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| “ | She is a god with no love left for her people, nor do they have any left for her. Her followers hope only to be on her side when the day of her rebellion against the divine comes at last. | „ |
| ~ Dainsleif on the Tsaritsa. |
| “ | Sorry... to also have you shoulder the grievances of the world. Since you could endure my bitter cold, you must have the desire to burn? Then, burn away the old world for me. | „ |
| ~ The Tsaritsa. |
The Tsaritsa of Snezhnaya, also known as the Cryo Archon, is one of the two main antagonists (alongside the Traveler's twin) of the 2020 action role-playing fantasy video game Genshin Impact.
The Tsaritsa was the divine ruler of the nation of Snezhnaya, but she is actually not one of The Seven. Though mandated her position as Cryo Archon by the Heavenly Principles, the Tsaritsa sought to rebel against the divinity that ruled over Teyvat and establish a new order. To that end, she sent her followers, the Fatui across Teyvat, fulfilling secret purposes all of which were in furtherance of her ultimate goal.
Synopsis[]
History[]
The Cryo Archon, referred to as the Tsaritsa by her people, was technically not one of the Seven Archons that each presided over an element and a nation on the continent Teyvat. Rather, she gained her position as the Cryo Archon after the death of the Belyi Tsar, the former Cryo Archon. She was the ruler of Snezhnaya, a technologically-advanced nation with a frigid climate, and was regarded as a compassionate and kind-hearted God. However, the Tsaritsa's attitude changed after the destruction of the subterranean nation Khaenri'ah at the hands of the Gods and the Heavenly Principles. The Cryo Archon's love for her people dwindled until she became a cold-hearted woman solely dedicated to rebelling against the divine and creating a new era of peace through war.
She formed the Fatui, a militaristic religious group comprised of her fanatical followers, and tasked them with sowing discord in the nations of the other Archons.
Well over a century after the cataclysm, the Tsaritsa was introduced to a nameless wanderer who had been recruited by the Jester. The wanderer was an artificial puppet/clone created and then abandoned by the Electro Archon and God of Eternity Beelzebul. Because the wanderer possessed the constitution of a god, the Tsaritsa placed him in charge of a company of Fatui and tasked him with exploring the Abyss. After spending a long time in the Abyss, the wanderer returned and presented his findings. For his efforts, the Cryo Archon promoted him to the ranks of the Harbingers and entitled him "Scaramouche" a.k.a. "The Balladeer."
The Tsaritsa personally attended the investiture of the Eleventh Fatui Harbinger Tartaglia, watching on sternly from her throne as Pierro pinned an Electro Delusion on the newest addition to the Fatui Harbingers.
At some unknown point in time, the Tsaritsa had an agreement with the Damselette, the Third Fatui Harbinger. Though the agreement details remain vague, what is known is that Damselette had made an unspecified promise with her, that resulted in losing quite a large portion of her power for reasons yet to be explained.
Collecting the Gnoses[]
Five hundred years after the destruction of Khaenri'ah, the Tsaritsa commanded her Fatui Harbingers to bring her the Gnoses of the other active Archons for reasons unknown (though this likely relates to her ideology of rebelling against the Heavenly Principles). The first Gnosis to fall into the possession of the Tsaritsa was the one belonging to her former friend, the God of Freedom Barbatos. The Eighth Fatui Harbinger La Signora ambushed Barbatos, now having assumed the identity of a bard named Venti, and a heroic outlander known as the Traveler outside the Favonius Cathedral in the City of Mondstadt and took the Gnosis by force. It was the Cryo Archon's instruction that the Anemo Archon's Gnosis be taken by force rather than by other means due to the animosity she felt towards him.
In order to obtain the Gnosis of the Geo Archon Morax, the Cryo Archon decided to negotiate. She signed a contract with the Geo Archon which granted her the Geo Gnosis in exchange for an unknown bargaining chip. Upon the fulfilment of the contract, the Gnosis was collected by Signora and Tartaglia and presented to the Tsaritsa in Zapolyarny Palace.
