Perinheri is a Book Collection found in Fontaine.
Locations[]
Vol. 1[]
This is a story from very ancient times indeed. It is said that in those days, birds had not yet split into domestic and wild kindreds. In those days, a crimson moon shone down upon the subterranean realm, and not the dark sun of latter days.
Due to the Kingdom's unique position, things from outside this world were always leaking into it. The Kingdom's weapons would wipe out the calamities slipping in, but what of all the other objects? Such as, say, a child who may have come from some destroyed world?
One of the sages spoke thusly to the great ruler: "Oh high lord of the nobles, a child once told me a tale of another world: Once upon a time, there were sea people who believed that the gods came from the sea. Each time they discovered a shipwrecked person, they would treat them with the utmost honor, for they believed that the gods would take the form of the shipwrecked to investigate the mortal realm."
The ruler replied, "I do not perceive your meaning, so do as you please."
(Naturally, no oceans in the traditional sense lay within the Kingdom's borders. The earliest founders of the Kingdom had once seen the majestic silhouettes of the mountains blur under the sun's searing glare, and the rippling reflections of the moonlight falling upon the sea's surface like a scattering of pearls. But at the time the story took place, only outsiders and those few who had left the Kingdom on official duties and returned could describe such sights to the ruler. The ocean and the sea were often used as a metaphor for the space projected by the stars.)
In anticipation of the arrival at their Kingdom of gods from beyond the so-called ocean — or rather, the arrival of beings who could transcend the gods — they founded an organization, an orphanage to take care of such children. In latter days, the orphans of the Kingdom and those who wandered in from outside were accepted as well.
The young Perinheri's first memory was that of being asked by the grown-ups to crawl through a dark corridor. This passage might have been a chimney for winter fires, for it was filled with coal ash, and there was not a single crack in it through which smoke or light could pass through. As he crawled, he would sometimes stumble in the pitch-black darkness. Fortunately, the corridor appeared designed for the passage of children in the first place, so the falls were not very painful. It also lacked any annoying cobwebs.
When Perinheri reached the end at last, the exit had not opened yet. He knocked, only for the grown-ups to coldly ask: "Are you dead?"
Well, how was he to reply if he was dead? But the grown-ups did not like this response. They kept asking the same question, until he at least shouted, "Yes, I'm dead!"
The adults then asked, "Did you see it, then?"
Perhaps it was the fear brought on by the darkness combined with hunger and exhaustion, but Perinheri did indeed see an illusion. The crimson moon, hanging high in the pitch-dark night sky, suddenly turned around, revealing itself to be a titanic, horrified eye.
The adults opened the door and embraced the soot-covered Perinheri: "You have traversed the fire of two worlds within the hearth, and here you are reborn."
Though the crimson moon set, and the dark sun descended into a yet darker dusk, that transcendental person from beyond who the Kingdom orphanage was awaiting never arrived. But unusual individuals they had aplenty, and many of those who strode forth from the gates of that orphanage became great knights of the Kingdom. Perinheri was, in his time, the leading figure amongst their ranks — that is, unless, he were forced to compete with his best friend, Hleobrant.
They should have competed for glory, and decided who was superior through the amount of honors they crowned themselves in — and in the number of goblets of fine wine downed during the festivities afterward. But for some reason, their rivalry would take a mortal turn.
Vol. 2[]
That day, the orphanage welcomed a new member. She was a beautiful young lady from a foreign land who claimed to be a noble princess. Her nation had been defeated by Deus Auri, and yet the daughter of a priestly line she remained, and would not submit to the new god, and so she had drifted, wandering through the gates of their Kingdom. She called herself Angelica (Note 1), meaning "one who is as a divine emissary."
Fair Angelica declared that she would only marry the mightiest knight in all the Kingdom. Perinheri cared not a whit, but Hleobrant was smitten with her. Angelica would often take walks near the Sea of Wells, and there she spoke much of the outside world to Hleobrant. Perinheri would come along out of concern for his friend, and because suspicion was born in him sooner than curiosity, he would doubt her every word, yet wished that he might see these things one day.
Angelica's arrival changed Hleobrant altogether. He would cause trouble, looking for any provocation upon which to stake a duel against other knights. He would win all these bouts, and turn to Angelica to show off his prowess. Yet all she ever gave him was a cool smile, for what great feat was it for a great runner if they raced a tortoise and triumphed?
"Njord, who walks with the Darksprites (Note 2), Alf, the greatest warrior in the Universitas Magistrorum, Alberich, commander of half the knights, and Perinheri the undefeated." Angelica spoke thus of the mightiest figures in the Kingdom as she saw them.
Having fallen head over heels into the throes of love, Hleobrant came to what was an all-too-reasonable conclusion for himself. People might call him a traitor, or believe him mad. But even so, he had no wish to hurt Perinheri.
As for Perinheri, he believed that his best friend's madness would be cured, if only he could kill Angelica.
