Along with being a simple alchemist based in Mondstadt, Albedo is also the Captain of the Investigation Team for the Knights of Favonius. He’s also Klee’s adopted brother and a vital force in keeping Mondstadt safe from enemies.Genshin Impactplayers have seen this many times through various events and character stories he’s included in.
Starting from his introduction inThe Chalk Prince and the Dragonevent toShadows Amidst Snowstorms,which revealed his background,Albedo is quite the enigma to most. His presence as a homunculus brings a lot of questions toGenshin Impactplayers; however, his lore is what helps fill in the gaps.
Princeps Cretaceus Chapter
Albedo’s Character Story
To understand Albedo, we need to first put things into perspective from a chronological point of view. Albedo was first introduced as a character during The Chalk Prince and the Dragon Version 1.2 update. This event story was only unlockable after completing Albedo’s Character Story quest. His story quest gives players an idea of who he is as a person, and there were a few key moments that Travelers should remember.
The game refers to Albedo as a genius alchemist in Mondstadt, someone that everyone from across Teyvat comes to for answers. However, despite all his knowledge and wisdom, he seems to be struggling with finding an answer to one of his experiments. Sucrose lends a hand in leading theTraveler to Dragonspine, where Albedo’s laboratory is located. At this moment, a connection between the Traveler and Albedo forms, as he wishes to perform an experiment to see how life functions in worlds outside Teyvat. The two of them run a few experiments to determine the Traveler’s physiology and mental capacity in Teyvat, but Albedo’s results are quite ordinary.
The best part about this quest, especially when a player reminisces, is Albedo’s humanity. He’s inquisitive, curious, and excited to investigate more. The last thing on his mind right now is “finding the truth of the world.” It’s only towards the end of the quest that Albedo cryptically wonders whether the Traveler can stop him if he ever “loses control” and destroys everything he holds dear.
The Chalk Prince and the Dragon
Albedo’s Background
The Chalk Prince and the Dragon event starts with Sucrose asking the Traveler to help her uncover Albedo’s secret activities. The Traveler and Paimon end up finding him at his laboratory in Dragonspine, and he gives themthe Festering Desire sword, an event-limited 4-star sword that seems to be cursed. Albedo seems to have found this sword lying around and, because of its unique nature, it seems that the Traveler is the only one who can wield it. Albedo mentions that the reason is probably due to their otherworldly nature.
Players later discover that the sword iscoated in the remains of Durin,the shadow dragon that was once defeated by Dvalin and the Anemo Archon. His corpse lies at the bottom of Vindagnyr and, because the mountain was home to snow that never melted, Albedo speculated that this gravesite was the perfect place to rest Durin’s corrupted remains. Halfway through the quest, Albedo does mention that, despite being eager to answer any questions the Traveler may have about him, he is unable to due to certain circumstances.He tries his best to convey to the Traveler that he trusts them nonetheless.
Paimon has mentioned how she thinks Albedo “say(s) one thing, but do(es) another.” This might be a foreshadowing of Albedo’s origins as a homunculus. It’s also probably one thing that makes Albedo trust the Traveler even more, as he notices that the two of them are unusual in their own way.
In trueGenshin Impactfashion, as the quest begins to conclude, players find out that the sword which contained Durin’s life force has been purified by the Travelers' ability. Albedo extracts this purified life force for his future experiments, and only after the Traveler leaves does he realize that he resonates with the force as well. He mentions his master, Rhinedottir, and questions whether Durin was one of her creations as well.
Midsummer Island Adventure Event
Albedo’s Development
This limited-time event during Version 1.6 may be the beginning of what Travelers see in Albedo’s personality and character. Despite him being polite and welcoming to the Traveler in previous instances, players never got the chance to see his full personality. Now that Albedo is surrounded by his sister Klee, as well as companions that he knew through the Knights of Favonius like Jean, Kaeya, Diluc, and Razor, the Traveler notices a more domestic side to him.
This event may throw players for a loop, but it shows playersthat Albedo is not as inhumane as they may think. He may be a genius in his field and logical in his thought process, but when it comes to his friends and family, he’s quite the chilled-out guy — or at least he tries to be. Players can see this towards the end of the event when the team finds out that the Dodo King was in fact Klee’s mom, and Albedo had likely figured out her reasons. He kept quiet because he wanted Klee to enjoy her time on the island, and that shows the different types of emotions that Albedo is capable of. Perhaps this wasGenshin Impact’s own way of foreshadowing future events.
Shadows Amidst Snowstorms
Albedo’s Clones
This is where Albedo’s lore begins to take off. In the Version 2.3 update, the Traveler heads back into Dragonspine to find Albedo’s campsite ransacked, with some important notes missing. In the process of looking for the thief, the team figures out that someone is impersonating Albedo. Albedo then comes clean and decides to tell the Traveler of his origins.He is a synthetic human that was created by Rhinedottir, otherwise known as ‘Gold,’one of the Five Sinners of Khaenri’ah. It’s here that we also find out that Albedo is around 500 years old.
