Notes
Contents
A fable, passed down from generation to generation, in which the legendary Sage of the Stolen Flame is the main protagonist. Professional historians, it is said, have analyzed its contents and come to a consensus that this tale has nothing to do with historical fact.
Volume I
Here is chronicled the story of how that wisest sage in all of history, Waxaklahun Ubah Kan, the one known as the Sage of the Stolen Fire, and how the tribe living upon Hanan Pacha, which he built, rose up, and then was scattered.
Jillian
More notes about his name here.
Like many of the most ancient stories, it begins in the age when the stars and the moon held the sky, the dragons ruled the land, and Lord of the Night ruled the night realm. The people then were ignorant, and wandered the barren lands.
Jillian
”The stars and the moon” represent Celestia, but it’s a very particular mention. No sun, and only one moon instead of three.
The dragons still rule the land, so that helps us place this on the timeline, somewhat. And we’ve also got this guy called the “Lord of the Night” who rules the Night Kingdom — no idea who he is or what his deal is. A god? A dragon?
I don’t really think the abyss has anything to do with the Night Kingdom — I think they’re separate entities. But this is sort of framing the Night Kingdom as the third of the three realms, which is new information.
As a refresher, the three realms are the “Light Realm” of the elemental dragons, the “Human Realm” created by the Heavenly Principles, and the “Void Realm” — the latter is usually understood to be the abyss. (And maybe it is! The Night Kingdom could just be one part of the abyss, completely separate from the Abyss Order.)
The first Pyro Archon had not yet been born, and so none yet had Visions, could do naught but be controlled by the elements. Until Waxaklahun Ubah Kan brought back the kindling of phlogiston from the red and black land. Only then did humanity gain the power to vie with wild beasts and fell dragons.
Now, astute listeners might already be wondering, as a human, how could the Sage Waxaklahun Ubah Kan steal the phlogiston kindling from the claws of the evil dragons? That is precisely the first story I am going to tell.
Jillian
The stories keep alluding to the fact that the Sage was actually a human — or a dragon born as a human, or something.
Legends tell us that long, long ago, in the red and black lands, there lived a winged dragon. That dragon was the scion of the great lord of the volcano, Xiuhcoatl. In some versions of the story, it is said he was none other than Xiuhcoatl himself, but the gods only know what kind of storyteller would make such a mistake. After all, who could forget that the one who defeated Xiuhcoatl was the very first Pyro Archon, Xbalanque himself. How could things have been resolved at a point so early in the story?
Jillian
So Xiuhcoatl is the actual volcano lord, but the one we hear about in all the stories is like…his shade? Maybe?
I like that he is specifically a “winged dragon” — because dragons and serpents and snakes are all the same thing.
Anyway, when the great lord of the volcano fell into deep slumber, this vain winged dragon claimed the treasures that once belonged to the former, and proclaimed itself to be the lone king. Among those treasures, one of the most striking was known as “Pyrophosphorite.” That was a crystal refined of the primal fire in the depths of the great volcano, and its color was that of an ever-shifting rainbow, shining with dazzling light.
Jillian
Xiuhcoatl fell asleep, and the self-proclaimed volcano lord stole his stuff. (Reminds me a lot of the Sacred Lord from Unfinished Reverie.)
Illuminated by this radiance, the winged dragon itself became bewitchingly brilliant. “Gaze upon me and see how beautiful I am! My light illuminates the world, and I am the sun of this land.” So spake the winged dragon. But he was no sun, and his beauty was nothing but the reflection of the Pyrophosphorite’s light. And in turn, that light did no more than illuminate the red and black lands in which it dwelt.
Jillian
The moon claiming to be the sun.
Keeps mentioning the “red and black lands” which makes me think of the Crimson Moon. Not that I think there’s any real connection there but idk.
Perhaps it was the vanity of the winged dragon that offended the Lord of the Night, for he sent the Sage Waxaklahun Ubah Kan to defeat him. But perhaps that seemed not enough to some, and so the gods sent the fool, Chaac, with him.
Jillian
Okay this is fun. Makes it sound like the leaders of the other two realms — the Void Realm and the Human Realm — both decided they needed to send a guy to deal with the new “leader” of the Light Realm. This is especially interesting because it is thought that the Void Realm cannot work effectively with the other two realms.
