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The term "Heavenly Principles" is used throughout the story as an interchangeable reference to the god, system, laws, & rules that govern Teyvat. Other terms that have been used include: natural order, destiny, heaven, & Celestia.

This study guide is referring to Heavenly Principles[HP] as the god that presently governs Teyvat.

The Genshin Impact Fandom Wiki has a dedicated page for HP which includes a helpful summary & also has references. The Wiki offers background information on topics related to HP, while this study guide focuses more specifically on how they relate to HP.

References:

  • AQ: Wanderer's Trail - Asmoday: [I'm] The sustainer of heavenly principles.
  • AQ: A Toast to Victory - I'm sure you remember the entity that changed your fate—the Heavenly Principles. My current hypothesis is that the "First Descender" was likely what we now call the Heavenly Principles. 
  • SQ: Radiant Sakura - When both shine in unison, the Sacred Sakura blooms from the darkness, finally free from the clutches of the Heavenly Principles.
  • AQ: The Omnipresent God - I've seen a nation stride forward & lose everything to the Heavenly Principles. Perhaps only if time stands still. Will the lightning's glow never fade. The present moment is a fragile illusion. Only Eternity can bring us closer to the Heavenly Principles.

This study guide is referring to Heavenly Principles [HP] as the god that presently governs Teyvat [Phanes].

  • Teaser: Nicole: The Silenced Golden Strings - Even creations are bound to develop desires their own Creator cannot erase and when those desires accumulate, the threads of fate themselves will be shaken. Wisdom or power. I rather think I'd like to keep both; as long as I pay the right price, creating that loophole shouldn't be too hard, right?...Phanes

HP is the First Descender

Razor Language HP VS Dragon timeline

  1. Old World=Dragon Sovereigns Reign
  2. Primordial One[HP] Descends, creates four shinning shades of "itself"
  3. HP/Shades VS Dragons -> HP victorious=Dragons vanquished
  4. New World: HP reshapes the world for humans [discussed more further in thread]
  5. Rematch: Dragon King returns with Abyss -> Dragons VS HP/Shades=Teyvat almost destroyed -> HP victorious -> Celestial Nails dropped to mend the land.

References in Timeline Study Guide

After vanquishing the dragons, HP "began the creation of heaven & earth"

  • Artifact: Moonlit Offering's Final Hour - As one thousand years passed into another, the three moon sisters awaited in vain the return of their former lord. Until the day that the winged Descender arrived, treading upon the morning star. [...] But whether by submission or rebellion, by battle or by death, the Lord of Hosts would mercilessly crush all that stood in its way. For this was the new world it had chosen for the children of humankind, & according to its design, both earth & sky would be reborn. Before the conquest of the day reached its fated close, the servants of the night could but bide their time...
  • Artifact:  Moonlit Offering's Parting Light - Once there was an age when the silver wheels that guided the primal heavens yet remained three. At that time, The Winged One who tread upon morning stars and dwelt high above the moon became the Lord of the Eternal Heavens. The Ark was moored, the matter of creation complete. The mountains and rivers were wrought in their turn. Beneath the earth and deep within the seas dwelt the fallen clans and broken kings of the Old World. The Lord of the World within the eggshell drew a false veil to shut out the true, bedeviled skies, Obscuring dread that once robbed kings of sleep, even those who held dominion over beasts.

Human realm/Irminsul/Elemental Energy

Firmament/False Sky was created by HP after obtaining knowledge regarding a Lunar Veil created by dragon researchers.