He goes on to clarify that Durin was also one of Rhinedottir’s creations, saying he was quite a formidable beast, but his corruption eventually rendered him a failed experiment. Upon his death, Rhinedottir decided to leave his corpse to rest on Dragonspine. Albedo, on the other hand, was Rhinedottir’s first successful creation, and thestar-shaped birthmark on his neckis evidence of that. Subject Two, Albedo’s doppelgänger, was a failed experiment. When he didn’t meet Rhinedottir’s parameters, he was ‘eaten’ by Durin.
Players find out that Subject Two was actually revived by the corrupted energy in Durin, and his desire to be recognized resulted in a need to replace Albedo. This doppelgänger devised a plan to use Durin’s power to createanother Albedo (Subject Three), also known as the Fellflower. This was an experiment to see whether life itself could be created from Durin’s blood. After defeatingthe monster Whopperflower, the real Albedo caught up with Subject Two and confronted him about his actions. He was unfortunately forced to kill him and the climax of the story ended there.
In the aftermath, we see Albedo meeting with the Traveler and Paimon again, discussing the future of Albedo’s work as an alchemist and the true meaning of life that seems to originate from Durin’s corpse. The Traveler is left feeling more fulfilled and confident that they can distinguish Albedo from his fakes, due to his human characteristics. The birthmark does play a huge part, but because Albedo willingly opened up and trusted the Traveler with his ‘imperfections,’ it showcased humility.
Paralogism
Albedo’s Trial, Durin, and Mini-Durin
The Version 5.6 update continued Albedo’s story in the Interlude Chapter of the Archon Quest. It begins with the annual Windblume Festival and a murder charge against Albedo.Genshin Impactplayers will meet old NPCs like Hertha and Quinn, and also be introduced tonew characters like Dahlia, who is the Deacon of the Church of Favonius.
The murder charge against Albedo may seem unexpected for Travelers, as the moment they enter Mondstadt, they’re called to Jean’s office for help. After she briefs them on the situation, they all head to court for the trial, where Albedo is found guilty of murdering and hiding the bodies of his victims. Unable to believe that Albedo is guilty of these crimes, Kaeya, who was his acting lawyer during the trial, requests a retrial. This is where the Traveler then comes in with their own investigation, as per Jean’s approval.
The two head to Albedo’s office to find some documents detailing the creation of life and how death is always intricately related to it. Albedo’s origins as a synthetic human don’t help his case either, and only increase the possibility of a guilty verdict. Later, during the second trial, we find out that Albedo did in fact bury bodies, butdid not kill anyone. As per the court’s suggestion, the Traveler decides to recount their investigation, and Albedo chooses to come clean on the events of what happened during the Shadows Amidst Snowstorms event. Eula backs up his claim on the potentiality of there being a doppelgänger setting him up once again.
It is then revealed that Hertha, one of the Knight Captains who was in opposition to Albedo, was in fact Subject Two (controlled by Durin). It seems that after Albedo buried Subject Two, some hilichurls, were influenced by Durin’s energy, dug up the body and placed it back inside Durin’s stomach. He then absorbed the failed creation along with all the knowledge it encompassed and was able to continuously spawn creatures that could mimic appearances. He alsotook control of humans who ventured into Dragonspine, as his power gave him the ability to poison their minds.
Genshin Impactplayers can view this power as corruption that can only be stabilized by a force equal to it. This means that Durin on Dragonspine’s evil constitution can only be balanced with Mini-Durin’s good-natured constitution. Thus begins Albedo’s plan to get rid of Durin on Dragonspine, fuse him with Mini-Durin from Simulanka (who was created by one ofthe members of the Hexenzirkel) and create another artificial human capable of controlling the life force.
To do this, Albedo enlists Venti’s help in calling theTripartite Conference. This agreement between Varka, Alice, and the Anemo Archon, states that if Mondstadt is in great need, the mages would lend their hand without question. Albedo and the Traveler meet Alice and Barbeloth, who choose to test their resolve through combat. After approving the homunculus experiment and alchemical reagents needed to conduct it, the two head back to Mondstadt City, and Albedo begins the transmutation.
A short cutscene starts and players see the entire city light up as Albedo begins to craft the art of Khemia into Mini-Durin, fusing the evil dragon into the storybook dragon. At the end, we see a humanoid version of Mini-Durin, and Albedo confirms that the new being needs to rest before stepping out into the world. It can be speculated that Mini-Durin be considered one of Rhinedottir’s creations, as his transmutation was created by methods passed down through her to Albedo. However,Genshin Impactplayers will have to wait for the next story update to find out.
