Phantom Blade Zero · Character
The High Elder
The High Elder leads a school of illusionists who worship the Lady of the Veil. There is no boss fight with him: you hear his voice commanding his four Acolytes, read the letters sent to him, and see him in other people’s memories. His story is Secrets at the Heart of the Lake.
- FactionThe High Elder’s illusionists, Followers of the Lady of the Veil
- Where you meetMeigu Lake, Mount Soulrend
- Quests1 in the quest log
Who is The High Elder?
His school once seemed a hidden haven. Dusk and his junior sister Firefly remember the Elders taking them in without asking about their past, and practising Phantom Arts there together. Then the High Elder and the other six masters agreed to something Dusk calls utter madness. The Elders ordered the ruins sealed, and anyone who opposed the Rift was to be eliminated.
His four Acolytes carry out his orders across the regions: hunting the defectors Firefly and Dusk, watching Meigu Lake day and night, spying on Pangzhen, guarding the Crimson Manor. Each of them answers his voice: “Acolyte… Yanru, heed my command!” He sealed the ruins with a mirror that opens only when it reflects all four Acolytes’ masks at once.
His reach goes further. By his order any trespasser on the forbidden Mount Soulrend is killed on sight, and Gu Wanyue learned the hard way that what he teaches is only another form of Sha-Chi Transcension.
Who The High Elder is to the others
His Acolyte
Yanru turns fire into a weapon. By his order she hunts the defectors Firefly and Dusk, and she answers his voice with “Most holy, most virtuous, supreme Master… Yanru obeys!”
“Most holy, most virtuous, supreme Master... Yanru obeys!”
In-game dialogueHis Acolyte
Guhe fights with poison. By his order he lives at the heart of the Meigu Lake islands, watching the lake day and night.
“Most holy, most virtuous, most exalted Master... Guhe obeys!”
In-game dialogueHis Acolyte
Lei Ting fights with lightning. He first sent her to spy on the Herald in Pangzhen, then turned her to the Human-Faced Banyan and its Sha-Chi.
“My most holy, most exalted Master... Lei Ting obeys!”
In-game dialogueHis Acolyte
Hansui fights with ice. He guards the crystal eyeball at the Crimson Manor, and let the High Elder seal a sliver of his own mind inside it.
“Most holy, most virtuous, most exalted Master... Hansui obeys!”
In-game dialogueDeserter
Dusk is a puppeteer who defected from him. He hid inside the Herald’s puppetry to find a way into the Heart of the Lake and stop what his old master is doing.
Former follower
Gu Wanyue followed one of his disciples into his sect for the beauty of its illusions. What he taught was another form of Sha-Chi Transcension, and it ruined her face before she escaped.
4 more ties the story reveals later
The one he serves
“Behind the Lady stands something far beyond this world. We exist only by Her grace.” He and six other masters hold open a Rift so the Lady of the Veil can return to the Waking Realm.
“Behind the Lady stands something far beyond this world. We exist only by Her grace.”
In-game dialogueAlly
He praises the Herald for securing the Radiant Heart and the Perfect Yin Vessel. The Elders will move their minds into the Herald’s puppets to perform the ritual at Soulrend Cliff, and the Herald built Number Ninety-Nine to carry them to the Heart of the Lake.
“Your clever scheme secured the Radiant Heart and the Perfect Yin Vessel. This is your greatest achievement.”
In-game dialogueUsed her
He took in the zither player after an assassin’s blade, named her Yan Qiansui and gave her the Illusory Pipa’s strings. What he wanted was her unborn child, a sacrifice that cut the wait for the passage from sixty years to three.
“Now that you have joined my sect, you must forsake all worldly ties. I grant you a new name, Yan Qiansui.”
In-game dialogueTrapped him
Years ago he took in a boy of great promise as a disciple, not knowing he was the Blizzard Blademaster’s son. When the father came for revenge, he led him into a trap and sealed Number Ninety-Nine inside him as its guard.
“Many years ago, I took in a boy of great potential as my disciple. I never foresaw he was the intruder's son...”
In-game dialogue
Every quest with The High Elder in it
Mysteries
Secrets at the Heart of the Lake
Firefly, a dying illusionist of his school, leaves six Memory Flowers in the Village of Lu asking for help to stop a catastrophe. They lead to Dusk, who burns his own life to show you seven old illusionists maintaining a Rift. To reach them, take the four Acolytes’ masks to the mirror of the Forbidden Ruins, set both crystal eyes in Number Ninety-Nine, and destroy the ritual at the Heart of the Lake. It earns the trophy Forbidden Arts Beneath the Lake, and without it the run ends in Annihilation.
How this quest turns out
The seven are the High Elder and his six masters. Their bodies lie at the Heart of the Lake to keep them undying, while their minds sit in puppets holding the Rift open for the Lady of the Veil. Destroy their true bodies and the Rift closes forever.
What happens to The High Elder
The end of the story for this character
At the Heart of the Lake Soul finds the High Elders’ true bodies, already at death’s door, their minds lingering in puppets far away to keep the Rift open. He destroys the bodies and the Rift closes. In the Realm of Mirage, Meng Hua’s voice is left blaming them for her defeat: “They were such a disappointment.”
“If I destroy their true bodies... the Rift will close forever.”
In-game dialogue
Keep reading
- QuestSecrets at the Heart of the LakeMysteries
- MapMeigu LakeWalkthrough for this region
- FactionThe High Elder’s illusionistsWho they are and who leads them
- FactionFollowers of the Lady of the VeilWho they are and who leads them
- GuideAcolyte masksWhere the four Acolytes hide
- AllEvery character in Phantom Blade ZeroEveryone who appears in the story or a quest
Frequently asked questions
What are the Forbidden Ruins?
The ruins where his illusionists cultivate, which he sealed with a mirror. It only opens when it reflects all four Acolytes’ masks at once, and inside, the Blizzard Blademaster guards Number Ninety-Nine.
What did the High Elder do to Dusk?
Dusk was his disciple and defected. The Acolytes hunt him and Firefly by the High Elder’s order. Dusk, the Puppeteer is a boss in the Village of Lu.
Sources for this page 1
- Phantom Blade Zero Official Phantom Blade Zero launch build: the game’s own dialogue, documents, bestiary, quest log and loading screens, read 3 November 2026. Quotes are the game’s English text, unchanged.