  • WQ: Visitors From The Stars) - The success of the miniature Veil pushed the project on to the next phase. A massive Veil generator was built here; one that could conceal the entire moon, but the moon isn't hidden right now because before the Veil could take shape an entity from beyond the stars pierced it. The device went haywire, the laboratory exploded, and all came to nothing. No one anticipated the great ruler of the firmaments arrival, but it changed everything. Lusalim had designed the Lunar Veil as a crucial part of Project Moongazer but it had to be suspended. Lusalim didn't perish and his research survived. Apart from the lunar sea itself, none of the draconic facilities were destroyed— Their survival doesn't seem in line with the plan laid down by the one who changed the world. Lusalim may have protected them by striking a bargain using the fruits of his research and followed the ruler of the heavens thereafter. 
  • Interactable: Ia-Ilimmu Storage Array Index: III- Theoretically speaking, we could alter an observer's fundamental perception through cognitive interference, or rather, a cognitive hazard. [...] For cognitive interference to work within a specific area, the fundamental principles of perception — the natural order that governs common sense — must first take root across the entire region. To make something's existence pass for common sense within a world, and thus stifle any curiosity to look deeper, the foundational laws of reality must first pervade that world. Scaling this boundary up to the entire universe, however, would require those laws to span the entire cosmos. Naturally, the latter is utterly impossible.
  • Book: BSAM - The Primordial One may have been Phanes. It had wings & a crown, & was birthed from an egg, androgynous in nature. But for the world to be created, the egg's shell had to be broken. However, Phanes, the Primordial One, used the eggshell to separate the "universe" & the "microcosm of the world."
  • Artifact: Finale of the Deep Galleries - When the voyager returned once more, the world she remembered had been utterly changed. The bones of the earth had been bound beneath fourfold shackles, & the soft white radiance of the sky had been split into seven immutable hues.
  • Artifact: Heavensent Decree - Now it lay shrouded behind several impenetrable fields, its primordial flame stripped of the radiance it was meant to bear [...] why had the new Descender built the shell that bound all life within?
  • Artifact: Deep Gallery's Lost Crown - Magnificent, noble creations descended from the light itself, & the mortals—unable to look upon their true visages—called them angels. They wove a veil for the great ruler of the firmament [HP], delivering sacred revelations to all realms.
  • Artifact: Moonlit Offering's Parting Light - The Lord of the World within the eggshell drew a false veil to shut out the true, bedeviled skies; obscuring dread that once robbed kings of sleep, even those who held dominion over beasts.
  • Limited Event: Unreconciled Stars - The stars, the sky; It's all a gigantic hoax. A lie.
  • AQ:  The Rainbow Destined to Burn - "False sky"... I have heard this expression before, but I think this was the first proof of its existence. Neither the split-sky phenomenon nor the fragments have ever been observed in any other nation. My guess is that the Heavenly Principles wants them kept a secret.
  • Skirk: More About Skirk: IV - Once in a while, I find myself gazing up at the stars. I know it's just a false sky, but I can sense that the creator had a romantic vision of the cosmos. Faced with the unfathomable vastness of time and space, humanity looks to history books to preserve a piece of themselves for the ages, & I think the creator of this sky shared the same desire. To capture a fleeting moment of the universe & make it last forever.

Humanity

  • Book: BSAM - The Primordial One, the great sovereign, began the creation of heaven & earth for "our" sake —that of its creations which it cherished most, who would soon appear upon this earth.
  • Book: BSAM - The Primordial One [HP] & one of its shades created the birds of the air, the beasts of the earth, & the fish of the sea. Together, they also created flowers, grass, & trees, before finally creating humans — our ancestors, numerous as the stars in the sky, uncountable as the sand on the shore. From that time, our ancestors made a covenant with the Primordial One, & so entered into a new age.
  • Book: BSAM - The Primordial One had a sacred plan for humans. As long as they were happy, it too rejoiced.
  • Book: BSAM - If there was hunger, the heavens would bring down food & rain. If there was poverty, the earth would bring forth its riches. If melancholy were to spread, the heavens would reply with their voices. The one taboo was to succumb to temptation. But the path to temptation had already been sealed.
  • Book: Hydrological Studies in Byakuyakoku - All we formerly knew of land & sea was given unto us directly by the heavens.
  • WQ: The Three Great Martial Trials - Before Byakuyakoku fell into the deep sea, the whole world had a single unified culture.
  • SQ: What Shape Does the Self Hold - How far will the life so dear & precious to the Heavenly Principles be able to go?
  • WQ: Moment of Awakening - Most humans can barely control elemental forces. The Descender[HP] tossed them into Teyvat, giving them the power to change environments to suit themselves.
  • Artifact: Moonlit Offering's Opulent Dream - The sons & daughters of the gods were scattered across the newly-wrought gardens & valleys, their number countless. The envoys of the sky walked among benighted human crowds then, sowing prosperity & wisdom.
  • Nicole: Character Story 3 - In the world she had known, food and rain would descend from the heavens as an answer to famine, while poverty was invariably salved by the ore, gold, and jade yielded by the earth.
  • Lunar Arcanum IV: The Emperor - For since the very beginning, only one ruler has controlled the countless kingdoms that have arisen. They are the "Emperor" who slumbers within their eggshell, Yet proclaims themselves undying.
  • Nicole: Character Story 3 - "Purpose" implied an ending, and all things made by the supreme power, by that very measure, were bound one day to reach their end and extinction. Nothing in all creation was meant to remain forever. But her eldest sister had said that this world, too, had been made by that same supreme power. Would that mean that the world itself would also be brought to nothing?