Later, the Gnosis of the Electro Archon Beelzebul was given to the Balladeer by her best friend Yae Miko in exchange for the life of the Traveler, who was at the Balladeer's mercy. Rather than returning it to the Tsaritsa however, the Balladeer decided to keep the Gnosis for himself in the hopes that he would be able to use it to attain true godhood. As an indirect result of the Balladeer's betrayal, La Signora was killed by the Raiden Shogun after a duel with the Traveler and the plots of the Fatui in Inazuma failed.
When Il Dottore was present at Sumeru, he was summoned back to Snezhnaya by the Tsaritsa (presumably along with the other Harbingers). However, Dottore left behind another one of his segments, and used it to retrieve the missing Electro Gnosis after the Balladeer's betrayal. He also negotiated with the Dendro Archon, Lesser Lord Kusanali in exchange for the Dendro Gnosis and gained them both.
The Tsaritsa later charged Arlecchino with retrieving the Hydro Gnosis from the Hydro Archon Focalors. Arlecchino, who primarily operated in the Hydro Archon's nation Fontaine, requested permission to use the power of the Hydro Gnosis herself upon retrieving it in order to save Fontaine from a cataclysmic flood that was prophesized to destroy the nation. The Cryo Archon granted her permission, though it was ultimately unneeded as the prophesized flood was halted through alternative means. Arlecchino received the Gnosis peacefully and subsequently bequeathed it to the Tsaritsa.
After the battle against the Pyro Archon and defeat, the Captain wrote a letter to the Tsaritsa, requesting her to remove him from the responsibility of retrieving the Pyro Gnosis. The Tsaritsa accepted the request, and following his sacrifice, she decides to keep his seat vacant. It is likely possible that she will assign another Harbinger to retrieve the Pyro Gnosis.
Nod-Krai's conspiracy[]
The Tsaritsa has apparently issued the "Palestar Edict", summoning the Fatui Harbingers back to Snezhnaya and deploying them to Nod-Krai. One of the directives of this decree is to retrieve the Damselette, who has fled to Nod-Krai and abandoned the Fatui in the process.
During a meeting between the Four Shades (minus Asmoday), it is revealed that the Tsaritsa plans to likely overthrow the Heavenly Principles while it is asleep, thus causing the Shades to decide to intervene.
Following the defeat of Rerir, the leader of the Wild Hunt (and one of the Sinners of Khaenriah), the Damselette reveals that the Kuuvahki Experimental Design Bureau, overseen by Marionette is busy designing an unknown weapon which plays a key role in the Tsaritsa's plan.
Powers & Abilities[]
Powers[]
- God Physiology: The Tsaritsa of Snezhnaya was one of the gods of Teyvat, an enigmatic race of beings who ruled over the human realm. The Seven Archons, all of whom were gods, drew strength from the worship of their followers and by extension the amount of control they exerted upon their subjects. Generally speaking, gods were tremendously powerful lifeforms who, at their full might, were virtually impossible for mortals to defeat one-on-one in a fight.
- Cryokinesis: All gods were able to harness immense amounts of elemental energy without the aid of an external source of power like a Vision. As the Cryo Archon, the Tsaritsa could presumably harness the power of the Cryo element to conjure and manipulate ice on a grand scale.
- Immortality: The gods of Teyvat were long-lived when compared to mortals, with the oldest known example being over six thousand years old. Even when a god was killed, their willpower would remain imprinted on the world. The eternal nature of the gods was limited however, as a process called erosion could gradually erode their minds until they inevitably lost their senses of self.
Abilities[]
- Political Influence: As the ruler of Snezhnaya, the Tsaritsa had a broad political influence that gave her total executive control of her nation and the people within. She could call armies of loyal followers to fulfil her every whim, and was virtually infallible to prosecution due to her status as a god and a head of state.
