Episode 86: Monsieur Neuvillette

We’re first introduced to Neuvillette in his character teaser and character demo videos. Seeing what it’s like to be the Iudex of Fontaine, we start to understand his stoic nature and relentlessness in learning about himself and the world around him. We get an even deeper look into this mysterious man in his collected miscellany video.

Neuvillette doesn’t pass judgment on his own; he follows the decisions of the Oratrice Mecanique d’Analyse Cardinale. A mechanism created by Focalors that converts people’s belief in justice to Indemnitium, Fontaine’s main power source. But Neuvilette finds out at the end of the Archon Quest that only a small fraction was going to power the Hydro Nation. The majority was being stored to aid Focalors’ plan to destroy the Hydro Throne and restore power to the Hydro Dragon, aka Neuvillette.

Two book collections give us some lore surrounding the dragons of long ago: Perinheri and The Byakuyakoku Collection. While these books are not focused solely on the Seven Sovereigns, they do touch on the origins of Teyvat and the origins of elemental powers. Perinheri can be purchased from Hubel in the Court of Fontaine, while The Byakuyakoku Collection requires you to complete the main quest in Enkanomiya to obtain it.

Bee talks about the prophecy in Enkanomiya that states the Hydro Dragon would be reborn as a human due to the impurity of the hydro vishaps. This impurity is from their evolution to have the power of electro and cryo, and not just the pure hydro element the Sovereign represents.

When Egeria turns into a puddle in the desert and Focalors becomes the new Hydro Archon, some of Egeria’s faithful oceanids did not accept the new archon. Rhodeia of Loch, the oceanid you can battle in Liyue, is one such oceanid. She was an agent of Egeria’s and one of the strongest scouts among the ranks. By not accepting Egeria’s successor, Rhodeia never returned to Fontaine and searched for her own tranquil waters.

The Melusines are very much beloved by Neuvillette. Perhaps it is their shared search for the truth of their past that bonds them. Nevertheless, Neuvillette granted their wish to come above ground in exchange for civil service by joining the Marechausee Phantom. As Feens explains, the Melusines have heightened senses and can see things like blood stains even after a deep cleaning. The Chief Justice knew this skill would be invaluable in his new position.

When Neuvillette became Iudex he made many reforms to existing agencies in Fontaine and worked hard to integrate the Melusines and humans. At the forefront of this amalgamation was Carole, a Melusine, and Vautrin, the Captain of the Special Security and Surveillance Patrol. This duo was highly skilled in solving cases and became close friends along the way. Unfortunately, their partnership had a tragic ending with Carole taking her own life and Vautrin imprisoned in Meropide for taking revenge on the people responsible for framing Carole. Their story is told in Neuvillette’s story quest, The Remains of the Past Day.

Our first look at the enormous power Neuvillette wielded, before having his full power restored, is when he pushed back the Primordial Sea in the basement of the Fortress of Meropide. We see two vision holders, Writhoseley and Clorinde, trying to do the same but only temporarily. When Neuvillette arrives, the pair leave him to save the day, but not before Wriothesley adds in a little quip that makes us believe he knows Neuvillette’s true identity.

There is something up with Neuvillette and Zhongli. They avoid each other as much as possible. We can only speculate why that is, but we all agree it has something to do with their past. What secrets do these two ancient men share? Or could it be that Zhongli is also one of the Seven Sovereigns? We first see this awkward avoidance during the 2024 Lantern Rite event over in Chenyu Vale.

Who needs Mona when you have Bee? Once again, he dived deep into the psyche of our focused character and completed the Myers–Briggs personality test on Neuvillette’s behalf. The results show that the Iudex is an INTJ (architect) or ISTJ (logistician). Take the test yourself at 16personalities.com and let us know in our Discord what personality type you are (bit.ly/shadesofteyvat).

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

Feens references the umbrella scene from Miraculous.

Thank you to fellow travelers Lucas and Pamela 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.