Lore question (spoiler discussion)
# I'd like to ask without making any assumptions, and without "filling plot holes ourselves"
# USE ONLY AVAILABLE INFORMATION.
It is known that the following things happen (or we can confidently assume its true within the events we're told about):
1. Abyss sibling was in Khaenri'ah, more than 500 years ago, they knew about playable-twin, but not where the ship is, they had memories of playable-twin.
2. Ship was in Starsand Shoal all along, for maybe thousands of years. We know **for almost certain** that the only one inside that ship was playable-twin. (Since only playable-twin is a descender, and we use the Eternal Moon's Marrow to see the past, and see for ourselves that since crash-landing, only playable-twin left the ship 500 years ago).
3. Time shenanigans within the story "[*A Space and Time for You*](https://genshin-impact.fandom.com/wiki/A_Space_and_Time_for_You)" caused Abyss-sibling to see the key to the ship from the future, "remember" or "learn" where the ship is, and leave Khaenri'ah mid-crisis to find the ship with the playable-twin. The twins meet AT THE SHIP'S CRASH SITE.
From here on out, I'm confused about the events that occur.
One would assume that the opening of the game occurs right at this point,
We see two flashes fly over Mondstadt
https://preview.redd.it/qhk9dozonvfg1.png?width=1343&format=png&auto=webp&s=ba4837575acdf5b0042de11c3e544f29135255e7
And then Paimon asks clearly:
"But when you wanted to leave and go on to the next world your path was blocked by some unknown god?"
https://preview.redd.it/1ru65aggovfg1.png?width=1345&format=png&auto=webp&s=dd330f05bef52ea1407ae61613d4aa3e91ed9c68
# What I mainly want to discuss is this sequence of events.
This raises a lot of question if we assume this event has occurred exactly as we see it (and us - telling Paimon about it - **is really** a flashback).
* Then why would they fly over the skies of Mondstadt?
Since:
1. They want to leave, and they unite exactly at the ship's crash landing site, they can just hop on, and leave
2. During the chapter "[A Herald Without Adherents](https://genshin-impact.fandom.com/wiki/A_Herald_Without_Adherents)" The traveler tells Dain and Paimon that they remember Khaenri'ah because they have seen it. (If you visit this link, CTRL+F and paste "***The Traveler tells Dain about the sea of flames they saw 500 years ago, and that god they encountered..."***)
3. One would assume that after the twins unite, and they see the destruction, they would flee back to the ship. This is nowhere near mondstadt. The path between Sumeru (where Khaenri'ah's entrance was) and Nod Krai (where the ship was), not only Mondstadt is far from that path, but also Celestia.
4. Celestia isn't where the ship was (but it is where "their path was blocked"). Why would their path even be close to that?
5. Note that the twins don't know about the ship being moved to the Frost Moon. The traveler learns about it only recently within the story, so as they reunite for the first time, while they fly over Teyvat and witness the destruction of Khaenri'ah - the twins are together, therefore neither of them got a reason to go anywhere near Celestia, rather than towards their ship.
https://preview.redd.it/3hgqheuntvfg1.png?width=2066&format=png&auto=webp&s=439a09b5d1e26f75f2f5fbaf38610405709a15c2
Let's talk geographic, I've marked the APPROXIMATE locations:
* Khaenri'ah (in a red diamond shape) - NOTE: this is most likely inaccurate in size and location, but doesn't matter, as the general direction seems more important.
* Starsand Shoal on the upper left
* Mondstadt (where we see the opening scene)
* I've also circled what the playerbase most widely agree to be "right below" Celestia, in Chenyu Vale, and I am well aware that it might have changed, or that it might be slightly off, but it is conveniently right between the path from Mondstadt to their ship.
If the twins, 500 years ago, wake up, reunite at Starsand Shoal, then fly towards Khaenri'ah, then there is NO REASON for them to go over Celestia.
# HOWEVER
If for some reason, after witnessing Khaenri'ah's destruction, they fly towards Mondstadt (as we see in the opening scene) and only then fly towards their ship, then their path is indeed converging with Celestia, and their path could be blocked.
This is not a theory, this is a question, what the fuck is going on? What were they doing in Mondstadt? What happened after playable-twin woke up for the first time? Did the twins try to flee, or help? This is very contradictory for me
EDIT: some typos I found, and a broken image, I don't proofread often enough
# USE ONLY AVAILABLE INFORMATION.
It is known that the following things happen (or we can confidently assume its true within the events we're told about):
1. Abyss sibling was in Khaenri'ah, more than 500 years ago, they knew about playable-twin, but not where the ship is, they had memories of playable-twin.
2. Ship was in Starsand Shoal all along, for maybe thousands of years. We know **for almost certain** that the only one inside that ship was playable-twin. (Since only playable-twin is a descender, and we use the Eternal Moon's Marrow to see the past, and see for ourselves that since crash-landing, only playable-twin left the ship 500 years ago).
3. Time shenanigans within the story "[*A Space and Time for You*](https://genshin-impact.fandom.com/wiki/A_Space_and_Time_for_You)" caused Abyss-sibling to see the key to the ship from the future, "remember" or "learn" where the ship is, and leave Khaenri'ah mid-crisis to find the ship with the playable-twin. The twins meet AT THE SHIP'S CRASH SITE.
From here on out, I'm confused about the events that occur.
