Xianyun/Storyline

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Last edit: Mondoblasto at 2026-09-09 14:18:10 (UTC) (1 day, 6 hours ago). If this was over two weeks ago, please contact the editor who placed the tag before removing it.

Xianyun, also known as Cloud Retainer, is an adeptus residing in Liyue Harbor.

Profile

Personality

As an adeptus, Xianyun is devoted to protecting Liyue from external threats and sees Morax in high regard; when she learned of his apparent demise, she flew into a fury and threatened to destroy Liyue Harbor for their crimes, only for the Traveler to placate her by reminding her of her duties. She also has a habit of speaking formally, often addressing herself as "one". In the past, she was revered as a decisive and bold figure, while she was also known by her fellow adepti as solemn and taciturn, rarely speaking outside of activating sigils during battle.

Having lived for thousands of years, Xianyun was good friends with Guizhong and shared a similar like of mechanics; following her death in the Archon War, she modified the Guizhong Ballista to honor her memory. She is competitive and prideful, generally starting competitions over fairly trivial matters, such as cooking and racing. She also shows a caring side to her disciples; she made a special pinwheel device for Ganyu after noticing she was interested in some being sold at a stall, and was pleased to see her enjoy it. When she is with Ganyu, she generally has a habit of reminiscing about her past, much to Ganyu's embarrassment. Likewise, she was curious about how Shenhe was doing in human society and was pleased to see she had no issues.

Appearance

Xianyun uses the tall female model. She has fair skin and navy hair that has light blue undertones. Her hair is tied in a high ponytail secured with a hairpin that resembles the sharpness of a crane. She has shorter eyebrows and wears red glasses. Although Xianyun seems to take the form of a human, she has taloned fingers, like the claws of a crane.

In her crane form, she is taller than many humans and is white with blue, gold, and black plumage. Under her eyes are red markings.

History

Past

Xianyun was better known as an adeptus called Cloud Retainer during the early parts of Liyue's history. Alongside Morax and the other adeptus, they brought peace to the land during the numerous calamities that occurred. She got along well with Guizhong, frequently having contests with her with mechanisms. Unfortunately, the rivalry did not come to last, as Guizhong perished during a battle 4,600 years ago, which greatly saddened her. As such, she honored her late friend by finishing up some ballistae she had been working on and named it after her.^[3]

Whenever she took on a human form, she was known to be much more solemn and stern. She originally took this form frequently during the Archon War, but stopped using it once it concluded. She also took in a young Ganyu, training her as one of her disciples. While raising her, Xianyun would frequently reminisce about Ganyu's past in front of others, much to the qilin's embarrassment. She would reside in Mt. Aocang and frequently visited her fellow adepti Mountain Shaper and Moon Carver.

At one point in time, Cloud Retainer took in Yuandai as another disciple. Yuandai was a wild crane who somehow obtained sentience. Cloud Retainer gave her a potion that would allow her to assume a human form, but warned her that if she did not return to her original form before the potion expired, she would forget her past as a crane and lose her memories, becoming neither human, beast or adeptus. Yuandai eventually fell in love with a human exorcist, and her feelings for the human proved to be too strong and she failed to return to her original state, which initially made Xianyun furious. As she prepared to confront the exorcist, she saw his devotion to her despite his lack of skill in thaumaturgy and changed her mind. She instead created pills using her own blood and took on her human form to give them to Yuandai, which was the first time she had used it since the end of the Archon Wars. When Yuandai was pregnant with a child, monsters afflicted with god remains began to chase her and her husband due to Cloud Retainer's blood in the pills. She fought the monsters off and left before they realized what had happened, and upon seeing their child, Xianyun was relieved. She continued showing interest in Yuandai's family, eventually taking care of her granddaughter, Shuyu, when she was ill, though in her adeptus form.

