Rhinedottir

Rhinedottir was an alchemist and researcher from Khaenri'ah who attained the pinnacle of both knowledge and alchemical prowess, thus coming to be known as "Gold". As one of the Five Sinners of Khaenri'ah, she is a transcendental being who possesses an "earth-shattering" amount of Abyssal power. She was particularly proficient in the forbidden Art of Khemia (the alchemical practice of creating life) and used it to create all sorts of living beings. At some point in time, she developed "a penchant for madness."

It is implied that Rhinedottir's creations draw on the power of the Ruler of Life, which confer them with a degree of immortality. Certain creations, like the Bakunawa, further augment it by drawing from Abyssal power instead.

Rhinedottir classified her creations under several pedigrees which appear to reflect the type of 'soil' from which they were produced. Three such categories are known, with "Alfisol" referring to the riftwolves, "Humus" being the origin of Durin, and "Cretaceus" for Albedo. Notably, the lattermost category (chalk) is said to be of highest quality. Many of her creations had a will of their own.

Rhinedottir was the architect of the Primordial Human Project, an ambitious experiment which aimed at creating a human being through alchemy. While the project was eventually successful, culminating in the creation of Albedo, it also produced failures like Subject Two, whom she disposed of by leaving in Durin's stomach.

At some point, Rhinedottir created the Bakunawa. However, she could not control it and it attacked her, swallowing a part of her body. She ultimately survived the incident.

She is longtime friends with the adventurer Alice, though how they came to know each other or how long ago they met, given the longevity of Alice and Klee's race, is currently unknown.

After discovering the Heart of Naberius with Albedo and consuming Naberius, she disappeared without a trace. However, she left Albedo with a note, a recommendation letter, and a piece of classical text. She tasked Albedo with finding the "truth and meaning of this world" as his final assignment.

Rhinedottir is known to Skirk, though she had only heard the name from her master Surtalogi. Skirk also remarked that like her master, Rhinedottir too is "pursuing some form of perfection".

Rhinedottir is a fair woman with light skin, golden eyelashes, and heterochromic eyes; the left eye is gray, while the right eye is yellow. The two eyes also bear two different symbols. Her blonde hair fades to an orange color and is let loose. She also has blonde eyebrows. There is one unique strand of hair on the left side that fades to a bright yellow and resembles the DNA symbol.

Rhinedottir's outfit closely resembles Naberius' outfit, having a white dress with gold accents. The only difference is that the white dress is mixed with black. She has only one long black glove with gold accents on her right arm, while her left arm has a long black sleeve that reaches slightly beyond the elbow and also has gold accents. More DNA symbols can be seen in her design. Rhinedottir also wears a black neckpiece and a white veil, both lined with gold. The veil has a headpiece that glows yellow. Additionally, Rhinedottir has a glowing golden-yellow halo behind her that resembles the circular version of the DNA symbol, but more unique-looking. A smaller version of it is found within the overall halo as well.

When Naberius is speaking, some parts of Rhinedottir's appearance glow blue. These parts are namely the halo, the headpiece on her veil, and the fading yellow color of the particular strand of hair resembling the DNA symbol.

English: Gold

Chinese (Simplified): 黄金 Huángjīn (Gold)

Chinese (Traditional): 黃金 Huángjīn (Gold)

Japanese: 黄金 Ougon (Gold)

Korean: 황금 Hwanggeum (Gold)

Spanish: Oro (Gold)

French: Or —

Russian: Золото (Zoloto) —

German: Goldene (Golden One)

Portuguese: Ouro —

Turkish: Altın —

Italian: La Dorata —

Rhinedottir was a proficient alchemist from Khaenri'ah with mastery over the Art of Khemia. Alongside Surtalogi, Rerir and Hroptatyr, Rhinedottir would help Dainsleif attack the Royal Palace in order to free his brother Vedrfolnir after he was punished by Irmin. She was surprised to hear the news, since she was aware of Vedrfolnir's position in the king's court, and she suspected that Dainsleif had been planning the attack for a while seeing how resolved he was to rescue his brother. While the rescue was successful, they were tempted by the Abyss, and ultimately each of them betrayed Dainsleif by stealing one sixth of the "world-shattering" Abyssal power that Irmin had the Traveler's Sibling absorb.

The Cataclysm

After Rhinedottir claimed her share of Abyssal power, she became a "transcendent being" with enough power to destroy the world. Soon after, an army of Abyssal monsters created by Rhinedottir besieged Khaenri'ah and the Seven Nations of Teyvat during an event that became known as the Cataclysm, with the Rifthounds in particular being part of the vanguard sent to make way for the other monsters. The fell dragon Durin terrorised the skies of Mondstadt, stopping only when the people's fervent prayers awoke the Anemo Archon who asked Dvalin to kill him. The great beast Elynas caused severe pollution throughout the land and sea of Fontaine, and being defeated only after the entirety of Fontaine's armada pursued it for a month and inflicted a wound which would cause it to eventually bleed to death. The immortal Bakunawa emerged in Natlan and devoured the entire tribe of Tenochzitoc, stopping only after a great sacrifice by Tenoch and Sanhaj caused it to be blown apart into countless pieces.

From the perspective of the people of Teyvat the abyssal creatures' invasion spelled nothing but disaster, but not all of Rhinedottir's creations were driven by malicious motive. The personalities of both Durin and Elynas betray an innocent, almost childlike delight at the opportunity to experience life in a beautiful new world, and their memories reveal that they were either unaware of or actually distressed by the harm their existence caused. Durin claims that Rhinedottir had sent him away from Khaenri'ah to "display beauty," with any nefarious motives left ambiguous, while the Riftwolves invaded Teyvat of their own volition.

After the Cataclysm

Rhinedottir apparently emerged relatively unscathed from the cataclysm. She eventually made a breakthrough in her Primordial Human Project and created the "perfect" Albedo, which she classified as "Cretaceus," and taught him everything she knew as they ventured in and out of domains.

One day, they stumbled upon an item known as the Heart of Naberius. Shortly afterwards, Rhinedottir devoured the heart and became one with Naberius, leaving Albedo with the task of discovering the "truth and meaning of this world" and directing him to seek out help from Alice in Mondstadt. After merging with Naberius, Rhinedottir took over her functions as the Ruler of Life among the Four Shades.

During a routine meeting with the other Shades in Celestia to discuss the whereabouts of Asmoday, Rhinedottir attended in Naberius's place. Though stripped of her agency, Naberius still voiced her disapproval of Rhinedottir's words and actions from within their shared mind.

After Albedo dealt with the original Durin, Rhinedottir sent the cat Sebas to check up on him in Mondstadt and giving him a new task of giving her questions to answer, especially those that she didn't know about. She also tasked him with giving Durin a task of his own. Sebas ran into Albedo in his facility on Dragonspine, leaving behind a "gift" for him, while she sent monsters at Durin in order to test his strength, aware of the shortcomings that the Durin she created had. She was pleased with Durin's progress and offered him a solution to control the abyssal energies within him, though he seemingly declined it. At the end of the message, she wondered how he would find his place in human society.