Rejoice! Tonitrus Dei descends!

Ok maybe not Tonitrus Dei specifically. That nomenclature's also more a topic for another day. But just go with me on this.

This article was originally put up on reddit.

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 is long and there's much to cover so I've added a summary at the end.)

Before you guys write this one off as click bait I do mean to say that Yae Miko is in fact the original Electro Archon of Inazuma. (maybe even the Electro Dragon Sovereign but more on that another day) You might be thinking "but Makoto's the original Electro Archon." Actually she is definitively proven not to be by the game itself. We'll get to that after.

There are two major branches of inspiration that miHoYo used when creating Yae Miko: one of them relates to the overall story of the Inazuma Archon Quest specifically Yae's relationship to Ei, the other deals more with her relation to the region itself as its founding Archon.

The one relating to Ei was more nuanced for me so I'll do that second. It's pretty interesting. But the more straightforward one is blatantly baked into Yae's design. Yae Miko as we all know is a kitsune so we'll start there.

Kitsune lore arrived in Japan from neighboring China where they used to just be devious succubi creatures. This established a few core behaviors in kitsune for Japan's version of the lore: tricksters, shapeshifting seductresses, survive on the qi or ki of their victims, longevity expressed in the number of tails up to nine. But unlike China Japan really adopted the kitsune and so the lore expands far from where it left off with them. Kitsune are still tricksters who can shapeshift and they often do still shapeshift into attractive women and sometimes still maintain their predation of human ki. On top of that though Japan set up the number of tails to correspond with their power level in addition to longevity. And from that they developed a fairly organized hierarchy.

At the bottom are the Nogitsune or Yako who are young and untamed. These kitsune often represent what they used to be in China, simple tricksters and succubi that cause harm to humans. After this they come under the employ of higher powers. Starting at the Senko these are the grunts in the hierarchy and perform the day to day activities. They answer to the Myoubu or Kiko which are depicted in statues and idols all across Japan.

And that's where we can see who they all answer to. Myoubu are found around the shrines to Inari Okami the Shinto Goddess of Rice Cultivation and now Economic Prosperity in the modern day. Inari Okami is by far the most popular kami in Japan with over a third of all Shinto shrines devoted just to her. What is one of the common attractions of these kinds of shrines?

A hall of Torii Gates. The Narukami Shrine is inspired by Inari Shrines and Yae Miko is inspired by Inari. Now just being popular alone wouldn't make Yae Miko the Archon but what is the name of the region? Inazuma. Ina in both Inazuma and Inari is the same word: rice. Inazuma means lightning in Japan sure but what the words actually mean are Ina rice Zuma wife and the reason why this word means lightning in Japanese is because when lightning strikes the ground it will infuse it with nitrates and this is good for rice cultivation. Again Inari is the Goddess of Rice Cultivation. It stands to reason any character based on her would necessarily have more in relation to a region named Inazuma than anybody else.

And sure enough Yae's Character Story 4 talks about the foundation of Inazuma and the old guard namely the various yokai under the leadership of the Hakushin kitsune. Now you might be thinking "sure she's head priestess at the shrine and she is a kitsune but that doesn't necessarily mean she's that specific kitsune god." True.

Then you check out the descriptions of her abilities. Her skill creates totems of Electro fox spirits and is named Yakan Evocation. Remember the Yako/Nogitsune? While technically the Yako don't work for Inari, neither do Yae's totems truly follow her direction. I mean in-game this became an issue players wanted miHoYo to fix. These are untame kitsune who attack with reckless abandon. Yae's Burst covers more what she personally is: Tenko Kenshin which translates to the Manifestation of the Sky Fox. Sky foxes or the Tenko are the highest ranks of the kitsune. Inari in some adaptations is a Tenko herself. On top of that the name actually translates to Revelation of the Sky Fox in its original Chinese and I'll get to why that little change is important later. Finally there are references to Sesshou all over her abilities. In folklore there was a thing called the Killing Stone or Sesshouseki. This stone was indwelled by a vicious kitsune called Tamamo no Mae. Tamamo herself is a nine-tailed fox or Kyuubi meaning she's as powerful as kitsune get. There's also a reason why Yae would be related to this specific kitsune too but that's also better saved for later.

