Xiao/Lore

==Personality==
Xiao is a yaksha who has fought in the Archon War and holds a high level of seniority among adepti. He has a reserved demeanor and has little intention of getting close to mortals. He does not want sympathy for his past and believes his fellow Yakshas would also find it insulting.
He is immensely grateful to Morax for saving him, dedicating his life to protecting Liyue as payment. He does not take lightly to those who speak ill of the Geo Archon regardless of whoever they are. Despite suffering from constant karmic debt, Xiao is highly resilient towards its alluring corruption, as his fellow yaksha have either succumbed or died to it. Due to this debt, he prefers being alone and rarely involves himself in mortal affairs; in the few times he does have to, he asks they get to the point for their own sake.
Xiao is unfamiliar with many human customs and societal norms, often finding them strange, childish, or pointless. To others, he can come off as distant and intimidating. After meeting the Traveler, he becomes slightly more relaxed, willing to learn customs and visit Liyue Harbor with them for their sake despite his reservations with mortal life. He is also revealed to be a strict yet effective teacher when acting as a mentor figure for Ganyu, but he believes that as a soul-slaughtering yaksha, he is not a suitable teacher for her.
Unlike most of the adepti, Xiao is not particularly fond of most human foods, although he makes exceptions to Almond Tofu and later Grilled Tiger Fish, the former reminding him of the dreams he used to consume and the latter to honor Pervases' memory.
==Appearance==
Xiao uses the medium male model. He has dark medium-length hair with teal undertones, pale skin, golden irises with avian pupils, and red eyeshadow. Xiao also has a purple diamond marking on his forehead and a green tattoo around his right arm.
Xiao's illuminated beast form has not been seen yet outside of certain stylized merchandise, but it has been teased in his character design, his constellation, and his yaksha alias Alatus. It is implied that he takes on the form of , a Hindu demigod, or (a part of his true name in Chinese: 金鹏 Jīnpéng), a creature present in both Chinese and Buddhist mythos. Xiao has been called the 'Golden-Winged King,' which may be another reference to the , a guardian deity in Mahayana Buddhism.
In some lines of Genshin Impact merchandise, stylized depictions of Xiao's avian form has been shown. The bird form appears to be a finch-like, though this is inconclusive due to stylization. Its plumage features multiple shades of teal, reddish eyes and Xiao's purple diamond symbol on its forehead.
==Summary==
Xiao is an illuminated beast who has lived for around four thousand yearsThough only mentioned to be over 2000 years old in his character stories, Xiao was present at the sealing of Guizhong's remains after her death 3700 years ago. In the Story Teaser: Echoes of the Heart video, he can be seen at the 1:45 time stamp.. In his youth, he was enslaved by an ancient god who learned his weakness and forced to perform cruel, violent acts on the god's behalf, including devouring the dreams of his victims. The god's bloodthirsty path came to an end at Morax's hand during the Archon War; Xiao was freed and Morax bestowed him with the name "Xiao" for his own protection. Xiao became deeply loyal to the Geo God as a result, a trait that continues to the present day.
When Morax rallied the yakshas to help him suppress the lingering hatred and grudges of fallen gods, Xiao was among those who responded.It is unclear whether yakshas were a pre-existing subset of illuminated beasts, or if these illuminated beasts became collectively referred to as yakshas after responding to Morax's call. Xiao, under the name Alatus, was one of the five foremost Yakshas alongside Bonanus, Bosacius, Indarias, and Menogias. He also fought alongside many other junior yakshas such as Pervases.
However, over the ages, the yakshas' task wore away their numbers: Not only did they have to fight against the lingering power of ancient gods, the hatred that they had to suppress tainted their own souls and mired them in karmic debt, which incurred enormous physical and psychological pain. Between battle casualties, madness, and desertion, the number of yakshas eventually dwindled to Bosacius and Xiao. Bosacius, too, eventually disappeared and left his belongings behind in Minlin, leaving Xiao as the last Yaksha Guardian. Xiao nearly succumbed to his karmic debt himself at one point, but was saved by the music Venti played during one of the Anemo Archon's visits to Liyue.Story Teaser: Yakshas: The Guardian Adepti
While Xiao's callous exterior can make him appear intimidating, much of his outward personality stems from his reservations about the violent deeds he has performed and the loss of his allies over the course of the years. Deep down, Xiao is a gentle soul who is curious about humanity, but is hesitant to show that side of himself due to his past experiences and his karma-ridden constitution.HoYoLAB: Developer Insight #4: Character Stories (I) - "Vigilant Yaksha" Xiao (Part II)
Due to the nature of his work, Xiao typically avoids humans. Not only does he think his bloody past makes him incapable of fitting in, human souls are less robust than adepti's and his karmic debt taints his surroundings. As a result, few people even in Liyue know much about him or his role in protecting Liyue. Those who do know, as well as other adepti, call him the out of respect.
The Liyue Qixing built the Wangshu Inn at Dihua Marsh, run by their agents Verr Goldet and Huai'an, to give Xiao a place to stay and rest as he carries out his duty. He appears to get along relatively well with the two agents: He entrusted Dusky Ming to them, while they cover for his unintended destructive tendenciesIn the Commissions Business in a Marsh and Guest from Afar, the "young gentleman" Huai'an and Verr Goldet refer to is Xiao. The "guests" that break things around the inn when night sets in really refers to Xiao; while purging demons, the power he releases affects the inn as well. and express their concern for him during Lantern Rite.
