Xiao

Xiao:

Element - Anemo Model Type - Medium Male Birthday - April 17th Region - Liyue Special Dish - “Sweet Dreams” He is an adeptus, under the name Alatus, and the sole surviving member of the five foremost Yakshas dispatched by Morax to subdue the demonic spirits that plagued Liyue. He currently resides at Wangshu Inn and mostly restrains himself from large crowds and social interactions.

Personlity:

Xiao is a yaksha who has fought in the Archon War and holds a high level of seniority among adepti. He has a reserved demeanor and has little intention of getting close to mortals. He does not want sympathy for his past and believes his fellow Yakshas would also find it insulting.[2] He is immensely grateful to Morax for saving him, dedicating his life to protecting Liyue as payment. He does not take lightly to those who speak ill of the Geo Archon regardless of whoever they are.[3] Despite suffering from constant karmic debt, Xiao is highly resilient towards its alluring corruption, as his fellow yaksha have either succumbed or died to it. Due to this debt, he prefers being alone and rarely involves himself in mortal affairs; in the few times he does have to, he asks they get to the point for their own sake. Xiao is unfamiliar with many human customs and societal norms, often finding them strange, childish, or pointless. To others, he can come off as distant and intimidating. After meeting the Traveler, he becomes slightly more relaxed, willing to learn customs and visit Liyue Harbor with them for their sake despite his reservations with mortal life.[4][5] He is also revealed to be a strict yet effective teacher when acting as a mentor figure for Ganyu, but he believes that as a soul-slaughtering yaksha, he is not a suitable teacher for her.[6] Unlike most of the adepti, Xiao is not particularly fond of most human foods, although he makes exceptions to Almond Tofu and later Grilled Tiger Fish, the former reminding him of the dreams he used to consume and the latter to honor Pervases' memory.

Apperance:

Xiao uses the medium male model. He has dark medium-length hair with teal undertones, pale skin, golden irises with avian pupils, and red eyeshadow. Xiao also has a purple diamond marking on his forehead and a green tattoo around his right arm. Xiao's illuminated beast form has not been seen yet outside of certain stylized merchandise, but it has been teased in his character design, his constellation, and his yaksha alias Alatus. It is implied that he takes on the form of Garuda, a Hindu demigod, or Peng (a part of his true name in Chinese: 金鹏 Jīnpéng), a creature present in both Chinese and Buddhist mythos. Xiao has been called the 'Golden-Winged King,' which may be another reference to the Golden-Winged Great Peng, a guardian deity in Mahayana Buddhism. In some lines of Genshin Impact merchandise, stylized depictions of Xiao's avian form has been shown. The bird form appears to be a finch-like, though this is inconclusive due to stylization. Its plumage features multiple shades of teal, reddish eyes and Xiao's purple diamond symbol on its forehead.

Summery:

Xiao is an illuminated beast who has lived for around four thousand years[Note 1]. In his youth, he was enslaved by an ancient god who learned his weakness and forced to perform cruel, violent acts on the god's behalf, including devouring the dreams of his victims. The god's bloodthirsty path came to an end at Morax's hand during the Archon War; Xiao was freed and Morax bestowed him with the name "Xiao" for his own protection. Xiao became deeply loyal to the Geo God as a result, a trait that continues to the present day. When Morax rallied the yakshas to help him suppress the lingering hatred and grudges of fallen gods, Xiao was among those who responded.[Note 2] Xiao, under the name Alatus, was one of the five foremost Yakshas alongside Bonanus, Bosacius, Indarias, and Menogias.[7] He also fought alongside many other junior yakshas such as Pervases. However, over the ages, the yakshas' task wore away their numbers: Not only did they have to fight against the lingering power of ancient gods, the hatred that they had to suppress tainted their own souls and mired them in karmic debt, which incurred enormous physical and psychological pain. Between battle casualties, madness, and desertion, the number of yakshas eventually dwindled to Bosacius and Xiao.[7] Bosacius, too, eventually disappeared and left his belongings behind in Minlin,[8] leaving Xiao as the last Yaksha Guardian. Xiao nearly succumbed to his karmic debt himself at one point, but was saved by the music Venti played during one of the Anemo Archon's visits to Liyue.[9] While Xiao's callous exterior can make him appear intimidating, much of his outward personality stems from his reservations about the violent deeds he has performed[10][11] and the loss of his allies over the course of the years.[12] Deep down, Xiao is a gentle soul who is curious about humanity, but is hesitant to show that side of himself due to his past experiences and his karma-ridden constitution.[13]

