Overview

Outline

The Traveler (Aether/Lumine) is the playable protagonist of Genshin Impact. In the opening cutscene, twin siblings from another world travel through the universe, until an unknown god blocks their path. The player gets to choose either Aether (male) or Lumine (female) as the traveler and Traveler's Sibling gets captured. Their power to travel is sealed, leaving them stranded on Teyvat. They save Paimon by fishing her out of the water and she accompanies them as their new travel companion. Together they set out on a journey to find The Seven and reunite with the Traveler's lost sibling.

Although players can choose the name they want to be referred by, the Traveler's Sibling refers to the Traveler by their real name, regardless of their custom name.

Personality

The Traveler's personality is determined primarily by the player themselves through dialogue options.

Their personality can range from stoic, humble and helpful to boastful, lazy and short-tempered. Regardless of the player's in-game decisions, all of the playable characters view the Traveler in a positive light. There are instances of single speech options or similar options which give a glimpse at their personality overall. They are, for example, observed by Paimon as not believing the gods are any more worthy of unearned respect than mortal inhabitants of Teyvat. They also are pointedly uninterested in getting involved with each nation's troubles and primarily only concern themselves with finding out their sibling's whereabouts. Their response to Morax's "death" was initially to simply leave, both to avoid suspicion and seemingly a level of apathy considering the circumstances of their arrival on the world.

This trend continues into Inazuma, where the Traveler initially denies aid to the rebellion and refuses to take sides, interested only in meeting with the Raiden Shogun. The Traveler is visibly frustrated, not wanting to meddle in the country's affairs or get involved with anyone, even for a task as simple as delivering a letter. Yet despite this hesitation to get involved, they are ultimately a compassionate person, eventually choosing to aid the resistance against the Shogun's injustice after seeing the circumstances of each situation particularly at the prodding of Ayaka and Thoma.

Due to their experiences with the Fatui and the Abyss Order, the Traveler is immediately on guard at the mere mention of them. They also show significant concern for their sibling, as their initial goal was to find them and get answers from the Unknown God that sealed them away. Even after becoming aware of their position with the Abyss, they still ultimately resolve to follow their instructions in seeing the world for themselves.

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