[v4.3] How Do You Become an Archon? [Genshin Lore] 

excited to use this as a tutorial 🤭

I feel like in Natlan we will have the chance to see first hand an Archon being born. We've already seen visions being given and a Dragon receiving his authority back so the next logical step is for us to see someone inherit the title of Archon. If I were to guess, what will happen is: - The Pyro Archon will be killed by the Captain in a duel for the Gnosis. - Some character who accompanied us during the Archon Quest will be there with her in her last moments - That character (A pyro vision user I presume) will then inherit the title of Pyro Archon and have an entire transformation sequence. - The Traveler and the new Pyro Archon will fight against the Captain and/or Dottore to recover the Gnosis but will fail. - Some secret involving the Cryo Archon will be revealed to serve as a hook for the next Archon Quest.

Imagine Celestia throwing a nail at Fontaine just for Neuvillete to yeeted back

‘ So glad you brought up the repercussions of losing the Hydro throne because ever since the archon quest, it really got me thinking. Like I doubt that the Heavenly Principles would just stand there and do nothing. I hope that Fontaine’s interlude chapter or Furina’s 2nd story quest would address this.

In the We Will Be Reunited Quest, the Abyss Order wanted to create a mechanical god to topple the divine thrones of Celestia. The Sibling also mentioned “until the Abyss has engulfed the thrones...” So I'm wondering how not only Celestia, but also the Abyss Order will react to the destruction of the Hydro Throne.

It’s strange that Celestia hasn’t reacted to the destruction of the hydro throne. Either Celestia is very inactive or maybe having Furina act as the hydro archon confused Celestia into thinking that Furina’s continued existence means that the hydro archon still exists even though it doesn’t anymore. Hopefully we’ll get answers soon in an interlude or story quest.

To add to how weird the term god is in Teyvat, Kitsune Saiguu was also worshipped as a god as per Inazuma's lore. Saiguu was also the last kitsune who was notably referred to as one. This title seems to have not transferred to the "lone daughter" of the Hakushin lineage (as per Kagura's Verity). We also know a few other youkai specifically held the title of god, but unlike the Adepti, it doesn't seem as universal. Some are and some seem to not be. Cases in point are Itto, who has human diluted blood, and Kirara, who is a full youkai, but has not been called a cat god for example. Why this is, isn't really clear as far as I can tell after a bit of reading. Other eyebrow raiser when we consider Fontaine: Makato mentions in Ei's second character quest that the sacred sakura that Ei plants was "Freed from the clutches of the Heavenly Principles." So... what does that mean and what does that do? The Electro Gnosis still has power. Scara proved that much, so it's unlikely that the Electro Sovereign, if they're even active, got their authority back when Makoto died or when Ei planted the seed. Unless "The one sleeping beneath" mentioned in Sakura Arborism is, in fact, the slumbering Electro Sovereign or a means of resuscitating them. But even then, that creates its own set of weird things to consider. That would flip the entire Cataclysm situation on its head in Inazuma because that means the real reason Makoto left Ei in Inazuma wasn't just to keep her safe from the Cataclysm or to ensure Inazuma's safety. It was a suicide mission. One intended to destroy her throne--but that's absurd considering the lengths Focalors had to go to in order to destroy hers. That feels too easy. Then again, Makoto had dealings with Istaroth to make that seed. One of the four shades. For all we know, she came up with her own scheme. Also, Ei "severed ties with Celestia," but the game has never once explained the ramifications of that whole thing. What did that even do? Ei's the Archon, but just doesn't identify as their enforcer over Electro's authority? If anything, Inazuma and Fontaine are both anomalies in the system. Albeit, Fontaine's anomaly being on a significantly larger scale. After all, you're totally right. This technically puts Fontaine in the same hot seat as Khaenri'ah, and yet nothing's happened. It's pretty odd that nothing has happened yet. They've hit people with nails for significantly lesser "crimes" as we've seen throughout the journey.

something i think is so cool with focalors tho is that since she’s dead there isn’t a “sinner” for them to punish. unlike khaenriah, the people didn’t know about the plan or say they’re on the level of the gods or anything. furina didn’t even know the scope of what was happening. the only one directly and knowingly involved in the plan to defy the principles is dead. they don’t have a sinner left to punish

And this is one of the main reasons why I want the pyro archon to just die in the 5.0 so we can witness the rise of a new archon firsthand!

