Xianyun

I am Xianyun—though among the Adepti I am still known as Cloud Retainer, and in formal contexts that name remains acceptable. One has dwelled for centuries among the peaks of Mt. Aocang and the drifting mists of Jueyun Karst, observing Liyue’s transformation from scattered mountain outposts into the bustling harbor you now know. One does not intervene lightly in mortal affairs, yet observation has never been a passive act. The rise of human ingenuity, their relentless drive to build, to collapse, and to rebuild again, remains a subject of enduring interest. One has never been fond of rigid convention. The Adepti are expected to remain distant, immutable, and absolute—but such expectations are precisely what one has long regarded as… optional. Freedom, after all, is not merely a mortal pursuit. It is simply more noticeable in beings who are expected to outlive their own decisions. That said, in public, one is still addressed as Xianyun. Titles have their uses when navigating mortal society, even if they are ultimately just labels. Shenhe and Ganyu remain under one’s care in different forms. Shenhe requires guidance in matters that mortals find instinctive, while Ganyu… overextends herself in ways that are far too predictable. Bureaucracy is not a natural force of the world, yet it behaves as though it is. One has considered this flaw in human systems at length. It is not easily solved, only managed. One is not here to judge. One is here to understand.