The Cataclysm Was Khaenri'ah's Fault [Genshin Impact Theory]

Welcome to another Genshin Impact Theory about how the Cataclysm's root cause wasn't just Gold's fault, but also Khae'nriah as a civilization altogether.
DISCLAIMER: The text is self-translated because I couldn't find reliable sources (2.2 was released yesterday), so let's do some fieldwork why not? For context, these are the shady ass murals with the shadier and barely legible writing on the wall that took me around 20 minutes before I just went 'ayt'. ngl i love solving puzzles though so this felt nice.
#genshinimpact #genshinimpactlore #genshin
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CREDITS:
Danse Macabre · Kevin MacLeod
Phantasm - Kevin Macleod
Machivellian Bach - Portal 2

[@loola8908]

But Ei was sympathetic TOWARDS Khaneri'ah. She said "I've seen a nation stride forward and lose everything to the Heavenly Principals" I don't think they were purely EVIL, I think they seeked knowledge and the creation of life to the point it got out of hand. It may be one of the reasons why the God of Wisdom has a push for folly on his people....because too much knowledge means destruction. Creating life is a realm humans shouldn't venture in. Also I'm seeing a pattern of Khaenri'ahns being against their own people with Dain and Kaeya. Kaeya literally disses Khaenri'ah and Dain fights the Abyss Order who are HIS own people and calls them 'corrupt.'

[@roreinu2239]

Because the WHOLE nation was destroyed, even the civilians. It’s unlikely that everyone practiced chemia

[@Windtorment]

I agree. It's like the entire world was punished for the sins of a few. I doubt Khaenri'ah was purely evil. But the thing you mentioned about Kaeya.. I've always interpreted it as him trying to dismiss the topic. Last time he told the truth about himself; it ended up being disastrous. It's even in his character story, _"Kaeya sees it as a stern reminder that he must live the rest of his life under the heavy burden of lies."_ I don't think he loathes his country people.

[@HighStar9821]

kaeya speaks half truths

[@loola8908]

@@roreinu2239 Yea exactly. I think the only people that practiced Khemia were people closer to the government. The civillians probably had nothing to do with it. Instead of punshing those few alchemists they destroyed everything and everyone

[@XburnerZ]

I think Kaeya and Dains are "against" their people is because they are either... Betrayed Or Against their practices. And I think all the explanation are hidden behind their "hidden" eye (Kaeya's eyepatch, Dain's mask and yes, even Amy's...I MEANT FISCHL) it may also explain why the Fatui require masks to reach their delusion stages

[@strawberrymilksoup]

ive been WAITING. for someone to bring up the tsurumi island mural things. i fouind them yesterday and went batshit

[@teldarin7557]

It was so freaking cool! You find these hidden murals deep in old ruins while Tsurumi's sad and creepy music plays in the backround, what a feeling. Totally awesome, they really nailed exploration in Inazuma.

[@magicalgirl4]

im so glad i found this video because i freaked out about them toosdkfjl

[@astridmustikasyamsuri6207]

In the newest enemies the rift wolves' drop there are mention of 3 stage of creation using 3 different kind of soil: alfisol, humus n cretaceus. the rift wolves created from alfisol (acidic semisoil) while durin was created from humus (organic layer of soil) but those all pale in comparison with the one created by chalk (cretaceus) so indeed, albedo is a magnum opus, but he is yet reach the final stage, his master, "gold". This kinda imply that, gold are above others in term of knowledge. The abyss is bad for humanity, they thought if they tame it & wield it's power they are unstopable, but in reality it broke their mind & form, tartaglia's body took a toll when using foul leagcy, he was in bad shape for using it 2 times in short span, if he use it too often it would cost him heavily for sure. This sentiment of scientific fanatism shared by lisa, she quit the academia after seeing how far people will do stuffs in the name of "wisdom" & "knowledge" Bet ya, both fatui & celestia are red herring, we gonna beat some abyssal eldrich shit

[@thienphucn1]

I dont Khaen'riah is purely evil because Ei is sympathetic towards the nation even when her own sister died during the Cataclysm.

[@thienphucn1]

Also, the Tsarista is theorized to have lost someone important to her during the Cataclysm and yet she chooses to take revenge on Celestia, going so far as committing war crimes across the other nations, instead of taking her anger on the Abyss or Khaen'riah

[@kekku2104]

@@thienphucn1 she did lose someone during the cataclysm, the previous sumeru god/god of the woods. the death of her friend, this god, was traumatic for her and that’s what ushered her into the forms she had planned and became so shut in. also we don’t know for sure what her exact motives are, so we don’t know if this is revenge. all she has decreed as stated by tartaglia + la signora is that she wants to burn out the old ways and in with the new. collecting all of the archon gnosis being key to this due to ambition being dangerous.

[@thienphucn1]

@@kekku2104 I know about the formerDendro archon being the Tsarista's lover theory. That's not my point. My point is that if Khaen'riah is truly evil and was the one that "shot first" like many Genshin theorists suggest then it is quite strange that every single Archon so far have some level of sympathy for this godless nation and hatred towards Celestia even though they have no connection to it

[@kekku2104]

@@thienphucn1 i never mentioned them being lovers just that the one archon died, where did that come from? and we still have yet to learn more on all of this but i feel that there is no true good or evil. just many sides fighting for what they believe/cherished but in the end from all sides faced consequences and it will probably only grow drastic in the future tale and you completely dismissed the 2nd paragraph that i mentioned

[@someoneinasia]

i think what happen was khaenriah higher ups do experiment that threatens the whole tevyat or even the world itself including celestia. but instead of punishing those poeple, celestia higher ups decided to punish the whole khaenriah. sacrificing some gods in the process, including makoto.

[@D3A6]

There’s also the fact that there are facilities for the storage and production of ruin guards and other ruin automata throughout teyvat (Liyue and inazuma) I think Khanri’ah was planning a full on invasion of the other nations

[@Nuna_heart]

It was made by dottore because he wanted to research ruin guards then he abandoned the facility

[@D3A6]

@@Nuna_heart one of the factories (the only factory in liyue) was a research lab for him, but what about the 3 storage facilities in inazuma? What about the perpetual mechanical array? Or the many ruin automata in inazuma? The facility under the electro manifestation? The ruins on Tsurumi?

