Hello dear Travelers~ We’re about to embark on a journey to the Hydro region Fontaine in the upcoming version 4.0 update. What adventures await us in the steampunk/cyberpunk inspired region? Let’s find out by taking a look at the many foreshadows and hints in the game so far~
PS: Below are speculations based on officially released materials that do not reflect actual in-game contents~
I. Geographical Location
Fontaine is located to the northwest of Liyue and the north of Sumeru. It is connected via water to Bayda Harbor in the north of Sumeru Forest and Qiaoying Village in Liyue.
In the V3.8 World Quest “Recollections of a Fontainian”, we speak to the NPC Augustus and learn that there are several ways to go to Fontaine:
We can go to Fontaine directly from Bayda Harbor in Sumeru, or we can also go from Lumidouce Harbor to Chenyu Vale in Liyue.
From the dialogue, several key locations were mentioned: Bayda Harbor, Chenyu Vale, Romaritime Harbor, and Natlan. These locations are likely to come with the update.
From the dialogue, my guess of the general geographical location of Fontaine is below:
II. City Design
Currently, Fontaine is the most industrially advanced region in Teyvat. Gadgets that we’ve seen in the story of Genshin Impact so far, such as the Kamera, movies, and cannons that can shoot Electro in Inazuma, all originated from Fontaine.
(V3.8 Special Program – Fontaine architecture)
Additionally, “water” is also the recurring design element here, so naturally we can envision a landscape filled with abundant rivers and bodies of water. The sources of Liyue’s Bishui River and Sumeru’s Ardravi are both located in Fontaine. The design of Fontaine is also very similar to the concepts of a “City of Water”.
(V3.8 Special Program – Fontaine outskirt landscape)
There is a sewerage system below Fontaine that can be traversed by people, its complexity is not as puzzling as the Sumeru underground. The purpose of the sewer is indeed to manage waste of Fontaine, and if we consider the highly advanced industries of Fontaine and the polluted water source storyline from the event “Wishful Drops”, this might be an indication that unique enemies will appear here.
(V3.8 Special Program – Fontaine sewers)
III. Justice and Law
“Justice” is the ideal of Fontaine. The region operates based on a set of judgement systems pertaining to the ideal of Justice. The courtroom plays an extremely important part in Fontaine, and we can also see a “Chief Justice Neuvillette of Fontaine” mentioned in Nahida’s character introduction.
Strict law and order bind the activities of Fontainians. In Tatara Tales, Xavier the Fontainian mentioned on several occasions how he would sue the Fatui; this shows the dominance and power of law in Fontaine is so strong that the Fontainians believe it capable of resolving all problems. However, under the seemingly perfected legal system, the problem of uncompromising “systemic justice” arises.
IV. Two Hydro Archons
Similar to the land of Dendro Sumeru, there’s been a change of office for the Hydro Archon in Fontaine once as well.
The previous Hydro Archon fell on the battlefields of Khaenri'ah during the cataclysm and turned into the Vourukasha Oasis, entering samsara only in Girdle of the Sands of Sumeru. The “god” that Sorush and Zurvan mentioned is precisely the previous Hydro Archon. The succession occurred 500 years ago, matching the time when the successions of the Electro and Dendro Archons happened.
The previous Hydro Archon turned into the Vourukasha Oasis to suppress the corruption of the Abyss. Greater Lord Rukkhadevata grew the Harvisptokhm, and the consciousness of the Hydro Archon is anchored to the Harvisptokhm, creating numerous Pari.
Artifact description of “Vibrant Pinion”
Amrita passed and Focalors took her place as the current Hydro Archon. She’s clearly more proactive than her predecessor in that she took over the right to rule over the Lochfolk and attempted to turn the Lochfolk scattered across Teyvat into her spies for Justice. Some Lochfolk that were dissatisfied with this new dynamic fled (like the one found in Qingce Village). This is mentioned in the event “Wishful Drops” in a previous version of the game.
At the end of the Sumeru Archon Quest, Nahida comments that the current Hydro Archon Focalors possesses a very unique personality and reserves the right to veto the final judgement as the Archon, but will neither participate in any trials nor miss any of them, the reason being that she enjoys the spectacle of the courtroom.
Let’s take another look at the description of her from the Teyvat Chapter Storyline Preview: Travail video and from the item Varunada Lazurite Gemstone:
“The God of Justice lives for the spectacle of the courtroom, seeking to judge all other gods.
But even she knows not to make an enemy of the divine.”
- Travail Preview video, Fontaine Chapter [IV. Masquerade of the Guilty]
(Description of Varunada Lazurite Gemstone)
Focalors is currently the only Archon that openly expressed her obedience and support for the divine (Heavenly Principles), but whether or not this is sincere on her part remains a question. We can’t be sure whether she’s truly a follower of the Heavenly Principles or if she’s like the Electro Archon, forced to obey after witnessing the power and dominance of the Heavenly Principles.
