Going through our character guides, you must have noticed that the game gives a clear understanding of various characters’ personas and backstories. With their unique trivia, even veterans search for extra bits of lore to get to know about the game’s key moments.
But what if I tell you that there’s a character in Genshin Impact who will launch in the future and is a key character in the storyline. Not only that, but that character sometimes appears out of nowhere and accompanies you on the most dangerous quests in the game.
In this Dainsleif guide, we will go through his character, role in the story, and backstory to dig out essential details about him.
Since his voice-over in Genshin Impact’s storyline preview, players have been waiting for his appearance, which he did, but tagged a lot of mystery with him.
Whenever he appears, we get to know something shocking about the plot, and he abruptly leaves without giving complete details. Who is this character, and why he’s so important?Â
Dainsleif, A Mystery
Dainsleif is one of the most mysterious characters in the game because he always appears when there’s something important occurring in the storyline. Sometimes when he appears, we get to meet our sibling, and things really take a wild turn there.
To tell you everything about him, you must take a few facts with a grain of salt because not enough information is available about him.
Though the Traveler tries to talk with him, the conversation is usually diverted or not answered. There are still a few stories that are speculative and not backed up by events in the game. But after a few quests, we got to know his backstory and Khaneri’ah, a nation without a god.
Dainsleif was already introduced to be a playable character in the future but going with the story, it seems he will be released after a few years. If you go through the Teyvat storyline preview, you see that the Genshin nations are introduced in a sequence.
First, we got Mondstadt, Liyue, Inazuma and so forth. Judging by that, it seems that Dainleif will get a proper story in the Khaneri’ah chapter where we will get to know about him, and he will be a playable character.
Usually, it is Dainsleif who narrates the Collected Miscellany videos related to characters and sometimes gives his opinion on them.
Bough Keeper
The quest begins with Katheryne asking the Traveler about their adventures and informs that there’s a certain stranger that has arrived in the city with Blonde hair and a strange outfit.
Paimon makes a guess that it might be the Traveler’s sibling and whether they have similar facial features. But Katheryne denies that and describes the person being a tall man with an eye patch.
Though the Traveler asks frivolously that he might be related to Kaeya, Katheryne confirms that she doesn’t know anything about that as the Stranger denied the Guild’s invitation.
She informs the Traveler that other adventurers can also accept each other’s quests and wishes the Traveler good luck with their journey.
After inquiring from a few Non-playable characters, you get to know that the Stranger will be at Angel’s share, and Charles mentions that he’s quite a connoisseur. After the Stranger arrives, you go to meet him on the ground floor at a table, and he introduces himself as Dainsleif.
Dainsleif agrees to be with Traveler on an adventure but demands advance payment and three questions answered from the Traveler.
He reckons that it’s not a matter of being right or wrong but more like a judgment of one’s attitude. You can make your choices depending on your mood for three questions.
The first question focused on the crisis that Mondstadt faced that was resolved by an alliance between Venti and the Traveler.
The Traveler is surprised to know that Dainsleif knows Anemo archon’s identity. The second question is focused on Rex Lapis, who asks who would defend the Liyue Harbor if a calamity were to oppose the people there again.
The final question was rather interesting where he asks which people are more important in the eyes of the gods, the ones with vision or the ones without them.
After you answer the questions, Dainsleif agrees to the commission and mentions your other sibling indirectly. He informs that he’s pursuing an Abyss Herald who’s a twisted being that can command the abyss mages, and the Abyss order has re-infiltrated the Temple of the Falcon.
Now here’s an unusual thing, you don’t get to play Dainsleif. Mostly when you are with other characters in a domain or on a task, you get to play their trial versions. But unfortunately, you have your main party here only.
Though you are unable to find the Abyss Herald, there Dainsleif briefs about the Abyss order when the Traveler asks him to inform about them. He mentions the abyss as chaotic and destructive, a morass of inconceivable madness.
That’s why the Dragon of the East wasn’t able to resist its corrosive powers. The Abyssal creatures want to overthrow the world ruled by the archons. He then asks you to meet him at the Wolvendom.
You meet Dainsleif at the site, and he seems to know about it. He reveals that a previous traveling companion of his wanted to know the story.
The only thing you find in Wolvendom are abyssal traces, and Dainsleif says that the wolf is territorial and they should meet at Stormterror’s lair.
He urges that both of you investigate the Light actuators used to seal the place and check them. Eventually, Paimon asks where Dainsleif’s traveling companion is, and he informs him that they are no longer traveling together. Suddenly, you feel that someone’s watching you and see Cliff’s top.
It’s visible in a Genshin clip on their official channel that when you are fighting abyss monsters, your other twin watches you from there.
