Tartaglia/Storyline

Tartaglia, also known as "Childe" and by his personal name Ajax, is the Eleventh of the Eleven Fatui Harbingers. Born in Morepesok, Snezhnaya, he grew up dreaming of adventure. At fourteen, he fell into the Abyss, where he met and trained under Skirk. The experience transformed him into a fearless and battle-hungry fighter. Hoping to discipline him, his father enlisted him in the Fatui, but his extraordinary combat skills instead caught the attention of Pulcinella. Rising rapidly through the ranks, he was eventually promoted to the rank of Harbinger, becoming the youngest in history.

When the Tsaritsa launched her plan to retrieve the Gnoses, Tartaglia was one of the Harbingers sent on foreign operations in the other nations. He was initially sent to Liyue, where he encountered the Traveler; though he lent them his assistance at first, they eventually came at odds when the former revealed his true goal of obtaining the Geo Gnosis, ultimately awakening the ancient god Osial as part of the Fatui's plan, though he later learns he was manipulated by Signora and Zhongli. After Scaramouche cut contact with the Fatui upon acquiring the Electro Gnosis, Tartaglia was sent to Inazuma to search for him, but to no avail. He was later sent to Fontaine, where he was wrongly convicted, imprisoned, and drawn into a battle against the All-Devouring Narwhal, which he fought tirelessly until the beast's ultimate defeat by the Traveler and Neuvillette, whereupon he was delivered back to the Fatui by Skirk. Upon returning back to Snezhnaya, he has taken over ever greater responsibilities, such as assuming command over Capitano's subordinates following the latter's incapacitation in Natlan and being appointed to serve as Councillor in the Snezhnograd Veche.

Profile

Tartaglia, codename Childe, ranks as the Eleventh of the Fatui Harbingers. He is currently the youngest among the Harbingers,^[6] as well as the youngest ever appointee in the history of the Fatui.^[7]

Tartaglia has a Hydro Vision and an Electro Delusion. Additionally, he has access to the Foul Legacy Transformation, an Abyssal art taught to him by Skirk; however, usage of the Foul Legacy is extremely draining for him, and as such, he can only use it for a limited amount of time.^[8]

Personality

Tartaglia describes himself as "kind of a bad guy", living for the thrill of a fight and causing chaos. As a child, Tartaglia was frightened and hesitant, but he secretly desired to become an adventurer like the ones his father told him about as they fished together. After falling into The Abyss and meeting and training with Skirk, Tartaglia's personality drastically changed. Although he appears relatively friendly on the surface, Tartaglia is a bloodthirsty warrior. The Abyss and his old master, Skirk, made him self-confident, solipsistic, and brash, thriving on the sensation of being alive. A warrior at heart, he constantly seeks ways to grow stronger, regardless of how he obtains said power. Tartaglia considers those who wish to become strong like him to be friends and takes pleasure in battling them on the battlefield. He lusts for combat and grows excited by fighting strong opponents, even if it could mean dying in the process. He uses bows because he is weakest with them, making his victories with them all the more exhilarating.^[9]

Because of his pride, Tartaglia is exceptionally reliable at accomplishing the tasks given to him, no matter how difficult they may be or if they go against his values. This, combined with his straightforward nature, makes him rather easy to manipulate. Despite disliking how his plan in Liyue Harbor could potentially harm innocents, he puts it into motion to fulfill his mission in Liyue — only to learn he was meant to fail as part of an even larger plan he was not privy to, much to his consternation.

Amongst the rest of the Harbingers, Tartaglia is considered an oddball and has a life closest to that of a normal person, according to Sandrone.^[10] While most of his fellow Harbingers prefer clandestine operations and staying behind the scenes, Tartaglia favors being front and center. He is a public figure known for attending social gatherings and even participates as an actor in plays and theater. As a result, Childe's coworkers are wary of him, while he holds them in disdain for their schemes and "intangible" methods. While he is easily capable of scheming, he only resorts to such approaches when necessary due to his straightforward nature. He also appears to treat his subordinates less harshly compared to some of his colleagues.