From what Dainsleif described in the Chapter Storyline Preview, the very Justice upheld by the Archon of Justice has been twisted. She knows the courtroom to be a place for fairness, yet treats it as entertainment; she knows the tyranny of the Heavenly Principles, yet chooses to turn a blind eye.
The current Hydro Archon no longer holds the same principles as her predecessor. Affected by all the events, she has become the “guilty” masquerading in the colors of Justice with no respect for the law. This is why many Lochfolks fled Fontaine, but the true reason is likely to be deeply connected to the Archon Quest storyline, involving Heavenly Principles and Khaenri’ah.
V. Lochfolk
The Lochfolk is a species made of pure Hydro energy from a foreign land. They emerge from the essence of Hydro and are descendants of the faceless angels. Known entities include Rhodeia of Loch in Qingce Village in Liyue, Spring Fairy depicted in the book Heart of Clear Springs, Endora from the V1.4 event, and Idyia from the V3.8 event.
Lochfolk once spread far and wide to rivers, streams, and ponds all over the continent, and largely served as Fontaine's spies.
Rhodeia is the most renowned of Lochfolk scouts, and also the strongest. She did not recognize the new Hydro Archon and desired only to keep the dreams of yesteryear alive. She fled Fontaine, harboring a longing for the previous Hydro Archon. The remaining Lochfolks like Idyia from V3.8 did the same, because the waters of Fontaine changed, now full of pain and hatred.
Lochfolks are very pure life forms, but other creatures in the world are complicated, so they observe, research, mimic and copy the form of others to understand them. The way Lochfolks express love is to merge their watery bodies as one, eliminating the barrier from one consciousness to the other, but this type of love would only drown other creatures.
Lochfolks might have the power to grant blessings. For example, the Spring Fairy in Springvale gifted Diona the wondrous ability to make delicious drinks, even though Diona herself doesn’t drink.
Even Lochfolks themselves do not recognize the new Archon of their homeland, to the point that they become afraid of meeting “assassins from Fontaine”. This could mean that the new Hydro Archon has turned away from the path of Justice and Love that the previous Archon paved.
VI. Diving System
From the NPC Vasco in Port Ormos, we learn that there will be diving gameplay and underwater areas in Fontaine. Similar to the Wind Glider requiring a gliding certificate, you’ll also need to pass a test for the diving certificate.
In the V3.8 Special Program video, we saw Traveler leap into the lake near Fontaine City and into a lively underwater world. We can speculate that the diving mechanic will cover a very large play area. Details of the diving animation set were also shown, including acceleration, hovering, and chest opening animations. Are you also looking forward to the new system?
VII. Organizations in Fontaine
Court of Fontaine
Similar to the Akademiya ruling the land of Wisdom Sumeru, the organization that holds power in the land of Justice Fontaine should be the court that oversees judgements. Chief Justice Neuvillette of the Court of Fontaine will likely hold a similar amount of power and position as the Grand Sage. The Archon of Justice Focalors likely won’t be tending to everyday matters, so long as the land of Hydro is on the “correct” path.
Fontaine Research Institute
The Fontaine Research Institute’s function is very different from the Sumeru Akademiya’s. It is an institute dedicated to the research of machines and energy. The machinepunk setting that Fontaine has adapted is all thanks to this Research Institute, in a sense you can even say that “the founding of the Research Institute is the founding of Fontaine”.
The founder of the Fontaine Research Institute, Alain Guillotin, was a top scientist. Clockwork mechanisms and kinetic cores in the early days of Fontaine were all his invention.
Fontaine Research Institute also once conducted an experiment aimed at resolving the waterline crisis, but the experiment went out of control and exploded catastrophically, killing the Senior Technician overseeing the experiment, Edwin Eastinghouse, whose body still hasn’t been recovered yet. All in all, with such a disastrous outcome, the failed experiment turned the Research Institute into a famous landmark of Fontaine.
The Steambird
The Steambird is probably the earliest Fontaine organization revealed to players, since there used to be an official account under the same name that shared fanart from time to time. The Steambird is read all across Teyvat, it is the main newspaper of the Court of Fontaine.
Yun Jin was also interviewed once by the famous news agency. There are many featured sections that contain all sorts of news and gossip drawn from every corner of the seven nations, and naturally, the Traveler’s feats have been reported on in large quantity.
Currently the “All Things Astrological” section of The Steambird is contributed by Mona. Taking a different approach to the original idea of the column being for easy reading, most of each issue was dedicated to discussing difficult and obscure topics akin to academic research, but it’s still surprisingly popular among readers.
Charlotte from the V3.7 event is also a journalist for The Steambird.
Daydream Club
The Daydream Club is formed by a loose group of people with “unrealistic” dreams – daydreamers. The group gathers in the town of Petrichor in the Court of Fontaine.
The Club has the following members:
Félix Yogue: Wishes to create an energy source that can operate in perpetuity. He wants to use purely mechanical structures to build it, requiring no materials that regular people can't handle. Seen during the V2.8 event “Evermotion Mechanical Painting”.
