Venti/Lore (2024)

A bard that seems to have arrived on some unknown wind — sometimes sings songs as old as the hills, and other times sings poems fresh and new.
Likes apples and lively places but is not a fan of cheese or anything sticky.
When using his Anemo power to control the wind, it often appears as feathers, as he's fond of that which appears light and breezy.

—Description from the Official Website^[1]

Personality

One of the many bards of Mondstadt, who freely wanders the city's streets and alleys.

—In-game character attributes and profile page text

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. In the game, 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.^[2] He is also an avid drinker of alcoholic beverages, such as Dandelion Wine and has an unusually high tolerance to alcohol. 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 the Traveler that it is in the most innoccous moments are those in which he suddenly is hit by his grief.

Venti also confesses to finding the Traveler'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.

Appearance

Venti uses the medium male model. He has fair skin, aqua green eyes, and short black-ish blue hair with short twin braids at the sides of his face that fade into aqua blue. The tips glow in Anemo-aqua color when he uses his Elemental Skill or Elemental Burst.

His form is modeled after the Nameless Bard, a friend who perished in the rebellion to liberate Decarabian's Mondstadt from Decarabian's rule 2600 years ago. In addition to using this form as an ordinary Mondstadter, he also uses it when appearing as an Archon, as seen in his Statues of The Seven, the Anemo Archon Statue in front of the Favonius Cathedral, and the manga.

The "Vision" on his hip behaves like other characters' Visions in most gameplay; however, in reality, it is only "a glass ball [he carries] around to avoid suspicion,"^[3] and there are a select few gameplay mechanics that reflect this. His Vision can also be seen turning into "Der Frühling," a wooden lyre with Cecilias and blue strings imbued with the power of Anemo.

Official Introduction

The true feelings of the prodigal son.

—The whisperings of the Cecelia [sic] flowers.^[4]

▌Singer of Skyward Sonnets · Venti
A bard as free as the wind, now residing in the city of dandelions.

===============================

"I sing to you now of the beauty of all things, seasons come and seasons go, yet the four winds keep their wings.
Though the credit is mine, for from my lyre rings, A story that would run cold, were it not for my strings!"

—Venti's singing, from when he becomes inebriated.

Character Stories

Character Details

An unknown bard that came from nowhere. He sometimes sings outdated songs, other times he hums new ones that none have ever heard of.

He likes apples and lively atmospheres, but hates cheese and anything that is slimy.

When channeling Anemo, it appears in the form of feathers, because he likes things that look light.

Character Story 1

Friendship Lv. 2

Back when traveling bard Venti had only been in Mondstadt for a few months, his income was far less than the other more established bards in town. But once he had a few Mora in the pot from his performance, you could be sure he would hurry off to spend it at the same place every time — one of the city's taverns.

Unfortunately for Venti, his childlike appearance meant that his attempts to acquire alcohol failed at every turn.

The first time he was refused service, he was heard grumbling: "I'm sure there were no such preposterous regulations last time I was here..." Once he realized that the same rule applied to all taverns in town, he decided he would have to change his approach...

The strategy he developed was drinking on the job — that is to say, playing the lyre while holding a wine cup in his mouth, urging his audience to buy him a drink from the bar if they liked his performances instead of giving him Mora.

The novelty of this made him quite popular in Mondstadt.

There was just one snag — he couldn't help but sneeze if a cat came close...

And if he happened to be holding a wine cup in his mouth when it happened... needless to say, it would spell disaster.

Venti, therefore, has one golden rule when selecting a spot to perform, and that is that there must be no cats in the vicinity.

Easier said than done — the stray cats of Mondstadt seem to be quite drawn to him.

Character Story 2

Friendship Lv. 3

There is a towering oak tree at the center of Windrise, said to have sprouted when Vennessa ascended to the heavens a millennium ago.

In the past few months, travelers resting in the shade of the great oak sometimes hear a young boy singing the tales of Barbatos, the Anemo Archon.

Unlike the ruling deities of the other nations, Barbatos has long left Mondstadt. In fact, the only visible proof of his connection with Mondstadt is the Statues of The Seven that appear across the land — even then, the resemblance is vague at best. Fortunately, Barbatos's past deeds are recorded in books and epics, sung and passed on by the bards.