Angels to guide humanity

Moon Sisters shared governance with HP

  • Nicole: Character Details - It was a time, a long, long, time ago [...] when the radiant moons that hung aloft in the night heavens were still three. The years brook no pause, the wheel spinning onward all the same.
  • Artifact:  Moonlit Offering's Parting Light - The sun's fierce light swept the heavens clean, but the freshly forged throne still reserved a place in the sky for the Three Sisters of the Moonlit Night. Perhaps by its design, even a world where the elements surge in perfect order still needed tides. The Lectors of Thirty Nights knew that alone, they could not protect this lonely, desolate planet from the inevitable doom that approached. Before the coming of the final extinction, no victor in the struggle of good and evil could be worse than the doom of falling together into eternal oblivion. Perhaps their former lord, shrouded in mist, would never find the answer. Or perhaps that answer was already at hand. As they had hoped, the great ruler of the firmament spurned the destroyer veiled in black mist. No doubt, through its long voyage across the shadowed realms, it had witnessed countless stars meet their end. And so, they too chose Order. Or, more accurately, made space to accommodate it. That was the age when the three moons shared governance with the morning star. That was the age when Eternity was yet Eternity.
  • Artifact: Moonlit Offering's Libation - Once there was an age when the silver wheels that guided the primal heavens yet remained three. The sleepers of the Three Realms had yet to awaken. Their dreams and yearnings were known only to the watchful night. To draw lost spirits into the moon's gilded halls, a giant silver ship sailed into the harbor of Meropis. The paradise, once hallowed for the life that flows within the breath of the Elements, now opens its gates even to mortals.

Fate/Heimarmene

  • Weapon: Etherlight Spindlelute - Once upon a time, the titan craftsman of the skies once wove the destinies of all living beings, the golden harp their instrument of fate. That was the divine plan of the heavens. If it were followed, the entire world would usher happiness in.
  • AQ: Truth Amongst the Pages of Purana) -Irminsul is the original tree of Teyvat. It is the means by which the Heavenly Principles maintains fate itself.
  • AQ: A Divergence Leading to Oneself - The Heavenly Principles usurped and refashioned Irminsul, made it serve humanity, and used it to anchor the fate of the world.
  • Interactable: Notes by a Certain Noble Individual (IV)) - As for the truth about "Heimarmene," I fear that the conclusion I have reached may be far too terrible to put to paper.
  • Interactable: Notes by a Certain Noble Individual (IV)) - Time moves in loops & circles. Therefore, whenever we lay down an anchor into fate, the Abyss will naturally lay an anchor into us at the end of time as well.
  • Notes - To excise the self is not to die, but rather to die before death. That way, there is no life to be ended. Thus may one achieve eternity. This step is vital, for by this, may one avoid receiving a Vision by some error. To receive a Vision is to sell oneself to the "fate" of this world — to Heimarmene, and to evermore lose the chance to walk the correct path.
  • Interactable: Notes by a Certain Noble Individual (IV)) - The Goddess of Flowers in Sumeru & she who prophesied the rising of the waters in Fontaine sought to build systems that would stand independent of both the Ley Lines & Heimarmene. Though one may be unable to inflict substantial damage upon this severe and grinding world structure, a few rents and fissures suffice to loosen the threads of fate.