Xavier: Inventor of the Film Kamera as well as an exceptionally creative filmmaker. The Traveler once solved the Mikage Furnace crisis with him in the World Quest Tatara Tales, shot “The Seventh Samurai”, and shot “Mushounin” in the World Quest series Film Notes.
Garcia: Is currently inventing the Numbering Machine, a type of tool that helps people with various calculations. You’ll meet him in the Liyue World Quest Garcia’s Paean and the Daily Commissions in Sumeru.
Mécantre and Babisse brothers: Are working on a super-sized cannon that can carry people inside, even though their progress is still stuck on searching for the right fuel.
Fontaine Flyers
From the description, we can tell it’s definitely a circus and perhaps linked to Lyney and Lynette. There are also huge circus tents in the V3.8 event area Veluriyam Mirage.
Narzissenkreuz Institute
From the Nymph's Dream Artifact set, suspected to be an orphan home of Fontaine. Alain Guillotin and Rene were from the Institute. The Director at the time was suspected to be non-human, of a similar species like the Lochfolks. The story happened 500 years ago, and the current status of the Narzissenkreuz Institute remains unknown, likely disbanded.
Marechaussee Phantom & Special Security and Surveillance Patrol
Fontaine’s law enforcement organizations. They are very briefly mentioned in the Nymph’s Dream Artifact set, that many Narzissen champions were taken in by them. They are again mentioned by an NPC in the V3.8 event area Veluriyam Mirage.
Judging purely by the names, we can tell the two organizations are the guns of Fontaine, similar to the Millelith and Knights of Favonius.
Rock Music and Iridescence Tour
Fontaine is a musical haven: There’s an instrument shop inside the main city, the Sojourner in the story of the Wanderer’s Troupe also came from Fontaine, and rock music originated here.
The Iridescence Tour is a grand musical festival. The organizers wish to expand the scope of the festival so they can hold it once in each of the seven nations. The Iridescence Tour originally planned in Inazuma was cancelled due to dangers the organizers encountered at sea. The V3.4 Lantern Rite Festival is the first overseas show of the Tour. Dvorak is one of the organizers of the Iridescence Tour who is acquainted with Xinyan, the only rock artist in Liyue Harbor.
VIII. Crises in Fontaine
Energy System Crisis
The V2.7 event “Core of the Apparatus” mentions a serious energy system crisis in Fontaine that puts finding an alternative energy solution at the top of their priorities. Recall that earlier in the post we mentioned the Fontaine Research Institute, which happens to be studying the fields of machines and energy, making it very likely for the World Quests in Fontaine to revolve around the topic of energy.
Water Quality and Waterline Crisis
There are also problems with Fontaine’s water quality and waterline. According to the Lochfolk that fled, the waters of Fontaine is filled with pain and hatred. We don’t know how this will affect citizens of Fontaine yet, but it’s highly likely to be mentioned in the Archon Questline.
Academic Bureaucracy Crisis
From the new World Quest in V3.8, we learn that ever since Raimondo and Choiseul took over the reconstruction project, the spirit of research at the Institute has been in freefall: The land that supposedly upholds the ideal of Justice begins to kill the explorer’s spirit of science with absurdly strict monitoring rules, and the academic institutions are becoming more and more bureaucratic with many procedures and personnel problems, corrupting this cornerstone that built Fontaine to be the industrial behemoth it is today.
It takes half a month to fill in various complicated application forms for any proposal, and a month may have already passed when the application process is completed. If there are leftover declared funds, the funds for next year will be reduced, so it is necessary to spend them all at once at the end of a project. All of this is pointing to the serious situation of the academic bureaucracy that is plaguing the Fontaine Research Institute at the moment.
Even crazier is the VAM agreement in the Fontainian academia. Independent researchers must apply for funding to conduct their studies and bear risks for doing so. If the experiment was successful, then everyone is happy and the researcher gets to take home the accolades. However, to spend large sums and not produce any results will file the researcher as a criminal and they can even face judgement.
Take poor researcher Patrice as a stand-out example.
Patrice worked hard off his passion and love for research, conducting experiments in Liyue for results, but he was suspected of faking his research data on grounds of “not following the standard procedure”. Failed researches and researches that are not regulated can have grave consequences, and the result is stagnation of innovation and progress. The mechanisms invented by the founder of the Institute Alain Guillotin is still in use today, which goes to show that the Research Institute hasn’t seen much breakthrough through the years.
Upper City VS Lower City?
We can see a visible difference between the attire of Fontaine city dwellers and those that are in the sewers in the V3.8 trailer.
In one of these settings, we see many weathered and pieced together planks and a lone lamp in the dark, showing us the hardship of those that live in the lower city. However, just a few scenes earlier we were shown the glamourous, European aristocrat-like Fontainians in their full glory.
Those that live underground look very different from those aboveground, and their living conditions are dreadful. It is highly likely that the reason for this is some kind of conflict between the upper/lower city dwellers in Fontaine.
And that’s all the foreshadows and hints we have compiled for the land of Hydro, Fontaine. So, what kind of adventure are you looking forward to in Fontaine?