In contrast to these more canonical works, Venti's ballads tend to include bizarre adventures and acts of mischief, such as the time that Barbatos pinched the Cryo Archon's scepter and replaced it with a hilichurl's wooden club...

Worshippers of Barbatos are quick to decry these frivolous tales as blasphemous fabrications. But whenever someone confronts Venti about this, his response suggests that he has not an ounce of remorse.

"How can you know that they're fabrications?"

He has a point — even the most devoted sister could not possibly know the details of all of Barbatos's deeds from a millennium ago.

Only Venti knows the truth behind his song lyrics, and it is a truth he hides behind an enigmatic smile.

Reason being, yes — Venti's tall tales of Barbatos's unorthodox exploits are entirely fabricated.

Hey, Venti finds that a few drinks really gets his muse going. Can you really blame him?

Character Story 3

Friendship Lv. 4• Should You Be Trapped in a Windless Land

Around 2,600 years ago, the Archon War had yet to end, and the world had yet to fall under the dominion of The Seven.

In those days, the city called "Mondstadt" was surrounded on all sides by gales impenetrable even to the birds of the air. The wind's ceaseless howling ground the soil and the rock of that city into smooth, flowing dust.

The Lord of Wind who lived in his high tower was Decarabian, God of Storms. He squinted from on high at his subjects, who bowed before him in the unceasing wind, and, believing them submissive, thought this good.

In those days, Venti was but a single thread of the thousand winds that roared through the northern lands.

He who would in latter days be known as "Barbatos" was but a tiny elemental spirit, without a shred of divine dignity, a breeze that brought subtle changes for the better, or tiny seeds of hope.

In Mondstadt of old, Venti met a young boy. This lad knew how to play the lyre, and longed to write the greatest poem of all.

"I do so wish to see the birds in flight."

So said the boy who had never seen the blue sky, eagles, or the green grass, his voice almost utterly drowned by the wind.

"Friend, will you not come along?"

Character Story 4

Friendship Lv. 5• Should You Be Trapped in a Windless Land

The elemental being Venti obtained the feather of an eagle for the lad living in that storm-shrouded city, who had never seen a bird in his life.

Then, war broke out in Mondstadt, in the name of freedom.

With the feather tucked away in his breast pocket, Venti watched the fall of the eccentric ruler amid the wrack and ruin of revolt together with his friend.

The ruler had believed that he had given his subjects a city free from the bitter cold, and to the end, he believed that they had loved him as he loved them.

Yet, despite the victory, Venti was never able to give that feather to the lad, for that lad had fallen in the battle for the sake of song, sky, and birds, and for the people who, like him, had dwelled within the storm-wall.

With the crumbling of an ancient seat of divinity, a new god was born. The Anemo Archon Barbatos felt power flowing at his fingertips.

His first use of this power was to reconstitute himself in the likeness of that young lad.

For only if he wore human shape could he play the lyre that the lad so loved.

Plucking its strings, he scattered the ice and snow and split the mountains with a divine wind.

He bade Mondstadt become a city of freedom, a nation without a king.

In future, he believed, it would become a better, more romantic city.

"Surely, he too would have wanted to live in such a place."

Thus, a new age began for Mondstadt.

Character Story 5

Friendship Lv. 6• Should You Be Trapped in a Windless Land

The Anemo Archon cannot take credit for everything in Mondstadt.

Credit should be given where credit is due, I shall sing now the praises of things beauteous and true:

We thank the West Wind, whose enduring caress

Brings the blossoms of Spring, by whose scent we are blessed.

Finches, ducks, rabbits and boars,

Mondstadt's revival bid them thrive evermore.

In summer the lion walks the plains,

No words one finds to praise it but these:

Do you sweat out your water to make way for wine?

Comes the heat of the summer from your mane of sunshine?

The mountain mouths and gorges low like drunkards wayward lie...

But the East Wind cares not, for it doesn't walk — it flies!

Over the fruit trees it brushes low,

And its wings bring the harvest of things that grow.