In the midst of that most merciless of pursuits, the three left the Kingdom's borders. At that very moment, Hleobrant clutched his face, and the words escaping his mouth gradually grew more like the howling of a wild beast.
The witch, Angelica, explained thus: "Hleobrant is the descendant of those who forsook their god and came to the Kingdom. This is why the Kingdom's obstinately pure-blooded aristocracy persists. This is the price of betraying your own god."
"As for you, Perinheri, you are one who drifted there. Thus, you bear no such curse. You may not have the nobility to shoulder a world, but you too have your own destiny."
"And as for me? I betrayed no one, not for a moment, until my god died, so I too bear this curse not. But you now see who I truly am, yes?"
The sun rose over the horizon at that moment, and Perinheri's blade slipped from his fingers, exhausted from the night-long battle. Covering his forehead with the back of his hand, he looked upon the sun for the first time. And when he glanced back at Angelica, he saw that she was neither a beautiful woman from Liyue nor a wicked witch.
"I am freedom, that which has broken free of fate. This is what Hleobrant sought in agony, but that which is now yours for the taking."
There was nothing before Perinheri, only vast, empty land.
Note 1: Note that the ancient people of Liyue did not use such names. Now that I consider it, her name may have been "Lady Miaoyin" (Lady of Wondrous Sound) or "Tianwang Nu" (Servant of Tianwang).
Note 2: The black wolves of the first edition. Archaeological work on Khaenri'ah indicates that this must have been a type of warbeast created using alchemy. Alchemy and the Beastmaster Knights were a mainstay during the Crimson Moon Dynasty, but interest in mechanical engineering during the Eclipse Dynasty would cause it to fall behind.
Special thanks goes to:
Mr. Denon's archaeological studies into Khaenri'ah, which inspired this work (1st edition)
Mr. Jean Figeac's continued writings and refinements, which have given this story its ending (2nd edition)
Mrs. Jean Figeac and Mr. Jean Figeac fils, for their corrections of misc. typos (3rd edition)
...
A compilation of Karl Ingold's records from "Investigations into an Abandoned City" (13th edition)
Mr. Karasawa's assistance in natural history and miscellaneous studies (14th edition)
Mr. Yun's notes on Liyue Culture (15th edition)
Trivia[]
- The references to "crimson moon" and "dark sun" in Vol. I may refer to the two known Khaenri'ahn dynasties, the Crimson Moon Dynasty and the Eclipse Dynasty (in the original Chinese, "Eclipse" is 黑日 lit. "Black Sun"). Under this interpretation, the volume's final section suggests that the change in dynasties occurred by the time Perinheri became one of the best knights in the kingdom.
- The story about the orphanage may be related to the House of the Hearth's origins. While the present-day House of the Hearth is run by the Fatui, the Fatui's co-founder is Pierro, a former Khaenri'ahn royal mage.
- Khaenri'ah's anticipated arrival of "beings who could transcend the gods" ties into the revelations from Archon Quest A Toast to Victory in Chapter III: Act V - Akasha Pulses, the Kalpa Flame Rises that the Traveler is a Descender while their sibling is not. When the sibling appeared in Khaenri'ah 500 years ago, they were believed to be a Descender,[1] only for disaster to befall the nation as the cataclysm caused Khaenri'ah's destruction, first at the hands of monsters and later, at the hands of the gods.
- The Mr. Karasawa mentioned in Vol. II's special thanks may have been Eichi Karasawa, a member of the Narzissenkreuz Ordo mentioned in a Tower of Ipsissimus: Middle interactable, which describes him as an Inazuman scholar who became a rather successful romance novelist.
- Mr. Yun may have been a member of the Yun Family.
Cultural Inspirations[]
- This story was likely inspired by Orlando Innamorato and Orlando Furioso:
- According to the book's description, its alternative title is Hleobranto Innamorato.
- Both Orlando and Hleobrant go mad trying to prove their love to a character named Angelica, who hails from a land referring to or based on China (Cathay and Liyue), while another knight (Astolfo and Perinheri) tries to find a cure for their madness.
Other Languages[]
| Language | Official Name |
|---|---|
| English | Perinheri |
| Chinese (Simplified) | 裴伦埃里 Péilún'āilǐ |
| Chinese (Traditional) | 裴倫埃里 Péilún'āilǐ |
| Japanese | ペリンヘリ Perinheri |
| Korean | 페룬에리 Peruneri |
| Spanish | Perinheri |
| French | Perinheri |
| Russian | Переньери Peren'yeri |
| Thai | Perinheri |
| Vietnamese | Perinheri |
| German | Perinheri |
| Indonesian | Perinheri |
| Portuguese | Perinheri |
| Turkish | Perinheri |
| Italian | Perinheri |
Change History[]
References[]
- ↑ Archon Quest, Chapter III, Act VI - Caribert, Part 4: Portended Fate
