Thalassa, the world of deep sea, is a planet in the Thalassa system mentioned in Honkai: Star Rail.[1]
Description[]
Thalassa is an ocean planet with several islands.[2] Among the varying species of fish, there is a lightfish and a giant airborne creature called a six-eyed flying fish. The latter is large enough for an average humanoid to stand on and possibly be swallowed whole by. Aside from fish, there is also a species of dung beetle and a creature known as a Titanium Terrapin.[3][4]
Rock salt crystals from Insumousu can be used in Stone Calf Cimicifugae Infusion medicine on the Xianzhou.[5] Mineshroom is a type of fungi that exists only at the bottom of Khalnoss' oceans, and harvesting it can be quite dangerous as mishandling may lead to explosions. It tastes good and is extremely nutritious, while its blast radius can reach two meters, making it a high quality food item and an extremely potent weapon.[6] The Thalassan green coconut is also edible.[7]
An intelligent amphibious aquatic humanoid race with smooth skin, lungs and gills inhabit the planet and it is said a crystal palace lies at the bottom of Thalassa's ocean.[8][9] As the water dwellers grow out of their adolescent years, their lungs would gradually shrink, their necks metamorphose into gills, and their hands, feet, and eyes become more suited for underwater life. The poets always say, "The people of Insumousu give their noisy and boisterous youth to the land, and their quiet and solemn old age to the ocean."[10]
Insumousu is an Autonomous Region of Thalassa. The Xianzhou Daiyu had crashed here, heavily impacting the underwater landscape and inspiring the civilization of Insumousu, becoming known as a crystal palace or celestial palace at the bottom of the ocean and the deceased Xianzhou people known as fallen gods. [11] A great tide known to the Thalassans as the "Devil's Tide," caused by the gravitational influence of their moon, occurs occasionally.[12]
Culture[]
In the days of old, the people of Insumousu had no knowledge of metallurgy nor had they yet invented written language. Thus, they turned to imagination to supplement their knowledge, and sought to understand all through the telling of stories. "Legends" were born as stories passed through the generations, turning into "myths" over time. "Myths" then shaped cognition as they themselves endured the flow of time, until "civilization" was born.[11] Back during the Iron Age, when civilization had barely begun, the people of Insumousu constructed magnificent buildings on the sea floor. Right in the middle of them was a huge statue, rising up out of the sea and stretching into the sky. The Insumousu locals were excited whenever they mentioned that great ruin, mentioning how it was a totem for their civilization, one that recorded the noble histories of their great people. At the time Lianyan visited, the ruins were four hundred years old. According to her, they are exquisite and truly magnificent.[13]
Insumousu's land cities are usually full of young people, prone to staying up all night singing and dancing during Divine Fall Day. Foreign visitors, especially Xianzhou tourists, often choose to join in the festivities. Foreigners frequently fall in love with the vibrant atmosphere of the cities, these places said to be filled with fiery passion as unstoppable as tsunamis.[10] In accordance with the calendar of Insumousu, the second day of rest in the Month of Tides is Divine Fall Day — when the water dwellers recite scriptures, consume herbs, and perform bizarre dances along the current in honor of the fallen "gods" who brought a blessing to Insumousu. In modern times, Divine Fall Day gradually lost its original religious meaning — songs replace scriptures, delicacies replace herbs, and only the peculiar dances remain to this day as a cultural heritage. As the people of Insumousu became enlightened by civilization, they no longer see the broken ship's deceased crew as fallen gods. However, their reverence remained unchanged.[10]
Insumousu's poets thus sing: "The ocean may swallow mortals, yet their spirits live on forevermore." With the support of Xianzhou's Celestial Guild, a new ritual was added to the Divine Fall Day celebration: people would dive into the wreckage of the Xianzhou Daiyu to search for the remains of Xianzhou humans, then inter them into starskiffs and launch the skiffs into the star of the Thalassa system. The starskiffs are each inscribed with a row of beautiful Insumousu calligraphy that reads, "You should undo the ropes for drowned sailors. Don't cry. You can sail safely after my demise."[11]
The well-educated Insumousu gentry always regarded themselves as a continuation of the Daiyu. "What the Daiyu once followed, we should follow. What the Daiyu once fought against, we should also fight." When they tell stories from the past, they would still begin with these words: "Once upon a time, the palace of the gods fell from the heavens."[11]
Insumousu has a Water Dwellers Fisheries Association.[14]
History[]
Around the Year 1200 Star Calendar, during the campaign against the Viscorpus, the Xianzhou Daiyu was irreparably damaged and breaking apart. Qingzhu, leader of the Daiyu, made the courageous decision to sacrifice herself and the entire ship to end the curse of the immortality plague.[11] The ship exploded and the fallen Xianzhou Daiyu crashed onto the surface of Thalassa, leaving a deep watery crater in the heart of the Insumousu sea.[15] It was said for seven planetary days, the world trembled. Amidst the chaos, some dispersed and fled in all directions. Others remained in the villages on land and under the sea, anticipating the descent of the vessel. This event became known as the Divine Fall and was celebrated as Divine Fall Day.[10]