One would assume that the opening of the game occurs right at this point,
We see two flashes fly over Mondstadt
https://preview.redd.it/qhk9dozonvfg1.png?width=1343&format=png&auto=webp&s=ba4837575acdf5b0042de11c3e544f29135255e7
And then Paimon asks clearly:
"But when you wanted to leave and go on to the next world your path was blocked by some unknown god?"
https://preview.redd.it/1ru65aggovfg1.png?width=1345&format=png&auto=webp&s=dd330f05bef52ea1407ae61613d4aa3e91ed9c68
# What I mainly want to discuss is this sequence of events.
This raises a lot of question if we assume this event has occurred exactly as we see it (and us - telling Paimon about it - **is really** a flashback).
* Then why would they fly over the skies of Mondstadt?
Since:
1. They want to leave, and they unite exactly at the ship's crash landing site, they can just hop on, and leave
2. During the chapter "[A Herald Without Adherents](https://genshin-impact.fandom.com/wiki/A_Herald_Without_Adherents)" The traveler tells Dain and Paimon that they remember Khaenri'ah because they have seen it. (If you visit this link, CTRL+F and paste "***The Traveler tells Dain about the sea of flames they saw 500 years ago, and that god they encountered..."***)
3. One would assume that after the twins unite, and they see the destruction, they would flee back to the ship. This is nowhere near mondstadt. The path between Sumeru (where Khaenri'ah's entrance was) and Nod Krai (where the ship was), not only Mondstadt is far from that path, but also Celestia.
4. Celestia isn't where the ship was (but it is where "their path was blocked"). Why would their path even be close to that?
5. Note that the twins don't know about the ship being moved to the Frost Moon. The traveler learns about it only recently within the story, so as they reunite for the first time, while they fly over Teyvat and witness the destruction of Khaenri'ah - the twins are together, therefore neither of them got a reason to go anywhere near Celestia, rather than towards their ship.
https://preview.redd.it/3hgqheuntvfg1.png?width=2066&format=png&auto=webp&s=439a09b5d1e26f75f2f5fbaf38610405709a15c2
Let's talk geographic, I've marked the APPROXIMATE locations:
* Khaenri'ah (in a red diamond shape) - NOTE: this is most likely inaccurate in size and location, but doesn't matter, as the general direction seems more important.
* Starsand Shoal on the upper left
* Mondstadt (where we see the opening scene)
* I've also circled what the playerbase most widely agree to be "right below" Celestia, in Chenyu Vale, and I am well aware that it might have changed, or that it might be slightly off, but it is conveniently right between the path from Mondstadt to their ship.
If the twins, 500 years ago, wake up, reunite at Starsand Shoal, then fly towards Khaenri'ah, then there is NO REASON for them to go over Celestia.
# HOWEVER
If for some reason, after witnessing Khaenri'ah's destruction, they fly towards Mondstadt (as we see in the opening scene) and only then fly towards their ship, then their path is indeed converging with Celestia, and their path could be blocked.
This is not a theory, this is a question, what the fuck is going on? What were they doing in Mondstadt? What happened after playable-twin woke up for the first time? Did the twins try to flee, or help? This is very contradictory for me
EDIT: some typos I found, and a broken image, I don't proofread often enough
Commentaires
If they wanted to escape, why would they leave the ship at all? Abyss-twin found playable traveler within the ship and then... why didn't they leave?
The most likely answer is that the ship could no longer fly, so they left without it. But that, too, is speculation.
That too seems somewhat unlikely given the recent revelations about the ship. Without it their entire journey seems pretty pointless, and would also seem a bit out of character for the two to just abandon the future of their entire species like that.
I find it weird how it went undressed given the information we DO know, seems like a major point, they wanted to leave but couldn't because their path was blocked, however they were exactly right by their spaceship
The opening cutscene is showing them both flying over Teyvat, individually (two lights)
And also During "[A Herald Without Adherents](https://genshin-impact.fandom.com/wiki/A_Herald_Without_Adherents)" the traveler tells Dain that the opening cutscene is occurring right after the abyss-twin is waking them up (not as they arrive, like you suggest)
edit:
also:
>*But* ***when you*** ***wanted to leave*** *and go on to the next world your path was blocked by some unknown god?*
>"O Almighty Sovereign, the Universitas Magistrorum has provided the predictions you requested: The two stars have been captured by the world's gravity... After a lengthy orbital period, today their paths shall intertwine once more."
Regardless of whether or not the twins arrived in a spaceship, they are often depicted as two separate stars.
Even the Lunar Arcana card, The Fool, depicts twin stars in the appearance of *entering* the world, based on the star trails.
Not to mention, you don't see scenery of the Cataclysm raging through Mondstadt, and that event is often shown with red cubes or Abyssal contamination. The opening cutscene is not of Mondstadt during the Cataclysm. It looks too peaceful.
1.) The intro is just wrong. Maybe they hadn't ironed out the finer details yet when they threw that together way back when. Which, I know, blasphemy, But keep in mind that Traveler also for no apparent reason whatsoever "kind of forgot about" the Cataclysm until they later shoehorned that in during the Dainsleif quest. Or the space ship part. Or the whole bit about >!having HP 9000 on board!<.
2.) It's all a carefully crafted subterfuge by the developers and the Traveler is either lying, misremembering things and/or still withholding some crucial information we really could have used, like 5 years ago.
On a somewhat tangential side rant, given that the whole point of the Game's plot is to reveal "the truth of this world" I feel like it should really be common courtesy for the main protagonist to just lay out what they already know instead of stringing the audience along like that. It's quite rude, really. We're just trying to help here.