Genshin Impact: The hidden, tragic history of Liloupar and Gurabad

In Genshin Impact version 3.4, the Traveler meets and gets bound to Liloupar, the abrasive and mysterious Mother of Jinni, during the 'Dirge of Bilqis' questline.

Love has always been a focal point in the grand history of Sumeru’s deserts, be it the devotion that created the great civilisation of King Deshret, or his obsessive love that later on destroyed it.

But destructive love has dug its roots even beyond King Deshret, as evidenced by the tragic tale of Liloupar and the ruined city of Gurabad.

But who and what exactly is Liloupar, and what was her connection to the end of Gurabad all those years ago?

Warning! Spoilers ahead for the Dirge of Bilqis, The Fallen Falcon, and Apocalypse Lost quest lines. If you haven’t finished these quests or have yet encountered the tablets that record Guarabad’s extensive lore, take caution in reading. You have been warned!

Liloupar, the Mother of the Jinni

To proceed to the Eternal Oasis that Jeht and the Tanit people are in search of, we were tasked with finding the Mother of the Jinni, who could open up the path and guide us to the final resting place of Nabu Malikata (or the Goddess of Flowers).

After much exploring, we encounter the Mother of the Jinni Liloupar, where a fragment of her had been sealed in an underground prison. We later on find her remaining fragments and return her to her former glory.

But why was she imprisoned in split into seven parts? Make sure to grab hold of your seats, this is going to be an insanely wild ride.

Throughout our exploration of Hadramaveth, we encounter tidbits of information about the ancient city of Guarabad, whose ruins can still be seen around the desert. The city existed around the time of Nabu Malikata’s passing and the beginning of King Deshret’s downfall, existing as one of his vassal states.

Liloupar, who was “born from the waterlilies that sprouted from the streams created by Nabu Malikata’s footsteps”, is a descendant of the Seelies, and served Nabu Malikata until her death. She, and her sister Ferigees, later on served King Deshret.

Liloupar guided King Deshret’s vassal states to build settlements around the Eternal Oasis, which was said to be created by King Deshret as Nabu Malikata’s final resting place.

In doing so, Liloupar met a young shepherd named Ormazd Shah, whom she later on helped to overthrow the tyrant ruler Huvashtra and become the king of Gurabad.

During that time, the two fell in love. However, Ormazd became a corrupt and tyrannical ruler soon after becoming king.

Betrayed by his true colours as she had hoped for him to become an enlightened ruler, Liloupar was enraged and began to plot an intricately dark and violent end for him as revenge, spanning three generations.

Liloupar bore Ormazd 300 children. One of these children, a daughter named Shirin, was prophesied by Liloupar to fall in love and bear a child that would become greater than their father, meet a sweeter end, and that she alone would be given her father’s kingdom.

Liloupar also gave three admonitions with these three blessed prophecies: that being Shirin's joy would "bring tears to her father's eyes"; that they "should no longer feast at the same table as their daughter after she was wed"; and that Shirin's child would be "an ill omen upon the king's land".

Shirin would be betrothed to Parvezravan, whom Liloupar bore as part of her plot of vengeance against Ormazd. Parvezravan was raised by the giant divine bird Ghognus, and through his valour was adopted by Ormzad.

The marriage of these two, however, was unhappy and loveless, much to Shirin’s dismay. Parvezravan only saw Shirin as a means to take the throne.

Shirin, furious about how her life had come to, killed Ormzad and her siblings by tricking them into consuming poisoned honey, which she had served by slaves as she was forbidden to join Ormzad and her siblings in banquets due to the three admonitions.

Because of the guilt of mass-murdering her entire family, Shirin would lose her mind, and throughout the chaos of this event, Parvezravan took the throne and became king.

During his reign, Parvezravan would ask for guidance from Liloupar, and she would provide him with technology and machineries that would be powered by the malformed Jinns that Shirin created through her insanity.

Parvezravan would abolish slave labour in Gurabad because of this, leading to a socio-economic disparity that left slave labourers and former slaves without any means of work, and him becoming wealthier and wealthier.

Shirin would later give birth to the prophesied child, whom she named Shiruyeh. Shirin loved and doted on Shiruyeh, but Parvezravan would grow wary of his son upon learning of Liloupar’s prophecies, and exiled him upon reaching adulthood.

This however, was all a part of Liloupar’s plans.

Liloupar, the Doom of Gurabad

With social unrest threatening Parvezravan’s rule, Shiruyeh, donning a brass mask and calling himself “Khorramdin”, fashioned himself as a hero for the common people (aka the former slaves who now had no access to work and any means of living) at the behest of his mother Shirin, who had disguised herself as a divine priestess and gave him a false prophecy that he was the rightful ruler of Gurabad.

Liloupar aided Shiruyeh as he staged revolts, which were called "The Brass Mask Revolts", against Parvezravan, using the power of the “dark abyss” to give him victory.

This would have a dark turn though, as the power Liloupar used killed all of his followers.

It is not known how Parvezravan died exactly; in written history, it was believed that Shiruyeh stabbed his father to death.

In Liloupar’s memories however, Parvezravan would turn into a “dark monster” — most likely an effect of the abyssal powers she had unleashed during the rebellion.

Eitherway, Shiruyeh would come to regret his actions, and in a bout of insomnia as he wandered through the desert, fell into a deep chasm and disappeared.

From this chasm, a plague rose called “Shiruyeh’s Plague”, which destroyed whatever remained of Gurabad.

Shirin on the other hand, was thought to have been sealed by King Deshret in a silver bottle, while other texts say that she still roams the desert to this day.

Liloupar’s revenge was complete. Pushed by her betrayed love and rage, Liloupar’s elaborate plan destroyed her entire family and the thousands of lives that lived in the once prosperous city of Gurabad.

But every crime has a price, and for hers: King Deshret split Liloupar’s soul into seven, sealing her away in the remnants of the city she had once raised. Liloupar was a mother no more.

While the Traveler and Liloupar would part ways at the end of the 'Memories of Gurabad' quest, as Liloupar believed that she was the only one to quell the "darkness of Gurabad" that she had caused, this surely won't be the last we see of the Mother of Jinni.

The Memories of Gurabad quest falls under the 'Apocalypse Lost' questline, which so far only has one quest under it. We expect this will be continued in future versions.

After all, for all we have discovered about Liloupar, there is still much about the Mother of Jinni that remains as mysterious as the ruins she once called home.

Yan Ku is a full-time dog parent, part-time (gacha) gamer, and part-time writer.

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