendro energy, which the Traveler can detect with Elemental Sight. Alhaitham gives them a list of passwords for Dori's informants and a bag of Mora which he encourages them to be spendthrift with, as well as warns them to keep away from the Matra, the disciplinary force of the Akademiya.
Having won the trust of the informants, and after narrowly eluding the Matra, the duo are introduced to Dori, who admits that the Matra sighting was a bluff to test whether her customers can run fast enough to elude the Matra should they actually come. Once Dori shows them a trove of Knowledge Capsules, the Traveler, appraising them using Elemental Sight, selects the three most valuable Capsules. Impressed at the Traveler's keen eye and extravagance, Dori offers them another Capsule for a major discount, with Paimon selecting the one related to swordsmanship.
Ever So Close
With Dori's trust gained, the Traveler and Paimon meet Alhaitham at Wikala Funduq, the customs office of Port Ormos and its only Akademiya-controlled area, and gave the Capsules to him. After the Traveler informs him that they intend to have an audience with Kusanali, Alhaitham reveals that the stolen Capsule apparently contained divine knowledge. However, his negotiations with Eremites, where he will relinquish ownership of the stolen Capsule in exchange for being allowed to study it, have not always been successful, in particular noting Ayn al-Ahmar's insistence that the Capsule contains the power of Deshret, hence their determination to win it, by means fair or foul, at an upcoming auction. In the meantime, he, the Traveler, and Paimon decide to test the swordsmanship Capsule on the outskirts of Port Ormos, where Alhaitham evaluates the Traveler's combat capabilities, before and after using the Capsule, and notes only a barely perceptible improvement, which he attributes to the Traveler's already impressive skills.After a couple days, the Traveler and Paimon return to Dori to buy information on the whereabouts of the Divine Knowledge Capsule, which she reveals has already been won by Mizri, leader of Ayn al-Ahmar. The duo return to Alhaitham to relay the news, in addition to presenting him a picture Dori secretly took of the auction. Upon receiving the information, Alhaitham dismisses them while waiting for the day of the fight.
On the day of the brawl, the Traveler takes on Tariq and his Ayn al-Ahmar comrades on Alhaitham's behalf. After the Traveler makes short work of them, Mizri appears, albeit in a trance, and violently beats up Tariq, forcing Alhaitham to knock him out and shut down his Akasha Terminal, even as he secretly steals a crimson Knowledge Capsule, the same one Mizri won at the auction. As the Matra take away a half-conscious Mizri, the Traveler and Alhaitham overhear him mutter "World... forget me"—the same words the former heard when they first saw Irminsul. The matter settled, Alhaitham admits that he, too, has little information on Kusanali, so the duo decide to part ways with him so they can catch the Sabzeruz Festival. As they walk away, Alhaitham turns to the Capsule he stole from Mizri, contemplating whether to immediately return it to the Akademiya or personally pry into its secrets.
Act II: The Morn a Thousand Roses Brings
Released: v3.0 "The Morn a Thousand Roses Brings" (August 24, 2022)
Minimum Adventure Rank: 35
On the day of the Sabzeruz Festival, the Traveler and Paimon meet Dunyarzad next to the path leading to the Akademiya, who admits to lacking sleep due to excitement over the Festival and leads them through the Treasure Street commercial district. First, they visit Amal, a fruit vendor, who tells them of the Haft-Mewa Feast, a tradition of the Festival wherein people set their tables with seven kinds of fruits and vegetables in honor of the Dendro Archon. Next, they visit Kimiya, a scholar of the Akademiya's Spantamad Darshan, its elementalism faculty, who specializes in fortunetelling using alchemy; after the Traveler hands him some ingredients, the result is moon-shaped, which he interprets as an omen that they may have to confront illusions in the near future. Finally, the trio visit Vihar, a street performer distributing candies to children as "Farris the Knight of Flowers," from whom the Traveler picks a Sunsettia candy for Paimon through a guessing game.
Afterwards, Dunyarzad realizes that she forgot something from her lodging, and asks the Traveler and Paimon to escort her back, only to run into a pair of Eremites out to kidnap her. Dehya comes and urges the trio to escape while she holds off the bandits. After a while, Dehya catches up to them, albeit bruised on her left arm due to still getting used to her new claymore, having sold her old one due to lack of Mora. Dunyarzad realizes that Dehya was the anonymous donor that helped fund the Festival's final round of preparations, and chastises her for her rash actions. Seeing that the escape has taken a toll on Dunyarzad's health, Dehya orders the Traveler to bring her somewhere safe while she patrols the City for more threats.
On the esplanade overlooking Yazadaha Pool, the source of the great river flowing south to Port Ormos, Dunyarzad reveals to the Traveler and Paimon that she was born with Eleazar, and that, judging from her scaly arms, it has reached terminal stage. Having come to terms that she has not much time left, she decided to spend it without regrets by exploring the world and making friends. She breaks the conversation upon realizing that the climax of the Sabzeruz Festival is about to happen later that night, and urges the Traveler and Paimon to join her at the Grand Bazaar.
In the Bazaar, however, the trio find Nilou being scolded by Azar, Grand Sage of the Akademiya, and his secretary Setaria, citing a ban on all kinds of public artistic performances beyond the Akademiya's remit. Dunyarzad tries to intervene, only for the Traveler to hold her back lest she run afoul of the authorities. Azar orders Nilou to dismantle the stage, then orders Setaria to issue a ban on public performances on the next Jnagarbha Day, the annual rite of committing new knowledge to the Akasha, even as he cryptically tells Nilou to continue to celebrate the Festival to her heart's content.
After Azar and Setaria left, Nilou, though disheartened at the premature end to the festivities, suggests staging next year's festivities where the Akademiya cannot exert their authority, to some dismay from Dunyarzad. Upon retiring for the night, Paimon and the Traveler lament the abrupt end, fearing Dunyarzad may not live to see next year's festivities. In their sleep, a beep can be heard from the Akasha, with an unknown voice stating the beginning of a project.
The duo leave the Tavern to try something different again, only to find Dunyarzad again on the esplanade, who has just escaped another kidnapping attempt. After the Traveler apologizes to her for leaving her behind, the trio return to the Grand Bazaar, where they witness Azar and Setaria scolding Nilou anew. With no new leads forthcoming, the duo return to their lodging and immediately fall asleep. Once again, a beep is heard from the Akasha, with the same voice ordering an investigation on the source of a minor variance in the experiment's data.
The girl appears to inform them that this is not their first Festival, then hands them a yellow Knowledge Capsule, from which they learn that they have been reliving the Festival for several days now, during which they met her at various points. She explains that she specifically reached out to the Traveler for their blessing of Dendro and heightened senses, and that the Dunyarzad they met throughout the Festival is but a puppet copy of the original, who they met during their first visit to Sumeru City and whose condition has deteriorated since. The girl reintroduces herself as Nahida, who explains that the entire City is trapped in a one-day samsara, or loop, though she declines to immediately disclose the truth to them lest the information overwhelm them, instead encouraging them to figure it out themselves while she tries to slow down Dunyarzad's Eleazar. The Traveler suggests that the samsara might a time loop, which Nahida rejects before suggesting that they ask around.
The Traveler and Paimon try to find clues from the stall owners. As none prove helpful, they turn to Dehya, who they find with the Dunyarzad puppet. The duo fill her in on what they've learned so far, with Dehya noticing that the Dunyarzad before her seemingly reverted to her old, more somber self. The duo then bring her to Bimarstan, where, though she cannot see the real Dunyarzad, nevertheless was able to sense her aura and her feelings of regret. After learning of the situation from the Traveler, Dehya suspects that the Sages are perpetuating the samsara through the Akasha, which Nahida explains was powered by the Dendro Gnosis, allowing it to both compile knowledge from and impart wisdom onto wearers of Akasha Terminals. The Traveler suspects that the Akasha must be causing them mental fatigue due to said extraction, and Paimon suggests that everyone remove their Akasha Terminals. However, they still hear the beeping sound, and the last thing the Traveler hears before blacking out was an argument between two men arguing over the length of the experiment threatening to create unnecessary casualties.
Once again, the duo meet Dehya with the Dunyarzad puppet, who dismisses the memory-wipe theory, citing that while it is possible for the Akademiya to continually replenish essential resources such as Mora, not everything can be replicated; as evidence, Dehya points them to a wooden training dummy she has been using for practice, which she thinks the Sages would have little time to replicate every blow she dealt. With their latest theory disproved, the Traveler realizes that neither are they in a time loop nor in the real world, and that they have yet to leave the City.
With new clues, the Traveler and Paimon return to Nahida, who reveals that the duo have already done so twice in earlier loops, but never came back the whole night. The trio decide to rest for the night and prepare for another attempt to leave the City.
On the first day, the Traveler and Paimon find that the guards barred all traffic in and out of Sumeru City on orders from the Akademiya; to get past the guards, the duo decide to scale the walls, though the Traveler orders Paimon to stay behind in the City in order to observe any change. The following day, the Traveler returns to invite Paimon to leave with them, only for her to start crying and hugging them, claiming they immediately vanished the other day. Judging from their experiences, Nahida concludes that the Traveler lost their memories of the City when they left; thus, as a countermeasure, she hands the Traveler a modified Akasha Terminal that can record messages.
Back in the present, the Traveler remembers sending messages, and together with Paimon and Nahida they listen to the recordings, wherein they described traversing different pocket dimensions, including one containing the Sabzeruz Festival, with the last recording describing these spaces being replaced with empty ones at the same time the Akasha Terminals make the beeping sound. Afterwards, the Traveler and Paimon return to the esplanade to cross-reference everything they knew so far.
By nighttime, as the Dunyarzad puppet leaves to watch the Sabzeruz Festival, the Traveler reaches a breakthrough and reports back to Nahida, correctly concluding that the Sabzeruz samsara is a collective dream shared by the people of Sumeru City. Furthermore, remembering how the Aranara, who derive their powers from the Dendro Archon, are able to manipulate dreams, they also conclude that the Sages are using the Akasha to simultaneously absorb people's dreams and keep them in a constant dream state, creating a dream farm of sorts.
Finally, remembering Kimiya's description of alchemy-based fortunetelling as a gift of the Dendro Archon, the moon-shaped product of their divination, and Nahida referring to herself as a "moon," the Traveler correctly identifies her as none other than Kusanali. In turn, Nahida/Kusanali explains that she did not immediately fill the Traveler and Paimon in on the situation due to its complexity, that the Traveler was able to escape the samsara due to having received the dream-related power of Dendro, and that ending the samsara is urgent due to the severe mental strain on the dreamers, especially such a gravely ill person as Dunyarzad. When Nahida wonders why the Sages chose to base the samsara on her birthday, the Traveler remembers Azar's words to Nilou sarcastically urging her to "celebrate the birth of that god," which Nahida takes note of.
Working through their sorrow over Dunyarzad's fate, the Traveler and Paimon start identifying the host. After dismissing the Sages as candidates, citing that the samsara would work better with someone unaware of the plot, the duo visit Vihar and ask him to make a wish. Vihar, who admits to having a crush on Dunyarzad, tries to wish for her to appear, only for one of the children taking candies from him to appear instead, thus eliminating him as candidate.
The duo then find Dehya protecting the Dunyarzad puppet from Eremites. The Traveler orders the two to leave the bandits to them, with Paimon wondering whether they are venting their anger over the real Dunyarzad's fate. Afterwards, she remembers that Dunyarzad was supposed to pick up something from her lodging and was headed there before she was attacked, and despite some hesitation, Paimon enters her lodging and finds a compilation of folktales about Kusanali, written by Dunyarzad as a gift for her and the Traveler. Later, the duo meet the Dunyarzad puppet at the esplanade and thanks her in lieu of the real one. Remembering Dunyarzad's words about living life without regrets, the Traveler resolves to honor her memory by watching the Dance of Sabzeruz on her behalf.
The Traveler returns to the Grand Bazaar to witness Azar and Setaria scolding Nilou once again. This time, however, the Traveler intervenes, causing both to freeze up, confirming their suspicions that they, too, are puppets, knowing the real Azar and Setaria would not risk their lives in the samsara. The Traveler then notices purple Padisarahs on stage, an impossibility given that they are supposed to be extinct. They then ask Nilou to close her eyes and wish Azar and Setaria out of existence; as the puppets immediately disappear, they take it as confirmation that Nilou is the host of the samsara, the purple Padisarahs being a manifestation of her subconscious wish for their presence. Realizing that she is in a dream, Nilou looks on it as a sign of favor from Kusanali, and recounts the second half of the tale of the first Sage, wherein after a few years under her tutelage, the man grew in knowledge, and when he began to yearn for his parents, wife, and children, Kusanali grants his wish, after which he discovered that all this time he was dreaming, and that he woke up on the day he was supposed to start finding the Archon, with the tale ending with him founding the Akademiya as its first Sage. Recognizing that all dreams must ultimately end, Nilou decides to pour her heart out into one last Dance of Sabzeruz as the dream fades away, watched by several onlookers, including the spirit of Dunyarzad.
The following morning, the Traveler and Paimon wake up to learn that the samsara was finally broken. Remembering that they saw Dunyarzad watching Nilou dance, they take it as a sign that she still lives. The duo rush to find her at Bimarstan next to Katheryne, well recovered, who tells them of a dream of having watched the Dance of Sabzeruz.
With the crisis resolved, Nahida gives the Traveler more information about Sumeru. She confirms that the message the Traveler heard in Irminsul was that of Rukkhadevata before her disappearance during the Khaenri'ah cataclysm, which she believes was also corrupting Irminsul, with her warnings against tapping into it being constantly ignored by the Sages, resulting in hundreds of cases of scholars being driven insane; seeing the Traveler is immune, however, she asks them to join her search for a way to save Irminsul. As for Katheryne's body, she admits to hijacking it through her Akasha Terminal, which she justifies by revealing that the Katherynes found in Adventurers' Guild halls throughout Teyvat are autonomous puppets from Snezhnaya, so she can indirectly explore the world without leaving the Sanctuary of Surasthana, where she was confined for centuries by the Sages; despite Paimon decrying her situation as house arrest, she does little to protest her plight due to her poor self-esteem borne from being compared to Rukkhadevata. Nevertheless, despite centuries of tolerating the Sages' mistreatment, she deems the Sabzeruz samsara a step too far and vows to investigate them. Finally, she confirms that Sumeruans do dream, and that the Sages' teachings that their inability to do so was a sign of maturity is a lie made to distract them from the dream harvesting project. In the meantime, Nahida expresses her intent to take a rest due to the strain of saving Dunyarzad, and after bidding the Traveler farewell, she leaves the body of Katheryne, who is surprised that she has left her post.
Minimum Adventure Rank: 35
The Coming of the Sabzeruz Festival
Back at Sumeru City on the eve of the Sabzeruz Festival, the Traveler and Paimon meet Dunyarzad at the Grand Bazaar, to whom the duo report on their progress, or rather the lack thereof, in their search for information on Kusanali at Port Ormos. Dunyarzad offers to join them on their return trip, only for Dehya to dissuade her lest she get into more trouble. Dunyarzad then encourages her bodyguard to relax for the day, to which the latter reluctantly agrees, warning her of suspicious people on the day of the Festival. Seeing Paimon tired from the journey, Dunyarzad leads her and the Traveler to a lodging on the northern sector of the City she rented for them. Before parting ways, the Traveler offers to keep Dunyarzad company while Dehya keeps an eye for potential threats.On the day of the Sabzeruz Festival, the Traveler and Paimon meet Dunyarzad next to the path leading to the Akademiya, who admits to lacking sleep due to excitement over the Festival and leads them through the Treasure Street commercial district. First, they visit Amal, a fruit vendor, who tells them of the Haft-Mewa Feast, a tradition of the Festival wherein people set their tables with seven kinds of fruits and vegetables in honor of the Dendro Archon. Next, they visit Kimiya, a scholar of the Akademiya's Spantamad Darshan, its elementalism faculty, who specializes in fortunetelling using alchemy; after the Traveler hands him some ingredients, the result is moon-shaped, which he interprets as an omen that they may have to confront illusions in the near future. Finally, the trio visit Vihar, a street performer distributing candies to children as "Farris the Knight of Flowers," from whom the Traveler picks a Sunsettia candy for Paimon through a guessing game.
Afterwards, Dunyarzad realizes that she forgot something from her lodging, and asks the Traveler and Paimon to escort her back, only to run into a pair of Eremites out to kidnap her. Dehya comes and urges the trio to escape while she holds off the bandits. After a while, Dehya catches up to them, albeit bruised on her left arm due to still getting used to her new claymore, having sold her old one due to lack of Mora. Dunyarzad realizes that Dehya was the anonymous donor that helped fund the Festival's final round of preparations, and chastises her for her rash actions. Seeing that the escape has taken a toll on Dunyarzad's health, Dehya orders the Traveler to bring her somewhere safe while she patrols the City for more threats.
On the esplanade overlooking Yazadaha Pool, the source of the great river flowing south to Port Ormos, Dunyarzad reveals to the Traveler and Paimon that she was born with Eleazar, and that, judging from her scaly arms, it has reached terminal stage. Having come to terms that she has not much time left, she decided to spend it without regrets by exploring the world and making friends. She breaks the conversation upon realizing that the climax of the Sabzeruz Festival is about to happen later that night, and urges the Traveler and Paimon to join her at the Grand Bazaar.
In the Bazaar, however, the trio find Nilou being scolded by Azar, Grand Sage of the Akademiya, and his secretary Setaria, citing a ban on all kinds of public artistic performances beyond the Akademiya's remit. Dunyarzad tries to intervene, only for the Traveler to hold her back lest she run afoul of the authorities. Azar orders Nilou to dismantle the stage, then orders Setaria to issue a ban on public performances on the next Jnagarbha Day, the annual rite of committing new knowledge to the Akasha, even as he cryptically tells Nilou to continue to celebrate the Festival to her heart's content.
After Azar and Setaria left, Nilou, though disheartened at the premature end to the festivities, suggests staging next year's festivities where the Akademiya cannot exert their authority, to some dismay from Dunyarzad. Upon retiring for the night, Paimon and the Traveler lament the abrupt end, fearing Dunyarzad may not live to see next year's festivities. In their sleep, a beep can be heard from the Akasha, with an unknown voice stating the beginning of a project.
The Arrival of the Sabzeruz Festival
The following day, the Traveler and Paimon meet Dunyarzad again, who invites them anew to Treasures Street. Having revisited Amal and Kimiya, however, the Traveler had a feeling of déjà vu, and after revisiting Vihar's stall, they walk off to Lambad's Tavern, where they inform Paimon of what they just sensed. The Traveler then tries something different by ordering Charcoal-Baked Ajilenakh Cake, recalling that it tasted better than its looks suggest, further lending credence to their suspicions.The duo leave the Tavern to try something different again, only to find Dunyarzad again on the esplanade, who has just escaped another kidnapping attempt. After the Traveler apologizes to her for leaving her behind, the trio return to the Grand Bazaar, where they witness Azar and Setaria scolding Nilou anew. With no new leads forthcoming, the duo return to their lodging and immediately fall asleep. Once again, a beep is heard from the Akasha, with the same voice ordering an investigation on the source of a minor variance in the experiment's data.
The Continuation of the Sabzeruz Festival
Once again, the Traveler and Paimon seem to relive the day of the Sabzeruz Festival. After playing Vihar's guessing game, however, the Traveler notices a silver-haired girl wandering the streets. The Traveler and Paimon follow her, leading them to Bimarstan, a hospital run by the Amurta Darshan, where they are surprised to see Dunyarzad bedridden.The girl appears to inform them that this is not their first Festival, then hands them a yellow Knowledge Capsule, from which they learn that they have been reliving the Festival for several days now, during which they met her at various points. She explains that she specifically reached out to the Traveler for their blessing of Dendro and heightened senses, and that the Dunyarzad they met throughout the Festival is but a puppet copy of the original, who they met during their first visit to Sumeru City and whose condition has deteriorated since. The girl reintroduces herself as Nahida, who explains that the entire City is trapped in a one-day samsara, or loop, though she declines to immediately disclose the truth to them lest the information overwhelm them, instead encouraging them to figure it out themselves while she tries to slow down Dunyarzad's Eleazar. The Traveler suggests that the samsara might a time loop, which Nahida rejects before suggesting that they ask around.