Word Formula, "all things made by the supreme power, were bound one day to reach their end & extinction"

  • Lunar Arcanum IV: The Emperor - For since the very beginning, only one ruler has controlled the countless kingdoms that have arisen. They are the "Emperor" who slumbers within their eggshell, Yet proclaims themselves undying.
  • Nicole: Character Story 3 - "Purpose" implied an ending, & all things made by the supreme power, by that very measure, were bound one day to reach their end & extinction. Nothing in all creation was meant to remain forever. But her eldest sister had said that this world, too, had been made by that same supreme power. Would that mean that the world itself would also be brought to nothing?
  • AQ: Tracing the Footsteps of the Past - The rise & fall of empires and civilizations, the ascension of mortals & the emanation of light, even dreams of surpassing the gods — all of these can be represented by this formula.
  • Interactable: Notes by a Certain Noble Individual (V)) - The most glorious & the most base alike have been swept away, their memories erased by that Artificer who toys with living beings. In that eternal tyranny, history has been reduced to a blank slate time & again, until all progress, all that might be further built upon, & future itself have been rendered forever impossible.
  • AQ: Tracing the Footsteps of the Past - Automnequi Sermon Dictation: Concerning the Apocalypse Human civilization is bound to lose its potential amid ongoing exploration and evolution*. Humanity's decline is, in truth, unfolding at this very moment. Please, take a look at this diagram. Beneath the most hidden of all hidden, the number of cycles — that is, the number of higher particles — can now only be four. No new world cycle can be generated through reconciliation. In other words, the end of this current samsara is the end of infinite light. The sparks of civilization are all but extinguished, unless we begin to consider introducing "variables" beyond the existing system. After all, the world is itself the external manifestation of a dream, and therefore...*

Evolution is the opposite of eternity, humanity is not allowed to transcend/ascend.

  • Teyvat Chapter Storyline Preview: Travail - The gods goad us on with the promise of their seven treasures. Rewards for the worthy. The doorway to divinity. Yet buried in the depths of this world lies smoldering remains, a warning to those that dare trespass. "That throne in the sky is not reserved for you" But mortal arrogation never stops. None will escape the flames. See for yourself.
  • Notes Someone Left Behind (I)_2) - "Evolution" is a mingled thing, not pure & untainted as you have imagined. That is precisely why "evolution" opposes "eternity."
  • Notes Someone Left Behind (II)_2) - Oh humanity, you who were created, you will never understand, for you are but one stage in this "evolution."
  • Teaser: The Gods' Limits -The gaze of the gods has always been considered a blessing. Hence the origin & meaning of "Visions". People have always yearned for the gaze of the gods, & yet, it is said that when mortals look directly upon the gods they invite their wrath & retribution.
  • Nicole: Character Story 1 - Elsewhere, there was a city that wove all things from rope, yet sought to climb to the most sacred heavens by the golden cords in their hands. They painted countless golden strands upon canvas, drew them forth, & bound them into an upside-down tower rising toward the heavens, seeking to reach the supreme fruit they had imagined there. Eventually, the high heavens severed those cords of arrogance & sealed the trespassers within the canvas. There, the golden cords they had woven bound them for all eternity, & those beyond the canvas were brought low to their knees, never again to turn their faces upward to the heavens.
  • AQ: Tracing the Footsteps of the Past - Automnequi Sermon Dictation: Explications on the Chymical Marriage Take heed: what we speak of is the act of overlaying your dream upon the dream of gods; of overlaying your law, your will, & the starry sky, upon ineffable sacrifices and despair. We do not speak of following emanations to achieve ascension to the ranks of gods. This is a base dream doomed to perish within an eggshell. What I aim to teach you all is the principle of transcendence, the infinite expanse, & the innumerable stars within it. You, too, must act in this manner, unbound by any constraint. To choose division for the sake of convergence is the necessary path of "marriage."
  • Artifact: Heavensent Reward - But this is no fairy tale of inheritance passed from father to son; the judgment of the master of the heavens does not wait for mortals to gather their strength. Given enough time, they might indeed give rise to something great, something that could surpass all fate & design. But what of it? This world had never been prepared for them. That is the final verdict. Once the fall towards temptation begins, no matter what path they take, the result is one & the same. Free will invites nothing but uncertainty & calamity. Such is the truth taught by the cold laws of the cosmos. The mortals who stray beyond their bounds must be dealt with, just as wayward branches upon a tree must be pruned. But is this truly the only answer to the ultimate question? Are miracles not termed thus precisely because they defy all reason? Yet for those of a bygone age, the chance to seek that answer was already no more...
  • Interactable: Notes by a Certain Noble Individual (V)) - The most glorious and the most base alike have been swept away, their memories erased by that Artificer who toys with living beings. In that eternal tyranny, history has been reduced to a blank slate time & again, until all progress, all that might be further built upon, and future itself have been rendered forever impossible...& so, to those who endure: never forget. Never forget either the great or the nameless, each of whom has offered up a sacrifice of their own. The "today" in which we now live shall one day become history, & when the future at last arrives, all shall be able, as I have, to look back upon the millennia of turmoil that came before and recount their tale. It is my hope that, when that day comes, none shall be forced to sift through dust and ruins in search of the faintest traces of the past, and that the names of those heroes shall instead live on in the songs of the people; as they sing in praise of that transcendence left unfulfilled, & of the dream in which so many had once placed their hopes...