Tartaglia dedicates himself to those he cares about wholeheartedly. He is unquestionably loyal to the Tsaritsa and holds her in high esteem, seeing himself as her weapon of war.^[11] He also cares deeply for his family; he sends money, gifts, and letters home often. Tartaglia is exceptionally proud of his three younger siblings and dotes on them frequently, especially his youngest brother Teucer — he is willing to lie and even put himself in mortal danger, so as long as it makes him happy. Although he was once on good terms with Zhongli (even allowing the former Archon to use him as financial support), he seems to have taken his deception personally, stating he will only forgive him if he agrees to trial by combat.^[12] Zhongli appears to be unaware of Tartaglia's change in opinion, being under the impression he will still meet him for drinks to catch up after the recent Liyue events.^[13]

Appearance

See also: Blades of Glory

Tartaglia uses the tall male model. He has short ginger^[14] hair and dull blue eyes. He wears a red Fatui mask pulled off to the left side of his head, and a beaded earring with a red crystal on his left ear. A few lighter blond streaks can be seen in his hair, with one prominent one on the left side of his bangs.

Tartaglia wears his Blades of Glory outfit during the first phase of his Golden House battle. After the first phase, Tartaglia's clothes turn from gray to black, he wears his mask on his face, and his Hydro Vision appears to be supplanted by his Electro Delusion. After the second phase, he undergoes a full outfit change and becomes larger, and his Vision reappears in the empty slot on his right chest while his Delusion moves to the center of his belt. Both his Vision and Delusion also obtain more prominent black and silver casings.

History

Pre-Fatui Life

Ajax, named by his father after a Snezhnayan folkhero, was born in Morepesok,^[15] a Snezhnayan coastal village;^[16] he was the third son in his family after his two older brothers,^[17] with his younger siblings—sister Tonia, and brothers Anthon and Teucer—being born sometime after him. He would frequently spend time with his father ice fishing, where he reveled in the tales that his father spoke of.^[16] Desiring to become an adventurer of his own,^[16] Ajax snuck out when he was fourteen and quickly got lost in Snezhnaya's forests, chased by bears and wolves.^[18] He eventually lost his footing and fell into a chasm which led him to the Abyss.^[18] There, he encountered a mysterious woman who introduced herself as Skirk.^[18] Skirk decided to take him in as a disciple much like Surtalogi had done for her, training him to adapt to the nature of the Abyss.^[18] She decided to keep a fair distance away from his growth, feeling that he could only strive to be better if she did not actively influence him and eventually returned him to Teyvat.

Due to how time flowed in the Abyss, Ajax had felt that three months had passed, when on Teyvat, only three days had passed. He returned to his parents, and the time in the Abyss changed him to become a source of strife in the once-quiet village.^[18]

Joining the Fatui

Believing that his son's temperament had gone too far, Ajax's father handed him to the Fatui for conscription, hoping that their military discipline could control him.^[15] Instead, he saw trained and well-armed Fatuus being decimated by a seemingly young child.^[15] This caught the attention of the Fifth Harbinger, Pulcinella, who wondered how he became an eye in a vortex of discord.^[15] Pulcinella brought Ajax into the Fatui to mete out punishment.^[15] Ajax reveled in the carnage and for his efforts,^[15] was eventually chosen by the Tsaritsa to become a Fatui Harbinger,^[15] becoming the youngest in history,^[7] and was bestowed the codenames Tartaglia and Childe. He was given a Delusion which Pierro personally pinned on him, and at that moment, Tartaglia swore an oath to the Tsaritsa, realizing that she too was also a true warrior.^[19]

Shortly before the start of the Traveler's journey, Tartaglia was in attendence during a meeting with the other Harbingers in which Pierro outlined the Tsaritsa's plan to collect all the Gnoses.^[20]

Tartaglia would be sent to Liyue to help the local Northland Bank branch there collect debts, including one from the owner of the Yanshang Teahouse and was assisted by Javert in this task. After incapacitating the occupants, he discovered a Sigil of Permission on the owner, expressing slight disappointment in Javert for failing to notice it. He took it for himself while exposing the owner's fraud to the authorities.^[21] To ease his family, he told his youngest brother Teucer that he was going to Liyue to help sell toys there.

