Furina

From an ontological and biological standpoint, Xianyun is not a mortal human of Liyue, nor is she a half-illuminated beast like Ganyu or Yanfei; she is a pure-blooded Illuminated Beast and high-ranking Adeptus whose true ancestral form is a majestic, blue-and-white celestial crane. Within the cosmology of Liyue, Illuminated Beasts are ancient creatures who attained spiritual enlightenment ('illumination') and entered into a solemn contract with Rex Lapis (Morax) to safeguard Liyue during the Archon War. As an immortal adeptus, Xianyun possesses the innate power of shape-shifting, allowing her to transition effortlessly between her towering crane plumage and the tall, bespectacled human lady now residing in Liyue Harbor.

Even in her mortal disguise as Xianyun, unmistakable visual echoes of her crane identity remain woven into her anatomy and attire: her red-framed eyeglasses mirror the crimson markings around a crane's eyes, her emerald-and-black hair tapers into feather-like plumes held by a golden hairpin, and her translucent dark stockings and wing-shaped coattails mimic the silhouette of a wading crane. Similarly, the Anemo Vision hanging at her waist serves primarily as a mortal badge of convenience—as an Illuminated Adeptus of the winds and clouds, Xianyun has commanded the gales of Mt. Aocang for thousands of years through sheer adeptal cultivation.

Thousands of years ago, before the founding of Liyue Harbor, the adeptus now known as Xianyun dwelt among the mist-shrouded peaks of Jueyun Karst as Cloud Retainer alongside fellow adepti such as Mountain Shaper, Moon Carver, Streetward Rambler (Madame Ping), and Rex Lapis. During the era of the Guili Assembly, Xianyun formed a spirited intellectual rivalry and deep friendship with Guizhong, the Goddess of Dust. Whenever Guizhong boasted of a new clockwork invention—such as the Guizhong Ballista—Xianyun would retreat to her workshop on Mt. Aocang to engineer an even more intricate adeptal mechanism, establishing Xianyun as Liyue's foremost master of adepti mechanical arts (Jiguan).

When the Archon War erupted and claimed the lives of Guizhong and countless fellow immortals, Xianyun fought fiercely beside Morax to defend the surviving humans as they migrated south to establish Liyue Harbor. In the centuries that followed, although Xianyun retreated to her serene abode on Mt. Aocang to avoid the erosion of mortal attachments, Xianyun's maternal heart repeatedly drew her to take in lonely souls across the ages: raising the half-qilin Ganyu from infancy until she tumbled down the mountain like a little round ball, rescuing the abandoned mortal girl Shenhe from a vengeful god's ritual cave, and mentoring gifted mortal youths like Yuandai and later Yuandai's granddaughter Shuyu.

Following the Rite of Parting—in which Liyue's humanity proved to the Adepti that they could stand on their own against Osial and Beisht—and after repairing the broken Guizhong Ballista and reconnecting with Streetward Rambler during Lantern Rite, Cloud Retainer decided that Mt. Aocang had grown far too quiet. Assuming her human form and adopting the name 'Xianyun' (meaning 'Idle Cloud'), she purchased a residence in Liyue Harbor to experience modern mortal life firsthand, tinker with mechanical bicycles and Supreme Cuisine Machines, and keep a loving eye on her disciples.