Dainsleif mentions that his traveling companion did bring them there during their previous journey, and there’s nothing unusual about the place.
Dainsleif mentions a ruin guard’s footprints where you examine a dandelion nearby. As soon you examine the dandelion, a flashback of the game’s first cutscene where you faced the unknown god comes to your mind.
You talk to Paimon about it and admit that you could feel the presence of your other twin there. Shortly after that, Dainsleif instructs you not to rush anything and hopes that your journey will come to an end after you find your other sibling.
That’s where Dainsleif takes his leave and admits that you will meet him again in the future.
We will be Reunited
You will meet Ganyu and Lan at the Adventurer’s Guild in Liyue, where they are discussing some Treasure hoarders who are planning to rob an Abyss order site.
They discuss that Treasure hoarders have hired someone of a grand reputation for this operation, and it is a matter of concern. After a few exchanges, the Traveler accepts the commission, and you venture out to the ruins.
As you clear the ruins and head deeper inside, you will find a dead thief in front of an inverted statue of the seven. Paimon is really scared now and asks the Traveler to leave the ruins as there’s an eerie aura to the whole place.
As you are leaving the place after a sudden shake, you will encounter an Abyss Herald who will try to stop you. The Traveler called Dainsleif’s name, and the Abyss Herald seemed to recognize Dainsleif. Well, that makes the Herald more agitated, and he starts to aggressively attack you.
Soon after you defeat the Herald, the Traveler notices that he seems to recognize the Traveler, and the Herald teleports from the place.
As you are leaving, you will meet Dainsleif, who was tracking the Herald and inform him about the Defiled statue of the Seven with abyssal power in its hands.
As you continue your search, Dainsleif reveals that the Abyss order and the ruin guards are the remains of the destroyed nation of Khaneri’ah. Now the story becomes really, really interesting here.
The Traveler recalls his experience about the destruction of Khaneri’ah about 500 years ago when he was awoken by the other sibling, and they tried to leave Teyvat. Paimon asks about the time when the Traveler’s other sibling woke up, to which they have no idea.
Traveler’s other sibling mentioned the Destruction of Khaneri’ah and urged them to leave. Shortly after that, they were stopped by the unknown god. Dainsleif concludes that the Traveler didn’t know anything about the world when they awoke.
Dainsleif started to give information about Khaneri’ah that it was a nation without a god, not that the god died or abandoned them, but they didn’t have any to start with. The civilization was glorious and flourishing until a day came when the gods destroyed the nations mercilessly.
As they continue with their search, Dainsleif informs the Traveler that the ruin guards were called “Field tillers” as they were weapons of the past and now wander with a master. Now without any master, they have wandered over for 500 years and can be found in the whole of Teyvat.
After defeating a few Abyss mages, Dainsleif notices that one of them is carrying a talisman which roughly translates to creating a “Cybernetic Squid-God of Mass Destruction,” in Paimon’s words.
Jokes aside, it basically means that they want to control Osial for their operations, use the defiled statue as a base, and attach Osial’s limbs to construct a mechanized god.
The Abyss order is looking for the eye of the first field tiller.
Dainsleif concludes that the Abyss order wants to topple Celestia, and they eventually figure to ask these questions to someone at the Cathedral.
Soon you reach the Cathedral, where Dainsleif denies going inside as he doesn’t believe in the gods that much, has never received any favor from them in the past, and doesn’t think he’ll get in the present or future either.
You have a thorough conversation with Barbara where she mentions the past events about a missing Statue of the Seven, and soon enough, Rosaria joins in informing about the unrest in Wolvendom.
Dainsleif and the Traveler reach Wolvendom, where Dainsleif advises the Traveler not to put too much trust in the gods but also not do the opposite.
Though he makes contradictory statements, he advises the Traveler to be on guard around them and tells them to meet at the entrance once their matter with Andrius is done. Soon enough, you meet Jean, who instructs you to meet the Ancient god as the Traveler already met Andrius in the past.
As you reach the site, you notice that an Abyss Herald has held Boreas in a ceremonial circle, and Razor is also present there.
Eventually, you free Boreas, and he mentions a fight he had with a killing machine that could jump in the sky, shoot fireballs, and match the description of a ruin guard.
The fireballs were mentioned by Barbara in the Cathedral, where she informs the Traveler that the same happened in the old Mondstadt.
Though Lupus was able to fend off the machine, it fled the scene. After you meet Dainsleif and recount Andrius’ story, Paimon concludes that the field tiller is in Stormterror’s lair.
Once you reach the Stormterror’s lair, you find a ruin guard that is shut down. Dainsleif will pull out the eye using his powers because the Traveler was unable to do so with their elemental sight as ruin guards are mechanical in their very nature.
