Teyvat Chapter Storyline Preview: Travail is a video released by official Genshin Impact media on September 27, 2020. It teased the storyline of the Archon Quests, as well as characters that are expected to appear in each nation.
Description[]
Prologue: The Outlander Who Caught the Wind
I: Farewell, Archaic Lord
II: Omnipresence Over Mortals
III. Truth Amongst the Pages of Purana
IV. Masquerade of the Guilty
V. Incandescent Ode of Resurrection
VI. Everwinter Without Mercy
Appearing Characters:
Mondstadt Chapter - Diluc
Liyue Chapter - Ningguang
Inazuma Chapter - Kamisato Ayaka
Sumeru Chapter - Cyno
Fontaine Chapter - Lyney and Lynette
Natlan Chapter - Iansan
Snezhnaya Chapter - Harbinger Pulcinella and followers
Khaenri'ah Chapter - Dainsleif
The Sea of Flowers at the End - The Traveler
Transcript[]
- Aether: We had no time to say goodbye, so let's not call it that.
- (Two shooting stars fly across the night sky)
- Dainsleif: The war has already begun. It is just a continuation of past battles.
- (A field of Inteyvat flowers glow and wave gently in the breeze, stars sparkling beneath them as if they were planted in the night sky)
- Dainsleif: The gods goad us on with the promise of their seven treasures. Rewards for the worthy. The doorway to divinity.
- Dainsleif: Yet buried in the depths of this world lies smoldering remains, a warning to those that dare trespass.
- (Aether and Lumine stand together in the field of flowers)
- Dainsleif: "That throne in the sky is not reserved for you."
- Dainsleif: But mortal arrogation never stops.
- Dainsleif: None will escape the flames.
- Dainsleif: See for yourself.
ACT.PROLOGUE: Mondstadt[]
- The Outlander Who Caught the Wind
- MEA LIBERTAS MEUS CANOR
- (Latin-Based Language: My freedom is my song)
- (Diluc is shown)
- Dainsleif: The dragon who defended Mondstadt for a millennium finally faces his perturbation.
- Dainsleif: What does freedom really mean, when demanded of you by a god?
ACT.I: Liyue[]
- Farewell, Archaic Lord
- RUAT CAELUM FIAT PACTUM
- (Latin-Based Language: Let the contract be made, though the heavens fall)
- (Ningguang is shown)
- Dainsleif: The God of Contracts, senselessly slaughtered as his people watched on in horror.
- Dainsleif: In the end, he will sign the contract to end all contracts.
ACT.II: Inazuma[]
- Omnipresence Over Mortals
- PERPETUA PERENNIS IMPERVIA
- (Latin-Based Language: Perpetual, perennial, impervious)
- (Kamisato Ayaka is shown)
- Dainsleif: In the secluded land of the immortal Shogun, the Bakufu rules eternal.
- Dainsleif: But what do mortals see of the eternity chased after by their god?
ACT.III: Sumeru[]
- Truth Amongst the Pages of Purana
- SUB FLOREIS LUMEN SAGACITATIS
- (Latin-Based Language: Under the flowers, the light of wisdom)
- (Cyno is shown)
- Dainsleif: The God of Wisdom's enemy is wisdom itself, and the oasis of knowledge is a mirage in the desert of ignorance.
- Dainsleif: In the city of scholars there is a push for folly, yet the God of Wisdom makes no argument against it.
ACT.IV: Fontaine[]
- Masquerade of the Guilty
- IUSTITIA OMNIA VINCIT
- (Latin-Based Language: Justice conquers all)
- (Lyney and Lynette are shown)
- Dainsleif: The God of Justice lives for the spectacle of the courtroom, seeking to judge all other gods.
- Dainsleif: But even she knows not to make an enemy of the divine.
ACT.V: Natlan[]
- Incandescent Ode of Resurrection
- SURGE VIR FORTIS I NATAM VICTORIAM
- (Latin-Based Language: Rise, O strong man, and go to your destined victory)
- (Iansan is shown)
- Dainsleif: The rules of war are woven in the womb: the victors shall burn bright, while the losers must turn to ash.
- Dainsleif: When the God of War shares this secret with the Traveler, it is because she has her reasons.
ACT.VI: Snezhnaya[]
- Everwinter Without Mercy
- DUCAM REGINA MEA GLORIA HAUD PLURIBUS IMPAR
- (Latin-Based Language: I, nigh unmatched Queen by my glory, shall be guide)
- (Pulcinella and followers are shown)
- Dainsleif: She is a god with no love left for her people, nor do they have any left for her.
- Dainsleif: Her followers hope only to be on her side when the day of her rebellion against the divine comes at last.
ACT.??: Khaenri'ah[]
- (Dainsleif is shown)
- Dainsleif: In the perpetual meantime of a sheltered eternity, most are content to live, and not to dream.
- Dainsleif: But in the hidden corners where the gods' gaze does not fall, there are those who dream of dreaming.
- Dainsleif: Some say a few are chosen and the rest are dregs, but I say we humans have our humanity.
- Dainsleif: We will defy this world with a power from beyond.
