Since the release ofGenshin Impact’s Fontaine region, fans of the game have been introduced to new lore and background stories, which play a huge part in the overall plot. Compared to the previous regions, Fontaine and its Archon have so far been the only ones who have managed to deceive the Heavenly Principles and retain their respective Gnosis. As witnessed in the Version 4.2 Archon Quest Masquerade of the Guilty, Furina’s Gnosis was not stolen by the Fatui Harbingers, and the power of the Archon returned to Neuvillette, who was revealed to be theHydro Dragon Sovereign.
It is also through this quest that we come to learn about the Ancient City of Remuria, a lost civilization that sunk into the depths before the rise of Fontaine. It was a civilization that directly preceded Egeria’s rule and was created by God Remus.Wriothesley ofGenshin Impactis the one who introduced players to the lore behind Remus and his ship, The Fortuna, which saved the lives of people in the region who had been washed away by the tidal waves of Celestia.
The Golden Age Of Remuria
The first era of Teyvat is known to be the time when the Primordial One arrived, and humanity slowly began to covet the status and power of Celestia inGenshin Impactafter generations of rigidity in its rule. Due to their disrespect,the Primordial One punishedthem by burying their cities underwater after 100 days of rainfall. This act was meant to drown out all sin and arrogation and force humanity to rebuild itself. When the great flood receded, no cities or civilizations were left behind and any survivors from the great flood had lost all their knowledge and wisdom from their culture.
It is said that human lives were no different from animals and monsters, as they were purely driven by nature with no goal in life. This was, unfortunately, the demise that befell the region of Fontaine for a couple of thousand years until civilization and order were restored by the God King Remus. Hailing fromthe lands of SumeruinGenshin Impact, Remus was a God who arrived in Meropis on his Golden Fortuna and taught the people how to raise crops, farm, and build settlements.
In addition to their lifestyle, he taught humans about thebeauty behind music and art, which helped them differentiate from other species as they were the only ones who could master them. The greatness of Remuria inGenshin Impactshone across the waters under the immortal ruler, and Capitolium, the center of Remuria, was overflowing with melody. It was a heaven for artists, intellectuals, and musicians, with theaters and palaces built to carry the most harmonious tunes. Everyone lived in universal harmony, much like a symphony, and if one note was off-pitch, King Remus would personally see to fixing the melody himself.
The Four Harmosts
InGenshin Impact,the land of Remuria was quite vast, and Remus found it difficult to govern over it by himself, so he appointed four humans of great capability as his Harmost, one for each region of the Eternal City. This was only possible by sharing hispower with each Harmostand bestowing them with the same governance and authority he had as a God. Unfortunately, passing a power that should only be privy to God led to corruption and greed by humans, which eventually caused a rebellion in the once great Kingdom.
The Fall Of Remuria
AsGenshin Impact’s Remuria began to prosper, its technology advanced further, establishing Remus’ dream of cultivating the most perfect civilization that can only be maintained through the “harmonious symphony of prosperity”. He and his people revered the sweet dreams of their carefree lives, but the seers of Remuria prophesied death: “The greatest empire will face the most utter destruction.” This solidified Remus’ dream to achieve absolute harmony with the people of Remuria, as he believed that was the only way for them to fool fate and be immortal. Remus then sought to eliminate all life that resisted his rule (Lochfolk, Vishaps and the “barbarian” natives of Fontaine), and then mixed primordial water with an immortal stone to create theGolden Ichor.
This ichor would be the substance that houses the souls and minds of all the Remurians. The Ichor was then placed intoGolems, which were bodies made of stonewith the Ichor for blood. Remus went mad with his schemes and fell into a slumber during this time, which was why Boethius (a dedicated Harmost of his) continued his legacy by continuing the corruption of the primordial waters inGenshin Impact.
Rebellion Of Scylla And The Barbarians
Scylla was a Dragon KinginGenshin Impactwho was once a close confidant of King Remus during the Golden Age. When he went mad with power, Scylla led the rebellion together with the vishaps and ‘barbarian’ Fontainians against Remuria. Boethius responded by ordering the destruction of all the tribes, which sadly plummeted Remuria into a ceaseless war that ended its mighty golden age. When King Remus awoke to the cries of the barbarians, he seemed to have come to his senses and tried to quell the chaos by retracting his order. But since too much damage had already been done, Boethius viewed Remus’s act as a betrayal against his vision and ordered the last of the Remurian military to steal the Golden Ichor and seal Scylla underneath the tall tower in the capital.
Remus, Boethius, Scylla, and the citizens of Remuria were then swept away by an “inexorable storm,” which has been heavily implied to represent the Abyss. The Golden Ichor was eventually consumed and deteriorated by the Primordial Sea, and any lucky survivors had once again turned to natural means of survival. This is why it has been countlessly mentioned that no Fontainian civilization has ever lasted long enough due to their crude ambition and drive to outlastthe prophecy that is always foretold. The current Fontanian civilization is a mixture of the descendants of the Remurians and Fontanian tribes, which were brought together by the next Hydro Archon, Egeria ofGenshin Impact.
King Remus, Sybilla and Scylla
Originally a God from Sumeru, Remus Sebastos ofGenshin Impactwas asinger of the oasesin his homeland. At a certain point in time, his homeland was eventually conquered by King Deshret, and Remus refused to serve under his rule. He left Sumeru in search of a safe place to die and suddenly came across the ruins of a lost city. The only inhabitants were Sybilla (a former envoy who was tasked with protecting Irminsul) and other Golden Bees. According to historical texts, the Golden Bees foretold that Remus was destined to stumble upon these ruins, create a prosperous nation and that the nation’s strong desire for justice would ultimately be its downfall.
With nowhere to go, Remus decided to accept his fate, and the Irminsul tree in the ruins took on the shape of a golden ship, which would come to be known as the Fortuna. The Empire of Remuria was established on the waters, and the High Seas, and Remus sailed across the region, bestowing his knowledge on all humans after the catastrophe. He used the Fortuna to call other tribes around Fontaine to join his cause for a more harmonious future, and so was the start of the glorious rule of Remus. After Sybilla prophesied the downfall of Remuria, she advised him toseek counsel from Egeria, who was imprisoned in the depths of the Primordial Sea inGenshin Impactfor the original sin.
This is where Scylla and Remus met, as Scylla was the creature guarding Egeria’s prison. After battling for 30 days and 30 nights, Scylla agrees to listen to Remus’ plan, and after finding it to be quite amusing, she lets him visit Egeria. Unfortunately, Egeria was unable to help him. She instead gave him a goblet filled withwater from the Primordial Sea, which would then be used to create the Golden Ichor. Sybilla ofGenshin Impactwas sacrificed to create Phobos by combining her wisdom with Remus’ powers, and when the new “Ascended” Remurians were granted eternal life, they began to think of themselves as superior to all other species and humans.
Since Sybilla used her life to create Phobos, it inherited her desire to make all humans happy. But because she lacked any will, Phobos had to adopt the destructive emotions that the ascended Remurians had. This led to the war against the Lochfolk, Vishaps, and tribes, and although Scylla pretended to “betray” the Remurians with the rebellion, Phobos (who had at this point consumed Boethius) uncovered this plot and sealed the Dragon Prince for what would come to be the next thousand years. In a last effort for change, Remus ofGenshin Impacttried to play the last Requiem with hopes of reverting the Remurians back to their original forms, but with no dragonborn to quell the tides of the primordial waters, the eternal citysunk into the depthsand was never before seen again.
