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- “Their faces still flicker before me like a bygone dream... I thought those joyful days would flow indefinitely before us - like a Xianzhou lifetime. Yet, dreams... will eventually fade - like clouds from the sky.”
- — Jingliu about the Quintet's friendship.
High-Cloud Quintet is the friendship between Jingliu, Jing Yuan, Blade, Dan Heng and Baiheng from the Honkai: Star Rail fandom.
Canon[]
The High-Cloud Quintet was the legendary group of five heroes on the Luofu led by Jingliu. The five were all from different Xianzhou ships, made up by Jingliu, Jing Yuan, Yingxing (later known as Blade), Dan Feng (his reincarnation being Dan Heng), and Baiheng. The five were close and intimate friends, spending days fighting off attacks and threats, drinking together and forming deep memories together. Much of their history revolves around the aftermath of Baiheng's sacrifice.
Jingliu recruited the four members; they were gathered to prevent an assault and in their short span of formation, defeated the living planet Ketu Mirage and defeated multiple beats and destroyed alliances. Yingxing had arrived on the Luofu and met Baiheng, who nicknamed him "Little Yingxing", and later was recruited into the High-Cloud Quintet.
Many of the group's history together can be found through in-game relic descriptions; Yingxing was extremely close to both Dan Feng and Baiheng, and many relics describe Dan Feng and Yingxing's deep bond, explaining how the two would regularly spar and drink together. Yingxing was described to be like a "timid teenager" when he wanted to gift Baiheng a bottle, deeply angered by her death, described to have "longed for her", as she was Yingxing's "beloved". Baiheng is also referred to as a "bosom friend" from Yingxing's point of view.
Jingliu was also extremely close to Baiheng, with Baiheng being the member who meant most to her. The two would frequently drink and talk together, and it was due to Baiheng's influence that Jingliu developed her interest in wine. When Jingliu was with Baiheng, she found that the endless nightmares her PTSD caused were no longer so terrifying, and Baiheng helped her realize what "wanting to live" was. It was also implied that Jingliu's wish to "cut down the stars in the sky" originated from a drunken remark made with Baiheng that developed into a genuine promise after her demise.
On the other hand, Jing Yuan was mentored by Jingliu since he was a young child, and is implied to be the last to have joined the High-Cloud Quintet.
Baiheng was implied to have started many of the parties and meetings between the group, and was essentially the core of the Quintet, as she was the extroverted, friendly and carefree one amongst her more stoic and introverted friends.
The group fell apart as the result of Baiheng's great sacrifice in a battle against Shuhu. Grief stricken upon Baiheng's death, Dan Feng and Yingxing formed together to commit a grave sin by resurrecting Baiheng. However, their attempted resurrection of Baiheng backfired and they inadvertently created a draconic beast that destroyed Scalegorge Waterscape. Jingliu was then mara-struck whilst fighting off the creation, and the High-Cloud Quintet disbanded shortly after Yingxing was struck with mara and Dan Feng was imprisoned and forced into a rebirth as a consequence.
The aftermath of the event known as the Sedition of Imbibitor Lunae was drastic, affecting all members of the High-Cloud Quintet immensely. Jing Yuan had not been involved with the incident personally; however, he understood the price deeper than anyone, remembering and longing for the friendship the five once shared. Once Dan Feng was reincarnated as Dan Heng, he was exiled from the Luofu. Afterwards, Yingxing was exiled as well, slowly losing his mind from the mara and adopting the new identity of the Stellaron Hunter Blade.
At an unknown time after the Sedition, driven by her mara stricken insanity and anger towards Dan Feng and Blade for the events of the Sedition, Jingliu sought out Blade. Jingliu granted Blade a thousand painful deaths, inflicting torture in the form of "lessons" to shape him into a "weapon", instilling thoughts into him over and over again, giving him both the mantra "Of five people, three must pay a price", and the mindset of wanting to seek vengeance against Dan Feng's reincarnation Dan Heng. One year after the events of the Sedition, shown in the animated short, "A Flash", Jingliu succumbed to her mara and went on a murderous spree, forcing Jing Yuan to seal her much to his reluctance and emotional anguish, remembering how she trained him when he was young and the memories they shared. Sometime after, Jingliu had escaped her seal and wandered the Luofu.