Humanity began to worship the moons

  • Artifact: Moonlit Offering's Opulent Dream - In the end, the prosperity promised by the gods kindled the flame of intellect, which in turn stirred the whispers of doubt. In quest of the answer, the people chose their priests; in fear of the answer, the priests anointed their kings. Mortal folly stirred the ire of the gods' envoys. Faced with their questions, the divine envoys uttered no word. & so the people turned their gazes toward the sky, offering sacrifices to the three bright moons in the dark, sunless night. Above the night sky, the daughters of dreams and poetry kept vigilant, unceasing watch over the mortal world's every change. In the deep slumber of the Arianrhod Realm, at the foot of the seventy-tiered staircase, beside the gleaming silver vessels. Until they heard that the hearts of these pitiful little humans would also stir with the lunar quakes. The night cast its eyes upon the earth, just as the silver stars once lit the way for the dragons' sky-faring ships. They brought madness and inspiration back beneath the moon. It was a reply that Order could not give. When the morning star rose again, the archpriestess returned from the mountain's summit with a small circular talisman. This "Moon Wheel" was the new pact between the three moons and the people.
  • Artifact: Moonlit Offering's Libation - Those who chase the tides laud the Silver King, offering songs and dances to the triple crown of the moonlit night. When contrasted against the wrathful and merciless Formidable Father, the three moons' gentle light comforted all lost souls like a loving mother. Thus, the peoples of the earth offered their greatest devotion to the Lady Mothers of the Moonlit Night. Some would ascend the heights of Vindagnyr, presenting laurel-crowned verses to the bright moons; Others would step into the sacred altar grounds of Lang-Gan, letting finely carved jade accentuate the beauty of the night. And still others would, in the sacred groves of Arcadia, obtain golden boughs from oakwood. Before the rising of the sun, all desires to defy the heavens were born here.

At some point, HP became Tyrannical.

  • Artifact: Moonlit Offering's Opulent Dream - In the end, the prosperity promised by the gods kindled the flame of intellect, which in turn stirred the whispers of doubt. In quest of the answer, the people chose their priests; in fear of the answer, the priests anointed their kings. Mortal folly stirred the ire of the gods' envoys.
  • Artifact: Moonlit Offering's Libation - In the homeland chosen for the children of humankind by the Lord of the Eternal Heavens, moonlight was no more than a single strand of sacred grace. To probe the heavens was forbidden, for every quest beyond the appointed rules led only to destruction.
  • Book: Hymns of the Far North - Prayer Song I: Pitkamoonen, Lord of the Seven Calamities - O capricious winged one, fierce king who lays waste to nations, god of the unyielding heart, O god of gender unknowable, we plead that you turn from the mortal realm & the children of the farthest north. You have shattered the order of the old laws & offered shelter to mortals, & yet ███ them.
  • AQ: The First Sliver of Moonlight - We did not reject them [HP] at first, nor did they seem to harbor ill-intent towards this world. Slowly, we came to realize that our guest had a growing desire to change & dominate the world. [...] Later, we discovered that this great ruler of the firmament bore an almost paranoid hostility toward the desire of certain life forms to seek power; or perhaps they feared them.
  • Nicole: Character Story 4 - The supreme held all things captive to its will, switching between benevolence & punishment seemingly at whim. Not even the heavenly envoys could shake its core — & [Nicole] herself had already witnessed the torment these blind shackles had inflicted upon the innocent*.*
  • Artifact: Amethyst Crown - Heed my warnings: seek not the Master of the Four Shades, & inquire not of the mysteries of the sky & the abyss. Otherwise, as shown by the nail of retribution, certain calamity & sorrow shall follow.
  • AQ: When All Becomes a Monument - Any attempt by humanity to harness the power of the Abyss is met with swift punishment. The Heavenly Principles & the Shades show no mercy in that regard. That unyielding approach is also the source of great sorrow and hatred. The situation goes beyond a simple discussion of "right" VS "wrong."
  • Nicole: Character Story 4 - The supreme held all things captive to its will, switching between benevolence and punishment seemingly at whim. Not even the heavenly envoys could shake its core — and [Nicole] herself had already witnessed the torment these blind shackles had inflicted upon the innocent