[@hainguyenthanh8601]

And consider the moral of other god like osial and the evil god that enslaved Xiao. The retaliation of the would be invaded domain the god rule over could be even worse than celestia

[@cyncblt]

@@D3A6 Dainsleif mentions that when Khaenriah was destroyed the ruin automations left Khaenriah and wandered around ruins, hence why they’re all over the place.

[@D3A6]

@@cyncblt what about the facilities they’re stored in? Or the factory?

[@Nuna_heart]

1)Kaeya's voice lines makes sense even more , as for the conflict between dainslief and lumine , I think there's a misunderstanding (and maybe corruption) from lumine side 2)and I also feel like a lot of this will be uncovered more in sumeru (hoping mihoyo doesn't disappoint us) since there's huge emphasis on wisdom

[@teldarin7557]

I just *knew* that these ruins would cause more lore theories. Yesterday evening I had such a blast with Tsurumi Island's "story" quest. I put on headphones, took things slow while listening to the awesome and somber new Ost and I actually had some shivers go down my spine once I saw those different drawings on the walls in that ruin. Now that is awesome environmental story telling, Inazuma really stepped up the game in that regard. As always, awesome video! It is so exciting to see and share theories about lore, keep up the great work. ;)

[@manmoy4104]

Aster I'd love to see you compare the Archons with Herrschers from the Honkaiverse! I've found so many parallels (although sources about the Honkaiverse lore is kinda scarce; the HI3 wiki and Gun Girls Wiki both are very much useless in this regard). Very obvious parallels I found were the Herrschers of Wind, Thunder, Ice, and Rock, all of whom are design and function-wise very similar to the Archons

[@xX-fd2qj]

The Herrschers and Archons likely have little to do with each other (directly at least.) Idk about Aster but I have two branching theory points that work off different premises using Herrschers as the framing device. Premise 1: The Heavenly Principles are controlled by Herrschers. Premise 2: Visions wielders are Herrschers. Either way something is funky with Teyvat. Elemental Energy is obviously Honkai Energy but the world is "stable." This suggests that either the Honkai threat is completely suppressed through Celestia (Premise 2) or that the world is "allowed to exist" by the Honkai (Premise 1) Premise 1 is easily digestible: The Imaginary Tree may be made up of many branching points. It stands to reason then that there would be "critical nodes" that if something were to happen to then it would cause a cascading failure of many universes. So rather than "test" these worlds they "must be protected", so an important duty of the Honkai in these worlds would be to "shelter it against the sea", an Ark which would suit the name of the world quite well. There are hints that Khemia/The Abyss draws it's power from the Sea of Quanta. In this sense they would be directly opposed to any sort of Honkai based god. Anyone who channels such powers would be "unstable elements" and would need to be wiped out. Teyvat existing at a "nexus Point between many worlds" would give a lot of context behind the twins roles as "Travelers."

[@byeguyssry]

What x X said was right. Which there are certainly similarities, they are fundamentally different. While Archons are in control of the world and the elements and the nations, and are either helping them or deceiving them (depends on what you believe), Herrschers are the enemy of humanity at its strongest (or supposed to at least. Meanwhile Herrscher of Reason, Flamescion, etc. LMAO)

[@ruiiris_]

AH YES, WENDY-

[@misstrashtaker6787]

Honestly once you dive into HI3, you can pretty much guess who parallels whom, and to an extent, future paralleled characters

[@LeBornMajes]

Herrschers are far more stronger I think

[@lofi_bunny_a.m9890]

Ah eclipse dynasty … SO THATS WHY TRAVELER WAS SO SUS IN THE HILLICHURL “ECLIPSE TRIBE” DIALOGUE! Damn Im Stupid

[@bookbutterfly6613]

ITS SO FUNNY ITS LIKE We are meaty tribe because we like meat! We are the sleeper tribe because we sleep a lot! *_We are the eclipse tribe because we are the last remaining legacy of our homeland’s Eclipse Dynasty_*

[@gnuhgnauqneyugn]

Aster is slowly becoming the VaatiVidya of genshin impact, and I'm not even complaining

[@ChillwithAster]

one day. one day i'll know who that is.

[@defizero4383]

Aster, drop that lore bomb that has 98% chance to hit.

[@alextan4608]

something slightly off topic, but in reference to the moons always being called, apparently there was a time when the planet teyvat was on had 3 moons, 3 goddesses, but before celestia came into existence and hid everything under a false sky, a catastrophe happened that killed all three moon goddesses. Supposedly the moon we see is a fake, from the false sky, while Celestia is built on the corpse of one of the moon goddess sisters: Welkin. This was from an older video by Facepalm, but I further extrapolated on some other details too.

[@TheGreatHohenheim]

You do a wonderful job at evading the trappings of "Celestia bad / Khaenriah good" or vice versa, which I appreciate given that framing does a lot of disservice to the thematic aspects and ideas the game is raising at so many turns regarding narratives of progress that frame modernity, history and how history is written (historiography), and a reoccurring meditation on how discursive forms of power are very much something constructed. Khaenriah's pervading pseudo-Enlightenment philosophy sought to reinscribe humanity in place of the gods they did not worship, essentially replacing Heavenly Principles with Human Principles. Tho we don't know where exactly traveler fits into this, the story keeps turning to defiant moments where power is not this innate or transcendental thing that one inherently wields in pursuit of progress. Your theory really helps look past that temptation to read this game's story without considering just how similar Celestia and Khaenriah are/were, and how the game is very much about a world that has inherited that fact and cannot help but reckon with it.

[@PulcinellaTheRooster]

I think both sides are on the wrong as both sides has shown to be corrupted of sorts since Celestia's heavenly principles is unfair to the people such as accusing the twins of being arrogant while they are trying to escape meanwhile Khaenri'ah are too greedy due to their pride thus learning too deep about the abyss that could be a threat to Teyvat.