- Dainsleif: Now, you who has set foot in this world.
- (A figure in silhouette stands in the glowing field of Inteyvat flowers)
- Dainsleif: Your journey has reached its end, but one final doorway remains.
- (Aether stands alone at sunset in the field)
- Dainsleif: Step forth, if you have understood the meaning of your journey.
- Dainsleif: Defeat me, command me to step aside, show me that you are worthier than I to rescue her.
- Dainsleif: Then, the threads of all fate will be yours to re-weave.
- Dainsleif: My memory has all but faded completely... But I will always remember how much she too, loved these flowers.
Chinese Transcript[]
Much like the manga, Travail was translated early in Genshin Impact's development. As a result, some terms which are consistent between the original Chinese version of Travail and the Chinese text in the game, are inconsistent in their English equivalents. Due to the significance Travail plays in hinting the plot of the Teyvat Chapter, a transcript of the original Chinese version and an unofficial English translation has been provided.
Some translations may still be inaccurate or open to interpretation due to a lack of plot details at the time of the translation of the trailer, and complications in conveying concepts across multiple languages.
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Translation Notes[]
- ↑ 企及 means "to hope for, hope to reach a higher standards." Here, it implies that humans can attain godhood.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 僭越 "to usurp, to overstep one's authority" is localized as "arrogation" in Dainsleif's seventh line Travail and in the Unknown God's line in the opening cutscene, and as "dare trespass" in Dainsleif's fifth line in Travail. This unofficial translation has translated it as "overstep" to preserve the idea of "crossing over," or movement in general, which is indicated by the second character 越.
- ↑ 隔岸观火 lit. "To watch a fire from the other side of the river" is a Chinese idiom for waiting to enter a conflict until everyone else has exhausted themselves from fighting each other.
- ↑ 千手百眼 "Thousand-Armed Hundred-Eyed" is a reference to the Buddhist bodhisattva Guanyin, known as Kannon in Japanese. The English localization consistently translates this phrase as "omnipresent god" in-game (see also Statue of the Omnipresent God).
- ↑ The meaning of the Chinese text here is ambiguous: it can either mean that "in mortals' eyes, what kind of eternity did she see?", or "what kind of eternity does the god saw within mortals' eyes?". Though the first interpretation is used here, as it is consistent with word ordering in the original Chinese text, the second interpretation could also be a subtle allusion to the Vision Hunt Decree, as "Vision" is given as "God's Eye" in Chinese.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 See the Trivia section for a more thorough breakdown of this Act title.
- ↑ "God's wisdom" or "wisdom of god" is a more direct translation of 神的智慧 than the English localization's "God of Wisdom," which is normally a translation of 智慧之神. The phrase "god's wisdom" may be a reference to gnosis, a term in Gnosticism which means "divine wisdom." In Genshin, a Gnosis is an item held by The Seven which grants them a connection to Celestia.
- ↑ 罪人 can translate as "guilty person" or "sinner." The localization of Travail went with the former interpretation (Masquerade of the Guilty) whereas in-game and in promotional material released after the game's global launch, the latter translation is used more often.
- ↑ The English localization's choice of "Masquerade" alludes to the masquerade ball, which typically involves dancing; the most well-known ballroom dance is the waltz, a dance which has its dancers rhythmically turn in a circle.
- ↑ 余烬 can translate to either "ashes" or "embers." See the Trivia section for details.
- ↑ 底蕴 is difficult to translate. It can mean "a foundational knowledge hidden in the heart," or a "reality beneath the surface."
Trivia[]
- The line "That throne in the sky is not reserved for you" contains some untranslatable wordplay: In Chinese, both in-game and in the real world constellations, the word "throne" (Chinese: 座) is used in the names of constellations.
- In Genshin, Constellations are normally labeled the 命之座 "Constellation (Seat) of Life." However, the Traveler's Chinese official introduction labeled it 命之座 (伪), where 伪 means "false" or "pseudo." (In-game, their Constellation is labeled normally.)
- Sumeru's Act title, Truth Amongst the Pages of Purana (Chinese: 虚空劫灰往世书 "The Purana of Akasha Calamity Ash,") is an extremely tricky title to translate due to the relative obscurity of Vedic religions in the English vernacular compared to Chinese, and the relative lack of information about the Sumeru Chapter's plot at the time of translation.
- Puranas are a genre of Indian literature that covers a wide array of subjects, typically relating to legends and other traditional myths. It is also a Hindi word meaning "old" in a nostalgic or memorable context.
- The term 劫 jié may be short for 劫波 (Old Chinese:
*kab *paːl; Chinese: jiébō), a Sanskrit loanword from "kalpa" (Sanskrit: कल्प). In Hindu and Buddhist cosmology, a kalpa is an immense period of time, generally between the creation and recreation of a world or universe. Therefore, an alternate translation for the phrase 劫灰 jiéhuī can also be "kalpa ash," referring to the ashes left behind at the destruction of a world at the end of a kalpa.[1]
- In the line "In the city of scholars there is a push for folly" (Chinese: 学城的学者正在催生愚行 "In the city of learning, the scholars are pushing for foolishness"), the word "folly" (Chinese: 愚 "foolishness") is a play on words. Dainsleif is both denouncing the scholars' actions and alluding to their connection to the Fatui (Latin: Fools; Chinese: 愚人众 "Group of Fools.")