The Traveler and Paimon try to find clues from the stall owners. As none prove helpful, they turn to Dehya, who they find with the Dunyarzad puppet. The duo fill her in on what they've learned so far, with Dehya noticing that the Dunyarzad before her seemingly reverted to her old, more somber self. The duo then bring her to Bimarstan, where, though she cannot see the real Dunyarzad, nevertheless was able to sense her aura and her feelings of regret. After learning of the situation from the Traveler, Dehya suspects that the Sages are perpetuating the samsara through the Akasha, which Nahida explains was powered by the Dendro Gnosis, allowing it to both compile knowledge from and impart wisdom onto wearers of Akasha Terminals. The Traveler suspects that the Akasha must be causing them mental fatigue due to said extraction, and Paimon suggests that everyone remove their Akasha Terminals. However, they still hear the beeping sound, and the last thing the Traveler hears before blacking out was an argument between two men arguing over the length of the experiment threatening to create unnecessary casualties.
The Samsara of the Sabzeruz Festival
The following morning, the Traveler and Paimon, still at Bimarstan, finishes recollecting everything they knew to Nahida, confirming that the Akasha is perpetuating the samsara, even as she cryptically refers to herself as a "moon" when Paimon asks her what she is supposed to be when everyone else in Sumeru seemed to be lab rats, so to speak, to the Sages. Afterwards, they return to Dehya, who has lost her memories of yesterday's events, attending to the Dunyarzad puppet after driving off the Eremites; to the duo's surprise, she is not injured, unlike earlier loops, more so when she explains that somehow she is not struggling with her new claymore. Later that night, the Traveler and Paimon report back to Nahida, who suggests that they rest up and not worry too much about tomorrow. The Traveler then hears anew the beep and a voice insisting that the harvest continue despite the potential casualties.The Causality of the Sabzeruz Festival
Contrary to Paimon's hopes, she and the Traveler are still trapped in the samsara. Nahida explains that she didn't divulge much last night so the duo would not worry so much as to cloud their judgment, even as she expresses her appreciation for their companionship, as they are among the few people who can see her. The trio continue brainstorming, whereupon the Traveler abandons their previous time-loop theory on account of the improvement of Dehya's swordsmanship, but also the deterioration of Dunyarzad's health. They then suggest that the Akasha is deleting people's memories at the end of the day, which Nahida again deems incorrect, before asking them to find more clues from Dehya.Once again, the duo meet Dehya with the Dunyarzad puppet, who dismisses the memory-wipe theory, citing that while it is possible for the Akademiya to continually replenish essential resources such as Mora, not everything can be replicated; as evidence, Dehya points them to a wooden training dummy she has been using for practice, which she thinks the Sages would have little time to replicate every blow she dealt. With their latest theory disproved, the Traveler realizes that neither are they in a time loop nor in the real world, and that they have yet to leave the City.
With new clues, the Traveler and Paimon return to Nahida, who reveals that the duo have already done so twice in earlier loops, but never came back the whole night. The trio decide to rest for the night and prepare for another attempt to leave the City.
The Empty Illusions of the Sabzeruz Festival
The following morning, the Traveler and Paimon, having more of their memories of past cycles restored, are told by Nahida that in one earlier cycle the former has sent a cryptic message talking about several pocket dimensions, including the Sabzeruz Festival. Paimon then reviews what happened in the preceding two days.On the first day, the Traveler and Paimon find that the guards barred all traffic in and out of Sumeru City on orders from the Akademiya; to get past the guards, the duo decide to scale the walls, though the Traveler orders Paimon to stay behind in the City in order to observe any change. The following day, the Traveler returns to invite Paimon to leave with them, only for her to start crying and hugging them, claiming they immediately vanished the other day. Judging from their experiences, Nahida concludes that the Traveler lost their memories of the City when they left; thus, as a countermeasure, she hands the Traveler a modified Akasha Terminal that can record messages.
Back in the present, the Traveler remembers sending messages, and together with Paimon and Nahida they listen to the recordings, wherein they described traversing different pocket dimensions, including one containing the Sabzeruz Festival, with the last recording describing these spaces being replaced with empty ones at the same time the Akasha Terminals make the beeping sound. Afterwards, the Traveler and Paimon return to the esplanade to cross-reference everything they knew so far.
By nighttime, as the Dunyarzad puppet leaves to watch the Sabzeruz Festival, the Traveler reaches a breakthrough and reports back to Nahida, correctly concluding that the Sabzeruz samsara is a collective dream shared by the people of Sumeru City. Furthermore, remembering how the Aranara, who derive their powers from the Dendro Archon, are able to manipulate dreams, they also conclude that the Sages are using the Akasha to simultaneously absorb people's dreams and keep them in a constant dream state, creating a dream farm of sorts.
Finally, remembering Kimiya's description of alchemy-based fortunetelling as a gift of the Dendro Archon, the moon-shaped product of their divination, and Nahida referring to herself as a "moon," the Traveler correctly identifies her as none other than Kusanali. In turn, Nahida/Kusanali explains that she did not immediately fill the Traveler and Paimon in on the situation due to its complexity, that the Traveler was able to escape the samsara due to having received the dream-related power of Dendro, and that ending the samsara is urgent due to the severe mental strain on the dreamers, especially such a gravely ill person as Dunyarzad. When Nahida wonders why the Sages chose to base the samsara on her birthday, the Traveler remembers Azar's words to Nilou sarcastically urging her to "celebrate the birth of that god," which Nahida takes note of.
The End of the Sabzeruz Festival
The following morning, Nahida/Kusanali regretfully informs the Traveler and Paimon that Dunyarzad's consciousness has disappeared and has apparently died in real life, unable to sustain the dream harvesting after several days bedridden while her copy was created to take up her role in the samsara. After Nahida rebuffs the duo's attempts to console her by complimenting her kindness to Dunyarzad, deeming herself too weak to save her, she resolves to avert more tragedies by ending the samsara, suggesting to the Traveler and Paimon that they find the host and make them realize that they are dreaming while she goes out of the City to find the dreamscapes.Working through their sorrow over Dunyarzad's fate, the Traveler and Paimon start identifying the host. After dismissing the Sages as candidates, citing that the samsara would work better with someone unaware of the plot, the duo visit Vihar and ask him to make a wish. Vihar, who admits to having a crush on Dunyarzad, tries to wish for her to appear, only for one of the children taking candies from him to appear instead, thus eliminating him as candidate.
The duo then find Dehya protecting the Dunyarzad puppet from Eremites. The Traveler orders the two to leave the bandits to them, with Paimon wondering whether they are venting their anger over the real Dunyarzad's fate. Afterwards, she remembers that Dunyarzad was supposed to pick up something from her lodging and was headed there before she was attacked, and despite some hesitation, Paimon enters her lodging and finds a compilation of folktales about Kusanali, written by Dunyarzad as a gift for her and the Traveler. Later, the duo meet the Dunyarzad puppet at the esplanade and thanks her in lieu of the real one. Remembering Dunyarzad's words about living life without regrets, the Traveler resolves to honor her memory by watching the Dance of Sabzeruz on her behalf.
The Traveler returns to the Grand Bazaar to witness Azar and Setaria scolding Nilou once again. This time, however, the Traveler intervenes, causing both to freeze up, confirming their suspicions that they, too, are puppets, knowing the real Azar and Setaria would not risk their lives in the samsara. The Traveler then notices purple Padisarahs on stage, an impossibility given that they are supposed to be extinct. They then ask Nilou to close her eyes and wish Azar and Setaria out of existence; as the puppets immediately disappear, they take it as confirmation that Nilou is the host of the samsara, the purple Padisarahs being a manifestation of her subconscious wish for their presence. Realizing that she is in a dream, Nilou looks on it as a sign of favor from Kusanali, and recounts the second half of the tale of the first Sage, wherein after a few years under her tutelage, the man grew in knowledge, and when he began to yearn for his parents, wife, and children, Kusanali grants his wish, after which he discovered that all this time he was dreaming, and that he woke up on the day he was supposed to start finding the Archon, with the tale ending with him founding the Akademiya as its first Sage. Recognizing that all dreams must ultimately end, Nilou decides to pour her heart out into one last Dance of Sabzeruz as the dream fades away, watched by several onlookers, including the spirit of Dunyarzad.
The following morning, the Traveler and Paimon wake up to learn that the samsara was finally broken. Remembering that they saw Dunyarzad watching Nilou dance, they take it as a sign that she still lives. The duo rush to find her at Bimarstan next to Katheryne, well recovered, who tells them of a dream of having watched the Dance of Sabzeruz.
Dawn
The Traveler and Paimon recognize the Katheryne before them to be Nahida possessing the receptionist. While Dunyarzad is resting, the three revisit the esplanade, where the latter explains that, after she left Sumeru City, she saw the dreamscapes the Traveler mentioned earlier, then noticed one slowly fading away, which she correctly identifies as Dunyarzad's consciousness, which at the time grew too weak to help sustain the samsara but now free of the Akasha's control. She then spent much of her power sustaining her devout follower's consciousness, having barely held on by the time the Traveler convinced Nilou to end the samsara.With the crisis resolved, Nahida gives the Traveler more information about Sumeru. She confirms that the message the Traveler heard in Irminsul was that of Rukkhadevata before her disappearance during the Khaenri'ah cataclysm, which she believes was also corrupting Irminsul, with her warnings against tapping into it being constantly ignored by the Sages, resulting in hundreds of cases of scholars being driven insane; seeing the Traveler is immune, however, she asks them to join her search for a way to save Irminsul. As for Katheryne's body, she admits to hijacking it through her Akasha Terminal, which she justifies by revealing that the Katherynes found in Adventurers' Guild halls throughout Teyvat are autonomous puppets from Snezhnaya, so she can indirectly explore the world without leaving the Sanctuary of Surasthana, where she was confined for centuries by the Sages; despite Paimon decrying her situation as house arrest, she does little to protest her plight due to her poor self-esteem borne from being compared to Rukkhadevata. Nevertheless, despite centuries of tolerating the Sages' mistreatment, she deems the Sabzeruz samsara a step too far and vows to investigate them. Finally, she confirms that Sumeruans do dream, and that the Sages' teachings that their inability to do so was a sign of maturity is a lie made to distract them from the dream harvesting project. In the meantime, Nahida expresses her intent to take a rest due to the strain of saving Dunyarzad, and after bidding the Traveler farewell, she leaves the body of Katheryne, who is surprised that she has left her post.
Act III: Dreams, Emptiness, Deception
Released: v3.1 "King Deshret and the Three Magi" (September 28, 2022)
Minimum Adventure Rank: 35
Nahida rejects the Traveler's suggestion that she possess key Akademiya personnel, such as the Sages and the Corps of Thirty, given that they intentionally avoid wearing Akasha Terminals, presumably as a countermeasure against her ability to use the Akasha to possess people, and neither does she want to possess any of the scholars or other outsiders, lest they risk ruining innocent lives. Instead, Nahida suggests reaching out to Setaria, a prodigious desert-dweller—brightest among the stars in the night sky, as she puts it—scouted by the Akademiya in her youth, and appeal to her subconscious remorse over turning her back on her people and being an accomplice to the Sages' plans to guilt-trip her into turning on them.
Having learned of Setaria's schedule, wherein she takes a break from her duties every ten days to shop at Treasures Street, the trio observe three of her acquaintances: Nabiya, a young fortuneteller who uses her pet cats Harut and Marut as mediums; Akim, a potter whose father, a retired stonemason, helped Setaria when she first arrived in Sumeru City; and Qishan, a Liyuan applicant to the Akademiya currently working part-time as waitress at Lambad's Tavern. Aferwards, Nahida explains that her plot to turn Setaria against the Sages involves possessing them and passing them up as newly converted Deshret faithful who have received a message from him excoriating Setaria for having turned her back on her people and demanding that she return; as she has difficulty understanding human behavior, she asks the Traveler to possess them in her stead.
The following day, the Traveler possesses, in sequence, Nabiya, Akim, and Qishan to force Setaria to confront her guilty conscience; in addition, as Nabiya, they learn that rumors of Deshret's resurrection was orchestrated by the Sages. Setaria flies into a panic and flags down Rima of the Corps of Thirty to alert the Matra of an increase in Deshret worshippers. However, the Traveler, having also possessed Rima, continues to press Setaria on the issue until she finally confesses to her moral dilemma and running from her guilt. After "Rima" assures her that it is not too late to redeem herself by confessing her guilt and turning on the Sages, Setaria confesses to being one of the designers of the Mass Dream Harvest project, which used the Sabzeruz Festival as a focal point, even as she had her reservations about it, in particular the involvement of a former scholar of the Akademiya expelled long ago for his highly unethical work but has since returned despite misgivings from some Sages. Setaria then asks "Rima" to pick up incriminating documents the following night by the entrance to the Akademiya, as departing outside her schedule may invite suspicion.
On the night of the transfer, the Traveler and Paimon meet Nahida, again possessing Katheryne, who offers to accompany the duo and protect them in case the transfer is a trap, assuring them that the Sages would never find out that she can travel the outside world, even as the Traveler notices that the City is uncharacteristically quiet.
As the trio reach the Akademiya, they find a crowd seemingly on a trance, cheering on the Traveler. In their midst, the trio notice a masked man who Nahida recognizes as the outcast scholar, who in turn reveals that he now goes by the name of Dottore, second-ranking Harbinger of the Fatui. He taunts them that not only had he imprisoned Setaria, but that he also hacked Akasha Terminals to implant people's minds with thoughts of adoration for the Traveler. As they are unwilling to harm the cityfolk even as they swarm them, Nahida unleashes her Dendro powers and counter-hacks the Akasha Terminals to knock them unconscious, then urges the Traveler and Paimon to escape, in the process revealing herself to Dottore through her Katheryne disguise.
Outside the City, the Traveler and Paimon express shock that not only are the Fatui involved yet again, but that they are being led by such a high-ranking Harbinger with connections to Sumeru, no less. Realizing that they underestimated the scale of the problem, and with little clues to go by save for a suspicion that the Fatui are manipulating the Sages into handing them the Dendro Gnosis, the duo decide to visit Tighnari, suspecting that the Akademiya's offer to him that he rejected earlier may involve both the samsara and the Fatui.
At its entrance, the duo reunite with Nahida in Katheryne's body, who proves that she has not been brainwashed by through making obscure analogies and claiming she escaped shortly after purging the hallucinations he generated. However, having given away her identity to him, she is aware that it is only a matter of time before he captures her, forcing them to double down on their efforts. Inside, the trio find Haypasia, who is excited to relay them the news that she has reached the "Paripurna Life" phase of her training, whereupon she has attained full contact with the divine. Remembering her promise to help the Traveler decipher the message from Irminsul, she offers to show them what she saw, which the Traveler accepts.
However, the Traveler instead sees something else: a tale of a young man from Inazuma who was thrice betrayed—the first, by a god who he thought abandoned him as a weakling; the second, by a man who treated him as a family before eventually casting him away in fear; and the third, by a young boy who died too soon; driven mad by these tragedies, he has shut off his emotions to prepare to receive a Gnosis to fuel the power he needs to destroy the world. To their shock, the Traveler recognizes him as Scaramouche. The vision ended, the Traveler, Paimon, and Nahida realize that Haypasia is on a trance; nevertheless, they manage to snap her out of it, causing her to realize that she may have lost her mind.
However, the Traveler senses something amiss, and the group head out of the greenhouse to find brainwashed Corps of Thirty mercenaries lying in wait. As the Traveler fights them off, one mercenary runs through the Sumeru Katherine with a spear. The Traveler tries to reach out to her, and as their fingers touched, they suddenly see themselves in the body of Nahida, trapped inside the Sanctuary of Surasthana, before moving to other rooms ending in a chamber containing Scaramouche hooked up into a machine.
The next thing they know, the Traveler is fleeing Pardis Dhyai with Paimon and Tighnari. The former explains that Nahida temporarily switched consciousnesses with them, then asked the latter, who heard the commotion and came to the rescue, to relay a message to the Traveler that, with Dottore having cornered her, she will not be able to communicate with and assist them for the time being; nevertheless, she assures them that "even in a moonless night, a shower of starlight can still drown out illusions and lies." Remembering how Nahida uses the terms "moon" and "stars" to refer to, respectively, herself and the desert-dwellers, Paimon intuits that Nahida is suggesting that they seek help from the people of the Great Red Sand.
With Tighnari agreeing to help the Traveler, the trio share what they know of the Sages' plans so far, with the Traveler informing Tighnari that the Akademiya's job offer to him was but a cover to their plan to supplant Kusanali with Scaramouche, whom Haypasia got into contact with. In turn, Tighnari explains that he is sheltering Haypasia from the Matra lest she be exiled to Aaru Village, where the Sages consign mentally disturbed scholars lest their ramblings be detrimental to their peers, before suggesting that the Traveler and Paimon head west to Caravan Ribat, a trading post halfway between Port Ormos and Aaru, while he stays behind to help with Haypasia's rehabilitation.
Upon reaching Aaru, Alhaitham is ambushed by a man wearing a jackal headpiece, who he recognizes as Cyno, the "General Mahamatra" and fearsome leader of the Matra, who demands that Alhaitham hand over the Divine Knowledge Capsule, to the surprise of the Traveler and Paimon who assumed that the Matra already took it with when they arrested Mizri. In turn, Alhaitham asks Cyno what he is doing alone in the Great Red Sand, having heard rumors about his recent disappearance. Dehya then arrives and calls out both men for disturbing the peace of Aaru, to no avail. The tension is only broken when a sandstorm began bearing down on the village, and a woman calls on them from afar to take cover in the house behind her.
Inside, the woman introduces herself as Candace, guardian of Aaru Village, and after welcoming the Traveler and Paimon, she turns to Alhaitham, Cyno, and Dehya, reprimanding them for the disturbance before trying to break the tension by having them introduce each other. Cyno reveals that he has exiled himself from the Matra due to his growing distrust towards the Sages, especially after Azar kept vetoing his requests to conduct an audit on their current project on the grounds that the Matra are not supposed to question the Sages. Furthermore, he targeted Alhaitham after seeing him being tasked by the Sages with spying on the Traveler, a charge the latter does not deny, having been offered by the Sages a glimpse of divine knowledge, so to speak, in exchange; nevertheless, he has since abandoned his task by the time he met the Traveler, as well as grew suspicious of the offer after seeing Mizri being driven mad by the Capsule back at Port Ormos, leading Cyno to suspect that the Sages also intended to dispose of him. Finally, Dehya, a native of Aaru, explains that she is on vacation while Dunyarzad is recovering from her near-death experience. Just then, the group hear monsters outside, and Candace leaves to deal with them.
Once the sandstorm died down, the group exit the house and find Candace still fighting rifthounds, with Traveler and Dehya, who is itching to vent off steam from the earlier encounter, joining her in repelling them. Afterwards, the group is approached by Anpu, the village chief whose house the group took shelter in earlier, to inform Cyno, a fellow desert-dweller, of an increase in sandstorms and earthquakes, which an earlier investigation attributed to the corruption of Irminsul, leading Paimon to think that these are to the Great Red Sand what Withering Zones are to Dharma Forest. Moreover, Dehya notices the sudden absence of Village Keepers, the locals' name for the exiled mad scholars. Out of sympathy for the Keepers, the Traveler volunteers to help Anpu and Cyno with the search.
While they prepare for the investigation, the latter tells the Traveler and Paimon the tale of the Village Keepers. Once shunned by the locals out of spite to the Akademiya for foisting them onto Aaru, their opinon on the scholars improved after one of them used Dendro energy to protect the village from a massive earthquake, which the Traveler suspects must be Nahida/Kusanali acting through the Keepers by hacking onto their Akasha Terminals. Cyno senses that the Traveler is telling the truth, even as he admits to this being the first time he heard of Kusanali being active.
The trio's conversation is interrupted by a little boy named Isak, who has eavesdropped on the earlier discussion at Anpu's house and is begging them to find a Village Keeper who he looks up to as a surrogate grandfather. The trio return to Anpu's house to verify Isak's claims to Candace, who explains that the boy grew attached to a Keeper who bore a striking resemblance to his deceased grandfather, who raised him in lieu of his parents who are usually busy at work in Sumeru City, and who would occasionally have moments of lucidity to accompany and teach him, which the Traveler and Cyno think may be Nahida acting through him. Outside Anpu's house, the Traveler, Paimon, and Cyno agree to help search for the Village Keepers.
Minimum Adventure Rank: 35
Like a Triumphant Hero
Days after the Sabzeruz Festival, the Traveler and Paimon visit the Sumeru Katheryne, whose erratic language allowed them to immediately out her as Nahida/Kusanali possessing the puppet anew. After telling them of her dream of the people of Sumeru merrily celebrating the Festival, to the Traveler and Paimon's pity, she informs them that Dunyarzad is currently recovering, but in order to completely get rid of Eleazar, they also needed to cure Irminsul of its Withering. In the meantime, Nahida tells them that first they have to deal with the Sages, then inivites them to further discuss the matter on a corner of the City.Nahida rejects the Traveler's suggestion that she possess key Akademiya personnel, such as the Sages and the Corps of Thirty, given that they intentionally avoid wearing Akasha Terminals, presumably as a countermeasure against her ability to use the Akasha to possess people, and neither does she want to possess any of the scholars or other outsiders, lest they risk ruining innocent lives. Instead, Nahida suggests reaching out to Setaria, a prodigious desert-dweller—brightest among the stars in the night sky, as she puts it—scouted by the Akademiya in her youth, and appeal to her subconscious remorse over turning her back on her people and being an accomplice to the Sages' plans to guilt-trip her into turning on them.