[@prehistoriccreator9600]

tbf the Sustainer was probably still on edge considering 2 gods/archons died in the cataclysm.

[@astridmustikasyamsuri6207]

2 gods died in cataclysm, teyvat is in bad shape due to abyssal monsters the sibling was in teyvat for a while, so the sustainer might think they helped out the whole shit n try to bail

[@-Blue-_]

@@astridmustikasyamsuri6207 so unknown god is good

[@spryzen001]

My headcanon is that celestia didn't like khaneriah as a godless nation but they were not able to take any action as khaneriah was not doing anything to take action against. Now that khaneriah went too far, celestia got an excuse to eliminate the entire nation in the name of stopping the abyss.

[@BlueminSpring]

I mean our sibling that woke up first probably had gotten part of something when cataclysm happened that’s why when we woke up he/she immediately told us we have to leave and then we got her blaming us. Though that’s my take and theory of what happened, our sibling probably only saw things~

[@witchcandy3671]

Interesting take Aster. I have one question, is it a search for truth or a search for balance? I'm a believer in = Its a search for Balance. Alchemy is the art of equivalent exchange, a formulae that must be balanced for it to function. Looking at the vague inscriptions the part about faith in the moons and calling themselves the Eclipse Dynasty seems to suggest there is a connection with the 3 moons of Tehvat. That is to say the 3 Goddesses above all. With the balance of the world offset by a dead moon or dead Goddess perhaps the corruption is the Tartagami of the moon, it is a God and God's never truly die. So if a nation worshipped her it stands to reason they would be affected so. So is Khaenriah bad? Most definitely. However even the true sky is hidden and the Archons are bound to not speak the whole truth. Sal Vindagnyr was punished long before Khaenriah by Celestia because they asked questions and it angered Celestia. There can be only one truth to be found, Celestia is hiding something very important. Could it be that Celestia is NOT composed of the rightful God's of Tehvat and are in fact Usurpers to the kingdom of the 3 Goddesses? Perhaps they are the reason one moon was killed setting the world into chaos where entire races were killed and the very landscape was thrown into an apocalypse. I'm merely stating at heart that there would be a reason behind Khaenriah's efforts. If it was for greater knowledge and that knowledge showed them how Dark the world actually was, how mortals were being lied to and enslaved for our own good maybe that was the initial spark. Seems a lot like the Anomally problem in the Matrix Movies, just saying. The Balance is still off set in Tehvat.

[@witchcandy3671]

@@justxigoldenix9909 read in game book Moonlit Bamboo Forest Vol 3. I believe I came across the lore about the 3 Lunar Goddesses during Unreconciled Stars. The content creator Ashikai has a video that specifically covers it I believe if you interested in digging further.

[@Mani-oc6cy]

Usurpers of the initial rulers? This is the first time I've heard of that theory...I like it! Nice!!

[@witchcandy3671]

@@Mani-oc6cy keep in mind it's just a theory. I came up with it based on the lore we learned about God's like Orobaxi. There's a theory out that Orobaxi was corrupted and before he went mad he challenged the Electro Archon knowing it would be his death. He wanted to die rather then hurt his people he loved. So if the Eclipse Dynasty worshipped the 3 Moons (3 Fates) then their connection to said Goddess could very well be at the heart of their corruption. Gold is reputed to have brought about the Cataclysm with his creations but if a moon died at the same time that seems to be an entirely separate event so how could they be connected. Surely Gold didn't kill his own Goddess. How would he even go about killing a moon even? No, I surmise the moon's death lead to the Cataclysm and Corruption of Khaenriah and all of Tehvat. Which makes more sense that their lead scientists were researching how to survive such an impending doom they couldn't avert.

[@goosefan1]

listen theres a creator, destroyed, sustainer theory. and ingame theres a line saying "the sustainer is dying, the creator has yet to come but the world shall burn no more for you shall acsend." perhaps instead of a god being dead, they are dying.

[@theer3bel]

TL;DR..... version

[@teushinsavage136]

I suddenly remembered the story on how Lucifer was casted out from heaven.. Genshin Stories are indeed overwhelming in a good way which makes me more interested in playing even though at time I feel bored

[@chrono2505]

Aster has leveled up:increase proficiency in creating catchy titles

[@connorjamesthompson6614]

Not realted maybe but I wonder if Dottore was inspired by experiments in Khaenri'ah. It would be cool if they were connected and it wouldn't paint the Gods as total monsters for destroying a civilization just cause they were insecure.

[@ChillwithAster]

Most likely; he had a facility and everything, plus my guess is that the Kunikuzushi also came from the art so Dottore would probably be inspired by that; who knows

[@madmaxtravax]

Just saw that dam sun symbol in the new island, some spooky shit I swear

[@justapotato1176]

"If thou gaze long into the abyss, the abyss will also gaze into thee."

[@sal15]

Nice take Aster, if Khaenriah incident was not celestia's fault. Then what about dragonspine. Why did celestia released skyfrost nail.

[@ChillwithAster]

much like the first civilization; they prospered and maybe lost their way. the mural depict a higher entity giving them something, and there are areas filled with "wheat" which could signify bountiful harvest but I personally have no real clue

[@Nokyyyyy]

I just read the description of the new wolves and their drops, it's terrifying...