- In the manga, a seer from Sumeru was Il Dottore's subordinate, suggesting that the Fatui have had supporters from Sumeru Akademiya for a while.
- 还魂, translated as "Resurrection" in Natlan's Incandescent Ode of Resurrection, is typically defined by Chinese-English dictionaries as "return from the dead" or "revival after death." However, this definition does not fully encompass its cultural context and erroneously suggests that the deceased in question is being resurrected back to life. The concepts revolving around this term have undergone many variations with exposure to different belief systems, and thus, it is not easily defined. A brief explanation is provided below:
- In Chinese folk religions, each person is believed to have two types (or components) of souls: the spiritual, yang hun (Chinese: 魂); and the corporeal, yin po (Chinese: 魄). The exact number of souls a person has varies according to different beliefs, but Daoist beliefs typically claim that there are three hun and seven po.
- When a person dies, the hun ascends to heaven, while the po stay with the body. For a period of time afterwards, the po will periodically return to the mortal world (还魂/回魂) to visit their family during their journey to the underworld. Many variations in this period of time exist, but they usually involve groups of seven po.
- Qiqi's name, which literally translates to "Seven-Seven," is a reference to an East Asian Buddhist ritual performed every seven days for seven weeks (for a total of 49 days) following a person's death, which is based on this Chinese belief.
- In the phrase "The victors burn bright, while the losers turn into ash" (Chinese: 败者成为战火的余烬，而胜者重燃 "The defeated become embers of the fires of war, while the victors will reignite,") 余烬 can translate as either "ashes" or "embers." It was translated as "ashes" in Travail, but in-game, it is usually translated as "embers" while 灰烬 is translated as "ashes." Embers still contain fuel, so they can be reignited and restored back to a full flame. Ashes have burnt through all their fuel and cannot reignite without an external fuel source. Juxtaposed with the second half of the sentence — where 重燃 literally translates to "burn again" and has an ambiguous subject — an alternate interpretation of this line could be "The defeated become the embers of the fires of war, while the victors reignite them [the embers]." In this interpretation, the "defeated" is a metaphor for Khaenri'ah, while some of The Seven — who were the "victors" of the cataclysm — are "reigniting" the conflict against the Heavenly Principles which Khaenri'ah presumably started.
- 余烬 is also used as a metaphor for the scattered remnants of a defeated military force. While the context makes it unlikely as a direct translation, it may lend to the idea of Khaenri'ah survivors as the "defeated."
- After completing the Hidden Strife event, an optional interactable on top of the Knights of Favonius' headquarters contains a paper Kaeya salvaged during his childhood. On it is written: "[...] we of the Alberich Clan should lead lives as those who blaze like fire, rather than those who wallow in the embers" (Chinese: 可我亚尔伯里奇一族的生命应是瞬息辉煌的烈焰，而非黯淡苟活的余烬).
- During the second phase of the Narukami Island: Tenshukaku trounce domain, La Signora's original Chinese boss title is 焚尽的炽炎魔女 lit. "Burning witch which has burned to completion," which fits closer to the concept of ashes; one of the Talent Level-Up Materials from the domain, Ashen Heart (Chinese: 灰烬之心), uses the typical term for "ashes." However, the English localization opted to translate her boss title as "Crimson Witch of Embers."
- The first three playable characters featured in the video — Diluc, Ningguang, and Kamisato Ayaka — all have places of residence that can be entered: the Dawn Winery, the Jade Chamber, and the Yashiro Commission Headquarters respectively. The Traveler even compares the three during Archon Quest Three Wishes in Chapter II: Act I - The Immovable God and the Eternal Euthymia.
- While Cyno's current place of residence is unknown, he grew up within the Sumeru Akademiya[2] and thus somewhat continues the trend.
- Lyney and Lynette break the trend, as although they are known to live in the Hotel Bouffes d'ete, which can be found in the open world,[3] their home cannot be entered.
Other Languages[]
| Language | Official Name | Literal Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| English | Travail | — |
| Chinese (Simplified) | 足迹 | |
| Chinese (Traditional) | 足跡 | |
| Japanese | 足跡 | |
| Korean | 발자취 Baljachwi | |
| Spanish | Huellas | Footprints |
| French | Les Traces | The Traces |
| Russian | Тейват Teyvat | |
| Thai | รอยเท้า | |
| Vietnamese | Dấu Chân | |
| German | Fußspuren | Footprints |
| Indonesian | Jejak Kaki | Footprints |
| Portuguese | Trilha | |
| Turkish | Ayak İzi | |
| Italian | Orme |
References[]
- ↑ Chinese Wikisource: 劫灰（佛学大辞典）
- ↑ Event Windblume's Breath Quest, Windblume Festival: Part III, Part 3: Joy Above the Clouds
- ↑ Archon Quest, Chapter IV, Act I - Prelude of Blancheur and Noirceur, Part 2: The City of Rains and Remembrance
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