Hi guys I am Inotia King a youtuber, redditor and gamer who likes theorizing about the story. I actually cobbled together a list of some of my more important theories with respect to the game Genshin Impact and Star Rail that I have been basing all of my newer theories on. I'll be putting more of those up on Hive along with new stuff but if you're impatient I also archived all my theories here. I hope some of you guys are game theorists too. Let's try to figure out these great games together!
(This theory was originally put up on reddit. It's very long because there's a bunch of stuff to explain combining several very old theories of mine so I've added a summary at the end.)
Last time I compiled all of my Natlan theories and fit it to the only new information we have on the region. But after all of that there are still a couple of things I didn't mention because they are just aspects based around my other theories about Genshin.
I don't know how important this will be to any of you guys but I like it when my theories are consistent. In keeping with that it means I need to see how my Natlan prediction works with respect to my "poetry" theory basically that every successive region tries to do the opposite of the region before it and therefore every other region is thematically similar.
So to do that we first need to figure out what Fontaine did. We had a story where the Archon was outwardly pompous and flaunted herself before her nation. Over the five acts we brought her down ultimately ousting her from power and returning power to a ruler from the past. Most of the people were satisfied with their lives and how things worked in the region though there were clear signs of class disparity. This also meant the people were happy with their Archon. There was a heavy emphasis on the Cataclysm and its consequences but the actual dilemma of the region stemmed from a space whale that predated it.
My prediction, Natlan will feature the Pyro Yaksha ascended to godhood. She had previously succumbed to darkness so she's not likely to boast or even see herself in very high regard. And not only does that contrast against Furina it also reflects Nahida and to an extent Zhongli as he realized he was no longer needed in Liyue. Over the five acts she'll slowly grow in confidence until finally she stands before Capitano in victory just like Nahida became confident in her leadership and while Zhongli was of course very confident in his capabilities the Human Age allowed the Qixing to stand tall in a nation that had previously only been presided over by the adepti. Next, living in an endlessly warring nation is probably not going to make people happy and they likely won't appreciate their Archon very much either. But there's probably no class disparity in a place where life just sucks all around right? Well actually we also saw class disparity in Sumeru and of course there was the conflict between the adepti and Qixing in Liyue. Therefore in Natlan we also have the dragons and, if I'm right any fallen gods or dragons that didn't accustom themselves to living with humans might reflect Africa and South America's armed militants and organized crime issues. We may have already seen human trafficking through the manhua and Vennessa's story. And just like the conflict between the sages and Eremites and Liyue's adepti and Qixing this could escalate and ultimately put Natlan under the leadership of Iansan and human rule. Capitano "threw his hat into the ring" so maybe even he's going to participate in the trafficking and rivalries. And with the humans in charge there's no place for an Archon so we'll start with the humans slowly deciding they don't want Musatas in charge anymore which will be exasperated by Sandrone. But in the end Musatas will prove herself, though she'll still step aside to return to her yaksha role. Maybe she'll even revive the other yaksha to serve as Natlan's protectorate so they can stay true to their calling: fend off any dragon or fallen god that wasn't taken care of during the quest and allow the budding human establishment to thrive. And of course if we're dealing with dragons and gods we're not really going to focus on Khaenri'ah as much as we'll be dealing with the further ancient past of the Archon War just like how Sumeru dealt with Deshret and Sumeru's destruction by the Divine Nails and Liyue was basically a field trip on all the famous Archon War sites. Zhongli even takes us on that field trip in his Character Quests.