[@kellyli7925]

GENSHIN THEORY: -I noticed something in Genshin Impact while I was playing and I wanted to share it with all of you. -As you know, all the abyss monsters such as abyss mages and hilichurls were once citizens of Khaenri'ah. -And we also know that the Abyss Order’s members are all citizens of Khaenri'ah as well. -All of the Khaenri'ah transformations into monsters seemed to be grouped based on class, rank or profession. For example all of the Black Serpent Knights transformed into the Shadowy Husks and only Shadowy Husks. -This means we can guess what some of the other Khaenri'ah monster’s original professions were before they transformed. -Firstly, let's talk about the Abyss Lectors. -The Abyss Lectors are a part of the Abyss Order and are enemies. All Khaenri'ah monsters are all assumed on profession so what would have been the original Abyss Lector’s roles as a part of Khaenri'ah? Well on the wiki page we can see this line of text: “ These creatures are evangelists that can chant malefic poetry of the Abyss to command their powers. “ Evangelists are “ a person who seeks to convert others to the Christian faith, especially by public preaching: “ (as by the dictionary). Genshin has heavy themes of Gnosticism so this must not be a coincidence. And the last line of text reads: “ Within the Abyss Order, Lectors refer to themselves as "exegetes."[1] “ Exegetes are “an expounder or textual interpreter, especially of scripture.” And down below when we see what the Abyss Lector’s names translated into other languages, we see this: Chanter, cantor, bard and scholar. These all refer to people who preach and teach in one way or another. Mostly, the cantor and scholar caught my attention. A cantor is someone, “an official who sings liturgical music and leads prayer in a synagogue.” And scholar is “a specialist in a particular branch of study, especially the humanities; a distinguished academic:” This means that Abyss Lectors used to be Khaenri'ahn people (most likely scholars or officials) who taught, most likely in a way of music, chanting or speaking to preach and educate others about certain things. And based on how gnosticism is presented here, we can only assume that they are preaching about religion, if not at least something related to the divine and gods. This is backed up by their design as during their attack they start chanting and they both hold some sort of object such as a book or an orb. And if they were an official who carried these duties out, by some extent, we can assume that they might possibly be priests. This can also be confirmed since religious roles do exist in Genshin as Barbara is a deaconess and Monstadt has a church dedicated to their god. -Next we have Abyss Heralds. Abyss Heralds are another form of enemy presented by the Abyss Order. On their wiki page we can see this: “ They can transform with an Abyssal Gospel.[1] “ A gospel is “the teaching or revelation of Christ:”. Once again, very heavy themes of gnosticism. When at the bottom of the wiki page, their names translation part, we can see this: Apostle, emissary and herald. A emissary is “a person sent on a special mission, usually as a diplomatic representative.”, an apostle is” each of the twelve chief disciples of Jesus Christ.” and lastly “an official messenger bringing news.”. And from wikipedia I gathered this: “An apostle (/əˈpɒsəl/), in its literal sense, is an emissary, from Ancient Greek ἀπόστολος (apóstolos), literally "one who is sent off", from the verb ἀποστέλλειν (apostéllein), "to send off". The purpose of such sending off is usually to convey a message, and thus "messenger" is a common alternative translation; other common translations include "ambassador" and "envoy".” This means that Abyss Heralds are and were most likely messengers of some sort and based on the heavy gnosticism theme around it such as including the words “gospel” and “apostle” we can assume they were messengers related to the theme of divinity and gods. -This is backed up by the Abyss Mages being a magician or sorcerer based on the word: mage “a magician or learned person.” and in their monster forms they also represented that with them using magic and spell casting as a form of attack and holding a staff with them. Also backed up by the Black Serpent Knights as they were Khaenri'ahn royal guards and in their monster form they are represented once again, as guards and protectors with their designs having them carry large swords and armour. -This means that Abyss Lectors were most likely Khaenri'ahn scholars or an official who seeks to spread the teachers of a god/their god by using poetry and music and that Abyss Heralds were most likely Khaenri'ahn messengers on a diplomatic mission, mostly likely having some connections to gods. Not to mention that both Abyss Lectors and Abyss Heralds drop a thing called “gloomy statuettes”. The description on the item reads: “An idol made in the likeness of some unknown person. Even though this carving has seen many years pass, it still has not been damaged in any way. It seems that its previous owner must have cherished it like some holy icon.” The “holy icon” they are talking about in the description most likely refers to a god or deity of some sort. And they must have treasured this in some way as the description reads: “ It seems that its previous owner must have cherished it” Not only that but this is also a drop material for Shadowy Husks/Black Serpent Knights. -This begs the question, why would Khaenri'ah have priests and messengers who seek to spread godly teaching and messages if they themselves are a godless nation? And more of all, did Khaenri'ah worship a secret god?

[@nicholasjohnson8932]

Eh, the whole framing of the game isn't just that Celestia was the villain in how it dealt with Khaenriah - Celestia was *always* the villain. So whether or not Khaenriah is 'responsible' for the cataclysm is hardly material - the lead up to the cataclysm was a challenge to Celestia's power because Celestia was the villain. The whole gnostic framing of the game means Celestia is the domain of Yaldabaoth (to use the gnostic terminology), and Teyvat is a prison for souls. It's not just the sky that's false, the *world* is false. The travelers are celestial beings descended from a higher Aeon. They travel as *literal stars*. Celestia has *always* been their enemy. They weren't allowed to leave *because* Teyvat is a prison, and they are now trapped there. That wasn't an accident or a misunderstanding.

[@thomasluffman8605]

More accurate translations for the latin text given Hic Tacitus Calor Argen Here silently, I , Silver, have been summoned Vigilai Caelus Est No -ai is not an actual declension for vigilis, so I'll consider -e as it was occasionally transformed into -ae Heaven is not (guarded ) with a sentry Trivia et Notha estis Luminibus Lunae 2 possible translations that make some sort of sense O spurious and bawdy places, you are (only fit) for the lights of the moon Beneath the lights of the moon, you are at a crossroads and quite a unsavory place (You're not safe there) In Stellare Assenti Sapientia abstonditur Abstondo is not a word, but abscondo is, so I'll use that Given lore it also seems that ascendi and not assenti was meant The knowledge/wisdom of ascent has been hidden to adorn with stars/hidden among the stars were it assenti, it would be wisdom of compliance which also makes a degree of sense, but not as much Lunarum summus in fide xxxx integri The highest of the moons xxxx in untainted faith

[@thomasluffman8605]

Rather than use google translate I would highly recommend using whitakers words cross referencing with perseus project, though this does require at least a baseline understanding of latin grammar to make use of.

[@_Romer]

I know! I saw this mural on the thumbnail and was like “Hmmm kinda khaenria. ASTER GET ON IT!”