The North Wind in the silent forest slumbers,

And around it pace the wolves in their numbers.

Though most have never a glimpse of them seen, for the Wind knows that none is of winter too keen,

Yet the Anemo Archon glimpses and sees, that it dreams each night of warm reverie.

—As the four seasons in turn shall say their piece, so the four winds too shall never cease.

Of course, to look at it differently, I am the one who should be credited here, and not they.

Credits should be given where credits belong — if not for the bard who pens the song, then who shall ensure that these tales are passed on?

Where the Wind Doth Not Blow

Friendship Lv. 4• Song of the Dragon and Freedom

After 1,600 years of history, Mondstadt's "freedom" had sunk to a heretofore unseen low.

Barbatos, unwilling to become a tyrant, had departed. But he had never imagined that those to whom he had gifted freedom would make for themselves a tyrant.

The aristocracy ruled Mondstadt with a cruel hand, bringing slaves into this land and ignoring the cries of the oppressed.

Thus the Anemo Archon returned after these 1,600 years to what was once the City of Freedom. He heard the cry of the slave girl Vennessa, and together with her raised a rebellion that overthrew the aristocracy.

—Now, the above is what all know to be the official history of Mondstadt.

The story has an interesting, little-known twist, however.

The one who united the people of Mondstadt in this conflict was indeed the hero Vennessa — but that which caused many of the aristocracy's troops to turn coat was a "treachery against the wind."

A secret treaty was found, a betrayal of the city — the aristocrats had forsaken the wind, and sold everything in Mondstadt to the Geo Archon of the neighboring land.

At the treaty's end was carved an insignia inimitable by all save the deity so named: Rex Lapis.

How the soldiers that had once oppressed the slaves shuddered when they saw that they too would become slaves in a foreign land.

The news, and the conflict, spread like wildfire, consuming the aristocracy. It was only many years later that historians would discover that this treaty was fake.

As it turned out, Venti had once practiced the art of forgery in order to play pranks on the Geo Archon, but could never deceive the god of wealth and transactions. Even so, his adeptness would come into play after several hundred years.

What a happy coincidence.

Vision

Friendship Lv. 6• Song of the Dragon and Freedom

The Seven Archons do not need Visions, for they already have great power.

Yet Barbatos was fond of the mortal world, and wanted to roam Mondstadt more freely as "Venti." As such, he constructed a glass ornament very much like the Visions worn by those chosen by the gods.

The imitation has no special abilities, nor does Venti rely on it to channel elemental power.

However, since Venti does not keep the Holy Lyre der Himmel by his side, and since he is too lazy to bring a normal lyre, he gave his fake Vision the ability to turn into the wooden lyre "Der Frühling."

Namecard

Venti: Azure Sky
	Obtain: Reward for reaching Friendship Level 10 with VentiDescription: The bright blue of a cloudless sky and the melodious tone of Der Frühling complement each other perfectly.

Constellation

Carmen Dei
	Story Chapter: Carmen DeiMeaning: Song of a God

Quests and Events

Archon Quests

• Prologue
  • Act I: The Outlander Who Caught the Wind
    • Forest Rendezvous
    • Dragon Storm (as "Mysterious Voice")
  • Act II: For a Tomorrow Without Tears
    • Unexpected Encounter
    • That Green Fellow
    • Let the Wind Lead
    • Venti's Plan
    • Venti's New Plan
    • Wild Escape
    • Behind the Scenes
    • Chasing Shadows
    • State of the Holy Lyre der Himmel
    • Crystal Tears
    • Reunion With the Dragon
  • Act III: Song of the Dragon and Freedom
    • Abyss Mage
    • Hurdle
    • Empty Abode
    • Light Guiding Ceremony
    • Calm Before the Storm
    • A Long Shot
    • Ending Note
• Chapter V
  • Act I: Flowers Resplendent on the Sun-Scorched Sojourn
    • Home of the Hot Springs

Story Quests

• Carmen Dei Chapter (Venti)
  • Act I: Should You Be Trapped in a Windless Land
    • A Child's Secret
    • The South Wind Brings Adventure
    • Lionfang's Legacy
    • Should You Be Trapped in a Windless Land
• Leo Minor Chapter (Jean)
  • Act I: Master's Day Off
    • Margaret's Longing
    • Master's Day Off

