Primordial Sea

The Primordial Sea is a sea located under Fontaine. It once existed on the surface of the planet and is where most life in Teyvat first originated from. One large passage connecting the Primordial Sea to the surface is located beneath the Fortress of Meropide, but smaller passages and pools of Primordial Seawater can also be found in other underground areas, such as beneath the Tower of Ipsissimus and in the underwater Sinthe production base.
Originally, some of the Oceanids created by the first Hydro Archon Egeria longed to become human, so Egeria used the Primordial Sea's life-granting properties to give the Oceanids human forms. These Oceanids and their descendants would become the humans of Fontaine, but as their forms were derived from the Primordial Sea, coming into contact with the Primordial Sea's waters would cause them to dissolve into water and turn back into Oceanids. Egeria's creation of life without permission angered the Heavenly Principles, who declared that Egeria and the now-human Oceanids to have sinned, an "original sin" that all Fontainian humans from that point on were born with. The Heavenly Principles decreed a prophecy stating that, one day, the water levels in Fontaine will rise and dissolve the people of Fontaine to absolve them of their sin, leaving only the Hydro Archon alive, weeping on her throne.
Following Neuvillette's rise to full dragonhood, he gained his predecessor's control over the Primordial Sea. He used it to "forgive" all Fontainians of their original sin, using the life-giving properties of the Primordial Sea to turn the Fontainians into true humans. Nowadays, the Primordial Sea is no longer a threat to Fontainians.
==Overview==
The pure Waters of the Primordial Sea are not capable of only creating life, but also taking it away. Fontainians who come into contact with pure Primordial Seawater will have their bodies dissolve into water, but their consciousness merged into it. However, non-Fontainians who come into contact with it will instead simply gain increased sensitivity to the element. The ancient Remurian people were aware of the Primordial Sea's life-granting and life-taking properties, and had a prophecy of their own in which the Primordial Sea would one day swallow all life, and anything which did not originate from it would be filtered out as waste.
People who are dissolved into the Primordial Sea will have their memories merged into it, although their consciousnesses appear to be able to retain some level of individuality. This is seen in the "Oceanid" that was formed in the Fountain of Lucine from the consciousnesses of Vacher's lover Vigneire and his victims that flowed back to the Fountain alongside the Primordial Seawater used to dissolve them. According to legend, God-King Remus used golden Ichor and pure water to remove people's souls from their bodies and implant them into golems.While Pulteney relegates folklore about "soul-stealing magisters who entrapped mortal spirits within specially-made magical golems" to mere legend, it is corroborated by Sublimation of Pure Sacred Dewdrop and Movement of an Ancient Chord. The former mentions that Remus used Ichor and pure water to separate souls from their bodies, while the latter claims that "To save their waning civilization and their desire to transcend, the Golden Troupe played melodies most wondrous, enticing children to offer their precious souls to the sleeping golems."
Water of the Primordial Sea can have its potency reduced by mixing it with other liquids or diluting it. God-King Remus attempted to mix insoluble Ichor with pure water, believing that memories and wisdom could be contained with it and thus allow his subjects to surpass the limitations of mortal bodies and gain eternal life; however, ordinary life cannot handle the separation of soul and body, and Remus' ambitions only served to ultimately destroy his nation. In modern times, Sinthe has been manufactured by diluting Water from the Primordial Sea, which does not cause people to be dissolved into water but instead imparts them with an addicting sense of euphoria. Prolonged consumption of Sinthe causes many side effects, such as becoming unable to focus or control one's emotions, and withdrawal symptoms include flashes of paranoia and anxiety as well as severe loss of energy. Sometime later, the Fatui diver Freminet found himself in the water near the Fortress of Meropide when the Primordial Sea began to leak into it, and he mostly just exhibited symptoms of exhaustion and suffocation suggesting that even heavily diluted it can rob a Fontainian Vision wielder of their ability to breathe underwater.
Primordial Seawater has "higher quality and density" than normal seawater.
==History==
According to Hydro Vishap legend, in the beginning the Primordial Sea had a composition similar to that of blood, and that life within it was not individual. Life that evolved to walk on land or fly in the skies thereby formed blood vessels to keep the waters of the Primordial Sea within themselves. The Hydro Dragon was said to have been the "beating heart" that controlled the Primordial Sea.
Oceanid legend further states that after the Hydro Dragon was removed from its position, the Ruler of Life, one of the Four Shades of the Heavenly Principles, created a new heart for the Primordial Sea. This heart was Egeria, who would eventually become the Hydro Archon.
