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This Article Contains Spoilers -
WARNING: This article contains major spoilers. If you do not wish to know vital information on plot / character elements in a story, you may not wish to read beyond this warning: We hold no responsibility for any negative effects these facts may have on your enjoyment of said media should you continue. That is all. |
| “ | In the perpetual meantime of a sheltered eternity, most are content to live and not to dream. But in the hidden corners where the Gods' gaze does not fall, there are those who dream of dreaming. Some say a few are chosen and the rest are dregs, but I say we humans have our humanity. We will defy this world with a power from beyond. | „ |
| ~ Dainsleif on the Gods and humanity. |
| “ | A traveler... you say? Hmph. Why are you traveling? (Traveler: I'm looking for my lost relative.) Well, that's as good a reason as any... Sit down over there, then. | „ |
| ~ Dainsleif when he meet the Traveler. |
| “ | That said, I only take commissions related to the Abyss Order | „ |
| ~ Dainsleif to Traveler and Paimon of his intentions. |
| “ | Then you will give your life just to delay the inevitable? How absurd. But since you wish to persist, then so be it! | „ |
| ~ Dainsleif when confront the Abyss Herald for the final time. |
Dainsleif or Dain for short, also known as the Bough Keeper and the Twilight Sword, is the tritagonist (and upcoming playable character) in the 2020 action role-playing fantasy video game Genshin Impact.
Dainsleif was the captain of the Royal Guard of the Kingdom of Khaenri'ah's ruling Eclipse Dynasty. His nation was destroyed by the Heavenly Principles and he was cursed with immortality, forsaken to wander the land of Teyvat alone until his mind eroded. His soldiers has transformed into mindless Black Serpent Knights after they were engulfed by the curse of immortality. He was dedicated to stopping the Abyss Order, a genocidal organization of monsters linked to Khaenri'ah, from toppling the nations of Teyvat.
He is voiced by Ye Sun in Chinese, Yuri Lowenthal in English, Choi Han in Korean, and Kenjiro Tsuda in Japanese. Lowenthal also voiced Ben Tennyson in Ben 10, Sasuke Uchiha in Naruto, Spider-Man in Marvel's Spider-Man, Cecil Harvey in Final Fantasy IV, the Prince in Prince of Persia, Simon in Gurren Lagann, Yosuke Hanamura in Persona 4, Suzaku Kururugi in Code Geass, Sun Ce in Dynasty Warriors, Shinra Kishitani in Durarara!!, and Smoke in Mortal Kombat 1. Tsuda also voiced Kento Nanami in Jujutsu Kaisen, Seto Kaiba in Yu-Gi-Oh!, Kishibe in Chainsaw Man, Atomic Samurai in One Punch Man, and Hannes in Attack on Titan.
Appearance
Dainsleif is a tall and slender man with shaggy, medium-length light blond hair and sea blue eyes with diamond-shaped pupils distinct to Khaenri'ahns. His clothing, which was considered strange by the people of Mondstadt, consists of black trousers, a grey jacket with dark-blue detailing, armored black gloves and boots, and a black eyepatch-like mask that covered the right side of his face while still keeping his right eye exposed. He also wore a long, black cape with a large collar and a starry-looking dark-blue interior.
Personality
Dainsleif's personality is quite enigmatic, although glimpses of his personality has clearly showed him to be a calm, stern man with a heavy burden on his shoulders.
Due to the destruction of Khaenri'ah and the curses placed on the survivors, such as himself, Dainsleif is ambivalent at best and contemptous at worst towards deities. His lines in the story trailer professes how he believes in equality amongst humans, strongly preferring to respect the fundamental humanity over any favor from the gods. He is, however, surprisingly restrained, despite Capitano claiming that Dainsleif's pain and hatred far surpass his own: He explicitly admits to being against going after the gods, especially Celestia, and makes it clear he did not approve of Khaenri'ah's efforts to overthrow the divine from the beginning. He is even willing to express compassion towards deities and their adherents who prove themselves, as he shows respect and concern for Ganyu and Xiao's magnificent work over thousands of years and acknowledges that Nahida's preserverence is worthy of both his respect and no ill-will from him.