Hangout Events

• Kaeya
  • Act I: Shenanigans and Sweet Wine
    • Poems Dedicated to the Wind

Events

• Invitation of Windblume
  • Part I: Ode to Flower and Cloud
  • Part II: Missive of Cloud and Fog
  • Part III: Realm of Fog and Wind
  • Part IV: Dream of Wind and Flowers
• Midsummer Island Adventure
  • Part I: Mysterious Islands: Journey to the Unknown
• Hues of the Violet Garden
  • True Tales of the Violet Garden
    • Act I: The Strange Tale of Suikou's Tipsy Tincture
      • The Strange Tale of Suikou's Tipsy Tincture
    • Act II: What the Blue Flowers Left Behind
      • What the Blue Flowers Left Behind
    • Act III: A New Painting in Pale Scarlet
      • A New Painting in Pale Scarlet
    • Act IV: The Palace, Dyed in Black
      • The Palace, Dyed in Black
      • The Five Colors' True Form
• Summertime Odyssey
  • I: The Golden Apple Vacation Returns!
    • The Golden Apple Vacation Returns!
  • VI: Like Rhyme and Song, the Summer Reverie
    • Like Rhyme and Song, the Summer Reverie
• Of Ballads and Brews
  • Act I: Sounds From Afar
  • Act III: Aroma of the Past
• The Exquisite Night Chimes
  • Epilogue: Between Facades and Familiar Faces
• Windblume's Breath
  • Windblume Festival
    • Part I: A Gathering of Outlanders
    • Part II: A Riddle Amidst the Crowds
    • Part III: Joy Above the Clouds
• Waterborne Poetry
  • Part I: Congenial Gathering
    • Congenial Gathering
  • Part II: Tears Among the Leaves
    • Tears Among the Leaves
  • Part III: Heart of the Deep
    • Heart of the Deep
• Alchemical Ascension

Web Events

• Side by Side We Venture
• An Unforgettable Journey
• Taking Pictures and Recounting Good Times
• Canvas of Starlight Memories
• Discover Teyvat

Character Trials

Quest Domains

• Storming Terror — Archon Quest A Long Shot in Prologue: Act III - Song of the Dragon and Freedom
• The Great Adventurer Stanley — The South Wind Brings Adventure in Venti's Story Quest, Carmen Dei Chapter: Act I - Should You Be Trapped in a Windless Land

Events

• Vibro-Crystal Research
• Hyakunin Ikki 2022-10-10
• Adventurer's Trials
• Second Blooming
• The Peaks and Troughs of Life

Test Run Events

• Venti, Sucrose, Razor — 2021-03-17
• Kamisato Ayato, Venti, Sucrose, Yun Jin — 2022-03-30
• Cyno, Venti, Candace, Kuki Shinobu, Sayu — 2022-09-28
• Wriothesley, Venti, Chongyun, Thoma, Dori — 2023-10-17

Character Mentions

Character Stories

Character Voice-Overs

Other Appearances

Manga

Venti appears in the manga's prologue chapter, Songs of the Wind. He awakens shortly before Ludi Harpastum and finds that Mondstadt has greatly changed from the last time he was present. He befriends Vennessa as Venti, and he reveals himself as Barbatos when Vennessa is sent to fight Ursa the Drake, chasing off the beast before confronting the corrupt Lawrence Clan. Towards the end of the chapter, he can be seen accompanied by Aether.

