Genshin Rhinedottir's Backstory! Why did she come to Snezhnaya?

"Gold" Rhinedottir will make her official appearance in the Version 7.1 Archon Quest of Genshin Impact. Before that, we might as well learn about the great achievements of this current Ruler of Life, and try to analyze her motives, exploring her purpose for coming to Snezhnaya.

Rhinedottir was actually the first Sinner to appear in the text records. In the book "Breeze Amidst the Forest" from Version 1.0, it was recorded that the alchemist known as Gold fell and became a Sinner, giving birth to a large number of dark beasts, and these beasts were the main army of the Abyss invasion during the destruction of Khaenri'ah five hundred years ago. It can be said that most of the tragedies that occurred in various countries during that period were related to this group of beasts.

La Signora's lover, Wolf Pup Rostam, Bosacius, the Marshal Vritras, Mikoshi Chiyo and Kitsune Saiguu of Inazuma... and many, many more names we are familiar with, they all clearly died in the disaster caused by this group of beasts. To say that she has enemies all over Teyvat is an understatement for Gold Rhinedottir.

For such a character, the officials have also spent a lot of effort in shaping her. In the Version 1.2 event "The Chalk Prince and the Dragon," after the final meeting with Albedo, the true name of Gold, Rhinedottir, was spoken. Also, through the Riftwolf, a kind of monster, they have continuously refreshed everyone's impression of Gold.

Although Riftwolves are only the lowest-level alchemical creations, their role is very crucial, because they can tear apart space with their sharp claws to clear the way for other monsters. Moreover, from the memories of Rerir in Version "Luna II," we can learn that the time when this kind of creation appeared might even be earlier than when Rhinedottir divided up the Abyssal power. Combined with the historical background that, five hundred years ago, Khaenri'ah was amassing troops with the intention of attacking the seven nations, perhaps, just like those Field Tillers, the ability possessed by Riftwolves was prepared precisely for opening up a passage between Khaenri'ah and the seven nations.

After Gold divided up the Abyssal power, this kind of monster also switched sides to the Abyss along with it, becoming the vanguard that opened the way for the Abyss's invasion of Teyvat. After becoming a sinner who defiled life, Rhinedottir created more monsters with even greater size and power, according to her unique method of classification by geological layers. Riftwolves are nothing more than ordinary creations of the leached layer; only Durin, from the higher humus layer, can be called a great masterpiece.

Durin is most likely also the first creation that Rhinedottir acknowledged as her child. Because in the cognition of the dragon Durin, his mother did not have any other children. This shows that the point in time when Rhinedottir launched the Primordial Human Project was earlier than we thought, and the previous failed creations were all inside Durin's belly.

And Durin went to Mondstadt not long after the destruction of Khaenri'ah. Elynas of Fontaine is also a creation similar to Durin, but he has memories of taking care of his brothers and sisters, which shows that the time of his birth was later than Durin's. The births of Durin and Elynas have one thing in common, and that is that their souls both came from the pitch-black universe.

In the description of Festering Desire, it is: "Unborn life, unfulfilled wishes, Tragic dreams at the edge of the universal darkness that could never come true."

After understanding that the essence of the Abyss is the hatred of destinies that could never come true, when we look back at this passage, we will find that the original form in which their souls existed was already very close to the form of the Abyss. They were souls that were never meant to be born, and they came into this world through alchemy. They do not hate as much as the true Abyss does, but they are also limited by the perspective of Abyssal creatures. They regard disaster as play, and regard the pitch-black Abyss as a blessing, which led to many tragedies that could not be undone.

The stage of the humus layer was called by Rhinedottir incomplete creations, a state that has only power but lacks will. This state was also similar to Rhinedottir at the time when she was contaminated by Abyssal power. After dividing up Abyssal power that was enough to rival the world, Rhinedottir also fell into a state of being sometimes clear-headed and sometimes frenzied.

Rhinedottir is undoubtedly a genius. In Nicole's voice line about Mona, she once mentioned that she had not seen Rhinedottir in person before Rhinedottir was twenty years old, because the people of Khaenri'ah were not convenient to go outside. This at least shows that Rhinedottir had already joined the Hexenzirkel before the age of twenty. By Alice's standards, perhaps Rhinedottir had already become the Chief Alchemist of Khaenri'ah by that time.

So it is very likely that the destruction of Khaenri'ah happened in the year when Rhinedottir was twenty years old, and she also took advantage of it to divide up the Abyssal power and became Gold Rhinedottir, one of the Five Sinners.