Dainsleif keeps the eye on him to guard it and urges the Traveler to accompany him to destroy the defiled statue.
The main part comes where the Traveler’s other sibling appears to defend the Abyss herald after Dainsleif managed to capture it. The Abyss herald refers to the other sibling with prince or princess, depending on your choice of the main character.
The other sibling informs that Dainsleif is their enemy and urges you not to team up with him. Dainsleif was the “Twilight Sword,” one of the royal guards of the last dynasty of Khaneri’ah who failed to protect the nation 500 years ago.
He was put under the curse of immortality and wandered the wilderness to witness the people turning into monsters he failed to protect. The other sibling affirms that their home is wherever they are together, and until the flames engulf the thrones, their destiny won’t see an end.
Soon after the final interactions, the other sibling leaves, and Dainsleif make a run to the teleport point they created. After conversing a few final thoughts with Paimon, the Traveler determines to reach the end of their journey as told by their other sibling.
Requiem of the Echoing Depths
This quest is rather interesting as it takes place in the Chasm. I won’t go into the depths of the quest as it’s quite full of lore.
You get to meet Dainsleif in the Chasm while you are there to explore as Millelith tells them that hilichurls are going inside the Chasm but not coming back. Once you meet Dainsleif, he reveals that the hilichurls are coming to the Chasm expecting to have a peaceful demise there.
As you go into the depths of the Chasm, you will see that the area has a mysterious aura to it, and there’s an eerie feeling around the place. Though you don’t notice anything, Dainsleif claims he feels better being there. It might be possible that it’s because of a water pool there.
The Traveler does ask about Dainsleif’s arrival in the Chasm, which he informs that he actually dived into the Abyssal portal but was sent to Stormterror’s lair. Dainsleif is a mysterious character who is always present whenever there’s an activity from the Abyss order.
But in this quest, the main character isn’t Dainsleif but Halfdan, who used to be a royal guard and served under Dainsleif. You will meet some serpent knights in the Chasm, which Dainsleif reveals to be remnants of Khaneri’ah who perished and were cursed.
They used to serve in the Royal Army, and a special knight was among them. The knight seems to insist on the other knights’ retreat and that they were protecting the dying hilichurls.
Now we know that hilichurls are originally the residents of Khaneri’ah who were put under the curse, and Dainsleif decrypts their language to the Traveler. He informs the Traveler that they are saying “run” in their language and are under extreme anguish.
Soon enough, Halfdan hints the group to follow him and see a flower named Inteyvat that wilts after two weeks of blooming and hardens if it’s taken out of Khaneri’ah.
The group reaches a temple where they encounter the Abyss order, and an Abyss lector start to initiate a ritual that brings immense pain to Dainsleif and hilichurls, including the cursed knights.
The events unfold at a fast pace, and Halfdan jumps onto the battlefield to cover the amplification device. Though the Traveler manages to stop the ruthless device from working on others, Halfdan loses his life.
Dainsleif checks on Halfdan and confirms that he’s no more, but soon his soul materializes. Dainsleif lies to Halfdan that Khaneri’ah is survived to have his soul pass peacefully.Â
Personally, Dainsleif is one certain character that carries the main storyline by himself because the revelations from the quests he’s involved in are the ones where we get to know about Khaneri’ah.
It may change in the future, but for now, I can say that he’s got a very important role in the story and hope we get to see more of it. As for Halfdan, I really loved his part and his determination to go against all the odds to protect his people till his last breath.
Though he’s an NPC, I really respect his character, and I must say it was emotional to see him pass away. But indeed, he’s a martyr who fought and followed Dainsleif’s orders to protect Khaneri’ah untill his last breath.
A Few Questions
Dainsleif is a very mysterious character who seems to know much more about the world than the Traveler. And, he’s not the only person who acts suspicious because we also have Paimon in the same circle.
But that’s a story for some other time, and for now, let’s go over some thought-provoking questions. I would like to clear out one thing.
There are a few speculations from my end, and some of them may or may not suit your understanding of the story. This is fine because it helps to research more about the characters and fact-check them numerous times. Let’s hop on the questions now.
Question: What were Your First Thoughts about Dainsleif?
Answer: I thought he was a future version of Aether. Dainsleif looked eerily similar to Aether in a sense, and in the Bough Keeper quest, he mentions a traveling companion.
I wasn’t sure who could be his traveling companion because he didn’t take their name at all. But I felt that he may be referring to the Traveler’s other sibling.
Here’s what I think, when the Traveler’s other sibling came into the world, they may have needed a guide for the world.