Beyond descriptions of her abilities there's Yae's design. While Ei is the Raiden Shogun and current Archon and we've seen Makoto's design as well the thing they are missing is a crown. Venti is not an active leader so this makes sense and Zhongli's claim to rule is his dragon form. Among other things it is golden yellow which could be a reference to the Huanglong an allusion for the Emperor. No royal motif for Ei or Makoto makes sense too because as the Shogun they are the military dictator of Inazuma not the true ruler or Tenno. But who does have a crown?

Back when we first learned about the Raiden Shogun, theorists abound realized that there must be a Tenno being suppressed because that was a thing in Shogunate Japan. Immediately that screamed Yae Miko when her character was revealed because among other things she has that crown in her design.

But on top of that Yae's role in the story has consistently reflected being the Tenno too. This was most clearly seen in the Irodori Festival where almost all of the events were manipulated by her actions in the background. She's the one who brought it to Ayato's attention that Scara had been snooping around leading to Ayato organizing the events. She also enlisted Venti's help based on the fact that the issue was Scara someone with Archon level power and a Gnosis. Finally she's the one to meet with Kokomi to discuss reintegration of the two sides of the region. These behind the scenes moves mirror that of the Meiji Emperor when he reclaimed his throne and ended the isolation of Japan under the Tokugawa Shogunate. (that said I don't think Yae is reclaiming her power in Genshin)

Ok now for the other source of inspiration. Let's first briefly summarize the Inazuma Archon Quest. Ei lost her friends and then her sister and so, in depression and fearful of loss she decided to stave off erosion by hiding away in her sword in a pocket dimension called the Plane of Euthymia. During this time she would close off the nation from the outside world and ultimately collect the people's ambitions causing untold amounts of suffering. Yae in an attempt to get her to come back out enlists us to cause a stir and gain Ei's attention because that caused us to enter the Plane of Euthymia before. She then piggybacks on our second trip and then uses us to show Ei the ambition of her people to convince her to leave the Euthymia. (eventually)

Or to put it a different way a god was dejected and decided to hide herself away from the world. As a result the world suffered so another god decided to find a way to get her attention and get her to return to the world. Anybody know the story of Amaterasu?

In the story, Amaterasu hid herself away but she's the sun god so by doing that there is no more sun in the world. So the other gods decide they need to get her back and to do that they create a stir. They throw a big party right outside hoping she'll get curious and check it out. She doesn't. So in a last ditch effort another god Ame no Uzume gets herself blackout drunk and does a stripper dance which gets everybody's attention including Amaterasu. Before she did this though Ame no Uzume planted her mirror facing the doorway Amaterasu was behind. When Amaterasu cracked it open to see what was going on she noticed her reflection in the mirror and realized her importance to the world. That ultimately convinced her to come back.

That mirror? It's one of the three imperial regalia of Japan.

Btw this would tie Yae again to the role of Tenno especially when you realize Ame no Uzume also owns another of these regalia the Magatama.

Now while Ame no Uzume is common in every telling of the myth I owe Gaijin Goombah a big thanks for the specifics on his telling that added in Uzume's mirror. So first off we're further alluded to Yae's relation with Ame no Uzume because of her weapon the Kagura's Verity. That stripper dance? It's called the Kagura Dance. And the weapon itself? It's called a Suzu Bell and that's what you use during a Kagura Dance. If we then add in the mirror, well Yae has a certain Voiceline about Erosion.

On top of that Gaijin talked about the other other thing that makes Ame no Uzume related to Yae. A piece of trivia about Yae is that when you use her attacks she doesn't use the Catalyst you've equipped to her. Instead she always uses this Japanese looking wand. That wand is the Gohei a traditional tool of the miko. That alone wouldn't be too interesting but what makes it interesting for Yae is the belief that the Gohei is a Goshintai or vessel for a Shinto god. In tradition the shrine maiden was able to become a living embodiment of a kami and they did so through the use of the Gohei. Back in the day the way you wrote shrine maiden or miko was the same way you write Yae's name 神子 and not how you write it these days 巫女. Yae's version can be translated to be God's child which was how miko were seen in the past being vessels for them. And how does that apply to Yae beyond just that it's yet another detail linking her to being an Archon? Well if you check out Yae's Burst again there's another term there I glossed over: Kitsunetsuki. This word means possession by a fox spirit. Being a vessel for a kami is essentially being possessed by one right?

