The Primordial One is the most elusive figure in Genshin Impact and here’s everything players know so far about this deity.
The world of Genshin Impact is as vast as it comes and its multilayered story line with various sub-plots acts as the very foundation by which the world stands on. Ever since its release, the story has managed to hook players and drag them into a rabbit hole filled with lore that may or may not have connections to modern themes. The game loves to keep its players on their toes, giving them only snippets of information through main quests, and packing massive lore into the side quests and various texts/books scattered around Teyvat.
So far, all Genshin Impact players have come to find out about the Primordial One are through ancient texts and writings on ruins in Mondstadt, Enkanomiya and The Chasm. The only way to easily understand the Primordial One and their existence in Teyvat is through their actions over the years.
The Birth Of The Great Sovereign
When referring to Before Sun And Moon, there is a passage in the texts by a Scribe of Istaroth that states the Primordial One “began the creation of heaven and earth for ‘our’ sake”. It is said that the Primordial One is a being from another world who landed on Teyvat and reshaped the earth whilst also removing the “microcosm” from the universe. During this time, the Light Realm, which is where dragons and all elemental species originated from, ruled over Teyvat and its 3 realms. After landing in Teyvat, the Primordial One battled the Seven Sovereign Dragons of the Elements in Genshin Impact, and together with the four Shades it created from itself, they won.
The Four Shining Shades
Commonly known as the Four Shades, they are beings that were created from the Primordial One to help in their battle against the Dragon Sovereigns. Unfortunately, not much is known about them, and the game has only acknowledged the existence of one particular Shade — Istaroth, who was said to have been the God of Time in Ancient Mondstadt.
Istaroth
Istaroth was the God of Time and Wind, and was known by many names, one of which was “Thousand Winds'' and "Kairos ". In Mondstadt she was worshiped as the Thousand Winds and in Enkanomiya as Kairos before the religion of the Sunchildren. Most of the lore surrounding Istaroth can be found at the Thousand Winds Temple in Mondstadt and the ruins in the area. A fun fact that players might like to know is that Barbados (Anemo Archon/Venti) of Genshin Impact was considered to have been a single thread of the thousand winds that roared through the northern lands. Istaroth herself is known as the Thousand Winds, so it can be speculated that Venti derived his power from her until he only ascended to godhood, and she was erased from existence.
The War For A New World
After establishing the four Shades, they acted in the Primordial One’s favor and went to war against the Dragon Sovereigns for 40 long years. Humans did not exist on Teyvat during this time, only elemental beings, and so the Primordial One set out to create new life again and 400 years after the war against the war, the first civilisation came into being. Sometime after the creation of humanity, the world fell into chaos after the arrival of the Second Who Came — considered to be the second throne of the heavens. The heavens and earth were torn apart during this period and Genshin Impact’s Enkanomiya fell into the Dark Sea (presumably the Abyss).
Many people were caught in the crossfire and, despite their cries to the Primordial One and its shades, neither of them answered. The only shade who had not forsaken humanity was Istaroth, and so she provided guidance to the people of Enkanomiya during those dark times. She was eventually worshiped as their patron god, and then replaced by Orobashi later on. The Primordial One was heavily wounded during the battle with the Second Who Came, and when the Third Descender arrived (the One Who Came After), they decided to use their ashes to create the Gnoses and grant power to the Gods of Genshin Impact.
Not much is really known about the death of the Second Who Came except for the fact that they were strong enough to incapacitate the Primordial One and force them into hiding. It is also currently unknown when the Third Descender arrived, who they are and how they died. Players only recently learned information about the Gnoses being formed out of the Third Descender’s ashes from Skirk during the Version 4.2 Archon Quest. This eventually led to the Archon War of Genshin Impact some years later, which was where the Gods of Teyvat were pitted against each other for a seat in Celestia and the right to own a Gnosis. Most gods did not care to participate in the war, some did it to defend their territory, some fled to the Dark Sea and were corrupted by evil, whilst others chose to succumb to the almighty Seven and live peaceful lives, such as Andrius.
At the end of the day, all Genshin Impact players can do is speculate about the origins of the Primordial One and the Heavenly Principles due to the minimal amount of information available. Since Teyvat is heavily inspired by Gnosticism, this collection of religious beliefs and ideas proposes the distinction between a hidden supreme god and a malevolent deity that is charged with creating a material universe. Although the Primordial One has been considered the Supreme Being, it is still unsure whether they are on the good side of fate, or mass manipulators of destiny.
Platform(s) Mobile , iOS , Android , PC , PS4 , PS5 Released September 28, 2020 Developer(s) HoYoverse (Formerly miHoYo) Genre(s) RPG , Action , Adventure , Gacha Multiplayer Online Multiplayer
