In previous chapters, we explained to our readers how Fonta was born from the hands of a whimsical creator.
And how, due to the subtle changes in the sugar content and flavor of its recipe, it became a unique prism through which to glimpse the social mobility and aesthetic tastes of Fontaine.
In this chapter, let us temporarily set aside the magnifying glass of sociology and return to the orange bubbly liquid itself, embarking on a journey of textual research into the “source of inspiration.”
Where did the initial spark of inspiration for the first person to turn “Fonta” from a concept into reality actually come from?
Flipping through the early manuscripts of that late creator, currently preserved in the History Archives Department of the Fontaine Research Institute.
A clear pursuit leaps off the page: sweet taste, fruity aroma, orange-yellow color, and a mouthfeel that requires the stimulating sensation of bursting bubbles.
It was also expected to have effects such as “healing minor wounds,” “dispelling chill,” and “relieving fatigue.”
Please note that its initial positioning was not as a mass-market beverage, but as a “medicinal drink” with health benefits.
However, the actual finished product failed to fully achieve those seemingly miraculous therapeutic effects.
The creator then settled for the next best thing, launching it onto the market as an ordinary fruit-flavored carbonated drink.
As it turned out, it was a happy accident; thanks to its unique refreshing mouthfeel and bright flavor, it quickly took Fontaine by storm.
And later, by relying on the original “high-pressure gas injection” process to establish a technological barrier, while also being able to infinitely lower costs, it successfully defended its throne as the best-selling fruit-flavored drink in Teyvat for many years.
Then, a core question emerges:
Why did this creator have such a clear and specific description of the flavor, color, and even the efficacy of the target product from the very beginning?
The author speculates that the greatest possibility is: the creator himself had tasted a certain drink that perfectly matched his description, and what he was obsessed with was attempting to “1:1 rerun” the taste from his memory.
To this end, we took a copy of the manuscript and traveled far to Sumeru to visit the renowned scholar of the Amurta Darshan of the Akademiya, Mr.
Tighnari, hoping to use his extensive botanical and historical knowledge to solve this puzzle.
Mr.
Tighnari is a scholar of a demi-human race with striking fox ears and a fluffy large Tail.
He looks young and handsome, but holds a high-ranking position within the Akademiya, and his academic level is highly regarded.
He and his apprentice, a shy youth named Collei with short light green hair, warmly received us.
After carefully studying the manuscript’s description, Mr.
Tighnari provided a direction:
“Judging from the flavor characteristics you described, especially the initial pursuit of ‘therapeutic effects,’ the ‘prototype’ you are looking for is very likely an ancient drink called [SoulGlad].”
“SoulGlad?” We recorded this unfamiliar term.
“Yes.
This is not a product of Teyvat’s natural evolution.” Mr.
Tighnari went to the Akademiya to look up some documents for us.
“Its name and story are sporadically scattered in some quite ancient records.”
These few thick, slightly worn-edged classics tell us of dusty history:
According to the appendix of “Comprehensive Examination of The Seven Nations’ Eras · Chronicles of the Archon War”:
After the Archon War officially ended and The Seven were established, The Seven victorious Archons were invited by the Geo Archon Morax to hold a grand event in Liyue.
It was both the first meeting between the Archons and tacitly acknowledged as a prelude to a nationwide carnival celebrating the end of the war.
And the first Cryo Archon, the ‘White Tsar’ His Majesty Morgan Snezhnaya of Snezhnaya, stopped by Mondstadt on his way to Liyue to meet up with Lord Barbatos, the Anemo Archon.
The documents mention that in the buffer zone on the border of the two countries, the Cryo Archon encountered a group of human refugees who had lost their homes due to monster attacks and were starving and freezing.
That White Tsar, known as the ‘Archon of Literature and Art,’ yet skilled at piercing the heads of enemies with a spear, and whose temperament was mostly described in records as ‘elegant and aloof,’ showed unexpected mercy this time.
It is said that he used his power to create a strange tree.
This tree flowed with warm and sweet golden sap, which not only quickly filled the stomachs of the refugees and dispelled the chill in their bodies, but even had the effect of accelerating the healing of some frostbite.
The refugees called the sap ‘Archon-given nectar,’ and that tree was called [SoulGlad] by the fairies who accompanied the Cryo Archon to the banquet.
In the ancient fairy language, it has the meanings of’sweet rain,”stream of grace,’ and ‘golden-orange.'”
Hearing this, one of our accompanying editors couldn’t help but mutter:
“This sounds…
exactly like a legendary origin story fabricated for some kind of beverage, just to make it easier to sell.”
“Just like some antique dealers in Fontaine who always love to claim their goods are ‘the comb used by Lord Egeria’ or ‘gems from the Remuria royal family.'”
Mr.
Tighnari’s ears twitched keenly.
