Irminsul is Teyvat's world tree, a type of silver-white tree which grows deep underground, and is connected to the Ley Lines of the world. It is said that the Dendro Archon's consciousness is directly connected to it,[1] and that it itself is the root of Dendro power.[2]
Overview[]
Irminsul is the repository for all of the information and memories of Teyvat,[3] which are collected via the Ley Lines.[4] It is unclear exactly how the repository works, as there is no information on the Traveler in Irminsul by the end of Chapter III[3] even though many people in Teyvat know of them. However, the Traveler seems to correctly understand how the repository works.[3]
In Teyvat, Irminsul is connected to Petrified Trees (Domains), Ley Line Outcrops and Ley Line Blossoms, which can be revitalized with Original Resin or Condensed Resin.[5][6] Irminsul's roots also pierce through the surface in a few select areas of Teyvat.
Tighnari states that Irminsul grows downwards rather than upwards, from a cavern located deep underground, and that Ley Lines — described as the roots of Irminsul — spread and extend from the cavern all the way to the surface.[4] Judging from this description, any part of Irminsul that reaches the surface is presumably the very ends of the tree's roots. It's possible that Irminsul itself is located either in or near the abyss, given how branches of Irminsul can be found there,[7] and branches would typically be found after falling from/breaking from a tree.
Modifications[]
Information is normally added to Irminsul via the Ley Lines, which continually absorb the world's memories.[4] Those who are not from the world of Teyvat do not have records in Irminsul.[3][8] Individuals who can connect to Irminsul can directly access the information stored in its repository.[3][8]
Information can be purged from Irminsul. Doing so removes all traces of that information from Teyvat as it originally existed. The purging of information requires power on the level of a god. Beings, including gods, can be purged, but a being cannot successfully remove itself entirely from Irminsul.[9][10]
To accommodate the loss of information, anything pertaining to information that belongs to the world of Teyvat may be changed, ranging from people's memories to physical objects such as books and letters. However, the actual events, their overall results, and overarching historical impacts remain unchanged. Those who belong to the world of Teyvat, including the Archons, can have their impressions of Teyvat's history altered; they will be unaware of any such changes. Notably, Paimon is also affected.[3][9]
Steps can be taken to ensure that lost information is preserved or retrieved, such as abstracting information in a way such that the information "still resonates with the present information recorded in Irminsul."[10] The successful preservation and retrieval of information that is purged from Irminsul is presumably difficult to do without the aid of someone who never lost that information, such as the Traveler. To this end, much information could have been purged from Irminsul without anyone remembering (apart from other Descenders) prior to the Traveler's arrival in Teyvat.
If the information removed is that of an entire being, then the consequences of their actions and existence remain in the world. For example, the rainforests of Sumeru created by Greater Lord Rukkhadevata remained after she was purged from Irminsul, and the history of the tradition of forest dwellers offering Rukkhashava Mushrooms to Sumeru Akademiya was preserved even though it is implied through the updated Archive description that the reason behind the Akademiya's receipt of Rukkhashava Mushrooms no longer exists. In addition, immediately following Nahida's removal of Greater Lord Rukkhadevata, Nahida still felt sad even though she only remembered that she had just successfully removed the pollution from Irminsul.[9] Later, Nahida is also able to tell that she was once supported by a certain "warmth" that is implied to be Greater Lord Rukkhadevata or her memory.[11] In addition, after Scaramouche attempted to purge himself from Irminsul, the Traveler personally verifies that the consequences of all that he did still remained, but are remembered to have happened for different reasons or with different actors.[12]
The removal of information appears to only happen once. Removed information that is preserved or retrieved by those who belong to Teyvat does not disappear again.[10]
Unlike item descriptions, Weapon and Artifact descriptions seem to be immune to changes in Irminsul's repository.[Note 1] Presumably, they exist solely for players.
Notable Parts of Irminsul[]
This is a list of parts of Irminsul's roots that players can find in the current version of Teyvat, referred to as "withered trees" by Paimon due to their appearance (although they could also be referred to as "Petrified Trees", "Irminsul Trees" or "Irminsul Roots").
Their wood is silver-white colored with glowing blue streaks running throughout. The areas where these roots are located also all seem to have strong Ley Line disorders which change the surroundings in various ways, likely connected to the presence of the roots. Interestingly, the locations of these withered trees are also all in the same locations that Divine Nails are implied to have once landed.
