Narzissenkreuz

Narzissenkreuz, also known as the Master,^[2][3] is a quest-exclusive NPC that appears in the World Quest Series In the Wake of Narcissus. He was a mage, the leader of the Narzissenkreuz Ordo, and may have been an artificial Oceanid.^[4] He was created by Rene de Petrichor and Jakob Ingold for the purpose of preventing the apocalypse by merging the memories and consciousnesses of all Fontainians.^[5][6]

Profile[]

Narzissenkreuz was a Hydro Tulpa created by Jakob Ingold to house Rene de Petrichor’s disembodied consciousness, after he failed to transcend on his own. The Oceanid Lyris’ essence, Alain Guillotin’s pocketwatch and Carter Scherbius’ corrupted remains were used as a basis for his body.^[6]

The Master was able to absorb the consciousnesses of the Ordo's enemies, acquiring their memories, skills, and intelligence.^[7] He also created Caterpillar, a hilichurl capable of human intelligence and speech.^[8]

Quests and Events[]

World Quests

• In the Wake of Narcissus
  • Act III: Waking from the Great Dream
    • Waking from the Great Dream
  • Act IV: Rowboat's Wake
    • Rowboat's Wake

Story[]

History[]

After the cataclysm, Rene de Petrichor and Jakob Ingold calculated the "world-formula" from data collected from Khaenri'ah-related ruins.^[9][10] They predicted that "all the birthing waters of the world" would dry up; hundreds of years after that, a flood during the second diluvian period would "cover the earth and sky" and leave the world in ruins.^[11] Rene decided to save all human civilizations from the apocalypse. During their exploration, Jakob fell into a coma due to his weak condition. Rene saved Jakob with the power of the abyss and turned him into a "neohuman."^[12]

Later, Rene and Jakob returned to Fontaine and explored ruins related to the Remuria civilization, while using Elynas' flesh and blood to strengthen Jakob in the hopes that he would survive the apocalypse.^[13] During their journey, they reunited with their childhood friends Alain Guillotin and Mary-Ann Guillotin.^[14] Alain recommended that Rene and Jakob join the Institute of Natural Philosophy, which led to a temporary collaboration between the three on Alain's project.^[15] Though Rene sought Alain's help in saving the world, Alain rebuked him, as he did not believe in the results of the "world-formula" calculation.^[16] Therefore, Rene recruited other members of the Institute to join him in forming the Narzissenkreuz Ordo.^[13] The peace was broken, however, when Alain discovered that Jakob and Rene had secretly been conducting experiments using Elynas' remains and had even experimented on his terminally ill assistant, Carter, in an attempt to save his life. The procedure ultimately failed and caused Carter's body to begin rapidly deteriorating. Carter's subsequent death led Alain to completely sever his relationship with the two.^[12]

Rene and Jakob eventually ventured to the submerged Narzissenkreuz Institute and visited Lyris, an Oceanid who was once the Director of the Narzissenkreuz Institute. Rene had initially planned to take care of her. However, Rene's plan required a pure Oceanid, but after the cataclysm Fontaine only had Tainted Hydro Phantasms,^[17][18] which were considered inferior mutants of Oceanids.^[19] Therefore, Rene shifted his focus to Lyris, who remained in Fontaine.

Rene made the decision to become "the first subject" of his radical experimentation and have his personality removed. Prior to the secret ritual, he had extracted Carter, facilitating his rebirth. Although she was apprehensive about joining him and in poor condition, Rene eventually convinced Lyris to join the Ordo and extracted part of her essence to replicate her body. During the ritual, he used the Holy Blade of Narzissenkreuz to extract his own consciousness and be reborn as the Master, Narzissenkreuz.^[5]

Unbeknownst to him, the ritual failed and Rene was left incapacitated and without a body. Jakob attempted to conceal this development from the rest of the Ordo with mixed results, leading to widespread suspicion and some members wishing to leave. Jakob then used said defectors as test subjects to perfect the ritual, as part of his ongoing obsession to bring Rene back. At some point during this, Mary-Ann Guillotin started to suspect the truth and fell out with Jakob, though she would not completely cut ties with the Ordo.^[20]

Using techniques from Khaenri'ah (possibly Khemia) to further refine Lyris' essence, Jakob succeeded in creating Hydro Eidolons who could maintain a “rudimentary humanoid form”, and eventually created a sentient being whom he taught how to speak and the basics of natural philosophy. This creature only lived for 32 days before dissolving once more, however, which led him to experiment with further materials aside from Lyris’ Oceanid essence. He turned to what was left of Carter, and used his corrupted tissue, the refined essence, and some of the failed attempts to create the Master's definitive body. Using the pocketwatch Alain Guillotin had gifted him as a cornerstone for the ritual, he successfully implanted Rene's consciousness into the creature and named him Narzissenkreuz.