He was not angry, but smiled understandingly, though his expression immediately became serious:
“Stories about Archons are a mix of truth and falsehood, especially those of deceased Archons, which are even harder to verify.”
“However, the records about ‘SoulGlad’ are not limited to one person’s account, nor are they fabrications by later merchants.”
He motioned for us to look at the different books he had opened:
“History of Azure Star Spirits · Early Years of the Archons” clearly records—
[The White Tsar, on the northern border road, pitied the starving and cold refugees, so he gathered the essence of elements to urge the growth of a honey tree.
Its sap was like warm rain, saving countless lives, and the people called it SoulGlad.]
This is the official history book of Snezhnaya.
“Millennial Wind Chronicles of Mondstadt · Diplomacy Volume” records that when Lord Barbatos, the Anemo Archon, welcomed the Cryo Archon at the border, he received a gift called ‘SoulGlad.’
The Anemo Archon mixed a small amount of its sap with fine Mondstadt wine to make a special ‘mead.’
It was shared with some of the people during the early Windblume Festival celebrations and was regarded as one of the symbols of friendship between the two countries.”
And the more authoritative “Records of The Seven Archons’ Banquet” was recorded by a certain long-lived adeptus who served the Geo Archon at the time.
The original manuscript is kept in the Secret Pavilion of the Liyue Ministry of Civil Affairs, and the Akademiya has a copied version.
It mentions that at the private banquet of The Seven Archons, the Cryo Archon Morgan took out a golden syrup served in a crystal cup.
[It tasted extremely sweet, with a hint of vitality flowing through it, and he shared it with the other Archons.]
The Geo Archon commented that it was no ordinary item, and Greater Lord Rukkhadevata expressed interest in its ‘contained vitality and intrigue.’
Mr.
Tighnari closed the book and looked at us: “If these official histories and records from different countries with different stances are still not enough to be taken as proof…”
He paused and threw out even stronger evidence: “Then, what about the existence of the physical object?”
We were stunned: “Phy…
physical object?”
Fonta would definitely spoil after three or five hundred years, but since it is a Archon-made object like [SoulGlad], it is naturally a different matter.
“Yes.” Mr.
Tighnari nodded.
“In the collection hall deep within the House of Daena in Sumeru, a portion of SoulGlad is indeed preserved.”
It is a small sample that Greater Lord Rukkhadevata requested and received from the Cryo Archon out of a desire for research after the banquet that year.
Greater Lord Rukkhadevata once tried to analyze its composition and principles, but regrettably, she was never able to reproduce its core energy of satiety and its miraculous healing effects.
Some scholars also wanted to continue the research, but even Greater Lord Rukkhadevata could not reproduce it, and ordinary scholars, or even sages, would find it difficult to make progress in this area.
That sample, along with some relevant national gift documents from that year, is regarded as a testament to the ancient friendship and academic exchange between the two countries and is properly preserved.
Of course, such a precious ancient creation sample with great historical significance and the only one of its kind in the world.
It cannot be exhibited publicly and is only available to a very small number of authorized scholars for research under strict conditions.”
We digested this astonishing information.
Mr.
Tighnari continued to explain: “According to the research speculations left by Greater Lord Rukkhadevata.”
[SoulGlad] is not a product of Teyvat’s natural evolution or ordinary alchemy.
“That White Tsar, the first Cryo Archon, in addition to the widely known title of ‘Archon of Literature and Art.'”
“His identity as a top-tier alchemist is also mentioned in high-level records, just not as widely spread as the former.”
“His creations are often unique, rare, and difficult to replicate.”
Among the researchers accompanying us, there happened to be someone with relevant research.
That Archon makes things quite casually, and many are one-of-a-kind.
That’s right.
Whether it is the [light cone] that is hyped to a sky-high price in the antique collection circle and can record and preserve historical images.
Or the [ice harp] found in the ruins of the Remuria civilization that can automatically play complex musical pieces and attract and change the migration of fish schools.
Or the [SoulGlad] we are discussing, they are all considered miracles created casually by that Archon.
Other alchemists exhausted all their efforts and could not reproduce its core, so it is regarded as ‘the craft exclusive to Archons.'”
Mr.
Tighnari said with a regretful tone: “Although we found the ‘prototype’ you mentioned.”
“But it is a pity that the ‘SoulGlad’ honey tree that was created is said to have long stopped secreting sap.”
“With the catastrophe that swept through Teyvat five hundred years ago, and the mysterious fall of the first Cryo Archon, the tree itself, like its creator, disappeared into the dust of history.”
“The one currently in the Sumeru collection is just a sample that has lost its activity.”
“As for the possible remains of that tree, they are regarded by Snezhnaya as important relics of The Former Emperor, relocated after the disaster and strictly kept; outsiders cannot see them at all.” Find the original chapter at novelping.com.
Hearing this, we could only dismiss the idea of seeing that legendary honey tree with our own eyes, even if it was just a dead tree.
