#chasm lore

DISCLAIMER: This post series will be spoiler and leak free. It will also be relatively free of speculation or theorizing, but I will state if and when I am making an assumption about a piece of information. Still, this is all just my interpretation of the lore - information may be incomplete, I may misunderstand something, and I also may miss some details. I have done my best to provide a starting point, but it is by no means definitive or exhaustive - and please correct me if there are mistakes :)

Han and Yun

As I mentioned where we left off, the end of the Cataclysm brought a victory for Liyue, but at an enormous cost. The Millelith suffered an innumerable amount of casualties, its fallen soldiers slumbering eternally in the Chasm’s depths. Though this victory brought peace again to Liyue, the severely weakened military brought an anxiety upon the people that gave birth to a martial arts renaissance, and another boom in the mining and forging industries. During this time, the Blackcliff Forge may have expanded rapidly into Mt. Tianheng, and mining activity in the Chasm resumed.

The Han family was one renowned mining family that operated their own furnace, and was headed by Han Wu in the time after the Cataclysm. Han Wu had one son, Han Ce, who he insisted must take over the family business of mining when he became too old to continue himself. However, Han Ce had other interests for himself that lay far beyond the reaches of the forge - he read martial arts fiction, practiced his own combat arts with the polearm in secret, and craved the life of an adventurer and a wanderer. He loved adventure for the sake of adventure, keeping “goals” such as finding an aerosiderite source or seeking the wisdom of the adepti as mere afterthoughts (Blackcliff Pole). Han Wu and Han Ce would quarrel over this disagreement for many years.

Han Wu was also close with a man named Yun Hui, then-head of the Yun family and an ancestor of Yun Jin’s. At this time, the Yun family were “weaponsmiths” and also operated a forge of their own. Yun Hui and Han Wu joined creative forces in the aftermath of the Cataclysm to “find a way to push past the constraints of contemporary blade design” (Prototype Archaic) as demand for weapons sky-rocketed. Among this demand was a request from the thaumaturges (Shenhe and Chongyun’s family line) that arrived in Qingce Village (Prototype Amber).

Together, they drafted the forging blueprints for what are now known as the Prototype weapons. Yun Hui often requested a weapon’s initial forging from Han Wu, who provided him with the Prototype Crescent, Prototype Archaic, Prototype Rancour, and Prototype Starglitter.

These weapons would become the blueprint for mass production of weapons in Liyue. The White Tassel, used by the Millelith, would also come as a response to this call to arms as it was mass produced in the Blackcliff Forge.

But the Prototypes would never be enough. Liyue’s thirst for greater weapons continued, until Han Wu “overhauled his entire weapon catalog” in favor of the use of blackcliff crystal. In contrast to the Prototype weapons, which used cudrania wood, Irminsul branches, Cor Purum, black steel, and gold, this new forging method differed in the required temperature and type of water for cooling the ore, presenting an even greater challenge to the weaponsmith who would attempt it - still, it is a challenge that any weaponsmith who truly strived for greatness, who wished to “free himself from the shackles” (Prototype Rancour) must overcome. Human greed knows no limits, after all.

Later still, Yun Hui would join the Liyue Qixing, abandoning his role as Yun clan head and passing the responsibilities of the forge on. Han Ce, the son of Han Wu, would also finally have his last quarrel with his father over assuming the role of clan head, and embark on an adventure of his own. Yun Hui’s only daughter Yun Huang assumed the role of Yun clan head as a woman in a role traditionally filled by men. This brought her struggles of her own, for the mass production of weapons and increasing use of blackcliff crystal was beginning to show signs of consequences:

"The myriad mountains of Tianheng are a trove of a thousand treasures, for deep within the rocks bounteous jade gleams gloriously." This is to say, mining prospered in Liyue under Rex Lapis' rule.

One by one the ore deposits in Mt. Tianheng and the surrounding area would run dry, and the miners would dig further. The result was a network of mine shafts stretching across the region in all directions. At their deepest point, the mines reached all the way to the earth's core.

Slowly, the once-quiet region was beset by increasingly frequent disturbances.

-Blackcliff Agate

Though this very type of activity had led to Azhdaha’s attack on Liyue in the not-so-distant past, Liyue had not learned its lesson. As the land was overexploited once more, earthquakes struck with increasing frequency, causing landslides and cave-ins that killed miners in the middle of operations.