Having learned of Setaria's schedule, wherein she takes a break from her duties every ten days to shop at Treasures Street, the trio observe three of her acquaintances: Nabiya, a young fortuneteller who uses her pet cats Harut and Marut as mediums; Akim, a potter whose father, a retired stonemason, helped Setaria when she first arrived in Sumeru City; and Qishan, a Liyuan applicant to the Akademiya currently working part-time as waitress at Lambad's Tavern. Aferwards, Nahida explains that her plot to turn Setaria against the Sages involves possessing them and passing them up as newly converted Deshret faithful who have received a message from him excoriating Setaria for having turned her back on her people and demanding that she return; as she has difficulty understanding human behavior, she asks the Traveler to possess them in her stead.
The following day, the Traveler possesses, in sequence, Nabiya, Akim, and Qishan to force Setaria to confront her guilty conscience; in addition, as Nabiya, they learn that rumors of Deshret's resurrection was orchestrated by the Sages. Setaria flies into a panic and flags down Rima of the Corps of Thirty to alert the Matra of an increase in Deshret worshippers. However, the Traveler, having also possessed Rima, continues to press Setaria on the issue until she finally confesses to her moral dilemma and running from her guilt. After "Rima" assures her that it is not too late to redeem herself by confessing her guilt and turning on the Sages, Setaria confesses to being one of the designers of the Mass Dream Harvest project, which used the Sabzeruz Festival as a focal point, even as she had her reservations about it, in particular the involvement of a former scholar of the Akademiya expelled long ago for his highly unethical work but has since returned despite misgivings from some Sages. Setaria then asks "Rima" to pick up incriminating documents the following night by the entrance to the Akademiya, as departing outside her schedule may invite suspicion.
On the night of the transfer, the Traveler and Paimon meet Nahida, again possessing Katheryne, who offers to accompany the duo and protect them in case the transfer is a trap, assuring them that the Sages would never find out that she can travel the outside world, even as the Traveler notices that the City is uncharacteristically quiet.
As the trio reach the Akademiya, they find a crowd seemingly on a trance, cheering on the Traveler. In their midst, the trio notice a masked man who Nahida recognizes as the outcast scholar, who in turn reveals that he now goes by the name of Dottore, second-ranking Harbinger of the Fatui. He taunts them that not only had he imprisoned Setaria, but that he also hacked Akasha Terminals to implant people's minds with thoughts of adoration for the Traveler. As they are unwilling to harm the cityfolk even as they swarm them, Nahida unleashes her Dendro powers and counter-hacks the Akasha Terminals to knock them unconscious, then urges the Traveler and Paimon to escape, in the process revealing herself to Dottore through her Katheryne disguise.
Outside the City, the Traveler and Paimon express shock that not only are the Fatui involved yet again, but that they are being led by such a high-ranking Harbinger with connections to Sumeru, no less. Realizing that they underestimated the scale of the problem, and with little clues to go by save for a suspicion that the Fatui are manipulating the Sages into handing them the Dendro Gnosis, the duo decide to visit Tighnari, suspecting that the Akademiya's offer to him that he rejected earlier may involve both the samsara and the Fatui.
The Gaze From a Certain God
En route to Gandharva, the Traveler and Paimon are ambushed by an Eremite band hired by Dottore, and despite driving them back, they realize that they cannot afford to be complacent. Upon arrival, they are greeted by Collei, who admits that her Eleazar has further deteriorated such that Tighnari has to take her off the patrol rotation and reassign her as local coordinator. In the meantime, Tighnari has traveled west to Pardis Dhyai, the greenhouse of the Amurta Darshan.At its entrance, the duo reunite with Nahida in Katheryne's body, who proves that she has not been brainwashed by through making obscure analogies and claiming she escaped shortly after purging the hallucinations he generated. However, having given away her identity to him, she is aware that it is only a matter of time before he captures her, forcing them to double down on their efforts. Inside, the trio find Haypasia, who is excited to relay them the news that she has reached the "Paripurna Life" phase of her training, whereupon she has attained full contact with the divine. Remembering her promise to help the Traveler decipher the message from Irminsul, she offers to show them what she saw, which the Traveler accepts.
However, the Traveler instead sees something else: a tale of a young man from Inazuma who was thrice betrayed—the first, by a god who he thought abandoned him as a weakling; the second, by a man who treated him as a family before eventually casting him away in fear; and the third, by a young boy who died too soon; driven mad by these tragedies, he has shut off his emotions to prepare to receive a Gnosis to fuel the power he needs to destroy the world. To their shock, the Traveler recognizes him as Scaramouche. The vision ended, the Traveler, Paimon, and Nahida realize that Haypasia is on a trance; nevertheless, they manage to snap her out of it, causing her to realize that she may have lost her mind.
However, the Traveler senses something amiss, and the group head out of the greenhouse to find brainwashed Corps of Thirty mercenaries lying in wait. As the Traveler fights them off, one mercenary runs through the Sumeru Katherine with a spear. The Traveler tries to reach out to her, and as their fingers touched, they suddenly see themselves in the body of Nahida, trapped inside the Sanctuary of Surasthana, before moving to other rooms ending in a chamber containing Scaramouche hooked up into a machine.
The next thing they know, the Traveler is fleeing Pardis Dhyai with Paimon and Tighnari. The former explains that Nahida temporarily switched consciousnesses with them, then asked the latter, who heard the commotion and came to the rescue, to relay a message to the Traveler that, with Dottore having cornered her, she will not be able to communicate with and assist them for the time being; nevertheless, she assures them that "even in a moonless night, a shower of starlight can still drown out illusions and lies." Remembering how Nahida uses the terms "moon" and "stars" to refer to, respectively, herself and the desert-dwellers, Paimon intuits that Nahida is suggesting that they seek help from the people of the Great Red Sand.
With Tighnari agreeing to help the Traveler, the trio share what they know of the Sages' plans so far, with the Traveler informing Tighnari that the Akademiya's job offer to him was but a cover to their plan to supplant Kusanali with Scaramouche, whom Haypasia got into contact with. In turn, Tighnari explains that he is sheltering Haypasia from the Matra lest she be exiled to Aaru Village, where the Sages consign mentally disturbed scholars lest their ramblings be detrimental to their peers, before suggesting that the Traveler and Paimon head west to Caravan Ribat, a trading post halfway between Port Ormos and Aaru, while he stays behind to help with Haypasia's rehabilitation.
The Four at Loggerheads
At Caravan Ribat, the Traveler and Paimon encounter Alhaitham, who tells them to follow him, narrowly escaping a group of Eremites hired to capture them. The Scribe assures them that he is not turning them over to the Sages, let alone participating in their project, then reveals that he is still studying the Divine Knowledge Capsule; judging from their reaction to Mizri's utterances during their time at Port Ormos, he suspects that the Traveler may know something about it, which they refuse to answer; Alhaitham takes it in stride, understanding their paranoia towards anyone associated with the Akademiya in light of recent events, and instead suggests that he jointheir journey to Aaru Village, which they accept.Upon reaching Aaru, Alhaitham is ambushed by a man wearing a jackal headpiece, who he recognizes as Cyno, the "General Mahamatra" and fearsome leader of the Matra, who demands that Alhaitham hand over the Divine Knowledge Capsule, to the surprise of the Traveler and Paimon who assumed that the Matra already took it with when they arrested Mizri. In turn, Alhaitham asks Cyno what he is doing alone in the Great Red Sand, having heard rumors about his recent disappearance. Dehya then arrives and calls out both men for disturbing the peace of Aaru, to no avail. The tension is only broken when a sandstorm began bearing down on the village, and a woman calls on them from afar to take cover in the house behind her.
Inside, the woman introduces herself as Candace, guardian of Aaru Village, and after welcoming the Traveler and Paimon, she turns to Alhaitham, Cyno, and Dehya, reprimanding them for the disturbance before trying to break the tension by having them introduce each other. Cyno reveals that he has exiled himself from the Matra due to his growing distrust towards the Sages, especially after Azar kept vetoing his requests to conduct an audit on their current project on the grounds that the Matra are not supposed to question the Sages. Furthermore, he targeted Alhaitham after seeing him being tasked by the Sages with spying on the Traveler, a charge the latter does not deny, having been offered by the Sages a glimpse of divine knowledge, so to speak, in exchange; nevertheless, he has since abandoned his task by the time he met the Traveler, as well as grew suspicious of the offer after seeing Mizri being driven mad by the Capsule back at Port Ormos, leading Cyno to suspect that the Sages also intended to dispose of him. Finally, Dehya, a native of Aaru, explains that she is on vacation while Dunyarzad is recovering from her near-death experience. Just then, the group hear monsters outside, and Candace leaves to deal with them.
Once the sandstorm died down, the group exit the house and find Candace still fighting rifthounds, with Traveler and Dehya, who is itching to vent off steam from the earlier encounter, joining her in repelling them. Afterwards, the group is approached by Anpu, the village chief whose house the group took shelter in earlier, to inform Cyno, a fellow desert-dweller, of an increase in sandstorms and earthquakes, which an earlier investigation attributed to the corruption of Irminsul, leading Paimon to think that these are to the Great Red Sand what Withering Zones are to Dharma Forest. Moreover, Dehya notices the sudden absence of Village Keepers, the locals' name for the exiled mad scholars. Out of sympathy for the Keepers, the Traveler volunteers to help Anpu and Cyno with the search.
While they prepare for the investigation, the latter tells the Traveler and Paimon the tale of the Village Keepers. Once shunned by the locals out of spite to the Akademiya for foisting them onto Aaru, their opinon on the scholars improved after one of them used Dendro energy to protect the village from a massive earthquake, which the Traveler suspects must be Nahida/Kusanali acting through the Keepers by hacking onto their Akasha Terminals. Cyno senses that the Traveler is telling the truth, even as he admits to this being the first time he heard of Kusanali being active.
The trio's conversation is interrupted by a little boy named Isak, who has eavesdropped on the earlier discussion at Anpu's house and is begging them to find a Village Keeper who he looks up to as a surrogate grandfather. The trio return to Anpu's house to verify Isak's claims to Candace, who explains that the boy grew attached to a Keeper who bore a striking resemblance to his deceased grandfather, who raised him in lieu of his parents who are usually busy at work in Sumeru City, and who would occasionally have moments of lucidity to accompany and teach him, which the Traveler and Cyno think may be Nahida acting through him. Outside Anpu's house, the Traveler, Paimon, and Cyno agree to help search for the Village Keepers.
Act IV: King Deshret and the Three Magi
Released: v3.1 "King Deshret and the Three Magi" (September 28, 2022)
Minimum Adventure Rank: 35
Afterwards, the trio return to Isak, who leads them to his "grandfather's" shack north of the Village, where the Traveler nearly faints from the scent of Spirit Borneol, which reminded Paimon of the time they were saved by Tighnari, who Cyno recognizes as a good friend. While scouring the shack for clues, Cyno finds half-buried footprints presumably belonging to Isak's "grandfather," as well as traces of the incense, leading him to suspect that the latter was lured away with it, thus lending some credence to rumors that the radicals are going to use the Keepers as sacrifices.
Back at Aaru, the group, sans Isak, report back to Candace and Dehya, Alhaitham having made himself scarce, on what they found. Candace notes that Spirit Borneol is only produced at Dharma Forest and is only popular with the scholars, suggesting that someone from beyond the Wall of Samiel must be orchestrating the disappearances. Dehya claims that she knows of some of the radical Eremites, such as Delavar, Engur, and Jabari—the latter being one of the locals the Traveler, Paimon, Cyno, and Isak asked earlier for clues on the Keepers—dismissing them as little more than bandits driven by poverty. Dehya then asks the Traveler and Paimon to join her journey east to Caravan Ribat, claiming she is not strong enough to take on the radicals alone, while asking Cyno to stay behind lest his presence intimidate people.
En route, the trio contemplate on the Wall of Samiel, which Dehya loathes as a symbol of the Akademiya's repression of the desert-dwellers, having co-opted the Wall, originally built to keep sandstorms out of Dharma Forest, as a cruel reminder to the desert-dwellers that they are but second-class citizens, largely discriminated upon save for exceedingly rare geniuses such as Setaria.
Upon arrival at Caravan Ribat, Dehya introduces the Traveler and Paimon to Zaki, a drinking buddy of hers. Claiming she has a spice-trading deal from another nation, she asks for the whereabouts of Engur, Delavar, and Jabari. Zaki leads them to their location west of Caravan Ribat, where an ambush has been sprung on them, and Zaki reveals himself to be a radical Eremite. Delavar and Engur also emerge, who claim to have spied on Dehya back at Aaru bringing with her associates from the Akademiya, accuse her of being a traitor, and call bluff on her monologue before the Wall. Unfortunately for them, the Traveler and Dehya easily manhandle them, to Zaki's disbelief; Dehya reveals that she has also been bluffing about being weak before knocking him out.
As she, the Traveler, and Paimon prepare to take the bandits back to Aaru, Dehya explains that she has already noticed the spies back in the Village, but allowed them to report back to lull the radicals into complacency, and that she was also bluffing about Jabari being one of them to give a false impression that she is both physically and intellectually lacking, as well as admitting that she does not so much blame Kusanali for her people's plight as much as the Sages. Afterwards, the trio return to Aaru with the captured bandits, where Dehya hands over the three ringleaders for Candace to interrogate.
The following morning, the trio return to Anpu's house with Cyno, who reveals that he taught Candace some interrogation techniques. Inside, after Candace lectures Delavar, Engur, and Zaki that trying to resurrect Deshret will only bring more hardship than the desert-dwellers are already enduring, Zaki confesses that several days ago a masked man claiming to be an emissary of Deshret invited them to help capture the Village Keepers by luring them with Spirit Borneol so they can be sacrificed in a ritual to resurrect the Scarlet King. Anpu chimes in, claiming he might know something, and after the ringleaders are knocked out by Cyno to maintain secrecy, he expresses his suspicions that the man may be from the Akademiya, remembering the time he declined a request by some scholars to take away the Keepers. Dehya suspects that the Akademiya must have been spreading false rumors to manipulate the radicals into delivering the Keepers to them, a point the Traveler corroborates by recalling Setaria's confession, leading Cyno to remark that the Sages must have found new ways to exploit them. The group adjourns to prepare for the search, while Candace stays behind to deal with the radicals.
After the trio clear the area of hilichurls and mutant fungi, Alhaitham uses his Dendro Vision to unseal the facility, then suggests to the Traveler and Paimon that they wait until nightfall, during which the latter is baffled by his choice of reading materials to kill time. Later that night, the trio hear someone crying, the source of which Alhaitham points to a secret basement; as it is sealed behind special mechanisms, the Traveler returns outside to find three more Dendro Monuments to activate, undoing the seals. In the basement, Alhaitham finds Razak, his former senior, who was also driven mad despite having not taken Satyavada Life training. Judging from wheel marks, he suspected that the kidnappers must have made so hasty an escape they accidentally left Razak behind, whose state reminded the Traveler of Mizri back at Port Ormos.
Based on evidence gathered so far, Alhaitham deduces that the Akademiya is manipulating radical Eremites into kidnapping the Keepers on their behalf, preying on their desperation for a reprieve from their hardscrabble living with a lie that the Keepers are the key to Deshret's resurrection, ensuring no blame can fall upon the Sages. As for the Keepers, Alhaitham theorizes that they may have been gathered to have the information in their brains extracted into Knowledge Capsules, with the Traveler adding that the Keepers may have been driven mad after either making contact with Irminsul or using such Capsules. Though the Sages' purpose remained unclear, Alhaitham expresses his opposition to what he perceived to be their gross ethical violations.
With Razak in tow, the trio report back to the group in Aaru, with Cyno wondering how the kidnappers could have easily eluded the trio. To everyone's shock, Alhaitham points to Cyno as a mole, albeit unwittingly: because the General Mahamatra has nigh-unlimited access to classified information, the Sages might have taken precautions against the possibility of him intruding into their activities; in particular, Alhaitham remembers seeing his activity logs being encoded into the Akasha every Jnagarbha Day, which then computes every possible action he could take so they can easily predict his actions. Cyno rues having unwittingly compromised their mission, though Candace assures him that he is not at fault for following the rules, before resolving to make up for it by throwing the Sages off his tracks by heading further west instead of turning east to chase after the Village Keepers, with Isak tagging along, even as Paimon noticed Dehya's absence.
En route, the group finds several Akademiya-made headpieces half-buried in the sand, from which Alhaitham suspects that the Keepers and their kidnapping party were waylaid by Eremites. Eventually the group comes upon Dehya talking with Rahman, leader of a group of radicals. Isak, believing Dehya betrayed them, tries to confront them; her cover blown, she admits that she has been trying to negotiate with Rahman, whose band has kidnapped the group to use them as leverage against the Akademiya, into releasing the Keepers, warning him of the futility of his pursuit. Seeing that Rahman is undeterred, Alhaitham offers himself as a hostage in exchange, also to no avail. Dehya then offer to sacrifice her right, sword-wielding arm in exchange, to everyone's shock. One of Rahman's lackeys tries to do so, only for Rahman to stop him at the last second, instead opting to challenge her to a duel the following noon.
On the way back to Aaru, the group scolds Dehya for her recklessness, which she justifies by claiming she has counted on Rahman not having the heart to have her arm cut off. Cyno offers to take the radicals on, which Dehya declines, insisting on negotiating with her kindred, while Alhaitham compliments her resolve and audacity, to the point of claiming she can make for a good scholar.
When the group comes to, they find that they have fallen into a large pit, with Cyno remarking that Kusanali may have acted anew through Isak's "grandfather." The group discover that the pit led to the remains of a temple, which Alhaitham identifies as hailing from King Deshret's civilization, much to the delight of Rahman, who strikes a truce with the group so they can explore the temple together, leaving behind Isak to tend to his "grandfather," as well as his lackeys, who were still recovering from the fall.
Inside, Alhaitham remarks that, despite supposedly belonging to the Scarlet King's civilization, it is also brimming with Dendro energy, to Rahman's confusion. Finally, the group comes upon a jackal statue overlooking a tomb, which Alhaitham deciphers to belong to Kasala, the last priest of Deshret. He then finds a device on the tomb, which he reveals to be a visual last testament of Kasala telling of the truth between Deshret and Rukkhadevata.
Long ago, Deshret introduced otherworldy knowledge to his people, which became a curse that slowly drove people insane and covered their bodies with dark gray scales, as well as spread a deadly blight onto the land. Rukkhadevata intervened by summoning priests to build temples infused with Dendro energy to contain the curse, while the survivors were gathered to what is now Aaru Village. It did not take long for the curse to resurface, however, forcing Deshret to sacrifice himself to cleanse the land, while Rukkhadevata spent so much of her power helping him that she reverted to the form of a small child. Kasala, already on his deathbed by the time he recorded his testament, ends it by imploring his people to let go of past grievances and revel in their gods' benevolence.
Contemplating on what they saw, the group realizes that Deshret and Rukkhadevata were never enemies to begin with, while the Traveler ponders on the irony of the enmity between their followers, as well as Rukkhadevata's uncanny resemblance to Kusanali. Rahman, shocked by the revelations, took some time by himself to collect his thoughts while the others continue exploring the mausoleum. Once they return, Rahman apologizes for his actions and offers to return the Village Keepers after explaining his discovery to his comrades, now realizing that his people's true enemy are the Sages. As the group leaves, Cyno contemplates for a while before Kasala's tomb, struck at the fact that the latter bore a strong resemblance to him.
