Long Night's Oath

Flower of Life: Lightkeeper’s Pledge

…Then the land was leveled by the northern Hunting Winds, cutting down the unruly frontier folk at the behest of the despotic nobles. And in a bid to seize the power that had been forsaken by the Welkin Moon, a sorcerer who spoke in strange tongues presented a treacherous plot to the Tsar of all spirits.

Jillian

“northern Hunting Winds” could be a god, controlled somewhat by “despotic nobles” of the north. “the unruly frontier folk” are the people of Nod-Krai, I assume.

The “northern Hunting Winds” could also be the Wild Hunt, I guess?

The Welkin Moon must be the moon deity worshipped by the Frostmoon Scions of Nod-Krai.

The “Tsar of all spirits” should be the Belyi Tsar. And who is this sorcerer? Related to the Abyss? Considering we now know of Hexenzirkel’s involvement in Nod-Krai, I wonder if this is one of them.

I wonder if the “power forsaken by the Welkin Moon” is the same power given to the Torchbearers by the Tsaritsa.

The power forsaken by the Welkin Moon — so she’s the reason humans had that power, not the first angel.

Plume of Death: Nightingale’s Tail Feather

Legends told of a nightingale, carrying an ember in its beak, that flew only on moonless nights. A speck of fire that would streak across the firmament like a shooting star: a light in dark times.

Upon the ancient ruins of a castle, a vestige of the age of expansion, stood the high tower of the "Torchbearer," standing guard through the long night. Centuries had passed since their ancestors had stood before the Tsaritsa and sworn an oath of eternal fidelity. And the people of this "paradise" believed that, so long as their lighthouse stayed lit, they could live in perfect freedom, neither fearing the chaos wrought by the pitch-black beasts, nor needing to seek refuge in the lands to the north. Then one night, a chilling sound from the edge of the horizon — the leader of the Wild Hunt, galloping across the night sky. As ever, the night watchers shed their fur coats at shift’s end; yet that day, the sun rose not.

Jillian

There is a lighthouse in Nod-Krai, and the people there swore an oath to the Tsaritsa (so she’s been Cryo archon for a while). The lighthouse is meant to ward off the Abyss, it sounds like.

The leader of the Wild Hunt should be Irmin, as Odin.

The “lands to the north” are ruled by the Snowland Fae.

As the rallying horns echoed through the hills, warriors formed ranks at the high tower’s foot, awaiting that momentous command to march south in fulfillment of their ancient vows. Yet in the great mead hall, the current Chief Torchbearer sat in silence; for already, a mighty army bright as midsummer's day had reached the city gates to the north.

"Warriors of the Pale Star, why do you choose this moment to knock at Piramida's gates? Even you have no right to revoke the sacred powers bestowed upon us by Her Majesty the Tsaritsa." Though they claimed to be reinforcements, these uninvited guests had ulterior motives, as the Chief Torchbearer knew full well; but to yield at this juncture would spell the end of the autonomy they had upheld for centuries past.

From beneath the lead officer’s mask came a voice, low and cold. And in its wake a mocking laugh from somewhere else unknown. “That is where the dark calamity began. Remember, Snezhnaya cannot bear the weight of your defeat. Warriors of the Nightingale, fight with all your might! Yet, lest none should return…then we will take care of the ‘aftermath.‘”

Jillian

First want to take note of the “great mead hall,” because it’s mentioned a few times. The Torchbearers also have a leader.

It sounds like what’s happening here is the “Warriors of the Pale Star” have arrived at Piramida similarly to the way the Fatui came to Mondstadt to “help” deal with Stormterror. Nod-Krai & the Torchbearers are autonomous, but this new faction of warriors (led by, it sounds like, Pierro) is swooping in to take control.

The “Warriors of the Nightingale” are the ones led by the Chief Torchbearer.

The leader of the Pale Star also says Piramide is where the calamity began. I’m unclear on how the Wild Hunt plays into this — is that supposed to be referencing the Warriors of the Pale Star? Is that the Abyss?