===In Remuria===
Remurian legend claims that "before the birth of life, there was a dense primordial sea. It is the purest origin of all things, and one day, it will also swallow all life... and those things which did not arise from it will be filtered out, becoming naught but floating detritus."
When Remus came to the Primordial Sea, the first sovereign gave him a goblet of water which he later used to "refine" water from the Primordial Sea and establish Remuria.Artifact, Fragment of Harmonic Whimsy: The Grand Jape of the Turning of Fate The refined substance was golden Ichor, which Remus aimed to replace the Primordial Sea with.
===Egeria's Rule===
During Egeria's rule, the Oceanid subjects of hers would all go on to long for human life. They begged Egeria to grant human life to them, which Egeria used the Primordial Seawater as a replacement for human blood in order to give these Oceanids life. This action awakened the Heavenly Principles, as Egeria did not have the proper authority to create human life and for using the powers of the Primordial Sea. Following this act, the now-human Oceanids would have judgment cast upon them by the Heavenly Principles, and would be tarnished with 'Original Sin'. This sin is what triggered the prophecy that Fontainians would all dissolve within the rising seawaters, in order to wash away the nation's sins.
At some point during Egeria's rule, the Fortress of Meropide was constructed by criminals seeking Egeria's forgiveness and mercy, who told them to head to the depths to protect her secret underneath the waves, which was an entrance to the Primordial Sea. The criminals covered up the entrance with a sluice gate and over time, various measuring contraptions were added to monitor the level of Primordial Water in the area. This area was restricted to only the Warden and trusted people, though it was eventually forgotten by most of the prison's inhabitants as the years passed.
===Cataclysm===
During the cataclysm 500 years ago, the waters of Fontaine were tainted by the power of the Abyss. Although that taint has since been diluted and cleansed, no Oceanids could naturally be born from Fontaine's waters outside of the few pure containers of water that still remain. Idyia also states that Fontaine's water suddenly became bitter with pain and hate, forcing the Oceanids who survived the cataclysm to take refuge in other sources of pure water for survival.
After Egeria died at Tunigi Hollow during the cataclysm, her body transformed into a body of water known as Amrita Pool, housing the purest Amrita which can purify the power of the Abyss with the help of the Khvarena, which spread across the area after the Khvarena Simurgh merged her powers with the Amrita's. It is unclear whether the Amrita Pool's water is the same as the Primordial Sea's, but Zurvan calls the Amrita the "Primordial Amrita," and the Pari — the Khvarena created from Simurgh which have sentience — return to the Amrita over time.
===Over 400 Years Ago===
The Primordial Sea became a research subject for the Narzissenkreuz Ordo. Jakob Ingold's research conclusions were later used as the basis for Marcel's research, although his exact writings have not been disclosed. At some point, the Master of the Ordo, also known as Narzissenkreuz and Rene de Petrichor, would descend into the Primordial Sea, waiting to be freed to bring about his own world to prevent the apocalypse he had foreseen.
===Present Day===
According to Neuvillette, the Primordial Sea no longer existed on Teyvat's surface. Marcel, original name Vacher, researched the properties of the Waters of the Primordial Sea in hopes of reviving his lover, Vigneire; the two had accidentally stumbled into a pool of its water while on an expedition; because Vigneire hailed from Fontaine, she dissolved into water, but was unable to tell Vacher to forget about her before she did so.
In the process, he discovered that diluting the water created an addictive drink which imparted the drinker with a sense of euphoria, marketed it as "Sinthe," and made a fortune by selling it to the people of Poisson via dealers. However, Sinthe also had drastic side effects of harming both drinkers and abstainers alike, resulting in Callas ordering a ban on the product in Poisson. He managed to convince one of the sellers, Jacques, to be his informant, though Marcel was aware of this and ordered Jacques to kill Callas, though he could not, so a third party was hired. The assassin was successful in killing Jacques, but not Callas, while Marcel had Primordial Water poured on the man to dissolve him and cement Callas as the killer. Callas was aware of this but did not do anything in order to protect his daughter Navia, as she was targeted by Marcel's organization and he would subsequently die in his duel against Clorinde.
Meanwhile, Marcel used the funds he acquired from Sinthe production to continue his research into reviving Vigneire, only to encounter failure after failure. By the time his deeds were discovered during the Fontaine Archon Quests, over 25 women had been dissolved over the course of 20 years, creating a recurring criminal case which was dubbed the "serial disappearances case". He was never considered a suspect for the previous disappearances, as he had always managed to frame someone else for it.
