Seven Sovereigns

The Seven Sovereigns are the seven strongest elemental dragons of their respective element, and the strongest type of elemental lifeform. The original Seven Sovereigns ruled the old world and held the seven Elemental Authorities, but lost both their status and authorities when the Heavenly Principles came to Teyvat and created a new order over the world.
The Sovereigns' stolen Elemental Authorities were eventually given to the Archons', now bounded to them and their divine thrones. As a result, the living Sovereigns cannot utilize their full abilities and powers unless their corresponding Archon dies and returns their Authority to them.
==Overview==
Like all vishaps and elemental dragons, the Seven Sovereigns are creatures of the Light Realm and each harnesses one of the primordial elements. The Seven Sovereigns were the mightiest among dragon-kind and ruled over the old world and its seven nations.
When the Heavenly Principles appeared, it took the Sovereigns' Authorities for itself. It and its four shining shades waged war against the Seven Sovereigns and after a long struggle, the Heavenly Principles vanquished the Seven Sovereigns, while those who refused to yield to the Heavenly Principles fled into the ocean depths. Afterwards, the world was remade to be suitable for humanity and the Human Realm was established by breaking down the raw, primordial elements.
With the original Seven Sovereigns' power fading away, a new generation is being born. However, because a Sovereign's dragonhood is intertwined with the elemental Authorities, which were used as the basis for the Archons' powers, none of the living Sovereigns can access their full abilities or memories of the old world until the Archon's divine seat is destroyed and their Authority returned. As of the end of the , the Hydro Sovereign's authority has been fully restored.
Sovereigns can only be born from dragons who are elementally pure. As such, the next Hydro Sovereign was not born from the Bathysmal Vishaps, who strayed from their "pure" forms into "impure" and variants. It is also possible for Sovereigns to be reborn in human form, as the current Hydro Sovereign takes on the form of Neuvillette, due to the aforementioned impurity of the Bathysmal Vishap.
==Story==
===The Old World===
From "the dawn of time," the world belonged to the dragons. The world was led by the Seven Sovereigns and the Dragon King Nibelung. Each of the Seven Sovereigns held one of the seven elemental Authorities, and the world was divided among them. Their respective land was attuned to their elemental affinity.
In Sumeru, Apep held the elemental Authority. They ruled over a lush, forested land while nurturing some of the most ancient and primordial beings known simply as Dendro lifeforms.
The Hydro Dragon, in addition to holding the elemental Authority, also presided over the Primordial Sea and could be considered the original "God of Life." All life on the planet can trace its origins back to the Primordial Sea. Because of this, it is sometimes referred to as "birthing waters" or "amniotic fluid." Life within the Primordial Sea was a collective rather than made up of individuals.
====Eternal Throne of the Heavens====
After the Heavenly Principles's arrival and subsequent defeat of the Seven Sovereigns, otherworldly life forms were introduced to the planet and the creation of life no longer relied on the Primordial Sea. However, the creation of Egeria was an exception; she was created as a replacement "heart" for the Primordial Sea using "all original matter from this world, entirely without outside elements."
===The New World===
After being defeated, Nibelung left Teyvat to obtain power that could rival the Heavenly Principles, eventually bringing forbidden knowledge to the world. With this power Nibelung waged a "great war of vengeance" against the Heavenly Principles for "the right to shape the world." The damage that ensued was unprecedented and pushed the world to near collapse. Apep and other dragons fought alongside Nibelung, but ultimately they were unsuccessful in taking back power. Their efforts weren't entirely fruitless, however. By the war's end, the Heavenly Principles was severely weakened and could no longer single-handedly suppress the original order of the world.
Because the Heavenly Principles was unable to continue suppressing the old world with its own absolute authority, it and another entity known only as "the one who came after," used remains of the Third Descender and stole part of the Sovereigns' elemental Authorities to create the seven Gnoses. After which the Archon War began to determine which gods would win one of these seven new thrones.Neuvillette's Vision story states that "all fragments of the primordial were driven to devour each other" following the Gnoses' creation, which aligns with Soraya's line in the about the Archon War starting when seven divine thrones — the Archons' seats — opened up in Celestia.
