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Genshin Impact

Who and What are the Descenders?

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Genshin Impact - Descenders Lore Guide

The Descenders in Genshin Impact are indviduals whose origins and existence do not originally belong to Teyvat. The first named and known to be the fourth Descender, is the Traveler and Saarelainen is the Third Descender. See who the Descenders are and everything we know about them in this lore guide!

List of Contents

What are the Descenders?

Not Originally From Teyvat

Genshin Impact Version 3.2 The Descenders - Not Originally from Teyvat
From Traveler and Nahida's exchange during the Archon Quest Chapter 3: Act 5, Akasha Pulses, the Kalpa Flame Rises, "Descenders" is the term coined by the Fatui Harbingers to classify beings who are not from Teyvat originally.

Nahida explicitly mentioned that the Traveler is the "Fourth Descender", implying that there are Descenders who came before and highly plausible that there are others who came after him.

Also, the "First Descender" is hypothesized by Nahida to be the Heavenly Principles.

Sustainer of Heavenly Principles

Genshin Impact Version 3.2 The Descenders - Sustainer of the Heavenly Principles
The very first encounter of the traveler Twins with the Sustainer of the Heavenly Principles was back when they got stopped by an Unknown God to go to the next world.

Whether or not the Sustainer of Heavenly Principles and the Heavenly Principles that Nahida referred to as the first Descender, are the same, it can be assumed that both are highly connected.

It can also be noted that Heavenly Principles are divine principles that are absolutely upheld, so much so, that even the Archon themselves acknowledge their authority.

Gnoses Represent the Heavenly Principles' Authority

Genshin Impact Version 3.2 The Descenders - Gnoses Represent the Heavenly Principles
Gnoses physically look like chest pieces bearing the insignia of the corresponding Element their Archon is affiliated to, and from what we can gather, they represent the power of the Heavenly Principles.

The God of Wisdom, Buer mentioned this during her negotiation with The Doctor regarding the Gnoses. And while Nahida did mention that it's just a bluff, it's implied later on that the Gnoses being the Heavenly Principles' symbol of power still holds true.

It can be concurred then, that the Archons are aspects of the Heavenly Principles' power over mankind, which places Archons in an inferior position compared to them, in terms of power.

This is probably also the reason why the previous Archons—Venti, Zhongli, and Raiden Shogun—failed to provide significant information to the Traveler about the whereabouts of their twin, because they never had it in the first place.

Nahida was just in an advantageous position, given that she's directly connected to the Irminsul Tree, and thus has access to information that are usually barred from the outside.

Gnoses are Remains of a Descender

Genshin - Gnoses serve as remains of a Descender

Every Gnoses has a remains of a Descender. In the Masquerade of the Guilty Archon Quest, Skirk mentioned to Neuvilette that the Hydro Gnosis has the remains of the Third Descender.

The Third Descender is currently unknown and only Skirk's master, Surtalogi, knows of their identity.

The Traveler's Twin Is Not A Descender

Genshin Impact Version 3.2 The Descenders - The Traveler
Among the many information that Nahida has successfully gathered, the Traveler being a Descender and their twin being an original Teyvat resident seems to be the most bewildering.

According to Lesser Lord Kusanali, the Traveler's twin has remaining records in the Irminsul Tree—the reservoir of all the memories of Teyvat.

This shouldn't be initially the case, but Nahida arrived at this conclusion nonetheless. In addition, the Aranara has mentioned someone called the "Golden Nara", whose exact identity is still unknown, but bits and bobs of evidences point to them being the twin, and thus cannot say otherwise.

At this point, it's all but a speculation why the Traveler and their Abyss Twin is a Descender and not, respectively, but from the way Nahida and her Aranara children framed it, it's implied that the Irminsul Tree "remembers" them the same way the Aranara does.

Outlanders are Not the Same as Descenders

Not all individuals who came from the sea of stars are regarded as Descenders. Descenders are capable of tampering on the fate of Teyvat, while outlanders do not have that capability.

This is the reason why Skirk, despite not originating from Teyvat, is not regarded as a Descender.

Individuals From Teyvat Can Possibly Turn Into Descenders

According to Rene de Petrichor's research, it may be possible for people of Teyvat to turn into Descenders. Rene intended to do this by assimilating multiple minds into one. However, he has failed twice in doing so.

Waking from the Great Dream Quest Guide

Who are the Descenders?

Known Descenders

Known Descenders
1st 2nd 3rd 4th
Genshin - Heavenly PrinciplesHeavenly Principles Genshin - Nibelung IconNibelung Genshin - SaarelainenSaarelainen Genshin - The TravelerTraveler

The Heavenly Principles

Genshin - First Descender

In the The First Sliver of Moonlight quest, Canon refered to them as The First Descender. The Moon Sisters were delegated the task of watching over Teyvat while Nibelung was out in the Sea of Stars.

Phanes (Heavenly Principles) Story and Lore

Nibelung, The Dragon King

Genshin - Second Descender

Despite being considered the original ruler of Teyvat, Nibelung is considered the Second Descender. It is currently unknown why they're considered as such and how the numbering of the Descenders work.

Nibelung Story and Profile

Saarelainen

Genshin - Third Descender

According to the Hymns of the Far North Book, a guy named Saarelainen is regard as the Third Descender. This is surmised because he was carved into seven pieces, and we do know that the Gnoses were created on the body of the Third Descender, according to Skirk in the Finale Quest.

The Traveler

Genshin - Fourth Descender

The Fatui has classified the Traveler as the "Fourth Descender", making them the Fourth Descender.

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Comment

3 Anonymous Anonymous over 2 years

”Golden Nara” is the name Aranara use to call Aether when you play as him and they calls the other blonde human (presumably Lumine) as “Nara Varuna”.

2 Anonymous Anonymous almost 4 years

Inazuma was the end of the Teyvat introduction and Sumeru was the chapter that launched the real storyline. Every nation from now on will be more and more linked to the Heavenly Principles, like the Hydro Archon reluctancy of going against the Divine, the God of War that has her nation close to Sneznaya and the Tsaritsa that went from a loving person to a monster in the Cataclysm.

See more comments (3 Comments)

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