While indifferent towards most crises, Dainsleif does still care for Teyvat as a whole. Acknowledging that Khaenri'ah had their own share of responsibility towards their own destruction and their guilt in the Cataclysm, he works to protect Teyvat from both the lingering aftereffects of that war and the possibility of further similar incidents. He refuses to work with any of the Seven Nations, but opposes the Abyss Order and the Five Sinners of Khaenri'ah, seeking to prevent them from completing their goals and causing any further damage to the world. He is also wary of Albedo due to his knowledge on the Art of Khemia, willing to personally intervene if Albedo made even a single mistake with it.
Synopsis
Background
Although much of Dainsleif's past remains unknown, he is known to be the Twilight Sword and the Captain of the Royal Guards of Khaenri'ah back when his nation existed. He was well-acquainted with Vedrfolnir "The Visionary, who also happened to be his own brother, Hroptayr "The Wise", Rhinedottir "Gold", Surtalogi "The Foul", and Rerir "Rächer of Solnari", the six of them being held in the highest of esteem within the nation and the best of their peers within their respective fields of work, and the six of them had plans to stop the Vinster King from rocking the foundations of Teyvat. However, the other five were unable to resist the call of the Abyss and divided up amongst themselves a power that could destroy the world, becoming the Five Sinners. While not much is known, he is said to have tried but failed to stop the Cataclysm, his last orders to the Black Serpent Knights as that of protecting the people of the nation, and the Five Sinners did nothing as the Cataclysm happened or as Khaenri'ah was destroyed, leaving Dainsleif to vow revenge for their treachery.
Traveling alongside the Traveler's Sibling, the "Prince/Princess of Khaenri'ah", Dainsleif stated that their journey was to "search for our fate", but little details are known aside from that they had traveled across the Seven Nations of Teyvat, that he helped the Pari Zurvan and the fledgling Order of Skeptics into extinguishing the Sign of Apaosha, and that the Traveler's Sibling eventually joined the Abyss Order. It's heavily indicated that Dainsleif intended to stop the Five Sinners of Khaenri'ah or at least to protect Teyvat from the lingering aftereffects of the Cataclysm before hand, and that the foundation of the Abyss Order, which his former travel partner would later lead, lead to Dainsleif focusing his efforts into thwarting them due to their desire to topple Celestia, knowing that it would only be a "repeat of the failure of the forebears".
Present
Rather than re-emerging at the same place as his old partner, the portal instead placed Dainsleif back in Stormterror's Lair. Back at square one, Dain decided to once again hunt down an Abyss Herald so that he could gleam a better understanding of how their portal ability worked. Before setting off, he took the eye of the first Field Tiller and placed it in a safe location. Eventually, the Bough Keeper succeeded in hunting down and cornering another Abyss Herald, only for it to slip away into a portal. Like before, Dain followed it into the portal and was deposited at a location that wasn't the same place that the Herald had ended up.
Instead, Dain found himself in a large cavern face-to-face with none other than the Traveler and Paimon. He began to understand that the Abyss Heralds' portals could send their users to a variety of locations previously visited by the Abyss Order rather than simply transporting their users from one fixed point to another. Dain had been sent to random locations because he didn't know how to navigate the network. Paimon revealed that they were in the Chasm, an extensive set of underground passages, caverns, and caves beneath Liyue which Dain had never visited. The Traveler and Paimon were surprised to see Dainsleif and began asking him questions.
The former Twilight Sword explained how he had arrived at the Chasm and also gave them a few scant details about his past, though he was careful not to reveal too much. Because the portal had sent him to the Chasm, Dain suspected that the Abyss Order was plotting something nearby. Within the large cavern was a city of strange structures bearing resemblance to the architecture of Khaenri'ah, though older. The ruins were upside-down, being affixed to the ceiling of the cavern rather than the floor. Strangely, the pain that Dainsleif usually felt from his curse was lessened within the confines of the cavern and he felt a compulsion to stay there.