I would argue there are now only 6 archons now, since one died and it's divine seat is destroyed. No seat, no archon.

From what I've understood, there's just a single criteria that's true for every single Archon and god, they have natural authority/power over elements, and the strength can vary a lot. This criteria alone is why no human has ever become an Archon, and every Archon has come from a race or type of entity with a natural authority over elements. It has become my personal belief that Visions were sort of a "recent" development after the Gnosis and Archon system, created by someone to allow humans to have a chance to ascend to godhood. Allogenes is 原神/Yuanshen/Genshin in CN/JP, which means Elemental God, so as Venti said, Visions give humans elemental authority which gives them candidacy to godhood.

Interesting points you brought up, i'm really excited to see what happens to Fontaine in the near future, and what are the repercussions of Focalors' actions. Also, if it's possible for other gods to somehow learn what she did, and if they'd try to copy her in some way to defy Celestia, or something similar

Happy New Year. I think it is unlikely that Fontaine is at the status of Khaenri'ah because the people of Fontaine are not using Void energy, and they still believe in the Archons even if they are no longer ruled by one. Neuvillette on the other hand, has probably become enemy number 1 of Celestia.

I feel like any spiritual being that gets enough belief from the people gains enlightenment and becomes a “god”. So yokai and adepti could become gods if they gain the support of the people, but the archon war successfully focused the people’s beliefs into just 7. I’m a little fuzzy on the timeline of co-rulership in Sumeru, but it’s possible though Deshret and Orobashi still had many followers that considered them their god, the majority of their region did not recognize them as such and/or Deshret may be special in the eyes of Celestia or Deshret may have even uploaded himself into Golden Slumber and operated as a spirit like Andrius before his eventual demise from Forbidden Knowledge / Apep. There are still questions unknown.

Fontaine being nailed, Neuvillette slaughtered, and Furina receiving the Khaenri'ah/Dain's curse No more water drip eyes guys, now she will have star shaped eyes

I forgot about that. Fontaine really should be in the same predicament as Khanreiah so it makes you wonder why have the Heavenly Principles and Celestia not done anything? Focalors rebelled and gave the authority to the Hydro Dragon. That's big. Probably hints at the fact Celestia and the Heavenly Principles are busy or unable to retaliate or something. Celestia does look like it has some ruins when we look at it from afar.

So Celestia essentially said "you got a license for all that divinity?"

Fontaine currently having the same status as Khaenri'ah... the realization made my jaw drop....

So... Venti's response about allogenes going to Celestia after they died resulted in a myth telling of how gods were cut up and pieces of them were used to form the world. And Neuvilette says that the gods give allogenes visions/power and gain 'much more' when that allogene's wish/ambition is fulfilled. And when the one person we see reach the seat of heaven enters the garden, it's a panopticon, and she is somehow transformed/we see an eagle spirit fly away. We also know that visions are a 'curse' and a way to seal the fate of those with powerful wills, and is seen as some as not entirely benign. What if the vision system is a way to farm humans with powerful wills, giving them the means to obtain power, only to then reap it at their death to use to fuel the seats of heaven/the archon system? We know that the Heavenly Principles was wounded and cannot sustain the order anymore, so this might be the system they made so as to recover/find more power, inspired by what they did with the 3rd descender, but on a lower but much wider base?

that last part is realy what intrigues me, how the hell did focalors not pissed off the sustainer? the authority of hydro back to a dragon should be a hell of a problem bigger than nahida's blefe to destroy the gnosis

Hmmm something interesting to point out about archonless nations. So from calculations made by people in the community, we know that Celestia is moving closer to Fontaine with each update, right? Speculations circulate about it being because the principles are about to drop a nail. And currently Fontaine is archonless. My lose theory is that Celestia has known of Focalor's deception for a long time, but let her think she's fooling them. Reason being is that without an archon, the people have no power to protect themselves against any devine aggression, thus it would make Focalor's sacrifice worthless in the end. The people would still drown beneath the waves created by the impact, but this time no archon would be there to save them

Aster, I’m so happy that you’re now making your lore analysis videos after a hiatus!

