Rex Lapis

Rex Lapis, also known by his name Morax, is the God of Contracts and a member of The Seven. He was the Geo Archon who presided over Liyue prior to revoking his providence during .
Along with Barbatos, he is one of The Seven's two remaining original members and the oldest of The Seven. 
Prior to his retirement, Rex Lapis descended in his Exuvia form during the annual Rite of Descension to give guidance to his people for a prosperous year. He currently wanders the world disguised as Zhongli.
==Profile==
===Introduction===
Rex Lapis is the God of Contracts, Commerce, and the Warrior God — among many other names. He was the Geo Archon and is the oldest of "The Seven," and possibly being one of the oldest, if not the oldest, gods at over six thousand years old. He is shrouded in a plethora of legends; both true and exaggerated, often depicting him as an all-conquering, powerful deity.
In addition to forming the geography of the region he governs, Rex Lapis defended Liyue in great battles such as the Archon War, which was waged in the area that is now Guili Plains against other gods. In one battle, he successfully defeated an ancient god known as Osial, using massive stone lances to imprison the sea god, which is now known as the Guyun Stone Forest. In another, he sealed the Mountain Dragon Azhdaha under a tree in Nantianmen following the dragon's rebellion. Other beings Rex Lapis has fought and slain include the Chi that lived in Qingce Village and the god that was Xiao's former master. Orobashi also fought against him during the Archon War, but was defeated and fled into the Dark Sea.
Morax is also the source and namesake of Teyvat's currency, Mora. Morax's Gnosis was used to mint Mora at the Golden House before he retired from his position as Archon and ceded his Gnosis to the Tsaritsa.
Currently, Rex Lapis resides in Liyue Harbor as Zhongli and works as a consultant at the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor.
===Appearance===
During formal events such as the Rite of Descension, Rex Lapis takes the form of a half-, half- creature. However, based on other depictions of him, he typically takes a human-like form.
Statues of The Seven in Liyue depict him as an adult man wearing a hood and robes wrapped around his legs, holding a cube. In Yakshas: The Guardian Adepti, his back is shown, donning a white robe with a hood and wearing long, wide pants. His hands are depicted orange, with vein-like markings traveling up his arm. He has long, dark brown hair tied back into a long ponytail, with the rest being style in wind-swept fashion. His hair fades into a bright amber at the ends of his rattail.
The Rex Incognito series claims he changes forms frequently depending on the situation (having appeared in the form of different men and women throughout history) but always has bright amber eyes in any form he takes. This is assumedly the trait that follows him throughout all of his forms, however Zhongli hints that Rex Lapis has a "true appearance."Web Event: Stone Harbor Treasure Journal
According to Xiao, the statues Rex Lapis used to seal Chi in Qingce Village were made in his likeness.The Quest for a Cure These appear to have a similar head to his exuvia, with a more humanoid torso and arms.
==Story==
===History===
How he came to be is currently unknown, however he descended to Teyvat more than 6000 years ago. After he descended, he lowered the tides and raised Mt. Tianheng.
Before the Archon War, Morax was already known as the Lord of Geo. He was close with Guizhong, the God of Dust, and they formed a settlement for their people in Guili Plains, which was named after them. He was also on good terms with Marchosius and Madame Ping. However, after the Archon War broke out, Guizhong perished in a battle that laid waste to Guili Plains and Dihua Marsh. Afterwards, Morax moved their people south of Mt. Tianheng, to the place that is now Liyue Harbor.
To protect his new city, Morax formed a contract with the adepti to defend the harbor as he continued waging war against his many enemies. Baqiu, Chi, Osial, and Xiao's former master were defeated by his hand, while Havria, too gentle for this brutal period, was slain by her own people. The survivors of Sal Terrae were spread throughout Liyue, many of them coming to Liyue Harbor. At some point, he befriended a massive dragon and gave it sight, who became a lifelong friend, but the dragon eventually deteriorated from "erosion" and he was forced to seal his old friend away underneath Nantianmen.
After defeating the other gods, he sealed them underground, where their physical bodies decomposed and became one with the earth. Their souls, however, were immortal; their desire for revenge and lust for life seeped into the earth, resulting in miasmas, plagues, monster attacks, and other such calamities. To quell these disturbances, Morax summoned the Yakshas to aid him in battle, endlessly subduing the ancient gods.Story Teaser: Yakshas- The Guardian Adepti
As the Archon War came to a close 2,000 years ago, Morax emerged as one of the seven victors. The Seven would dine together in Liyue. Morax also met Baal's kagemusha, Beelzebul, during one of these meetings. Two millennia later, only Morax and Barbatos remained as the original Archons amongst The Seven. The other five died and were eventually replaced.