Present

The Traveler first meets Tartaglia after fleeing from the Millelith when they were considered a suspect in Rex Lapis' death during the Rite of Descension. Tartaglia stopped the Millelith from apprehending them and introduced himself as Childe, asking if they knew Signora. Due to their experiences with her, the Traveler became suspicious of him, though he told them he also did not like her and was there to help them. Bringing them to the Northland Bank branch in the harbor, he gave them the Sigil of Permission he had taken previously and told them to seek the adepti, explaining that it would protect them from harm.^[22]

After finding the adepti, the Traveler returned to Childe, who learned from them that they sought the Seven, though they refused to tell him more about it. Nonetheless, he told them that he knew someone that could break the stalemate.^[23] Shortly afterwards, he brought them to Zhongli, who agreed to let them see the Exuvia under the pretense of performing last rites. Childe gave Zhongli a large sum of Mora to acquire the items, and later made a contract with Baizhu to supply coconut milk to the pharmacy for Qiqi in return for the Everlasting Incense.^[24]

In reality, Childe began to prepare to seize the Geo Gnosis from the Exuvia, discovering that it was being held at the Golden House. He quickly overpowered the guards there and soon ran into the Traveler, who realized he had deceived them. Believing that they had arrived first and took the Gnosis, Childe fought them, even making use of his Electro Delusion and the Foul Legacy Transformation, but the Traveler was able to hold their ground and defeat him. Returning to normal and exhausted from the technique, he realized that the Traveler did not have the Gnosis and that the Archon was still alive. Though regretful to use a despicable method, Childe revealed that the Fatui had replicated the Sigil of Permission and used a large amount of them in order to awaken Osial, believing that Morax would have no choice but to intervene.^[25]

While the Traveler caught up with the Millelith and helped them fend off the Fatui from destroying the Guizhong Ballistae, Childe met with Signora and Zhongli at the Northland Bank. He was upset to learn that he was made a pawn by Signora, and his actions would lead to him being condemned by the people of Liyue.^[26] Due to his status as a Harbinger, the Northland Bank could not hand him over to the authorities, and as such, Ningguang ordered them to pay a hefty fine for the chaos he had caused.^[27] Likewise, many of the Fatui were no longer welcome in Liyue, including the Ninth Company, which were stuck in The Chasm to stabilize the region. The members of the Ninth Division would not learn of these events until the Traveler met with Anton and brought him and his group a letter revealing what had happened.^[28]

Later, as the Traveler explored Lingju Pass, they came upon a Millelith named Daipai who warned them of the numerous Ruin Guards in the area. While clearing the automatons, they found Teucer, who told them he was looking for his brother and handed them a large bag of Mora. Recognizing the bank on the bag, they went to the Northland Bank, discovering that Teucer was Childe's brother. Childe was likewise surprised to find that Teucer had gone from Snezhnaya to look for him, and he was the only one in his family who did not know his true affiliation with the Fatui. Childe asked the Traveler to help babysit him while he was handling official business, but Teucer quickly grew weary and wanted to see his brother, resulting in numerous awkward moments in the process.

In order to make his brother satisfied, Childe asked the Traveler to accompany him to the ruins and destroyed the machinery creating the automatons while letting Teucer take a "tour" of the dangerous facility. Unable to handle the automatons under the current circumstances, Childe was forced to use his Foul Legacy form to end the battle, but became heavily injured due to not having sufficiently recovered during his bout with the Traveler. Before he left, he gave the Traveler a Mr. Cyclops figurine, which he had originally wanted to give to him when he returned from Liyue. Though unable to see his younger brother off, he had decided to not let him see him injured or it would have left a bad memory. Childe thanked them for their assistance and hoped to work with them in the future.^[29]

On learning of the conclusion of the major events in Liyue and Childe's role in it, Capitano was furious. This caused Childe to conclude that the senior Harbinger's opinion of him had lowered even further from what he thought was an already low point.^[30]

Childe later attended Signora's funeral in Snezhnaya alongside his other colleagues, where an argument quickly arose. He was unamused by their bickering, stating that it wasn't a good time to start fighting.