I like the idea that Chaac was hand-picked by the gods as the best person for this task, even though he’s known as “the fool.” He pairs perfectly with a sage. (Yes I’m thinking about Pierro.)
Under the protection of the Lord of the Night, the two arrived in the red and black lands, and far away, they saw that radiant winged dragon. Waxaklahun Ubah Kan was in no hurry to rush onward, but rather made a blowdart from bamboo, and struck the winged dragon’s eye with a single shot.
Chaac watched with glee, and was about to charge up to capture the winged dragon, but was restrained by the Sage. “Foolish Chaac, though one eye is now blinded, he still possesses limitless power. With your human body, just how do you intend to contend with him?” The wise Waxaklahun Ubah Kan thought up a better plan.
Jillian
Of course. Of course they took out one of his eyes.
The wounded winged dragon returned to its cave to hide, and so the Sage Waxaklahun Ubah Kan and the fool Chaac disguised themselves as doctors and entered the cave.
”My word! How glorious you are! How splendid and radiant! Ah, but what a shame that you cannot see yourself, and neither can the masses behold your beauty.” Waxaklahun Ubah Kan praised him.
”It’s all because a few days ago, some despicable maggot shot and blinded my eye. That is why I can but hide in this cave."
"Now that is truly serendipitous! We happen to be traveling doctors specializing in curing eye diseases. In my opinion, if you replace your eye with a bright gem, you will once more be able to see the light,” said the Sage. “And not only that, but we can even replace your fangs and claws with gems, that you would surely shine a dozen times more brightly than you already do.”
Jillian
If you replace one of your eyes with a Vision, you will be able to see “the light.” (Because what is a Vision if not a bright gem?)
Hearing these words, the conceited winged dragon could not help but fantasize about how beautiful it would be when it was twelve times more radiant. It happily agreed without stopping to think about it in any detail. And so the Sage and the fool Chaac took out the grainfruit they had earlier prepared, and one by one replaced the winged dragon’s eyes, fangs, and claws with grainfruit.
Ah, the poor winged dragon! Not only was his eye not healed, but by the time he realized he had been tricked, he couldn’t even eat those two little humans! And so he died in a daze, and the Pyrophosphorite fell into the hands of Waxaklahun Ubah Kan.
The fool, Chaac, thought they should offer the treasure to the Lord of the Night, but the wise Waxaklahun Ubah Kan had a different idea. He knew that the dragons that ruled the land possessed power far beyond that of humanity, but did not necessarily have more wisdom. And the secret to power lay within that Pyrophosphorite.
And so he broke it open, and vast power poured forth. The Sage Waxaklahun Ubah Kan thus gained the power of dragons — that which is known as “Phlogiston.”
Jillian
So the “Sacred Flame” is phlogiston. And the Sage stole it not only from the dragons but also, kind of, from the Lord of the Night. He chose to give it to the humans instead.
I’m not sure if this is meant to imply that humans have the wisdom that dragons lack, but it’s pretty funny if it is, since the best they could send was “the fool.” But maybe it’s more like — power comes from the Light Realm, wisdom comes from the Void Realm, and when you put the two together in humanity you have the most powerful being.
The thing about thinking about the three realms like this is it kind of takes the gods out of the equation at all, because “their realm” is the Human Realm — I guess they have nothing to offer humanity but life?
If the Night Kingdom is made up of fallen envoys (which I think it is but we don’t have to get into that right now), it would make sense that they can offer wisdom — they were the original guides of humanity.
Volume II
Next, I will tell you the story of how the Sage Waxaklahun Ubah Kan passed Phlogiston to the people of the tribes and built Hanan Pacha.
After leaving the red and black lands, Waxaklahun Ubah Kan and the fool Chaac came to the land of forests and mountains, where human tribes lived. Waxaklahun Ubah Kan wished to pass on the power to use phlogiston to humans, but none wished to learn from him, for none knew just what use the phlogiston he spoke of was.
”If we want to make fire, we need only strike the flint. As for the fuel, there’s firewood and vegetation everywhere. What use have we for phlogiston?"
"O shortsighted people, do you not know there will come a day when all plants and firewood are consumed and are no more? And that the most plentiful, inexhaustible thing in the world is rocks? If you can use phlogiston to burn rocks, then you will have solved the problem of obtaining energy once and for all.” Thus spake the Sage, filled with confidence.