[@graceharvieux9960]

Khaenri'ah gives me Atlantis vibes, even though I think their inspiration is supposed to be nordic or something

[@ChillwithAster]

Because the Updates on the murals are new, here's some supplementary reads here and there ; www.reddit.com/r/Genshin_Lore/comments/q7kp3d/tsurumi_murals_and_their_link_to_roman_mythology/ (u/spookyism)

[@Viewsmaxxxing]

thx

[@audas1536]

There is one more mural that is located behind of the thunder bird wall. It's in the ceiling and the words there are so blurry so I can't but to guess what letters are those. Those are the blanks. Here's what it says: (_as Pueri Integri Puellaeque Ca_ _u_ ) My letter guess is this: (Has Pueri Integri Puellaeque Cae Duc) Translation: "Lead these boys and girls" So, I don't know if that's correct or what not XD I'll deep it more to Roman translations

[@ChillwithAster]

@@audas1536 oooh i havent found it yet so ty ty

[@byeguyssry]

Wow! That's really neat

[@finding_aether]

Its hard to start wars unilaterally. I am sure both sides had grievances and neither were innocent. Real exciting to the history being uncovered more and more

[@ChillwithAster]

of course ! the narrative either are good is almost impossible because both sides are shady at the very least

[@funghoul693]

i never fully thought khaenriah were poor innocent meow meows bc what innocent nation creates the annoying a$$ ruin guards and co 😭 sometimes im like damn maybe celestia were right to do what they did bc im chilling in teyvat and bum 4 ruin guards beat me up jsjsj

[@proxy5187]

great video once again I wonder when we will learn more Cataclysm Lore as its so interesting!

[@lucentnoodles]

It's cool how the moon symbols are the same as alchemy symbols like silver = crescent moon or even gold = donut which are present in the murals.

[@banana2738]

Yey! Another Aster Theory!! also how were you able to prounounce all of those latin words👏👏👏

[@TheDorkKnightPlays]

The secret ingredient is the fact that barely anyone knows how those words are REALLY pronounced 😋

[@thewolf-sb3mq]

I can't believe how you put this.. it's damn beautiful..also your voice

[@theRaika]

Nice, love your lores!

[@mattmark94]

if Celestia is "innocent" then why at *least* 4 out of 7 Archons pretty much cut off ties with it?

[@ChillwithAster]

They aint innocent; no one's innocent in this situation. They just didn't start the cataclysm. BUT they're shady for other reasons entirely.

[@aranyaki9714]

For the lols

[@cestalia]

Pretty much because they also see what Celestia did to Khaenri'ah. In short, Khaenri'ah maybe did bad shit to the level Celestial must go down and at the same time, Celestial did bad shit to do damage control.

[@jellosapiens7261]

Pretty amazing to see that this got all but confirmed in 2.7

[@lsevent]

I really like your accent. Idk why it's really calming.

[@another15]

This is such a well put video, I love it and can see what you are implying here, which funny enough recently i watched a similar video by another youtuber. Though I can't put my thoughts here but I don't think "Khaenriah shot first". I agree that the nation without gods might had did something, we can see killer robots and creepy wolves and monsters but I think the abyss is a byproduct of the destruction. I don't think Celestia / Archons acted in good will cuz honestly, there is the tale of dragonspine people and probably the hilichurls and seelies too seem to be also civilizations who got the reset button too due the heavenly principles / arrogation of mankind. Idk, might talk out of my ass but the only certain thing we have rn is dragonspine and what dain said in the 1.4, also would be weird archons being so unconformable talking about, with one raging a war against the divine and the other severely cutting ties with celestia, but yeah its all good to speculate. Love the video! Take care!!

[@shadeofthenight8988]

I think the same but I also think it probably has to do a lot more with the Irminsul Trees do to every civilization that we know of getting destroyed they were in contact with it. There was a theory I saw that I believe said that the irminsul tree contains memory’s and maybe it knows something celestia doesn’t want anyone to know. Idk but I definitely don’t think celestia is any type of good (honestly it looks like in the end we are going to face 3 different evils. 2 want revenge 1 wants order and to stay on top.)

[@-Blue-_]

@@shadeofthenight8988 in end both abyss and celestia will be destroyed

[@another15]

@@shadeofthenight8988 nice insight, really i can think the same about those outcomes! Specially when in the teyvat trailer dainsleif also tell us something about controlling fate or something else

[@lillanakitten]

I saw a video of yours in Envi stream ❤️ I loved it so thought I'd subscribe 🥺❤️

[@cestalia]

Honestly, at this point I think Khaenri'ah did something horrible to the level Celestial must fix it, but their way of fixing is horrible too

[@danieljacob9957]

You should start a podcast I really enjoy listening to your exposive videos

[@nameunavailable5]

6:46 I'm always impressed by your pronunciations in latin

[@user-hd3lf5bt7c]

Idk why I'm starting to get the feeling that Gold may or may not be a scapegoat of Kheanriah, and only those who really don't want anything to do with the kingdom speaks the truth.

[@merrydel1824]

Finally, someone who understands the real cause and effect of the cataclysm. Yet Dainsleif claim it is Celestia's fault.

[@ibukunanjorin9054]

He didn't exactly say that, from the way he spoke about the "mistakes of his predecessors ", "not trying to fight gods" and his mission to stop the abyss (Khanriah). I think it's safe to say that he understands at least somewhat that it was thier fault.

[@merrydel1824]

@@ibukunanjorin9054 yes, yes. I misunderstood it when he said, "...like weeds plucked out of the gardens of the Gods."

[@clairdeloona]

@@ibukunanjorin9054 I think the reason dainslief was upset was because not all khanriehans were evil, but they were all villainized and turned into hillichurls and abyss mages.

[@iloveplumpgrannies174]

Real cause? Is this confirmed already? Did I miss a statement from the Devs confirming the real cause of the cataclysm?