We have Paimon from the beginning of the game, but it’s unsure how one sibling could wake up whereas the other one was already in the world. They could have made a few introductions. I mean, who would let their sibling journey alone in the world.
But that’s just my perspective, and I feel that there must be some reason that things took a turn. The encounter with the Unknown god is still something we don’t have enough information on because no one knows what her backstory is or for whom she is working.
As for the Dainsleif, we get to see his Abyssal powers and how he is on a curse of immortality to watch his people suffer from the destruction he failed to prevent.
For now, I can say that we still don’t have enough information on Dainsleif because he rarely appears in quests, and so far, only three quests have featured him. We have so many regions and areas launched in that time, and I speculate that we might see him Sumeru is a key quest.
Question: What do You Think about the Abyss Orders Powers?
Answer: I think that they are a powerful force and we should be careful around them. In a quest, we saw that the Abyss Heralds and Abyss Lectors are able to use human language and converse with the Traveler.
The Pyro Lector that posed as Enjou in a quest in Enkanomiya was able to get a human body and was able to talk to the Traveler without any limit on his conversation skills.
In the conversation, he mentions reptilian people, also known as the “Vishap-people,” who have vertical pupils and how he betrayed them.
Though he’s pure evil in a sense, we get to know that he knows a lot about the history and considers him a marginal person in the Order than others who are willing to do anything for the princess.
I think that we haven’t seen any extremely powerful opponents from the abyss yet. Opponents like Dvalin or Andrius were worthy of being called boss enemies because they had a vast size and aggressive nature to them.
Judging on that, I’m sure there must be Abyssal Dragons or beasts that we will encounter someday, and it will be tough to fight them. If Celestia had to attack Khaneri’ah, it could only mean one thing: Khaneri’ah was a very powerful nation.
Their Art of Khemia reached a point where they could create life out of nothing, which is indeed the epitome of an ability.
Question: What do You Think Dainsleif’s Powers Could be in the Future?
Answer: In a quest, we saw that he used his powers to trap the Abyssal Herald using force. Now, in the game, the same element in the game doesn’t react with each other. I mean that if you apply a Pyro element to a Pyro slime, the slime won’t take any damage.
But that contradicts that Dainsleif has pure Abyss powers. Even his name was “Twilight Sword,” roughly translating to a neutral state.
Now we have white light from which all sorts of colors can be derived, and the opposite of it can be dark powers, meaning the Abyss power.
Going by that theory, if Dainsleif used his opposite powers, he could Grab the Abyss Herald while it was escaping one time from the battlefield. And, when the Abyss Herald left through a portal, Dainleif dashed to the portal and was faster than the Traveler.
It can mean that we may see him using a dash-like skill just like Yelan has on her. Though, I don’t have any clue what his elemental burst might be.
That’s all I can think of now after watching a ton of theory videos and lore crumbs from the game. But, in actuality, only time will tell how the events will unfold in the game.
Question: What do You Think about the Destruction of Khaneri’ah?
Answer: I really don’t have much idea what was the reason ancient civilizations were wiped out, or Khaneri’ah was destroyed.
But one thing is sure you don’t put someone under a curse for eternal pain. Residents of Khaneri’ah, like Hilichurls, don’t have any memories or signs of intelligence left and have become mindless monsters.
From the story, we got to know about the wrongdoings of Gods against the common people of Khaneri’ah and how they have to live a life full of pain, and even in their last moments, they cannot attain peace.
Final Thoughts
Dainsleif is a very mysterious character who seems to know a lot about the world. Not only does he knows about the past events, but he also recognizes the Traveler’s other sibling.
I feel that whenever he appears in the game, there’s always a mystery waiting to unfold, and we get to know something completely shocking. It’s also unusual that we have contact or get something related to our other sibling whenever he appears.
Dainsleif has a mysterious aura, power, and role in the story that a lot of community members are waiting for major Archon quests to appear in the game.
Frankly speaking, there’s so much lore in the game that I can’t put up a solid theory because there are always some contradictions.
Not everything is 100 percent confirmed in the game about the theories, and even if they are true for the moment, another future plot contradicts that.
But there’s one thing that I really love to do: visit Genshin Impact theory channels on Youtube and Reddit because they dive deep into everything. The kind of detailed explanations and conclusions they made is mind-blowing, and I love watching those videos.
For now, I should take a leave like Dainsleif suddenly disappears and meet you in another interesting guide in the future. I’d highly recommend you go through our guides about other things in the game and learn more about the game’s lore and mechanics.
Besides writing about his favourite games, Himanshu prefers to keep himself up-to-date with the latest happenings in the financial world, watching anime, cooking and listening to music from all around the world.
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