In the events of Jingliu's Companion Mission "Clouds Leave No Trace", Jingliu had requested Jing Yuan one day of freedom before her trial so she could reminisce on the past and pay her tributes to Baiheng's death, explaining guilt had weighed on her over the fact she was unable to bid farewell to Baiheng. She met with Dan Heng and attempted to jog his memories of his past life, missing their old friendship. She gave Blade's gift to the dead Baiheng that Blade had originally been too shy to gift Baiheng during the High-Cloud Quintet's friendship. Later in the quest, the four reunited once more at Scalegorge Waterscape, bidding a last farewell before Jingliu would be brought to trial and subsequently see her last. Jingliu explained the reasoning behind Blade's mantra "Of five people, three must pay a price" for their grave sins following them from their past lives. Dan Feng and Yingxing must pay a price for attempting to resurrect Baiheng, and she, Jingliu, must pay a price for forsaking her oath and slaughtering her people whilst mara-struck.
A fond memory of Baiheng.
Before Jingliu left, Blade demanded one last duel with her, asking for her to grant him the death he desperately longed for. This resulted in both Jingliu and Blade remembering flickers of the past as they fought, most notably a vision of Baiheng. Both were struck with memories of the past times with the High-Cloud Quintet, deeply angered and fueled by hatred, asking why Baiheng had to be the one who "was buried, returned to ash, and eventually forgotten" whilst the abominations were able to return.
The quest ended in Blade reminiscing about his old friendship with the four, before Dan Heng left with a final goodbye.
Quotes[]
- “Of five people, three must pay a price. Imbibitor Lunae, the chief culprit, chose to use the Transmutation Arcanum as a means of resurrection, begetting terrible transformation and great calamity in the process. He dishonored the name of the fallen. Yingxing, the accomplice, arrogant and oblivious, used the flesh of the Abundance Emanator to assist Imbibitor Lunae in his evil. He fell, becoming an immortal abomination. As for Jingliu, the sinner... She succumbed to mara, slaughtered her people, and abandoned her oath. Now, it is time we pay for what we've done.”
- — Jingliu in "Clouds Leave No Trace."
Fanon[]
The High-Cloud Quintet's friend group is not too known amongst the Star Rail fandom, as they were active in the past and are disbanded in the current storyline. Fans have taken the initiative to imagine how their friendship ensued, since there are merely hints and no direct interactions between the quintet in-game.
However, there has been heavy discourse regarding the "Clouds Leave No Trace" quest which reveals the Quintet's history; many have accused Baiheng of being a Mary Sue due to the fact that both Dan Feng and Yingxing, arrogant and cold individuals, committed an unforgivable sin to resurrect her. However, much of the hate was caused by shipping wars between BaiXing and RenHeng shippers; though on Yingxing's side, his reasoning of resurrecting Baiheng was further elaborated by Blade himself and referenced in the Passerby of Wandering Cloud relic set. Additionally, hate for the quest was fueled by controversy surrounding miHoYo writer Limenggan (李猛干), who reportedly said that he was happy to see female fans confused over the relationships between the Quintet.[1] This lead many people to believe he intentionally changed the High-Cloud Quintet's lore for the sake of angering shippers.
Fandom[]
- FAN FICTION
- High-Cloud Quintet tag on AO3
Gallery[]
Variations[]
- BaiXing refers to the ship between Baiheng and Blade
- JingHeng refers to the ship between Jing Yuan and Dan Heng
- JingRen refers to the ship between Jing Yuan and Blade
- JingRenHeng refers to the ship between Jing Yuan, Blade, and Dan Heng
- LiuBai refers to the ship between Jingliu and Baiheng
- RenHeng refers to the ship between Blade and Dan Heng
- RenLiu refers to the ship between Blade and Jingliu
- YuanLiu refers to the ship between Jing Yuan and Jingliu