While Marcel was found guilty by the Oratrice Mecanique d'Analyse Cardinale for his crimes, it likewise declared Childe guilty for an unknown reason, causing him to be sent to the Fortress of Meropide, but he escaped to follow the voice he kept hearing in his head. A year prior to the Traveler's arrival to Fontaine, Wriothesley noticed that the dashboards in the Forbidden Zone were increasing, though he was not certain as to the cause. Arlecchino sent Lyney, Lynette and Freminet to the prison to gather information and locate Childe. During the investigation, Freminet attempted to track Childe's route back out to a sewer opening but discovered that the ocean water at the place was diluted with Primordial Water, causing him to pass out and was saved by Clorinde, allowing Wriothesley to deduce that the readings were actually monitoring the levels of Primordial Water and that the prison was built to stop it from enveloping Fontaine. Soon after, the water encased behind burst down the sluice gate, but Wriothesley and Clorinde were able to keep it at bay long enough for Neuvillette to arrive, push the water back and implement a new seal.
Childe, who had tried to follow the voice, ended up falling unconscious. When he came to, he found himself in the depths of the Primordial Sea, along with a massive, narwhal-like entity swimming in front of him. This narwhal was present in the sea for a prolonged period of time, consuming any energy it could find inside; this also caused the sea's levels to rise. The two soon entered a brawl, with Childe's actions delaying the beast long enough to prevent it from emerging in Fontaine earlier.
The water would eventually leak out from Poisson and the surrounding area, causing some people to be dissipated into water, including Melus and Silver. The narwhal, which had consumed all it could from the Primordial Sea, then emerged in the Opera Epiclese to consume Fontanians, as they had its water in them. Neuvillette, having learned the entire truth from Focalors, had his Authority restored after the latter killed herself to fulfill the Heavenly Principles' demand and knowing that Neuvillette would try to protect the people after having served as their Iudex for centuries. Neuvillette, with his Authority restored, declared their sins absolved, turning their faux blood in their bodies into real blood, effectively making them "true" humans. He then had the Traveler accompany him into the sea to kill the beast, though they only managed to subdue it before Skirk arrived and sent it back into the Abyss alongside an unconscious Tartaglia. As Skirk talked about her master and other prominent individuals, she also reminded them about the prophecy which was about to enact as the beast was now defeated with its consumed energy returning to the sea.
The Primordial Sea then engulfed Fontaine in water, but because the Fontanians were now true humans, the water did not dissolve them, though many people were left drenched in the process. The water then proceeded to recede back into the Primordial Sea, where it would cause no further problems and the people of Fontaine began recovery efforts.
During another one of their adventures, the Traveler, alongside Seymour, Ann and Caterpillar, would forge the Holy Blade of Narzissenkreuz to stop Jakob and the Master from creating their own world. After breaking the four seals, they headed to the Tower of Ipsissimus where they encountered and defeated Jakob, who chose to die in the hopes of seeing Master's new world. The group made their way through the tower, collapsing it into the sea, which broke another seal leading to the Primordial Sea. Inside, the Traveler and Ann defeated the Master, who then realized that his world-formula was wrong and agreed to leave with them to see the current world. After they left, Ann resealed the tower to ensure that the waters would not flood into Fontaine.
Following the prophecy being fulfilled, the amount of Primordial Water on the surface of Teyvat greatly diminished, and whatever was left is implied to be impure. Vacher's gang, still revolving around the use of Primordial Water, scramble to find other ways to utilize it for their criminal activities, though the Fontanian authorities are on their tail.
==Fontemer==
While it is currently unclear exactly what Fontemer is, it may be related to the Primordial Sea, as Fontemer Aberrants are said to have potentially evolved from ordinary aquatic lifeforms as a result of "environmental factors specific to Fontaine." Fontemer is also capable of accepting and being controlled by others, who are said to be capable of receiving blessings from Xenochromatic Creatures.
==Trivia==
* The Primordial Sea may be inspired by the theory, where the first cell supposedly emerged from a complex mix of organic molecules.
===Etymology===
* Fontemer is a coined French word that can be deconstructed into two parts: , a polysemic word, and 
** is likely the truncated form of 
** could also mean "melting" or "cast iron."
==Notes==
==Other Languages==
==Change History==
==References==
==Navigation==
es:Mar Primigenio
ja:原始胎海