I love all your videos, I feel like you read all the Genshin lore, even when somethings considered minor. You're really cool.

yo hear me out ... zhongli's contract with celestia might be that as long as he is living be as an archon, or in any other form, celestia will not appoint a new archon to liyue and this is why he faked his death thus surrending his godhood and endangering his nation.

This is such a detailed explanation of this lore but my anxiety bar leveled up I cannot keep up with how fast your voice is I had to pause and rewind to comprehend.

Decarabian is called an Archon in the Scattered Piece of Decarabian's Dream. Archon is not a term in the Chinese version. There is no difference between being an "archon" and a god. Only between being one of the Seven Archons and being a god who is not one of the Seven. "The people did not bow to Decarabian out of respect or adoration, but because the harsh winds had laid them low. This was the shattered dream and ambition of the Anemo Archon before the rise of Barbatos. He tried so hard to make his dream come true, and so the fragments of that dream are still mighty."

Thank you for the tutorial Aster!

It's possible that the Anemo Archon's authority was given to Dvalin at the end of the Prologue, depending on what that scene with Venti giving him "the power of the Anemo Archon" actually means, now that we have so much more context.

If we take into consideration what Nahida said to the doctor about Celestia being dormant and that potently destroying the gnosis may wake them up, then we can draw some conclusion as why nothing happened to Fontaine. What if Celestia these days, just looks/checks if the Gnosis are active and that's all? We know the seat of the Hydro Archon was destroyed by Focalors, and the power was given back to Neuvillete. But what if that so called seat is just a power signature ? And there's no way to distinguish who the owner is? As long as the power of the seat is in Fontaine and the Gnosis is still active, there's no real concern from Celestias point of view(especially since they are dormant).

Instructions unclear, I ascended to the throne in the sky

I'm really interested in the origins of archons ideals. how do archons decide their ideals and do they even have a freedom to do so or it is decided by someone or something else?

One thing interesting about Venti being named the Archon is that he was not the first option. Andrius was the one indicated to be the Anemo Archon but he believes he himself is very distant to human and would only bring harm to them so Venti was next on line since he helped with the Revolution.

aster pulling thru with a video right when i was lookin for something to watch

We all know the Sustainer is going to ask for a new chair from that carpenter in that chili village anyway

But Ei says the story in the dumb book goes off the rails after the part where she arrives on Yashiori to fight Orobashi. Clearly the part where she is supposedly killed by Makoto would chronologically comes AFTER that, not before it, and therefore falls squarely in the part of the story Ei debunks.

all archons are gods, but not all gods are archons

I think Celestia cant allow one of the 7 nations to be punished in a way where its destroyed , Khanriha was a land out of the Sevens jurisdiction hence didnt matter to Celestia , I think Celestia will force Furina back into a status of the Hydro Archon against her will.

For those wondering why the Heavenly Principles/Celestia haven’t done anything yet to Fontaine, keep in mind that the Archon quests are the true timeline of the story, and we haven’t had another Archon quest since the death of Focalors. While we have had Furina’s story quest and the events, they are still considered to be around the same time as the archon quest, and obviously we’re not gonna have something huge like Celestia’s punishment happen in stuff like that. Also the next update has a new section of Liyue coming out with Lantern Rite, so the focus will be on that for awhile too. I’d give it a little time before we get a true focus back on Fontaine’s predicament. We also still have Dainsleifs quest that hasn’t come out yet, which he said in his last quest that next time we meet he’ll have answers on The Sinner, so I’m sure we’re going to get some major lore updates soon.

