Breeze Amidst the Forest is a Book Collection found in Mondstadt. Volume 1 can be obtained by initiating and following a certain dialogue path from Six-Fingered José while Volume 2 is given by Lisa as a reward for completing the Archon Quest Sparks Amongst the Pages in Prologue: Act I - The Outlander Who Caught the Wind.
Vol. 1[]
—Ballad Selection Excerpt—
"Breeze Amidst the Forest" and "Breeze Upon the Lake" constitute a two-volume collection of narrative poems. The compilation is the result of the tireless work of scholars who have recorded and arranged countless songs sung by Mondstadt bards.
Bards often elaborate or fabricate history to draw in an audience and earn a few extra Mora. Hence, most of their works have extremely low credibility. What has allowed the songs to remain popular to this day, and to stand the test of the thousand winds of time, is the threads of spectacular imagination and ingenious rhetoric that have been woven into them.
...
"What to be sung hails from ancient times."
"The gods walked among us in their prime."
The poet, who had finished recounting the tales of the ruins and Vennessa, began to tell the story of the Wind Dragon. He began to sing, "The story to be told hails from ancient times, when the gods walked among us in their prime." The dragon graced by Anemo was born* in the high heavens in that age of wonders. He slowly descended, and inspected everything with curious eyes.
He landed in a village, only for the terrified villagers to throw rocks at him. The dragon could not understand why they cried in fear.
He landed in a cemetery, only to hear the lament of grieving people. The dragon could not understand what they murmured in sorrow.
He landed in an orchard, only to be cursed by the furious farmers who lost their trees. The dragon could not understand why they screamed in anger.
The world was too complicated for a young dragon. The dragon was bewildered, yet he did not give up.
One day, the dragon heard music pouring out from the Holy Lyre der Himmel. This was the name of the lyre belonging to the Anemo Archon. Enchanted by the poetry, the Wind Dragon landed beside the best singer under the skies.
People panicked, for the mighty elemental dragons and the great archons that reigned over the earth had never seen eye to eye.
"Behold his beauty and benignity!" The Windborne Bard sang.
"But we do not know him," the people replied.
What mysterious magic lies behind music and poetry that has the power to mesmerize both dragons and humans alike? I, for one, cannot fathom it. The dragon decided to stay with the bard, for he too wished to be understood by all souls. He learned human speech and Windborne Bard's singing techniques.
...omitted...
Later generations regarded him as one of the Four Winds that watched over and protected Mondstadt.
"An atrous sun befell its kingdom and a luminous pearl lost its glow."[Note 1]
"Niveous silk grew dim and wheaten gold burned brilliantly no more."
So begins another tale that occurred in the lost Khaenri'ah Kingdom.
The Eclipse Dynasty had fallen, and disaster spread across the land. The alchemist known as Gold was corrupted by their own greed and ambition, and created an army of shadowy monsters with their uncanny powers.[Note 2] Durin, a black serpentine dragon, rose from the sea to cast its shadow over Mondstadt. But it was at this very moment that there was no one to inherit the title of Lionfang Knight, thus, the Knights of Favonius could not fly their falcon flag.
The persistent yet despondent prayers called upon the archon of Mondstadt, the Windborne Bard. The strings of the lyre were strummed once more, and the Wind Dragon was summoned forth.
As Mondstadt's last line of defense, the Wind Dragon battled the wicked dragon to the death in raging storms.
The Wind Dragon prevailed. He tore open the throat of the wicked dragon, at the cost of ingesting its poisonous blood. The blood of the wicked dragon was distorted gold, with the powers to crumble mountains and poison the earth.
The Wind Dragon protected Mondstadt with his life, and his only wish was to be understood by humans. And so, he drifted off into a deep slumber.
The Holy Lyre played a sorrowful tune.
The Holy Lyre sang: should you awaken, spread your wings and live your life freely! A dragon is born to soar the skies, and mortals shall surely grasp your beauty...
(*Typically, when life arises from the elements, it either descends and becomes a slime, or ascends and becomes a crystalfly. Rarely does this process give rise to dangerous elemental monsters. Elemental dragons are rarely seen and have the powers to match the gods of old.)
Vol. 2[]
It tells the story of the Dragon of Mondstadt.
—The Dragon—
An excerpt from "An Investigation into the Cultural Customs of the Wind Kingdom," more commonly known as "Records of Customs and Culture," by Jacob Musk.[Note 3]
...
The "Wolf" of the Knight of Boreas, the "Lion" of the Lionfang Knight (or "Dandelion Knight"), the "Falcon" of the Knights of Favonius, and the "Wind Dragon" Dvalin have been long regarded as the Four Winds that watch over Mondstadt.
After the Lionfang Knight liberated Mondstadt, the Knights of Favonius was established, and the Knight of Boreas joined them.