Now there's also something besides doing the opposite of the region before it or following the other regions in this sequence. There are trends and if Fontaine hadn't reset it that trend would have gotten us to four Harbingers in Natlan where I suggested Pierro and Columbina would be running the operation. But with the reset this can still work because the active Harbingers are Capitano and Sandrone where Sandrone's just acting under Capitano and stirring up trouble just like Childe did under Signora. Meanwhile Fontaine only had the one Harbinger just like Mondstadt. In a subversion to how Liyue played out through what if Sandrone ends up being the mastermind instead of Capitano? Based on my predictions about who they are and what they'll do in Natlan it wouldn't surprise me if Sandrone wasn't just manipulating Musatas and the Natlanians but also Capitano himself. And it would be interesting to see a lower ranked Harbinger actually controlling a higher ranked one especially if Capitano has been promoted to Rank One from his original fourth place. Scara actually belittles Sandrone because she's a rank under him but since he was already wrong about Arlecchino it both fits and it would be cool to see since Sandrone is Vill-V's expy. Vill-V was able to split her mind into different personalities and both she and Sandrone are tinkerers. This can play out as Sandrone just coercing Capitano into doing what she wants but it might be really funny if Capitano's suit is really a mech and seeing how both Sandrone and Vill-V are techies maybe she just hacked into the suit and is controlling him against his will lol. Maybe she uploaded "Pure Evil" into Capitano and speaks for him leaving the real guy stuck inside. In any case this would upend what we had in Liyue and Sumeru where it was the higher ranked Harbinger that treated the lower ranked like a disposable pawn.
The acts themselves could even reflect Liyue and Sumeru's and oppose Mondstadt/Inazuma/Fontaine. In those three regions we're introduced to the Archon right away in Act I. Furina finds us right at the harbor and we see Venti tending to Dvalin right off of the Statue of the Seven. You might say we only meet Ei in Act II but we did meet Yae towards the end of Act I and she not Ei is the one we speak with in the end. (again I know it's still controversial but facts are facts) On the other hand we only meet Zhongli in Act II and the same goes for Nahida. In fact Liyue and Sumeru unlike the other regions spend a hefty amount of time explaining how their regions work compared to what we've experienced before. When we arrive in Liyue we're forced to talk to several NPCs who tell us all about their unique customs before we can finally get the story rolling by offing Morax. Act I of Sumeru is LOOOOOONG and we're first shown how things work in the forest and then after the forest we arrive at the city and wowee did you guys know about the Akasha System?
So Natlan would reflect this as well where Act I will see us just trying to survive Natlan because never before did we enter a region that's just a warzone. We'll spend a long time getting acquainted with the presence of the remaining fallen dragons and gods and what daily life is for a Natlanian.
It'll be Act II when we encounter the Archon though she may not introduce herself as the Archon either out of shame or because she's too busy with whatever she's hunting down for her plan. We may start to notice her familiar markings or mannerisms to Xiao and maybe even interact with her like we would with the Conqueror of Demons. At the end of the act we should have a basic grasp of what she's after and what she's about.
In Act III we'll slowly come to realize the flaw in her plan and how the people are not happy with it. This should also be when we see Sandrone and Capitano. Previously we'd heard from Childe's dialogue and even Scara's what a highly respected Harbinger this guy is and Viktor likes him too. We learned in Windblume that Varka respects him. (curiously he makes the statement "the man hides everything under the mask he wears so noone can know his past or his origins") Anyway because of that and our experience with Arlecchino where she told us not to focus on sides we'll try to be civil with the Harbingers unaware that Sandrone is fueling the discontent among the Archon's people. Conversely we might be introduced to Capitano early on like somewhere in Act I similarly to how we met Childe in Liyue. But the brunt of figuring out their operations and experiencing the consequences with the Archon and Natlanians will happen here.
Act IV is where we slowly figure out they're up to no good and while I'm not really sure yet what they might be planning we'll be tasked with getting in their way. (Are they playing both sides and fueling the ongoing conflict between the dragons/gods and humans? Are they trying to use the Ode of Resurrection themselves? Could the ritual also empower a living individual instead of resurrecting a dead one? Are they trying to resurrect the antagonistic Pyro Dragon? Too soon to tell.)
