The Five Sinners Of Khaenri’ah In Genshin Impact Lore

The Five Sinners of Khaenri’ah are better known in the lore of Genshin Impact as beings who held the greatest esteem of their nation. They were at the top of their peers and some of the most powerful when Khaenri’ah was flourishing. Genshin Impact players should already know that Khaenri’ah was once an enigmatic nation that was known for its stellar advancements in technology. Its demise occurred 500 years ago and the Cataclysm is what shook the very core of Teyvat’s future.

Unfortunately, not much is known about Khaenri’ah as it is considered to be a lost civilization. Its sins are hidden and the only information Travelers do obtain is through snippets from Archon quests, side quests, hidden ruins, and tales of old. It’s also a known fact that the Travelers’ twin fights for the Khaenri’ah unfair demise by working together with the Abyss in Genshin Impact.

What Did The Five Sinners of Khaenri’ah Do?

In the early days of Genshin Impact, not much was known about Khaenri’ah and its Sinners. Players had already heard about one Sinner during the Masquerade of the Guilty Archon Quest along with the whispers of the potentiality of Albedo’s creator being one too, but what they did to become a Sinner was not fully addressed.

Despite the fact that these five individuals were considered to be geniuses in their field, they could not resist the call of the Abyss and divided “a power that could destroy the world” amongst themselves. It is from here on out that they were deemed as ‘sinners’ but also transcendent beings that could wield unimaginable power. Sadly, even though they had this power, none of them used it to save innocent lives – especially when the Cataclysm in Genshin Impact happened.

According to Skirk of Genshin Impact, three of the Sinners are currently on a journey to pursue the utmost perfection, and the other twos whereabouts are currently unknown. One interesting and important snippet of information that can be linked to the Sinners is through Cyno’s Character Story 5.

Information From Cyno’s Character Story 5

Incase Genshin Impact players were unaware, there are quite a few character stories and books in the game that act as context clues for various topics. Cyno’s Character Story, including information about the Sinners, doesn’t need to be taken as factual evidence, but simply a possible connection with the sins they have committed and how each Sinner is classified in the game.

“… But when the knowledge of the earth could no longer satisfy their insatiable curiosity, some researchers turned their focus to the starry skies, whereas some others attempted to tamper with life and death. However,
these kinds of knowledge
were not things they should or could have touched upon. To prevent researchers from being devastated by their own knowledge, the sages laid out
six cardinal sins
.
They held that the crimes in this world derive from these six sins
.”

• “The first is to interfere with human evolution;
• The second is to tamper with life and death;
• The third is to delve beyond the universe;
• The fourth is to investigate the origin of words;
• The fifth is to revere gods without acts of devotion;
• The sixth is to attempt the forbidden and fear none.”

Each of these sins that were proposed by the Akademiya can be linked up to the five sinners and Dainsleif. Here is how each sinner is related to each sin:

Vedrfolnir “The Visionary”

Genshin Impact players will come to learn that Vedrfolnir is actually Dainsleif’s older brother from the Bedtime Story Archon Quest. Travelers first hear of his name in the Caribert Archon Quest and are only aware of his voice through the memories they witness of their Abyss sibling. So far, all players know is that after Vedrfolnir turned to the Abyss, he joined hands with Chlothar Alberich to create the Abyss Order after the Cataclysm.

There has been much evidence that suggests Vedrfolnir is a Prophet. The concept of a ‘Visionary’ in Genshin Impact has been known to represent beings with ‘extraordinary divine powers’. This was confirmed by Mona during the Masquerade of the Guilty Archon Quest, and it was later solidified that Fontaine’s prophecy was not one that could have been prophesied by an astrologist. Fontaine’s prophecy was too great for an ordinary person to read and it could only have been done by a ‘visionary’. Furthermore, in the Bedtime Story Archon Quest, after the Traveler finds out that Vedrfolnir is Dainslief’s brother and the ‘Sinner’ whose voice they heard, they confirm that the stone tablets found during the Masquerade of the Guilty AQ that depicted Fontaine’s prophecy, were probably placed there by him.

Vedrfolnir’s sin in Genshin Impact perhaps relates to revering gods without acts of devotion, simply due to his nature of being a visionary/prophet. Being a prophet is an act closest to God in many texts, but despite being interested in them, Vedrfolnir is not a devout follower of any God and only views himself as a ‘Sinner’.

Rhinedottir “Gold”

Aside from being Durin and Albedo’s creator, Rhinedottir is also a genius practitioner of the Art of Khemia- a lost form of alchemy from Khaenri’ah that focuses on the creation of life. After discovering the Heart of Naberius with Albedo in a domain, she disappeared without a trace and ordered him to find ‘the truth’ of the world. Moreover, there has been evidence that some of her creations may have played a part in Khaenri’ah’s demise. Rhinedottir is also the creator of the Alfisol, which Genshin Impact players may know more commonly as the Riftwolves.

Right now there are only two possible theories of Rhinedottir’s involvement and the ultimate betrayal of her nation during Genshin Impact’s Cataclysm. Either her creatures traveled to Teyvat first and attracted the attention of Celestia, which led to them releasing the Seven against Khaenri’ah, or, Khaenri’ah’s destruction led to her releasing the creatures into Teyvat. There is even speculation that the creatures were not under her control and simply invaded Teyvat of their own volition.