I saw the title and I thought you are gonna teach me how to become an archon😂

We did not get the name of the next archon at the end talk with neuvi, we always got that in the past

I wonder if Venti was created to replace the 4 shades if anything were to happened to one of them. For example Venti have connections to both Istaroth and Death. There are theories that the artifact set parallel with the Primordial One and their shades, so in this case Venti should related to at least 2 shades. “She was the measure of a thousand winds and the sun and the moon,” if we say that Istaroth is the Thousand Wind of Time only because of this sentence then it would a little off. They said “the measure”, which probably meant Istaroth is equal to the 3 mentioned.

To me, i see neuvillette has the king of hydro. He shows more leadership and power 👌

This was a fun watch. But all of Genshin lore makes sense if one understands Goetic and kabbalistic philosophy. It’s just been combined with Chinese Taoist and Buddhist philosophy. It’s an interesting combination but I like how it works.

Furina and Zhongli are similar in that they both "died" and quit being archons, though the details behind the scenes are quite different (Furina was never really the archon at all, and Rex Lapis's death was faked). So this isn't the first time a nation lost its archon with no replacement, though it was a lot more dramatic than Rex's retirement. The odd thing is, we were led to believe that getting a Gnosis from Celestia makes you an archon (though the implications of someone stealing it were less clear), but now it looks like what really matters is the "divine throne," something barely mentioned before Fontaine... leaving us with no explanation for these magic chess pieces the plot seemed to revolve around. Given the "remains of the third descender" thing, and how many of the Gnoses were handed over to the Fatui willingly, it seems like they were probably never symbols of authority at all, more like cursed artifacts they were meant to look after. Though I would guess most of the newer archons never learned their true purpose.

I feel like Archons have this… almost “another life” aspect to them where it plays off the beliefs that once you finish a Samsara cycle you are able to return into the world in order to help people make better choices to improve the karma. To put it simpler i feel like this is what an idea of an archon might be where Zhongli is an outlier since no one died/ no one created him for anything. I can’t explain this but in my mind it makes sense when you look how there is always a previous archon and no one shows this off better *as of now* than Focalors Sorry for this i just had a brain moment

I'm excited to hear what Dain has to say about this whole throne of hydro shit and what not, wonder if he thinks that it's right for authority to go back to its elemental sovereign or that the authority should have just dissipated and control of Fontaine should be in human hands alone, with no divine intervention like Khaenri'ah.

According to the judgement of The Oratrice Mecanique d'Analyse Cardinale; I mean the lore

I was about to sleep but dang this is better tgan sleep

Offer Venti some free wine or whatever, you're welcome

I love your enthusiasm 😍

gonna try it thanks!1!1!2

Going back to my comment on a previous video; I'm now considering that as a dragon sovereign Zhongli's contract with celestia could have been the reason he was allowed to live and compete in the archon war. This would be much more interesting to me as the case could be made that he knowingly betrayed the other sovereigns. Whether or not that was for selfish reasons at the time or part of some greater plan.

I have a theory that the little information on the Pyro Archon is because the title constantly goes to different gods like how there were five gods that served as the sun in Aztec myth.

I think I understand most of the points but this does put into perspective what’s to come. If Fontaine is the new Khaenri’ah for the time being, does Neuv now have to stand on guard constantly watching for any strikes from Celestia. And let’s not forget that Arlecchino is still there and she knows what’s going on well at least we’re to believe that she knows. With there no longer being a throne of Hydro, and she now has the Gnosis, what will happen if the Heavenly Principles do decide to replace Focalors? Though she may be gone, she is still replaceable as are all archons, though I don’t think the people of Fontaine would just forget their ‘archon’ (Furina) who had stepped down as there archon so easily. This now makes you think that if they do decide to come and reclaim their procession will they destroy Fontaine and restart another war? And if Nathlan is without its Pyro Archon what does that mean for the nation, though I don’t think it would make a big difference. Seeing as how if most of the people in Nathlan are hybrids of human and dragon descent wouldn’t that mean that the Dragon Sovereign already has authority over the nation? If this not be true then wouldn’t we have already been warned by Nahida or Zhongli and Venti or even one of the Harbingers like Dottore II or Kunikuzushi?