The group head southeast to the stronghold of Rahman's band in the Land of Upper Setekh, where Rahman brings out Morghi and Judar, a pair of senior Akademiya personnel who were coordinating the kidnapping of the Village Keepers. Out of fear of Cyno and Alhaitham, they confess that the Sages are working on creating a new God of Wisdom in collaboration with Dottore, who, appealing to their desperation over a decline in new scholarly breakthrough since Rukkhadevata's disappearance as well as the continued deterioration of Irminsul, offered to help them create a new god, which they accepted despite some reservations over his background and character. The first phase of the project involved building a divine vessel based on a humanoid puppet, which the Traveler suspects to be Scaramouche, then harvesting dreams through the Sabzeruz Festival samsara to increase the Akasha's output, and then using Jnana Energy generated to transfer power from a Gnosis in Dottore's possession to a divine core, while the next involves feeding their new god with Divine Knowledge Capsules extracted from the Keepers, whose madness the Sages took to be a manifestation of divine knowledge—a project Alhaitham criticizes as an attempt to perpetuate not so much the memory of Rukkhadevata as much as the Sages' stranglehold on the dissemination of knowledge. When Cyno asks why are the Sages creating a new god when Kusanali already walks among them, the two claim that the Sages not only look down on her for being less knowledgeable, but, above all, consider her a sign that their beloved Greater Lord has died. The interrogation concluded, Dehya asks Rahman to lend her some of his men to escort the Village Keepers back to Aaru.
Back at the village, the Traveler, Paimon, Dehya, Cyno, Alhaitham, and Candace discuss everything they learned so far over some snacks. With a large Eremite band now on their side, they begin brainstorming for a plot to overthrow the Sages and rescue Kusanali.
Minimum Adventure Rank: 35
The Missing Village Keepers
The Traveler, Paimon, Cyno, and Isak begin the search for the missing Village Keepers by asking around the locals. Midway through, Cyno halts and has the Traveler join him in eavesdropping on a pair of locals discussing rumors of Deshret's resurrection. After Cyno intimidates them into giving him details, they confess that a group of radical Eremites have been going about Aaru Village lately, proclaiming that the disappearance of the Keepers are a portent of the Scarlet King's resurrection, just as his death was portended by an increase of cases of insanity.Afterwards, the trio return to Isak, who leads them to his "grandfather's" shack north of the Village, where the Traveler nearly faints from the scent of Spirit Borneol, which reminded Paimon of the time they were saved by Tighnari, who Cyno recognizes as a good friend. While scouring the shack for clues, Cyno finds half-buried footprints presumably belonging to Isak's "grandfather," as well as traces of the incense, leading him to suspect that the latter was lured away with it, thus lending some credence to rumors that the radicals are going to use the Keepers as sacrifices.
Back at Aaru, the group, sans Isak, report back to Candace and Dehya, Alhaitham having made himself scarce, on what they found. Candace notes that Spirit Borneol is only produced at Dharma Forest and is only popular with the scholars, suggesting that someone from beyond the Wall of Samiel must be orchestrating the disappearances. Dehya claims that she knows of some of the radical Eremites, such as Delavar, Engur, and Jabari—the latter being one of the locals the Traveler, Paimon, Cyno, and Isak asked earlier for clues on the Keepers—dismissing them as little more than bandits driven by poverty. Dehya then asks the Traveler and Paimon to join her journey east to Caravan Ribat, claiming she is not strong enough to take on the radicals alone, while asking Cyno to stay behind lest his presence intimidate people.
En route, the trio contemplate on the Wall of Samiel, which Dehya loathes as a symbol of the Akademiya's repression of the desert-dwellers, having co-opted the Wall, originally built to keep sandstorms out of Dharma Forest, as a cruel reminder to the desert-dwellers that they are but second-class citizens, largely discriminated upon save for exceedingly rare geniuses such as Setaria.
Upon arrival at Caravan Ribat, Dehya introduces the Traveler and Paimon to Zaki, a drinking buddy of hers. Claiming she has a spice-trading deal from another nation, she asks for the whereabouts of Engur, Delavar, and Jabari. Zaki leads them to their location west of Caravan Ribat, where an ambush has been sprung on them, and Zaki reveals himself to be a radical Eremite. Delavar and Engur also emerge, who claim to have spied on Dehya back at Aaru bringing with her associates from the Akademiya, accuse her of being a traitor, and call bluff on her monologue before the Wall. Unfortunately for them, the Traveler and Dehya easily manhandle them, to Zaki's disbelief; Dehya reveals that she has also been bluffing about being weak before knocking him out.
As she, the Traveler, and Paimon prepare to take the bandits back to Aaru, Dehya explains that she has already noticed the spies back in the Village, but allowed them to report back to lull the radicals into complacency, and that she was also bluffing about Jabari being one of them to give a false impression that she is both physically and intellectually lacking, as well as admitting that she does not so much blame Kusanali for her people's plight as much as the Sages. Afterwards, the trio return to Aaru with the captured bandits, where Dehya hands over the three ringleaders for Candace to interrogate.
The following morning, the trio return to Anpu's house with Cyno, who reveals that he taught Candace some interrogation techniques. Inside, after Candace lectures Delavar, Engur, and Zaki that trying to resurrect Deshret will only bring more hardship than the desert-dwellers are already enduring, Zaki confesses that several days ago a masked man claiming to be an emissary of Deshret invited them to help capture the Village Keepers by luring them with Spirit Borneol so they can be sacrificed in a ritual to resurrect the Scarlet King. Anpu chimes in, claiming he might know something, and after the ringleaders are knocked out by Cyno to maintain secrecy, he expresses his suspicions that the man may be from the Akademiya, remembering the time he declined a request by some scholars to take away the Keepers. Dehya suspects that the Akademiya must have been spreading false rumors to manipulate the radicals into delivering the Keepers to them, a point the Traveler corroborates by recalling Setaria's confession, leading Cyno to remark that the Sages must have found new ways to exploit them. The group adjourns to prepare for the search, while Candace stays behind to deal with the radicals.
Cry from the Eleazar Hospital
Outside Anpu's house, the Traveler, Paimon, and Cyno find Alhaitham reading a book. He claims to have conducted his own investigation in Aaru while the others are away, and warns them that Shani, one of the locals the Traveler, Paimon, Cyno, and Isak questioned a few days ago, was not being truthful, albeit for sympathetic reasons. Later that night, the group, sans Cyno, visit Shani, who the Traveler assures of their trustworthiness by repeating Candace's remarks about the folly of trying to resurrect Deshret. Shani exits her house and confesses to having lied in order to protect herself, as her mixed heritage, being a daughter of desert- and forest-dwellers, has made her an obect of suspicion from some fellow villagers, especially the radicals. She explains that she used to hear people crying in the dead of night, which Alhaitham confirmed from a village guard, which have grown silent by the time of the Traveler's arrival, pointing to the source at the valley of Dar al-Shifa to the south, which Alhaitham notes has an abandoned Eleazar treatment facility.After the trio clear the area of hilichurls and mutant fungi, Alhaitham uses his Dendro Vision to unseal the facility, then suggests to the Traveler and Paimon that they wait until nightfall, during which the latter is baffled by his choice of reading materials to kill time. Later that night, the trio hear someone crying, the source of which Alhaitham points to a secret basement; as it is sealed behind special mechanisms, the Traveler returns outside to find three more Dendro Monuments to activate, undoing the seals. In the basement, Alhaitham finds Razak, his former senior, who was also driven mad despite having not taken Satyavada Life training. Judging from wheel marks, he suspected that the kidnappers must have made so hasty an escape they accidentally left Razak behind, whose state reminded the Traveler of Mizri back at Port Ormos.
Based on evidence gathered so far, Alhaitham deduces that the Akademiya is manipulating radical Eremites into kidnapping the Keepers on their behalf, preying on their desperation for a reprieve from their hardscrabble living with a lie that the Keepers are the key to Deshret's resurrection, ensuring no blame can fall upon the Sages. As for the Keepers, Alhaitham theorizes that they may have been gathered to have the information in their brains extracted into Knowledge Capsules, with the Traveler adding that the Keepers may have been driven mad after either making contact with Irminsul or using such Capsules. Though the Sages' purpose remained unclear, Alhaitham expresses his opposition to what he perceived to be their gross ethical violations.
With Razak in tow, the trio report back to the group in Aaru, with Cyno wondering how the kidnappers could have easily eluded the trio. To everyone's shock, Alhaitham points to Cyno as a mole, albeit unwittingly: because the General Mahamatra has nigh-unlimited access to classified information, the Sages might have taken precautions against the possibility of him intruding into their activities; in particular, Alhaitham remembers seeing his activity logs being encoded into the Akasha every Jnagarbha Day, which then computes every possible action he could take so they can easily predict his actions. Cyno rues having unwittingly compromised their mission, though Candace assures him that he is not at fault for following the rules, before resolving to make up for it by throwing the Sages off his tracks by heading further west instead of turning east to chase after the Village Keepers, with Isak tagging along, even as Paimon noticed Dehya's absence.
En route, the group finds several Akademiya-made headpieces half-buried in the sand, from which Alhaitham suspects that the Keepers and their kidnapping party were waylaid by Eremites. Eventually the group comes upon Dehya talking with Rahman, leader of a group of radicals. Isak, believing Dehya betrayed them, tries to confront them; her cover blown, she admits that she has been trying to negotiate with Rahman, whose band has kidnapped the group to use them as leverage against the Akademiya, into releasing the Keepers, warning him of the futility of his pursuit. Seeing that Rahman is undeterred, Alhaitham offers himself as a hostage in exchange, also to no avail. Dehya then offer to sacrifice her right, sword-wielding arm in exchange, to everyone's shock. One of Rahman's lackeys tries to do so, only for Rahman to stop him at the last second, instead opting to challenge her to a duel the following noon.
On the way back to Aaru, the group scolds Dehya for her recklessness, which she justifies by claiming she has counted on Rahman not having the heart to have her arm cut off. Cyno offers to take the radicals on, which Dehya declines, insisting on negotiating with her kindred, while Alhaitham compliments her resolve and audacity, to the point of claiming she can make for a good scholar.
Secret of the Scorching Desert
The following day, the Traveler, Paimon, Dehya, Cyno, Alhaitham, and Isak head west to the venue of the duel with Rahman, at the foot of the western face of the Mausoleum of King Deshret, a massive pyramid dominating the Hypostyle Desert, where the latter has brought Isak's "grandfather." Dehya easily wins her duel with Rahman, prompting one of the latter's lackeys to threaten the Village Keeper with a knife to his face. The tension is broken, however, when an earthquake struck; as they sink into the sands, the Keeper emits Dendro energy, enveloping them in a green sphere that protected them as they sank underneath.When the group comes to, they find that they have fallen into a large pit, with Cyno remarking that Kusanali may have acted anew through Isak's "grandfather." The group discover that the pit led to the remains of a temple, which Alhaitham identifies as hailing from King Deshret's civilization, much to the delight of Rahman, who strikes a truce with the group so they can explore the temple together, leaving behind Isak to tend to his "grandfather," as well as his lackeys, who were still recovering from the fall.
Inside, Alhaitham remarks that, despite supposedly belonging to the Scarlet King's civilization, it is also brimming with Dendro energy, to Rahman's confusion. Finally, the group comes upon a jackal statue overlooking a tomb, which Alhaitham deciphers to belong to Kasala, the last priest of Deshret. He then finds a device on the tomb, which he reveals to be a visual last testament of Kasala telling of the truth between Deshret and Rukkhadevata.
Long ago, Deshret introduced otherworldy knowledge to his people, which became a curse that slowly drove people insane and covered their bodies with dark gray scales, as well as spread a deadly blight onto the land. Rukkhadevata intervened by summoning priests to build temples infused with Dendro energy to contain the curse, while the survivors were gathered to what is now Aaru Village. It did not take long for the curse to resurface, however, forcing Deshret to sacrifice himself to cleanse the land, while Rukkhadevata spent so much of her power helping him that she reverted to the form of a small child. Kasala, already on his deathbed by the time he recorded his testament, ends it by imploring his people to let go of past grievances and revel in their gods' benevolence.
Contemplating on what they saw, the group realizes that Deshret and Rukkhadevata were never enemies to begin with, while the Traveler ponders on the irony of the enmity between their followers, as well as Rukkhadevata's uncanny resemblance to Kusanali. Rahman, shocked by the revelations, took some time by himself to collect his thoughts while the others continue exploring the mausoleum. Once they return, Rahman apologizes for his actions and offers to return the Village Keepers after explaining his discovery to his comrades, now realizing that his people's true enemy are the Sages. As the group leaves, Cyno contemplates for a while before Kasala's tomb, struck at the fact that the latter bore a strong resemblance to him.
The group head southeast to the stronghold of Rahman's band in the Land of Upper Setekh, where Rahman brings out Morghi and Judar, a pair of senior Akademiya personnel who were coordinating the kidnapping of the Village Keepers. Out of fear of Cyno and Alhaitham, they confess that the Sages are working on creating a new God of Wisdom in collaboration with Dottore, who, appealing to their desperation over a decline in new scholarly breakthrough since Rukkhadevata's disappearance as well as the continued deterioration of Irminsul, offered to help them create a new god, which they accepted despite some reservations over his background and character. The first phase of the project involved building a divine vessel based on a humanoid puppet, which the Traveler suspects to be Scaramouche, then harvesting dreams through the Sabzeruz Festival samsara to increase the Akasha's output, and then using Jnana Energy generated to transfer power from a Gnosis in Dottore's possession to a divine core, while the next involves feeding their new god with Divine Knowledge Capsules extracted from the Keepers, whose madness the Sages took to be a manifestation of divine knowledge—a project Alhaitham criticizes as an attempt to perpetuate not so much the memory of Rukkhadevata as much as the Sages' stranglehold on the dissemination of knowledge. When Cyno asks why are the Sages creating a new god when Kusanali already walks among them, the two claim that the Sages not only look down on her for being less knowledgeable, but, above all, consider her a sign that their beloved Greater Lord has died. The interrogation concluded, Dehya asks Rahman to lend her some of his men to escort the Village Keepers back to Aaru.
Back at the village, the Traveler, Paimon, Dehya, Cyno, Alhaitham, and Candace discuss everything they learned so far over some snacks. With a large Eremite band now on their side, they begin brainstorming for a plot to overthrow the Sages and rescue Kusanali.
Act V: Akasha Pulses, the Kalpa Flame Rises
Released: v3.2 "Akasha Pulses, the Kalpa Flame Rises" (November 2, 2022)
Minimum Adventure Rank: 35
World Effects: Unlocks the "Joururi Workship" Trounce Domain (Shouki no Kami [Scaramouche] as a weekly boss); removes all mention of Rukkhadevata from in-game text.
At the entrance to Aaru, the duo meet Alhaitham, who is has just finished talking with Rahman. Claiming he is more of a scholar than a fighter, Alhaitham tells them that he is coordinating with Rahman's group for their role in his plan. Remembering everything they learned at Kasala's mausoleum, Alhaitham intuits that the Village Keepers and Mizri may have been driven insane by Deshret's forbidden knowledge; as the Sages mistook the madness as a sign of contact with divine knowledge, they saw little reason to disclose it, hence letting the situation to fester for so long. He also thinks that Eleazar, the Withering, and the violent sandstorms are all symptoms of the forbidden knowledge polluting Irminsul, leading him to realize the urgency of saving Kusanali and alerting her of the situation after Paimon remembers that the key to saving Irminsul might be contained within the lingering consciousness of Rukkhadevata therein. With their priorities set, Alhaitham asks the Traveler and Paimon to follow him south to Rahman's stronghold.
There, the duo find Morghi and Judar working on Alhaitham's orders to repair the headsets used to extract information into Knowledge Capsules. Despite Paimon's concerns, Alhaitham asks the Traveler to wear a headset and imagine Kusanali having been rescued and Sumeru undergoing political reforms, then hands them a manifesto which they read and commit to the Capsule, before explaining to Paimon that part of his plan involves taking advantage of the Akademiya's uncritical deference to the Akasha as well as legal loopholes. Afterwards, Alhaitham orders the duo to meet up with Cyno at Caravan Ribat while he resumes his work.
At Caravat Ribat, the duo find Rahman and Cyno arguing over the latter's sudden hesitation over what he perceived to be the risk of casualties in Alhaitham's plan. They explain to the duo that part of the plan involves getting around Caravan Ribat's strictures on the eastward traffic of unregistered Eremites by having Cyno pretend to coordinate with the local Corps of Thirty detachment to arrest Rahman and his band, with the General Mahamatra worrying the guards may not exercise the same level of restraint as he given that the band is supposed to role-play as violent marauders, despite Rahman assuring him of their sturdiness. After the Traveler agrees to help him maintain the ruse by joining in in engaging Rahman's band in a mock battle, and seeing Rahman's resolve, Cyno concedes and commits to the plan.
At the Corps' outpost, Cyno informs the guards that he is hiring them to conduct a covert operation against a criminal ring as large as Ayn al-Ahmar. While the guards report to their superiors, Cyno refreshes to a skeptical Paimon some details of Alhaitham's plan, wherein he takes advantage of the Sages' coverup of Cyno's disappearance to his fellow Matra, lest any untoward incident involving him draw attention to the Sages' activities, as well as the fact that the Akasha has yet to account for the normally lone-wolf Cyno working with other people. After a while, the guards return with their commanding officer, Luxembarbo, to whom Cyno introduces the Traveler and Paimon as, respectively, his new assistant and their construct buddy; assuming Cyno is still with the Akademiya, Luxembarbo agrees to his request.
After a couple days, the Traveler, Paimon, and Cyno reconvene with Luxembarbo's platoon midway through the route between Caravan Ribat and Aaru Village, where the General Mahamatra gives the platoon firm instructions that they needed everyone in Rahman's band alive for him to interrogate. After a while, Rahman's band arrives and challenges the Traveler, Cyno, and Luxembarbo' platoon to battle. Per Alhaitham's plan, the Traveler and Cyno pretend to easily overhwelm Rahman's band, before asking the platoon to take them away. The ruse successful, Cyno assures the Traveler and Paimon that he will oversee Rahman and his group's safe transfer to Sumeru City, then asks them to carry the next part of the plan: meet Dehya at Caravan Ribat and help her convince Tighnari to support the plan, assuring a skeptical Paimon that his friendship with the latter would get the message through.
At Pardis Dhyai, the Traveler introduces Dehya to Tighnari, then invites him to a private conversation, where they immediately ask him if he met Dottore, who he confirms has just left. After Dehya assures him that she and the Traveler are sent by Cyno, Tighnari, realizing that the General Mahamatra may have been involved in a serious matter, reveals that earlier, Dottore came to take Haypasia with him back to Snezhnaya, ostensibly for treatment; Tighnari rejected his request, citing that her condition has not deteriorated so as to necessitate treatment elsewhere, as well as the distance of Snezhnaya, not to mention how Dottore exuded an aura of arrogance not unlike those of the rest of the Akademiya that he has come to detest, even as he is concerned with the Harbinger's reaction, wherein he threatens to deal with him but for the Tsaritsa's immediate summons to the Harbingers, that he still has some loose ends to deal with, and warns him that knowledge comes with a price.
Tighnari also admits to having his own suspicions about the Akademiya, recalling an earlier discussion with Cyno about some letters from his former mentor, the Sage of the Amurta Darshan, in particular noting the lack of dots at their backs with which he indicates the weather at Sumeru City at the time of writing, despite the near-identical handwriting and tone. As Cyno was still with the Akademiya, Tighnari asked him to investigate the Sages, then retreat should the situation grow dire, fearing that his former master, a man of integrity and strong convictions, may have ran afoul of his peers. After asking the Traveler to pass Cyno a message asking him to trust his senses, Tighnari then points to Dottore's destination.
Heading southeast, the Traveler, Paimon, and Dehya find an abandoned Fatui camp, from which Dehya deduces that Dottore is leaving from Port Ormos. Upon arrival, they find a large Fatui contingent and stalk some officers discussing Dottore's uncharacteristically cheerful disposition amidst what was supposedly a business trip. The trio hide behind the walls of Wikala Funduq to watch Dottore board a ship, only for him to spot them and waves at them; worse still, they noticed that not only is Dottore the only one onboard, but the other Fatui disappeared, realizing that his departure was a ruse while the other Fatui are sent to capture Haypasia, suspecting that he has taken an interest in her due to her being the first person to contact Scaramouche via the Akasha Terminal. The trio rush back to Pardis Dhyai just in time to catch Tighnari halting the Fatui ostensibly out to collect herbs for research purposes, deducing that they are sent to capture Haypasia. With the Traveler's help, Tighnari fends off the Fatui, before asking them to secure Haypasia, who is still asleep elsewhere in Pardis Dhyai.
