Episode 87: Natlan’s War with the Abyss

This episode is our second installment for the Pyro Nation. If you’re interested in listening to the lore for the 5.0 release, check out our Natlan So Far episode from earlier this season. There we discuss our first impressions, the characters we meet, and the first part of the Natlan Archon Quest.

Tif begrudgingly accepted Feens’ theory that there are no functional pillows in Teyvat. The adorable over-head view of Traveler and Paimon snuggled up in the Weary Inn clearly showed that they wanted nothing to do with the decorative pillows on the bed. The great pillow debate goes back to our Deyha episode last season. Updated scorecard: Feens 1, Bedding 1.

Feens reminds us that we got an early look at Citlali in the video Ignition Teaser: A Name Forged in Flames. A ball being tossed around the characters in preparation for “the tournament” lands in Citlali’s room and just like how we’d expect an old lady to react, she picks it up and throws it out the door while yelling at the dang kids. We’d expect nothing less, granny.

After chasing after Ororon’s bug juices and trying to prove his innocence, it’s time to relax and unwind. And nobody knows how to do it better than Granny Itztli. After knocking a few back, a drunk Citlali starts getting a little loose-lipped and almost wretches right there at the table. Luckily she’s a regular at the inn, and no one is phased by her antics.

When we first meet Chasca and Chuychu in 5.0, we get thrust right into their sibling bickering. So it was really nice this time to see them work together and be so in sync while they played manhunt amongst the Fatui. If you’re like Tif, you thought this was an endearing moment between the two. But if you’re on the same wavelength as Bee, you were able to tell this was an ominous moment that was going to lead to certain doom.

Thanks to some trickery unknowingly played out by Ifa, we’re able to see Oronon’s memories from the past few days. Along with some wholesome tending to his garden, we also see his first interaction with Capitano and subsequent not-so-stealthy stalking that leads to him saving Capitano’s life.

Guthred is a dick. He jumped right into Ororon’s empty soul spot the moment he could and went all Ajaw on him. Outside of being an opportunistic soul, we also know that Guthred was part of Capitano’s platoon at some point. Knowing what we know now, we can assume they came above ground together, and Guthred didn’t fare too well in the fighting against the Abyss.

The Lord of the Night dropped some big lore bombs on us. Yohualtecuhtin (aka Uhaul) told us that not only was she once an angel, but that the seelies are derived from the angels as well! She also gave us some hot gossip on two of Shades of the Primordial One – the Shade of Life and the Ruler of Death, how the Night Kingdom was made, and the correlation between Phlogiston and Elemental Energy.

Is Capitano a good guy? Is he the next Harbinger with a redemption arc? We learned a lot about this masked man during 5.1. He was a commander in Khanae’riah, the curse is rotting his flesh, and the Ruler of Death sent him on some mysterious long journey. Plus, the Tsaritsa is totally fine with him following his own path even if it means that she doesn’t get the gnosis. Isn’t that her whole deal?!

Thanks to Xilonen and Citlali going back to the cave at night to speak with the Lord of the Night, Traveler is granted the magical parchment needed to record all our good deeds in Natlan. A very important step in us getting an Ancient Name at the cost of Xilonen’s life. Something neither Xilonen nor Citlali seemed phased by.

Who doesn’t love a ride on a hot air balloon? Feens, that’s who. It really was a clunky way for the Traveler to navigate around Natlan when we had the ability to use waypoints. This begs the question, is that like our secret? How do people think we get everywhere so quickly?

Bee tells us how the Eye of Sauron shows up over the stadium. I mean, the Heart of the Abyss shows up over the stadium. And it is very ominous. At this point, the situation is dire for the Natlanese. It doesn’t seem like they’re ever going to make a dent in the number of monsters pouring in from the Abyss.

Do you remember Toto? Not the dog that accompanies Dorothy to Oz or the 1980s rock band singing about the rains down in Africa, but the Long-Necked Rhino we get a ride from early on in our adventures in Natlan. Feens tells us how this saurian is injured in the battle but luckily survives.

Paimon is usually sassy and funny, but as we’ve mentioned in past episodes, she’s getting more worried and anxious as the story gets darker. And nothing compares to her heartbreaking cries in this part of the story. Corina (her English VA) got us right in the feels with this one; bravo.

Since we’re on the topic of crying, Chuychu’s death. Oof. Bee saw it coming, but Tif was shocked by it. That whole scene was rough. And it just got rougher as Chasca carried her sister’s body into the stadium, and all the people stood silent. Man, is someone cutting onions over here?

Once we have all the heroes to enact Mavuika’s plan, the group participates in an inspirational ritual in which they are all joined by the legends of their ancient names to combine their power. This starts their Zoom call across Natlan, during which they defeat the Abyssal monsters running amuck.

While speaking about the Abyssal Tumors called Marks of Gosoythoth, Bee tells us how some folks on Reddit pointed out that the name is an anagram for HP Lovercraft’s Yog-Sothoth; a very powerful outer god in the pantheon. This brings us back to Feens’ theory from the Melusine episode last season, where she discussed Azathoth and the references to the dream world. Seems like Feens’ theory that the Abyss is derived from the world of HP Lovecraft has some legs under it. Or tentacles.

Did you expect to see the false sky break? We didn’t either, at least this early. When Mavuika vanquished the crazy Abyssal rift, her power was so strong that she punched a hole straight through the sky. With that, we saw the familiar cubes and a broken moon (or some other object).

Once you’ve finished the quest, you can still see the object faintly in the sky as a reminder of what we briefly saw.

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

We did some singing with Lady Gaga’s “Do What U Want” and Beyonce’s “Irreplaceable”. And we also referenced Feixiao’s ultimate power in Star Rail.

Kirara got a little sleepy during this long episode. But she’ll be back next episode!

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