Mail

• Yoo—Hoo! (2021-06-16)
• The Wind Returns~ (2022-06-16)
• Treasure Map. (2023-06-16)
• A Day of Leisure. (2024-06-16)

Trivia

• Venti is one of the characters with ornaments that glow. While wearing his default outfit, Breezy Ode, when Venti's Elemental Burst is ready, the green ornament on the back of his shawl will glow along with his Vision.
• Prior to completing Act III of the Prologue Chapter, his profile lists him as "Vision: Anemo". After completing the chapter, the entry is changed to "Gnosis: Anemo".
• Venti took on the Nameless Bard's form (which remains his current appearance) after gaining his Archon powers.
  • Due to residing in a vessel manifested through his Archon powers, Venti has a large amount of alcohol tolerance; he drinks at least 37 glasses of wine to no ill effect.^[5] However, it didn't prevent him from being allergic to cats.^[6] It is unknown whether this is particular to Venti's chosen vessel or not.
  • Bows being Venti's weapon of choice may be in memory of Amos, Decarabian's former lover who later sided with the Nameless Bard during the rebellion.^[7] The Boy and the Whirlwind implies that she, like the bard, died in the battle.
• While using his Elemental Skill and Elemental Burst, the ends of his braids light up a little.
• During the Unreconciled Stars event and The Crane Returns on the Wind Archon Quest, Venti's fake Vision does not glow when in close proximity to a meteor fragment or Starsplinter Iron, unlike real Visions.
  • However, when Venti's Elemental Burst is ready, the fake Vision will glow exactly like real ones.
• Venti is one of the few currently playable characters who acknowledges (or even seems aware) that the Traveler is from another world, presumably because of his status as an Archon.
• As Venti doesn't mind revealing his true identity as necessary, a large amount of people are aware of who he is despite having no "presence" in his own nation:
  • The Traveler learns it when Venti declares it to his disciple Gotelinde, though the nun simply thought that he was lying.
  • Jean figured it out herself through her interactions with Venti and had it confirmed during Reunion With the Dragon when Dvalin addressed Venti as Barbatos. Diluc was also present during that scene and thus learned Venti's identity then as well, although from his lack of surprise, it is possible he also figured it out beforehand.
  • "Stanley" is somewhat aware of his identity after he asked him to give his friend's soul to him through his Archon powers. He has since forgotten his name due to being drunk but remembers his general appearance.
  • Mona may be aware of his identity as Barbatos; after being requested to check on him by the Traveler, upon examining her scryglass, an unusual amount of wind obscured it before starting to tear at her clothes, forcing her to abort as she proclaimed that she wouldn't look into him again.^[8]
  • Venti's fellow Archons are also aware of his appearance, as he had visited Zhongli on multiple occasions, met with Ei during a gathering of the gods and the Tsaritsa informing Signora and a number of other unknown Fatui about him.
  • Xiao is aware that Venti is Barbatos, as he's aware that only a member of The Seven could handle his karmic debt and Barbatos frequently played musical instruments.
• The Steambird's Teyvat Food Notes column, which are blog posts on the Chinese official site with real-life recipes for in-game food items, features Venti in the post for Northern Apple Stew.^[9] Also in the post is a recipe for the co*cktail Blizzard-Facing God's Apple Cider, which Venti drinks half his glass of as an "appetizer."
• Venti's attire resembles that of Cologne, Germany's Prince of Carnival. They wear the same puffy shorts, white tights, short cape and a cap with feathers. Cologne's carnival closely resembles Mondstadt's Ludi Harpastum and Cologne is also dominated by a gothic Cathedral closely resembling Mondstadt's Cathedral.
• Venti bears a striking physical resemblance to Wendy, The Herrscher of Wind in Honkai Impact 3rd, another one of HoYoverse's games.
• Venti's exchange with Paimon from Act II of For a Tomorrow Without Tears of her responding to his "Hehe" with "What do you mean 'hehe'?" has been alluded to twice in the story, thus far. Once during Date's Challenge with Date responding to Paimon with "What do you mean 'hehe'?!", and another as Paimon's response to the Traveler during Eight Locales Over Mountains and Seas: Two Cities' Recommendations.
• Venti is known by these aliases or titles:
  • Tone-Deaf Bard (by Paimon)
  • Green Fellow^[10]
• As of Version 5.0, Venti is the only playable Archon to not have a second Story Quest act, as well as the only Archon to not introduce a Weekly Boss through their Story Quest.
• Venti is mentioned in the descriptions of the following 2 Furnishings:
  • Classical Lyre: Tenor of the Wind
  • Mondstadt Mansion: Windward Manor

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.

Other Languages

Character Title: Windborne Bard

References

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