The tradition of worshipping the Four Winds was gradually formed in Mondstadt. However, Dvalin, the ancient Wind Dragon, predated them all.
Approximately one hundred years ago,[Note 4] the land was in chaos. Darkness spread, contaminating everything it touched. Barbarians and foul creatures roamed the lands, forcing people to dwell within the city walls.
It was an especially difficult time for Mondstadt.[Note 5] The Lionfang Knight was without a suitable heir, and the Knights of Favonius had lost many of its brave men and women during the bitter wars. During the most difficult of times, Durin, the corrupted dragon of immeasurable power, began attacking Mondstadt.
The prayers of Mondstadt's people awoke the Anemo Archon, and his will summoned forth the Wind Dragon Dvalin. As the last defender of Mondstadt, Dvalin battled Durin with all his might.
The result was clear — Durin's remains still lie atop the snowy peaks to the south of Mondstadt — but the story of how the battle ended was lost in time. It is said that Dvalin ripped out Durin's throat, and together they fell from the sky. Durin's body sunk into the snow while Dvalin was summoned by the Anemo Archon and fell into a slumber.
...
People used to believe that Dvalin would awaken whenever Mondstadt faces a new threat.
But in these times of peace, the belief of the Four Winds has gradually eroded and their temples lie all but completely deserted.
(Citation of unknown origin: By the time the Knights finally discovered that the foreign monstrosity named Stormterror, with which they clashed countless times, was in fact Dvalin of the Four Winds, the enmity that had grown between them and driven them to conflict could not be undone. One can scarcely imagine the betrayal Dvalin must have felt when he awoke after a hundred years of slumber only to find that the people of Mondstadt, whom he had protected with his life, had forsaken him...)
Trivia[]
- The book's cover says Breeze in Woods ("Breeze in Woods") in the Teyvat Language.
Notes[]
- ↑ The original Chinese version says 古国黑日落，明珠失其光, which may be intended to be read as "The ancient kingdom's atrous sun [black sun/eclipse] fell; the luminous pearl lost its glow." In this case, "atrous (black) sun" is referring to the Eclipse Dynasty (Chinese: 黑日王朝). The sentence is vague on whether the luminous pearl belonged to Khaenri'ah or not.
- ↑ In the original Chinese text, it simply says Gold became a sinner and gave rise to countless monsters — there is nothing about being corrupted by greed or ambition, or having uncanny powers.
- ↑ The original Chinese text attributes "An Investigation into the Cultural Customs of the Wind Kingdom" to an unspecified Musk Family member; Jacob is not specified.
- ↑ During the earlier Closed Beta Tests, the cataclysm occurred 100 years before the start of the game's story. It was changed to 500 by the time of the game's official release, but the in-game text has not been changed accordingly.
- ↑ The English translation treats this paragraph as a cause and the following paragraph beginning with "The prayers of Mondstadt's people awoke the Anemo Archon" as the effect. However, the original Chinese text treats them more like two descriptions of events that happened in the same timeframe instead of cause and effect.
Other Languages[]
| Language | Official Name | Literal Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| English | Breeze Amidst the Forest | — |
| Chinese (Simplified) | 林间风 Lín Jiàn Fēng | Wind Amidst the Forest |
| Chinese (Traditional) | 林間風 Lín Jiàn Fēng | |
| Japanese | 森の風 Mori no Kaze | Wind of the Forest |
| Korean | 숲속의 바람 Supsok-ui Baram | Winds in the Forest |
| Spanish | Brisa en el bosque | Breeze in the Forest |
| French | La Brise de la Forêt | The Forest Breeze |
| Russian | Лесной Бриз Lesnoy Briz | Breeze of the Forest |
| Thai | สายลมในป่าเขา Sailom nai pa khao sut | Breeze in the Forest and Mountain |
| Vietnamese | Khu Rừng Gió | |
| German | Waldluft | Forest Air |
| Indonesian | Bisikan Hutan | Forest Whisper |
| Portuguese | Brisa na Floresta | |
| Turkish | Orman Esintisi | Forest Breeze |
| Italian | Brezza nella foresta |
Change History[]
- The English translation reversed the adjustment to Vol. 2, changing "*sniff* *sniff*" back to "..."
- The English translation in Vol. 1 (Ballad Selection Excerpt) was adjusted:
- "Gaotian" was changed to "the high heavens."
- "the bygone demons" was changed to "the gods of old."
- The English translation in Vol. 2 (The Dragon) was adjusted:
- "..." was changed to "*sniff* *sniff*".
- "Blacksun Dynasty" was changed back to "Eclipse Dynasty."
- Gold's pronoun was changed from "his" to "their."
- "Eclipse Dynasty" was changed to "Blacksun Dynasty."
- Breeze Amidst the Forest was added to the Archive.
- Breeze Amidst the Forest was released.