After being corrupted by the Abyss, Rhinedottir could not suppress the desires deep in her heart. According to the timeline at that time, after creating the batch of Abyssal monsters such as Durin and Elynas, she turned her gaze to the transcendent Abyssal primordial power that even she could not fully control. The creation that was ultimately made was Bakunawa.

Bakunawa's power surpassed the rules of Teyvat. His power could pollute even the time of Teyvat. However, Bakunawa likewise did not have any consciousness capable of self-control. He even attacked his own creator, Gold Rhinedottir, and devoured a part of her body. From Rhinedottir's perspective, this was clearly also a failed creation. After that, Rhinedottir withdrew from the public's sight. Perhaps it was exactly the failure of Bakunawa that made her understand that simply piling up power could not produce the kind of work she wanted.

Long after the fall of Khaenri'ah, Rhinedottir took a key step on the tree of black earth, and that was the birth of Rhinedottir's greatest masterpiece up to now — "Albedo." Black earth gives birth, and chalk, the unstained soil, creates the Primordial Human.

In terms of power, Albedo may not be a match for Bakunawa, but Albedo's growth potential and controllability are far stronger than Bakunawa's. In the possibility where the Traveler does not exist, Albedo would become that Primordial Human who travels the world, records everything, and creates everything. It is only because of Rhinedottir's bizarre way of raising him that no one knows whether Albedo in that possibility would choose to create or destroy. After all, the failed creations inside Durin's belly have already explained everything.

Rhinedottir's education of Albedo was always: if you cannot do it, then I will abandon you. It is just that in the end, Albedo passed all the trials and obtained the title of the Chalk Prince. And chalk is precisely the material of the Primordial Human. So why is Rhinedottir so eager to create a Primordial Human?

We can find the answer in Nicole's character story, because when Nicole asked about the purpose of the world, what Rhinedottir thought was that she would be content as long as she could escape this world. Whether it was creating Bakunawa, who possesses transcendent Abyssal power, or raising Albedo, who could become the Primordial Human, what Rhinedottir pursued was always to break free from Teyvat's restrictions on her. After all, the Primordial Human also has the rank of a Transcender and could break the shackles of Teyvat's fate for her.

Just as the weapon text of the Cinnabar Spindle, she wanted Albedo to reach the other side of philosophy and weave a new fate for her. From this, one can also see her fusion with Naberius. This was, in fact, a helpless choice made after weighing the options. After all, when it comes to the restrictions imposed by the world, who can compare with the Four Great Rulers?

Her main purpose in devouring Naberius was to escape the mental state contaminated by the Abyss, and only then to obtain the authority of creation held by the Ruler of Life. But as the price of escaping the Abyss, Naberius took the Abyss's place and became her second personality. Once Rhinedottir touches the rules of Teyvat, Naberius will tirelessly come out to remind and stop her.

For a person like her, this is obviously also a shackle that is not so comfortable. Therefore, in Albedo's magic guidance quest, she would remind Albedo to call it a seed that harbors dreams, and let him not merely be the king of the universe inside a nutshell. It was just that together with Nicole, she observed another possibility of Albedo becoming the Primordial Human. In comparison, the current Albedo has undergone great changes in personality because of his interactions with the Traveler. Whether he will ultimately still fulfill Rhinedottir's expectations is hard to say.

After learning of Rhinedottir's ultimate purpose, let us think again about his motive for coming to Snezhnaya: First, on this path of the Primordial Human, the Tsaritsa, who desires to seize the almighty power of the Heavenly Principles and rebuild the world, is obviously Rhinedottir's rival. After all, there is only one position of the Primordial Human in Teyvat, so in the end, there can only be one ideal new world that can be realized.

But looking at it from another angle, the Tsaritsa is likewise devoted to transcending the rules and overthrowing the Heavenly Principles. And the shackles of fate that Rhinedottir is currently under come from the Heavenly Principles. This also means that while they are rivals, they also share a common goal.

As one of the Five Sinners of Khaenri'ah, Rhinedottir is clearly unlikely to stand on the side of the Heavenly Principles; and because of his competitive relationship with the Tsaritsa, he also cannot wholeheartedly help the Tsaritsa of Snezhnaya. Under this background, I think they are more likely to engage in limited cooperation.

And this situation can be said to have been brought about by Rhinedottir himself. After all, in "The Gods' Limits," it was he who provoked Ronova's scrutiny of the Tsaritsa; and when the two sides were confronting each other, he appeared at the negotiation table as a crucial force. No matter which side wins, Rhinedottir himself has won anyway.

I also wonder whether, in the next version's story, Rhinedottir can continue his usual "myth" of never losing out. This article ends here. While looking forward to the future story about Rhinedottir, remember to keep following our articles and our site's merchandise. See you next time!