To suppress the forbidden knowledge unleashed by Nibelung, the Heavenly Principles dropped divine nails, drastically altering the environment and causing the demise of several human civilizations. In Sumeru, what had once been a lush forest turned to sand. To Apep, this heralded the end of the dragons' era.
Xiuhcoatl faked his death to avoid being spotted by the Heavenly Principles, being forced to hide. He would eventually rally his allies and destroy civilizations created by Angels and take back Natlan. However as his power declined, he would be corrupted by the Abyss destroying the land as a shadow of his former self. He would eventually be killed by Xbalanque. Even after his death his power would eventually spread to modern day Saurians in the form of a blessing in the form of a unique red mark.
===Post Cataclysm===
Around 500 years ago, Neuvillette — the new Hydro Sovereign, born in human form as the Enkanomiyans had prophesized — was invited by the new Hydro Archon Focalors to become the Chief Justice of Fontaine. Although initially uninterested in humanity, Neuvillette agreed in order to uncover of his missing memories regarding his powers.
===Present Day===
In , the Dendro Archon Lesser Lord Kusanali, Paimon, and the Traveler meet the Dendro Sovereign Apep. Despite Apep's initial hostility towards anyone related to the old world's usurpers, it calms down after the three successfully purge the forbidden knowledge eating away at it. While still dissatisfied with the current world order, it explains the Sovereigns' past to them and decides to simply observe humanity and the gods for the time being.
During the events of , the second-to-last Hydro Archon Focalors is put on trial for the "original sin" that the Heavenly Principles had declared on Egeria. This trial reveals that Furina is not the real Hydro Archon but rather, as the "humanity" of Focalors, who has played the role of the Archon for 500 years while Focalors orchestrates her plan to deceive the Heavenly Principles. However, a death sentence was issued, and Focalors soon reveals her plan to Neuvillette, saying that acquiring the stolen power of the Hydro Sovereign is not true to her ideal of justice. This plan becomes successful when the Indemnitium acquired through the Oratrice Mecanique d'Analyse Cardinale forms a giant blade that proceeds to execute her, resulting in the destruction of the Hydro Archon's throne. After Focalors' death, Neuvillette's authority is returned to him, making him gain absolute control over the Hydro element.
==Confirmed Sovereigns==
Element	Name 	Region 	Status
 	Apep 	Sumeru 	Alive
 	Neuvillette	Fontaine	Alive
 	Xiuhcoatl 	Natlan 	Deceased (slain by Xbalanque)
 	Nibelung 	Unknown 	Deceased (slain by the Heavenly Principles)
==Trivia==
* Based on other Genshin Impact lore, the following characters may be Sovereigns:
** Azhdaha is theorized to be one of the Seven Sovereigns of the Vishap Realm, as he is stated to be extremely old and is an elemental dragon. He is also referred to as a and as the In the Chinese version of "Sealed Lord of Vishaps," is likely a truncated form of ; alternatively, it refers to all Geo dragons, which encompasses but is not limited to Geovishaps. This is similar to the original Dragon of Water's description as a "dragon-lord" (along with the other original Seven Sovereigns) and an "ancient lord of vishaps."In the Chinese version of In the Light, Beneath the Shadow, the section equivalent to "the Dragon of Water, the ancient lord of vishaps," is simply and makes no direct reference to vishaps. However, the title of "dragon king/lord" is not exclusively used for the Seven Sovereigns, and too little is known about the Heavenly Principles's era or the world that came before it to determine Azhdaha's place among them.
** The Seven Sovereigns are elemental dragons and are the purest embodiment of the elements. For this reason, Dvalin , an elemental dragon said to be born in the same manner as slimes and crystalflies, and bearing the title "Erstwhile King of the Skies", may also be counted among their number. Additionally, Nahida likens the Dendro Sovereign Apep to Dvalin, and Dvalin, Azhdaha, Apep & Neuvillette are similarly grouped together elsewhere as notable dragons, but others such as Scylla are not.World Quest, Ann of the Narzissenkreuz Act I - The Narzissenkreuz AdventureWeb Event, Starlight Reverie - Journey in the AkashaWorld Quest, Lost in the Woods
==Notes==
==Other Languages==
==Change History==
==References==
==Navigation==
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