Genshin Impact: Looking through the History of the Thirteen Sovereign Lords

Genshin Impact: Looking through the History of the Thirteen Sovereign Lords

The Thirteen Sovereign Lords are the thirteen Dragonlords created by Xiuhcoatl, the Pyro Sovereign, who ruled over Natlantea, the ancient dragon civilization located in Natlan. After oppressing the humans of the land for thousands of years, ten were ultimately slain in the war between Xbalanque and Xiuhcoatl. When Nibelung returned after acquiring forbidden knowledge, Xiuhcoatl awoke from his feigned death and stopped the thirteen Dragonlords and Kukulkan from exploring the stars and attempting to forge another moon. During the War of Funerary Flame, the Dragonlords slew countless angels in their territory, leaving only Yohualtecuhtin, Lord of the Night, alive. They oppressed the humans of Natlantea upon their return; only the Eighth Lord, Ix Ajkotz'i'j Iq'ismal Waxak, is known to have had cordial relations with humanity, raising a human daughter (Lianca) as a dragon princess. Lianca later founded the tribe of Tlalocan, and fought against the other dragonlords with Xbalanque. Due to the Regent Kukulkan's experiments on humans, the Thirteen Lords eventually voted to impeach him from office; he later assisted the humans in their rebellion, teaching them how to use phlogiston. Some time after this, Lianca shot down the Sixth Lord, Aj Tininik Oyowal Waak, using her longbow, and Ixquieh & Ahpub tricked the Tenth Lord, Aj Imuch' Paxlaq Lahun, into being buried under a mountain. According to Kukulkan, ten of the Lords died when Xbalanque invaded the Sacred City of Tollan with his army, leaving at most three lords alive at that point. It is implied that the Eighth Lord was not slain in combat, but was instead executed by the consensus of her fellow Lords during the siege. The Eleventh Lord, Ix Raq'lapuj Chue'q Buluk, fell into a state of despair after Xiuhcoatl was defeated, splitting her mind into two cores; one that wished to explore and long for a home, and another that retained her hostile stance towards humanity. Approaching Lianca with the intent to be reborn, she asked her to eliminate her benevolent half, which had been placed in a Secret Source Automaton: Hunter-Seeker, lying that it was hostile to humanity. However, Lianca saw through her deceit and imprisoned the hostile half of the Eleventh Lord in her domain, leaving her extremely bitter for the next two thousand years. Before being sealed away, she cursed her other half to suffer in pain for any ounce of goodwill it had towards humanity. Lianca would then send her benevolent half away from Natlan, fearing that her malevolent half would try to influence her. The Ninth Lord, Ix Uxul Tz'ib Bolon, was left alone in the depths of Chichen Uctokah without any means of escape. Following the death of Xbalanque, the Ninth Lord's Core was uncovered by an excavation team led by Manqu. Kukulkan's half-human son Och-Kan imprisoned her within a statue and attempted to coerce her to do his bidding, but failed; as a result, he decided to separate his human consciousness from his draconic body to make a new Core of Chu'ulel. He would remain trapped inside until a couple of decades after the Cataclysm, when the adventurer Bona freed him. According to the accounts of the Flower-Feather Clan, the Sixth Lord survived the siege of Tollan, only to finally be slain by Lianca's second daughter during Och-Kan's reign. In the modern day, both Och-Kan and the Ninth Lord finally perished at the hands of the Traveler, during the quests Moment of Awakening and Open Your Heart to Me, respectively. The Tenth Lord, now solely going by "K'uhul Ajaw," was freed from his mountain prison by Kinich during an excavation; the two formed a contract, such that Kinich will receive Ajaw's power, but Ajaw will eventually take over Kinich's body at the moment of his death. The Eleventh Lord's benevolent core would later make its way to Nod-Krai, where it remained for the next two thousand years until it was scavenged by Aino and used to build Ineffa. Ineffa began suffering from malfunctions that resulted from the "curse," prompting her to return to Natlan to find answers. Ajaw managed to recognise the presence of a Sovereign Lord in Ineffa, but shrugged it off and refused to say anything about the matter until he snapped. The Eleventh Lord assumed the identity of the Eighth Lord and only revealed her true identity after regaining control of Ineffa so she could wage war on humanity. However, Ineffa was able to overload the curse and with the Traveler and her newly acquired Moon Wheel, destroyed the Eleventh Lord's form in a Secret Source Automaton: Configuration Device. In their death throes, the Eleventh Lord attempted to collapse the territory on them, but failed. Their last words admitted that they too also longed for a place to belong. Only three Lords, Ajaw, Ineffa and the Weaver of Secrets, survived to the present day. The Thirteen Lords were artificial intelligence rulers created by the Pyro Dragon Sovereign Xiuhcoatl, each of whom governed over an individual territory in Natlantea. On occasion, they would gather together as a council in the Chamber of Deliberation, presided over by the First Lord as Speaker, to deliberate and vote on certain matters. They and Xiuhcoatl survived the invasion of Teyvat by the Heavenly Principles through hiding inside the underground city of Tollan.

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Characters

Thirteen Sovereign Lords
Xiuhcoatl