“The continent was troubled. Even the loftiest of peaks and deepest of caves collapsed to a symphony of low roars. The bounty of the earth beneath them became almost unreachable, threatening to bring an end to the legacy of their craft.”

In the midst of this, Han Wu was still making weapons and searching for ways to push his craft. With his friend Yun Hui now a member of the influential Qixing, he leveraged his power to request a squadron to accompany him in the Chasm. However, they were halted by a mining accident, a sudden cave-in, that trapped them for four days.

The never-ending darkness of the cave-in drove some of the members of Han Wu’s crew mad. It was only by the light of the prototype of the Blackcliff Longsword he brought with him that he was able to cut a path for them out of the rocks.

Four days in darkness changed Han Wu’s temperament permanently. Whereas before he was hot-headed, he was now mellow and found it in his heart to forgive his son Han Ce, who had rushed home from his travels at the news of his father’s accident (Blackcliff Pole). Han Ce had heard that the “earth’s core [the Chasm] was sealed off due to a monster infestation” (Blackcliff Slasher) as well:

“Han Wu was racked with guilt upon hearing the news. He was certain that it was his trip into the mine that had disturbed the dragon from underground and the meteorite from the heavens.”

Vague superstitions aside, Han Wu left his sick bed that night and forged the Blackcliff Slasher, tasking Han Ce with bringing the broadsword to the mine shaft in the Chasm. He constructed a tall shrine and placed the sword within, hoping to ward off evil and “rebuke the dragon.”

When Han Wu passed many years later, he left his treasured Prototype weapon blueprints to Han Ce, the same ones he had drafted with Yun Hui, and the night of his passing the sword within the shrine “shone faintly, as if weeping with bereavement.” Han Ce retrieved it from the shrine, and later went on to forge the Blackcliff Agate with Yun Huang for the thaumaturges, as well as the Blackcliff Warbow and Blackcliff Polearm from the aerosiderite of a meteor that landed right before his feet on the night of his father’s death. "As the issue arose from Blackcliff, so too shall it end by Blackcliff."

Recent Rumblings

So, spoiler alert, but even after the numerous earthquakes, another Chasm sealing, and the creation of the Blackcliff weapons, mining resumed in Liyue. However, the earth has a longer memory than humanity, and it is responding accordingly.

“Veteran miners can tell how deep beneath the surface they are based on the color of the rock beneath their feet. Once this kind of rock starts to appear, it means The Chasm is right up ahead. Because of this, it has been named the "Chasm's Doorstep."

However, due to recent ley line disturbances, this stone has started appearing all over the place, rendering the miners' experience useless.” -Furniture: Chasm’s Doorstep

Calling back to the Blackcliff Agate’s weapon lore, the following notice can be found in the Chasm’s outskirts:

Notice: "The myriad mountains of Tianheng are a trove of a thousand treasures, for deep within the rocks bounteous jade gleams gloriously. Yet, sinister forces now beset the Chasm; its glorious gems are hidden and their crimson glow gone. The road to the retrieval of riches is rife with ruin... perilous is the path to the procurement of precious elixirs..."

Notice: "Wherefore did I immediately proceed to discuss this predicament with all Yuehai Pavilion, that they might vote on the fate of mining activities at the Chasm. Their verdict today was that it is inadvisable to continue, and all activity should cease immediately. Let it be known to all: eschew lust for riches and instead pine for a better tomorrow; be drawn not to noctilucous glow, but instead set your gaze on the perfect guidance of fate and time."

Here lies the lesson that Liyue would do well to learn, though it is not one of asceticism but rather of temperance. When the Traveler arrives in Liyue Harbor, speaking to Manager Kuan reveals something concerning:

Manager Kuan: Every day the Chasm remains sealed is a day the Blackcliff Forge cannot go to work.

Manager Kuan: The Ministry of Civil Affairs just said that they'd dug "something" up at the Chasm, and then sealed the place without another word.

Manager Kuan: Several hundred people rely on the forge for their livelihood. What will these people do now that there's no work to be had...

As the Chasm’s lack of activity affects the Blackcliff Forge’s livelihood, Manager Kuan asks the Traveler to see for themself whether the Chasm really has become dangerous. As we arrive at its outer perimeter, the place is swarming with Hilichurls and Treasure Hoarders. Deeming it indeed too unsafe for mining, the Traveler returns to Manager Kuan who laments the inability of the Forge to meet their annual quotas with no end to the sealing in sight.