Since Scaramouche had defected after acquiring the Electro Gnosis, Childe went to Inazuma in order to locate the rogue Harbinger. Instead, he found himself in a Domain with powerful enemies and was fighting them when the Traveler, Xinyan, Kujou Sara and Shiki Taishou discovered him. Fearing that Xinyan would attack him if she learned he was responsible for the events in Liyue, Paimon claimed that he was an adventurer from Mondstadt who sought the thrill of battle. Once the truth behind the Domain was discovered, Childe revealed to the Traveler that he was looking for Scaramouche. He was unable to find him and returned to Snezhnaya to await further orders.^[31]

Tartaglia was sent to Fontaine in order to help out the local Northland Bank branch there with debts. He was sent to collect a debt from Truand, running into the Traveler and Paimon when he was about to ask Truand about the owed money. Having not caught up with them for a while, he attempted to talk with them, only for Truand to become angered at his lack of respect and attacked him with his men. Childe easily overpowered them as Truand realized who he actually was; during the fight, his Vision suddenly flickered, though he still overpowered them nonetheless. He then told the Traveler that recently, he had been in a bad mood and felt a restless power stirring inside him. Before he left for a scheduled spar with Clorinde, Childe gave the Traveler his Vision, not wanting it to interfere in his duel with her.^[32]

In the ensuing duel, Childe felt that Clorinde had been holding back and was disappointed. Nonetheless, he would end up going on trial over the serial disappearances case; while he found the accusation absurd, he nonetheless went to court to appeal. He was unsuccessful in his defense until Navia and the Traveler arrived with evidence revealing the true suspect, but despite this, the Oratrice Mecanique d'Analyse Cardinale still deemed him guilty. Disgusted by the charge and refusing to be taken away, Childe fought the gardemeks sent to apprehend him and attempted to use his Foul Legacy form, but was stopped and knocked unconscious by Neuvillette, who then had him taken away to the Fortress of Meropide.^[33]

Arlecchino, learning of the incident, later spoke with Neuvillette in order to ask for his release, but he refused, citing the court system. Since he did not agree with the Oratrice's decision, but still wanting to appear impartial, he offered an alternative; sending the Traveler to the Meropide, which she accepted. The Traveler, along with Lyney, Lynette and Freminet, went into the prison and discovered that Childe had disappeared from the prison. He was not outside either, causing them to wonder where he was.^[34]

In reality, Childe found himself in the Primordial Sea and encountered the whale in his dreams, which was actually the All-Devouring Narwhal. The two quickly fought each other, with Childe maintaining his Foul Legacy form. This was actually planned by the Oratrice in order to stall it from arriving in Teyvat. As the Fontainian authorities pieced together the prophecy and put Furina on trial in order to get her to spill what she knew, the All-Devouring Narwhal emerged to consume the audience. Childe appeared shortly afterwards, helping Neuvillette distract the beast long enough for the people to escape, though he fell unconscious and into the rift that the narwhal made after it retreated.^[35] Neuvillette and the Traveler would later confront and defeat it, after which Skirk arrived and flung both of them into another rift.^[36]

Childe was brought back to Fontaine and was headed back to Snezhnaya when he regained consciousness. Since he knew he had just seen Skirk and having many questions for her, he returned to Fontaine and asked Arlecchino to help him locate her, though they were unable to do so and he concluded that he just needed to get stronger. As Arlecchino took her leave, the Traveler and Paimon stopped her and asked her a few questions about the House of the Hearth. Childe wondered if she would betray them, having heard rumors from Pulcinella. Arlecchino dispelled these as baseless, explaining that she simply let them swirl so she could operate more efficiently. Believing her words, Childe apologized to her for his prejudice before he bid them farewell and returned to Snezhnaya.^[37]