The survivors of Insumousu, living in their abodes in the sea bed, witnessed how their beloved homes were shattered by the Xianzhou ship. Yet, with joy and elation, they soon found a new home in the remnants of the Daiyu after the Divine Fall, which was referred to as a celestial palace from beyond. As living conditions improved, the people of Insumousu had more time and energy to think, and started questioning the identity and origin of the Daiyu and it's deceased inhabitants. As centuries passed, Thalassa became a trade partner of the Xianzhou Alliance. It was then that the aquatic people of Insumousu set foot inside the "celestial palace" for the first time. There, they beheld the complete grandeur of the Xianzhou, and at last learned the truth behind the Divine Fall.[11]
In the past few hundred Star Calendar years, Insumousu had been generous in sharing its unique culture with the outside world, and the form of Divine Fall Day had quietly undergone more changes. Through their discovery of the history of the Daiyu, the people of Insumousu also learned of the tragedy behind its fall. The new ritual of diving for the Xianzhou people's remains and interring them on starskiffs was added to the Divine Fall Day celebrations. With this, the Xianzhou Alliance hoped that the fallen heroes will receive a dignified soul-soothing ceremony and the people of Insumousu, who were spared from the disaster, had given their response.[10]
At some point in history, Thalassa was invaded by borisin, who were driven out by the High-Cloud Quintet of the Xianzhou Alliance. They were listed amongst the Alliance's allied worlds and became considered a Xianzhou tourist resort.[16][13] Another unnamed conflict occured on Thalassa, where the Xianzhou Yuque's Echojade Fleet laid out a defense in coordination with the Xianzhou Yaoqing's encirclement and eradication of abominations. The Yuque's Master Diviner Jingtian determined the outcome of the battle and relayed it to the Generals, who in turn deployed Heroncrest Fleet of the Yaoqing instead of the Xianzhou Fanghu's Ebonpearl Fleet, as they were too far away. They pressed a strong offense for some time, but lost any hope of success thereafter due to the Devil Tide of Thalassa.[12]
In recent history, the Roaring Tide, an ambassador vessel from Thalassa, arrived onboard the Xianzhou Luofu carrying 60 cases of carnivorous tetras onboard its cargo, and was involved in an undescribed incident that led to 12 locals being injured.[17]During Yunli's lifetime, Thanjar of the Disciples of Sanctus Medicus came into possession of the sword "Crimson Thorn" through unknown means. After the Zhuming's Cloud Knights tracked Thanjar's whereabouts to Insumousu, Yunli followed him and engaged in guerilla combat against him and his hired assassins over the course of a month. She managed to kill all his guards and pin Thanjar himself with her sword. Yunli then patiently waited for his lifeforce to run out, as the "Crimson Thorn" cannot keep him alive forever. Once Thanjar finally died, Yunli shattered the "Crimson Thorn", unintentionally draining some of her own lifeforce in the process. She rested for another month in Thalassa before returning to the Zhuming.[18]
Known Organizations[]
- Water Dwellers Fisheries Association of the Insumousu[14]
Trivia[]
- Thalassa (Greek: θάλασσα) means "sea."
- The description and story of Insumousu in Thalassa most likely draws inspiration from The Shadow over Innsmouth by H.P. Lovecraft. The plot of the novella revolves around the town of Innsmouth, whose citizens had begun interbreeding with a species of aquatic fish-people off the town's coast. The resulting hybrids would be born with a human appearance and slowly transition into a fish-like form as they aged, similar to the people of Insumousou, who "give their noisy and boisterous youth to the land, and their quiet and solemn old age to the ocean".
- The name "Insumousu" may be a corrupted form of "Innsmouth."
Other Languages[]
Thalassa
| Language | Official Name |
|---|---|
| English | Thalassa |
| Chinese (Simplified) | 塔拉萨 |
| Chinese (Traditional) | 塔拉薩 |
| Japanese | タラサ |
| Korean | 타라사 |
| Spanish | Thalassa |
| French | Thalassa |
| Russian | Таласса |
| Thai | Thalassa |
| Vietnamese | Thalassan |
| German | Thalassa |
| Indonesian | Thalassa |
| Portuguese | Thalassa |
Insumousu
| Language | Official Name |
|---|---|
| English | Insumousu |
| Chinese (Simplified) | 伊须磨洲 |
| Chinese (Traditional) | 伊須磨洲 |
| Japanese | 伊須磨州 |
| Korean | 인스머스의 |
| Spanish | Insumousu |
| French | Insumousu |
| Russian | Инсумосу |
| Thai | Insumousu |
| Vietnamese | Insumousu |
| German | Insumousu |
| Indonesian | Insumousu |
| Portuguese | Insumousu |
Change History[]
References[]
- ↑ Seat of Divine Foresight File Repository: Ally World
- ↑ Readable: Dahao's Diary, (I)
- ↑ NPC: Yancui
- ↑ Readable: Disciples of Sanctus Medicus: Collection of Exhibits, Prescription: Draught of Draconic Surge
- ↑ Readable: Compendium of Remedies
- ↑ Item: Mineshroom
- ↑ Readable: Jiaoqiu's Consumable Prescription
- ↑ Data Bank, Characters, Tingyun: Character Story: Part I
- ↑ NPC: Colleen dialogue
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 10.3 10.4 Relic, Broken Keel: Insumousu's Frayed Hawser
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 11.3 11.4 11.5 Relic, Broken Keel: Insumousu's Whalefall Ship
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 Data Bank, Characters, Fu Xuan: Character Story: Part II
- ↑ 13.0 13.1 NPC: Lianyan
- ↑ 14.0 14.1 Event: All About Boothill...
- ↑ Readable: Annotations from "Ode to Reignbow Path"
- ↑ Data Bank, Characters, Jing Yuan: Character Story: Part III
- ↑ Companion Mission, Vita Infinita: Frosty Blade's Trial
- ↑ Readable: Sword Hunt Journal: Crimson Thorn