So we see, the Chasm’s sealing is having an economic impact on Liyue. Still, you can’t argue with the Qixing when you consider that the “something” they dug up is most likely this bad boy:

*Reptile by Nine Inch Nails plays in the background*

All I know is time is running out, the patch is in 24 hours, and I could not be more excited to get to this place. Thank you for coming along on this journey with me!!

EDIT: 2 months later I now realize this is also the story of the formation of the Yun-Han Opera Troupe, which Yun Jin is a part of 😭 that’s some deep shit.

References

Genshin Timeline

Quests

https://genshin-impact.fandom.com/wiki/Blackcliff_Woes

Weapons

https://genshin-impact.fandom.com/wiki/Blackcliff_Series

DISCLAIMER: This post series will be spoiler and leak free. It will also be relatively free of speculation or theorizing, but I will state if and when I am making an assumption about a piece of information. Still, this is all just my interpretation of the lore - information may be incomplete, I may misunderstand something, and I also may miss some details. I have done my best to provide a starting point, but it is by no means definitive or exhaustive - and please correct me if there are mistakes :)

A Star Approaches

The story of the Chasm begins over 6000 years ago in-game, placing it millenia before the Archon War. The majority of the formation event is currently discoverable in Records of Jueyun Volume 6: Hidden Jade. It states that the Chasm was formed when a star descended to the “barren plains west of Liyue,” a detail of note given that Liyue’s land historically has periods of high floods followed by the seas being raised by Rex Lapis, such as in Lingju Pass + Qingxu Pool, as well as Dihua Marsh (once a plains land). When the star landed, a fragment of it may have broken off (“legend has it”) and landed in northern Lisha, forming a basin-like shape into the valley that is visible from Mt. Tianheng. As Dunyu Ruins is the northernmost portion of Lisha before the Minlin province begins at Tianqiu Valley, it is commonly theorized that this meteorite fragment would have formed Dunyu Ruins’ geography specifically.

Dunyu Ruins as seen from the top of Mt. Tianheng. Notice the "stepped" rock formations to the right and spiral shape reminiscent of promotional pictures for The Chasm.

This star, however, had its own “temper” that differed from the rocks within the earth. The author claims that the star did not appreciate the discordance from the Archon War, and after nearly 3,500 years of resting in that western plain, the star actually “leaped away towards the heavens,” despite the earth formation of the Chasm itself pleading with the star to remain with it.

When the star fled, the people discovered bounteous fields of jade in the strange chasm formation left behind. It is unclear whether this jade already existed beneath the earth at this location, or whether the star’s impact created it, though it should be noted that Records of Jueyun refers to the star as “heavenly jade” in a later passage. The author then claims that people built “great cities and mighty fortresses” within the Chasm, “finding refuge and shutting themselves in with the leftover inheritance of that fallen star.” A good future research question might ask what exactly these people found refuge from, and whether these cities were built during the Archon War or afterward.

From left to right: Qingxu Pool, Lingju Pass, The Chasm, and Dunyu Ruins.

What is certain is that the Dunyu civilization is separate from Rex Lapis’s people in Liyue Harbor, with whom this civilization “maintained prosperous relations” over the millennia following the Archon War. Records of Jueyun refers to Dunyu’s ancient structures as “redoubts,” suggesting they had a defensive purpose. Again, defense from what exactly? This also appears to be the time when the mining industry was established in the region. The Chasm is not the only place where the mining industry boomed in Liyue - Mingyun Village and the Blackcliff Forge more recently also prospered with the Geo Archon’s dominion, with the Blackcliff Forge serving as both a forge for ore found in the Chasm, as well as a mining operation of its own right operating in Mt. Tianheng (More About Zhongli II). EDIT: Oh yeah also this kinda sorta huge thing happened once mining was established at the Chasm - after a long time, Azhdaha went berserk as the mining activity damaged the Ley Lines, which sustained him as a geovishap made of elemental crystal. With his mind already eroding, the mining that occurred between the end of the Archon War and the Cataclysm drove him to madness, and he began attacking Liyue. It took Morax and several adepti to subdue him, with their battle spilling out from the Chasm into western Liyue, eventually ending in Azhdaha’s sealing beneath the Dragon-Queller tree. This was a major loss for Morax, among one of the events that he attributes to his own erosion. Don’t know how I could have missed that one.

