Celestial Nail

The Celestial Nails^[1]—also referred to with a variety of terms such as divine nails,^[2] needles, pillars, and spikes—are large objects resembling broken crystalline pillars found scattered in ancient ruins across Teyvat. These nails contain immense power and are capable of affecting the Ley Lines in the areas where they are located.^[3]

According to various legends, they were cast down by the heavens to heal the land following the Funerary Year, but they also devastated the mortal realm.^[4][5] However, they have also been used as weapons of destruction and retribution since prior to the War of Funerary Flame and the Abyss' introduction to Teyvat.^[6]

Overview

All known Celestial Nails take the form of a broken pillar with a seemingly stone exterior, a blue crystalline interior revealed through its broken end, and decorative motifs around the nail. At the top of the nail is a celestial motif.

At Dragonspine and The Chasm, people who have undertaken research into the areas' strange environments have noted peculiarities of similar qualities, which relate back to the power of the Celestial Nails. Dragonspine, which was once a lush mountain, has blue plants that proliferate around Ancient Rime.^[7] The Chasm, which is known for its ore, began spawning Lumenstone and Lumenspar after a fragment of its Celestial Nail was discovered in one of the underground mines' caves.^[8] These stones are capable of repelling Dark Mud, an Abyssal power, which also began emerging en masse after the discovery of the nail fragment. According to Nahida, the Celestial Nails have the ability to purify and stabilize powers that shouldn't exist in Teyvat, such as forbidden knowledge.^[9]

Upon impact with the ground, the nail leaves behind a large crater in its wake, as shown in the area surrounding the Chasm's Spiritstone and the depression in the center of Mt. Damavand. Celestial Nails often cause extreme weather changes in the places they land, such as Dragonspine becoming a snowy mountain, Tsurumi Island being covered in fog, and the Desert of Hadramaveth developing raging sandstorms.

Story

Thousands of years ago, the Heavenly Principles descended upon Teyvat and later overthrew the Seven Sovereigns. The Heavenly Principles eventually lived in a paranoid fear of any life which sought power – presumably seeing them as a threat to their own rule – and meted out harsh punishments on any civilizations that defied their authority, sometimes destroying them entirely by casting down Celestial Nails upon them. To the beings of Teyvat, these actions were seen as excessively cruel; Canon among the Three Moons tried to help the victims of Hyperborea - but still lamented that fact that many lives were lost.^[6]

The Funerary Year brought great destruction to heaven and earth.^[10][11] In the aftermath, the heavens cast down the Celestial Nails to purify the widespread Abyssal corruption left by the invaders. However, this also had devastating effects on civilizations that still existed on the mortal realm.^[4][5]

Dragonspine

Sal Vindagnyr, located on the mountain now known as Dragonspine, was once a lush and verdant area with a prominent Irminsul tree which the people revered. When the Skyfrost Nail descended, it landed over a ritual site at the summit of the mountain, now known as the Peak of Vindagnyr.^[12] It drastically transformed the area's climate and also shattered the Irminsul tree, which the Princess of Sal Vindagnyr attempted to revive via grafting but failed to accomplish.^[3][13] For unknown reasons, the Skyfrost Nail splintered into shards which then scattered to three places around Dragonspine, one of which was the Irminsul tree — which later became the Frostbearing Tree.

Around a thousand years ago, towards the end of the Mondstadt Aristocracy era, a group of nobles attempted to restore their prestige by arranging an expedition to uncover Dragonspine's secrets. However, this expedition was sabotaged by Eberhart, who wished to overthrow the aristocracy, and none of its members made it back to Mondstadt.^[14][15]

By the time the Traveler explores Dragonspine, nobody had yet reached the summit on account of the Ancient Rime that blocked the paths to the summit. During World Quest In the Mountains, the Traveler frees the three shards from their icy encasements, which causes them to return to the main nail fragment at the summit. After the nail is fully restored, it ascends into the sky above the Peak of Vindagnyr.

The Chasm

The civilization of Lang-Gan was destroyed by a Celestial Nail, with The Chasm being created from its impact.^[16][17] In an alternate story for The Chasm's creation, it is stated to have been caused by the fall of the Solar Chariot.^[18] It is unclear how the Celestial Nail relates to the Solar Chariot. The Angel in charge of guiding Lang-Gan, Zibai, defied Celestia by delaying the descent of the Celestial Nail. This bought time for the people to flee from the Chasm and migrate to Chenyu Vale, where their descendants managed to survive into the present day.

