Genshin Arlecchino Lore: Outfit Design and Two Worlds' Flames

Recently, Travelers have finally welcomed Arlecchino's rerun and officially set foot on the land of Snezhnaya. As the Fourth of the Eleven Fatui Harbingers and the stern "Father" of the House of the Hearth, Arlecchino's character design is highly distinctive. Today, let's talk about her costume and appearance, as well as the lore behind "Two Worlds' Flames."

Arlecchino Costume Research

The Knave Arlecchino adopts a basic colour scheme of black, white, and grey with deep red accents, paired with a single ponytail tied behind her back. It is delicate and elegant yet remains capable. As the head of the House of the Hearth, she is the "Father" of the children, and her wearing men's clothing echoes this title.

Arlecchino's upper garment may be a tailcoat. The tailcoat is a formal dress worn by European men on certain formal occasions. It is worth mentioning that this design is also applied to the officially released Arlecchino coat and shirt, capable and elegant.

Then her lower garment is a pair of black trousers. For a very long historical period, Western women were forbidden to wear trousers. Even the law banning women from wearing trousers during the Napoleonic era was not formally abolished in France until January 31, 2013, over 200 years later.

Furthermore, in historical Europe, the placement of buttons differed between aristocratic men's and women's clothing. Men's buttons were on the right side of the body so that after dressing, the left side of the garment overlapped on top.

The original intention of this design was to make it easier for aristocratic men to draw their swords in combat. Typically, a man would wear his sword on his left hip or thigh, drawing it with his right hand. If the left side of the garment overlapped on top, then when drawing the sword, the sleeve would not catch or increase difficulty, nor would the sword hilt get caught in the gap between buttons.

Moreover, this design also made it convenient to unbutton with the left hand while drawing a sword or retrieving a concealed weapon with the right hand. For example, the illustration below shows Napoleon on campaign with his right hand tucked inside his coat, keeping his weapon hand warm while also being ready for combat.

European aristocratic women's buttons, however, were on the left side of the body, meaning that after dressing, the right side of the garment overlapped on top. This was because aristocratic women did not participate in combat, and their daily life was generally attended to by servants. This opposite design was specifically to make it easier for servants to assist the ladies in dressing.

It can be seen that Arlecchino clothing clearly follows a masculine design.

However, in the story, Arlecchino did not start wearing men's clothing only after becoming "Father." As we can see in her animated short, Arlecchino wore men's clothing since childhood, looking just like a little boy compared to her friends. Therefore, this design choice of "men's clothing" may be related to more fundamental aspects, such as her origins.

Arlecchino: Two Worlds' Flames

In the climactic battle of Arlecchino's Story Quest, Arlecchino finally unleashes her power and shows us her true strength. Her oppressive and eerie form must have left a deep impression on everyone, while also sparking curiosity about where this formidable power—enough to secure her position as the Fourth Harbinger—actually comes from.

Have to say, Arlecchino's boss form is really cool. If you like this design, don't miss out on the Arlecchino Boss Standee and Pin Badge.

In fact, many attentive players had long begun speculating about the source of her power based on her unusual physical traits (cross-shaped pupils, demonic black hands). It wasn't until Version 4.6's name "Two Worlds Aflame, the Crimson Night Fades" and Arlecchino's boss form name "Cinder of Two Worlds' Flames" were revealed that the direction of speculation was finally confirmed—Arlecchino's power is connected to Khaenri'ah.

Arlecchino is an orphan of the Crimson Moon Dynasty of Khaenri'ah, bearing the bloodline of the Crimson Moon. In the background story, Pierro also addressed this. Pierro once served the underground ancient kingdom of Khaenri'ah's last dynasty, the Eclipse, and the dynasty before the Eclipse was called the Crimson Moon.

As for the secrets before Arlecchino's birth, Pierro said they are recorded in the book Hleobranto Innamorato. He also mentioned that although the contents seem plausible but not quite right, the important details are not mistaken.

From this book, we learn certain settings related to Arlecchino. Before the Eclipse Dynasty of Khaenri'ah was the Crimson Moon Dynasty, which worshipped the remains of the "Crimson Moon."

The "Crimson Moon" likely refers to one of the Four Shades of the Primordial One, Phanes.

During the era of the Crimson Moon Dynasty in Khaenri'ah, due to the kingdom's unique location, things from beyond the world would always leak in. Calamitous monsters that drifted in would be eliminated by Khaenri'ah, but foreigners who wandered here would be accepted by Khaenri'ah. Khaenri'ah established a special institution called the "Orphanage" to house these stray children, hoping to obtain a "Transcendent One" or even a "Descender" from these wanderers from other worlds—someone who could break free from the shackles of Teyvat's "destiny." Although the Crimson Moon Dynasty ultimately did not gain a powerful "Transcendent One" for Khaenri'ah as they had hoped, many remarkable individuals still emerged from these otherworldly strays adopted by the "Orphanage," and many of them became great knights of the kingdom. The protagonist of the book, Perinheri, was undoubtedly the foremost of that era, known as "the Undefeated Perinheri."

In the story, Perinheri represents the group of otherworldly strays. When they arrived in Teyvat, they had to undergo a ritual called the "Two Worlds' Flames." In this mysterious ritual, Perinheri saw a crimson moon like a giant eye hanging high in the pitch-black night sky. Under the influence of the "Crimson Moon's" power, he lost his past memories, died, and was reborn, as if he had become a native of Teyvat. The earliest memory of Perinheri's life was this ritual of the "Two Worlds' Flames."

One can begin to see why the Crimson Moon bloodline is so powerful. Not only did the Crimson Moon Dynasty adopt a group of aliens, but they also had the blessing of the Crimson Moon Goddess's power.

Additionally, when Perinheri came out of the "hearth" after completing the ritual, he was covered in coal black. What might this coal black refer to?

Recall that the book mentions the most prevalent technology during Khaenri'ah's Crimson Moon Dynasty was alchemy. Therefore, the coal black here likely refers to the "Khemia" in alchemy. So the "Two Worlds' Flames" ritual might very well be a form of human transmutation developed by Khaenri'ah using the power of the Crimson Moon.

Returning to Arlecchino, when she was very young, she discovered that she could control a strange flame. This flame could not only burn matter but also burn away "memories." At the end of her Story Quest, it is mentioned that the "Fire in a Bottle" stripped and preserved from Arlecchino can burn memories, just like the "Two Worlds' Flames" ritual that Perinheri underwent earlier. Therefore, Arlecchino's dark red flame should be the "Two Worlds' Flames," and the "rebirth" mentioned in the ritual actually refers to erasing past memories and welcoming a blank, brand-new self. The "Two Worlds' Flames" also appeared in Snezhnaya, as a gift that Signora asked the Servant to pass on to Odette so that she could make a truly free choice.

That concludes the full introduction to Arlecchino. May all Travelers have good luck on pulls!