Chapter Text
Morax is the oldest of the Archons, nearly as old as the Dragon Sovereigns themselves. The lord of Geo goes by many names, and Rex Lapis was his first.
6,000 years ago, Rex Lapis descended upon Teyvat, in the area one would know as Liyue. Even though Rex Lapis was god of stone, he still calmed the waves and tides of the ocean. Mount Tianheng rose from the ground due to his will, rich with jade.
One day, Rex Lapis met a fellow god who descended. Her name was Guizhong, and she was the goddess of dust. The two grew close, and Guizhong gave Rex Lapis a puzzle box in a field of Glaze lilies. The box was called “The Memory of Dust,” and that became a weapon that can be used in Teyvat, even now.
The two gods formed the Guili Assembly together, the name a conjunction of the two. Other gods and Adepti helped them rule the Assembly, just a few were Marchosius, the god of the stove, Streetward Rambler, and Cloud Retainer. For years, the Guili Assembly thrived and the civilization within it prospered, though it would not last forever.
The Archon War began 3,700 years before the Traveler came to Teyvat, and that War held many changes for Liyue. Between Rex Lapis and Guizhong, the former was the strongest of the two, so he fought the gods and whoever tried to take the Guili Assembly.
One day, Rex Lapis fought against the Yaksha’s former master and freed the powerful Adepti, making them loyal to Rex Lapis. Those five formidable warriors fought alongside Rex Lapis and would come to help whenever they were called for.
Unfortunately, peace in the Guili Assembly would not last forever and the war overtook the area. A great battle took place, and Guizhong died, attempting to mediate the conflict. Following her death, a massive flood overtook the Guili Assembly and forced Rax Lapis and the Adepti, the Yakshas included, to move the inhabitants south of Mount Tianheng, to what is now called Liyue Harbor.
Rex Lapis formed a contract with the Adepti, making a promise to keep the Harbor safe from whatever would try to invade the sea-side port. Rex Lapis continued to wage his war against his many enemies, all of which were fighting for the title of Archon.
No matter which god Rex Lapis fought, he would always win the battle, as he was extremely powerful and strong. There were some gods Rex Lapis did not fight, and those were mainly the ones who did not wish to partake in the Archon War.
The spirits of gods do not rest easy, and will continue to attempt revenge on the god who killed them. The anger of the slain gods festered and gave way to many problems for Liyue, which made Rex Lapis call upon the Yakshas for help to get rid of the karma around Liyue. Collecting this karmic debt made many of the Yakshas go mad, which killed each of them. Except for one, Alatus.
Even with the diligent Yakshas fight against the karmic debt, the dark forces only got stronger. In yet another effort to stop them, the stove god, Marchosius poured his life essence into the ground. This weakened the god substantially, and made him take on a much smaller form. Marchosius went into a deep slumber. For hundreds of years he slept until a young girl found him and renamed him “Guoba.”
Going back to the events of the Archon War, Rex Lapis eventually won and gained the title of the Archon of Geo. Now, he went by a new name, Morax. Not too long after the War’s end, he was visited by Barbatos, the Anemo Archon of Mondstadt. Morax thought Barbatos was in trouble and was willing to fight alongside him, but Barbatos merely wished to explore and bring Morax his wines. Barbatos continued his visits, and the frequency of them encouraged the other Archons to visit Liyue and share stories over wine.
One day, Morax found a hulking vishap underneath the earth, who was named Azhdaha. After Morax brought the dragon above ground, he gave Azhdaha what he needed to see the world. The two made a contract, stating that if Azhdaha would ever bring harm to the people of Liyue, Morax would seal him underground again.
For a while, the contract was upheld. Azhdaha helped to defend Liyue. Until erosion chipped away at Azhdaha. The dragon rampaged inside the Chasm, wreaking havoc. Morax, Mountain Shaper, and Moon Carver joined forces to fight back against Azhdaha. The three Adepti were eventually successful and put Azhdaha back underground, under Nantianmen. Morax put a seal on the Dragon-Queller tree, making it so Azhdaha could not escape without Morax lifting the seal.
The events of what Morax did during the Cataclysm is unknown, and will continue to be until his contract with an unknown entity is broken. Morax keeps to his contracts, so it is unlikely that one would learn of what he did then.
Every year, Morax descends upon Liyue Harbor in his dragon form and tells the Qixing how to run the city for the next year. This tradition is aptly named, The Rite of Descension. The year that the Traveler comes to visit Liyue is when Morax used the Rite to fake his death.
For some time, Morax had been wandering around Liyue as a consultant for the Wangsheng Funeral Parlour, going by the name of Zhongli. Unknowing who Zhongli was, the Traveler helps him prepare for the Rite of Parting for Rex Lapis.
The Traveler helps Zhongli collect Glaze lilies, the Cleansing Bell, and everlasting incense. Two out of the three items were memories of Rex Lapis’ old friend and fellow ruler, Guizhong and due to that, the Rite of Parting could have been for her instead of him.
Using an ancient Adepti art, Zhongli alerted the Liyue Qixing and his fellow Adepti that Morax wasn’t truly dead, and it could have been a signal that the Rite was for Guizhong. Zhongli has also made sure that the Traveler would not have gotten arrested for what they were doing and collecting.
The faking of Morax’s death was also a trial, testing to see if Liyue could survive without its god telling them what to do each year. After the Traveler defeated the Fatui Harbinger, Tartaglia and the Qixing defeated an old god, Osial, Zhongli knew that they were ready.
Zhongli willingly gave his Geo Gnosis away to La Signora, officially stepping down from his role as the Geo Archon of Liyue.