(We know now that the Pale Star is the Fatui)

Sands of Eon: Undying One’s Mourning Bell

The air was thick with the scent of blood, as if signaling the return of the great war by which the earth had been scorched. With a great mournful wail, that army of spirits flew across the pitch blackness of the night sky. According to the folk tales of the country, they were said to be a demonic host from another world seeking a harvest of souls. Others believed them to be the lingering phantoms of that ancient nightmare.

This was the calamity that the people of the borderlands refer to as the “Wild Hunt.” If it had been no more than a summer storm, ravaging the sky with thunder and lightning, it might have seemed a small mishap to those accustomed to a life of adventure. But when that tempest, the likes of which had not been seen for a century, poured down upon the earth like black-blood rain, only then did people realize that the terrifying legends passed down by their ancestors were not merely stories meant to frighten children, but born instead of a terror that coursed through their very veins.

Jillian

So the “Wild Hunt” is the Abyss. And whatever is happening here seems to be happening 100 years after the calamity — that timeline makes sense, because the Torchbearers could have sworn their oath to the Tsaritsa when the calamity happened.

But in the end, it was a terror that someone must face, lighting the way for the souls who wandered through the boundless dark. A black-feathered flock of crows moved between the realms of light and shadow, led by one who stood against the light. His sword he silently raised, the face reflected in its glow as sharp and unyielding as the blade itself. Even knowing it was so, the sworn legion pressed onward like moths to a flame, marching onto that battlefield from whose bourn none would return.

…At the end of the road, only the one who held the dark blade still stood. He knew that deep within the forest lurked the foul force by which the “Wild Hunt” had been summoned forth. Just a little more, a little further, and he would have saved the land he had sworn to protect. Lost in his thoughts, he failed to notice that his body had already been torn asunder, and that the warning bell he carried rang out with a hiss, torn between blood and black muck. Perhaps frightened by its unsettling chime, the carrion feeders around him faltered, frozen in their tracks. Thus was he left to walk alone in the abyss, fulfilling his unfulfilled oath…

As many years went by, a new addition was woven into the folklore of the land: that, whenever mournful bells toll, it is a sign that the one who swore to hunt down the Wild Hunt approaches.

Jillian

That sure sounds like a world boss to me. I assume it’s the leader of the Torchbearers or something. It’s honestly a little tough to understand what’s happening here and who’s doing what.

Goblet of Eonothem: A Horn Unwinded

When sounded the horns in proclamation of the Northland’s might, thunderous footsteps shook the earth; like iron rails stretching across the frozen tundra, sending pale flames shooting across the land. A contingent, sworn to Her Majesty the Tsaritsa, whose loyalty lay with no Harbinger alone. Vowed to forge a pure new world beneath the white, glimmering stars.

Even those dwelling in the autonomous borderlands remained children of the motherland; for in her boundless love, the Tsaritsa abandoned none who chose to follow. Since his earliest years, the Warrant Officer who led this border squad had held this conviction firm, until he stood before the very gates of hell and glimpsed those souls unloved by any.

The request to strike had yet to be sanctioned, but he had already made up his mind: we journeyed this far to save the innocents who had been beset by merciless calamity; how could we simply stand by as those pitch-black beasts devoured the land, snatching away the lives of mothers and their children? If this was what those in power called an order, then to hell with it.

… Thus was the foul miasma swept away by the northern winds, just as the first light of dawn pierced the coal-black clouds, its glow once more cast down upon the cerulean earth below. The war had ended, yet to the tower no triumphant hero returned; only a criminal, and the children he had risked all to save. Though the plan had strayed slightly from its course, the renegade doctor paid it no heed, for the goal had been achieved. Desertion, treason against the Tsaritsa — grave crimes indeed, yet absolved by a newly-sworn oath. Upon a staircase built of bones, new warriors take their watch, there to stand till the abyssal tides run dry.

Jillian

Really unsure about any of this, especially since artifact set lore is rarely told in chronological order. The “northern winds” are mentioned again as the ones who subdued the Abyss. Is that the “contingent” that belongs to no Harbinger? Is that who this Warrant Officer was with? Is that the Pale Star warriors?