Withered Trees[]
- The "Frostbearing Tree" on the eastern side of Sal Vindagnyr (Dragonspine)
- For reasons unclear, Celestia sent the Skyfrost Nail to destroy the tree long in the past, an event that turned the region's climate into that seen in modern-day Dragonspine. During the cataclysm five hundred years ago, Durin was slain over the region and his blood revived the tree. As a result, the streaks of the tree have turned red instead of blue.
- The withered tree on a small island further east of the Frostbearing Tree in Sal Vindagnyr (Dragonspine)
- The withered tree located in the green area of the map in the top right of The Chasm: Underground Mines
- The withered tree besides "Boatman" near Shirikoro Peak, Tsurumi Island
- The withered tree rooted behind the central island of the Orchard of Pairidaeza (Eternal Oasis), Mt. Damavand
Other Similar Trees[]
- The Dragon-Queller, the large tree atop Azhdaha in Nantianmen, looks similar to the other withered trees due to its blue streaks, but it does not have the signature silver-white bark, and so is not related to Irminsul or the other withered trees.
- The Sacred Sakura atop Grand Narukami Shrine is similar in appearance with blue streaks, but also has brown bark like the Dragon-Queller. We also see that the Sacred Sakura is planted using its own seed in Raiden Shogun's Story Quest, Imperatrix Umbrosa Chapter: Act II - Transient Dreams, so it cannot be connected to Irminsul.
- The Weeping Willow of the Lake in Erinnyes Forest displays the same blue streaks once purified, but also lacks the silver-white bark of Irminsul trees.
Trivia[]
- The Prototype Crescent bowstring is made of Irminsul branches that were retrieved from the abyss.
- In Germanic paganism, an Irminsul is a sacred pillar-like object, typically made of wood.
- Irminsul is shown to have a clear sky above it after being purified.
- The Aranara refer to Irminsul as "Sarva."[Note 2]
- Truly Ancient Petrified Trees (the same trees found in Domains, presumed to be connected to Irminsul due to their association with Ley Lines & their visual appearance) usually grow to around one or two miles in height and a kind of large spider lives around their roots.[18]
- The Irminsul trees and blossoms in the world are said to intertwine at the deepest, most hidden place in the earth, and the pattern the root system makes defines the Ley Lines of the world.[5]
- The Hexenzirkel organization conducts Irminsul explorations.[19]
Localization[]
- The proper noun "Irminsul" appears only in English texts among the four major supported languages. The Chinese text does not have proper nouns or consistent terms for these ancient silver-white trees. This results in inconsistent localizations among the other languages. See the table below for comparison.
- All instances of "Irminsul" in Sumeru-related quests were referred to as "world tree" (Chinese: 世界树) in the East Asian languages.
- The lore for the catalyst Frostbearer translates "silver-white tree" in Chinese (Chinese: 银白之树) literally instead of localizing it as "Irminsul." This may be due to the fact that the tree was not referred to as an "ancient tree" (Chinese: 古树).
- All instances of "Irminsul" in the Energy Amplifier Initiation event were instead expressed as "Ley Line" in the East Asian languages.
| Source | English | Chinese | Japanese | Korean |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Version 3.0 Special Program and Sumeru-related quests | Irminsul | 世界树 "world tree" |
世界樹 "world tree" |
세계수 "world tree" |
| Original Resin | Irminsul trees and blossoms | 银白的古树与银白的花 "silver-white ancient trees and silver-white blossoms" |
銀白の古樹と花 "silver-white ancient trees and blossoms" |
은백 고목과 은백의 꽃 "silver-white ancient trees and silver-white blossoms" |
| Condensed Resin | Silver-white Irminsul trees and blossoms | 银白的古树与花 | 銀白の古樹と花 | 은백의 고목과 꽃 |
| "silver-white ancient trees and blossoms" | ||||
| Lisa's Voice-Over: About Mona | Irminsul | 古树 | 古樹 | 고목 |
| "ancient trees" | ||||
| Albedo's Voice-Over: Interesting Things | Petrified trees | 石化古树 | 石化古樹 | 석화 고목 |
| "petrified ancient trees" | ||||
| Prototype Crescent | Irminsul branches | 银白树枝 | 銀白の枝 | 은백 나무 가지 |
| "silver-white branches" | ||||
| 银枝 "silver branches" |
銀の枝 "silver branches" |
은백나무 가지 "silver-white branches" | ||
| Frostbearer | Silver-white tree | 银白之树 | 銀白の樹 | 은백 나무 |
| "silver-white tree" | ||||
| Energy Amplifier Initiation | Irminsul Fruit | 地脉之果 | 地脈の実 | 지맥의 열매 |
| "Ley Line Fruit" | ||||
| Mr. Melancholy | Irminsul energetics | 地脉能量 "Ley Line energy" |
「地脈の実」のエネルギー "Ley Line Fruit energy" |
지맥 에너지 "Ley Line Energy" |
Gallery[]
Notes[]
- ↑ When Greater Lord Rukkhadevata and Scaramouche were removed from Irminsul, there were some clearly erroneous persistent references to them that were later fixed to reflect their removals. No such changes have occurred for Weapons or Artifacts. Of particular note is the Artifact Set Husk of Opulent Dreams, the entirety of which details Scaramouche's life such that a hypothetical update to that set would entail a total overhaul of all five artifact descriptions.