As the Traveler touches Haypasia, however, time and space dilute, and they see a manifestation of Scaramouche from within Haypasia's consciousness, who Paimon can neither see nor hear. Scaramouche taunts them that even were they to free Kusanali, he would have already achieved godhood whose power far outrstrips the Lesser Lord, hence his less belligerent demeanor compared to their last encounter at Yashiori, thanks to the efforts of the Akademiya, who consider the God of Wisdom the sum total of their faith, even as he mocks their blasphemy. The Traveler tries to warn him of the dangers of the Sages' plan to feed him with Divine Knowledge Capsules, and even were their theory correct, he could lose himself and just become another Rukkhadevata, which Scaramouche brushes off, claiming he was always destined to be a god and that he has already cast aside all memories of his past hardships, and suggests that the Traveler abandon their guardian complex and revel in blissful ignorance, as is the lot of humanity. When the Traveler retorts why, if he is above human foibles, he still connects through Haypasia, Scaramouche explains it away as compassion towards the woman he considers his first follower, which the Traveler tests by warning him that Dottore sent his lackeys to capture her. Scaramouche mocks their attempt at sowing discord between the Harbingers, even as he scorns Dottore's impunity, before leaving the Traveler a parting gift in the form of a heavy thunderstorm over Pardis Dhyai.
Worried for Tignari and Dehya's safety, the Traveler and Paimon rush outside, where they find that the former has been injured during the lightning strikes that killed several Fatui and forced the remnant to retreat. Taking shelter inside the greenhouse and next to Haypasia, the Traveler reports to Tighnari of their encounters with Dottore and Scaramouche. With the former out of the way, Alhaitham's plan can now proceed, and the Traveler, Paimon, and Dehya rendezvous with their other allies at the Grand Bazaar while Tighnari recuperates from his wounds.
At the Grand Bazaar, the group reconvenes to report on their progress. Alhaitham has finished creating modified Akasha Terminals with the help of Morghi and Judar; the Traveler, Paimon, and Dehya confirm that Dottore has left Sumeru; and Cyno reports that Rahman's band has arrived in the City posing as prisoners. The group are then met by Nilou, who Alhaitham invites to join their plan. After being filled in on the plan, Nilou commits herself to help save Kusanali, and the group adjourns for the day.
The Traveler, Paimon, and Alhaitham head into the House of Daena, the library of the Akademiya and largest of its kind in all of Teyvat. There they find a lift that leads to the Grand Sage's office. Before they can act, however, they find themselves surrounded by Azar and his security detail, who expresses an interest in the Traveler and Paimon. Inside Azar's office, the Traveler warns the Grand Sage that the Fatui is using him to steal the Dendro Gnosis. Their pleas fall on deaf ears, Azar being too invested in the creation of a new god who can reveal all wisdom to humanity and alleviate the suffering of Irminsul to bother with the small details. Furthermore, he dismisses Kusanali as a bringer of discord, what with her lacking the wisdom of Rukkhadevata and her power merely comparable to what the Akademiya can also do, leading the Traveler to recall Alhaitham's remarks about the arrogance of the scholars.
Alhaitham suddenly declares that the Traveler is a dangerous person threatening to throw the Akademiya into chaos, and has followed Azar's directives to bring them before him, as well as present him the Knowledge Capsule containing their manifesto, allowing Azar to keep monitoring the Traveler, who he considers a dangerous variable to the Sages' schemes, just as he does Cyno, who he never trusted to begin with. Azar, however, calls bluff on Alhaitham's apparent betrayal, noting that his spies have found him consorting with them at Caravan Ribat and suspecting that they also met Cyno, where they concocted a plan involving sneaking into his office during Jnagarbha Day, with the full intention to be captured, so he can then pretend to betray his allies in exchange for his freedom, allowing him to keep finding ways to free Kusanali.
His cover blown, Alhaitham accuses Azar of betraying Sumeru for the sake of his ambition, before growing frenzied under the influence of the Divine Knowledge Capsule, his green Akasa Terminal indicator turning red, and tries to attack Azar, only to seemingly miss his mark and crash against his desk. After capturing him, Azar orders his exile to Aaru Village and the Traveler and Paimon imprisoned, before ordering his new secretary, Uday, to proceed with the encoding of all Knowledge Capsules in time for Jnagarbha Day. As Alhaitham is being escorted away, however, his indicator turns green again, a sign that his madness is but a ruse, and he cracks a knowing smile as he passes by an onlooking Nilou.
Inside the confinement room, the Traveler and Paimon express relief that this part of the plan worked, recalling their brainstorming in Aaru Village, where Alhaitham, taking advantage his long-standing orders to spy on the Traveler, will pretend to betray the Traveler and have them imprisoned within the Akademiya grounds, both to lull the Sages into complacency and to allow the latter, using a modified Akasha Terminal, to try to make contact with Kusanali, knowing that the confinement room is near the Sanctuary of Surasthana. With their Terminal still intact, which they attribute to the Akademiya arrogantly thinking everything is under control, they immediately begin trying to make contact. Somewhere in the room, they find a faint spot of energy, from which a sprout grows from a tree branch, from which the Traveler tries to reach out to Nahida.
The Traveler comes to in near-total darkness save for Nahida encased in a green cocoon. They try to reach out to her, only for a phantasmal barrier to stand in their way. As the Traveler futilely reaches out to Nahida, the Dendro Archon contemplates on her efforts to become an Archon worthy of succeeding Rukkhadevata, only to be imprisoned by the Sages while they create a new god and she forced to seal her consciousness away to protect herself against Dottore. Amidst her self-doubt, she hears a familiar voice convincing her that she already knew the answers to her dilemma. After a long struggle, the Traveler breaks through the barrier and is greeted by a newly-awakened Nahida, who, having contemplated on her situation, felt angry at the injustices dealt to her and is finally ready to put her foot down.
Elsewhere at Sumeru City, Nilou prepares to play her role in Alhaitham's plan despite some reservations from Sheikh Zubayr for her safety, while her coworkers Hushang and Farhad, as well as Vihar, distract people away. In front of the Akademiya, Nilou dances before a crowd of scholars and guards, who are mesmerized by her performance. Inside his office, Azar notices the performance and casually activates the Knowledge Capsule ordering a ban on public performances to be relayed to the guards. Unbeknownst to him, the message the guards receive was altered to instead alert them that Kusanali has escaped. As Nilou ends her performance, the guards simply file past her, much to her relief.
Inside the confinement room, the Traveler and Paimon overhear the guards' footsteps, which they take as a sign that Nilou has done her part. Remembering Alhaitham's dexterity when he stole the Divine Knowledge Capsule from Mizri back at Port Ormos, they suspect that he may have secretly swiped Capsules during his staged madness. Next, they recall the planning in Aaru Village, where Alhaitham notes that, with Kusanali having sealed off her consciousness, the high-ranking Akademiya personnel and the guards grew complacent enough to start wearing Akasha Terminals again; taking advantage of the Akademiya's overreliance on the Akasha, he will swipe a Knowledge Capsule containing the ban on public performances he once encoded with an identical Capsule with tampered information, knowing Azar will relay it should he see one such performance, hence misleading the guards into leaving their posts and thus allowing Dehya, Rahman, and his band to sneak into the City in broad daylight; at Dehya's suggestion, she recommends roping in Nilou as the performer.
Meanwhile, at the promenade, Dehya, Rahman, and his band notice the Akademiya guards milling out, a cue for them to neutralize them before the Sages realize that the Akademiya has been compromised. Dehya suggests that they mislead the guards into congregating at a single location with the help of Isak, who, despite some concerns from Rahman, volunteered for the task, assuring him that, even were the guards to capture him, they would not lay a finger on him. Elsewhere, Isak, dressed as Kusanali, runs about the City pretending to be the Dendro Archon as his way of repaying her kindness to him and his "grandfather," misleading the guards into the Grand Bazaar. Therein, they are confused that somehow they have been gathered in one place, before realizing that Dehya and Rahman's band have laid an ambush.
Back in the House of Daena, Azar wonders at the eerie silence of the place in the absence of guards. Uday informs him that they are away to arrest Kusanali, much to Azar's confusion, having assumed that not only is the Akademiya heavily guarded, but that both the Traveler and Alhaitham have been dealt with. Upon checking the Knowledge Capsule used to relay the order, he begins to suspect that the Capsule containing the Traveler's manifesto may have been a red herring, and decides to check in on Kusanali after taking umbrage at Uday insinuating that the Akasha may be flawed. Inside the Sanctuary of Surasthana, Azar, to his confusion, briefly fails to see Kusanali inside her cage before realizing she has always been there; unfortunately for him, he realizes too late that he was cornered by Cyno, who mocks his overreliance on the Akasha obfuscating even his physical senses, as well as the Akasha's failure to account for his change of modus operandi, before charging the Grand Sage with rebellion and ordering him to plead guilty before Kusanali.
Meanwhile, in the confinement room, Dehya arrives to free the Traveler and Paimon, reporting to them that she and Rahman have already dealt with the city guards, as well as talked with Asfand, who is relieved at the Corps of Thirty being freed from the Sages' iron fist, and that Cyno has captured Azar and forced him to release Kusanali. She then asks the Traveler to check in on Kusanali while she returns to the City to help with the cleanup.
Inside the Sanctuary, the Traveler and Paimon arrive just in time to witness the cage dissipate and Nahida wake up, marking their first meeting in person. The Dendro Archon apologizes for having imperiled all of Sumeru with her self-doubt, which the Traveler dismisses, assuring her that she is not at fault. After having undergone self-reflection, Nahida has come to understand that she needed to discover her inner strength were she to become a good Archon, starting with asserting control over the Akademiya and holding it accountable for its follies. Remembering the Sages' scheme to turn Scaramouche into a god, she proposes to retake control of the Akasha, remove the restrictions Dottore put on her, and revoke the Sages' access to the Akasha as punishment for betraying Rukkhadevata's trust, before advising the Traveler to prepare themselves for what she believes will be an arduous battle.
Shortly before sunset, the Traveler and Paimon return to Nahida, who informs them that she was done studying the Akasha, as well as creating an upgraded, Paimon-sized Akasha Terminal so she can assist them in her own way. She then informs the duo that she has identified Scaramouche's location at Deus Foundry built underneath the Akademiya, presumably by the Fatui led by Dottore, noting that he is less interested in creating a god than merely observing it. As for Scaramouche, she remembers the time she, the Traveler, Paimon, and Haypasia came into contact with him at Pardis Dhyai, in particular his obsession with obtaining a Gnosis, which Paimon explains is rooted in his original purpose as vessel of the Electro Gnosis, hence his begrudging cooperation with Dottore. As the trio head deeper into the Foundry, along the way defeating the Fatui, Nahida notes that at this stage Scaramouche may have already achieved a great degree of godhood, evidenced by his ability to control the weather. Despite her apprehensions, Nahida decides to go ahead with the plan, driven by a sense of curiosity as to what fate awaits her.
At the depths of the Foundry, the Traveler, Paimon, and Nahida find Scaramouche hooked up into a humanoid machine, who Nahida notes has already achieved enough power to be considered a god despite having yet to be fed with information from Divine Knowledge Capsules. Scaramouche, who addresses Nahida/Kusanali under her divine name, Buer, claims to have already discarded his old name, as well as his earlier name "Kunikuzushi," and now identifies as "Shouki no Kami," Everlasting Lord of Arcane Wisdom. Despite Nahida complimenting his apotheosis as a culmination of human wisdom, she thinks he has yet to achieve the same spiritual heights, a notion the Traveler seconded by noting that he has yet to lose his ego. Scaramouche, exhilarated by the surge of power from the Gnoses, forged through conflict between the gods, yearns to show his might by taking on the Dendro Archon. In turn, Nahida warns him that the carnage of the Archon War, driven by Celestia's laws and from which the Gnoses emerged, were all meaningless, which he dismisses by claiming that he is disappointed that he missed out on the conflict; nevertheless, he chooses to settle for recreating the Archon War, and challenges Nahida to combat.
Despite their best efforts, the Traveler is seemingly no match for the apotheosized Scaramouche. Before the Balladeer could land the deathblow, Nahida stands in between and is impaled in the chest, from which Scaramouche tries to extract the Dendro Gnosis from within her. However, Nahida tells the Balladeer that she is done collecting data, revealing that all this time he and the Traveler have been fighting in a samsara. As the belligerents return to reality, Nahida informs the Traveler that their latest battle was the hundred-and-sixty-eighth samsara, the same number of times the Sabzeruz Festival looped, in order to impart combat knowledge onto the Traveler; in addition, using the Akasha, she relayed everything that happened in the loops to the people of Sumeru, imploring them to send feedback to help defeat the false god, which are then uploaded into the Akasha construct.
After a long, arduous battle, the Traveler at last overwhelms Scaramouche, whose disbelief and anger immediately turns to horror as Nahida uncovers the Electro Gnosis from the heart of the machine and proceeds to extract it, begging her not to take it. His pleas fall on deaf ears, and as the Dendro Archon takes hold of the Gnosis, Scaramouche's tethers to the machine are severed, knocing him unconscious and sending him plummeting to the ground.
With the Balladeer out of the way, Nahida reveals that there still remains the matter of Irminsul, and with the Electro Gnosis on hand, in addition to her own Dendro Gnosis, she manifests a Divine Knowledge Capsule containing the final memory of Rukkhadevata, into which they enter. Inside, Nahida finds the landscape exceedingly polluted. The Traveler fills her in on their discovery in the Great Red Sand, from which she concludes that Irminsul's corruption is connected to the forbidden knowledge Deshret introduced millennia ago. She recalls that during the second outbreak of the pollution, Deshret sacrificed himself and Rukkhadevata spent much of her power to contain it, while the third outbreak coincided with the Khaenri'ah Cataclysm, during which Rukkhadevata sacrificed herself, and while the fourth, current outbreak has grown so severe so as to affect Irminsul, she admits it could have been worse but for said sacrifice. Nahida then clutches her chest in pain, which she attributes to feeling Rukkhadevata's pain in her final moments, which she resolves to brave as she, the Traveler, and Paimon journey to seek answers from the Greater Lord. After fighting off hordes of illusory hilichurls, fungi, and rifthounds along the way, the trio come across the Boat of Consciousness, a symbol of reason, with which they find their way to Rukkhadevata.
At the end of a long journey, the Traveler, Paimon, and Nahida at last reach Irminsul, where they find the lingering consciousness of Rukkhadevata, who bore a striking resemblance to Nahida. The Greater Lord explains that both she and Nahida are avatars of Irminsul, and that she created the latter from the purest branch of the sacred tree to serve as her reincarnation in the current era, reassuring her that, though they are born of the same essence, their destinies are not, and that she will grow to become an even greater Archon than her given her tenacity in the face of injustice.
Knowing the purpose of Nahida's visit, Rukkhadevata explains the circumstances behind her death. During the Cataclysm, all the Archons have been summoned to Khaenri'ah except her, who was tasked with protecting Irminsul amidst the third outbreak of Deshret's forbidden knowledge. Amidst her work, she felt pain which she attributes to Irminsul's corruption with forbidden knowledge, an eldritch kind of wisdom from the depths of the Abyss, incomprehensible even to the gods and constantly rejected by Teyvat, hence creating all sorts of calamities, meaning that unless it is completely expunged, Teyvat will continue to descend into chaos. As a countermeasure, Rukkhadevata created the Akasha to compile her people's wisdom and dreams to augment her powers, even as she considers it a necessary evil, given that it is powered by stealing dreams.
Unfortunately, though the Akasha largely purged the forbidden knowledge, Rukkhadevata felt a headache, which she took as a sign that she, too, has been tainted; worse still, even after she sacrificed herself, her tainted consciousness will linger on through memories and knowledge that cannot be easily erased, much less by herself lest she create a paradox. Thus, as a last resort, she created Kusanali in the hopes that one day she will find her and permanently erase her, and with it the remaining forbidden knowledge, to the horror of the Lesser Lord. Despite Nahida's pleas for her to stay with her people, Rukkhadevata admits that there is no other way, and finally reveals her full message: "Let the world completely forget me."
For the first and last time, Rukkhadevata embraces Kusanali/Nahida/Buer, who regretfully summons her Dendro energy and embraces back, causing the Greater Lord to fade away into glowing leaves. As Nahida is reduced to heartbroken tears, the leaves scatter throughout Sumeru, restoring the people's ability to dream and permanently cleansing Eleazar and the Withering from Teyvat, with Rukkhadevata bidding good night to Sumeru for the final time.
Back at the Sanctuary of Surasthana, Nahida asks the Traveler why she is crying when she has just saved the world, and Paimon is confused at their reaction, leading them to realize that all of Teyvat, including Paimon and the Archons, must have completely forgotten Rukkhadevata except themselves on account of their otherworldly origins. As they contemplate telling her the truth, however, they hear a strange sound that causes them to fall asleep.
With the Traveler and Paimon down, Nahida is confronted by Dottore, who assures her that he used a sleep-inducing sound wave on the duo, which he learned from the Sages. When asked by Nahida why he is still in Sumeru when he has supposedly returned to Snezhnaya, Dottore reveals that he keeps "segments," or clones of himself from various stages of his life, so he can continue seeking knowledge from all corners of Teyvat; furthermore, he justifies his inaction for most of the Sages' project by claiming that he is but an observer, even as he expresses some disappointment with its failure. Nahida calls his way of pursuing knowledge an insult to the rules and nature and deems him insane for having far less scruples than even the Akademiya at its worst, charges Dottore dismisses, claiming to hold to his own standards.
Dottore then cuts to the chase and, on the pretext of finding research materials, demands of Nahida the Electro Gnosis, threatening that she has little hope of standing up to him. Nahida, offended at his attitude, in turn threatens to destroy the Gnosis and rouse Celestia for the first time in half a millennium, warning that the Gnoses are symbols of its authority over Teyvat and may not take well to such a vandalism. Dottore, surprised at the otherwise rational Dendro Archon making so risky a gambit, backs down. Nahida, acknowledging that keeping a second Gnosis may only lead to another crisis, demands that he erase all his segments in exchange for the Gnosis. Realizing that the Dendro Archon is undermining his threat to Sumeru, and despite the difficulties with building new segments, Dottore nevertheless accedes, and to reassure Nahida that he will go through his end of the deal, he allows her to listen to the consciousnesses of his segments expressing a variety of emotions as they are being erased.
Afterwards, Nahida states her intention to be more direct with Sumeru, starting with shutting down the Akasha, spurring the Akademiya to be driven anew by curiosity and thirst for knowledge, and closing any legal loophole Dottore may exploit, to his disappointment over Sumeru's continued refusal to acknowledge his genius. The Harbinger then asks Nahida to also hand him the Dendro Gnosis, on the grounds that there would be no more use for it with no Akasha to power, tempting her with knowledge even she is not privy to, including the rumor about the skies of Teyvat being fake, to which Nahida reluctantly struck a deal.
After several days, the Traveler and Paimon wake up in Gandharva Ville, where the former reminisces that immediately after the battle with Scaramouche, they and Paimon were brought to the village by Cyno to be tended by Tighnari and Collei, who informed them during their convalescence that the Akasha has been shut down.
Inside the Grand Bazaar, the duo find Nilou and the Zubayr Theatre troupe preparing for the festivities, who then asks them to verify if her invitation letters have been sent to Dehya, Alhaitham, Cyno, Rahman, and Dunyarzad.
In the House of Daena, the Traveler and Paimon overhear a blond man demanding answers from Alhaitham over the shakeup in the Akademiya while he is away in the Great Red Sand, even as he expresses incredulity over Alhaitham's claim that both of them were being considered candidates as Sages. After the man leaves to verify Alhaitham's claims, the duo ask the Scribe if he has received Nilou's letter. Alhaitham claims he has yet to read it, citing his workload in the wake of Azar and his three peers being exiled for their crimes, including having their peers from the Amurta and Vahumana Darshans, the latter the aetiology faculty, imprisoned for opposing the god creation project; that said, he declined the position of Grand Sage, citing his aversion to positions of authority, instead settling as interim Sage for the four affected Darshans until permanent replacements could be found following a rigorous selection process. After introducing the man he was talking to earlier as Kaveh, a master architect and star alumnus of the Kshahrewar Darshan, the technology faculty, he agrees to join the feast. Should the Traveler linger on, they later overhear Kaveh and Alhaitham arguing anew over the changes to the Akademiya, the former believing the latter had a hand therein and that he is still being locked out of the loop despite the latter's explanations.
At Port Ormos, the Traveler and Paimon find Dunyarzad and Dehya taking a stroll, the former enjoying her full recovery from Eleazar and the latter informing the duo that she has tendered her resignation as the former's bodyguard to return to the life of a sellsword. Dunyarzad reminds Dehya that she received a letter from Alhaitham inviting her to join the Akademiya, where Cyno can refer her to the Matra. Dehya declines, citing that she would rather enjoy her freewheeling life while it lasts until the day mercenaries like her are no longer needed as relations between the forest- and desert-dwellers improve. The duo then remind Dunyarzad and Dehya of Nilou's invitation to the festivities, which they agree to join. Before they part ways, Dehya suggests to the duo that they look for Cyno and Rahman at Aaru Village.