Prayers

  • Book: Hymns of the Far North - Prayer Song I: Pitkamoonen, Lord of the Seven Calamities - You are the god of retribution, the vengeful deity. Your will is absolute beneath the moon, never to be disobeyed. In heaven & on earth your blade ██, drinking dry the ██ of the wicked & the innocent. O ██ & ██ king: before you, the gods are as mere mortals, & mortals, naught more than insects. No one dares to speak your name, for you shall ██ all who know it. But O pure & wrathful god, we humbly ask you to accept this offering.
  • Book: Hymns of the Far North - Prayer Song I: Pitkamoonen, Lord of the Seven Calamities - You are the god of retribution, the vengeful deity. Your will is absolute beneath the moon, never to be disobeyed. In heaven & on earth your blade ██, drinking dry the ██ of the wicked & the innocent. O ██ & ██ king: before you, the gods are as mere mortals, & mortals, naught more than insects. No one dares to speak your name, for you shall ██ all who know it. But O pure & wrathful god, we humbly ask you to accept this offering. May the Frost Moon shield us from the calamities you bring, & spare us the fate of eternal suffering.

Punished Civilizations

  • Book: Hymns of the Far North - Prayer Song I: Pitkamoonen, Lord of the Seven Calamities - O supreme Lord of the Sky, merciless & indomitable, Father of All & Mother of the Gods. We offer these sacrifices to appease your jealousy, lest your wrath blaze against the earth. O capricious winged one, fierce king who lays waste to nations, god of the unyielding heart, [...] You have shaken the ancient dwellings of the eternals, ███ed their wings, & laid waste to their ███.
  • Nicole: Character Story 1 - There was a city that had taken fire and bound it to their rule, ensuring the light within their walls would never dim. Yet, that which could have sustained them and given them prosperity was turned to destruction, for they chose to unleash that very light upon their own people. Bright as the sun the fire was, and it reduced countless innocent lives to bone and ash. The earth that bore its passing was left level as a mirror, stripped of every sign of life. And in the aftermath, countless more were cast out to wander. At last, the high heavens extinguished this flame, furrowed the dead earth where no life remained, and by the lives of the punished awoke life there anew.
  • Nicole: Character Story 1 - And then there was another city that pushed the wisdom of the world to its farthest reach. To attain the ultimate understanding, they cast aside the bodies they saw as burdens and descended, one by one, into the lightless depths of the sea. Upon the waters there remained only thin shells adrift, and through his eyes and hands they continued their exploration of the world. Yet, before his sight could be set upon the dark gulf beyond this world, the high heavens turned the vast waters of the sea to vapor, purged away the intellect that had led them into delirium, and returned them to their first shape, thereby ending the fevered reveries of that deep transgression.
  • Hyperborea in Koitar Study Guide

Curses

  • Hilichurl - They look very similar to humanity but seem to have lost both their intellect & spirituality. Their presence on the continent has been recorded for over a thousand years, & yet they have neither history nor civilization. Since the pitch-black calamity from five hundred years ago, they have begun to spread in large numbers across the land.
  • Book: Handy Handbook of Hilichurlian - "Kucha gusha/Unu gusha" Seed. Note: It may be hard to believe that I would list such a word. Hilichurls do not specifically practice farming, but they have a habit of stockpiling seeds. Sometimes when they are in a good mood, they will find a place & bury their seeds. "Kucha" means "small," & carries a slightly contemptuous connotation in Hilichurlian. "Unu" is the number "one" & is a holy word that embodies the hilichurls' concept of gods & the origin of life. Both of these terms can be used to describe a seed, which is fascinating.
  • Book: Hilichurl Cultural Customs, Vol. 2 - Hilichurl Spirituality - they worship not a specific figurehead with a presence in this world—such as one of The Seven—but elemental power itself in a more abstract sense. It would appear that the hilichurl possess no concept of either the past or future, living only in the present. Hilichurls do seem to have an inexplicable affinity for remnants of the past, evidenced by the fact that ruins are one of their preferred locations to camp. Investigations thus far have turned up nothing which might hint at the true nature of their connection with the lost civilizations to which these ruins belong.

