Istaroth

Overview

Istaroth is a prominent cosmic figure in the open-world action RPG Genshin Impact. As one of the Four Shades created by Phanes, the Primary One, she serves as the Shade of Time, wielding control over temporal domain and its mechanisms. Throughout the history of Teyvat, she has been worshipped under various titles such as Tokoyo Ookami, Kairos, and Laimelea. Known for recording every event in existence, she plays a vital, background-defining role in the realm's ancient history and overarching lore.

Appearance

Istaroth has the appearance of a female with long white hair that includes braided sections and strands falling between her eyes. She possesses distinct yellow eyes. Floating above her head is a prominent halo, complemented by hair ornaments. Her attire consists of a white dress with bare shoulders and short gloves. She wears ankle bracelets around her feet while remaining entirely barefoot.

Personality

Istaroth possesses a somewhat detached, dazed, and aloof demeanor, often displaying a relaxed or indifferent attitude toward grand affairs. While she treats all living beings equally as minor components in the vast expanse of time, her actions reveal a complex mixture of cold objectivity and profound mercy. She is willing to extend aid to abandoned populations or bestow subtle interventions upon tragic figures, operating under her own inscrutable sense of compassion and balance.

Abilities

Istaroth holds absolute authority over time, granting her abilities such as temporal stop, time reversal, and the power to influence events across different eras. She is capable of manipulating memory and temporal decay, as well as splitting and bestowing portions of her power to other beings. Furthermore, her powers allow her to freeze a dying soul at the infinitesimal instant before absolute erasure, preserving it within spatial or spiritual vessels.

Background

Created by Phanes during the primordial era, Istaroth participated in the struggle against the Seven Dragon Sovereigns and began meticulously chronicling the world. When Enkanomiya plunged into the abyss, she was the sole deity who did not abandon its people, enabling them to build their civilization under her guidance. Throughout Teyvat's history, she intervened in critical events, granting temporal powers to the wind spirit Barbatos and assisting Raiden Makoto in planting the Sacred Sakura across time during the Cataclysm.

Relationships

Istaroth was created by Phanes and stands alongside Asmoday, Naberius, and Ronova as one of the Four Shades. She shares a profound connection with Barbatos (Venti), having gifted him a portion of her temporal authority. In ancient times, she appointed Zibai as a Lunar Emissary and later bound Zibai's collapsing soul to save her from complete annihilation. She also cooperated with Raiden Makoto to manifest a pivotal temporal anomaly.

Trivia

Her name is derived from Astaroth, the 29th demon of the Lesser Key of Solomon. Within the lore, the phenomenon of erosion that degrades the memories and minds of long-lived beings over time is also referred to as the 'curse of time,' linking it directly to her domain. Across all official voiceover languages, she shares the exact same voice actors as Venti.