At some point prior to the Traveler's arrival, Cloud Retainer was out on a stroll when she sensed the presence of god remains and investigated it. When she arrived to handle the remains, she found a young Shenhe having defeated them. She managed to convince her that she was friendly and Shenhe passed out from exhaustion. Seeing that she was homeless, she decided to adopt her and had her become another disciple.^[4]

Following Morax's supposed death during the Rite of Descension, the Traveler and Paimon met with Moon Carver informing them of Morax's death. Moon Carver told them to inform the other adepti, which included Cloud Retainer. In order to meet with her, the Traveler had to prepare some Liyue cuisine. Sensing the Sigil of Permission after the food was prepared, Cloud Retainer allowed them to visit her if they could navigate her home. When they navigated the hurdles, they informed her of Morax's death, which caused her to become furious and threaten to destroy Liyue Harbor for the betrayal. The Traveler calmed her down by creating an impromptu contract with the food they had given her, and she reluctantly accepted it, agreeing to meet with the others to discuss their next course of action.^[5]

Cloud Retainer and the other adepti would help the Millelith in fighting Osial, who the Fatui had summoned. After repelling the ancient god, Cloud Retainer and the other adepti learned that Morax had simply stepped down and wanted to see how the people of Liyue could defend the nation in his absence. They agreed to let the Millelith run the nation, but would not hesitate to intervene if a situation became too much for them to handle.^[6] Along with the others, she learned that Morax had instead taken on the identity of Zhongli and lived in Liyue Harbor as a consultant for the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor.

When Ganyu became conflicted about her identity as a half-human/half-adeptus, she decided to lean towards her adeptus heritage and met with Cloud Retainer at her home. Cloud Retainer set up a training session for her at Jueyun Karst, and the Traveler also arrived to speak with her. During a moment of silence, Cloud Retainer talked about Ganyu's past in an attempt to relieve the tension, but it instead caused Ganyu to become embarrassed and leave, while Paimon remarked that it was impressive she did the opposite.^[7]

Cloud Retainer dropped by Wanmin Restaurant to meet with the Traveler, having created the Supreme Cuisine Machine. She offered them a chance to use it, seeing how well-versed they were in the culinary arts due to their travels before quickly leaving.^[8] During the festivities, the Traveler met up with Cloud Retainer at Huaguang Stone Forest, where they used her device to create some Piping-Hot Oncidium Tofu. Later, she used her machine to detect some high-quality rice, leading her to Mondstadt's Falcon Coast. The Traveler acquired the rice and created some Fragrant Rice Pudding with them. Finally, they arrived at Dragonspine, where Cloud Retainer asked them to find some meat. The Traveler found a frozen Snowboar and killed it, giving the meat to her. They then defrosted the meat and prepared some Piping-Hot Braised Meat. As a reward for their assistance, Cloud Retainer gave them copies of the recipes for them to try.

During the Lantern Rite, Cloud Retainer decided to remain around her adobe in search of gadgets and mechanics when Ganyu paid her a visit. The Traveler and Keqing arrived shortly afterwards and the latter gave her a gift, which she accepted and appreciated, finding its mechanics acceptable. Realizing she had come to give Mountain Shaper and Moon Carver gifts too, she told them that they had left before it dawned on her that the two might have done so as an excuse to travel together. Since her disciples were all living in Liyue Harbor, she told them to look out for each other while they stayed. As expected, she then tried to reminisce about Ganyu's past, only for the rest of the group to realize what was going on and gave her a convenient excuse to get her away, bidding farewell to the group while returning into her home with Shenhe to continue her research.^[9]

While the city celebrated the festival with fireworks, Cloud Retainer was met by Mountain Shaper and Moon Carver.^[10]

The following year, the Traveler learned from Dvorak about a mystery adeptus that saved his ancestor from drowning. Believing Cloud Retainer might know who the adepti was, they decided to pay her a visit at her adobe. She became upset when Paimon offended her twice, first by calling her an illuminated bird and then addressing her as "it." Learning of the situation from the group, she agreed to help them and asked them to meet her at Guili Plains. Likewise, Mountain Shaper and Moon Carver were missing again, and she suspected they went out to travel without her.