Dain spied a light behind a wall on the path that led up to the city ruins and suggested that they should investigate it. Upon closer inspection, they discovered a campfire populated by a few docile hilichurls that were resting. Paimon informed Dainsleif that they had been investigating the Chasm on behalf of the Adventurers' Guild after reports had been made of hilichurls heading into the Chasm en masse, which led Dain to assume that the hilichurls had been drawn to the upside-down city because it alleviated the pain of the curse. While sharing his theory with the pair, they came under attack from a pair of Black Serpent Knights.
After defeating his former comrades alongside the Traveler, Dain's attention was drawn to a lone Black Serpent Knight standing a short distance away. Unlike the others, the former royal guard showed no hostility and wandered away after observing Dainsleif for a moment. Dain was shocked, as he believed that the Black Serpent Knight was displaying signs of self-awareness which shouldn't've been possible. Putting aside the mysterious royal guard, Dainsleif pressed on to the entrance of the ruins with the Traveler and Paimon. A wall of Abyssal energy blocked their path, though Dain was able to easily break it with his power.
Dainsleif, on the other hand, was left unchanged save for a curse of immortality that made sure he would have to witness the monsters his people became. Five hundred years later, Dain worked as an enigmatic figure who fought against the Abyss Order in defense of humanity. He was wandering around at Mondstadt of stopping the Abyss Order as well seeking out to kill an Abyss Herald (which is an even more twisted Abyssal being that commands the Abyss Mages). He became an adventurer but declined to become a member of the Guild. He always goes to Angel's Share (Diluc's bar) to drink alcohol. He meet the twin brother/sister of his former travelling companion, who is now called himself/herself as the Traveler. When the Traveler wish to commission with him, Dain agreed but required 500 Moras and three answered questions but has nothing to do with right or wrong. After that, Dain now commissions with the Traveler but only take commissions that is related to the Abyss Order. Along with Traveler, he hunted the Abyss Herald in the hopes of stopping the group's infernal plans. In 2.6 update when Dainsleif gives the chasing to the Traveler's twin and the Abyss Herald, he ended up losing them from the portal that was opened by the Abyss Herald, when he took the wrong direction and was ended up at Stormterror's Lair all alone.
He hid the eye of the First Field Tiller in a safe place to ensure the Abyss Order will never be able to find it, thus foiling the "Loom of Fate" operation of turning Osial, Overlord of the Vortex into a mechanized god of mass destruction. When continually on a trail of the Abyss Herald, Dain reunited with the Traveler and Paimon at the Chasm to stop the Abyss' plan known as "the revival of Khaenri'ah" as well killed both the Abyss Herald (who Dain always hunting it) and an Abyss Lector: Violent Lightning. With the Abyss Herald's death, the Abyss Order's infernal plans were foiled though one of the Black Serpent Knight (Halfdan (who was a knight of the Royal Guard of Khaenri'ah)) sacrificed his own life to destroy the Abyss Order's device that would remove the curse by force. Dain will take a few days rest due to his exhaustion and fatigue by the device that was casted from the Abyss Lector but will come back to help the Traveler to defeat the Abyss Order. After fully recovered from his exhaustion from the Abyss Order's device at the Chasm, Dainsleif reunite with the Traveler at Sumeru and meet Kaeya Alberich (who is the descendant of the leader of the Abyss Order, Chlothar Alberich). He, the Traveler and Paimon investigate the old house (originally belong to Chlothar) until the Traveler suddenly collapse and fell unconscious. He learned that the truth behind of "Loom of Fate" operation when Traveler was seeing in their twin sibling and Chlothar's memories. Dain later split up for now but they will meet again.
Powers & Abilities
Powers
- Abyss Manipulation: Though the full extent of Dainsleif's capabilities remained uncertain, he is capable of manipulating abyssal power, and hints that his capabilities are derived from mastery of Khaenri'ah's Technology but also that he possesses an ability to control the Abyss outside of it. The details are unknown, but it might be due to Khaenri'ah's obsession with the Abyss and their own advanced technology.
- Telekinesis: Through abyssal power, Dainsleif demonstrated the ability to telekinetically influence beings and objects, an ability that was potent enough that he could restrain an Abyss Herald, one of the strongest creatures within the Abyss Order's ranks, with just one hand to channel the energy.