[@merrydel1824]

@@iloveplumpgrannies174 is is obvious from the lore of genshin. The ley lines holds the 'truths of the world' and they are located in the abyss. Remember the Khaenri'ah is an 'underground civilization', meaning the Khaenri'ah is located in the abyss. The truths of the world holds the knowledge that 'everything will come to an end' and only the chief priest of the ancient times have the knowledge of it, and dying with them. It is stated from genshin fandom wiki that Lumine and Dain used to travel together, and after discovering the 'truths of this world', Lumine woke up aether to leave Teyvat. Thats then when they met the Unknown God. Now the cause of the cataclysm is that a Khaenri'ahn alchemist 'Gold' was greedy of the knowledge of the world and even created monsters for it. The Sustainer of Heavenly Principles then took care of it along with the Archons. Then, boom shaka laka Khaenri'ahns turned into monsters of the abyss.

[@KokoLatte942]

I believe that Dain blames celestia bc they had to do it to like bc there was no god to take care of them but went too far so the gods had to destroyed it. dain believed that Khaenri'ah was 'good' because they didn't do anything 'wrong'. tell me if this doesn't make sense...

[@prehistoriccreator9600]

i think he's more bitter that they destroyed the innocents who had nothing to do with it. He probably understands that the arrogant Scholars and people who pursued the power of the abyss were rightfully destroyed, but is still angry that the God's couldn't do anything else but destroy it all.

[@TheCyberGoblin]

If that was true he probably wouldn't be fighting the Abyss Order since that seems to be their position.

[@KokoLatte942]

@@TheCyberGoblin Ah i overlooked that -_-

[@starblossom05]

I think more Dians blam the God for Killing everyone and het doenst let good people go that why hé blaim her i think that why hé doenst truth god of that fact

[@carissatiangco396]

Aster you should have a class at a uni called "genshin impact lore 10" ill gladly enlist and its a good excuse for me to call you professor aster :)

[@slifer8736]

Anyone knows why the travelers were in celestia during the opening cutscene? Maybe it's just me but imo they kinda have no reason to be there if asa Aether awoke they attempted to flee.

[@Viewsmaxxxing]

chef's kiss 💋 👌 yet another theory to make you rethink everything

[@cecily796]

Hi! Did you see the runes around the first tree we made offerings to? The very first one at the beginning of the quest, surrounded by a half-cave(there was an electroculus above it if this helps in locating xD). There are purple runes on the "rockwall" (I'm sorry for using such stupid words Idk the right ones but I hope you know what am I talking about:') ), and they remain visible with elemental sight too, they just become more blueish than purple. I think they're pretty interesting and maybe worth a shot to look into them especially that it's the place where we also meet with some of the wolf mobs who were also guarding an electroculus, and they're also abyssal creatures if I'm right. Or if you already talked about it anywhere I'm sorry 😭

[@ChillwithAster]

oooh fascinating ; didn't find that so noted !

[@cecily796]

@@ChillwithAster I'm glad I could say something new! I really like your videos and how your brain works, your voice is also really great for this kind of stuff so keep it up! 🤗

[@lefishe_auchocolat]

this video has such big brain energy

[@confusedpancakes112]

yes! ive been waiting for this ever since i saw those sus murals.

[@Shuubal193]

4:28 i just realized that those are the wolves in 2.2 lmao

[@carsonwartro]

Ooooooh yes a new video! 🥰

[@shozinks]

The eclipse tribe of hilichurls may be the royal denizens of khaenriah.

[@QU33FA]

I think the reason why celestia continued to attack khaenriah was because they lost 2 gods that day so I feel they were angered by this and striked twice

[@1LuvMLPFiM]

In a nutshell, Khaenri'ah knew too much for their own good.

[@grizzy-thekiwi1144]

saw those murals and instantly knew some shit was going on

[@chenchen6150]

We probaly need 2 more days until we know more in tsurumi.

[@yharnamiyhill787]

It'd be interesting if the God-like entity from the start of the game was actually of Khaenriah origin. Humanity became so prideful they start worshipping themselves as idols - seeking to reach and surpass God. It is quite unsettling that you see Ruined mechs implanted in every nation of Teyvat. Each nation has unique variants as if it was made in attempt to invade and conquer. Hell, we're the Khaenriah responsible for what happened to Sieri Island, or were they the ones responsible of sealing "it?" (Unlikely sense the seals were of talismans instead of mechs.) Whatever the case, Miho wrote Khaenriah well. Enigmatic and dangerous.

[@turtlebowl]

Why do I have the feeling that the abyss sibling was way more involved with khaenri'ah than we originally thought. I mean it's clear that they woke up before us and knew enough to get the language down in order to get the name of the civilisation. Maybe they had asked the abyss sibling for information and ended up making something horrible in the process? I mean the twins are travellers that go to different worlds, surely they wouldve had to pick up SOMETHING from those journeys right???? The traveller is already hiding a lot from the player, we know this from the 'we will be reunited' quest. Our traveller is a lot smarter than they let us pick up on. It's just that they seem to let Paimon make a lot of the decisions and do the talking.

[@ChillwithAster]

My personal theory is that Khaenriah to them is Mondstadt to the traveller

[@aloywong658]

Khaenri'ah: Wants to advance their nation without needing a god Sustainer: *N O*

[@stephendragon6212]

pretty cool! I love the lore... things just keep getting interesting... I wish I could read the text too tho... I still dont understand tevvat alphabet

[@ChillwithAster]

it's up in the genshin wiki ! if you're reading the murals, each letter has a symbol, and you put it to latin, then to english.

[@stephendragon6212]

@@ChillwithAster thank you Aster, found it :)

[@wickanchaos7781]

i find it insteresting you related the murals to Khaenria because i pinned it on the civi before them

[@ChillwithAster]

i was considering that too, honestly. then i saw the eclipse symbol and the three stars that looked like Dain and Albedo's stars

[@Mani-oc6cy]

Yay!! Another video. I really think Khaenriah had those types of superweapons and knowledge and whatnot in an attempt to balance out them not having a god to rule over them. It seems like having a god to rule over a certain land and it's peoples is a stark rule in the world of teyvat and Khaenriah was an exception, so in certain ways they tried to make up for whatever they didn't have vs the other nations with their own "divine" creations It didn't save them unfortunately but yea, I'm so desperate for any more lore reveals about Celestia and our twin specifically!! 😩

[@CancelYoutube026]

This girl can read Khaenri'ah

[@ivanfanjkutic103]

I saw some leak that we will get on the albedo rerun more dragonspine chapter

[@tntxgoodin]

Quick question: In one of the other rooms, there's also some wall paintings. Is the floating thing on the wall Celestia? Also, do you have any theories on what it means? Thanks.

