The Scarlet King (al-Ahmar, King Deshret) in Sumeru. The identity of the Scarlet King is mentioned almost from the very beginning of the Dendro Kingdom storyline and plays one of the central roles in it.
In this article, we will tell you everything that is known about Al-Ahmar, take a closer look at the history and some interesting theories about him.
Who is the Scarlet King in Genshin Impact
Al Ahmar, the lord of sands and deserts - one of three founding deities Sumeru region, along with the lady of plants Rukkhadevata (the future goddess of wisdom and the chief Archon of the Dendro region) and the mistress of flowers Pushpavatika. It was through the efforts of these three historical figures that the creation of the Dendro Kingdom began long before the War of the Archons.
History of the Scarlet King
Al-Ahmar (translated as “red”) begins its history several thousand years before the events of the game. In the book "History of al-Ahmar”, which can be found in the library of the Academy, the first mention of this deity is indicated:
“It is said that al-Ahmar was the son of heaven who fell to earth. He was the king of all lands, he was revered by three great tribes, the jinn bowed before him.
The Scarlet King was in control of a powerful and developed desert state, in many ways suring even the modern region of Sumeru. Together with two other deities-rulers, al-Ahmar pursued the highest goal - giving the peoples great joy and divine mercy, creating the "promised land" (in history referred to as the kingdom Vali Vij). In the course of its implementation, not only strong friendly relations were established between the three deities, but also something more. The Scarlet King was in love with Pushpavatika and fascinated by her "beauty and tenderness", even though he did not share her views and style of government.
Together with the mistress of flowers, al-Ahmar created a flowering oasis and founded the city of genies there in the image of the Lunar Palace. Ai-Khanum. Some time after this event Pushpavatika dies “under the blow of a sandstorm that blotted out the sun,” but this was not an accident or a natural disaster. The mistress of flowers initially intended to die of her own free will in order to give the people another great feeling - the bitterness of sorrow. On that day, her entire kingdom was “flooded by the waves of death”, and life in the once blooming oases fell asleep for many years.
The death of his beloved greatly affected the Scarlet King. Unable to cope with the loss, al-Ahmar fell into despair. The result was creation of a new utopian state for his people, in which there will be no place for despondency.
Even after the founding of the kingdom, the Scarlet King was unable to recover from the loss and spent most of his time reminiscing about the past. They took advantage of this weakness three advisors to al-Ahmar (they are the magi mentioned in the title of update 3.1 "King Deshret and the Three Wise Men”) and came to the ruler with proposals, one of which concerned the resurrection of Pushpavatika (which, by the way, is a violation of the heavenly order, the law of Celestia).
Al-Ahmar succumbed to the persuasion of the Magi, several centuries later building huge maze, in which he was arbitrarily imprisoned. The purpose of imprisonment was search for forbidden knowledge, which would help the Scarlet King get rid of the “mortal body”, return his beloved and save his own mind from erosion.
What happened in the depths of the labyrinth is not exactly known, but the historical records mention a great catastrophe. King Deshret's kingdom "was buried in one night under the sands of madness", and al-Ahmar himself managed to separate his consciousness and invest it in the endless corridors, stairs and arches of the labyrinth.
Presumably, what happened was the result of Deshret's release of the forbidden knowledge of Kaenri'ah, and then - punishment from celestiawho sent sacred pillars to the state of al-Ahmar. Like the once-existing kingdom of Dragonspine, the desert country was destroyed by Celestia in the name of preserving the celestial order. Its inhabitants, if they did not die in the first minutes of the catastrophe, then turned out to be seized with madness from the dark knowledge that captured their minds.
This is where the chronicle of the life of the Scarlet King ends, but his participation in the history of Sumeru of the future does not stop. To date, many irers of al-Ahmar live in the Dendro kingdom, confident that the days before the revival of their king are numbered. But we'll talk about this a little later.
What does the Scarlet King look like?
