Profile and Lore of the Four Shades in Genshin Impact

Profile and Lore of the Four Shades in Genshin Impact

Four shades play an important role in Genshin Impact. As the rulers and direct right-hand men of the Heavenly Principles, these four Gods are considered to have a greater role and power than the Archons.

A number of lore and the author will share the relationship between the Four Shades based on the story in the book, lore, and from the video “Teyvat Chapter Interlude Teaser: The Gods' Limits’ which was uploaded by Genshin Impact some time ago.

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Who are the Four Shades in Genshin Impact?

Long before the Archons came to power, the Four Shades were the strongest rulers who governed all the rules given by the Heavenly Principles in Teyvat.

It could be said that the divine beings are the direct right hands created by the Heavenly Principles or also known as the Primordial One.

The task of the Four Shades is to rule according to the rules or rule Teyvat according to the power given to the individual. 

For example, Shades of Life govern life, Shades of Time govern time, and so on. 

Before ruling, the Four Shades were created to defeat the Seven Sovereigns, or dragons who held elemental power or authority.

After the sovereigns were defeated and Heavenly Principles became the official God who ruled Teyvat, these Shades became a force whose job was to maintain the rules, including giving punishment if the rules of Heavenly Principles were violated.

The function of the Four Shades is, of course, completely opposite to that of the Angels. Angels are beings created by the Heavenly Principles to guide and teach knowledge to humans.

So you could say that Angels are the light, while Shades, as the name suggests, are the shadows that lead Teyvat in secret.

These Shades were once worshipped, such as Istaroth, who was worshipped alongside Barbatos, by the people of Mondstadt. This was eventually forgotten, and the people worshipped only Barbatos.

There are 4 shades, namely:

• Ruler of Life (Shade of Life)
• Lord of Death (Shade of Death)
• Ruler of Space (Shade of Space)
• Shade of Time

In the video “Teyvat Chapter Interlude Teaser: The Gods' Limits’, the Four Shades live in Celestia and regularly hold monthly meetings.

However, Asmoday mysteriously disappeared 500 years ago and is therefore absent.

Istaroth (Shade of Time)

Istaroth known as the Shade of Time, it is one of the first Shades that already has quite a lot of implied lore in the game.

His influence and contribution are very visible in various regions of Teyvat, especially Mondstadt, Chasm, Enkanomiya and Inazuma.

In Mondstadt, Istaroth is a god worshipped alongside Barbatos. This Anemo Archon is known to have gained power from Istaroth to liberate Mondstadt from Decarabia.

You can find this information on Nameless Island east of Mondstadt by completing the “Time and Wind” Quest, which is a Hidden Quest.

In Inazuma, Istaroth uses his power to help Raiden Makoto, the old Electro Archon, to plant a Sacred Sakura that can dispel the power of the Abyss.

This god, who has other names such as Laimelea, Tokoyo Ookami, and Kairos, is also a god worshipped in Enkanomiya, which is also part of Inazuma.

Istaroth also helps Zibai to protect his fragmented soul while sacrificing himself to protect the people of Lan-Gan, which we know to be the current territory of The Chasm. 

Asmoday (Shade of Space)

The Shade that rules this Space is more familiar to us Travelers as the Unknown God who kidnapped the Traveler's twin at the beginning of the game. 

With a form similar to Herscher of Void from the Honkai Impact 3rd game, Asmoday separates our twins who when the Traveler we choose wakes up are already on the side of the Abyss Order.

From the latest video “Teyvat Chapter Interlude Teaser: The Gods' Limits“, it is known that Asmoday disappeared and left his duties as a Shade.

Ronova, the Shade of Death, also said that Asmoday loved his new master more than himself to the point of abandoning his duties as a Shade.

If you have completed the quest that unlocks the Temple of Space, this suspicion is further strengthened by the loss of power in the Temple of Space that was previously created by Asmoday.

The place was created to store and record everything in Teyvat and is guarded by 2 Domain Keepers named Melanta and Nihilita.

From the Quest, it is told that Traveler helps prevent the destruction of the Temple of Space due to Asmoday's departure, where the rules in that place disappear and Melanta loses control and has the potential to destroy the place.

Uniquely, Asmoday has appeared several times showing portals in several quests.

For example, after we fought Melanta and when we met the Abyss Twin in Natlan, Asmoday's portal opened, indicating that the Lord of Space was watching over the events.

Ronova (Shade of Death)

Ronova is a Death Lord who is deeply tied to Khaen'riah, as are characters from that realm such as Capitano and Pierro who are Fatui Harbinger.

During the Cataclysm 500 years ago, the Heavenly Principles ordered Ronova to cast a curse of immortality that caused the people of Khaen'riah to become Hilicurls and Immortals.

Capitano, who was a Commander named Thrain of Khaen'riah before becoming a Harbinger, became a sacrifice for Natlan's pact with Ronova as part of revenge and to defy Ronova's curse of immortality.

From The Gods Limit Trailer, Ronova also received a hateful “stare” from Pierro.

Ronova said the look was given by a very familiar human when he cast the curse of immortality on Khaen'riah.

Rhinedottir, who takes over Naberius' duties in the trailer, also said that Pierro is an old colleague.

Considering Rhinedottir is one of the 5 Sinners of Khaen'riah, it's highly likely that Pierro and Ronova will be important figures in the Snezhnaya and Khaen'riah patches.

Naberius (Shade of Life)

The final Shades of the Four Shades is Naberius, who is the Lord of Life.

This Shade is the creator of Egeria, who is known as the first Hydro Archon to replace the heart for the Primordial Sea after the Hydro Dragon (one of the Sovereigns) was defeated.

Naberius has now been “swallowed” by Rhinedottir after Rhinedottir swallowed the heart of this Shade.

In the Interlude Chapter of Archon Quest Mondstadt – Paralogism, Albedo tells that he and his teacher and mother, Rhinedottir, found the Heart of Naberius artifact in a domain.

Rhinedottir, who discovered this artifact, immediately entrusted Albedo to Alice and disappeared.

It is in this God Limit trailer that Rhinedottir is known to have united with Naberius.

Even though Naberius' authority as the Shade of Life has passed to Rhinedottir, Naberius' consciousness still exists and often scolds Rhinedottir for using her powers carelessly.

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The author predicts the Four Shades will be a crucial part of the mysteries of Teyvat and the main plot of Genshin Impact. What are your thoughts on them? Share them in the comments!

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