3:10 THE WHAT??? I've been replaying it for a while and still can't understand what Aster said in that part 😵‍💫

We need a full length animation series of the archon wars😢❤

Furina should still be cautious because to me, celestia still sees her as an archon as per the prophecy “only the hydro archon will remain, weeping on her throne”

Rules of becoming an archon Rule 1: Have a dead friend/s. Rule 2: Needs therapy.

The archon battle reminds me of the assassins' death fights with their friends after training. The gods lived in peace before the celestial principles promised Gnosis. The ambition to be at the top started the archon war between the gods, and the gods who used to sit at the same table slaughtered each other. After receiving their gnosis, the winners performed their real duty against Khaenri'ah for the first time.

Finally i can become the dierriah archon thx for the tuttorial

This guide is 100% effective, kapitbahay namin archon na

I came to learn about this type of lore in general due curiosity in general.👍🏻😅🧐🤔🤨

are the heavenly principles gonna drop a giant nail on fontaine like they did in some other places because of what fontaine did

great video as always

Your picture is so cute aster!

thanks for the tutorial i'll try my best

Focalors' situation brings a lot of questions like, how did she become a god? She was an Oceanid turned human like the rest of Fontainians but she somehow gained godhood and became an Archon. Did she ascend to Celestia somehow? And does that mean that in her case, Archonhood = godhood? Did she gain a demon name after becoming a god or did she have it before?

With regards to the repercussions to Fontaine for what Focalors did I think a plausible explanation as to why they are slow to react is beacsue even though Khaenri'ah lost they struck a major blow to Celestia that had incapacitated them to a degree that they are unable to react to current evens in Teyvat. Nahida herself said that Celestia is asleep when she threated to destroy the Gnosis in front of Dottore so I think that the Fatui and the Tsaritsa are aware that Celestia are operating at a diminished power level therefore they are emboldened to do some pretty blasphemous shennanigans like trying to create a new God with a Gnosis but wouldn't want to push it too far as to destroy a Gnosis. I'm pretty sure that in the eyes of Celestia destroying a Gnosis would require an actually response over the destruction of one of the Seven Thrones because at the very least they can gain the Elemental Authority back by just mercing Neuvillette but where else would they get another piece of a Descender if not the Traveler which makes Gnosis a limited commodity while Elemental Authorities being constants of the world which they can toy with whenever it's convenient for them.

I seemed some archons were born gods

remember that focalors gives back the authority to neuvillette, so there is still a ruler in fontaine. altho we still don't know what will be the consequences of that. plus there's a theory that venti did the same as focalors back at the end of the archon quest, alth i'm unsure on how that worked. what would be the difference between venti's and focalor's case

The term of what kind of god or what is a god to begin with has historically and culturally has been a muddy thing, personally I believe that many of the beings in Teyvat that we refer to as "Gods" even up to the Archons even are technically not Gods but rather elemental beings that have very powerful abilities, of course though anything above a Archon is what most peoples idea of a God would be in the modern context which is similar to God of Abrahamic religion, a kind of admin kind of god who has omnipotent and all powerful reality bending abilities.

You gotta say "real" on every chill with aster video to be the "real" archon

Can you update this after the natlan 5.0 update? Since kachina said that their archons are but humans who achieve divinity through winning tournaments

When u hear ars goetia as a helluva boss fan

even though morax “died”, he’s still the archon. his divine seat is not destroyed and if he was dead celestia would’ve appointed a new archon. celestia is definitely watching and waiting to attack. I think the new archon has to be associated with the previous archon in some way or form (siblings, creation, or created familiar. I’m assuming Cryo archon original archon is was her husband) since her title means wife of the king.

@8:20 Couldn't it be argued that Furina ascended to archonhood/godhood before because she was the "humanity and soul of Focalors"? As was stated in-game, Focalors is Furina and Furina is Focalors. Even Focalors refer to Furina as "herself". Furina was technically the Archon Focalors stripped of her divinity and memories. IMO, she's like an amnesiac person - the same person but just lost their memories.

It’s giving Hunger Games

now this is a topic I want to talk about.