In recent times, a fragment of the Spiritstone was discovered in Stony Halls, where miners who came in contact with it would begin having hallucinations in which their desires were granted, leading to this crystal to be dubbed the "Wishstone." Lumenstone and Lumenspar also began appearing en masse, while the physical structure of The Chasm's mines began changing as though it was alive. Alarmed by these turns of events, the Liyue Qixing ordered the closure of The Chasm and made an agreement with the Fatui to investigate the cause.^[19] Following the events of Archon Quest Chapter I and the subsequent breakdown of relations between the Qixing and the Fatui, this agreement was annulled and the Qixing decided to lead their own investigation.

During World Quest Series The Chasm Delvers, the Traveler and the Chasm Exploration Team investigate the source of the anomalies in the mines. After freeing the Wishstone and following trails left behind by the Fatui Ninth Company's investigations, the Traveler makes their way to the Spiritstone, where they find it being bound by Abyssal power. Releasing the Spiritstone caused a Khaenri'ahn Ruin Serpent, Haftvad the Worm, to emerge, which was only defeated after Yelan dislodged the Spiritstone and crushed the Ruin Serpent underneath it. After Haftvad's destruction, the Spiritstone floated back up, albeit to a lower altitude than before.

During Archon Quest Interlude Chapter: Act II - Perilous Trail, a group consisting of the Traveler, Paimon, Arataki Itto, Kuki Shinobu, Yanfei, and Yelan fall into the space underneath the Spiritstone. There, they discovered that the domain it was connected to had a mysterious property which completely annihilated the power of the Abyss, but also doomed the Millelith soldiers and the Yaksha Bosacius who had willingly sealed themselves in there to destroy the Abyssal threat during the cataclysm.

Tsurumi Island

It is implied that the Thunderbird witnessed a Celestial Nail fall onto Tsurumi Island during their reign, which temporarily stopped the storms on the island before causing it to be enshrouded in fog.^[20] Sumida speculates the nail may have been the cause of a ley line disorder, which then mixed with the Thunderbird's power to produce the unique time-related properties of the island.^[21]

Unlike the other regions, there is no visible nail on Tsurumi Island. However, there is a withered Irminsul tree on Shirikoro Peak, similar to the withered trees in Dragonspine, Mt. Damavand and the Chasm - all of which are known to have been struck by nails. There are also ruins connected to the Unified Civilization located underground, with murals depicting Celestia and the Three Moons.

Mt. Damavand/Eternal Oasis

The entirety of Sumeru was once a viridescent rainforest until the first Celestial Nail caused its desertification.^[22] It was used to combat the forbidden knowledge accumulated by Apep.^[23] The nail's impact is implied to have created Mount Damavand and its power formed a permanent tornado in its center, which is the main cause of the sandstorms around the Desert of Hadramaveth. According to legend, King Deshret found the Celestial Nail and used its power, along with the power of the Jinn, to create the Eternal Oasis as a cemetery for Nabu Malikata.^[24]

Although the nail is not shown in-game, there is a withered Irminsul tree in the Eternal Oasis, similar to the withered trees in other locations.

Presence of the divine nail under the Eternal Oasis is confirmed in Paimon's Guiding Notes^[25].

Night Kingdom

In Natlan's Night Kingdom, a Celestial Nail is visible directly above the grounds where Nightsoul Totem challenges take place. While it is unknown if this location has a physical counterpart, the Basin of Unnumbered Flames is said to have been formed as "the result of a colossal object crashing down here many years ago,"^[26] and the mini-map icon in the trial grounds displays the player's location as at the center of the Stadium of the Sacred Flame. It is thus possible that the Stadium was built atop the original impact site of Natlan's Celestial Nail.

Hyperborea

The golden city of Hyperborea, a part of the Unified Civilization located in the far north, was destroyed by a Celestial Nail during the Funerary War.^[27] Afterwards, the city was apparently swallowed by the deep sea^[28] - although it remains unclear whether this was part of the destruction caused by the war, or due to a Ley Line disorder associated with the Nail. The descendants of Hyperborea managed to survive under the guidance of Canon, and came to venerate her as the Frostmoon Scions.

Known Celestial Nails

Gallery

Celestial Nail known locally by people of Liyue as Spiritstone sent to 'purify' Lang-Gan

The Spiritstone after the events of Wherefore Did the Spiritstone Descend?

The effects of a Celestial Nail seen through Mt. Damavand's vortex

The Celestial Nail in the Night Kingdom as seen when fighting certain local legends

Closer look to Night Kingdom's Celestial Nail

The secret mural in the southeast cave shelter of Chizhang Wall, depicts the people of Chenyu Vale leaving The Chasm, with a Celestial Nail in the background

Trivia

• The first four Celestial Nails have withered trees in a nearby area:
  • Dragonspine has a withered tree on the small island east of Snow-Covered Path.
  • The Chasm has a withered tree in the green area northeast of Stony Halls.
  • Tsurumi Island has a withered tree on the southeast shore of Shirikoro Peak.
  • Mt. Damavand has a withered tree behind the central island of the Eternal Oasis.

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