Barnabas[Note 1] is a Manga-only character. A Fatuus from Sumeru, Barnabas pursues his former experimentation subject Collei to Mondstadt upon discovering that she may still be alive.
Profile[]
Barnabas appears to have been a respected seer in Sumeru, which led Collei's parents to bring her to him in hopes of saving her from her chronic illness. Unbeknownst to them, he was in league with the Fatui and, rather than taking her in to cure her of the "[touch of] the deev," he took her in so he could use her as a test subject for the effects of directly injecting a god's remains (originally translated as archon residue)[1][2][Note 2] into a human being.
In the present, Barnabas is a subordinate to the Fatui Harbinger Il Dottore. After Dottore expresses his disinterest in handling the Black Fire Incident, Barnabas takes responsibility for it and promises to bring back something interesting. However, due to Kaeya and Diluc's plan as well as unexpected resistance from Amber and Collei, Barnabas is instead left severely wounded and humiliated upon his return to the vexed Harbinger.
Appearance[]
Barnabas is a short old man with dark gray-brown skin, yellow eyes, white hair, and a white mustache and goatee. He wears a patterned purple and orange scarf around his neck and shoulders, a white vest with gold accents unbuttoned to expose his bare chest. An eye symbol is tattooed onto the side of his left shoulder. Most of his arms are wrapped in bandages.
In his beast form. Barnabas resembles a gigantic muscular lion with navy blue skin, black mane and glowing red eyes. He has fangs, a snake-like tongue and a pair of three pink horns.
Story[]
When Collei was a baby, her parents left her with Barnabas in hopes that he could cure her of her affliction.[3] Instead, he used her for human experiments and ordered his men to "get rid" of Collei's mother when she attempted to visit her daughter.[4] Collei was left deeply embittered by these painful experiments, the innate destructiveness she embodied after becoming a successful test subject, and the rejection she faced in Sumeru for being "unclean." In her quest for vengeance, she traveled from Sumeru to the City of Mondstadt in hopes that the Mondstadt Library would have information on him.[5]
Collei arrived at Mondstadt right as a Fatui diplomatic convoy was about to depart on Dottore's whims. When the guards at the gate proved hesitant to let her in on account of her disease, Collei used her powers to target the convoy, killing the two diplomats inside the carriage. In the ensuing panic, Collei slipped into the city. The Knights of Favonius dubbed this event the "Black Fire Incident" and began investigating the matter, eventually finding a document which revealed that Collei's power was connected to an incident from three years prior involving Crepus Ragnvindr and a Delusion,[6][7][8][Note 3] although Barnabas' role in that incident is unclear. After learning the document might contain information on how to treat Collei's affliction by sealing the god's remains, Lisa sent word to Sumeru Akademiya to request Cyno's assistance.[7][9]
Meanwhile, the Knights of Favonius' report about the Black Fire Incident reached Dottore and Barnabas. Intrigued by the description of the event, and given free reign over the situation by Dottore, Barnabas vowed to bring back "something worthy of [his] interest."[10] He arrived during Ludi Harpastum and witnessed Kaeya's clash with Collei, as well as Amber's intervention. The next day, he brought up the incident, framing Amber as a traitor working with the murderer. Kaeya feigned cooperation but had already concocted a plan with Diluc to trick the Fatui: Diluc would distract Barnabas and his men by wielding Crepus' Delusion, which gave off a nearly identical effect as Collei's injected god's remains due to their shared origin, and posing as the perpetrator of the crime. While they were able to trick Barnabas' bodyguards, Barnabas sensed Collei's power as Cyno sealed it away and left on his own to hunt her down.[11]
Intrigued that someone managed to survive being injected with the god's remains, he harangued Collei in a bid to convince her to reawaken the freshly sealed god's remains, which would take her over if activated again. Amber attacked him to avoid letting Collei lose control again, disarming him and pinning him down with her arrows before he unleashed a god's power through a seal on his neck, which transformed him into a giant beast.[12]
Despite facing incredible odds against Barnabas' new form, Amber refused to give up. Collei's desire to gain the power to protect those she cares about caused a temporary change in Amber's Vision, and the two stood against Barnabas together. At a critical moment, Diluc used his Delusion to pin down Barnabas, giving Amber an opportunity to land a critical blow. His power spent, Barnabas returned to his human form and collapsed the ground. Upon seeing Diluc, Barnabas uttered his surprise at seeing the Delusion in the redhead's hands before falling unconscious. At that moment, Kaeya and Barnabas' guards arrived on the scene and arrested Diluc, thus "capturing" the culprit of the Black Fire Incident and drawing the situation to a close.[4]
Barnabas is last seen before Dottore, who is less than pleased by the results he had obtained. Dottore tells his men to "dispose of this garbage," with the heavily wounded Barnabas unable to plead for mercy with his mouth bandaged up. Meanwhile, Diluc had escaped and destroyed the Delusion in the process, leaving Dottore's men with nothing to show for their last four years of work.[13]
Trivia[]
- In Chapter 4 of the manga, Collei's parents call him a "seer" in the English localization, but a 传教士 "missionary" in the original Chinese text.
Etymology[]
- Barnabas (Aramaic: ܒܪܢܒܐ) means "Son of Consolation." It was most famously the name of Joseph (Saint Barnabas), a Cyprus-born Jew who became a prominent Christian disciple in Jerusalem.
Notes[]
- ↑ Because the Sumeru Fatuus is never directly referred to by name in the Manga, the name "Barnabas" has been assumed for convenience of description, based on the voice in Collei's head during "Serpent's Dance" and his description in Dual Recurrence's official synopsis as a "mysterious foe from [Collei's] past."
- ↑ The original Chinese name for "archon residue" is 魔神残渣 demon god residue, referring to gods who predate the rise of the Seven Archons, and can be likened to Tatarigami and karma.
- ↑ Observing the way Jean holds the burnt document in Chapter 6 (Part 2), pages 2–3 reveals that it is a single, folded document which details both Crepus' Delusion and the syringe used to inject Collei with the god's remains, which is seen in a flashback in Chapter 10 (Part 1), page 18.
Gallery[]
Other Languages[]
| Language | Official Name |
|---|---|
| English | Barnabas |
| Chinese (Simplified) | 巴纳巴斯 Bānàbāsī |
| Chinese (Traditional) | 巴納巴斯 Bānàbāsī |
| Japanese | バルナバ Barunaba |
| Korean | 바르나바스 Bareunabaseu |
| Spanish | Barnabas |
| French | Barnabas |
| Russian | Барнабас Barnabas |
| Thai | บาร์นาบัส Banabat |
| Vietnamese | Barnabas |
| German | Barnabas |
| Indonesian | Barnabas |
| Portuguese | Barnabas |
References[]
- ↑ Cyno's Voice-Over: About Collei
- ↑ Manga, Chapter 12: Unshrouded Resolution (Part 2)
- ↑ Manga, Chapter 3: Lost and Found (Part 1)
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Manga, Chapter 15: Conclusion
- ↑ Manga, Chapter 4: Surprise Finding (Part 1)
- ↑ Manga, Chapter 6: Wind and Fyre (Part 2)
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 Manga, Chapter 8: Final Clue (Part 2)
- ↑ Manga, Chapter 10: Fools Trick (Part 1) (pg. 18)
- ↑ Manga, Chapter 11: Serpent's Dance (Part 2)
- ↑ Manga, Chapter 9: Ludi Harpastum (Part 1)
- ↑ Manga, Chapter 13: Dual Recurrence
- ↑ Manga, Chapter 14: Malignant Illness
- ↑ Manga, Chapter 16: Talks Over a Drink