Before resuming his position as his friend's subordinate, Jakob erased all memories of the ritual's failed attempts and all the lapsed time from Narzissenkreuz's mind, as to not “obstruct his path to transcendence”. The Master believed his first attempt to have been successful, though he was aware of a portion of his life and memories being missing. He believed that with his newfound immortality, this lost “time and experience” wouldn't matter in the long run.^[6][21]

As a testament to his power and using leftover materials of his own rebirth,^[6] the Master created Caterpillar by imbuing a hilichurl with human intelligence and memory, eventually teaching it human speech.^[22] According to Caterpillar, during his time in the Ordo the Master frequently led ceremonies using the Holy Blade of Narzissenkreuz, "in accordance to ancient dictates" that also trace back to Liyue and Sumeru. The Master had many radical ideas, including his belief that one's own will is an obstacle, and that obtaining a Vision is a "guaranteed path to destruction."^[22]

Later, the Master sent Lyris and Jakob to four specific locations for a secret mission. Their tasks were to "deconstruct" and "reverse the utility" of the Seal of Chymical Marriage, as well as "internalize" an unknown entity or concept.^[23] Dwight Lasker received an investigation report indicating abnormal activities within the Narzissenkreuz Ordo, which was hidden within the Institute of Natural Philosophy.^[24] He entrusted his old friend, Emanuel Guillotin, to conduct further investigations into this society. Master eventually dissolved and absorbed the consciousnesses of three agents, including Emanuel Guillotin^[25] and the Champion Duelist Marfisa,^[2] gaining their memories and skills. Through this, the Master learned that the Court of Fontaine had officially considered the Narzissenkreuz Ordo an illegal extremist group and sought to take action against them.^[7]

Considering Jakob's wishes and the friendship Alain and Rene had once had, the Master used the "Book of Revealing" to show Alain the impending apocalypse they had calculated and attempted to persuade Alain to join their plans to save human civilization. However, Alain once again rejected the offer, only saying, "it seems that there's no going back" before leaving.^[26] Though the Master was displeased by Alain's refusal, he promised to create a future with a place for both him and Mary-Ann.^[7]

Around 400 years before the events of the main story, Caterpillar carried out a task under the Master's orders but failed, and was subsequently confined in the Fortress of Meropide. Later, the Master had a violent clash with the Marechaussee Hunters, including Alain, Mary-Ann, and Seymour. Eventually, the Hunters defeated the Master and his followers within the remnants of Elynas.^[27] Before the Master "[fell] into the chasm that dissolves all things," Rene's consciousness told Alain that he would surely return to save all souls, even after many years.^[28] According to Caterpillar, the Master met a "fate of failure and ruin", though it is not clear what this fate was.^[8] Jakob claims that the Master "descended alone into the abyss below" after being defeated by the Marechaussee Hunters, but believes he is still alive and that his return is imminent.^[1]

Eventually, Jakob unsealed the entrance to the Primordial Sea and attempted to create the Holy Blade of Narzissenkreuz in order to free Master and create the new world. However, the Traveler, Ann, Seymour and Caterpillar were able to reforge the blade first. They infiltrated the Tower of Ipsissimus and bypassed the security measures kept in place, where Ann and the Traveler descended into the Primordial Sea and discovered the Master. Seeing their weapons drawn, the Master fought them, believing that he could free everyone from the impending disaster. He was eventually defeated, and realized that the Traveler's presence had resulted in a severe mistake in his formula since they defeated the beast he had anticipated to be the cause of the apocalypse. Ann forgave Master for his crimes, and the Traveler resealed the entrance to the Primordial Sea.^[29] Afterwards, he helped Ann and the Traveler to find Mary-Ann within Annapausis and bring her out of the fairytale-like dream she had constructed to escape the past. Mary-Ann forgave Narzissenkreuz as Rene and asked him to join her and Ann on their journey; however, having expended too much of his power, Narzissenkreuz eventually disappeared, laying down to rest in Annapausis.^[30]

Trivia[]

• It is unclear if the Master is an artificial Oceanid, a Hydro Tulpa, or something else entirely, given both an Oceanid's essence and the Abyss were used to create him.
• The Master may have powers that can rival that of a god.
  • Since the creation of living beings is a feat that a god is capable of, the Master's authority in the Ordo can be questioned.
  • The Master discovered the "world-formula" and used it to create the Doomsday Clock, which predicts when the apocalypse will come to Fontaine.
• The "apocalypse" refers to the Prophecy of Fontaine as it is described as "the coming of the second deluge" by Jakob.^[1]

Other Languages[]

Change History[]

References[]