Genshin Impact's world is pockmarked with ruins and other remnants from a cataclysmic struggle known as the Archon War, which ended roughly 2000 years prior to the events of the game. While astute players will be able to glean certain information about the state of the world during this period, the times before are almost a complete cipher. Teyvat's recorded history effectively began with the end of this battle of the gods, and the full story hosts some of Genshin Impact's greatest mysteries.

Players encounters references to "The Seven" almost as soon as they arrive in Teyvat, which refers to the seven Archons—gods, essentially—who preside over the world's primary seven elements. In the simplest terms possible, the Archon Wars is the story of how those seven came to be the Seven. It is a testament to Mihoyo's storytelling abilities that many of the major figures in this pivotal struggle are not familiar characters, but enigmatic entities with tremendous power that lingers in intriguing ways. For instance, Andrius, one of the Four Winds of Mondstadt, is long deceased, but players can still do battle with his shade to test themselves.

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So far, only Mondstadt and Liyue's histories have been revealed in meaningful detail, but as new regions are added to the game, the chronicle of the Archon War will likely grow in detail. What is known, is that the war started over seven vacancies in the "seats" of Celestia, a mysterious realm that floats above Teyvat, where only those who have "ascended" may dwell.

In the time of the Archon Wars, the city of Mondstadt was located in the area currently known as Stormterror's lair, but it was a civilization  sealed away from the rest of the world by Decarabian, the God of Storms. Decarabian's subjects were prisoners who worshipped the Storm God out of fear, which he mistook for genuine devotion. He had good reason for shielding his city however, as the rest of Mondstadt was a desolate, frigid tundra created by Andrius, King of the North Wind and Dominator of Wolves. The entire region likely resembled Dragonspine as it is currently.

Eventually, Decarabian's lover, Amos, grew disenchanted with her paramour as she desired to see the outside world. With the help of the Gunnhildr clan, a knight, a bard (both of whom have yet to be named), and a wind spirit named Barbatos, Amos attempted to stage an intervention for Decarabian. The Storm God savagely attacked her without hesitation, leading Amos to realize that Decarabian never truly cared for her. Tragically, both the bard and Amos lost their lives in the ensuing fight, but they managed to defeat Decarabian in the process, allowing Barbatos to ascend to Celestia, and become the the first Lord of Anemo.

Andrius, for his part, realized that Barbatos was better-suited for the job of nurturing and guiding humanity, and voluntarily withdrew to enable his rule.

The current ruins in the Giuli Planes are the remnant of an ancient city that was under the protection of Morax, God of Contracts, and Guizhong, God of Dust. Morax and Guizhong fought against gods valiantly, but Guizhong was ultimately slain, and her once-splendorous city was devastated. Morax led the survivors south of Mt. Tianheng and established a city that would eventually become Liyue harbor. To protect his people from enemy gods, demons, and monsters, Morax employed dozens of Adepti and Yakshas. The Traveler encounters many of the surviving adepti (which can be thought of as demigods), over the course of Liyue's archon quest.

Not all of the archons were great warriors, nor did all archons aspire to ascend to Celestia. The Salt Goddess, Havria, was kind, humble, and held relatively little power. Rather than fighting, she made concessions to other gods to protect her people and spare them suffering. Unfortunately, her own followers chaffed against her gentle rule, desiring a god with greater aspirations and power. The King of Havria's people was the one to slay the salt goddess, dooming himself and his subjects in the process. A weak god is still a god, and when Havria was slain, her energy was violently released, reducing everyone in her dominion to salt. Grimly, players can still find piles of salt in the area of Sal Terrae.

Genshin Impact is available now for mobile devices, PC, and PS4, with PS5 and Switch versions in the works.

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