Now that actually brings up a question. Is Yae the Archon or is she possessed by one? And that question lets me go back and address that elephant in the room. Isn't Makoto the original Electro Archon?

No. Go back and check out all the references and you might notice something. But before you do that play the Sumeru Archon Quest. In Sumeru very early on we learn that the first Dendro Archon was Rukkhadevata. Collei tells us this straight and then the rest of the Archon Quest really makes sure we know that. And that's the key. Did you catch it? Going back to Makoto you should notice a very interesting word choice. Makoto is only ever referred to as the previous Archon. This is even more interesting when you play further into the new Archon Quest and find out that Rukkhadevata isn't actually the first Archon of Sumeru. She along with the God of Flowers and the Scarlet King were an Archon trio and the Scarlet King actually set up an older Sumeru before Rukkhadevata set up her forest version and even held the title of God of Wisdom before she did. It makes you wonder why Rukkhadevata gets the distinction of first Archon when Makoto who is claimed to be original is only called the previous in game.

The reason is complicated, political and long. Let's get started!

Back in v1.6 we got the Golden Apple Archipelago for the first time. Currently they are stated to be loosely part of Mondstadt based on the fact that Barbatos created them though he doesn't claim ownership and we had to learn this from a hallucinated talking squirrel. The thing about this is we've seen that Genshin's been pretty faithful to the geography and architecture of their regions to their real world counterparts. Nowhere in Germany will you find any kind of tropical islands. Even in its heyday as an imperial power they didn't own any tropical islands.

On top of that notice how there are only two regional specialties for the archipelago: Inazuman Sea Ganoderma and Liyue Starconch. Zero Mondstadt specialties. And the major questline available dealt with pirates from Inazuma and a local mechanical soldier they had as stolen cargo. Yes there was an event about how Klee's mom Alice set up a summer vacation for her daughter and the Inazuman pirates met some stranded Mondstadters but that all felt like last minute changes over a very purposefully Inazuman locale. Why do I say that? Well going back to the specialties there is an actual geographically sound place that fits with these islands: the Ryukyu Islands. These islands were home to an island kingdom that bordered both Taiwan in China and Kyushu in Japan. Shenanigans happened during the Ming Dynasty and Japan would come to rule over the Ryukyu Kingdom as a puppet state to continue trade with China.

What was likely the original story was that these islands would be located in between Liyue's Guyun Stone Forest and Watatsumi Island (which is still based on Kyushu) and v1.6's Prelude Archon Quest would have taken us there as our way in to the sealed off thunderous Inazuma. Did anybody else find it weird that we had been hearing tons of warnings about how difficult (read: suicidal) it was to try crossing the storm and then how in v2.0 we got through it in the span of one fade to black?

So why did that happen? Well if Yae was going to be the Tenno to Ei's Shogun and we were set to go and attack her to end her Vision Hunt and Sakoku Decrees this would reflect the fall of the Shogunate and Meiji Restoration. In other words this would be a Chinese game that's very popular in Japan telling a story about overthrowing Japan's leadership. Hollywood might have made a questionable movie about the period and Japan loves portraying the Sengoku Shogunate era but China doing it might be a bridge too far for them. On top of that there's actually present day stuff going on in that region that Japan doesn't want to address publicly. Watatsumi did technically gain its independence from Inazuma even in the story we ultimately got but notice how it's never stated outright. We've witnessed international treaties between Kokomi and Sara and diplomatic talks between Kokomi and Yae but they never specifically call it that. Instead we're just supposed to accept that Narukami's forces can't set foot in Watatsumi and they have trade deals going.