Quotes[]
Quotes By The Tsaritsa[]
| “ | Sorry... to also have you shoulder the grievances of the world. Since you could endure my bitter cold, you must have the desire to burn? Then, burn away the old world for me. | „ |
| ~ The Tsaritsa. |
| “ | I hereby pardon your crimes, and bestow upon you a new name. This title and its legacy of bloodshed are now yours to bear, my poor, mad, cursed Knave. | „ |
| ~ The Tsaritsa, as quoted by Pierro, inaugurating Arlecchino. |
Quotes About The Tsaritsa[]
| “ | She is a god with no love left for her people, nor do they have any left for her. Her followers hope only to be on her side when the day of her rebellion against the divine comes at last. | „ |
| ~ Dainsleif on the Tsaritsa. |
| “ | Her Royal Highness the Tsaritsa is actually a gentle soul. Too gentle, in fact, and that's why she had to harden herself. Likewise, she declared war against the whole world only because she dreams of peace. | „ |
| ~ Tartaglia on the Tsaritsa. |
| “ | Everyone praises her for her kindness and benevolence, but they forget that love is also a form of sin. What if she's just trying to compensate for something? | „ |
| ~ The Wanderer on the Cryo Archon. |
| “ | When I was imprisoned, it was the Tsaritsa who pardoned me and gave me the title of Harbinger. I could sense she was a person of true sincerity and compassion, unlike all those pompous hypocrites with their posturing and rhetoric. Yet... It's difficult to say whether her compassion alone is enough to melt the ice and snow that permeates her land. All I can say is this... If we are forced to be at odds one day, I will raise my weapon against her without hesitation, because that is the greatest level of respect I am able to bestow. | „ |
| ~ Arlecchino on the Tsaritsa. |
Trivia[]
Bronya Zaychik, a character from Honkai Impact 3rd.
- The royal style "Tsaritsa" was the female equivalent of "Tsar," an extinct title used by the sovereign rulers of certain historical Slavic states. The word "Tsar" was derived from the Latin title "Caesar," a cognomen that was itself derived from the name of the Roman dictator Julius Caesar.
- In the English localization of Genshin Impact, the Tsaritsa was frequently referred to using the honorific "Her Majesty." Majesty is typically a manner of address used for the monarch of a sovereign state. However, in the "About the Tsaritsa" quote spoken by Tartaglia, he mistakenly addressed her as "Her Royal Highness," a manner of address used for lesser members of a ruling family.
- Other localizations refer to the Tsaritsa only as the "Queen of Ice" or any other titles similar.
- The Tsaritsa is most likely to be an expy of Bronya Zaychik, one of the three main characters of the video game Honkai Impact 3rd, preceeding Genshin Impact by miHoYo. Both the Cryo Archon and Zaychik had ice-based powers, were once kind individuals who later went on to develop colder personalities, were once friends with a god of the wind (Barbatos in the Tsaritsa's case, and Wendy in Zaychik's case), and were related to Russia or a region inspired by Russia (with the Tsaritsa presiding over the Russia-inspired nation of Sneznhaya and Zaychik hailing from Siberia, a region of Russia).
- However, circumstances suggest that she may be an expy of Catherine the Great, since both of them have many similarities:
- Both of them are related to ice and Russian imperial imagery and rule a nation drawn from Russian elements (Catherine the Great was Empress of Russia; the Tsaritsa rules Snezhnaya, a nation inspired by Russia).
- Both of them possess diplomatic and military might (Catherine the Great ordered her military force to stage a coup d'état in order to overthrow her husband, Peter III of Russia, and take his throne as Empress of Russia; the Tsaritsa commands the Fatui to spread fear across Teyvat and take the Gnoses from the Archons for a goal that is yet to be determined.)
- Both of them are considered to be gentle and compassionate by loyalists, yet their actions are ruthless and, to an extent, tyrannical.
- Both of them have established a reign that transformed their respective nations into great power that intimidated its neighboring nations.
- On top of that, both of them were seen as well-intentioned and caring, however, their personality changed after a major event (Catherine the Great became a ruthless tyrant driven from her goal of protecting Russia from the Houkai; the Tsaritsa, once loving, became bitter after the Cataclysm, with the goal of overthrowing the Heavenly Principles.)
- However, in the Tsaritsa's case, it hasn't been confirmed whether or not she is a tyrannical ruler, since she is considered to be a "gentle soul" (by Tartaglia), someone "everyone praises [her] for her kindness and benevolence" (by the Wanderer), and "a person of true sincerity and compassion" (by Arlecchino). However, it is noted that she developed a cold personality after the Cataclysm and became solely driven with the goal of overthrowing the Heavenly Principles to usher a new era, in the process becoming "a god with no love left for her people" (according to Dainsleif.)
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