- Superhuman Speed: Dainsleif demonstrated the ability to engulf himself in abyssal power, allowing him to run at enormous speeds, able to move so fast as to utterly outpace the Traveler and Paimon and fast enough to reach the abyssal portal opened by Lumine and the Abyss Herald before it could close.
- Abyssal Energy Locator: By manipulating Abyssal Power, Dainsleif was able to open the First Field Tiller's insides and obtain it's eye.
- Abyssal Energy Dispersal: Dainsleif, apparently from years of fighting the Abyss or the knowledge he had as the Captain of the Royal Guards of Khaenri'ah, could easily dispel both Khaenri'ah's Technologies and Abyssal Power, considering them to be cheap tricks.
- Immortality: In the aftermath of the cataclysm, the gods inflicted a curse upon the people of Khaenri'ah. Pure-blooded Khaenri'ahns, those Khaenri'ahns whose bloodline never mingled with people from other nations, were deemed the greatest sinners and given the cruellest punishment: a curse of immortality. Unlike the non-pure Khaenri'ahns who were transformed into monstrous hilichurls, pure Khaenri'ahns gained immortality but also retained their mental faculties. The intent of the gods was to force the pure-bloods to live with the regret over the loss of their homeland for eternity. Those inflicted with the curse never physically aged beyond the point that they were cursed, though their bodies and minds were both constantly afflicted with pain. The curse also didn't stop its victims from suffering from erosion, a naturally occurring phenomenon in which the minds of living beings that lived for too long would naturally degrade until they completely lost their sense of self. Dainsleif, on the other hand, seemed to have a unique case of the curse of immortality: While he admits to suffering from erosion, he is capable of remaining as young as he was back when the Cataclysm hit and doesn't seem to suffer from any loss of strength like Capitano did, while also retaining all of his humanity. He hints that he has specialized means as to keep the curse of immortality in check, from his surprise at Halfdan being able to remain conscious despite not having "it".
Abilities
- Master Fighter: Dainsleif was a master combatant, with particular emphasis on swordsmanship. Heralded as the "Twilight Sword" due to his prowess, he was said to be capable of effortlessly defeating entire armies of enemies by himself. Even his former travelling companion couldn't match his combat prowess, and admitted despite Dainsleif holding back on them, they still had a hard time getting the Eye of the first Field Tiller from him.
- Navigation: In his journey on stopping the Abyss Order, Dainsleif has a good skill of navigation. He went to Mondstadt while in a trail of an Abyss Herald. After he failed to chasing the Traveler's twin and the Abyss Herald where he ended up at Stormterror's Lair, Dain continued to seeking the trail of the Abyss Herald and pursue it but ended up at the deeps of the Chasm.
Quotes
| “ | The feeling is mutual. I certainly hadn't expected to meet you here, either. (Paimon: Long time no see, Dain. Wait, but how did you suddenly end up here in the Chasm?) The Chasm? So, we're in the depths of the Chasm, are we. Interesting... this is one place where I never have set foot before. | „ |
| ~ Dainsleif when reuniting with the Traveler and Paimon at the Chasm. |
Gallery
Images
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Videos
Trivia
- The etymology of figures, places, and concepts related to the Kingdom of Khaenri'ah were derived from the various stories of Norse mythology. "Dáinsleif," meaning "Dáinn's legacy," was the name of a sword crafted by the dwarven smith Dáinn to be wielded by a king named Högni. Dáinsleif had a curse inlaid upon it which compelled its wielder to kill a person everytime it was drawn. Additionally, wounds caused by Dáinsleif could not be healed. The character of Dainsleif's title of "Twilight Sword," as well as the curse he bore as a pure-blood, both correlated somewhat to the sword attested to in Norse mythology.
- Dainsleif was the narrator of the "Teyvat Chapter Storyline" video that previewed the various forthcoming nations, characters, and story chapters of Genshin Impact. Additionally, he narrates almost every "Collective Miscellany" video that each delve into the playstyle and abilities of a playable character.
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