The following contains spoilers for Act 5 of the Fontaine Archon Quests.Genshin Impact’snewest Archon, Furina de Fontaine, is the most confusing Archon to date. When she first greets the Traveler and Paimon at Romaritime Harbor, she comes off as arrogant and bratty. This demeanor only continues during Lyney and Lynette’s trial, and it’s not until the trial of the Fatui Harbinger, Childe, that she lets that facade slip for a minute out of confusion of the Oratrice Mecanique d’Analyse Cardinale’s guilty verdict. Her secrets aren’t revealed until Act 5 of Fontaine’s Archon Quests, and the truth is a plot twist in the making. Perhaps it is her unique and unexpected story that makes her one ofGenshin Impact’s best Archons.
Egeria
It all starts with the original Hydro Archon, Egeria. Her oceanid familiars wished to live as humans on land, but she did not have the authority to grant that wish. Not one to give up, she ended up finding a way to create hosts for her oceanids to occupy by utilizing the power of the Primordial Sea; by mixing Primordial Seawater into their composition, she created humanoid beings. However, if they were to ever come in contact with that same water, they would return to their original forms. By granting the oceanids the life they desired, she went againstthe Heavenly Principles, which they considered a sinful act. Thus, the prophecy was born that one day the waters of Fontaine would rise, dissolving the people of Fontaine and leaving the Hydro Archon to cry upon her throne.
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Focalors
Egeria left that prophecy problem to Focalors, her successor, who also happened to be one of her oceanid familiars. Focalors spent ages trying to come up with a solution to the issue, and came to one conclusion; she had to outwit the Heavenly Principles, allowing the prophecy to be fulfilled while also saving the people of Fontaine in the process. When she assumed the role of the Hydro Archon, she split her divinity in two so that she could still fulfill her wish to be human. Her divine side remained in essence, and took residence inside the Oratrice Mecanique d’Analyse Cardinale, along with the Hydro Gnosis. Her human side,Furina, was everything she’d always wanted to be. But, in order for Furina to play her part as the ruling Archon, Focalors had to curse her with immortality.
Furina
This immortality became the bane of Furina’s existence, forced to play an eternal role she never signed up for. Her first address to the people ofFontainewas soft and lacked the divine conviction of a godly demeanor. When her people began to suspect she was a fake, she joked that it was all a test, summoning courage and firmly asserting her dominance, she dramatized her speech to make herself believable. In public, she put up a godly facade, acting as the ruler of Fontaine. In private, she struggled with her heavy burden and awaited the day it would end. As the decades passed, it got harder and harder for her to bear, but nevertheless, she endured.
For 500 years, she played her part, suffering silently and acting like a god in the most human way possible. When the day ofFurina’s trialarrived, she continued to keep up the charade until the Oratrice Mecanique d’Analyse Cardinale declared her guilty, then Focalors revealed herself to Neuvillette while the Traveler entered Furina’s inner consciousness. After a long discussion with Neuvillette, Focalors freed Furina from her curse with a final curtain call; restoring Neuvillette to his full power as the hydro dragon sovereign and allowing Furina to become her own person, no longer burdened with Archon responsibilities.
WHERE TO PLAY
Step into Teyvat, a vast world teeming with life and flowing with elemental energy.You and your sibling arrived here from another world. Separated by an unknown god, stripped of your powers, and cast into a deep slumber, you now awake to a world very different from when you first arrived.Thus begins your journey across Teyvat to seek answers from The Seven — the gods of each element. Along the way, prepare to explore every inch of this wondrous world, join forces with a diverse range of characters, and unravel the countless mysteries that Teyvat holds…