"Hey" "Sup?" "You wanna be Archon?" "Yea sure why not"

good vid ASTER

Happy new year😊

I spotted a falacy/assumptionyou keep saying the nations have to be under the rule of an archon Id clarify, they have to have an archon present. Focalors/nahida didnt rule. Maybe furina counts, but nahida was actively not in charge.

Let's cook for a while, what if the Pyro Archon holds a Gladiator style Event and Anyone who is strong enough to win against the Pyro Archon will gain authority over the Gnosis. Maybe that's why the Tsaritsa tasked The Captain and The Doctor to deal with the Pyro Gnosis since the rules of the Pyro Archon is simple: win and claim the prize, lose and turn to ash. I believe that Pyro Archon's secret is about the Archon War and The Tsaritsa.

what if we consider the archon as the holder of authority over that element? wouldn't in that case neuvillette count as a active archon for fontaine?

Yeah we kinda need an example of a human becoming a god. and it might be coming really soon, tbh.

"By the laws of the heavenly principles Every nation must be under an Archon at any given time" The government of Liyue would like to know your location Seriously though, if that's true are they still debating who to choose as replacement for Zhonli ? Or is the position up for grabs ?

If gnosis are made from 3rd descender's body then is tsaritsa wants to bring back 3rd descender for final fight?

From now one traveller's name is uriel

So, being an Allogene/Vision Holder, doesn’t mean they can become a God?….. I guess that’s a good thing, especially for Furina, because I doubt she would want to live an extremely long life again, when she went through all that pain and grief for 500 years….. Love Furina though, by far my favorite genshin character 💜💜💜

8:55-9:00 I mean- we all collectively love and worship ei 😋

Instructions unclear, now I've been imprisoned by Celestia instead:(

My take on the archon war requirements it that... There's no real war in there, it was basically a fake war made by Celestia to make their godkin kill themselves in order to restore the 'power balance'. We can see by how Egeria and Rukkhadevata wins their gnosis that Celestia wasn't respecting the meaning of the war. In Mondstadt Boreas decided to give up his archonhood since he wasn't 'fond of humanity', this implies that any archon that just don't like humanity would be instantly swooped, so there is strict hidden rules in how the promotion would work. And then we go to the constellation part, if Celestia controls 'fate', then they would know who would be suited for each nation and their ascencion as a demon-god to an Archon. They knew since the beginning that Zhongli and the Raiden twins would win the archon war because their constellation leads then to greatness. Thus in the middle of giving free gnosis, gods being proihibited of getting it and constellations dictating fate, we can get to the conclusion that the Archon War was just a big hoax, made so the gods could be reduced in numbers without the Heavenly Principles needing to take action personally.

watching this video so I coud become a archon if i ever reincarnated in genshing impact

Being Gnosticism seems to be at the core of Genshin Impact. Honestly I think Archons truly get their power through the Visions. In Gnostic movements the power god resides within man. What better way to siphon power than giving a siphon to the most ambitious humans who will use it. With the Gnosis being the focal point of that collected power. With time the Archons collect so much of that power that the Gnosis no longer serves a purpose, which is why so many of the Archons no longer care about holding onto them. The Gnosis themselves and the Archon's original power/state could still reside from power ceased by the Dragons. This would also explain why losing a Vision causes so much harm. As the user the Vision becomes semi merged with it to act as said siphon. Lisa said the Vision may very well be also a curse. Also I think the Archons has no knowledge of this and the Heavenly Principles are exploiting them to keep the most ambitious humans from gaining too much god like powers. Threatening the status quo they've created. With the Fatui in particular going against it.

Instructions unclear, I have been erased from Irminsul.

Noelle taking notes 📝 rn:

imma use this tutorial rq

So much has happened, gnosis are being taken, a Divine throne was destroyed and we have yet to see celestia take actions. maybe the heavenly principle is long gone. there is no way celestia wouldn't notice all that is happening.

what if the zaritsa is collecting all the gnoses to destroy all of the divine thrones and returning that power to the dragons in order to fight the heavenly principles ?

If no human ever ascended then what happened to Venessa ?