At Aaru, the Traveler and Paimon find Cyno, who they thanks for bringing them and Tighnari to Gandharva. The trio are greeted by Rahman and Setaria, with the latter explaining that she has resigned from the Akademiya to settle down as teacher at Aaru, coordinating with Rahman and his band to help disseminate education to their fellow desert-dwellers. Remembering the time she was forced to confront her guilt over her participation in the Sabzeruz samsara, she tried to confront Azar upon being released from prison, only to learn of his exile from Cyno, who then helps Setaria obtain her clearance to return to Aaru, as well as coordinated with Rahman's band to distribute resources Kusanali allocated to help with the educational development of the desert-dwellers. Paimon informs Cyno of Nilou's invitation to the feast, which he accepts, while Rahman and Setaria decline, citing their busy work schedule, but not before the latter asks the Traveler to relay Nilou her apology for her callous remarks during the Sabzeruz samsara. Elsewhere in the Village, the Traveler also meets Candace, who thanks them for their hard work.
On the night of the feast, the Traveler, Paimon, Alhaitham, Dehya, Dunyarzad, and Nilou celebrate Cyno's reinstatement with a dinner at the Zubayr Theatre grounds, during which Nilou and her troupe hold performances, Alhaitham compliments the group for their skillfulness and luck, and Dunyarzad and Dehya remark on the cruelty of the Akademiya repaying the Dendro Archon sacrificing her power, memories, and wisdom to protect Sumeru from the Cataclysm with ingratitude. The Traveler realizes that with the deletion of Rukkhadevata from Irminsul, all of Teyvat now believes Kusanali has always been the Dendro Archon, and decides to keep her existence a secret out of respect for her wish for Sumeru to move on without her. Cyno opines that Azar and his peers' punishment was still too lenient given the gravity of their crimes, though he also declines Alhaitham's suggestion to ask of Nahida a more severe punishment out of respect for her judgment. In turn, when asked by Cyno why he declined the offer to become Grand Sage, Alhaitham explains that he is not so much after Azar's position as much as he is opposed to the Sages' schemes threatening his way of life and his fellow scholars' autonomy.
Amidst the celebrations, the Traveler is contacted by Nahida, who asks them to serve as her channel so she can thank the people who helped her without intimidating them. Through the Traveler, Nahida thanks Nilou, Alhaitham, Cyno, Dehya, Paimon, and Dunyarzad for risking their lives to save her and restore her to her rightful place despite the risk of antagonizing all of Sumeru, the Akademiya, the Sages, and their Fatui backers Dottore and Scaramouche; in turn, everyone present is humbled by her presence, and their celebratory feast reaches its climax.
The day after the festivities, the Traveler and Paimon meet again with Nahida at the Sanctuary of Surasthana, where the Dendro Archon recapitulates everything that happened shortly after saving Irminsul. After some deliberation, she decided to permanently shut down the Akasha, liberating the people of Sumeru from its restraints and at the same time pushing them to use their critical thinking anew; in addition, she will oversee the selection of the four new Sages and continue mending relations with the people of the Great Red Sand. As for what happened while the Traveler fell asleep, she reveals that Dottore came to take away both the Electro and Dendro Gnoses, and while she chose not to fight him on account of the three foremost Harbingers, of which he is second-ranking, having godlike powers, she nevertheless managed to strike a deal with him, with him destroying his clones in exchange for the Electro, and her handing the Dendro in exchange for confidential information from Dottore. As for Scaramouche, she reveals that he is in a coma and under her care, both to investigate him and to make sure he will never do any evil again. She also suggests that the Traveler head for Fontaine, which she describes as a nation of judges whose ruler Focalors, the Hydro Archon and God of Justice, holds a mostly ceremonial rule while a Chief Justice governs the nation in her place.
More importantly, however, Nahida reveals that she knows something about their sibling. While perusing Irminsul during the Traveler's convalescence, she found records about their sibling—but not the Traveler themselves—describing them as having suddenly appeared in Khaenri'ah five hundred years ago and undertook their own journey through the seven nations of Teyvat shortly after the Cataclysm, only for the records to become hazy just as their journey is about to reach its climax, as though they were being deliberately obfuscated, which the Traveler assumes may have something to do with the Abyss. Moreover, based on Fatui intel, the Traveler is described as the fourth "Descender," a visitor to Teyvat from another world, with Nahida suspecting the first to be the Heavenly Principles of Celestia, while as of present the other two are unfortunately unknown even to her. The Traveler comforts her, understanding that both of them need time to process what they just learned.
Knowing the Traveler's time at Sumeru is coming to an end, Nahida expresses keen interest in their future journeys. She and the Traveler thank each other for their friendship, and the Dendro Archon promises to appear to them in their dreams any time they want.
Minimum Adventure Rank: 35
World Effects: Unlocks the "Joururi Workship" Trounce Domain (Shouki no Kami [Scaramouche] as a weekly boss); removes all mention of Rukkhadevata from in-game text.
Through the Predawn Night
After a few days, Candace informs the Traveler and Paimon that Alhaitham, Cyno, and Dehya want to discuss with them their plan to save Kusanali, before asking them not to be too reckless. Inside Anpu's house, the group brainstorm and debate ideas, at the end of which they come up with a plan which, judging from their reactions, carries a fair amount of risk. After the group adjourns, the Traveler informs Candace that the plan is to be carried out on the next Jnagarbha Day; Candace expresses her trust in the Traveler to see the plan through, and wishes them well.At the entrance to Aaru, the duo meet Alhaitham, who is has just finished talking with Rahman. Claiming he is more of a scholar than a fighter, Alhaitham tells them that he is coordinating with Rahman's group for their role in his plan. Remembering everything they learned at Kasala's mausoleum, Alhaitham intuits that the Village Keepers and Mizri may have been driven insane by Deshret's forbidden knowledge; as the Sages mistook the madness as a sign of contact with divine knowledge, they saw little reason to disclose it, hence letting the situation to fester for so long. He also thinks that Eleazar, the Withering, and the violent sandstorms are all symptoms of the forbidden knowledge polluting Irminsul, leading him to realize the urgency of saving Kusanali and alerting her of the situation after Paimon remembers that the key to saving Irminsul might be contained within the lingering consciousness of Rukkhadevata therein. With their priorities set, Alhaitham asks the Traveler and Paimon to follow him south to Rahman's stronghold.
There, the duo find Morghi and Judar working on Alhaitham's orders to repair the headsets used to extract information into Knowledge Capsules. Despite Paimon's concerns, Alhaitham asks the Traveler to wear a headset and imagine Kusanali having been rescued and Sumeru undergoing political reforms, then hands them a manifesto which they read and commit to the Capsule, before explaining to Paimon that part of his plan involves taking advantage of the Akademiya's uncritical deference to the Akasha as well as legal loopholes. Afterwards, Alhaitham orders the duo to meet up with Cyno at Caravan Ribat while he resumes his work.
At Caravat Ribat, the duo find Rahman and Cyno arguing over the latter's sudden hesitation over what he perceived to be the risk of casualties in Alhaitham's plan. They explain to the duo that part of the plan involves getting around Caravan Ribat's strictures on the eastward traffic of unregistered Eremites by having Cyno pretend to coordinate with the local Corps of Thirty detachment to arrest Rahman and his band, with the General Mahamatra worrying the guards may not exercise the same level of restraint as he given that the band is supposed to role-play as violent marauders, despite Rahman assuring him of their sturdiness. After the Traveler agrees to help him maintain the ruse by joining in in engaging Rahman's band in a mock battle, and seeing Rahman's resolve, Cyno concedes and commits to the plan.
At the Corps' outpost, Cyno informs the guards that he is hiring them to conduct a covert operation against a criminal ring as large as Ayn al-Ahmar. While the guards report to their superiors, Cyno refreshes to a skeptical Paimon some details of Alhaitham's plan, wherein he takes advantage of the Sages' coverup of Cyno's disappearance to his fellow Matra, lest any untoward incident involving him draw attention to the Sages' activities, as well as the fact that the Akasha has yet to account for the normally lone-wolf Cyno working with other people. After a while, the guards return with their commanding officer, Luxembarbo, to whom Cyno introduces the Traveler and Paimon as, respectively, his new assistant and their construct buddy; assuming Cyno is still with the Akademiya, Luxembarbo agrees to his request.
After a couple days, the Traveler, Paimon, and Cyno reconvene with Luxembarbo's platoon midway through the route between Caravan Ribat and Aaru Village, where the General Mahamatra gives the platoon firm instructions that they needed everyone in Rahman's band alive for him to interrogate. After a while, Rahman's band arrives and challenges the Traveler, Cyno, and Luxembarbo' platoon to battle. Per Alhaitham's plan, the Traveler and Cyno pretend to easily overhwelm Rahman's band, before asking the platoon to take them away. The ruse successful, Cyno assures the Traveler and Paimon that he will oversee Rahman and his group's safe transfer to Sumeru City, then asks them to carry the next part of the plan: meet Dehya at Caravan Ribat and help her convince Tighnari to support the plan, assuring a skeptical Paimon that his friendship with the latter would get the message through.
As by a God's Side
At Caravan Ribat, after jokingly scolding the Traveler and Paimon for tardiness, Dehya informs them that she is sent to spy on Dottore to make sure he will pose no threat to their plan; specifically, her part involves finding Tighnari at Pardis Dhyai and convincing him to get them information on the Harbinger, assuming Alhaitham and Cyno are correct in that he still has the Akademiya's trust. As there are spies all over Dharma Forest, Dehya volunteers to be the Traveler's bodyguard, then jokingly debates with Paimon about her salary.At Pardis Dhyai, the Traveler introduces Dehya to Tighnari, then invites him to a private conversation, where they immediately ask him if he met Dottore, who he confirms has just left. After Dehya assures him that she and the Traveler are sent by Cyno, Tighnari, realizing that the General Mahamatra may have been involved in a serious matter, reveals that earlier, Dottore came to take Haypasia with him back to Snezhnaya, ostensibly for treatment; Tighnari rejected his request, citing that her condition has not deteriorated so as to necessitate treatment elsewhere, as well as the distance of Snezhnaya, not to mention how Dottore exuded an aura of arrogance not unlike those of the rest of the Akademiya that he has come to detest, even as he is concerned with the Harbinger's reaction, wherein he threatens to deal with him but for the Tsaritsa's immediate summons to the Harbingers, that he still has some loose ends to deal with, and warns him that knowledge comes with a price.
Tighnari also admits to having his own suspicions about the Akademiya, recalling an earlier discussion with Cyno about some letters from his former mentor, the Sage of the Amurta Darshan, in particular noting the lack of dots at their backs with which he indicates the weather at Sumeru City at the time of writing, despite the near-identical handwriting and tone. As Cyno was still with the Akademiya, Tighnari asked him to investigate the Sages, then retreat should the situation grow dire, fearing that his former master, a man of integrity and strong convictions, may have ran afoul of his peers. After asking the Traveler to pass Cyno a message asking him to trust his senses, Tighnari then points to Dottore's destination.
Heading southeast, the Traveler, Paimon, and Dehya find an abandoned Fatui camp, from which Dehya deduces that Dottore is leaving from Port Ormos. Upon arrival, they find a large Fatui contingent and stalk some officers discussing Dottore's uncharacteristically cheerful disposition amidst what was supposedly a business trip. The trio hide behind the walls of Wikala Funduq to watch Dottore board a ship, only for him to spot them and waves at them; worse still, they noticed that not only is Dottore the only one onboard, but the other Fatui disappeared, realizing that his departure was a ruse while the other Fatui are sent to capture Haypasia, suspecting that he has taken an interest in her due to her being the first person to contact Scaramouche via the Akasha Terminal. The trio rush back to Pardis Dhyai just in time to catch Tighnari halting the Fatui ostensibly out to collect herbs for research purposes, deducing that they are sent to capture Haypasia. With the Traveler's help, Tighnari fends off the Fatui, before asking them to secure Haypasia, who is still asleep elsewhere in Pardis Dhyai.
As the Traveler touches Haypasia, however, time and space dilute, and they see a manifestation of Scaramouche from within Haypasia's consciousness, who Paimon can neither see nor hear. Scaramouche taunts them that even were they to free Kusanali, he would have already achieved godhood whose power far outrstrips the Lesser Lord, hence his less belligerent demeanor compared to their last encounter at Yashiori, thanks to the efforts of the Akademiya, who consider the God of Wisdom the sum total of their faith, even as he mocks their blasphemy. The Traveler tries to warn him of the dangers of the Sages' plan to feed him with Divine Knowledge Capsules, and even were their theory correct, he could lose himself and just become another Rukkhadevata, which Scaramouche brushes off, claiming he was always destined to be a god and that he has already cast aside all memories of his past hardships, and suggests that the Traveler abandon their guardian complex and revel in blissful ignorance, as is the lot of humanity. When the Traveler retorts why, if he is above human foibles, he still connects through Haypasia, Scaramouche explains it away as compassion towards the woman he considers his first follower, which the Traveler tests by warning him that Dottore sent his lackeys to capture her. Scaramouche mocks their attempt at sowing discord between the Harbingers, even as he scorns Dottore's impunity, before leaving the Traveler a parting gift in the form of a heavy thunderstorm over Pardis Dhyai.
Worried for Tignari and Dehya's safety, the Traveler and Paimon rush outside, where they find that the former has been injured during the lightning strikes that killed several Fatui and forced the remnant to retreat. Taking shelter inside the greenhouse and next to Haypasia, the Traveler reports to Tighnari of their encounters with Dottore and Scaramouche. With the former out of the way, Alhaitham's plan can now proceed, and the Traveler, Paimon, and Dehya rendezvous with their other allies at the Grand Bazaar while Tighnari recuperates from his wounds.
At the Grand Bazaar, the group reconvenes to report on their progress. Alhaitham has finished creating modified Akasha Terminals with the help of Morghi and Judar; the Traveler, Paimon, and Dehya confirm that Dottore has left Sumeru; and Cyno reports that Rahman's band has arrived in the City posing as prisoners. The group are then met by Nilou, who Alhaitham invites to join their plan. After being filled in on the plan, Nilou commits herself to help save Kusanali, and the group adjourns for the day.
Jnagarbha Day
On the morning of Jnagarbha Day, the Traveler meets with Alhaitham in front of the Akademiya, where the scribe reviews the current phase of the plan: infiltrate Azar's office and find his console, from which they may find a way to free Kusanali, noting that the device was originally created by Rukkhadevata to be controlled from inside, used whenever she meditates, but modified after the Cataclysm by the then-reigning Grand Sage such that the control is now put outside, allowing them to confine Kusanali. With all personnel busy compiling knowledge to be encoded for the year, few would suspect them, and Azar leaving his office to supervise the encoding would be their cue to enter his office. Along the way, the trio are met by Viraf, Alhaitham's peer from the Haravatat Darshan, the semiotics faculty, who asks him about the presence of outsiders, the reasons for which the Scribe claims should be obvious. As Viraf walks away, Alhaitham balks at his air of intellectual superiority rampant throughout the Akademiya nowadays.The Traveler, Paimon, and Alhaitham head into the House of Daena, the library of the Akademiya and largest of its kind in all of Teyvat. There they find a lift that leads to the Grand Sage's office. Before they can act, however, they find themselves surrounded by Azar and his security detail, who expresses an interest in the Traveler and Paimon. Inside Azar's office, the Traveler warns the Grand Sage that the Fatui is using him to steal the Dendro Gnosis. Their pleas fall on deaf ears, Azar being too invested in the creation of a new god who can reveal all wisdom to humanity and alleviate the suffering of Irminsul to bother with the small details. Furthermore, he dismisses Kusanali as a bringer of discord, what with her lacking the wisdom of Rukkhadevata and her power merely comparable to what the Akademiya can also do, leading the Traveler to recall Alhaitham's remarks about the arrogance of the scholars.
Alhaitham suddenly declares that the Traveler is a dangerous person threatening to throw the Akademiya into chaos, and has followed Azar's directives to bring them before him, as well as present him the Knowledge Capsule containing their manifesto, allowing Azar to keep monitoring the Traveler, who he considers a dangerous variable to the Sages' schemes, just as he does Cyno, who he never trusted to begin with. Azar, however, calls bluff on Alhaitham's apparent betrayal, noting that his spies have found him consorting with them at Caravan Ribat and suspecting that they also met Cyno, where they concocted a plan involving sneaking into his office during Jnagarbha Day, with the full intention to be captured, so he can then pretend to betray his allies in exchange for his freedom, allowing him to keep finding ways to free Kusanali.
His cover blown, Alhaitham accuses Azar of betraying Sumeru for the sake of his ambition, before growing frenzied under the influence of the Divine Knowledge Capsule, his green Akasa Terminal indicator turning red, and tries to attack Azar, only to seemingly miss his mark and crash against his desk. After capturing him, Azar orders his exile to Aaru Village and the Traveler and Paimon imprisoned, before ordering his new secretary, Uday, to proceed with the encoding of all Knowledge Capsules in time for Jnagarbha Day. As Alhaitham is being escorted away, however, his indicator turns green again, a sign that his madness is but a ruse, and he cracks a knowing smile as he passes by an onlooking Nilou.
Inside the confinement room, the Traveler and Paimon express relief that this part of the plan worked, recalling their brainstorming in Aaru Village, where Alhaitham, taking advantage his long-standing orders to spy on the Traveler, will pretend to betray the Traveler and have them imprisoned within the Akademiya grounds, both to lull the Sages into complacency and to allow the latter, using a modified Akasha Terminal, to try to make contact with Kusanali, knowing that the confinement room is near the Sanctuary of Surasthana. With their Terminal still intact, which they attribute to the Akademiya arrogantly thinking everything is under control, they immediately begin trying to make contact. Somewhere in the room, they find a faint spot of energy, from which a sprout grows from a tree branch, from which the Traveler tries to reach out to Nahida.
The Traveler comes to in near-total darkness save for Nahida encased in a green cocoon. They try to reach out to her, only for a phantasmal barrier to stand in their way. As the Traveler futilely reaches out to Nahida, the Dendro Archon contemplates on her efforts to become an Archon worthy of succeeding Rukkhadevata, only to be imprisoned by the Sages while they create a new god and she forced to seal her consciousness away to protect herself against Dottore. Amidst her self-doubt, she hears a familiar voice convincing her that she already knew the answers to her dilemma. After a long struggle, the Traveler breaks through the barrier and is greeted by a newly-awakened Nahida, who, having contemplated on her situation, felt angry at the injustices dealt to her and is finally ready to put her foot down.
Elsewhere at Sumeru City, Nilou prepares to play her role in Alhaitham's plan despite some reservations from Sheikh Zubayr for her safety, while her coworkers Hushang and Farhad, as well as Vihar, distract people away. In front of the Akademiya, Nilou dances before a crowd of scholars and guards, who are mesmerized by her performance. Inside his office, Azar notices the performance and casually activates the Knowledge Capsule ordering a ban on public performances to be relayed to the guards. Unbeknownst to him, the message the guards receive was altered to instead alert them that Kusanali has escaped. As Nilou ends her performance, the guards simply file past her, much to her relief.
Inside the confinement room, the Traveler and Paimon overhear the guards' footsteps, which they take as a sign that Nilou has done her part. Remembering Alhaitham's dexterity when he stole the Divine Knowledge Capsule from Mizri back at Port Ormos, they suspect that he may have secretly swiped Capsules during his staged madness. Next, they recall the planning in Aaru Village, where Alhaitham notes that, with Kusanali having sealed off her consciousness, the high-ranking Akademiya personnel and the guards grew complacent enough to start wearing Akasha Terminals again; taking advantage of the Akademiya's overreliance on the Akasha, he will swipe a Knowledge Capsule containing the ban on public performances he once encoded with an identical Capsule with tampered information, knowing Azar will relay it should he see one such performance, hence misleading the guards into leaving their posts and thus allowing Dehya, Rahman, and his band to sneak into the City in broad daylight; at Dehya's suggestion, she recommends roping in Nilou as the performer.
Meanwhile, at the promenade, Dehya, Rahman, and his band notice the Akademiya guards milling out, a cue for them to neutralize them before the Sages realize that the Akademiya has been compromised. Dehya suggests that they mislead the guards into congregating at a single location with the help of Isak, who, despite some concerns from Rahman, volunteered for the task, assuring him that, even were the guards to capture him, they would not lay a finger on him. Elsewhere, Isak, dressed as Kusanali, runs about the City pretending to be the Dendro Archon as his way of repaying her kindness to him and his "grandfather," misleading the guards into the Grand Bazaar. Therein, they are confused that somehow they have been gathered in one place, before realizing that Dehya and Rahman's band have laid an ambush.