Jillian
This dude taught them how to use fossil fuels lmfao.
Aaaaanyway I do think it’s interesting that “the most plentiful, inexhaustible thing in the world is rocks.” Zhongli do you have anything to say about that.
”Haha, I’m afraid we will never see that day come.” The people then could not yet see their ancestors in the Night Kingdom, and thus they naturally did not think of the future. And so Waxaklahun Ubah Kan had no choice but to give up.
Jillian
So the Night Kingdom is also full of humanity’s dead ancestors. In that sense, it’s like an afterlife / underworld.
The fool Chaac, seeing the Sage troubled by this, suggested a solution that would make the benefits phlogiston could bring readily apparent to all.
”So, like, we could take this big ol’ rock and raise it up higher than the mountains, where everyone can see it. Then, like, everyone will totally get all curious and come running to us.”
Though they were the words of a fool, Waxaklahun Ubah Kan had little choice but to try. And so he first taught Chaac how to use phlogiston, and the two of them raised the land together. The land thus raised was none other than Hanan Pacha, the Upper Sanctum of which people today now speak.
Jillian
Right. Okay. So they made a floating island for people to live on. Kind of like Celestia.
(And as far as we know, that land today is pretty broken up & scattered.)
But unlike today, the Hanan Pacha of those days was still a vast tract of land, whole and complete. It floated above the clouds, and all the humans of Natlan could confirm its existence with a glance.
And so, one by one, people from all corners were driven there by their curiosity. The kind-hearted Chaac stood guard by the lake, using the power of phlogiston to help the people ascend to Hanan Pacha. And those that ascended to Hanan Pacha learned the art of using phlogiston from the Sage Waxaklahun Ubah Kan. And under the leadership of Waxaklahun Ubah Kan, the people founded the first permanently settled tribe upon Hanan Pacha.
Jillian
They’re even using the word “ascend” to refer to people going up to live on Hanan Pacha.
(Makes me wonder — I have to go back and check, but I know there were some mentions in Natlan lore of “the first human to ascend.” When I read that, I assumed it had something to do with Celestia, but maybe it was actually just referring to Chaac.)
Volume III
Next, I will tell the story of how the people of Hanan Pacha broke the taboos and caused the Sage of the Stolen Flame to leave Natlan.
Jillian
Okay so on a really, really macro scale: this is a story about someone guiding humanity, helping them ascend to greater heights, and then leaving them when they don’t follow the rules.
After the people were taught how to use the power of phlogiston, they built a city on top of Hanan Pacha. Within the city were magnificent palaces and temples, all made of rare gems, brilliant feathers, and fragrant flowers. After completing all of this, Waxaklahun Ubah Kan decided to raise Hanan Pacha still higher.
"For this, all of you must no longer eat anything produced by this land, save for water, for all the streams of this world flow from the Source of All Waters, and are not subject to the Lord of the Night's control."
Jillian
This is where things get so, so, so interesting to me. I’ve been saying for a while that there’s something sus about eating the food of Teyvat — like eating it means you can never leave, or something. (Kind of related: Fertilizer Impact)
Now, the Sage is straight up telling people that all the food produced by the land is controlled by the Lord of the Night. And if they want to ascend higher and higher, and escape Teyvat, they cannot eat it.
The other important thing here is that he mentions the Source of All Waters — but whose control is this under? If it’s elemental, is it under the Light Realm’s control? If it was created by the gods, is it under Celestia’s control? Or is it the one purely neutral force in this universe?
We now know (I’m sorry I don’t remember where this information came from but I’m 100% positive about it) that the place where “water flows like light” is the Night Kingdom. So it’s possible that the Night Kingdom is the Source of All Waters.
Chaac had no idea why they should go yet higher, and didn’t want to leave Natlan. But whenever he went to ask Waxaklahun Ubah Kan this question, the latter would only speak of the “Lunar continent” and “Newark Holy Stone” and other stuff he couldn’t understand.
Jillian
The Newark Holy Stones were a bunch of faked artifacts that somebody used to try to prove a theory that one of the Lost Tribes of Israel had actually ended up in Ohio.
As for the “Lunar continent,” maybe he’s talking about the Lunar Palace — all we know about it so far is that it was where the three moon sisters lived, and it was destroyed. I’ll have to go back and find exactly what I’m thinking of, but this is also reminding me of something Deshret once said about wanting to go home, or something.