Morax's level of involvement in the cataclysm 500 years ago is currently unknown, but he is aware of how greatly it affected the Tsaritsa. An unknown party later made a contract with him in which he would not disclose the truth of the incident to anyone who might ask.
In the more recent past, a xiezhi adeptus that had campaigned with Morax for many years approached the archon to discuss his plans to marry a mortal woman beforehand. Morax was not only fine with it, but also contributed to the couple's wedding gift. The couple would later have a daughter, Yanfei. The xiezhi would eventually gift his daughter with a steelyard balance, said to be a treasure once given to him by Morax himself and could be used to measure the value of all things.
===Present Day===
In the , Rex Lapis is purportedly assassinated during the titular Rite, and his vessel — known as the Exuvia — was taken away to the Golden House by the Liyue Qixing.
In the , it turns out that he took on the form of Zhongli and instigated most of the events of the chapter with the aid of the Tsaritsa and her envoy, Signora. This was designed to be a test to see if Liyue was ready to move on without his protection, as he intended to retire from his position as the Geo Archon. Having not to have to use his Gnosis to personally intervene had things gone wrong, he handed it over for delivery to the Tsaritsa as part of his contract with her, which he called "the contract to end all contracts."
At some point prior to the Rite of Parting — but after handing his Gnosis over — Morax used an ancient adepti art to inform the Liyue Qixing through Ningguang that he was still alive, but had chosen to step down as the Geo Archon, thus dissuading suspicion placed upon the Traveler for his "murder," and to later confirm this to his fellow adepti (although Madame Ping realized this beforehand)., He left the matter of the official explanation of his death up to the Qixing.
==Character Mentions==
==Trivia==
* In the demonology grimoire , "Morax" is one of the twelve Presidents of Hell and the 21st demon, ruling over thirty (or thirty-two according to other authors) legions of demons. He teaches astronomy and other liberal sciences and gives good and wise familiars that know all herbs and precious stones' virtues. He is depicted both as a man with the head of a bull and a bull with the head of a man.
* There are mysterious markings on his statue that have not yet been translated, although they do bear some resemblance to somewhat-eroded modern Liyue writing.
* In the last part of the quest Three Poignant Perfumes, it was shown that he likes the smell of Fate's Yearning Perfume, the one which was preferred by mature women.
* 
===Etymology===
* His Chinese title, includes the honorific title typically added to the names of Daoist deities.Google Books: "What The Master Would Not Discuss" His Chinese honorific title, may be derived from the .
** "Rex Lapis" is thus thematically tied to the Chinese theme of the Liyue region and its Adepti (who are Taoist immortals), contrasting the Ars Goetia theme of his name "Morax."
* Two of Morax's titles, "God of Wealth and Prosperity" and "Warrior God" are ascribed to and , two names for the deity who leads the yakshas in Hindu, Jain, and Buddhist mythology.
* Morax's quote also doubles as a pun in the original Chinese text — is a homophone of 
==Gallery==
Story Teaser- Through the Eyes of a Dragon - Genshin Impact
Story Teaser - Yakshas- The Guardian Adepti - Genshin Impact
Story Teaser- Flavors of the World - Genshin Impact
Story Teaser- Echoes of the Heart - Genshin Impact
"A Journey of Art and Heritage" - Adeptal Tales- Gu Embroidery - Genshin Impact
Archon Morax Zhongli.png|Zhongli acting as archon in his Story Quest
The Exuvia.png|Exuvia
Statue of The Seven Liyue.png|Morax's Statue of The Seven
Morax Before Archon War.png|Before Archon War
Qingce Sealing Statue.png|A statue in Qingce Village modeled after Rex Lapis' Exuvia
===Genius Invokation TCG===
==Other Languages==
==Change History==
==References==
de:Morax
es:Morax
fr:Morax
ja:岩王帝君
pl:Morax
pt-br:Morax
ru:Моракс
th:Morax
tr:Rex Lapis
uk:Моракс
vi:Morax
zh:岩王帝君