Back in the House of Daena, Azar wonders at the eerie silence of the place in the absence of guards. Uday informs him that they are away to arrest Kusanali, much to Azar's confusion, having assumed that not only is the Akademiya heavily guarded, but that both the Traveler and Alhaitham have been dealt with. Upon checking the Knowledge Capsule used to relay the order, he begins to suspect that the Capsule containing the Traveler's manifesto may have been a red herring, and decides to check in on Kusanali after taking umbrage at Uday insinuating that the Akasha may be flawed. Inside the Sanctuary of Surasthana, Azar, to his confusion, briefly fails to see Kusanali inside her cage before realizing she has always been there; unfortunately for him, he realizes too late that he was cornered by Cyno, who mocks his overreliance on the Akasha obfuscating even his physical senses, as well as the Akasha's failure to account for his change of modus operandi, before charging the Grand Sage with rebellion and ordering him to plead guilty before Kusanali.
Meanwhile, in the confinement room, Dehya arrives to free the Traveler and Paimon, reporting to them that she and Rahman have already dealt with the city guards, as well as talked with Asfand, who is relieved at the Corps of Thirty being freed from the Sages' iron fist, and that Cyno has captured Azar and forced him to release Kusanali. She then asks the Traveler to check in on Kusanali while she returns to the City to help with the cleanup.
Inside the Sanctuary, the Traveler and Paimon arrive just in time to witness the cage dissipate and Nahida wake up, marking their first meeting in person. The Dendro Archon apologizes for having imperiled all of Sumeru with her self-doubt, which the Traveler dismisses, assuring her that she is not at fault. After having undergone self-reflection, Nahida has come to understand that she needed to discover her inner strength were she to become a good Archon, starting with asserting control over the Akademiya and holding it accountable for its follies. Remembering the Sages' scheme to turn Scaramouche into a god, she proposes to retake control of the Akasha, remove the restrictions Dottore put on her, and revoke the Sages' access to the Akasha as punishment for betraying Rukkhadevata's trust, before advising the Traveler to prepare themselves for what she believes will be an arduous battle.
Where the Boat of Consciousness Lies
While preparing for the encounter with Scaramouche, the Traveler can meet Viraf, who is just beginning to suspect Alhaitham's sudden return; Vihar, who informs them that Nilou has become an overnight star with the scholars; and Rahman, who is pleased to find that the Corps of Thirty, long suffering under the Sages' thumb, are more than willing to join forces with them.Shortly before sunset, the Traveler and Paimon return to Nahida, who informs them that she was done studying the Akasha, as well as creating an upgraded, Paimon-sized Akasha Terminal so she can assist them in her own way. She then informs the duo that she has identified Scaramouche's location at Deus Foundry built underneath the Akademiya, presumably by the Fatui led by Dottore, noting that he is less interested in creating a god than merely observing it. As for Scaramouche, she remembers the time she, the Traveler, Paimon, and Haypasia came into contact with him at Pardis Dhyai, in particular his obsession with obtaining a Gnosis, which Paimon explains is rooted in his original purpose as vessel of the Electro Gnosis, hence his begrudging cooperation with Dottore. As the trio head deeper into the Foundry, along the way defeating the Fatui, Nahida notes that at this stage Scaramouche may have already achieved a great degree of godhood, evidenced by his ability to control the weather. Despite her apprehensions, Nahida decides to go ahead with the plan, driven by a sense of curiosity as to what fate awaits her.
At the depths of the Foundry, the Traveler, Paimon, and Nahida find Scaramouche hooked up into a humanoid machine, who Nahida notes has already achieved enough power to be considered a god despite having yet to be fed with information from Divine Knowledge Capsules. Scaramouche, who addresses Nahida/Kusanali under her divine name, Buer, claims to have already discarded his old name, as well as his earlier name "Kunikuzushi," and now identifies as "Shouki no Kami," Everlasting Lord of Arcane Wisdom. Despite Nahida complimenting his apotheosis as a culmination of human wisdom, she thinks he has yet to achieve the same spiritual heights, a notion the Traveler seconded by noting that he has yet to lose his ego. Scaramouche, exhilarated by the surge of power from the Gnoses, forged through conflict between the gods, yearns to show his might by taking on the Dendro Archon. In turn, Nahida warns him that the carnage of the Archon War, driven by Celestia's laws and from which the Gnoses emerged, were all meaningless, which he dismisses by claiming that he is disappointed that he missed out on the conflict; nevertheless, he chooses to settle for recreating the Archon War, and challenges Nahida to combat.
Despite their best efforts, the Traveler is seemingly no match for the apotheosized Scaramouche. Before the Balladeer could land the deathblow, Nahida stands in between and is impaled in the chest, from which Scaramouche tries to extract the Dendro Gnosis from within her. However, Nahida tells the Balladeer that she is done collecting data, revealing that all this time he and the Traveler have been fighting in a samsara. As the belligerents return to reality, Nahida informs the Traveler that their latest battle was the hundred-and-sixty-eighth samsara, the same number of times the Sabzeruz Festival looped, in order to impart combat knowledge onto the Traveler; in addition, using the Akasha, she relayed everything that happened in the loops to the people of Sumeru, imploring them to send feedback to help defeat the false god, which are then uploaded into the Akasha construct.
After a long, arduous battle, the Traveler at last overwhelms Scaramouche, whose disbelief and anger immediately turns to horror as Nahida uncovers the Electro Gnosis from the heart of the machine and proceeds to extract it, begging her not to take it. His pleas fall on deaf ears, and as the Dendro Archon takes hold of the Gnosis, Scaramouche's tethers to the machine are severed, knocing him unconscious and sending him plummeting to the ground.
With the Balladeer out of the way, Nahida reveals that there still remains the matter of Irminsul, and with the Electro Gnosis on hand, in addition to her own Dendro Gnosis, she manifests a Divine Knowledge Capsule containing the final memory of Rukkhadevata, into which they enter. Inside, Nahida finds the landscape exceedingly polluted. The Traveler fills her in on their discovery in the Great Red Sand, from which she concludes that Irminsul's corruption is connected to the forbidden knowledge Deshret introduced millennia ago. She recalls that during the second outbreak of the pollution, Deshret sacrificed himself and Rukkhadevata spent much of her power to contain it, while the third outbreak coincided with the Khaenri'ah Cataclysm, during which Rukkhadevata sacrificed herself, and while the fourth, current outbreak has grown so severe so as to affect Irminsul, she admits it could have been worse but for said sacrifice. Nahida then clutches her chest in pain, which she attributes to feeling Rukkhadevata's pain in her final moments, which she resolves to brave as she, the Traveler, and Paimon journey to seek answers from the Greater Lord. After fighting off hordes of illusory hilichurls, fungi, and rifthounds along the way, the trio come across the Boat of Consciousness, a symbol of reason, with which they find their way to Rukkhadevata.
At the end of a long journey, the Traveler, Paimon, and Nahida at last reach Irminsul, where they find the lingering consciousness of Rukkhadevata, who bore a striking resemblance to Nahida. The Greater Lord explains that both she and Nahida are avatars of Irminsul, and that she created the latter from the purest branch of the sacred tree to serve as her reincarnation in the current era, reassuring her that, though they are born of the same essence, their destinies are not, and that she will grow to become an even greater Archon than her given her tenacity in the face of injustice.
Knowing the purpose of Nahida's visit, Rukkhadevata explains the circumstances behind her death. During the Cataclysm, all the Archons have been summoned to Khaenri'ah except her, who was tasked with protecting Irminsul amidst the third outbreak of Deshret's forbidden knowledge. Amidst her work, she felt pain which she attributes to Irminsul's corruption with forbidden knowledge, an eldritch kind of wisdom from the depths of the Abyss, incomprehensible even to the gods and constantly rejected by Teyvat, hence creating all sorts of calamities, meaning that unless it is completely expunged, Teyvat will continue to descend into chaos. As a countermeasure, Rukkhadevata created the Akasha to compile her people's wisdom and dreams to augment her powers, even as she considers it a necessary evil, given that it is powered by stealing dreams.
Unfortunately, though the Akasha largely purged the forbidden knowledge, Rukkhadevata felt a headache, which she took as a sign that she, too, has been tainted; worse still, even after she sacrificed herself, her tainted consciousness will linger on through memories and knowledge that cannot be easily erased, much less by herself lest she create a paradox. Thus, as a last resort, she created Kusanali in the hopes that one day she will find her and permanently erase her, and with it the remaining forbidden knowledge, to the horror of the Lesser Lord. Despite Nahida's pleas for her to stay with her people, Rukkhadevata admits that there is no other way, and finally reveals her full message: "Let the world completely forget me."
For the first and last time, Rukkhadevata embraces Kusanali/Nahida/Buer, who regretfully summons her Dendro energy and embraces back, causing the Greater Lord to fade away into glowing leaves. As Nahida is reduced to heartbroken tears, the leaves scatter throughout Sumeru, restoring the people's ability to dream and permanently cleansing Eleazar and the Withering from Teyvat, with Rukkhadevata bidding good night to Sumeru for the final time.
Back at the Sanctuary of Surasthana, Nahida asks the Traveler why she is crying when she has just saved the world, and Paimon is confused at their reaction, leading them to realize that all of Teyvat, including Paimon and the Archons, must have completely forgotten Rukkhadevata except themselves on account of their otherworldly origins. As they contemplate telling her the truth, however, they hear a strange sound that causes them to fall asleep.
With the Traveler and Paimon down, Nahida is confronted by Dottore, who assures her that he used a sleep-inducing sound wave on the duo, which he learned from the Sages. When asked by Nahida why he is still in Sumeru when he has supposedly returned to Snezhnaya, Dottore reveals that he keeps "segments," or clones of himself from various stages of his life, so he can continue seeking knowledge from all corners of Teyvat; furthermore, he justifies his inaction for most of the Sages' project by claiming that he is but an observer, even as he expresses some disappointment with its failure. Nahida calls his way of pursuing knowledge an insult to the rules and nature and deems him insane for having far less scruples than even the Akademiya at its worst, charges Dottore dismisses, claiming to hold to his own standards.
Dottore then cuts to the chase and, on the pretext of finding research materials, demands of Nahida the Electro Gnosis, threatening that she has little hope of standing up to him. Nahida, offended at his attitude, in turn threatens to destroy the Gnosis and rouse Celestia for the first time in half a millennium, warning that the Gnoses are symbols of its authority over Teyvat and may not take well to such a vandalism. Dottore, surprised at the otherwise rational Dendro Archon making so risky a gambit, backs down. Nahida, acknowledging that keeping a second Gnosis may only lead to another crisis, demands that he erase all his segments in exchange for the Gnosis. Realizing that the Dendro Archon is undermining his threat to Sumeru, and despite the difficulties with building new segments, Dottore nevertheless accedes, and to reassure Nahida that he will go through his end of the deal, he allows her to listen to the consciousnesses of his segments expressing a variety of emotions as they are being erased.
Afterwards, Nahida states her intention to be more direct with Sumeru, starting with shutting down the Akasha, spurring the Akademiya to be driven anew by curiosity and thirst for knowledge, and closing any legal loophole Dottore may exploit, to his disappointment over Sumeru's continued refusal to acknowledge his genius. The Harbinger then asks Nahida to also hand him the Dendro Gnosis, on the grounds that there would be no more use for it with no Akasha to power, tempting her with knowledge even she is not privy to, including the rumor about the skies of Teyvat being fake, to which Nahida reluctantly struck a deal.
After several days, the Traveler and Paimon wake up in Gandharva Ville, where the former reminisces that immediately after the battle with Scaramouche, they and Paimon were brought to the village by Cyno to be tended by Tighnari and Collei, who informed them during their convalescence that the Akasha has been shut down.
A Toast to Victory
Outside their hut, the Traveler and Paimon are invited to breakfast by Collei, who, having been fully cured of Eleazar, has taken up cooking. While enjoying their meal, Collei hands them a letter from Nilou, inviting them to the Grand Bazaar to celebrate Cyno's return to the Matra in a couple days' time. Next, the duo meet Tighnari, who is also recovering from his injuries and informs them that all Eleazar patients and Haypasia have also recovered, allowing him to return to his Forest Ranger duties and deal with any Withering Zone that may linger on even after Irminsul has been healed. He also informs them that he already knew of the news about Cyno, though the latter's lack of knowledge implied that Nilou may be planning a surprise party, given the General Mahamatra's typical aversion to festivities. Unfortunately for him, neither he nor Collei would be able to join, given that, among their multitude of duties, they are preparing Azar and his three fellow Sages involved in the god creation project for life in the Forest, condemned to permanent exile on orders from Kusanali, where they will spend the rest of their lives cultivating wisdom as penance, while everyone they imprisoned—including his former master, the Sage of the Amurta Darshan—have been freed.Inside the Grand Bazaar, the duo find Nilou and the Zubayr Theatre troupe preparing for the festivities, who then asks them to verify if her invitation letters have been sent to Dehya, Alhaitham, Cyno, Rahman, and Dunyarzad.
In the House of Daena, the Traveler and Paimon overhear a blond man demanding answers from Alhaitham over the shakeup in the Akademiya while he is away in the Great Red Sand, even as he expresses incredulity over Alhaitham's claim that both of them were being considered candidates as Sages. After the man leaves to verify Alhaitham's claims, the duo ask the Scribe if he has received Nilou's letter. Alhaitham claims he has yet to read it, citing his workload in the wake of Azar and his three peers being exiled for their crimes, including having their peers from the Amurta and Vahumana Darshans, the latter the aetiology faculty, imprisoned for opposing the god creation project; that said, he declined the position of Grand Sage, citing his aversion to positions of authority, instead settling as interim Sage for the four affected Darshans until permanent replacements could be found following a rigorous selection process. After introducing the man he was talking to earlier as Kaveh, a master architect and star alumnus of the Kshahrewar Darshan, the technology faculty, he agrees to join the feast. Should the Traveler linger on, they later overhear Kaveh and Alhaitham arguing anew over the changes to the Akademiya, the former believing the latter had a hand therein and that he is still being locked out of the loop despite the latter's explanations.
At Port Ormos, the Traveler and Paimon find Dunyarzad and Dehya taking a stroll, the former enjoying her full recovery from Eleazar and the latter informing the duo that she has tendered her resignation as the former's bodyguard to return to the life of a sellsword. Dunyarzad reminds Dehya that she received a letter from Alhaitham inviting her to join the Akademiya, where Cyno can refer her to the Matra. Dehya declines, citing that she would rather enjoy her freewheeling life while it lasts until the day mercenaries like her are no longer needed as relations between the forest- and desert-dwellers improve. The duo then remind Dunyarzad and Dehya of Nilou's invitation to the festivities, which they agree to join. Before they part ways, Dehya suggests to the duo that they look for Cyno and Rahman at Aaru Village.
At Aaru, the Traveler and Paimon find Cyno, who they thanks for bringing them and Tighnari to Gandharva. The trio are greeted by Rahman and Setaria, with the latter explaining that she has resigned from the Akademiya to settle down as teacher at Aaru, coordinating with Rahman and his band to help disseminate education to their fellow desert-dwellers. Remembering the time she was forced to confront her guilt over her participation in the Sabzeruz samsara, she tried to confront Azar upon being released from prison, only to learn of his exile from Cyno, who then helps Setaria obtain her clearance to return to Aaru, as well as coordinated with Rahman's band to distribute resources Kusanali allocated to help with the educational development of the desert-dwellers. Paimon informs Cyno of Nilou's invitation to the feast, which he accepts, while Rahman and Setaria decline, citing their busy work schedule, but not before the latter asks the Traveler to relay Nilou her apology for her callous remarks during the Sabzeruz samsara. Elsewhere in the Village, the Traveler also meets Candace, who thanks them for their hard work.
On the night of the feast, the Traveler, Paimon, Alhaitham, Dehya, Dunyarzad, and Nilou celebrate Cyno's reinstatement with a dinner at the Zubayr Theatre grounds, during which Nilou and her troupe hold performances, Alhaitham compliments the group for their skillfulness and luck, and Dunyarzad and Dehya remark on the cruelty of the Akademiya repaying the Dendro Archon sacrificing her power, memories, and wisdom to protect Sumeru from the Cataclysm with ingratitude. The Traveler realizes that with the deletion of Rukkhadevata from Irminsul, all of Teyvat now believes Kusanali has always been the Dendro Archon, and decides to keep her existence a secret out of respect for her wish for Sumeru to move on without her. Cyno opines that Azar and his peers' punishment was still too lenient given the gravity of their crimes, though he also declines Alhaitham's suggestion to ask of Nahida a more severe punishment out of respect for her judgment. In turn, when asked by Cyno why he declined the offer to become Grand Sage, Alhaitham explains that he is not so much after Azar's position as much as he is opposed to the Sages' schemes threatening his way of life and his fellow scholars' autonomy.
Amidst the celebrations, the Traveler is contacted by Nahida, who asks them to serve as her channel so she can thank the people who helped her without intimidating them. Through the Traveler, Nahida thanks Nilou, Alhaitham, Cyno, Dehya, Paimon, and Dunyarzad for risking their lives to save her and restore her to her rightful place despite the risk of antagonizing all of Sumeru, the Akademiya, the Sages, and their Fatui backers Dottore and Scaramouche; in turn, everyone present is humbled by her presence, and their celebratory feast reaches its climax.
The day after the festivities, the Traveler and Paimon meet again with Nahida at the Sanctuary of Surasthana, where the Dendro Archon recapitulates everything that happened shortly after saving Irminsul. After some deliberation, she decided to permanently shut down the Akasha, liberating the people of Sumeru from its restraints and at the same time pushing them to use their critical thinking anew; in addition, she will oversee the selection of the four new Sages and continue mending relations with the people of the Great Red Sand. As for what happened while the Traveler fell asleep, she reveals that Dottore came to take away both the Electro and Dendro Gnoses, and while she chose not to fight him on account of the three foremost Harbingers, of which he is second-ranking, having godlike powers, she nevertheless managed to strike a deal with him, with him destroying his clones in exchange for the Electro, and her handing the Dendro in exchange for confidential information from Dottore. As for Scaramouche, she reveals that he is in a coma and under her care, both to investigate him and to make sure he will never do any evil again. She also suggests that the Traveler head for Fontaine, which she describes as a nation of judges whose ruler Focalors, the Hydro Archon and God of Justice, holds a mostly ceremonial rule while a Chief Justice governs the nation in her place.
More importantly, however, Nahida reveals that she knows something about their sibling. While perusing Irminsul during the Traveler's convalescence, she found records about their sibling—but not the Traveler themselves—describing them as having suddenly appeared in Khaenri'ah five hundred years ago and undertook their own journey through the seven nations of Teyvat shortly after the Cataclysm, only for the records to become hazy just as their journey is about to reach its climax, as though they were being deliberately obfuscated, which the Traveler assumes may have something to do with the Abyss. Moreover, based on Fatui intel, the Traveler is described as the fourth "Descender," a visitor to Teyvat from another world, with Nahida suspecting the first to be the Heavenly Principles of Celestia, while as of present the other two are unfortunately unknown even to her. The Traveler comforts her, understanding that both of them need time to process what they just learned.
Knowing the Traveler's time at Sumeru is coming to an end, Nahida expresses keen interest in their future journeys. She and the Traveler thank each other for their friendship, and the Dendro Archon promises to appear to them in their dreams any time they want.
The Traveler's Tale, Part III
Act VI: Caribert
Released: v3.5 "Windblume's Breath" (March 1, 2023)
Minimum Adventure Rank: 35
At the Tavern's diner, the duo chance upon Kaeya, who claims to have been sent to Sumeru to study its alcohol industry, in particular the Tavern's reputation for incorporating local spices into their concoctions, as well as establish trade relations in the aforementioned industry. After the Traveler intuits that Kaeya is no stranger to Sumeru, the Cavalry Captain confesses that he originally hailed from Khaenri'ah, said in some records to lie underneath Sumeru; in addition, he describes how, in his youth shortly after being adopted by Diluc's late father Crepus, he once snuck into a business delegation from the Dawn Winery to Sumeru, only to be caught and forcibly brought back home by Crepus. That said, Kaeya claims to have little memories of Khaenri'ah apart from his family name, "Alberich," and a duty seemingly imparted onto him by his biological father who abandoned him in Mondstadt, wondering whether or not his father intended for him to live a peaceful life.
Midway through their conversation, Dainsleif joins in, to the surprise of the Traveler and Paimon. Kaeya intuits that his countryman has been eavesdropping on them, while in turn the former Twilight Sword claims that Kaeya's ancestors founded the Abyss Order, which Kaeya takes in stride, claiming he didn't even know the significance of his family name, before recognizing Dainsleif as a pure-blooded Khaenri'ahn on account of his unusual pupils shaped like four-pointed stars. Kaeya assures the Traveler and Paimon that he is not in league with the Order, given their years-long animosity, before immediately taking his leave to meet a business partner.
