Venti

Someday, they will blow towards a brighter future...
Take my blessings and live leisurely from this day onward.

**Venti** (ウェンティ, *Wenti*) is one of the main characters of the series. He is a free-spirited, wine-loving bard in Mondstadt and the current mortal vessel of Barbatos, the Anemo Archon.

He is the current holder of the element of **Laughter**.

## Description

### Appearance

Venti appears as a young boy with fair skin and a slim build. Similar to the Anemo element, his eyes are aqua green which also resembles the sky and the grass. He has dark blue hair that borders on black, with short twin braids that fade into aqua at the tips. The aqua tips glow neon when he uses his abilities. The form he currently takes is modeled after a deceased friend who perished to liberate Old Mondstadt. This appearance is used for his Statues of the Seven around Mondstadt and the larger statue in the plaza in front of the Favonius Cathedral.

He wears a frilly white top with a corset-like leather midsection, along with teal shorts with gold embroidery, a matching teal cape held together by a deep blue and gold bow. He also wears white stockings with three gold diamond shapes along each leg and a beret-like hat with a Cecilia, which is his favorite flower. He carries a wooden lyre with blue strings and cecilias imbued with the power of Anemo.

### Personality

Venti has a somewhat recalcitrant, carefree, and playful attitude as well as a liking to rhyming in his speech. He sees a particular worth in music to the point where he names his lyre, saying, "every being deserves a name to be called upon, and woven into a song." He is also bold, not fearing to insult or ignore those who are supposedly powerful. He responds to Paimon's comments and nicknaming by parroting her.

Venti enjoys roaming around Mondstadt playing songs to his people, most of whom are unaware of his true identity as Barbatos. He is very well-liked due to his musical talent, having won the title "Most Popular Bard of Mondstadt" three times. Venti is also an avid drinker of alcoholic beverages, such as Dandelion Wine and has a high tolerance to alcohol even Morax said that Venti reeked of wine. He is also fine with apple cider. To his disdain, the form he takes causes most bartenders to see him as a minor.

Being a god who is generally absent for prolonged periods of time, Venti has no personal finances; he often resorts to pilfering from the Dawn Winery for food and shamelessly has people listening to his songs buy him drinks in lieu of a payment. For reasons unknown, he is deathly allergic to cats and will not perform unless he is certain none are nearby.

He also enjoys apples, considering them to be the fruit of the gods, jokingly stating that he would refuse to go to Celestia even if he was invited because their apples are bland and the water foul, which would make bad cider. He dislikes items that are sticky and slimy, such as cheese.

Despite his normally playful personality as the bard Venti, he speaks wisely and somewhat philosophically whenever he assumes his true identity due to the many experiences he had being one of the original members of The Seven. Compared to Zhongli, the mortal vessel of Morax, Venti does not mind revealing his identity and using his powers for various tasks.

For all his cheer and wisdom, Venti hides a lonely soul who, even millennia later, continues to feel strongly about the loss of the Bard whose form he imitates and even compares himself to "Stanley" for he too assumed the appearance of his deceased friend, and tells Aether that it is in the most innoccous moments are those in which he suddenly is hit by his grief.

Venti also confesses to finding Aether's ability to discern what he's thinking as discomforting, but admits that he appreciates having a true friend, similar to how he views the Bard.

## Etymology

* His name comes from the Latin word *ventī*, meaning "winds." This name was also used by the Romans to refer to a group of Hellenic wind deities (known in Greek as the Anemoi) that were associated with the cardinal directions.
* His Archon name, Barbatos, is taken from the eighth demon in the *Ars Goetia*. He is an earl and duke of Hell, ruling thirty legions of demons and has four kings as his companions to command his legions. He can speak to animals, can tell the future, conciliates friends and rulers, and can lead men to treasure hidden by the enchantment of magicians.
* His constellation, *Carmen Dei*, is Latin for "The Song of God."
* Venti's two lyres have German names. One is called *Holy Lyre der Himmel*, which is mixed English and German for "Holy Lyre of the Heavens," the other one is called Der Frühling, which is German for "The Spring." The former lyre is kept by the Church of Favonius, the second one is the lyre Venti's fake vision turns into when entering combat, summoning Dvalin, and maybe playing a song.
* Considering Mondstadt is mostly based on Germany, Venti may be inspired by the Latin motto "*Videtis illam spirare libertatis auram*," meaning "See that the wind of freedom blows," by the German poet-laureate and humanist Ulrich von Hutten (1488–1523), with an intention to support the Lutheran Reformation. It was later translated into German as "Die Luft der Freiheit weht," meaning "The wind of freedom blows," which became the official motto of Stanford University.

## Trivia

* Like the other gods of Teyvat, Barbatos was named after a demon detailed in the *Ars Goetia*, one of the five books that comprised the demonology grimoire *The Lesser Key of Solomon*. Barbatos was ranked eighth among the seventy-two demons described in the book and was one of the twenty-three Dukes of Hell. Commanding thirty demonic legions, Barbatos was accompanied by four kings and could reveal treasures hidden by enchantment and knowledge of past and future events.
* Due to the fact that Venti will occasionally sneeze if a cat approaches him, he made a rule that no cats must be in the vicinity when he is choosing where to perform. This is demonstrated when he sneezes near a cat during a sub quest of Jean's story arc.