If the Sage is from the Night Kingdom, he could have fallen there from the heavens when the Lunar Palace was destroyed.
As Waxaklahun Ubah Kan was the smartest person in the world, everyone did as he said. And so they began to raise fish in the blue expanse and grow ball algae for food, and Hanan Pacha flew higher each day.
Jillian
Makes me think about Paimon being compared to a balloon (whenever that was), and the Paimon kite we made for Lantern Rite one year. The less control the Night Kingdom has over you, the higher you can fly — but consuming the food of Teyvat tethers you to the ground.
Considering they were eating the food of Teyvat at one point before they went to Hanan Pacha, I guess that means that if you don’t eat it for long enough, you’re good to go.
Alsooo makes me think about Khaenri’ah, obviously — what happens if you’re using alchemy to make your food? Everything has to come from somewhere, so…what did it come from? Were they trying to escape the Night Kingdom, too?
Finally, the Lord of the Night realized the Sage’s intentions. As they feared humanity's departure, they decided to try and stop his plans. One day, while the Sage was away, the Lord of the Night disguised himself as a human of the tribe, and, carrying a bottle of mysterious water, he found Chaac, waiting by the lake.
Jillian
Why did the Lord of the Night fear humanity’s departure? Is it because they’ll no longer go to the Night Kingdom when they die?
”Friend, don’t guard the water of this lake any longer. See? The water I hold is a hundred times sweeter than that of the lake. Come, have a taste.” Though he thought of what the Sage had said, it was just water, so it should be fine.
Or so Chaac thought, reaching out and taking a sip. Trying it, he discovered the taste was truly sweet beyond compare. And so the Lord of the Night gave him more sweet water, and he brought it up to Hanan Pacha, sharing it with all.
But what Chaac did not know was that this sweet water was actually brewed from the grains grown from the land. In our modern parlance, it was alcohol. When the Sage returned, everyone was dead drunk.
Jillian
Alcohol already has such a sus role to play in this game — of course it’s a product of the Night Kingdom. Of course Venti is obsessed with it.
I’m leaning toward “probably not,” since it doesn’t say anything about phlogiston being involved in making it, but since this is the land of fire I wonder if this is a precursor to Snezhnaya’s firewater.
The Sage knew that they could no longer leave Natlan, and so he expelled them from Hanan Pacha. The scattered people brought phlogiston with them to every corner of Natlan. And so the Sage of the Stolen Flame set out on the road home.
Jillian
They ate the apple from the garden of Eden, basically. (Two things Venti loves: alcohol, and apples. Hasn’t he mentioned that he wouldn’t be welcome in Celestia even if he did want to go there?)
This paints a somewhat different picture of the Sage’s ultimate goal vs. Obsidian Codex. In that story, he wanted to use phlogiston to combine the bloodlines of dragons and humans (and maybe a secret third thing) because he knew a creature like that would be Teyvat’s best defense against some looming threat.
In this story, he kind of has the same goal — give humans the power of the dragons + the wisdom of the Night Kingdom, and then take them up with him to the Lunar Palace, or something? Both versions of the story are kinda sinister, but this one feels a lot more like he was only acting in his own interests.
Regardless, it all reminds me of Deshret. Another guy who wanted to return to the sky and thought beefing up the humans with some kind of divine knowledge would be the way to do it.
”The road home? Does that mean he went back to the red and black lands?"
"Were you listening or not? The red and black lands were where the Sage stole phlogiston. Hrm, though the legends don’t actually say just where the Sage’s homeland was… So I suppose what ‘the road home’ means is that someday, he will return.”
Jillian
We don’t know where his actual homeland was — my guess is he went “back” to the Night Kingdom, but maybe he’s originally from the Lunar Palace.
”C’mon, that’s obviously just one of those storyteller’s lines you guys always use. How about you cut it with the suspense?”
Anyway, after the Sage of the Stolen Flame left, Chaac accepted the guidance of the Lord of the Night, and established permanently settled tribes on the land. The age of the humans of Natlan began, but that is a story for another time.
Jillian
As we know from Obsidian Codex, Chaac made contact with the first Wayob of Natlan. Since then, it sounds like the tribes have had a symbiotic relationship with the Night Kingdom.