So not only did miHoYo likely have to go into damage control mode and change the overthrowing of the Inazuma Shogunate to just course-correcting it but I actually think Makoto didn't exist originally. Ironically Makoto's name uses the kanji for truth. Consider the many many inconsistencies in this Archon Quest. For a couple examples we're told expressly by Zhongli at the end of the Liyue Archon Quest that the only original Archons left are himself and Venti and so Baal isn't the original and she Baal believed her ideal is nearest unto heaven. Then at the end of Inazuma's quest you have Paimon state that Zhongli told them that Baal had died. And since the goal was to make Makoto now the original Archon and not Yae they have Yae claim many many times that she's also a follower of Eternity but then Makoto was also a champion of Eternity but she has a different take on it that sounds more like she recognized that nothing was eternal therefore she represented the ideal of the Moment and meanwhile you have tons of Yae Voicelines that also sound like she recognizes there can't ever be an eternity because nothing lasts forever. (That last comment's even in her Character Demo.)

Side Note: There's maybe even a reason for this. Based on how long it took for Yae to finally release I had a feeling miHoYo were miffed that they had to change their story. It actually negatively impacts Inazuma in the overall development of Teyvat lorewise. And of course it's very difficult to change a part of your story that's this deeply interwoven into everything else. There are plenty of elements that Yae would need to fulfill that she still does just very hush hush. For example why is she the one who contacted Venti for Irodori instead of the Archon herself? It makes perfect sense if she was the old Archon much more familiar with Venti than Ei could ever be but makes very little sense if she's a barely 500 year old kitsune servant of Ei who doesn't even really know Makoto. (check Yae's dialogue about her at the end of the Archon Quest) So it might be that while under damage control mode miHoYo attempted to suppress Yae's role and create Makoto to fill in the gap but in between the large period of time from when Inazuma released to when Yae finally did they realized they could keep implying her true role without ever openly stating it. That way they don't actually have to change too much of their story.

In fact that's something else to note so this next segment will just go over a few more details that very clearly define Yae as an Archon and wouldn't make sense if she's just a familiar.

It's firmly established in the v1.5 livestream (the Chinese one) that Zhongli knows her very well and she even calls Ganyu big sister showing familiarity with her too. She also casually named Zhongli Morax when we bring him up. (Keep in mind that until Zhongli told them himself even the adepti didn't know his mortal form is Zhongli. So why would Yae if she's just a kitsune familiar to the Archon of another nation?) And again because of Irodori we see that she's also acquainted with Venti to the extent that they're found chatting away and drinking together at the end after we've completed the quest they had Ayato put us on. On the flip side if you look at Ei's Voicelines she barely knows any of these people. Her comment on Venti shows she only knows him in passing and assumes they wouldn't get along. She is curious about Zhongli and his retirement. (and also unlike what Zhongli believed she didn't even know he faked his death until we tell her leaving that a plothole too)

Going back to the livestream reveal Zhongli introduced Yae very specifically. He stated that she's an old friend who's sat down and had drinks with him. If we look at Story 5 there's a very short list of people who he's done this with. It was a tradition only shared by those people and it's a meme at this point how much he misses doing that meaning once the newer Archons arrived these drinking parties stopped happening. So if Yae's one of these people- finish this sentence.

Divina Vulpes. Something interesting to mention here is that the Constellation names in English are not always the same ones in Chinese. But even in the English ones there's a certain pattern. Venti, Zhongli and Yae are the only characters with a reference to divinity in their Constellation names. Venti and Zhongli are Dei and Yae has Divina. What about Ei? Imperatrix Umbrosa translates to Shadow Empress. Now Empress depending on which empire you're talking about could be linked to the divine but no matter what there's definitely a human being actually holding the rank. Isn't it a little curious that Yae would have a divine Constellation while the Archon herself has a mortal one?

It's actually even more direct in Chinese where both Venti and Yae have the word 仙 in their Constellation names. This word is also used for adepti and illuminated beasts but pretty much means sage. Venti's is Music Sage while Yae is Fox Sage. Zhongli is actually Rex Lapis and that actually sets off on another theory I have but I'll get to that some other time. Ei on the other hand has the Constellation that translates to "People Under Heaven" again distinctly tying her to mortals not the divine. (btw yes I'm also trying to get at the idea that Ei is actually an allogene that ascended to Archon something Venti told us was possible all the way back at the end of the Mondstadt Archon Quest)

Speaking of Venti remember how he famously told us his Vision is a fake? If you were around for it we had an event in v1.1 that made use of the Visions on our characters. As they glowed brighter we were closer to the thing we needed to collect for the event. If you used Venti though his thing is fake so it didn't glow at all.