As such, her cardinal sin is most definitely related to the Akademiya’s sin of tampering with life and death. Much like Celestia’s view on it, only the gods should have the ability to hold such knowledge and execute it. Rhinedottir’s practice goes against those very beliefs and it could be speculated that is also one of the reasons Celestia wished for Khaenri’ah’s demise in Genshin Impact. It would also be good to note that after the Cataclysm and her disappearance, players soon find out that Rhine is a member of the Hexenzirkel- an infamous organization of powerful witches and mages.

Surtalogi ‘The Foul’

Surtalogi is Skirk’s Master as well as the owner of the All-Devouring Narwhal that Genshin Impact players fight in the Masquerade of the Guilty Archon Quest. Unfortunately, the only information we have about The Foul is through Skirk and even then, she, too, is quite tight-lipped. An interesting fact to note, is that in the Chinese, German and Japanese translations, his title translates to ‘extremely evil knight/rider’. If players pay attention to the ‘evil’ aspect, one can surmount the reasons as to why he has been deemed a Sinner.

Through context clues and various passages from Skirk, it can be deemed that Surtalogi of Genshin Impact is an avid traveler of various dimensions. It has been confirmed that the All-Devouring Narwhal is a being from another world that Surtalogi has taken in as a pet, but its existence in Fontaine should have been impossible. It is uncertain whether Surtalogi let it cross dimensions into Teyvat, or whether the whale followed Tartaglia after he awakened it in the Abyss.

This dimensional travel directly correlates to the sin of delving beyond the universe, which is something that no mere human should be allowed to do. However, according to boss descriptions, since the whale is proof of extraterrestrial life, perhaps there are creatures looking to make contact with Teyvat, but there is a higher power that is blocking the outside universe from interfering with the world of Genshin Impact.

Hroptatyr ‘The Wise’

A name introduced in the recent Archon Quest, Hroptatyr, was speculated to be a great Sage in Khaenri’ah. The only speculation that Genshin Impact players have on their existence is through the story in the Pale Flame artifact set. In case players did not know, each piece in the Pale Flame artifact set represents a Fatui Harbinger and the Mocking Mask piece holds the words of Pierro “The Jester”.

Pierro seems to be the only one in lore who has some sort of connection to Hroptatyr, as he stated:

“Since my level of learning could not compare with the sages, I failed to earn the favor of the previous ruler. So too did I fail to stop them from tearing away the veil of sin, ushering in a tide of divine wrath, destruction, and foolishness…”

However, it has been brought to attention that, according to the Chinese translations, the term ‘sages’ is not supposed to be used in the plural sense. The term ‘sage’ is considered to be gender-neutral and has been used to refer to a singular person. So, although the Genshin Impact’s Pale Flame mask piece states this, it can be speculated that Pierro was in fact referring to a singular sage, Hroptatyr. Thus, his sin may very well relate to the crime of investigating the origin of words, as his role as the ‘royal sage’ means his pursuit of learning and knowledge transcends all.

Additionally, it would be helpful to know that Hroptatyr is another name for the Norse God Odin and it translates to ‘Sage’ in Norse mythology. This particular piece of information can be linked with Hroptatyr’s connection to the Khaenri’ahn King Irmin, who valued his knowledge over Pierro’s. There have been theories that link King Irmin to Irminsul, due to Irminsul’s stark contrast to Yggdrasil, the world tree in Norse mythology. Genshin Impact players should already be aware that Irminsul in Teyvat acts like the world tree too, so there may be some sort of substance that players can look forward to in the future.

Rerir ‘Rächer of Solnari’

Rerir is the only Sinner Genshin Impact players know least about, as the only time their name was mentioned is during the Bedtime Story Archon Quest by Dainsleif. Thus, any information that has been collected on them is purely speculation derived from theories. In Norse mythology, Rerir is Odin’s grandson who seeks to enact vengeance against those who murdered his father. Their entire identity surrounds the theme of revenge and avenging, which is why their title translates to Avenger of Solnari in the German translations.

When looking into the etymology of Solnari, there’s not much that can be found, but if Genshin Impact players look at Rerir’s title translation in Chinese and Japanese, there may be some hope left. Rächer of Solnari directly translates to Moon Chaser or Moon Hunter- the one who hunts the moon works too. The implications of this title when looking at it from the CN translation can be taken two ways.

1. Khaenri’ah had two ruling dynasties; the Eclipse dynasty (recent) and the Crimson Moon dynasty. There is a prophecy which states that the Eclipse dynasty has been overtaken by the Crimson Moon dynasty and it could be speculated that Rerir is hunting survivors of the Crimson Moon dynasty (to avenge the Eclipse dynasty) or the Moon Gods. The Moon Gods of Teyvat are also known as the Moon Sisters; namely Aria, Sonnet, and Canon. As the three Ancient Goddesses of Teyvat that preceded the rule of Morax, not much is known about them except for that a great calamity involving a Seelie and an Outlander, caused the three sisters to turn on each other and kill one another. One of the sister’s corpses ends up becoming the Moon that Genshin Impact players see in Teyvat’s sky.
2. The pronunciation of Rächer of Solnari in CN goes as Lièyuè-rén, which is extremely similar to the Geo nation Liyue. It can be speculated that Rerir could also be after the people of Liyue or Morax himself who wronged Rerir. Right now, these are just theories based on etymology, and Genshin Impact players will definitely have to wait for more information on the last two Sinners and their roles in the tumultuous world of Teyvat.