Summery [2]:

Due to the nature of his work, Xiao typically avoids humans. Not only does he think his bloody past makes him incapable of fitting in,[10] human souls are less robust than adepti's and his karmic debt taints his surroundings.[2] As a result, few people even in Liyue know much about him or his role in protecting Liyue. Those who do know, as well as other adepti, call him the Conqueror of Demons (Chinese: 降魔大圣 Xiángmó Dàshèng, "Great Sage who Subdues Demons") out of respect. The Liyue Qixing built the Wangshu Inn at Dihua Marsh, run by their agents Verr Goldet and Huai'an, to give Xiao a place to stay and rest as he carries out his duty. He appears to get along relatively well with the two agents: He entrusted Dusky Ming to them,[14] while they cover for his unintended destructive tendencies[Note 3] and express their concern for him during Lantern Rite.[15] In the Traveler's presence, Xiao is more willing to indulge his curiosity about humanity, even if their ways perplex him, and offers to visit Liyue Harbor with the Traveler for the purposes of bonding and learning.[4][5] With Liyue's citizens beginning to self-govern and other adepti withdrawing their presence, Xiao continues defending Liyue and also makes more attempts to understand the people.

Character Stories

Xiao may have the appearance of a young man, but his true age is something over two thousand years. Fortunately, people do not tend to underestimate him on the basis of his appearance — one only needs to spend a short time with Xiao to clarify that he is not someone to be trifled with. Xiao is a man of few words. He is highly dangerous, and has the most piercing gaze you've ever seen. He enjoys a formidable reputation and high level of seniority among the adepti, but is relatively unknown in the mortal realm. This is inevitable. Xiao is not one of those popular deities to whom people pray for wealth and protection, nor is he a mystical sage of Jueyun Karst to whom pilgrims flock in search of divine wisdom. No... If any mortal witnesses Xiao unleashing his true power, it is certain to be under the direst of circumstances — and they will be extremely lucky if they survive the ordeal. This is not because Xiao seeks to harm people. Rather, since Xiao wages a constant war against dark forces powerful enough to devour Liyue in its entirety, any bystanders who witness him in the heat of battle are likely to end up as collateral damage. Not that this is a secret worth going around silencing witnesses for.

Character Story:

What exactly is Xiao wrestling with? The tactful answer would be old grudges, unfulfilled dreams, the lamentations of the vanquished... The unmitigated truth is that Xiao fights against the remnants of the defeated gods from the Archon War, which took place prior to the rise of The Seven. Morax defeated those gods and buried their remains beneath the rocks of the earth. However, gods are immortal. Their consciousness may diminish, but their power and hatred will always remain and spread like poison, relentlessly stirring up chaos for the world and its inhabitants. Liyue's rulers, who are aware of the truth regarding Xiao, refer to him in his millennia-long experience as the "Bane of All Evil." The war he fights can never be won, and will never come to an end. It is also an invisible war that no one will ever witness or thank him for. Xiao is not this yaksha's true name, but a name given to him in the interests of his own protection. Back in a younger, more naive time, a god had gotten a hold of Xiao's weakness and forced him to serve as their bloodhound, in which capacity he was forced to perform cruel and violent acts. Many died at his hand, many hopes were crushed, and he was even forced into devouring his victims' dreams. As much as it pained him to do this, he was helpless to resist. Finally, on the battlefield of the Archon War, Morax, the Geo Archon,[Note 4] had a fateful encounter with the yaksha's master. The current state of the world has already revealed the results of that battle. Rex Lapis liberated the yaksha and gave him the name "Xiao." "In the fables of another land, the name Xiao is that of a spirit who encountered great suffering and hardship. He endured much suffering, as you have. Use this name from now on." To repay his debt of gratitude to the Geo Archon, Xiao shouldered the burden of protecting Liyue in the millennia that followed.