Carrying a wealth of gains and a trace of melancholy, we bid farewell to Mr.
Tighnari and Collei and left the Sumeru City, which was full of the atmosphere of wisdom.
After returning to Fontaine, a new question hovered in our minds:
Since [SoulGlad] is so rare and even extinct five hundred years ago.
Then how did the Fonta creator, who lived in relatively modern times, know about it and obtain such specific details of inspiration?
We plunged into the pile of old papers again, searching more meticulously for all the traces of text left by that creator.
Finally, in the torn pages of one of his almost forgotten private diaries, we found the key clue.
The diary shows that this creator was not a technician or scholar in his early years, but a traveling merchant who traveled between countries.
He had traveled to Snezhnaya for trade more than once.
During one of his trips to Snezhnaya in the middle of his career, it happened that the political situation in Snezhnaya underwent a drastic change—
The Tsaritsa intended to push for reforms, shaking the foundation of the rule of the traditional fairy nobility, and the atmosphere in Snezhnaya was tense.
The merchant with a keen sense of smell sensed something was wrong and prepared to end the trip early and return to Fontaine.
In the returning team traveling together, there was a fairy nobleman named Krylov who also intended to leave the Winter Capital temporarily to avoid the limelight.
Perhaps the journey was boring, or perhaps that nobleman really took a fancy to a certain treasure the merchant was carrying.
The diary vaguely mentions a wonderful crystal chip that can preserve the light and shadow of an instant, which is very likely a [light cone].
Fairies are always keen on collecting relics of The Former Emperor.
Lord Krylov proposed that he wanted to use some jewelry he was carrying, plus “an ancient object that is now out of print but treasured,” to make an exchange.
The diary wrote: “…
Lord Krylov took out a small crystal bottle sealed and maintained by ice and some kind of magic.”
“Inside was less than a mouthful of thick, honey-like golden liquid.”
“He claimed that this was a ‘relic from the era of the White Tsar,’ named [SoulGlad], and whether we traded or not, he would give it to me to make a friend.”
“I tasted a small half, and its taste was beautiful and wonderful, indescribable, sweet as the ripest Sunsettia mixed with honey.”
“After swallowing it, a warm current rose from my abdomen, and my fatigue vanished immediately…
I decided to trade immediately.”
It was this shocking taste that planted a seed in the merchant’s heart.
After returning to Fontaine, he couldn’t forget that magical taste and feeling, so he used the remaining honey liquid and turned to beverage development.
He successfully used Fontaine’s specialty, the similar-flavored Bubble Orange, to reproduce the main fruit flavor.
He also painstakingly researched and invented the technology to inject bubbles into drinks, simulating that “bursting mouthfeel.”
Once the first generation of orange-flavored Fonta was launched, it conquered the Court of Fontaine with its unprecedented refreshing experience, regardless of wealth or status.
Besides this, the stories and disturbances derived from the rise of Fonta are far more twists and turns than its origin.
It almost reflects a corner of the society of various countries in modern Teyvat:
The infighting within families caused by the share distribution of the Fonta company.
And that famous “Eiríye District Manor Locked-Room Assassination Case,” the weirdness of which even Lord Furina, the Hydro Archon, exclaimed—
“Is more exciting than the most dramatic play in the Opera Epiclese.”
This case indirectly promoted the revision of laws related to inheritance and commercial crimes in Fontaine by the Iudex, Monsieur Neuvillette.
Foreign affairs officials and some officers stationed in Fontaine from Snezhnaya, addicted to the flavor of Fonta, actually used their positions to resell military supplies in exchange for Fonta concentrate and even shares.
This caused a financial and military scandal that shocked both countries, forcing the Tsaritsa to issue the “Strict Military and Political Decree” to vigorously clean up corruption.
What is puzzling is that the popularity of Fonta in Snezhnaya is sometimes comparable to its local traditional spirits.
Is this related to some secrets of the local fairy ethnic group in Snezhnaya, as well as the memories and feelings for the era of The Former Emperor?
This may be another topic worth exploring.
After the patent protection period for the initial recipe of Fonta expired, merchants in Mondstadt also tried to imitate it and launched a Sunsettia-flavored sparkling water.
And the merchants in Fontaine cleverly guided public opinion, leading the Mondstadters’ research direction to the “sparkling wine” category,
Using the deep wine culture of Mondstadt to invisibly resolve homogeneous competition…
Of course, these commercial games, human ups and downs, and social ripples surrounding a small drink are all stories that will be told in detail in subsequent chapters of this book.
At this point, regarding where the initial inspiration for that cup of golden bubbles came from, we can finally draw a temporary period here—
It originated from the casual creation of a merciful Archon, experienced the twists and turns of time, and in an accidental transaction, ignited the inspiration of a Fontaine merchant, eventually evolving into an orange wave that swept across Teyvat.