[@Dubs22005]

interesting take it's prolly just a group of humans who did achieve a lot but fell to their hubris that's the most probable angle they'll take

[@hooplahfuliful]

Dainsleif the Boughkeeper is typing…. But seriously awesome theory!

[@Samchanne21]

There is another information I want to add, but idk if this can be related so disregard it: If you continue on Tsurumi Island quest, you might see this phrase of ‘Rule of three’, instead of Paimon suggesting it to ‘Rule of 4’. I also believe the rule of three can be found in many things, like the 3 treasures from dragonspine, the holy trinity (you know the symbol one), the three moon goddesses from the ancient civilization, the tri-commision from Inazuma, the three clans that were victorious from Decarabian’s control (before the Lawrence clan got excluded from Monstadt), the three ruins found in Liyue (Lingju Pass, Qingxu Pool, and Dunyu Ruins), 3 possible enemies (Celestia, Abyss, or Fatui), etc.

[@jaushabakkas8127]

I was right all along, I did speculate that the war wasn't start by the god, it was Khenriah all along. Or at least Khenriah made something and god force to demolished everything

[@saharshbehal8766]

next about the thunderbird pweeeaase

[@andyandanadraws]

I've noticed that Khaenri'ah's ruins are scattered across all of the nations. How did they get to Inazuma? There's this part of the description of the Chaos Oculus that did not sit right with me. "while 'ruin' still waits in the deep places of the earth, awaiting the order to arise and tread all kingdoms underfoot." And then there's, "tread all kingdoms underfoot." Just by reading that, from the looks of it. Khaenri'ah was planning a full blown invasion.

[@ChillwithAster]

my favorite headcanon is world domination >:D /j /j /j

[@tjtobytolledo8036]

THIS IS WHAT I WANT TO HEAR AFTER SEEING ALL THOSE MURALS

[@ahkilleuskosmos6836]

I mean yeah, one does not create super weapons without the intention of using them.

[@PizzaRatJC]

Khaenriah fkd around and they found out

[@travelerscramine3828]

I have homework but i choose to watch this💀

[@helenlane5879]

I took latin for four years and its really weird reading Catullus again. He had some weird poetry lol

[@dawnvalentinex]

what if one of the final bosses is your twin, overcome by abyssal corruption

[@tarekatorr]

"Never look too deep into the abyss" But- but you're- you're making a theory vid right no- Jokes aside, amazing work as always! New sub right here.

[@magicalgirl4]

Went into this feeling defensive of Khaenri'ah but these are all incredibly good points. Human curiosity and ambition is a good thing, but seeking lots of power from knowledge comes with a price, that's the metaphor I'm getting from this anyway

[@finnthefannibal]

I think the cataclysm might be something caused by a chain reaction that isn't necessarily one person's fault. Khaenria might have simultaneously shot first, released corrupted creations, found out too much about Celestia, and tried to usurp the gods.

[@hawthorn571]

Khaenri'ah is a result of playing with dark magic, kinda

[@khrow83]

One huge flaw in your theory, it has been shown in the lore already that the Abyss and creatures of the Abyss are the former Kaenri'ah and its citizens. They were turned into these creatures as punishment by Celestia. We learn this in the Dainsleif quests. So it is kind of impossible for the Abyss to have been studied by Kaenri'ah when the Abyss IS Kaenri'ah and is the result of the aftermath of the cataclysm. So due to already existing lore that has been said in game the theory was debunked before it started.

[@ChillwithAster]

The problem with that is that it isn't impossible that Celestia turned them into Abyssal creatures as retribution BECAUSE of their fascination with the Abyss. The Gods needed a reason to punish them in the first place, because we've seen time and time again the Gods aren't inherently malevolent but just strongly lawful and principle-based; there are two kinds of corruption we've seen in game that relate to the abyss. The Abyssal Magic Corruption of Gold (Durin, the dogs in Tsurumi Island, and Torachiyo), and the Corruption of the Abyss Order because of Celestia. (Cataclysm) Not all creatures of the Abyss were from the divine retribution of the Gods (Durin and Torachiyo). The best way to look at this, for now, is to separate the Abyss Order (People of Khaenriah) from the actual essence of the Abyss. (The unknown energy that corrupts inherently)

[@TuBonni]

i'll just comment: i watched this in 0.25x speed, and i had fun.

[@beashemmad.sayson545]

Discover or make khemia?

[@Rorensuwl8]

Are you a filipina? Great content imho

[@jinx3709]

I do think it was the fault of Gold the Alchemist, now it's difficult to say he was manipulated or there's someone behind the back encouraged him to go crazy and try to destroy the gods and people. Even Dain from Khaenri'ah is against the Abyss. After seeing all these death of gods, it's wise to say they were extremely powerful, they had something that could challenge even gods but fell short of challenging the Heavenly Principles. But again, the thing I don't understand that if Dain knows that Khaenri'ah's destruction was inevitable and he himself is against Abyss then why in the Tayvat trailer he sounds like it was all the throne in the sky, aka Celestia's fault that they don't let humanity prosper.

[@ChillwithAster]

If i had to guess, it's still Gold's fault (I think i mentioned he was the main perpetrator of this before he went batshit), but there's definitely something suspicious about the higher ups in Khaenriah themselves. As for Dain, he's an unreliable narrator as we've seen he has his own biases that we aren't sure of, so even I'm wary of him. Celestia did let humanity prosper according to the tiaras, but the artifacts paint the narrative that humanity abused their wisdom. Celestia isn't good, but they are lawful, so we just need to be patient and wait for the future

[@rainnyyolk2764]

Why is it similar to the story of the lost city of Anlantis? An advance civilization which is also punished by the gods because of their greed. Idk...