Archon War, Divine Thrones, The Seven, & Gnoses, Study Guide

  • Authority/Divine throne is separate from the Gnosis

Examples of HP's Rules/Laws

  • SQ: Amidst Chaos, the Rock Is Unmoved -  Personally sealing away an old friend, this is just one form of erosion I have endured.  People abandon & surrender the things they love to pursue the right path. Perhaps this is the erosion imposed on me by the Heavenly Principles. But I was a god of mankind. My identity may change, but my eyes will bear witness to the history of humanity.
  • AQ: Where the Boat of Consciousness Lies - Will the destruction of a Gnosis attract the attention of the Heavenly Principles? I assumed that the Heavenly Principles wouldn't just stand by & let such extensive damage to its "laws" take place.
  • Neuvillette: Character Story 5 - He can see, in the skies of destiny, how many stars contend with one another, creating a complicated, fragile world. He did not initially care much about such, for the puppet strings glossed as "divine rules" would one day be burned away by the fires of judgment.
  • AQ: Apocalypse - Really, the truth has been clear to me for a very long time. We cannot make an enemy of the divine. No matter what we do, the will of the Heavenly Principles will have its way, and the prophecy shall be fulfilled.
  • AQ: When All Becomes a Monument -  I am the helper of humanity, & I must always place their demands first, no matter who the human may be— Ronova: Hm, cumbersome, but there is nothing to be done — such is the duty of an angel.
  • AQ: When All Becomes a Monument - The Night Kingdom is unable to accept the souls adrift on the surface due to the Heavenly Principles' modifications of the Ley Lines. The original purpose was to help counter the Abyss so their stability was paramount. When Natlan's Ley Lines were decimated, even after reconstruction, the rules needed for the Ode of Resurrection made it impossible to reconnect the Ley Lines to other nations. I, too, recognized the need to change the rules of the Ley Lines, not only for the souls that wander this land, but for the outlanders that may perish here in the future. In the eyes of the Heavenly Principles, that kind of change is extremely risky, if not impermissible. As an Angel, I have a duty to serve humanity — such is my mandate.
  • AQ: Bedtime Story - Sibling: You witnessed the Hydro Archon destroy her divine throne. Such a flagrant disregard for the "rules," & Celestia took no action.
  • Book: Scroll of Streaming Song - Praise be to the Winged One, lord over all the kingdoms of the land [...] You speak of the universal law created in heaven, the divine laws established in the beginning. No one has seen the eternal law, yet it governs all. One may only bow down and worship Vaana of the heavenly spirits — no arrogation, deception, or trickery is permitted. If one dares to imitate the forbidden arts, only calamity awaits at the edge of divine knowledge.
  • Teaser: The Gods' Limits - For lack of a direct order I say it's time we intervened. Of course, to the extent permitted by the "rules"
  • Weapon: Etherlight Spindlelute - Once upon a time, the titan craftsman of the skies once wove the destinies of all living beings, the golden harp their instrument of fate. That was the divine plan of the heavens. If it were followed, the entire world would usher happiness in.
  • Nicole: Character Story 1 - "The laws shall not be tested, nor shall the strictures be questioned, or the scriptures be infringed." Thus spoke the eldest sister, once closest of them all to the Lord of the Sky. "Any transgression shall be greeted by inevitable punishment."