When they arrived, Cloud Retainer talked about the past when the adepti used to gather for leisure. She revealed that the mystery adepti was none other than Streetward Rambler, who was better known as Madame Ping. As Ping did not tell them about her bell's history, Cloud Retainer explained it to them, and when Zhongli came to claim it, Ping realized his true identity and what he was going to do. She originally wanted to return to her adobe, but Ganyu convinced her to come. There, she caught up with Ping, where she was surprised to discover that Ping had accepted Guizhong's death and found other joys in the harbor. She then returned to her adobe with Shenhe, where they saw the Xiao Lanterns from the harbor. Shenhe expressed a desire to make one, so Cloud Retainer decided she would make one that would surpass all others.^[11]

Seeing how her disciples were enjoying living in Liyue Harbor, Cloud Retainer became intrigued and wondered what was it about the city that drew them in. She proceeded to use her human form once more, giving herself the name Xianyun and was about to leave for Liyue Harbor when the Traveler and Paimon paid her a visit at her adobe. Paimon initially mistook her for another adepti, prompting her to quickly scold Paimon even though neither she nor the Traveler had seen her take on a human form before. She first checked in on Ganyu and later Shenhe, who was now working at Wanmin Restaurant. While enjoying a meal, a young girl and her grandmother asked if they could share the table, which they agreed to, introducing themselves as Shuyu and Yuandai, who the latter appeared to be familiar with. Before leaving the harbor, she checked in with Ping, asking her how much Mora she would need to live comfortably.^[12]

As they brought Yuandai across various landmarks in Liyue, she began to recall fragments of her past. While they were in Wangshu Inn, Xiao arrived to investigate a "non-human," though he mistook Cloud Retainer's human form as the mystery presence and explained a bit of her past to them before leaving. Eventually, the trip led them to Cloud Retainer's adobe, paralyzing her with fear, though Xianyun reassured her they could solve whatever was plaguing her.^[13]

Xianyun proceeded to bring out the Suspensus Somnium Mechanism and used it on Yuandai, allowing her to recognize Xianyun as Cloud Retainer and explained her past to the group. As Yuandai said her farewells and reverted to her original form as a crane, Xianyun also used the device on the Traveler, allowing them to have a good dream regarding their sibling. As Shuyu now had no immediate family, Cloud Retainer accepted her as another disciple, prompting Paimon to warn the girl that she might have to get used to eating herbs. Xianyun clarified that Shuyu would be her first disciple in the human world, having intended to move into Liyue Harbor to see what attracted her disciples there. When they arrived, Cloud Retainer was selling some artifacts to Shaozu, who was skeptical about their quality. Zhongli later arrived and reassured him that they were genuine valuables, prompting him to accept the deal and begin payment through a loan with the Northland Bank. As he left to arrange the payment, the group left to get a meal at Wanmin Restaurant.^[14]

As a result of Cloud Retainer leaving the mountains, the surrounding area became unnaturally quiet.

Around this time, Xianyun also met Gaming while she was resting at a lake. Gaming offered her some food and complimented her knowledge on the adepti. His etiquette greatly pleased her to the point that she would ensure his safety whenever possible.^[15] She was later in Yilong Wharf to buy some tea when she ran into them, who gave them regards from Mountain Shaper and Moon Carver. The thought of her fellow adepti gave Xianyun some thought and she decided to buy multiple tea boxes to give as gifts to them before buying a kite to examine.^[16] She then invited her disciples and Yaoyao to Mt. Aocang to test her kites, during which another kite fell into her territory. Angered at the intrusion, she went to confront the tresspassers, discovering that Mountain Shaper and Moon Carver were responsible for it. The two tried to hide their identities with their newly-created human forms, but she had known from the start and played along to see how long they would continue the act before returning to her mountain to check on the progress. By the time they returned, Shuyu and Yaoyao had left, leaving Xianyun with her other two disciples. To celebrate the new Lantern Rite, Xianyun had two custom outfits made for her two disciples, Twilight Blossom and Frostflower Dew, commissioning the nation's best tailors for them.

While having a meal, Xianyun expressed disappointment that Gaming was not able to attend, given how he had brought the materials for her. Having learned that he and his father were not on good terms, Xianyun then learned the full story from Paimon, prompting her to intervene in order to repair the relationship before it became unsalvageable. She then proceeded to concoct a plan, informing the others who agreed to it.^[17] The plan involved Gaming being hired to transport his father's goods to a contact in Liyue Harbor, during which Mountain Shaper and Moon Carver would ambush them as bandits. Yip Tak ran into Zhongli while running away, and the Archon immediately realized what was going on. After giving his perspective on their relationship, Gaming returned, prompting Xianyun and Shenhe to sit at a table near them and talk about various matters about daily life. As the two left, Xianyun told the group that the plan was a success.