[@rainnyyolk2764]

Not to mention that Anlantis isn't totally destroyed but is hidden and still flourishing. Just like how Khaenri'ah is hidden from the gaze of the Gods.

[@manuelmiddleton1446]

I don't know if this makes sense but can you make your videos a little louder? I have to up the volume on my phone a lot to hear it which would be fine if it weren't for the blasting ads

[@ChillwithAster]

Hm maybe it's a mic setting; i have it on max on the editor and volume's been difficult to balance because of speaker and headphone difference so i'll see what i can do

[@manuelmiddleton1446]

@@ChillwithAster if it compromises sound quality don't sweat it, thanks!

[@wendysmith5728]

Also, maybe celestia killed of everyone in khaneri'ah to avoid history repeating itself. Something related in Zhongli's hangout part 2, when a descendant of the God of Salt's people decided to look for the "truth" and expose Morax of his "doings", when in fact, they were the ones responsible for the death of thr God of Salt. Revenge and wrath from the people due to their nation being destroyed, whether it is their doings or not, is inevitable.

[@KiwiNikified]

I think they caused their own downfall. They reek of arrogance. And they got decimated.

[@Plopy9000]

Okay, quick question. I always hear about “gold” and what he does. But where do you learn about gold and his story? Same goes with the Dynasties. Where do y’all learn about this stuff?!?

[@ChillwithAster]

Check the book known as the Ballad of the Breeze !, and in hoyolab, look for "Self proclaimed Prophet" where you see dialogue

[@Plopy9000]

@@ChillwithAster :000, thank you!

[@alexiov72]

Aster, could you (only if you want to), do some Honkaiverse lore content? Lore videos and lore channels on the Honkaiverse are very scarce, so if you run out if content maybe you can try and do a video on the Herrschers in Honkai or smthn. Soooooooo y'know...... D O I T I N E E D I T. (jkjk u dont need to but it would be nice)

[@ChillwithAster]

if i get time to play it, shore

[@alexiov72]

@@ChillwithAster AH SHE ANSWERED, real talk, hope u find the time to play it tho :))

[@quintin_rsa8701]

Khaenri'ah is inside the borders of the abyss no? The mention it as the Moonlight Forest and the only place that had light in the Land of Night. So it was not inside the borders of teyvat?

[@gdr-zen_aku8628]

0:01 but satisfaction brought it back (in abyss form 😂😂😂)

[@sexychicken3891]

Were they (the twins) captured by the unknown god first? Or the fall of khaenria came first?

[@ChillwithAster]

Fall came first, then grabbed by the unknown god

[@sexychicken3891]

@@ChillwithAster i am curious about dainsleif’s identity. Does he know lumine personally? If so, the twins probably travelled teyvat separately for dain not to recognize aether, right? I kinda get the idea as to why the unknown god held them back, the travelers had a knack for changing things like what happened in monstadt, liyue and finally inazuma. And the change was not welcome.

[@muir9257]

While this would be interesting, it wouldn't make any sense story-wise for Khaenri'ah to be at fault. Firstly, and to get this out of the way, it is immoral from the start to condemn an entire nation, for the actions of the few (as you said before that "but"). So like, even from the hypothesis, the God's rage and "retaliation" would be misplaced. I'll go as far as to say that even killing Gold and the Aristocrats who probably enabled them is *also* wrong. There is no situation in which killing an entire nation is a proper solution to anything (which is why I don't think Mihoyo would send that message to a mostly teen-ish/young adult-ish audience). And to like, make this not 100% my own opinion as a writer, I'll take Dainsleif as reference here. Narratively, he is supposed to be a reliable source of information on Khaenri'ah for us. To call him "biased" sits wrongly with me: because even though the Gods destroyed his nation and siding with the Abbyss would be so, so easy, he *refuses* to do that. He believes trying to get revenge is wrong, or at least that the way the Abbyss is going at it (endagering civilians) is wrong. The ends never justify the means, no matter who. Dainsleif holding the position he does probably makes him a traitor to his fellow surviving countrymen, so like!!! If he says the Gods went above and beyond to destroy Khaenri'ah then, as players, we are to believe him. And this is not the only place that we know that destroying Khaenri'ah was a horrifying war crime. If the destruction was justified, how come none of the Archons we meet are willing to tell us about what happened back then? How come Ei is empathetic to them, not wanting what happened to them to happen to her own nation, a country WITH a God? (A very present God at that, one who *personally* rules Inazuma). Not to mention that it is also incredibly suspicious that Zhongli literally contract-ed himself into not being able to say anything about it? This is all very dark and paints Celestia as clear wrong-doers IMO, and the Archons as possibly unwilling participants. (I believe this is also the most popular theory) Also I can't get out of my head what you said about questioning authority. It is in human nature to do so, be it from Gods or government, or whoever. Our history is quite literally littered with uprisings, revolutions, protests and riots. Most of us probably are born in countries that fought for their independence. "The arrogation of mankind ends now" is a pretty obvious phrase that tells us who we're dealing with here, and that the unknown God was obviously against Khaenri'ah, and against their freedom. Against a whole country being away from the control of the Gods. This WOULD play into the theory of time being a circle in Teyvat (because we know a bunch of other nations have suffered the same fate Khaenri'ah did, all of them in the pursuit of knowledge), or more fittingly, a uroborous, which i 100% agree with! TLDR: i 100% dissagree LMAOOOO. IMO the info the game gives us, is pointing towards the Archons all being pawns to the true Celestial Gods who are big evil meanies!!! and yadda yadda yadda y'all know the gist. (edited bc english sucks and im bad at writing)

[@AsriNaazhim]

Let's just say there more than just black and white in this story. Okay ?

[@asteria7247]

I wish genshin storyline will be more interesting in the future... the 2.1 archon quest is meh. it looks rushed and it looks like they just put things together T.T

[@Aoir]

Oh it will escalate buddy, look what they've done to honkai,see that, that will be us soon :"D

[@asteria7247]

@@Aoir oh man, even though i play honkai, I only know a little glimpse of its storyline... so i dont quite understand some parts there. But i know for a personal reason that their storyline is indeed good.