Guizhong

Guizhong, also known by her Goetic name Haagentus, was the Lord of Dust. She is best known as one of the gods who presided over the Guili Assembly, which she established alongside Morax and Marchosius, and for her mechanisms such as the Guizhong Ballista.

Guizhong was a benevolent, gentle-natured goddess. She adored social events, and would often meet and converse with the rest of the adepti. She sympathized with humans, understanding their fragility and yearning for intelligence out of fear of their own mortality. However, this would change as Guizhong would come to acknowledge the ambition of humans, stating that if a human were ever able to reach their full potential, they may as well have been her equal

She perished in a battle during the Archon War, while a massive flood forced the Guili Assembly's inhabitants to move south to Liyue Harbor. Since her death, Guizhong's legacy has been preserved in historical texts. But in here, she is still alive.

"Teach with wisdom, be bound by virtue, fortify the bones, unite in ambition" was a quote she loved to state, she is a kind and benign soul, only wishing good, having no ill intentions.

Guizhong is the God of Dust who was one of the rulers of the Guili Assembly. She was kind-hearted and wise but not particularly powerful, so she worked alongside the more powerful Morax to rule the Guili Assembly together. Guizhong had a particular interest in mechanics: the Guizhong Ballista was one of her handiworks, built with the aid of the adepti, and she apparently collected Khaenri'ah technology such as Ruin Machines for research. After the start of the Archon War, she ultimately lost her life in a destructive battle that laid waste to Dihua Marsh and Guili Plains.

Knowing that her strength was inferior to Morax's, she relied on strategy and wisdom to survive and allied with him so she could complement his brawn with her brains. During her life, she grew close to the other god; during their first meeting, she tried hiding how excited she was when she gave him the stone dumbbell that would symbolize their pledge, and many of the extant texts about the Guili Assembly reference their bond.

She hoped for her people to be wise and strong, to stand by a moral code, and to unite in protecting their home, the Guili Assembly. She also taught her people how to tend the soil, and herself was particularly fond of Glaze Lilies. In return, she was adored by her people.

Guizhong was devoted to the study of mechanics and collected dangerous machines such as Ruin Hunters and Ruin Guards for the sake of her research. With the help of the adepti, she built the Guizhong Ballista at the Mt. Tianheng pass to defend their territory from invaders.

Guizhong took the form of a young woman with billowing sleeves.

She has long, flowing gray hair that fades into a cerulean-blue. The back side is partially chopped in a bob-length fashion and the rest is tied into a rat-tail with a long dark-blue hairpin. The front is cut into neat, slightly side-swept bangs and is finished with a small dangling hair accessory.

Guizhong has long, shoulder-cut, billowing sleeves that covers her hands. The inside of the sleeves is adorned with the pattern of a starry night sky. Her outfit's color palette seems to resemble that of a Glaze Lily, as it is in many hues of white, blue, navy, and gray. There is even a Glaze Lily embroidered on each of her sleeves. The tails of her dress seem to appear to fragment at the ends, mirroring the nature of dust, being her association. She wears a blue anklet on her right foot and goes barefoot.

Guizhong typically has a face full of expression, specifically joy, in contrast to her unmoving partner Rex Lapis.

It is unclear where Guizhong descended from, and the exact year, however she descended some time before the Archon War. It is said that her reach "shrouded the skies for thousands of miles around." Guizhong initially established her civilization at an unknown location in Liyue. At some point, she met Morax amid a field of Glaze Lilies and presented him with a stone dumbbell now known as the Memory of Dust as a mark of their pledge, although they never made a formal contract with each other. The two became allies and Guizhong, with the help of the adepti, built the Guizhong Ballista at Tianheng Pass to autonomously defend from invaders. She then moved her people north of Mt. Tianheng.

Guizhong taught her people agriculture, which greatly expanded their sphere of influence. While displaying her handiwork to Morax, she dubbed the area "the Plains of the Returning and Departing" or "Guili Plains" — deriving the name from the first character of her name, combined with a character from the name Morax used at the time. The Guili Assembly was established, co-ruled by the two gods alongside Marchosius, God of the Stove. A group of people in Liyue Harbor intended to expand their city, and thus moved to Guili Plains.

During the establishment of the Guili Assembly, Guizhong established her four commandments:

"To unite in ambition is to be steadfast and immovable for all time."

"Wisdom is like water, it nourishes all those who receive it and in it is a reflection of the truth."'

"Fortify the bones, that movement be supple when the time comes."

"Virtue grows tall like a tree, though there be shade it will flourish forever"

During the Archon War, Guizhong and other adepti fought to protect the people of Guili against the many evil gods and monsters that had plagued Liyue's lands.

Guizhong lost her life in a fierce battle over Guili Plains, during which "black dust choked the heavens and a thousand rocks splintered." She died amidst the Glaze Lilies, wearing one last lonely smile as she asked Morax to forget about the stone dumbbell she gave him and bemoaned the end of their journey together.

"To unite in ambition is to be steadfast and immovable for all time."

"Wisdom is like water, it nourishes all those who receive it and in it is a reflection of the truth."'

"Fortify the bones, that movement be supple when the time comes."

"Virtue grows tall like a tree, though there be shade it will flourish forever"