With Kaeya gone, Paimon takes note of the icy relations between him and Dainsleif despite their shared nationality, to which the latter claims that, though he personally doesn't know Kaeya well, his Alberich lineage is enough cause for suspicion. After Dainsleif clarifies the Traveler's knowledge about their sibling's leadership of the Abyss Order by stating that their title of "Prince[ss]" signifies that they are but the latest in a line of succession, he then reveals that he is in Sumeru to investigate the "Loom of Fate," the Abyss Order's grand plans for Teyvat, having recalled the sibling mentioning it during their past travels in Avidya Forest. With their priorities set, the trio decide to visit the Forest, but not before Dainsleif waits for the alcoholic drink he ordered.
North of Avidya Forest's Statue of the Seven, the Traveler, Paimon, and Dainsleif find a small farming field and a hut which the latter senses to have been uninhabited for several years. Inside the hut, they find few artifacts of interest save for a wooden bed, a broken mirror inside a small box, and a bowl which, judging from its scent, was used to ground medicine. In spite of the erosion of his memories due to his curse of immortality, Dainsleif claims to have subconsciously sensed that something strange happened in the hut, before they trio are interrupted by the din of slimes outside. After eliminating them, Dainsleif suspects that the slimes were attracted to an anomaly in the area's Ley Lines and decides to set off to investigate, but not before asking the Traveler and Paimon to set up a campfire.
Later that night, while enjoying their dinner and waiting for Dainsleif, when asked by Paimon what life was like with their sibling, the Traveler reveals that they often watched the stars together in between world-hopping, and that their time in Teyvat was the first they got separated. Paimon vows to stay by the Traveler's side as they uncover the truth of Teyvat together, before volunteering to keep watch over them while they sleep away the night, dreaming of their sibling.
The following morning, the Traveler wakes up to find Dainsleif bidding them to arise and resume their investigation, only to relent upon noticing them having shed tears in their sleep; intuiting that they have dreamt of their sibling, he allows them to sleep for a bit longer while he goes alone.
The next time the Traveler wakes up, however, they notice that Paimon is gone, seemingly joining Dainsleif. Upon hearing a clatter inside the hut, the Traveler decides to check it out.
The Traveler then notices a hilichurl lying in bed, a scarf bandaged around its left arm, who the man claims is a boy too young to deserve so dire a state. Upon the Traveler correctly identifying him as Khaenri'ahn, judging from his clothing and eyes, as well as assuring him that they are neither friend nor foe of the gods, the man introduces himself as Eide, who apologizes for his rudeness, as there are only few humans left who do not worship the gods of Teyvat, who he blames for denying the survivors of Khaenri'ah a merciful death following the loss of their nation. When asked by the Traveler why some survivors turn into hilichurls and others do not, Eide reveals that the latter, such as himself, are pure-blooded Khaenri'ahns, whereas the former hail, either by immigration or descent, from the Archon-states of Teyvat who forsook their gods, with the former being deemed the "greater sinners" in the eyes of Celestia. Eide introduces the hilichurl as Caribert, his illegitimate son with a Mondstadter who he loved dearly in defiance of his parents and his own noble lineage, though he declines to disclose her fate, which the Traveler chooses to respect.
Eide then invites the Traveler to a crafting bench outside his hut, where he has been creating a medicine that could at least restore Caribert's sapience, forbidden by Khaenri'ah as it is made of ingredients imbued with the power of the Dendro Archon. Despite the Traveler's misgivings, they accede to Eide's request to gather local ingredients, including red mushrooms seldom found in the wild.
With the medicine almost complete, Eide reluctantly visits the local Statue of the Dendro Archon and supplicate before it, with the Traveler deciding not to get Nahida involved out of respect. There, witnessing Eide angrily beseeching the Dendro Archon to pity Caribert, they wonder why the Archons and Khaenri'ah could not coexist.
Upon returning to the hut, Eide tries to feed the medicine to Caribert. Seeing that he is barely responsive, a hysterical Eide apologizes to him for not being at his and his mother's side when tragedy struck Khaenri'ah, before going on another angry rant against the gods. After the Traveler calms him down by suggesting that the dosage might not be enough, Eide claims that he grew the mushrooms from his field, then asks the Traveler to fetch some water from a nearby waterfall which he thinks are the only ones able to grow the mushrooms. Afterwards, Eide asks the Traveler to watch the field while he prepares the fertilizer, sternly warning them not to let the Avidya Forest Rangers into his house. After the Traveler repels fungi that strayed into the field, Eide returns with the fertilizer and immediately scatters them onto the field, almost instantly causing the mushrooms to grow, with which he can create more of the taboo medicine, even as he rues having to visit the Statue of the Dendro Archon anew. Upon arrival, however, Eide notices a hilichurl walking below. Fearing it could be Caribert, he and the Traveler give chase.
The Traveler and Eide then come across an ancient sanctuary, where they notice hilichurls walking and occasionally stopping to prostrate themselves as if in worship. After wandering around and crossing portals, the two come across a chamber with two platforms that seem to defy gravity. After collecting three runes, the Traveler opens up a trapdoor leading to a hallway below, where they and Eide encounter an Abyss Herald who challenges them to prove their worth to proceed. After defeating the being, Eide was awestruck at his power, to the Traveler's confusion.
At the end of the path, the Traveler and Eide discover the sanctuary proper, centered around a giant crystal wrapped in chains and emanating Abyssal energy, not unlike the defiled Statue of Barbatos they once found below Mount Aocang, with the prostrate hilichurls also reminding them of the "Grand Thief." Sensing the danger, the Traveler tries to warn Eide to leave, only to find that he has also bent the knee. The Traveler then hears a voice in their head which they believe comes from the crystal, seemingly addressed to Eide, wondering why he is worshipping him when he is not so much a god as much as a "sinner"; nevertheless, he bestows upon Eide the task to become a "transcendent one" defying his fate, before wisps of energy emanate from the crystal and enter Eide. Upon release from his trance, Eide claims to have found enlightenment, even as the Traveler urges him to leave the sanctuary.
Back at his hut, Eide administers another dose of the medicine to Caribert, who finally regains consciousness. His joy is short-lived, however, when Caribert notices his malformed limbs and begins having a panic attack. Eide tries to calm him down by assuring that he is in a dream world where Khaenri'ah is no more, but the skies are no longer blood-red, before assuring his son that everything will be alright, even as he warns him not to take off his mask.
Once Caribert has calmed down, Eide has a conversation with the Traveler outside the hut, where he rues having supplicated before the Dendro Archon and his newfound faith in the strange news god, resolving to return to the sanctuary and dismissing the Traveler's warnings about the "Sinner." Worrying for Eide's safety, the Traveler decides to follow him, even as they are disturbed by his newfound fanaticism.
Along the way, the two run across three Forest Rangers, with whom Eide had a testy exchange of words; after the Traveler defuses the situation, one Ranger claims to have noticed one hilichurl walking unmindful of its surroundings, which Eide thinks may be his son. The Traveler and Eide eventually find Caribert atop a ledge, where the latter again entreats his son to return to him, even as the Traveler notices something strange with the boy. Caribert, in despair, takes off his mask, emitting a burst of dark energy that knocks the Traveler unconscious.
The Traveler comes to in Eide's hut, where the latter has grown even more unhinged, claiming he has ascertained the Traveler's true identity before revealing his true name as Chlothar Alberich, "Eide" being but that of one of his family's servants. Overjoyed at having discovered the power of the Abyss, he now plans to use his son as the "Loom of Fate," his instrument of revenge against Celestia, while addressing the Traveler as the Prince[ss] of Khaenri'ah, destined to restore their nation to power. Bewildered at Chlothar's descent to madness and his appellation to them, the Traveler steps back and comes across the broken mirror. To their horror, they see their twin in their reflection, realizing that all this time they have been reliving the latter's memories, before they hear Dainsleif calling on them.
The Traveler wakes up in the company of Paimon and Dainsleif, with the latter stating that the Abyss Order has tampered with the area's Ley Lines; after the Traveler tells him of Chlothar, he also reveals that a hundred years after founding and leading the Abyss Order, Chlothar completely lost his mind and disappeared, with the Traveler's sibling taking up his mantle afterwards. The Traveler fills Dainsleif in on the rest of their vision, leading both to conclude that the sibling's experiences with Chlothar may have influenced their allegiance to the Order.
Realizing Chlothar's connection to the area, the Traveler and Dainsleif excavate for evidence, and discover, to Paimon's horror, the skeletal remains of a man and a woman, the former holding a silk scarf on his hand. The former hypothesizes that the man may have been Chlothar, leading the latter to wonder whether or not he found a way to free himself of his curse. In the meantime, however, Dainsleif decides to part ways with the Traveler and Paimon, fearing that the former may caught the attention of the "Sinner," an entity he claims has the power to transcend time, space, and reality, and fearing he, too, will be seen. As there is little certitude that it his him, Dainsleif will try to gather more information, promising to reunite with them at the right time. Once Dainsleif has left, the Traveler embraces Paimon in relief after such a nightmarish experience.
Minimum Adventure Rank: 35
Destined Encounter
While wandering the Pharos Lighthouse in Port Ormos, the Traveler and Paimon run into deputy port master Masrur, who hands them a letter from a "crafty fellow" who he claims managed to exploit a loophole in Sumeru's mailing system to get the letter delivered directly to them despite their lack of permanent address. The Traveler identifies the sender as Kaeya, who claims to frequent Djafar Tavern nearby.At the Tavern's diner, the duo chance upon Kaeya, who claims to have been sent to Sumeru to study its alcohol industry, in particular the Tavern's reputation for incorporating local spices into their concoctions, as well as establish trade relations in the aforementioned industry. After the Traveler intuits that Kaeya is no stranger to Sumeru, the Cavalry Captain confesses that he originally hailed from Khaenri'ah, said in some records to lie underneath Sumeru; in addition, he describes how, in his youth shortly after being adopted by Diluc's late father Crepus, he once snuck into a business delegation from the Dawn Winery to Sumeru, only to be caught and forcibly brought back home by Crepus. That said, Kaeya claims to have little memories of Khaenri'ah apart from his family name, "Alberich," and a duty seemingly imparted onto him by his biological father who abandoned him in Mondstadt, wondering whether or not his father intended for him to live a peaceful life.
Midway through their conversation, Dainsleif joins in, to the surprise of the Traveler and Paimon. Kaeya intuits that his countryman has been eavesdropping on them, while in turn the former Twilight Sword claims that Kaeya's ancestors founded the Abyss Order, which Kaeya takes in stride, claiming he didn't even know the significance of his family name, before recognizing Dainsleif as a pure-blooded Khaenri'ahn on account of his unusual pupils shaped like four-pointed stars. Kaeya assures the Traveler and Paimon that he is not in league with the Order, given their years-long animosity, before immediately taking his leave to meet a business partner.
With Kaeya gone, Paimon takes note of the icy relations between him and Dainsleif despite their shared nationality, to which the latter claims that, though he personally doesn't know Kaeya well, his Alberich lineage is enough cause for suspicion. After Dainsleif clarifies the Traveler's knowledge about their sibling's leadership of the Abyss Order by stating that their title of "Prince[ss]" signifies that they are but the latest in a line of succession, he then reveals that he is in Sumeru to investigate the "Loom of Fate," the Abyss Order's grand plans for Teyvat, having recalled the sibling mentioning it during their past travels in Avidya Forest. With their priorities set, the trio decide to visit the Forest, but not before Dainsleif waits for the alcoholic drink he ordered.
North of Avidya Forest's Statue of the Seven, the Traveler, Paimon, and Dainsleif find a small farming field and a hut which the latter senses to have been uninhabited for several years. Inside the hut, they find few artifacts of interest save for a wooden bed, a broken mirror inside a small box, and a bowl which, judging from its scent, was used to ground medicine. In spite of the erosion of his memories due to his curse of immortality, Dainsleif claims to have subconsciously sensed that something strange happened in the hut, before they trio are interrupted by the din of slimes outside. After eliminating them, Dainsleif suspects that the slimes were attracted to an anomaly in the area's Ley Lines and decides to set off to investigate, but not before asking the Traveler and Paimon to set up a campfire.
Later that night, while enjoying their dinner and waiting for Dainsleif, when asked by Paimon what life was like with their sibling, the Traveler reveals that they often watched the stars together in between world-hopping, and that their time in Teyvat was the first they got separated. Paimon vows to stay by the Traveler's side as they uncover the truth of Teyvat together, before volunteering to keep watch over them while they sleep away the night, dreaming of their sibling.
The following morning, the Traveler wakes up to find Dainsleif bidding them to arise and resume their investigation, only to relent upon noticing them having shed tears in their sleep; intuiting that they have dreamt of their sibling, he allows them to sleep for a bit longer while he goes alone.
The next time the Traveler wakes up, however, they notice that Paimon is gone, seemingly joining Dainsleif. Upon hearing a clatter inside the hut, the Traveler decides to check it out.
Fortune-Mocking Pedigree
Inside, the Traveler finds a man who berates them for intruding into his work but also informing them that their traveling companion has left for the forests. Sensing that he might be hiding something, the Traveler insists on staying in his hut until their companion returns, which he begrudgingly accepts.The Traveler then notices a hilichurl lying in bed, a scarf bandaged around its left arm, who the man claims is a boy too young to deserve so dire a state. Upon the Traveler correctly identifying him as Khaenri'ahn, judging from his clothing and eyes, as well as assuring him that they are neither friend nor foe of the gods, the man introduces himself as Eide, who apologizes for his rudeness, as there are only few humans left who do not worship the gods of Teyvat, who he blames for denying the survivors of Khaenri'ah a merciful death following the loss of their nation. When asked by the Traveler why some survivors turn into hilichurls and others do not, Eide reveals that the latter, such as himself, are pure-blooded Khaenri'ahns, whereas the former hail, either by immigration or descent, from the Archon-states of Teyvat who forsook their gods, with the former being deemed the "greater sinners" in the eyes of Celestia. Eide introduces the hilichurl as Caribert, his illegitimate son with a Mondstadter who he loved dearly in defiance of his parents and his own noble lineage, though he declines to disclose her fate, which the Traveler chooses to respect.
Eide then invites the Traveler to a crafting bench outside his hut, where he has been creating a medicine that could at least restore Caribert's sapience, forbidden by Khaenri'ah as it is made of ingredients imbued with the power of the Dendro Archon. Despite the Traveler's misgivings, they accede to Eide's request to gather local ingredients, including red mushrooms seldom found in the wild.
With the medicine almost complete, Eide reluctantly visits the local Statue of the Dendro Archon and supplicate before it, with the Traveler deciding not to get Nahida involved out of respect. There, witnessing Eide angrily beseeching the Dendro Archon to pity Caribert, they wonder why the Archons and Khaenri'ah could not coexist.
Upon returning to the hut, Eide tries to feed the medicine to Caribert. Seeing that he is barely responsive, a hysterical Eide apologizes to him for not being at his and his mother's side when tragedy struck Khaenri'ah, before going on another angry rant against the gods. After the Traveler calms him down by suggesting that the dosage might not be enough, Eide claims that he grew the mushrooms from his field, then asks the Traveler to fetch some water from a nearby waterfall which he thinks are the only ones able to grow the mushrooms. Afterwards, Eide asks the Traveler to watch the field while he prepares the fertilizer, sternly warning them not to let the Avidya Forest Rangers into his house. After the Traveler repels fungi that strayed into the field, Eide returns with the fertilizer and immediately scatters them onto the field, almost instantly causing the mushrooms to grow, with which he can create more of the taboo medicine, even as he rues having to visit the Statue of the Dendro Archon anew. Upon arrival, however, Eide notices a hilichurl walking below. Fearing it could be Caribert, he and the Traveler give chase.
A Lamenter at Fate's End
Upon approaching the hilichurl, Eide realizes that it is not Caribert, given that it lacks the scarf on his arm, a gift from his late wife. That said, he and the Traveler grow curious about its lack of response to them, as well as its fixation on entering a cave east of the Statue of the Seven, so they decide to follow it.The Traveler and Eide then come across an ancient sanctuary, where they notice hilichurls walking and occasionally stopping to prostrate themselves as if in worship. After wandering around and crossing portals, the two come across a chamber with two platforms that seem to defy gravity. After collecting three runes, the Traveler opens up a trapdoor leading to a hallway below, where they and Eide encounter an Abyss Herald who challenges them to prove their worth to proceed. After defeating the being, Eide was awestruck at his power, to the Traveler's confusion.
At the end of the path, the Traveler and Eide discover the sanctuary proper, centered around a giant crystal wrapped in chains and emanating Abyssal energy, not unlike the defiled Statue of Barbatos they once found below Mount Aocang, with the prostrate hilichurls also reminding them of the "Grand Thief." Sensing the danger, the Traveler tries to warn Eide to leave, only to find that he has also bent the knee. The Traveler then hears a voice in their head which they believe comes from the crystal, seemingly addressed to Eide, wondering why he is worshipping him when he is not so much a god as much as a "sinner"; nevertheless, he bestows upon Eide the task to become a "transcendent one" defying his fate, before wisps of energy emanate from the crystal and enter Eide. Upon release from his trance, Eide claims to have found enlightenment, even as the Traveler urges him to leave the sanctuary.
Back at his hut, Eide administers another dose of the medicine to Caribert, who finally regains consciousness. His joy is short-lived, however, when Caribert notices his malformed limbs and begins having a panic attack. Eide tries to calm him down by assuring that he is in a dream world where Khaenri'ah is no more, but the skies are no longer blood-red, before assuring his son that everything will be alright, even as he warns him not to take off his mask.
Once Caribert has calmed down, Eide has a conversation with the Traveler outside the hut, where he rues having supplicated before the Dendro Archon and his newfound faith in the strange news god, resolving to return to the sanctuary and dismissing the Traveler's warnings about the "Sinner." Worrying for Eide's safety, the Traveler decides to follow him, even as they are disturbed by his newfound fanaticism.
Portended Fate
At the depths of the sanctuary, however, the Traveler and Eide discover that the crystal is gone, and so are the hilichurls, forcing them to return home, though Eide assures himself that he will one day meet his god anew. Worse still, they find that Caribert is gone; judging from a broken mirror on the floor, he fears his son might have taken off his mask and saw his malformed visage, and so he drags the Traveler along in his frantic search.Along the way, the two run across three Forest Rangers, with whom Eide had a testy exchange of words; after the Traveler defuses the situation, one Ranger claims to have noticed one hilichurl walking unmindful of its surroundings, which Eide thinks may be his son. The Traveler and Eide eventually find Caribert atop a ledge, where the latter again entreats his son to return to him, even as the Traveler notices something strange with the boy. Caribert, in despair, takes off his mask, emitting a burst of dark energy that knocks the Traveler unconscious.
The Traveler comes to in Eide's hut, where the latter has grown even more unhinged, claiming he has ascertained the Traveler's true identity before revealing his true name as Chlothar Alberich, "Eide" being but that of one of his family's servants. Overjoyed at having discovered the power of the Abyss, he now plans to use his son as the "Loom of Fate," his instrument of revenge against Celestia, while addressing the Traveler as the Prince[ss] of Khaenri'ah, destined to restore their nation to power. Bewildered at Chlothar's descent to madness and his appellation to them, the Traveler steps back and comes across the broken mirror. To their horror, they see their twin in their reflection, realizing that all this time they have been reliving the latter's memories, before they hear Dainsleif calling on them.
The Traveler wakes up in the company of Paimon and Dainsleif, with the latter stating that the Abyss Order has tampered with the area's Ley Lines; after the Traveler tells him of Chlothar, he also reveals that a hundred years after founding and leading the Abyss Order, Chlothar completely lost his mind and disappeared, with the Traveler's sibling taking up his mantle afterwards. The Traveler fills Dainsleif in on the rest of their vision, leading both to conclude that the sibling's experiences with Chlothar may have influenced their allegiance to the Order.
Realizing Chlothar's connection to the area, the Traveler and Dainsleif excavate for evidence, and discover, to Paimon's horror, the skeletal remains of a man and a woman, the former holding a silk scarf on his hand. The former hypothesizes that the man may have been Chlothar, leading the latter to wonder whether or not he found a way to free himself of his curse. In the meantime, however, Dainsleif decides to part ways with the Traveler and Paimon, fearing that the former may caught the attention of the "Sinner," an entity he claims has the power to transcend time, space, and reality, and fearing he, too, will be seen. As there is little certitude that it his him, Dainsleif will try to gather more information, promising to reunite with them at the right time. Once Dainsleif has left, the Traveler embraces Paimon in relief after such a nightmarish experience.
