Citlali — Genshin Impact Character Guide and Artwork

As a young shaman, Citlali was repeatedly challenged by Huitzilin, a spirited peer often accompanied by her Iktomisaur. The rivalry slowly transformed into a friendship: Huitzilin returned with snacks, then wine, and eventually the two shared the satisfaction of a hard-earned draw. Both became great shamans, but the passing years revealed a devastating difference. Huitzilin aged, while Citlali did not.

Huitzilin eventually died while Citlali remained outwardly young. The experience helped shape Citlali’s reserve and her reluctance to risk new attachments. It also left her with an unfinished question about what could endure after memories of an individual faded. The friends’ shared practice of weaving memory into colored scrolls would later make that question meaningful again.

During Natlan’s Chapter V Archon Quest, Citlali seeks Ororon after evidence links him to the Fatui Harbinger known as the Captain. She is angry at his secretive decisions but refuses to abandon him. Ororon’s soul was incomplete from childhood, and an earlier attempt by members of his tribe to use him as a vessel for lost souls nearly cost him his life. His desire to contribute to Natlan’s survival underlies his willingness to take dangerous risks.

The Captain’s plan to restore Natlan’s damaged Ley Lines leads to a confrontation involving an ancient Source Mechanism. When its activation imperils Ororon, he resists the intrusion of another will and ultimately emerges as one of the heroes needed to confront the Abyss. Citlali’s stern response to his misconduct gradually gives way to an acknowledgement of his courage, without erasing her concern for his safety.

Citlali brings the Traveler and Xilonen toward the Lord of the Night to resolve the unusual challenge of recording an outlander’s deeds. A Pilgrim’s Chronicle collects memories that make the forging of the Traveler’s Ancient Name possible. Citlali then helps test the connection between that name, the Traveler’s soul, and the Night Kingdom.

During these tests, Citlali faces displaced souls endangered by the damage done to Natlan’s spiritual foundations. She helps the soul of Vichama reach a resting place and confronts the pain of souls whose memories cannot be preserved. As the war approaches its climax, she supports Mavuika’s efforts and contributes her knowledge to the struggle over the Ley Lines, the Night Kingdom, and what becomes of Natlan’s dead.

The concluding crisis gives the Lord of the Night an altered prospect for the realm she safeguards and reveals the full scope of the Captain’s sacrifice. Citlali witnesses the aftermath as Natlan’s defenders honor him. Her role is chiefly that of a shaman and guardian of memory, rather than the person who single-handedly resolves the nation’s conflict.

In the Masters of the Night-Wind Tribal Chronicles, a purported inquiry into the Battle of Seven Colors draws Citlali into an investigation with the Traveler. The visiting publisher Montluson’s account proves deceptive, and the expedition leads to a trap in a realm constructed from memories. Inside the maze, a lingering trace of Huitzilin’s consciousness explains the hidden power of the colors. Outside the ruins, the Iktomisaur elder Tlapo, once Huitzilin’s companion, helps capture Montluson.

The episode returns to Huitzilin’s memory and Citlali’s history of turning people away. By teaching the Traveler to preserve experiences through a colored scroll, Citlali confronts a lesson her lost friend had tried to impart: the color of memories can remain even when the moment and its witnesses are gone. Rather than replacing Huitzilin, a new bond gives Citlali reason to face her long future with greater resolve.

In a later investigation connected to the Mare Jivari, Citlali helps the Traveler pursue Enjou’s activities. When events separate her from the Traveler, she bargains with Enjou and attaches a portion of her spirit to him so she can keep track of his movements. She also provides the Calamity of Eshu for the danger posed by Bakunawa. Enjou eventually removes her spiritual mark; Citlali continues seeking answers rather than claiming that the mystery has been resolved.

During a later trade expo in Nasha Town, she intervenes when a merchant appears to be selling fragments of Natlan’s sacred Wayob. Once she establishes that the pieces are only powerless fragments of a pillar, she agrees not to derail the event but insists that the merchant answer for his conduct afterward. It is a small appearance that preserves both her fierce protectiveness and her willingness to assess the evidence.