- ↑ The term "return to Sarva" was used as a synonym for "passing away" when talking about Greater Lord Rukkhadevata,[13] implying that "Sarva" was the afterlife. However, Aranara have been mentioned to originate from Sarva,[14] return from Sarva,[15] or travel through Sarva.[16] Marana also has been stated to invade Sarva.[17] After Akasha Pulses, the Kalpa Flame Rises, Araja said that Sarva no longer remembered Marana,[13] which fits the definition of the Irminsul.
Other Languages[]
| Language | Official Name | Literal Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| English | Irminsul | — |
| Chinese (Simplified) | 世界树 Shìjièshù | World Tree |
| Chinese (Traditional) | 世界樹 Shìjièshù | |
| Japanese | 世界樹 Sekaiju | World Tree |
| Korean | 세계수세계수 Segyesu | World Tree |
| Spanish | Irminsul | — |
| French | Irminsul | — |
| Russian | Ирминсул Irminsul | — |
| Thai | Irminsul | — |
| Vietnamese | Cây Thế GiớiThế Giới | World Tree |
| German | Irminsul | — |
| Indonesian | Irminsul | — |
| Portuguese | Irminsul | — |
| Turkish | Irminsul | — |
| Italian | Irminsul | — |
Change History[]
References[]
- ↑ YouTube: Version 3.0 "The Morn a Thousand Roses Brings" Trailer
- ↑ Archon Quest, Chapter III, Act I - Through Mists of Smoke and Forests Dark, Part 6: Lost in Prosperity
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 Archon Quest, Chapter III, Act V - Akasha Pulses, the Kalpa Flame Rises, Part 5: A Toast to Victory
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Archon Quest, Chapter III, Act I - Through Mists of Smoke and Forests Dark, Part 3: Chronic Illness
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Challenge Result Item: Original Resin
- ↑ Consumable: Condensed Resin
- ↑ Weapon: Prototype Crescent
"In the end, he chose to use cudrania wood, fine steel and Irminsul branches brought back from the abyss." - ↑ 8.0 8.1 Archon Quest, Interlude Chapter, Act III - Inversion of Genesis, Part 1: The Night-Bird Falls at the Curtain's Call
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 Archon Quest, Chapter III, Act V - Akasha Pulses, the Kalpa Flame Rises, Part 4: Where the Boat of Consciousness Lies
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 Archon Quest, Interlude Chapter, Act III - Inversion of Genesis, Part 3: The Kabukimono's Finale
- ↑ Story Quest, Nahida, Sapientia Oromasdis Chapter: Act I - Lingering Warmth, Part 3: Dream of Farewell
- ↑ Archon Quest, Interlude Chapter, Act III - Inversion of Genesis, Part 2: A Dance of Destruction
- ↑ 13.0 13.1 NPC Dialogue: Araja (About "Marana"...)
- ↑ World Quest, Aranyaka: Part II - Dream Nursery, Part 1: The World of Aranara
- ↑ World Quest, Aranyaka: Part III - Nursery of Lost Dreams, Part 2: For the Children of the Past
- ↑ World Quest, Aranyaka: Part III - Nursery of Lost Dreams, Part 3: For All Children Who Long for Life
- ↑ World Quest, Aranyaka: Part III - Nursery of Lost Dreams, Part 1: For Fruits, Seeds, and Trees
- ↑ Albedo's Voice-Over: Interesting Things
- ↑ Lisa's Voice-Over: About Mona
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