Is the Warrant Officer / “renegade doctor” supposed to be Dottore? It sounds like whoever it is was the last of his squad left alive, and that he risked his life to save a bunch of children, deserting his squad in the process? And clearly whoever this is became a Harbinger or something, with the “newly-sworn oath.”

The only thing is, Dottore was recruited in Sumeru. But it’s possible, I guess, that this was the first doctor and that Dottore later took his position.

Could the “northern winds” be referring to the Warrant Officer? Does he then become the leader of the Wild Hunt? It sounds like he was once an officer in one of the autonomous borderlands, so not up north, and broke rank because he wanted to save some children from the Abyss.

So is this the man who becomes the leader against the Wild Hunt as mentioned in the previous artifact? Because it mentions an oath here.

Circlet of Logos: Dyed Tassel

It is said that the first Torchforger hailed from Snezhnaya's far north, the Nightingale's emblem a mark of his illustrious heritage. Originally engaged as spies, the family were elevated to the gentry by the Winter Tsar; and thus did this man of humble origin step into the royal palace, now mingling among the Fae nobles of the court. When the nations found themselves swept up by that calamity, the frontier regions — once the locus of high hopes — found themselves abandoned by the gods. In Nod-Krai’s darkest hour, from the north came only a single rider clad in dark silver armor. As if knowing why he had come, the new moon's maiden had lit a beacon to dispel the darkness.

Jillian

The origins of the Torchbearers / Torchforgers of Nod-Krai: a family of spies from the far north who used a Nightingale emblem and served the “Winter Tsar” (unsure if this is the former Cryo archon or just a king). One of these spies rode down to Nod-Krai during the calamity, and the “new moon’s maiden” lit the lighthouse to guide him there. (So the people of Nod-Krai worship the Welkin Moon in particular. I wonder why!)

Also interesting: the Fae nobles of the Winter Tsar’s court. (The word “court” in general obviously makes me think of Seelies.)

On the eve of their departure for the Lumber Isles to the south, a grand warriors’ banquet was held in the great mead hall. Of those present, the most striking was undoubtedly a certain young warrior, clad in a dark tasseled helmet and clutching polearm in hand. Among the Torchbearers of the present, few are those who still wear such archaic, cumbersome armor, for it is a symbol of their bloodline, descendents of those warriors who first fought alongside the Torchforger to repel the black tide. Despite having neither fief nor noble title, they continue to uphold the oaths of their ancestors, for they believed that somewhere out there, the lord of all spirits and erstwhile protector of all Snezhnaya watched over them still.

Jillian

I think the Torchforger is that first Nightingale emissary who came down. Since he was alone, I assume the warriors who fought alongside him were originally from Nod-Krai, and did not have the same bloodline as the Torchforger himself.

Bringing up bloodlines with a red-and-black color scheme is obviously interesting.

”The lord of all spirits” is probably the Winter Tsar.

There are “Lumber Isles” to the south of Piramide, in Nod-Krai (I’m guessing). The great mead hall is in Piramide, I’m pretty sure.

Amidst the sludge-sullied tundra, now soaked too in the blood of heroes, the young warrior knelt among the bodies of his fallen comrades. Sacrifice had always been a Torchbearer’s fate and honor; but if he could save one more soul, rescue just one other, then all the better. And so, like his ancestors before him, he prayed to an old god that no one now called upon, as well as to the leaders he had once held dominion over.

Jillian

Is this old god the Winter Tsar? Or a dragon sovereign? And who are the leaders he had dominion over?

Also just had this fun idea that the Torchbearers who go to fight the Wild Hunt just become the Wild Hunt in the end, in a never-ending cycle.

Perhaps awakened by the sound of the horn, or drawn by the long-forgotten scent of bloodshed, or maybe just out of boredom, somewhere out there, as if in answer to his pleas, a long-dormat phantom stirred from its slumber. As was foretold by the ancient legends, that ghostly blue wildfire will burn brightly anew on fresh fields of battle…

Jillian

Whoever it was that he called upon woke up, I guess. And the “ghostly blue wildfire” should be the “pale flame.” It sounds like that power is being used earlier, with the “contingent” that is loyal to no Harbinger alone.

