Chapter Text
The Tsaritsa of Teyvat, it is rumored, is a god. An Archon, to be exact. She’s as cold and icy as her power, Cyro, and no one’s ever seen her without her veil on. She is beautiful in a dangerous way, and powerful enough to make seven nations tremble and fall at her feet. She resides in the towering fortress in Snezhnaya, manipulating the Fatui to do her bidding.
She’s been Tsaritsa for so long, everyone has forgotten her true name. The people of Teyvat are terrified of her, doing whatever they are told. There are outliers, those who stick up for themselves and their countries, but they’re few and far between. And when they’re caught in an act of defiance…they pray that death comes quickly.
They were prepared to suffer under her rule for as long as it took for someone new to come along…until the day the Tsaritsa proposed her most insane plan yet: to conquer Celestia and the other six Archons.
And at that moment, resistance began to sprout.
* * *
The people of Teyvat love their archons. Across six of seven nations, they worship them, celebrate them, and pray to them. They trust them to keep their nations safe. There have been times when the people have turned against the Archons in times of strife, but their faith has always returned. They treat their royalty like the conduit to the gods, and their royalty take the job seriously.
Once, all seven nations were ruled by Archons, but as time went on, some of them decided to take a step back and keep an eye from afar, and a few are even missing, unseen for hundreds of years.
It’s become a point of contention that the ruler of Snezhnaya herself is a god. They like the Archons close, but not that close. And what does a god want with a human kingdom?
Now they know they are only pawns in a bigger, celestial game.
* * *
There is a story often told throughout Teyvat, to children and adults alike. The child’s version reads like a fairy-tale, a story of a bitter fight where justice is won. The adult version is saturated with gore and betrayal, a dangerous history instead of a glorious fantasy.
As the story goes, the Tsaritsa won her throne fair and square, if there is such a thing. The crown chose her. Her blood reacted with the royal stone. And she was able to pick up the imperial sword. All of these are tests, and she passed, proving she was of the royal bloodline.
What the story doesn’t tell, however, is that she’s lying.
Because the royal family of Snezhnaya have a unique ability. They can manipulate metal of all sorts. Metallurgists, they’re called, a rare form of Geo. And very few know that the Tsaritsa herself is only related to the royal family through adoption. She threatened her sister, queen by blood, until she vanished one day. And the Tsaritsa took the throne, unopposed, the secret of her blood-covered deeds buried deep under ice and snow.
The only thing the Tsaritsa truly fears is that one day, a true descendant will challenge her.