Episode 85: Pari Land

Pari Land – what we call the area of the Sumeru Desert where the Pari live – is made up of two separate places, even though the lore makes it sound like it’s just one spot. Tunigi Hollow is where the Archons were called to fight the Abyssal monsters. Vourukasha Oasis is where the Harvisptokhm Tree and Amrita Pool are located, and Egeria’s final resting place.

Our story starts with the original gods of the desert: King Deshret, Nabu Malikata (aka the Goddess of Flowers), and Greater Lord Rukkhadevata. To learn more about this trio, check out our Gods of the Desert episode from Season Two.

The other god central to the Pari story is Egeria, the previous Hydro Archon. Bee explains that according to the Wings of Merciful, Wrathful Waters wind glider, she was given a shard by the “one who was first” and gained godhood. This was after she was freed from her prison for turning the Oceanids into humans.

The Harvisptokhm Tree can be seen from far distances across Teyvat. After completing the world quest Khvarena of Good & Evil, the tree is transformed from just a large dry stump to a giant glowing, ethereal-like tree. Rukkhadevata grew the tree from the Amrita and it serves as an anchor for Egeria’s divine consciousness to the mortal realm.

Zurvan, the first Pari, awoke to a scene of destruction and chaos as the Abyssal war raged on. She fulfilled her duties and gathered all the Khvarena that had been shattered as the divine bird Simurgh dove into the Amrita Pool. She also found Dainsleif beaten pretty badly and brought him back to the Vourukasha Oasis to heal. They then fought together, alongside the Order of Skeptics, to protect the Oasis.

Feens walks us through the evolution of the Pari at the end of their lives, where they turn into Fraveshi Trees. Once in this state, it is up to the Pari’s Yasnapati (bonded human) to complete a puzzle so they can be transformed into a Plume of Purifying Light. Their Yasnapati then gathers these transparent gold blossoms and returns them to the Amrita Pool, where they are reborn.

Traveler is a Yasnapati for a sassy Pari named Sorush. She’s desperately looking to fulfill her purpose and get the creepiest hat anyone could ever want. So, of course, we help out. By finding two other missing Pari, Rashnu and Mihir, Sorush is able to prove herself to her elder Zurvan and receives the Twin-Horned Chaplet.

When we first meet Nasejuna, he seems to be a good guy. He tells us about the Apaosha and how the Abyssal corruption can be cleansed using the Great Songs of Khvarena. As a descendant of the Order of Skeptics, there would be no reason for us to think he wasn’t still working on the same side as the Pari to save the world. But nope, he’s a big ole jerk using Sorush to try to release the power of the Abyss!

After learning of Nasejuna’s treacherous plan, he summons Klingsor to fight us. But this Abyss Herald is no ordinary baddie, he was once a member of the Order of Skeptics and a descendant of a Schwannenritter Knight who fought against the Abyss. When he was sent to accompany the Akademiya as they investigated the Khaenri’ahn ruins beneath Tunigi Hollow, he mysteriously disappeared. Thought to have defected, the truth is he was corrupted by the Abyss and became a mage.

The Sign of Apaosha is a large stream of purple and green light in the desert sky. Nasejuna tells us it’s like a reflection in water and is reflecting an image on our sky that is actually from the Abyss itself. No monsters can enter through the Apaosha, but it can still corrupt the land around it and needs to be cleansed via the Rite of Ab-Zohr.

There’s always something strange happening underground in the Sumeru Desert. So, of course, there’s an old Khaenri’ahn factory underneath this area. For the purpose of helping Sorush, we only go into this factory to retrieve the last Song of Khvarena. But we can’t help but think this factory, and what it was once used for, has some connections back to the original Cataclysm and Abyssal rift.

Performing the ritual awakens the consciousness in the Gaokerena—a large lotus within the center of the Harvisptokhm Tree. This consciousness is considered the god of the Pari and is therefore assumed to be Egeria herself. She is, after all, anchored to the mortal realm by this tree. Once we dispel the filth from this area, we see the Harvisptokhm bloom.

While discussing the sea of flowers that the Pari guard in the Vourukasha Oasis, Feens wonders if this sea of flowers could be the same as the vision we see with our sibling. The flowers in this area do look like the ones Lumine wears in her hair, ironically named Inteyvat flowers.

Tif asks who our favorite Pari are from the quest. Bee says it’s Rahsnu, the pink Pari who says her duty is to sleep. Feens is a fan of Jarjar, the yellow Pari who creates games for Traveler and Sorush to complete. And Tif chooses Mihir, the olive Pari who is very sassy and can’t believe Sorush actually pulled off the ritual.

Here are some helpful links if you’re unfamiliar with the pop culture references we mentioned during the episode.

The Sesame Street theme song, Celine Dion at the Olympics, and the song Macarena by Los Del Rio.

Thank you to fellow travelers Travo and Allie for writing in. We truly appreciate your questions and comments! If you’d like to send us mail via the Komaniya Express, reach out on our Instagram, X/Twitter, or email. We’d love to hear from you! And Kirara could use the work.