And that'll lead us to Act V. We'll realize the Pyro Archon is actually the long dead Pyro Yaksha brought back to life, learn about her regrets having succumbed to darkness, that Sandrone has pitted her people against her, that Capitano isn't the shining knight we've been told he is, etc etc. So the first half should cover foiling the Fatui's plans if there was any part we didn't deal with yet in Act IV. And while we're busy with that Capitano kicks off his failsafe: Taking down Musatas and usurping her power according to the customs of Natlan. (the victor burns bright while the loser must turn to ash) That'll nab him the Gnosis and if any part of the plan was salvageable having rulership over the nation will allow them to get things back on track. And of course as previously discussed this could actually all be Sandrone's plan not Capitano's and Capitano is the one in the ring because she's just using him. The story version of the Weekly Boss will have us only control Musatas against Capitano who instead of actually fighting us head on will summon waves of Fatui Agents (and maybe Sandrone's robots) If we get staggered that's when Capitano capitalizes but if we can get to Capitano through those Fatui forces we'll easily stagger him and then get our chance to capitalize. (it won't be easy to get to him though, not even after staggering him) In the end Capitano falls and is revealed to be a weakling as Musatas rises victorious and rekindles her yaksha pride. But as Sandrone was the actual Harbinger in charge she may threaten the people, maybe even holding some totally brainwashed ones hostage in exchange for the Gnosis. Since General Musatas is back to form though she has no need of the Gnosis and gives it willingly maybe after making some kind of deal which also reflects Nahida and Zhongli. (the fact that it is under duress makes it moreso Nahida) Sandrone takes Capitano's cowering true form and leaves. (Or ditches him. Either works lol) We are upset that we trusted the Fatui and cost Natlan both the Gnosis and any good the Ode to Resurrection ritual might have done. Musatas calms us down and explains that it's fine. Natlan will always have her to protect them just like Liyue still has Xiao. (Would Xiao be present for any of this quest?) And just then when it feels like we have to accept the pyrrhic victory it's revealed (by Iansan?) that the ritual just needed someone to win at this point. Everything else was taken care of and now Musatas has won. So does she resurrect the other yaksha? Originally she was only doing it as penance and this was poor reasoning because it just meant she was running away from the truth just like Nahida let herself be trapped in the sanctuary and Zhongli couldn't be sure if he should step down. But after all of this she realizes she's no Archon. She's a guardian yaksha and even after all of this Natlan will still be plagued with the dragons and gods that are left. She doesn't need to run Natlan but she does need to stay true to herself and keep it safe. Her contract is still in effect. And so are theirs. She resurrects the other yaksha and they continue right where they left off but now that Liyue is safe and no longer needs them they'll continue to protect Natlan while the humans establish themselves. Xiao is still needed in Liyue but it should be cathartic to have his brothers and sisters back.
Side Note: Maybe we'll even have a follow-up quest back in Liyue where it'll be revealed Zhongli knew this was going to happen all along. Maybe whatever the Summer Event was before Natlan will hint at this just like how Venti's Birthday letter hinted about our upcoming trip to Bottleland and his giving us the Dodoco walkie talkie let us speak to Nahida for the first time back in Summer Fantasia.
There's one other theory I had that needs to fit too but this one's easy. How does Musatas work as a Pyro character? Pyro is defined by passion and the assertiveness to do your thing. Xinyan's a rocker through and through despite all the traditionalist whining of Liyue. Bennett will adventure to his heart's content, falling into every single last pitfall and trap along the way because his luck is legendarily bad. Dehya is a merc and if you get in her way she'll pummel you. (except in gameplay where you'll just fail to pummel her) So Musatas is a dedicated yaksha. All she knows is killing and killing is all she does. The rules of war are woven in the womb. On the flip side you have the edgelord Pyros like Diluc and Arlecchino who take no prisoners and suffer no fools. Both of these guys have a tragic backstory. Diluc lost his dad and as a result gave up his Vision before going on a revenge fueled war against the Abyss Order. Arlecchino is an uncompromising pragmatist. You're either useful or you have zero worth. You get killed? Walk it off. (not really a relevant quote but it could fit and it was badass of Cap to say) Again as a yaksha this dark side shouldn't be new to Musatas but she's also a fallen yaksha so she has that same chip on her shoulder that Diluc did and she may view herself as useless as a result, going through with the ritual to make up for it.