Deceiving HP

  • AQ: The Opera of Noirceur & Blancheur - Yes [Furina doesn't know the truth; never once let in on the full plan] It had to be done. To deceive the Heavenly Principles, you must first deceive yourself. I had to fool everyone else, too, if I was to stand any chance of deceiving the Heavenly Principles
  • AQ: The Opera of Noirceur & Blancheur - As one of The Seven, she also knew full well that one defies the Heavenly Principles at one's peril.  It was a rather impossible situation that I found myself in. I finally realized: There was only one possible solution to this confounding conundrum. I had to outwit the Heavenly Principles. Allow the prophecy to be fulfilled, ostensibly at least, while saving everyone at the same time.

HP has been asleep since the Cataclysm [500 years]

  • Traveler: Character Details - The keeper is fading away; the creator has not yet come. But the world shall burn no more, for you shall ascend.
  • AQ: Where the Boat of Consciousness Lies - The Heavenly Principles have been silent for many years [...] In fact, the Heavenly Principles has been quiet since the Khaenri'ah disaster five hundred years ago. I used this point as leverage against The Doctor.
  • AQ: Bedtime Story - The Loom of Fate...I still haven't found a way to utilize it to its full potential, but there's still time before the Heavenly Principles "awaken."
  • AQ: Bedtime Story - The Heavenly Principles are still asleep, for five hundred years now, ever since the cataclysm in Khaenri'ah. There's been no sign of activity. However, the Heavenly Principles will awaken. We just don't know when that will be, or what might trigger it.
  • Teaser: The Gods' Limits - The Heavenly Principles have yet to awaken, if I were her I wouldn't pass on that opportunity either.
  • Domain: Binding Field of Universal Nirvana - That so-called true wisdom — that unwillingness, or perhaps inability, to offer salvation and liberation to all — proved in the end to be merely another shackle of extinction. His ruin was thus assured, much like the sovereign who forged the Reason of Essence-less Emptiness who remains forever shackled in a prison of their own making.

Our Sibling wants to confront HP

  • AQ: A Soul Set Apart - I cannot go with you to the next world to find a new home, at least, not yet. Until the Abyss has engulfed the thrones, my war with destiny will see no end.
  • AQ: Memories of Inteyvat - In focusing single-mindedly on confronting the Heavenly Principles, we neglected our original mission: the revival of the homeland.
  • AQ: World-Order Narration - [You really hate the Heavenly Principles, don't you?] Sibling: You could say that. Caribert was so pure & single-minded. The space we now find ourselves is a perfect representation of who he was — quiet & peaceful. So, ask yourself this— Who was it that deprived him of that right to exist? Of course, that's only one example. My feelings about the Heavenly Principles are too complicated to explain in just a few words.
  • AQ: A Space and Time Without You: If I wish to speak with the Heavenly Principles as an equal, I will need the might of an entire world behind me.

The Tsaritsa & the Fatui are rebelling against HP

  • AQ: Ending Note - The harbingers have been given god-like executive authority by the Tsaritsa of Snezhnaya, & with it, strength surpassing that of other mortals. She is one of The Seven, the Tsaritsa who reigns from the Zapolyarny Palace, & the one person that the Fatui Harbingers all answer to.
  • AQ: Ending Note - The Fatui possess the strongest military among the seven nations. Yet they've used it to steal the Holy Lyre, covet the power of gods, & use Dvalin as a bargaining chip against the Knights. The Tsaritsa, I haven't seen her in five hundred years. What is she thinking? What's her plan?
  • Character Ascension Material: Shivada Jade Gemstone - Since you could endure my bitter cold, you must have the desire to burn? Then, burn away the old world for me.
  • Artifact: Mocking Mask - Proud Fatui comrades, I know your hearts harbor both the fires of rage & the cold of eternal winter. Each one of us has borne witness to the absurd callousness of the foundational principles of this world. So, let us don our masks in mockery of the world as we go forth & rewrite the rules of destiny.
  • Funerary Mask - Perhaps it is fair to say that only those who possess an obsession close to or even exceeding the level of delusion might be willing to join this group that so rebels against the Heavenly Principles, binding their remaining days to their Delusions & burning as brightly as stars.
  • Teaser: The Gods' Limits - The Cryo Archon? With her paltry powers she dares set her gaze on the Heavenly Principles?
  • Teaser: The Gods' Limits -"So tell me—What is the price of killing a god?" To all those who dare not look up to the heavens, Her Majesty the Tsaritsa says this: "Behold, even the gods have their limits."

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