Character Story [2]:

His past of service under the evil god had rid Xiao of his innocence and gentleness. All that remained within him was the means to kill and the weight of his sins. The only way he could be of service to mortals was in doing battle. But what could people do for him in return? No ordinary person would ever stop to ask such a question. The sight of Xiao, even far off in the distance, was intimidating enough to send people instantly running for their lives. That said... if ever someone did want to show some appreciation for Xiao, there is perhaps one thing they could try. There is a certain secret agent of the Qixing who is tasked with supporting Xiao in subduing demons. That secret agent runs a front organization called the Wangshu Inn. Occasionally, Xiao stops by the inn for a bowl of Almond Tofu, and if you could see the look on his face when he eats it... there's no mistaking it — he clearly loves the stuff. Nonetheless, it is not the sweet taste that Xiao hankers after. It's the texture he finds irresistible — apparently, it's very similar to that of the dreams he used to devour.

Character Mention:

Baizhu - Baizhu: Only the most magnanimous soul could labor to preserve life by slaying evil spirits. I was once fortunate enough to see the Conqueror of Demons with my own eyes. We even brought him back to the pharmacy to take care of him for a day. Unfortunately, I did not know his true identity at the time, and didn't even have a chance to speak with him before he left on his own. Beidou - One year on the eve of the Lantern Rite, we ran into a storm as we were returning to port. Try as we did, we only made it back to Liyue Harbor in the dead of night, long after the lanterns had all been released. As I looked towards Guyun Stone Forest, I saw an adeptus, floating in the air, in the form of what appeared to be a young boy. I guess it is like the legends say — there really must be those that watch over Liyue, even if they cannot be seen. Chongyun - has defended Liyue side-by-side with we exorcists for generations, day after day, night after night. I have the utmost respect for Adeptus Xiao. It's just... Why must he be so disparaging toward us? He says our repertoire is lacking and our power is trivial. I'm sorry, but I just can't accept that. Ganyu - He seems like a bit of an outsider, socially. Probably just his personality... I can understand that, to be honest, but I'm not really about to try and get close to him. I mean... all the people he's ever agreed to team up with are no longer with us..

Character Mention [2]:

Hau Tao - What would I know of the adepti? Ai-yai-yai, that kind of stuff is top-secret! Don't come asking me about it! Keqing - I feel like now that we live in the age of mankind's rule, it's time for the legendary boy-adeptus to be released from duty. We no longer need a defender of that kind, because we are capable of working through the challenges we face on our own strength. Qiqi - Sounds like a historical artifact to me. Remind me, have I met him before? Shenhe - My first impression of him was that he's not one to smile. After meeting him again more recently, however, he's still as reserved as ever, but... he seems a lot more relaxed now. Maybe he... met someone special. Xianyun - The Conqueror of Demons is even more withdrawn than oneself — he has been sighted a mere handful of times at social gatherings over the centuries... One was interested to learn that you are on rather good terms with him — what sort of conversations do the two of you tend to have? Oh, and do let me know when you next plan to see him. Perhaps one could make some tofu pudding for you to pass on to him. Yelan - The elders in my clan once said that we must always show the utmost respect to the Vigilant Yaksha. Apparently, the only time that our ancestor would gain some temporary relief from his insanity was when passing by the Wangshu Inn. It must have been the comforting effect of his presence that wards off evil spirits. That said, if I ever have the honor of fighting side by side with the Conqueror of Demons, I will focus only on the mission. I cannot let myself be distracted by concerns about his status. Zhongil - You speak of the young adeptus of Guili Plains... *sigh* Still fulfilling his duty to this very day. Please give this Remedium Tertiorum to him on my behalf. Oh, yes... be sure not to let Paimon eat them. Nothing of this world can withstand the power of this medicine.