Is this long-dormant phantom the same one woken up by the sorcerer? I wonder if this is a classic Abyss-controlling-a-dragon-sovereign thing, mirroring Mondstadt. I just don’t really know what the motive is.

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What we know

Places

• Piramide / “paradise” — probably on the northern border of Nod-Krai, protecting Snezhnaya from outside threats
  • ”Piramide” means exactly what it sounds like, and has nothing to do with “paradise” so I do wonder if these are either different places or just not correctly localized yet
    • Adventurer’s Guilde note in Song of the Welkin Moon calls Nod-Krai a “paradise”
  • The lighthouse
  • The great mead hall
• The Lumber Isles to the south of Piramide
• The “royal palace” in the north — probably Zapolyarny Palace

People / Factions

• The Nightingales & The Warriors of the Nightingales
  • The Nightingales were a family of spies who served the Winter Tsar
  • The Torchforger was a Nightingale rider who went to Nod-Krai during the calamity
  • The Warriors of the Nightingales = the Torchbearers — the warriors who fought alongside the Torchforger & their descendents who fight with the current Chief Torchbearer
• The Torchforger (see above) & Torchbearers
  • Actually known as the Lightkeepers
  • The Torchforger is the name for just the original Nightingale rider
  • The Chief Torchbearer is the name for the current leader of the Torchbearers
    • Unclear if he shares a bloodline with the Torchforger
  • The Torchbearers are descendents of the warriors who fought with the Torchforger — they share a bloodline
  • They have some kind of power bestowed on them by the Tsaritsa
• The Warriors of the Pale Flame
  • A group of warriors who come from the North
  • Probably affiliated with Pierro, although it’s noted that they are loyal to no Harbinger alone
  • The pale flame sounds like a power that was used by a god of Snezhnaya — unsure if it’s the same power the Torchbearers have
  • Today, they are definitely the Fatui — not sure if they existed pre-Fatui (or pre-Pierro) or not
• The Welkin Moon, the new moon maiden, & the Frostmoon Scions
  • The Welkin Moon is an actual entity that gave up her powers — maybe these are the same powers the Torchbearers now have, not sure if these are the “pale flame” powers
    • Probably a safe assumption that the Welkin Moon is one of the three moon sisters / four shades
    • The Welkin Moon does not seem to be one of the three moon sisters, but is instead the “new moon” rising from the ashes of the “Eternal Moon”
  • I don’t know if the “new moon maiden” is like, a maiden of the “new moon” or a “moon maiden” who is new to the role
    • Seems like it might be her responsibility to keep the lighthouse lit in the darkness
    • Part of me thinks the three moon sisters were just three actual sisters in charge of this lighthouse, because there is a part in here where the light wasn’t lit in the darkness / some stuff about a moonless night
  • The Frostmoon Scions worshipped a moon deity in Nod-Krai, and may or may not still be active today
    • We also know they had ruins very similar to the Secret Source mechanisms, so might have some kind of relation to the shattered “moon” behind the false sky
    • We know now that they are descendants of Hyperborea who abandoned their homeland
• The Warrant Officer / renegade doctor
  • The officer of a squad in one of the autonomous borderlands (so not from up north)
  • Sounds like his squad may have been told not to advance & he broke rank to do it anyway because he wanted to save a bunch of children — and then he and the children were the only ones left alive to return to the tower
  • This is a little out there, but the wording of this passage makes me think he is the “northern winds” — like maybe he became “the leader of the Wild Hunt” after this
  • Imagine this guy is Pierro lol
• The Winter Tsar / the Tsar of all spirits — possibly the original Cryo archon
• The Tsaritsa — current Cryo archon, was in power at least for some time before the calamity
• The leader of the Wild Hunt & the northern Hunting Winds
  • I’m grouping these together because they both have something to do with “hunting” and therefore seem like they might be the same faction
  • The leader of the Wild Hunt should be Odin and therefore Irmin but the way they’re talking about it here makes it sound more like something to do with Snezhnaya than Khaenri’ah
• The Fae nobles of the court — seelies?
• The sorcerer who speaks in strange tongues
• The dormant old god — unclear if this is the Winter Tsar or a dragon sovereign or what, but seems like it may have been awoken by the “sorcerer”