During the festivities, Xianyun sat on a rooftop and used her powers to allow Gaming to perform a spectacular wushou dance on water.^[18]

Xianyun and the rest of her adeptus friends gathered at her adobe on Mt. Aocang to celebrate the next Lantern Rite. There, they spoke about Hu Tao, realizing Morax's intentions to serve her as a consultant.^[19]

With plenty of time on her hands, Xianyun met with Shenhe to give some guidance. Shenhe revealed that she had signed her up for a trip across Liyue, though Xianyun was worried about her well-being after learning she had saved up for three months to plan the trip for her. Shenhe, misunderstanding her intent, decided to have the trip cancelled, prompting Xianyun to storm off. The Traveler then offered to design a personal tour itinerary guide for her, which Shenhe accepted.^[20]

The Traveler decided to bring Xianyun to Mondstadt, where she arrived by herself seeing how her disciples, including Shuyu, were hard at work. She first stopped at Starsnatch Cliff, finding the winds favorable despite being different than what she was used to in Liyue before the Traveler arrived and offered to take a photo of her, which she accepted. Later, she went into Mondstadt City to try their cuisine before waiting by the bridge, wanting to see the pigeons that flocked there every day. Xianyun then went to Wolvendom, discovering a young man near a Forest Boar. Having sensed monsters nearby and wolves howling in the distance, she decided to intervene. Sensing his heavy past, Paimon explained that the child, Razor, was a friend of theirs who lived with the wolves in the area. Mistaking her explanation, Xianyun attempted to take Razor in as a disciple, though he refused and the Traveler explained that Razor was treated well by the people of Mondstadt. She abandoned her attempt to take him and told him to seek her out for food if he ever came to Liyue.^[21]

While Xianyun was out in Mondstadt, Shenhe discovered that the tour she originally wanted to give Xianyun was a scam and dismantled it in her absence, causing Xianyun to be seen as a model figure by several locals when she returned. She gave some travel advice to them and brought some food for Shenhe in the form of flowers.^[22]

Xianyun attended the next iteration of Lantern Rite, conversing with Madame Ping when the Traveler informed them that Mountain Shaper had been possessed by Zizhi and that he was at Mt. Aocang to plant Mint. The adepti arrived at her abode and sealed the area off so Zizhi could not escape while the Traveler spoke with her. The Traveler convinced her to let go of her fears and she released Mountain Shaper from her control. As Mountain Shaper learned that he had planted the mint, Xianyun confronted him and gave him a stern scolding for trespassing, knowing that he and Moon Carver had wanted to plant the mint at her abode, which she highly disliked.^[23]