None of the official sources has ever mentioned or shown the appearance of the Crimson King. Nevertheless, in one of the cutscenes of the storyline (teaser “Sands heritage” on the official YouTube channel) al-Ahmar is metaphorically depicted as a shining eye above the pyramids.
Is the resurrection of the Scarlet King possible?
The question of the resurrection of the Scarlet King is one of the most acute not only among the inhabitants of Sumeru, but also among the players themselves. As mentioned earlier, al-Ahmar lost his physical shell, but his mind is still imprisoned in an unknown labyrinth. In the very plot of the game, it has been repeatedly stated that the return of King Deshret is very likely in the near future.
In the English-language segment of the fandom, about a month ago, a theory appeared that the Scarlet King had not only been revived, but was also very actively involved in the life of the kingdom. Reddit Makewayheadway published his thoughts on the al-Haytham and there is the Scarlet King (or at least his incarnation). In total, this theory is explained from three points of view.
Firstly, the similarity between the image-eye of Deshret from the cutscene and the eyes of al-Haytham himself is very obvious. Blue eyes with a golden pupil, if not direct evidence, then at least a reference to history.
Another interesting detail of the image is a small stone on the chest, similar to the one left after the Scarlet King in the cutscene.
The last observation is based on the image of the secretary of the Academy as a whole. In many details of the attire, motifs can be traced, reminiscent of the landscapes of the kingdom of al-Ahmar, shown in the teaser.
A few more theories worthy of mention were made in the comment thread:
- He may indeed be the reincarnation of a god without any memories of the past. The same goes for Ningguang. It has too many unconfirmed references to Guizhong.
- Or he's cosplaying Deshret for whatever reason. Just like Nilu cosplays the goddess of flowers, and Saino cosplays the priest from Rukkhadevata's cutscene.
Thus, we can say with confidence that the resurrection of King Deshret is only a matter of time, which, perhaps, will be decided in the next updates. This was hinted at more than once during the main and side plots of the game.
Share your opinions and theories about the Scarlet King in the relevant section our website.
I have a theory that the purple crystal on the chains from the Caribert quest is Deshret's consciousness. He was the deity of wisdom before Rukhadevata just. And his symbol is the inverted symbol of the order of the abyss and the people of Caenriah.
Information for those interested in this topic. In the clothes of Al-Haytham, I counted 9 (!) Patterns in the form of an eye. The pupil of the swordsman's dendro is one to one with the color, shape, like eye of Deshret (for the curious: find a fresco about the world order in the kingdom crowned with an eye and collate). Further. If you approach the Fresco of al-Ahmar and turn Al-Haytama to face you, carefully look at the clothes of both. Deshret's torso is naked - Haytham's torso is not that much hiding something. Atskh (massive decoration on the chest) both have a triangular shape. At the waist, both shenti (loincloth) are wound in the same way (the richer the fabric and the larger it is, the more class the representative). Diamond-shaped jewelry, armlets, the angle of the cut of the cloak, boots one to one. And do many Sumeru scholars dress like that? Nobody! From the story (not to be confused with the assignment of the legends), it is more than once mentioned that he abstracts or does it so that he does not hear anything, unless the Scarlet King heard someone after the death of Pushpavatika. And in general, if you run Haytam around the temple complex, the feeling of organicity does not leave.
And where does the infa about the fact that Zhong and Hayt know each other? They don't seem to have anything in them..
Hello! At that time it was a drain, which, apparently, turned out to be a fake.
They probably know each other really well. On the notice board in Li Yue at the Wanshu Inn, you can read a note left by Zhongli, in which he talks about meeting with a scientist from Sumeru.
This, of course, is not 100% proof, but many are sure that the scientist from the note is Haytham.
In the current sea lantern event, Jun said that he was talking with a scientist from Sumeru and it was Soraya, she is right next to Wanshu 🙁
Perhaps this has nothing to do with the note, because. She appeared long before the release of this patch)
Nevertheless, I won’t argue, the moment with the note on the notice board is something at the level of fan theories and conjectures, there is no official confirmation of the acquaintance yet.