It was only upon the advent of the Cataclysm 500 years ago that prosperity broke down and the ancient city was sealed away by the Dunyu civilians. At this time, it is unclear if the upside-down city seen in the version 2.6 trailer is the city Dunyu sealed away. None who survived the Cataclysm will speak of what occurred at Dunyu.

…And that’s about it for the early history! The Cataclysm era is the real meat of the Chasm’s currently available history, and that will be covered in the next post. It will discuss the Han family, the Yun family (yes, as in Yun Jin), and the descent of yet another star into the mines. EDIT: As of Patch 2.6, this was a misunderstanding of Tenacity of the Millelith. The only meteorite that ever descended was this first one.

References

Records of Jueyun, Volume 6: Hidden Jade

Blackcliff Woes

Zhongli Voicelines

The Chasm

DISCLAIMER: This post series will be spoiler and leak free. It will also be relatively free of speculation or theorizing, but I will state if and when I am making an assumption about a piece of information. Still, this is all just my interpretation of the lore - information may be incomplete, I may misunderstand something, and I also may miss some details. I have done my best to provide a starting point, but it is by no means definitive or exhaustive - and please correct me if there are mistakes :)

Order Guides You

Kun Jun: In the beginning, in order to open up new territory and increase production, the citizens of Liyue came to the mountains to mine. Overexploitation caused the Ley Lines to quake, which brought untold suffering to "us."

Following the Archon War and the departure of the meteorite that created the Chasm, an age of mining began in Liyue. Places such as Mingyun Village, the Blackcliff Forge, and the Chasm were established as centers of activity and provided jobs to the people, with their rich sources of minerals and ores.

Some mines, however, would dry up. Mingyun Village is one such example. There’s no clear point on the timeline when the village was abandoned and its workers transferred to the Chasm, but with its mines’ closure came another influx of workers to that place. This speaks to the bounty of this place, revealed by the “heavenly jade” that fell there 4000 years prior. In addition, the Blackcliff Forge served as both a mining and forging operation in the Mt. Tianheng area, mining for the exceedingly rare blackcliff crystal, as well as jade.

“Have you heard of the origin of the Blackcliff Forge? In the past, they would mine the ore veins of Mt. Tianheng, and then replace the cavities with factory equipment. Tunnels run in all directions throughout the mountain — some even run to the ruins deep within the earth. I doubt there is a person today who could map out all the tunnels.” -More About Zhongli II

As the last post mentioned, as mining exploded in the region, particularly in the Chasm, the land was overexploited and the Ley Lines were damaged. This enraged Azhdaha, who had already been declining over the years and was beginning to pose a danger to himself and to others. As a being who was “forged of elemental crystal” and sustained by the Ley Lines, the relentless expansion of humanity and the pain they inflicted on the earth “brought untold suffering” to him. When Azhdaha attacked the Chasm, Morax called upon the adepti, including at the very least Mountain Shaper and Moon Carver, to battle with Azhdaha and seal him away, his contract with Morax now broken.

Linlang: This crane must be the adeptus Mountain Shaper, and this deer might be Moon Carver. But this last one...

Linlang: Eh? It seems like this pattern has been... intentionally ground away by someone, to the point where I can't make it out. Who was this third adeptus?

The mystery of this third adeptus aside, this battle spilled out from the Chasm into western Liyue. The earth remembers this battle well, and Azhdaha’s anguish from this time was inscribed into the land. At Tianqiu Valley, an area that was utterly ruined by this fight, Treasure Hoarders looking for the Nameless Treasure stored there reported feelings of impending doom about a “dragon-lord,” hallucinating monsters following them out of the ruins, in addition to the very real and endless swarms of monsters in the area.

Ancient Tablet: "At Tianqiu Valley the adepti's ancient trail grows cold, I fall down and weep at the ruins I see. Though defeated is mighty Azhdaha of old, there's no restoring this past land of beauty."