In terms of personality Pyro is a mixed bag. We have so many bubbly characters but then you have Diluc and Arlecchino again. Some are really well adjusted like Xinyan, Amber and Thoma. I think all of this will be reflected over a spectrum of the Archon's personality. We saw how she was in the past through cutscenes. She looked very bubbly. Then she fell and we get edgelord aspects like Diluc's. But by the end of the Archon Quest where we help her stand back up she'll mature and come to terms with her past to strive forth into the future with renewed passion as a yaksha.
On top of that I wonder if she could even represent some kind of character trait for Claymore Characters. Just like the Pyro Characters we pretty much have two opposing flavors of Claymore Characters. You have the happy passionate ones again Xinyan and Dehya along with Dori, Sayu and the one and oni Arataki Itto! And then you have the muted ones like Kaveh, Razor, Freminet and Batman I mean Diluc again. I'd say the first group reflects her real personality as a fiery yaksha while members of the second group like Freminet and Razor show off the isolation part of being a yaksha. She also suffers heavy karmic corruption like Xiao so she has to stay at a safe distance from people. Maybe her Archon powers will help with that but she also fell so she might do like Xiao and use her karma thing as an excuse to stay away. Meanwhile Kaveh constantly (annoyingly) bemoans his circumstances so that could reflect her internal struggle because she fell. All in all it'll be fun to explore.
Side Note: Also Diluc himself might be a roadmap to the Archon's progression. I know people have issues with who counts as an expy but there is already plenty of chatter about Argenti from Star Rail. We do know Diluc was much more hopeful when he was younger so it could be that each Pyro Character will react like Diluc if they encounter a similarly traumatic event.
So did the poetry rhyme?
- I think so. There's plenty to reflect Liyue and Sumeru and also plenty to contrast Mondstadt, Inazuma and Fontaine.
- Act I is an intro to the Natlan region teaching us how to survive in a nation constantly at war.
- Act II is an intro to the Pyro Archon, her plight and her goals.
- Act III shows us the central conflict that the people are unsatisfied with their Archon's leadership. We will also interact more with the Harbingers.
- Act IV will reveal the true purpose of the Fatui and how it's negatively affecting the Archon and nation.
- Act V will be either a full reveal of everything or if most of it is revealed by Act IV then it'll be a comprehensive review to make sure everybody's on the same page.
- The first half of this act will be ruining the Fatui's plans and prepping the Archon for a direct confrontation against the Harbingers.
- Part two will be the Weekly Boss where the story mode is the Archon vs Capitano.
- Capitano is actually a coward so he fights by sending minions at her and only fighting directly if he senses an opening.
- Sandrone could be playing him and be the actual culprit.
- She uses Natlanians as hostages to force the Gnosis from the Archon but she's fine without it so she willingly gives it up though she may make a deal for it.
- The ritual takes place and while she was using it for the wrong reasons before she's doing it for the right ones by this point so she resurrects the others and together they will protect Natlan while the humans reorganize Natlan for the Human Age.
- Would Xiao be present for this story?
- The Pyro Archon possesses the key elemental characteristic of the Pyro Characters by being passionately yaksha. But just like Diluc she has a chip on her shoulder and self-loathing for her past failures.
- She will possess the three typical personalities of Pyro Characters too. She's normally a bubbly person like the Pyro Liyue girls but she fell and that leaves her smoldering like Diluc and Arlecchino and also feeling a need to prove herself like Lyney. But by the end of the story she'll have come to terms with everything that's happened and just like Xinyan and Xiangling she'll be very well adjusted.
Now all that's left to do is wait for more information on the region as it drip markets to us over the next few months and then hope and pray miHoYo does a good job with it while shoving Inversion and Fontaine into a dark corner of our minds haha
Topic originally created on December 21st, 2023.