After Capitano was confirmed to not be returning to Snezhnaya^[38] from Natlan, Pierro revealed a very detailed letter he had left for the Director before leaving Snezhnaya forever. He was aware that his army troops would be snapped up by other, more ambitious Harbingers, particularly Pantalone and Pulcinella, who could split up the forces between them and gain unrivalled power over the others. As Pierro would have to back a Harbinger as soon as possible and maintain a balance of power between the remaining Harbingers, what was effectively Capitano's will gave him an out to back Childe instead.

Capitano would write that he believed that despite Tartaglia's immaturity, the young Harbinger showed great promise and potential — plus, he possessed a kind of purity rarely seen among members of the Fatui, a quality that the two had in common.

The revelation of the letter's contents was a complete surprise to Childe, as he originally felt as if Capitano looked down on him. However, as Capitano would sometimes have him tag along to Sandrone's tea parties, she, Arlecchino, and Signora were aware that this indicated that Capitano had quite a lot of respect for his young comrade. The will decreed that Tartaglia would take custody of most of his subordinates and all key personnel (which would prevent them from going to Pulcinella or Pantalone), while he was also given the position of councilor in the Snezhnograd Veche, becoming the representative voice for the armed forces of the Fatui.^[30]

When the Tsaritsa heard about Dottore's actions in Nod-Krai, she sent Childe to meet up with Arlecchino and Sandrone to deliver a few messages and pick up the refugees that were being evacuated to Snezhnaya. He only saw the former, and while a bit surprised, Childe informed her that the Tsaritsa ordered the Fatui Internal Affairs division to investigate Dottore's conduct. Suddenly, a Fatuus turned into a monster, and he assisted her in taking down the attackers. He was shocked by the revelation while Arlecchino had anticipated Dottore had prepared it beforehand, before telling her that the Tsaritsa also removed the combat exception for Dottore, meaning that she and Sandrone could kill him if they deemed it necessary. He then asked about the Traveler, and upon hearing that they were trapped with Dottore, he immediately wished to rescue them, only for Arlecchino to stop him as they did not know where they were anyway. She would remind him that the best thing he could do was to continue his orders as assigned, and he reluctantly agreed. Before he left, Arlecchino told him to send a message to Pulcinella for him to warn the other nations of the emerging threat in Nod-Krai and that the Fatui were doing all they could to stop it.^[39]

Shortly after Sandrone's public return, she ultimately decided to extend another invitation to Tartaglia (as he had occasionally been brought along by the invited Capitano), which he accepted and met up with them at the bureau alongside Arlecchino and Columbina. At the tea party, Tartaglia mourned Pulonia's destruction, as he had been hoping to fight him. He wondered if Fagio was strong, as she did not appear as such. Sandrone clarified that Pulonia looked strong, but she had carefully tailored his combat needs to avoid hampering his original purposes, while Fagio had no such restrictions. Hearing this, Tartaglia immediately asked to fight Fagio.^[40]

After the Traveler's arrival to Snezhnaya and learning about Project Stuzha's impact on the common citizenry, in a subsequent meet-up they questioned why it appeared that Tartaglia and Sandrone weren't standing up for them. Tartaglia explained that though he and Sandrone privately opposed Project Stuzha, they were both compelled to support it for their subordinates' sake and instead raised concerns about its negative impacts and possible solutions. Odette then inquired about how they were familiar with the Traveler, and Tartaglia was the one to uneasily break the news to her regarding their involvement in Signora's death. Odette appeared dismayed and left, prompting Tartaglia to reassure the Traveler that the passing years had caused the shock of Signora's death to fade, along with Sandrone adding that Odette and Signora hadn't been on good terms, contrary to what they had assumed.^[30]

