Genshin Impact has a vast collection of characters - both playable and non-payable - and among the most memorable are the members of the Fatui Harbingers. This includes the Eleventh Harbinger, Hydro Bow-user Tartaglia, the Eighth Harbinger and newly added Weekly Boss, La Signora, and the Sixth Harbinger, Scaramouche. The Eleven Fatui Harbingers are often linked as the causes of mayhem and chaos in the main storyline, branding them as the major antagonists of Genshin Impact.
As the Sixth of the Fatui Harbingers, Scaramouche is first introduced to the traveler in Genshin Impact’s Version 1.1 “Unreconciled Stars” event, which involved mysterious, sickness-inducing meteorites. Scaramouche first refers to himself as a “vagrant from Inazuma” and adopts a friendly mask in hopes of striking down the traveler. However, Hydro Catalyst-user Mona senses his ill intentions and rescues the group in the nick of time. As soon as Scaramouche discovers the true meaning behind the meteorites, he opts to confront his superior Harbinger and leaves the traveler with a threat of their next meeting.
The second meeting between Scaramouche and the traveler occurs in Genshin Impact’s 2.1 Inazuma update when it is revealed that Scaramouche is the Harbinger tasked with overseeing Inazuma’s Delusion production at a secret facility. The traveler attempts to fight the Sixth Harbinger, only to collapse from the old gods feeding on his rage. Yae Miko manages to save the traveler and Paimon by offering Raiden Ei’s Gnosis in exchange for their safety. Scaramouche agrees and disappears with the Gnosis, leaving his fellow Harbingers and the traveler in the dark with many questions to be answered.
Genshin Impact: Scaramouche’s Past Revealed in 2.1 Archon Quest
In order to fully understand and predict Scaramouche’s motives, players must first understand how he came to be. In a shocking twist revealed by Yae Miko at the conclusion of the main Inazuma storyline, Scaramouche is confirmed to be Genshin Impact’s Electro Archon Raiden Ei’s failed puppet prototype by the early name Kunikuzushi. He was created in order to serve as the Gnosis’ true vessel, but he was later deemed unfit for the task. Instead of destroying him, Raiden Ei sealed his power and allowed him to live life as his own being.
In the many years before joining the Fatui, Scaramouche spent his early life as a nameless wanderer in Inazuma. He settled with a group in Tatarasuna, growing close to the assistant of a blacksmith. However, the group was torn apart for reasons unknown with the assistant as collateral damage, and the nameless wanderer exacted revenge that led to the downfall of the Raiden Gokuden - a collection of weapon-smithing schools. It was after this event that self-named Kunikuzushi joined the Fatui and steadily rose within the ranks, eventually becoming known as the Sixth of the Eleven Fatui Harbingers, Scaramouche.
As a member of Genshin Impact’s Eleven Fatui Harbingers, Scaramouche is not well-liked among his peers. This is discovered through Viktor, a low-ranking member of the Fatui stationed in Mondstadt’s Favonius Cathedral. According to him, Scaramouche is difficult to work with due to his arrogant personality and the inability to keep his thoughts to himself. As shown in the “Unreconciled Stars” event, he lacks care and compassion for those below him. However, despite everything, Scaramouche is both feared and respected by his subordinates presumably due to his immense power as an Archon’s divine creation.
Genshin Impact: Scaramouche’s Backstory Supported By Artifact Lore
The items players collect throughout their journey have viewable, in-depth descriptions that often contain information that is easy to miss. These items often reveal hidden lore in Genshin Impact for new and old characters, which allows players to piece together the missing story or help them formulate new theories. Before the release of Version 2.1, players speculated the Pale Flame Artifact Set descriptions to be about Scaramouche’s origin.
The Surpassing Cup of the Pale Flame Artifact set states, “He was a transcendent being, divinely created, but he was cast aside like worthless dross.” As players discovered at the end of 2.1, this description matches Scaramouche completely. The description goes on to speak about how the man awoke from slumber and began to wander among the mortals. A quote by the man is included, speaking of how he surpasses other humans, and how no one dares to meddle in his affairs. The description ends with a final quote, declaring the man’s decision to become one of the “mask-wearing people” which could only be the Fatui.
With the new Husk of Opulent Dreams Artifact set - perfect for Albedo’s best build in Genshin Impact - players are able to connect more lore to the Sixth Harbinger. All five pieces of the set contain descriptions for different phases of Scaramouche’s life. Bloom Times speaks of Scaramouche’s capability to dream and his desire for a ‘heart,’ while Song of Life speaks of how the obtained heart was not what he truly desired. Plume of Luxury speaks of his clash against the blacksmith and Yae Miko’s broken promise of sending for help, while Calabash of Awakening speaks of the Raiden Gokuden incident and the birth of the ‘Kunikuzushi’ identity. As for the final Artifact piece, Skeletal Hat speaks of the Sixth Harbinger, Scaramouche, preparing to sail from Inazuma to Mondstadt, where he makes his first appearance during Version 1.1’s “Unreconciled Stars” event.
Genshin Impact: Scaramouche’s Present & His Future Goals
With the evidence provided by Genshin Impact’s new Artifact descriptions, it is stated that, upon his creation, Scaramouche had shed tears in his dreams. This convinced Raiden Ei that he was too fragile to be tasked with being the vessel of a powerful object such as the Gnosis. As a wanderer, Scaramouche had the desire for a ‘heart’ - speculated to be the Gnosis itself - and thus, creating the unfaltering determination to acquire it. As Yae Miko had failed in the past to help Kunikuzushi, her offer of the Gnosis to the present-day Scaramouche can be read as her attempting to repair the past as she finally grants his greatest wish. However, despite being the reason for his existence, the ‘heart’ changed nothing for Scaramouche, leaving him just as empty as before.
When looking at the fate of Harbingers so far, there are a few routes that Scaramouche’s story can go. La Signora, Genshin Impact’s Eighth Harbinger, met her demise at the hands of the Raiden Shogun in a duel to the death. However, the Eleventh Harbinger Tartaglia - despite causing one of Liyue’s biggest region-wide threats by unleashing the ancient sea god Osial - is still alive and well. Tartaglia is even on civil terms with the traveler, as seen in the “Labyrinth Warrior’s” event. Scaramouche’s fate can follow either path, or he may carve his own.
As the Harbingers are shown to have desires of their own apart from the Fatui, it is likely that Scaramouche will continue to avoid his ex-comrades as he may be unwilling to surrender the Gnosis to them. Scaramouche may continue his journey solo and travel to one of Genshin Impact’s new regions, such as Sumeru, home of the God of Wisdom. There, he may be able to find answers regarding his failed quest to fulfill his stolen destiny, or even learn how to revisit his dormant humanity.
There is also the opportunity for Scaramouche to reconcile with the traveler as much as he can despite his Harbinger status. In his isolation, he may come to some life-changing conclusions that allow enough character development for the two to overcome their differences. Though, it may be difficult for him as opposed to Tartaglia, who is outwardly friendly from the start and has no trouble working with others of all statuses. If Scaramouche follows the steps of Tartaglia, Genshin Impact players may have a new playable character to look forward to.