Art of Khemia

The Art of Khemia is a form of alchemy that was developed in and primarily used by the people of Khaenri'ah. Because Khaenri'ah was an underground nation with little natural fauna, the Art of Khemia focuses on the creation of life; its capabilities are vastly different from those practiced in the Seven Nations of Teyvat.

500 years ago, the Art of Khemia was a major factor in the fall of Khaenri'ah during the cataclysm.

Overview

The universe is the dark essence of the true starry sky, and the earth is the accumulated memories of time and lives. The chalk: that is you. The earth is where alchemy gets its name, and is the basis of all life. And this... This is new birth.

—Rhinedottir, as she demonstrates the Art of Khemia to Albedo, Albedo's Character Story 3

Details about how the Art of Khemia was developed or how it works are currently unknown. Those who have attained the pinnacle of learning and alchemical prowess are capable of creating synthetic life, the "apex achievement" of alchemy.^[1] Currently, the only known person to have attained this level of ability is "Gold" Rhinedottir.

The Art of Khemia played a major role in the cataclysm 500 years ago, which resulted in the destruction of Khaenri'ah at the hands of the gods.^[2][3] As such, both Dainsleif and Venti — who were present for the fall of Khaenri'ah — express their apprehension over Albedo's practice of it.

Synthetic Lifeforms

When the pinnacle of attainment in alchemy is combined with unimaginably vast learning... the apex achievement is the creation of human life.

—Albedo, about his existence as a synthetic human, The Snowy Past

While Rhinedottir created many monsters, whose invasion of Teyvat contributed to a large part of the conflicts during the cataclysm, she considered only two of her creations to be "miraculous beings": the dragon Durin and Albedo, her successful synthetic human.

The star-shaped mark on Albedo's neck was left after sealing the area where life force was infused into his vessel. He likens it to a birthmark and a pontil mark left on glassware made through glassblowing.^[4]

Before she created Albedo, Rhinedottir produced another "abandoned experiment" during her Primordial Human Project. After deeming him a failure, she apparently had him devoured by Durin, allowing him to eventually re-emerge after Durin's death over Dragonspine.^[4]

Albedo himself would successfully transfer Durin's dragon form into that of a human, using the flesh of an immortal monster from the Mare Jivari, blood extracted Durin's Core, and portions of embryos left behind by his creator.^[5]

Known Practitioners

Icon	Name	Note	Status
	Rhinedottir Gold	Main practitioner	Active
	Albedo Cretaceus[6]	Creation and student of Rhinedottir	Active

Possible Practitioners

Narzissenkreuz Ordo
	Jakob Baker Leader	Known to have researched Alchemy extensively with a particular interest in Khaenri'ahn Khemia. Jakob writes about his research into the work of Rhinedottir and the importance of learning about it.[7] Furthermore, the Narzissenkreuz Ordo criticize the Alchemists of Khaenri'ah's Eclipse Dynasty for swapping the final stage of the Magnum Opus from Red to Yellow.[8]

Related Practitioners

Icon	Name	Note	Status
	Sucrose	Assistant and student of Albedo, specializes in Bio-Alchemy	Active
	Timaeus	Assistant and student of Albedo	Active
	Subject Two	Self-taught using stolen Albedo's research materials	Killed by Albedo after the events of The Shadows Deepen; resurrected some time before Paralogism; current fate unknown

Known Synthetic Lifeforms

Icon	Name	Note	Status
	Riftwolves Alfisol[9][10]	Various creations of Rhinedottir	Active
	Durin Humus[11]		Completely assimilated by Durin as of The Magic Known as Storytelling
	Bakunawa Permeated Body		Immortal; confined within Mare Jivari and can be fought to incapacitate every 72 hours as of The Last Survivor of Tenochtzitoc
	Sebas		Active
	Golden Wolflord Nameless King of the Rift	Unintended creations of Rhinedottir[12]	Active
	Abyss-Corroded Golden Wolflord Boundary-Eroding Beast from Beyond		Killed by the Traveler and Little One in Revelations from the Past
	Elynas	Suspected creation of Rhinedottir[Note 1]	Deceased prior to the game's events; consciousness appeared in Limner, Dreamer, and Robotic Dog
	"Albedo" Subject Two	Creation of Rhinedottir and Albedo's predecessor in Primordial Human Project	Killed by Albedo after the events of The Shadows Deepen; resurrected some time before Paralogism; current fate unknown
	Albedo Cretaceus[6]	Creation and masterpiece of Rhinedottir	Active
	Durin Rubedo[13]	Creation of Andersdotter, human body created by Albedo	Active

Related Synthetic Lifeforms

Icon	Name	Note	Status
	Breacher Primus	Indirect creations of Elynas[14]	Active
	Melusine		Active
	Fellflower "Subject Three"	Creation of Subject Two[15]	Killed by the combined effort of the Traveler, Eula, Bennett, Amber, and Albedo in Shadows Amidst Snowstorms

Trivia

Etymology

• The Ancient Greek word Χημία Khēmía, "black earth" is a possible root for the Arabic word al-kīmiyā (Arabic: الكيمياء), from which the English word alchemy was derived.^[16]

Other Languages

Notes

Change History

References

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