In the Traveler's presence, Xiao is more willing to indulge his curiosity about humanity, even if their ways perplex him, and offers to visit Liyue Harbor with the Traveler for the purposes of bonding and learning. With Liyue's citizens beginning to self-govern and other adepti withdrawing their presence, Xiao continues defending Liyue and also makes more attempts to understand the people.
==Official Introduction==
The people of Liyue Harbor greatly revere the mighty and illuminated adepti who dwell in Jueyun Karst.
During the festival seasons, they will offer up incense and pray to the adepti for their protection.
But none pray to Xiao.
For Xiao is no lucky star that promises fame and fortune — he is a demon-hunting Yaksha.
After the lantern lights of Liyue have faded, the thankless battle to protect the city goes on unseen. It is an endless battle, and there can be no victor.
Still, none of this fazes Xiao, for as the Vigilant Yaksha, he must protect Liyue to honor his contract.
This is simply the way it is.
==Character Stories==
==Namecard==
==Constellation==
==Quests and Events==
==Character Trials==
==Character Mentions==
==Mail==
==Trivia==
* He was playable during Closed Beta Test 2 in 2020, but was not released in Genshin Impact until Version 1.3.
* In the Yakshas: The Guardian Adepti trailer, Venti cameos as the player of the Dihua flute, implying that his music kept Xiao from succumbing to karmic debt.Namecard: Xiao: Mask
** Xiao also has a voice-over regarding Venti, being aware that he's Barbatos but cuts himself off.
* Xiao is the "demon-conquering young man" mentioned in Lustrous Stone from Guyun's description.
* On the Wangshu Inn Bulletin Board, one message inquires about a "youth standing on the top floor," referring to Xiao.
* Xiao is Ganyu's teacher / mentor figure, however he believes that he would not be suitable for her long term.
* Xiao's signature Nuo Dance of Evil Conquering refers to his Elemental Burst Bane of All Evil, when he dons a yaksha mask similar in style to those used in .
* In the Chinese voice-over, Xiao shares his voice actor, kinsen, with Chongyun.
** Chongyun, as an exorcist, is familiar with Xiao and mentions his deep respect for the yaksha in his Voice-Over lines and . However, Chongyun cannot accept that Xiao disparages the methods of exorcists.
* Xiao is the first playable Liyue character released to have a single-character name (). All other Liyue characters have two-character names.
* perhaps refers to his Yaksha name Alatus (explained in Etymology below).
** is perhaps a literary response to Xiao's Story Quest as Hu Tao was released shortly after Xiao's debut in Version 1.3.
** Although Xiao finds Hu Tao's pranks irritating and amusing at the same time, Hu Tao herself refuses to say much about Xiao in her voice-overs.
* Xiao mentions that Morax was the one who gave him his new name (Xiao) and also helped relieved him of his pain, similar to Venti.
** In Zhongli's voiceovers, Zhongli asks the Traveler to deliver some painkillers to Xiao to cure his agony, indicating that deep down Zhongli cares about Xiao.
** In the Yakshas Story Teaser, which is narrated by Zhongli, it is stated that Morax summoned the Yakshas including Xiao to vanquish the demons of the world and restore order to Liyue.
* Xiao was the first character to be able to perform a mid-air Elemental Skill.
* Xiao generally avoids mortal affairs but he does find a few people notable, such as Hu Tao for her "interesting" (yet "irritating") humor, and Beidou for defeating a leviathan by herself.
* The reason Xiao enjoys Almond Tofu is due to its texture, resembling that of the dreams he once consumed.
* Xiao says that he has no need for sleep.Web Event: Hilidream Camp
* In multiple dialogue scenes, he is seen to be capable of teleporting, leaving behind a puff of black, white and green smoke.
* Xiao is seen wielding the Primordial Jade Winged-Spear in his portrait art.
* Xiao is known by these aliases or titles:
** Guardian Yaksha
** Nuo Dancer of Evil Conquering
** Alatus, the Golden-Winged King
** Conqueror of Demons
* 
===Etymology===
* The name means "demon" and more specifically refers to a single-legged, mountain-dwelling demon.Baike Baidu: 
* Xiao's Yaksha name, , is Latin for "winged."
** In Chinese, it is , in reference to the , a mythological figure in Chinese Buddhist works such as Journey to the West.HoYoverse News: Developer Insight #4: Character Stories (I) - "Vigilant Yaksha" Xiao The Golden Winged Great Peng was derived from , the Golden-Winged Eagle and a in Buddhist, Hindu, and Jain mythology.
*** Xiao's Anemo element may derive from a pun on the word . In some ancient Chinese texts, 鵬 was used as a variant character for , from which the modern character for is derived.
** During Turning Point, he mentions that his name means "swiftness." Based on the Chinese version of this line he is referring to his Yaksha name, which is Latin for "winged."
* His constellation, Alatus Nemeseos, is Latin for "winged nemesis."
* The Chinese version of his title "Conqueror of Demons" is 
** Dàshèng ("Great Sage") is also a title used by the seven great demon kings in the Chinese classic (16th century), notably by its main character , who stylized himself as the , meaning the "Great Sage, Heaven's Equal."
==Notes==
==Other Languages==
===Character Title: Vigilant Yaksha===
==References==
==Navigation==
fr:Xiao/Histoire
it:Xiao/Storia
ja:魈/ストーリー
pl:Xiao/Fabuła
pt-br:Xiao/Perfil
ru:Сяо/Лор
th:Xiao/เนื้อเรื่อง
tr:Xiao/Hikaye
vi:Xiao/Cốt Truyện
zh:魈/故事