During the stream celebrating the release of Genshin Impact, a new character named Dainsleif was introduced. But since then, it seems like we haven’t heard anything about him. What has happened to him?
Who is Dainsleif and where does he come from? For the first time, players learned about Dainsleif in a developer stream about Dainsleif. He was officially revealed during the stream for the launch of Genshin Impact.
Dainsleif is a mysterious man who hails from the land of Khaenri’ah and is several hundred years old (at least around 500). In the stream, Dainsleif was referred to as a “Truth-Seeker.” His weapon or element has not yet been revealed.
Khaenri’ah is a distant land that is not located on the continent of Teyvat and is one of the “hidden corners that the gaze of the gods does not reach.” This likely means that the seven gods have no influence or interest in the land.
It is home to a special kind of alchemy called Khemia, which can create life. However, the inhabitants of Khaenri’ah have been afflicted by a curse for many centuries that transforms them into monsters and continues to this day.
It is possible that Dainsleif is also affected by the curse. In the official artwork, his right arm is black and embedded with glowing blue lines.
Dáinsleif is a magical sword that causes wounds that can never heal, and whenever it is drawn from its sheath, a man must die as a result.
Is Dainsleif even important? While Dainsleif has not yet directly appeared in the story, he seems to play a very important role nonetheless. He is the speaker we see in the Teyvat storyline trailer and in the Collected Miscellany videos (for example, about Albedo or Diluc).
In these videos, Dainsleif sounds like an almost omniscient narrator:
- He knows exactly who the characters are and what they can do.
- He often knows their personalities, pasts, and secrets.
- According to his own statements, he is a kind of observer who closely follows the events in Teyvat.
- But he also seems to have knowledge about what is to come in the future, although he remains very cryptic in his statements in the videos.
- He refers to the knowledge of the “secrets of the world” as a heavy burden.
- And at the end of the storyline trailer, he says: “Defeat me, […] show me that you are worthier than I am to save them.”
Some fan theories speculate that he might have the abilities to control time or dimensions. While others believe he is actually an adult Aether from another dimension or time period (via comments on the Genshin Wiki).
Regardless of whether these theories are true or not, Dainsleif will certainly play an important role in Genshin Impact. It sounds like players will have to fight against him in the end.
Interestingly, his zodiac sign (蛇环座 Shé huán zuò) translates literally from Chinese as “Snake Circle” or “Snake Loop.” This could be a reference to the Ouroboros snake, which is interpreted as a symbol of the eternal cycle of life, death, and rebirth.
When will he be playable? Although Dainsleif was officially announced months ago, there is neither a fixed release date nor a proper release window for him.
Some fans on reddit speculate that it could take years before he becomes available. After all, it sounded in the trailer like one would have to first complete all other chapters of Teyvat and have visited all countries before Dainsleif directly appears in the story.
So far, players have only seen Liyue and Mondstadt, and next up is Inazuma. If miHoYo does not decide to release Dainsleif’s banner before he makes his first appearance in the story, it will indeed take longer before he becomes playable.
What do you think about Dainsleif? Do you believe he will become important in the future or remain a side character? How long will we wait for his banner? Share your thoughts in the comments.
In the meantime, there are already leaks about the 1.3 update that is set to be released in February.