Trivia

• Xianyun is seen wielding the ascended version of Crane's Echoing Call in her Character Demo and her Collected Miscellany.
• Xianyun is the third character to be able to perform an Elemental Skill mid-air, after Xiao and Kaedehara Kazuha.
  • However, unlike them, Xianyun can only perform an Elemental Skill mid-air while in the Cloud Transmogrification state, which can only be entered when her Elemental Skill is used on the ground. Thus, she cannot use it freely while gliding.
• As a Trial Character, Xianyun is one of three playable character who wields a Flagship Event weapon in at least one of her Character Trial iterations (Oathsworn Eye), with the other characters with this distinction being Albedo and Chiori.
• Xianyun shares the same Chinese voice actress, Qin Ziyi (秦紫翼),^[1] with Shenhe.
• A stone tablet on Mt. Aocang describes Cloud Retainer as follows: "Tranquility of mind and purity of heart — the Free Adeptus, The Unfettered — performs no action and sets no rule. Their presence is beyond mere mortals."
• Cloud Retainer is one of Morax's old allies and was friends with the God of Dust, Guizhong, while the latter was still alive.
  • Cloud Retainer and Guizhong had a shared interest in mechanics and were compatriots and rivals in their research in the subject, though Cloud Retainer privately admitted to herself that Guizhong had superior talent.^[24]
• In the past, Cloud Retainer preferred to use her human form and was revered as a bold and decisive figure.
• Mt. Aocang's isolated pool has a fishing point only because Cloud Retainer personally stocked it with fish, making it more likely that the Traveler would visit.
• When convinced enough, Xianyun can be easily swayed into making purchases. No matter small or large the sum is, the final price doesn't seem to be something that Xianyun thinks over first.^[25]
• Most likely due to taking pride in her talent, Xianyun evidently looks down on inventions made by humans - calling them "crude pieces of mortal machinery" or even "flagrant displays."
• Unlike her fellow adeptus Mountain Shaper's domain, which is sealed by a large adeptal talisman, the door to Cloud Retainer's abode is identical to other domains found throughout Teyvat.
• Because of her dislike of guests in her abode, the player automatically leaves her home after 120 seconds have passed during the World Quest An Adeptal Summons, compared to the 900 from other domains.
• In one of her idle animations, Xianyun can be observed spinning a machine of her own design resembling a popcorn cannon, a 20th-century hand cranked device that can create popcorn from pressure generated heat when spun at a high interval.
• Cloud Retainer's inventions and other creations include:
  • Dwelling in the Clouds
  • Various toys for Ganyu
  • Final touches on the Guizhong Ballista
  • Cloud Retainer's Damasked Device
  • Bi-Cyclical Thunderflash-Mobile (an Electro-powered bicycle)^[26]
  • Suspensus Somnium Mechanism^[27]
  • Yuegui
  • The "Lunastar Artifices" series, intended for human use:^[28]
    • Bloom Pruners^[29]
    • Floating Toting Device^[25]
    • Snowdrift Mechanism (likely a kind of snowmobile)^[30]
    • Starwicker
    • Multiple iterations of the Supreme Cuisine Machine
• Cloud Retainer is reportedly the adeptus that gave the Youwang Cauldron, a divine treasure in the form of a tea cauldron, to Qiaoying Village.^[31]
• Despite requesting the Traveler and Paimon to keep her identity as an adeptus a secret as she resides in Liyue Harbor,^[27] a good number of people unaffiliated with the adepti are cognizant of her identity, namely Gaming,^[32] Ningguang,^[33] and Keqing.
  • It appears that Xianyun told Gaming herself after his insightful, respectful first interaction with her,^[34] while it is possible that she openly shared her presence in the city to the Liyue Qixing as a courtesy, quite likely through Ganyu.
• Xianyun is known by these aliases or titles:
  • Cloud Retainer
  • Clow-Clow (by Kichiboushi)
  • Illuminated bird (by Paimon)
  • Master (by her disciples)
  • Master of Masters (by Grandmaster Hanakado)
• Known disciples:
  • Ganyu
  • Yuandai
  • Shenhe
  • Shuyu
  • She is also particularly fond of Gaming and Yaoyao

Etymology

• Xianyun's name, 闲云 Xiányún, "Leisurely Clouds", is a reference to the Chinese phrase 闲云野鹤 xiányún yěhè, lit. "idle clouds and wild cranes," used to describe a leisurely person detached from worldly affairs.
  • It is also a reference to her full adeptus name, Cloud Retainer (Chinese: 留云借风真君 Liúyún Jièfēng Zhēnjūn, "The Perfected Lord who Retains the Clouds by Borrowing the Wind").
• Her title, Passerine Herald (Chinese: 鸾音鹤信 Luányīn Hèxìn, lit. "The Luan's Call, the Crane's Letter"), is a reference to a Tang Dynasty poem by the poet Luo Yin (Chinese: 罗隐). The relevant lines of the poem read:
  • 鸾音鹤信杳难回，凤驾龙车早晚来。
    Luányīn hèxìn yǎo nán huí, fèng jià lóng chē zǎowǎn lái.
    The Luan's song and the crane's letter are distant and difficult to respond to, but the phoenix-bearing dragon cart will return eventually.
  • 仙境是谁知处所，人间空自造楼台。
    Xiānjìng shì shéi zhī chùsuǒ, rénjiān kōngzì zào lóutái.
    Who can tell the whereabouts of the celestial realm of the xian? Mortals build their own towers in a fleeting world.
• Her constellation, Grus Serena, means Serene Crane.
• The title "Perfected Lord" (Chinese: 真君 Zhēnjūn) at the end of her adeptus name in Chinese is typically ascribed to the xian (Taoist immortals), whom the adepti are modeled after.

Other Languages

References