Another Star Approaches

Still, after Azhdaha was subdued, mining resumed in the Chasm and Mt. Tianheng. Until one fateful day, 500 years ago, another meteorite fell to the earth in the same location as that which had formed the Chasm 5500 years prior EDIT: With the newly released patch 2.6, this is now confirmed to be a misunderstanding from the vague way it is written below. In fact, there was only ever one meteorite, and it turned the land to Glazed Sand Crystal on impact. The Abyss must have come forth through some other means:

“In an age when solemn songs were sung from the clifftops, a meteorite once fell into the Chasm. Out of the depths of the boundless night sky above, the iron meteorite plummeted to the ground, turning the earth to Glazed Sand Crystal on impact. Though human life is fleeting, Rex Lapis personally ordered the Millelith to rush to the defense of the mines.

As the Abyss flooded forth, the Millelith escorted countless civilians to safety.

Miners tell tales of a small number of troops from the rearguard, who remained in the Chasm.

Together with the nameless yaksha, they fought courageously until they, too, made the ultimate sacrifice among the jagged rocks.”

-Flower of Accolades, Tenacity of the Millelith

It is not immediately clear whether the Abyss came from the meteorite itself, or whether the meteorite's impact provided an opening somehow by creating a rift for them to pass through.

It is also still a mystery who this nameless yaksha was. We have a few hints pointing to his identity as the Electro Yaksha from Xiao’s story quest, but this is also contested by some theorists.

The main supporting evidence that this was the Electro Yaksha comes from the new Vermillion Hereafter set, which features a circlet mask that resembles the Electro Yaksha’s mask from Xiao’s story quest. What’s more, we know from that story quest that the Electro Yaksha vanished without a trace. In Tenacity of the Millelith, a nameless yaksha assists the Millelith with their battle against the Abyss, though:

“the people claim that [he]...was not, in fact, under the command of Rex Lapis. Instead, they believe that it was an act of redemption from a longstanding sin…a price paid for cowardice and dereliction of duty” (Ceremonial War-Plume).

I take this to mean that the nameless yaksha was acting on his own, and that Rex Lapis had not directly commanded his presence at the Chasm the way he once did when he called on the Five to vanquish evil in Liyue. However, a conflicting account appears in the General’s Ancient Helm, where the opposite claim is written:

“At the order of Rex Lapis, the yaksha fought a bloody battle against the warped creations of the Abyss.”

While this complicates things, and may suggest there was more than one nameless yaksha at the scene, in this post I will be operating under the assumption that the nameless yaksha from TotM is the Electro one, and that there is only one.

As the Abyss darkened the skies above the Chasm, the Millelith relied on the Orichalceous Time-Dial to mark the passage of time during the battle, protecting each squadron from the “karma” (ahem….maybe corruption) of slaughter by establishing an “advance and repeat” rhythm to their march. As one squadron retreated, another would advance in their place to minimize their exposure. This rhythm led the Millelith into the tunnels below, where they battled it out until the Abyss retreated.

The Cataclysm decimated the Millelith. Many soldiers fell in the fighting, and though peace prevailed after their victory, the Cataclysm would spark a “martial arts renaissance” in Liyue that led to the creation of the Prototype and Blackcliff weapons.

As for the nameless yaksha, their fate appears to be lost to time. The General’s Ancient Helm proposes that:

“...when the gloom that had filled the skies above The Chasm had finally dissipated, the yaksha disappeared without a trace.”

The Ceremonial War-Plume states that:

“in the end, the brave yaksha and fearless citizenry would sink into an exhausted slumber in the dark lair of the enemy,”

and also

“whatever the truth of the matter, the yaksha that had once soared through celestial heights had now returned to a free existence amongst the clouds.”

Perhaps we will get some answers from Vermillion Hereafter and Echoes of an Offering. For now, the truth is very unclear.

In the next post, I will briefly discuss the Han family and Yun family in more detail, and cover more recent Chasm events that we the players have been able to experience through little world quests. :) Three more sleeps until the new patch!

References

Genshin Wiki Timeline for guidance (seriously y’all I nearly pulled my hair out reading the blackcliff and prototype weapons lore, thank god for this resource and its contributors).

Other Theories for Further Reading and Food for Thought

More than one nameless yaksha by Zaura and Ashikai

Yaksha-Element Matching by Zaura

Quests

https://genshin-impact.fandom.com/wiki/No_Mere_Stone

https://genshin-impact.fandom.com/wiki/Hidden_in_Nameless_Treasures

https://genshin-impact.fandom.com/wiki/Trails_in_Tianqiu

Artifact set