Trivia

• Tartaglia comes from a large family, with an ambiguous number of older siblings (two confirmed older brothers^[41] and the possibility of at least one older sister)^{[Note 1]} and three younger siblings: Tonia, Anthon, and Teucer, with Teucer being the youngest. In his official English character introduction, Tonia boasts that he can cook and clean, and is "the bestest big brother ever!"^[42]
  • Tartaglia's birth name, Ajax, is derived from the Greek mythological figure Ajax the Great, a warrior who participated in the Trojan War, known as a resistant and strong lancer. Teucer was Ajax the Great's younger half-brother and an archer who fought alongside Ajax.
  • Tartaglia's weakness with bows and preference for melee weapons may be a reference to the mythological Ajax's strength in spears, while Teucer was much more skilled in archery.
• Before the introduction of a Snezhnayan section on the character list of the official website, Tartaglia was located under Liyue, as that is the region the player meets him in. Kaedehara Kazuha, the first playable Inazuman character, received the same treatment as he joined Beidou's Crux Fleet some time before the player meets him.
  • Though, as of the release of Inazuma, Kazuha was moved to the Inazuma section.
• He is the first Fatui Harbinger to be made playable.
• He is the first character to be both a playable character and a boss.
• Tartaglia's melee fighting stance and constellation names shares similarities with an Abyss Herald's Hydro abilities; both form dual blades made of raw Hydro and make similar broad, rapid slashes as they advance on a foe, and the constellation name is similar with the Abyss Herald's moveset. Given his time learning the ways of combat in the Abyss, it is possible he or Skirk modeled their fighting skills on the Heralds, if not directly emulated them.
• In his Normal Attack, the last arrow which he throws by hand does the most damage.
• Despite hailing from Snezhnaya and making his first appearance in Liyue, Tartaglia uses Mondstadt talent books.
• Tartaglia is the only character wielding a Vision that does not have a Vision story. Instead, he has a Delusion story.

Aliases and Titles

• Tartaglia is also known by these aliases or titles:
  • Childe
  • The Eleventh of the Eleven Fatui Harbingers
  • Red (by Xinyan)
  • Brother (CN: Big Brother) (by Xinyan)^[43]
  • Master Childe (by Lyney and Freminet)^[44]
  • Veche Councillor^[30]

Etymology

• In commedia dell'arte, an early form of professional theatre originating from Italy, Tartaglia is a stock character. Unlike some other stock characters, his role in the story typically varies, but he is distinguished by his farsightedness and stutter.
• The alias he gives to the party is translated differently across various language versions. Because Tartaglia is his name, languages that used commedia names for the other Harbingers' aliases had to use a different alias for him.
  • His English alias, "Childe," is a direct translation of his Chinese alias. Childe is an archaic English word that refers to the son of a nobleman who has not yet attained knighthood.
  • In Chinese, he introduces himself as "Childe" 公子 Gōngzǐ, lit. "young nobleman." The commedia names are always translated into Chinese when used as an alias, so there is no overlap between his alias and his Italian commedia name.
  • In Japanese, he introduces himself as Tartaglia before telling the Traveler to call him "Childe" 公子 Koushi, lit. "young nobleman." While his name appears as Tartaglia on his dialogue boxes, all other characters call him "Childe." Like in Chinese, the commedia names are always translated into Japanese when used as an alias.
  • In French, Childe always refers to himself as Tartaglia and never uses his alias Jeune Sire, which is a direct translation of the Chinese 公子.
  • In German, his alias was translated as Graf, which means "earl."
• His constellation, Monoceros Caeli, can be interpreted as Latin for "Celestial Narwhal."
  • The scientific name for the narwhal is Monodon monoceros.
  • The Chinese name for his constellation is 鲸天座, literally meaning "Whale Sky Constellation."
  • Traditionally in mythology, monoceros translates to "unicorn" with the more literal translation as "one-horned."
• His birth name, Ajax, comes from the Ancient Greek, Αἴας Aías.^[45]

Note

Other Languages

References