Teyvat Tales: Rostam and Arundolyn

These two are famed heroes of Mondstadt. One is a famous Grand Master of the Knights of Favonius and the other his best friend and second-in-command. The two of them played a big part in the events of 500 years ago, around the time the cataclysm happened. Who are they and what is their legacy? Let’s find out.

Defender’s Will and Brave Heart

These two artifact sets are at a rank below the 5/4-star ones. They can only be found in either 3 or 4-star variants, and these artifacts may be found in various artifact domains.

Defender’s Will may be found in the Hidden Palace of Zhou Formula along with the Crimson Witch and Lavawalker sets. It’s also found in the Peak of Vindagnyr with the Blizzard Strayer and Heart of Depth sets.

Its 2-set effect increases DEF by 30%. The 4-set effect increases the wearer’s Elemental RES toward every unique element present in the current party by 30%. It’s a niche build, good for DEF-based characters such as Noelle or Xinyan, but only for mid-level accounts (about 30+ to 40+ AR). 5-star artifacts outstrip these in boosting stats so they’ll be left behind soon enough.

Brave Heart is available as a reward in the Domain of Guyun along with the Archaic Petra and the Retracing Bolide sets. The Ridge Watch Domain also gives this set as a reward along with the Tenacity of the Millelith and Pale Flame sets.

Like the Gladiator’s Finale set, Brave Heart also has a 2-set effect that increases ATK by 18%. It differs in 4-set effects, as the latter would increase the wearer’s damage by 30% if the target has greater than 50% HP remaining. It’s more of a general use set, as most DPS characters would benefit from both these effects. Still, it will eventually be replaced, as artifacts with higher quality give better and higher boosts.

The Grand Master and His Best Friend

Rostam and Arundolyn were childhood friends. They played together often, pretending to be knights and sneaking out to go on adventures. They would chase boars around with slingshots and play fight with sticks. On one such night, they met a Seelie and followed it. The treasure they found was a small yellow flower, which Arundolyn kept. They would also re-enact the hero Venessa’s triumph against the famed Gladiator, as well as the fall of the aristocracy.

As they grew up, they joined the knights together. Both of them excelled and rose through the ranks. Eventually, Arundolyn received the title of Lion, befitting the Grand Master of the Knights of Favonius. Rostam on the other hand received the title of Wolf and supported the Grand Master in the shadows. He did not shy away from doing dirty work behind the scenes. Some say he inherited Kreuzlied’s (the Noble from the Wanderer’s Troupe) secret organization.

Where Arundolyn was personable and cheerful, Rostam was dour and serious. Despite this contrast in personality, they were still best friends and worked very well together. The lore for the Defender’s Will set says that the only one who could relax him was a maiden he was in love with.

Her name was Rosalyne-Kruzchka Lohefalter. Sometime before the cataclysm, she went abroad to Sumeru to study at the Academia. Rostam had gifted her a timepiece to mark the time she was away. Rostam had also trained the White Knight, who then became the Bloodstained Knight in his pursuit of justice.

At any rate, the Lion and the Wolf were a great team and defended Mondstadt well. Then the cataclysm happened.

A Series of Tragedies

With the destruction of Khaenri’ah, monsters came from the ruins and threatened everyone on the surface. Arundolyn had the idea of going to the source of the calamity and ending it there, so he took all the knights on an expedition.

They fought as well as they could, all things considered. However, the best is often never good enough, as Rostam fell while fighting. Demoralized, Arundolyn lost the will to continue fighting and resigned from his post, and laid his weapons to rest. He revisited his childhood room and saw that flower he once found. It hadn’t changed at all over time. Yet, everything else had changed.

Leaving Mond undefended, Barbatos had to wake and summon Dvalin to fight against Durin. The latter had come from the ruined kingdom and threatened the nation. Dvalin was successful, but not without significant injury. He had to rest and sleep off the poison to heal from it. Unfortunately, the Abyss had other ideas. The result of this is what happens in the prologue of the game.

The last tragedy was Rosalyne. She returned from Sumeru to a desolate but still standing city. She found out her lover had died, and that put her on the path of revenge. For a time, she scorched the land she walked on, only seeking to burn those monsters from the ruins. After an undetermined number of years, the first of the Fatui Harbingers had found her and gave her another purpose, to serve the Tsaritsa. She became La Signora, the Eighth of the Fatui Harbingers.

Conclusions and Further Speculations

The events of 500 years ago from the beginning of the game bears so much significance in the game. It was the time when the Traveler’s sibling woke earlier and presumably traveled with Dainsleif. It was also the time when Khaenri’ah was brought to ruin, causing ripples across Teyvat.

Much of the mysteries of the game surround this event. What did the sibling see while traveling? How did they end up becoming a respected ruler of the Abyss? Why was Khaenri’ah destroyed? That’s not even touching the fact that it was hinted that the gods of Celestia ordered the then-current Archons to do so.

Zhongli and Venti are mum about the events, and Ei wouldn’t want to be reminded as it was the time her sister died. There’s something big they’re keeping from the Traveler. Alas, it’s going to be a long journey before we find the answers to those questions.

We can still have fun while journeying to find those answers though! Whatever those may be, hopefully, it won’t take too long before we find them. Keep on enjoying the game and the journey to find the truth and secrets of the (in-game) world!