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Khaenri'ah Lore Project

<aside> 💬 This page is a quick reference to how Visions work, and how current Vision Holders/Allogenes received their Vision through a filterable table and a general categorization of the "event" that led to their Vision.

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<aside> ⚠️ CONTAINS SPOILERS FOR INAZUMA.

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When faced with circumstances beyond their control, humans often bemoan their lack of power. But if a person shows true strength of will at a desperate and fateful moment in their life, the gods will look upon them with favour. This is what Visions are. Magical foci bestowed upon those who have been acknowledged by the gods. – Zhongli, The Fond Farewell

Visions consist of a "gem" for its element, and a holder custom to the bearer's region.

Visions

(Chinese: 神之眼 Shén Zhī Yǎn, "Eye of God")

• Visions are external magical foci given to mortals as recognition from the gods. They allow the bearer to channel elemental abilities through the elemental powers of the Archon that blessed them.
  • "This favor is the Vision, an external magical focus given to those who have been acknowledged by the gods which they can use to channel elemental power. Celestia is the realm of the gods, and the wielders of Visions walk the earth below. When they depart from this world, the chosen will ascend." – Traveler, Vision Story
  • "Visions are external magical foci that only a small minority of people possess. They use these Visions to channel elemental power. In truth, every wielder of a Vision is one who can attain godhood and ascend to Celestia. We call such people allogenes." – Venti, Ending Note
  • "When faced with circumstances beyond their control, humans often bemoan their lack of power. But if a person shows true strength of will at a desperate and fateful moment in their life, the gods will look upon them with favour. This is what Visions are. Magical foci bestowed upon those who have been acknowledged by the gods." – Zhongli, The Fond Farewell
• Vision bearers are called Allogenes.** All Allogenes have a "chance to ascend to godhood", dwelling in Celestia and gaining immortality, protecting the world with the gods. The only two known beings who have ascended to Celestia are Vennessa (ascended at Windrise after bringing an end to the Mondstadt Aristocracy, taking the form of a falcon) and Guhua (adeptus who ascended to Celestia in a purple haze and became a star).
  • Allogenes themselves often know very little about how Visionhood works. Mona, Lisa, and Albedo are examples of Vision wielders who have attained theirs through mundane means (such as merely manifesting/willing it), expressing more interest in how it works.
  • "In truth, every wielder of a Vision is one who can attain godhood and ascend to Celestia. We call such people allogenes." – Venti, "Ending Note"
  • In Gnosticism, allogenes are half-human and half-divines "capable of communicating with realms beyond the sense-perceptible world, into the unknowable." [1]
  • The Chinese term for allogene is 原神 which is also the title of the game Genshin. It literally means "original god".
• Visions are described as 'primitive tools' in contrast to the Gnoses (Singular: Gnosis, Chinese: 神之心 Shén Zhī Xīn, "Heart of God") that Archons bear.
  • "We don't need primitive tools like Visions." – Venti
• In Teyvat, it is popular belief that only Vision wielders can manipulate the elements. This peculiarity with the Traveler is a constant point brought up in the Archon Quests.
  • Kazuha in The Crux Clash: "To think a human could wield the elements without a Vision..."
• It's possible that Visions are not required to channel the elements. They are foci that augment. While they greatly empower those tapping into the elements, they're not necessary for combat — they function as an aid.
  • Mona practiced hydromancy (that intrinsically requires the use of, well, reading Hydro) prior to the receipt of her Vision. Most of Mona's abilities were taught to her by her master; it's worth noting that her alternate sprint, Illusory Torrent, is noted to be the ability she can do that her master can't. Illusory Torrent: "This is something that Mona can do, but her teacher cannot. Well, but it's not as if her teacher would pursue any matter concerning Hydro Visions anyway..."
  • Note that there are magic sources (e.g. alchemy, ley lines) in Genshin Impact that do not require the use of the elements.
  • Samachurls are examples of beings that are able to manifest elemental energy without Visions, strongly presumed to be due to 'past memories' as ancient members of Khaenri'ah. Khaenri'ah was a godless region that prospered, outside of the purview of the Seven. This means that Khaenri'ahns were able to access the elements without blessings from the gods.
    • In contrast, Abyss Mages harness elemental energy from Ley Lines.
      • "It is said that there was a great tree whose roots once spread out to every corner of the world, and this branch is said to be part of it. It is almost if it was never broken off and taken far away, for its vitality is such that it still sprouts new leaves even now." – Ley Line Sprouts
  • Visions seem to simply augment what is already there, helping their bearers tap in to the elements and world with far more ease.
    • The moment Ganyu decided to be the secretary of the first Liyue Qixing after the archon war, "a Vision appeared at her hip, granting her power to resonate with the world to a degree beyond her natural abilities." –– Ganyu, Vision
  • Delusions are also assigned to elements, allowing their wielders to manipulate elements with strength that far surpasses those of mortals or Vision bearers. We only know of them given out by the Tsaritsa.
  • In the Traveler Observation Report, Albedo says that in Teyvat, all Vision wielders can manipulate the elements, but suggests that other worlds may exist where "only one person is able to do so, or even everyone." – The Second Experiment: The World
• Manifestations of Visions can vary. Fischl manifested her familiar, Oz, at the very same moment she received her Vision.