Yes Yae also has this same story. While she doesn't say it straight the way it's worded tells you it's what she means.

Ok so you've got a character who shares a trend of having a divine Constellation that only the original Archon characters have, she knows them and their supernatural followers much more intimately than her Archon does, she has the honor of being one of a distinct few to have had drinks with the Geo Archon and her Vision is a fake. She's such an impressive "familiar" right guys?

So finally I've been going on about this but if the story was changed how exactly did miHoYo reconcile it or at least attempt to? Actually the references to Ame no Uzume helped them immensely so that'll be how I wrap up this topic.

Because this topic's gone on for some time now the short of it is that originally we probably had to deal with the bromance...._ sismance?_ between Ei and Yae. We'd learn in Act III from Yae when she takes us away from the war (as she did) all about the past between the two. I think Seirai used to be this venue considering Ei's Ascension mats come from the elemental boss that's sealed there and the attention given to it doesn't really lend itself to "a bunch of pirates and their shrine maiden friend unleashed it on the Shogunate forces this one time." Seirai's unending thunderstorm was likely caused by the battle between Yae and Ei where Ei supplants her but doesn't kill her. The storm represents Ei's ideal victory but ironically how she'd have done it speaks to Yae's ideal. In fact that's probably what Yae was going for but it ultimately failed. So withstanding this single instantaneous strike of immense power aka the Musou no Hitotachi would be part of the plan to convince Ei of her faults.

After the changes all that was out the window. The location was moved to Mt. Yougou (still symbolic of the lesson Yae wanted to impart because yougou means a temporary manifestation of a buddha's power) Yae's original Archon form was murdered, as an Archon she can't actually die (see Madame Ping during Moonchase) and so she manifests as an onryou (filled with Sesshou or killing intent) until later on when reading Yae's Vision story (before she says it's not a Vision story) it might be that the kitsune Yae performed a ritual during the Cataclysm which summoned the onryou Archon to possess her kitsunetsuki style because she's a miko and can house the spirit of a kami and this is how we get our current Yae an onryou of an Archon possessing a Hakushin kitsune descendent and explaining why the Chinese version of her Burst means Revelation of the Sky Fox.

If you thought that was long click here for the whole story. (And here if you want to know my full theory on what would have happened.) But for now here's a summary of what was discussed:

• Yae is based on two prominent Japanese mythological figures, Inari Okami and Ame no Uzume.
• Inari Okami is the most popular Shinto deity in Japan with over a third of the nation's shrines dedicated to her alone. The kitsune serve under her. She is also sometimes depicted as a kitsune including in miHoYo's own depiction in Honkai Gakuen.
• We can see that Yae and Inari are related because the Narukami Shrine is preceded by a long hall of Torii Gates a feature of Inari shrines. Her name also shares a kanji with the region Inazuma she's goddess of rice cultivation while Inazuma literally translates to rice wife because lightning adds nitrates to soil which helps rice cultivation.
• Kitsune hierarchy also helps explain Yae's connection to Inari. Her Burst is Tenko Kenshin and tenko are the highest form of kitsune under Inari. Just like Yae herself they typically have four or more tails. Her skill is Yakan Evocation which are the lowest rank of kitsune. When she summons them she displays only one tail.
• Even Sesshou Sakura alludes to Yae being a powerful kitsune. Sesshou comes from Sesshouseki or the killing stone which was the petrified corpse of a kyuubi (nine-tailed fox) Tamamo no Mae.
• As Inari which implies she'd be the creator of Inazuma she'd rightfully be the Tenno or heavenly emperor, the true leader of feudal Japan. As such Yae unlike Ei or Makoto wears a halo-like crown.
• Being Tenno this works with the Shogunate period Inazuma is set in. Yae is shown to be subservient to Ei, having little political power. However she works behind the scenes. She's involved in almost all of Inazuma's events and also performs all diplomatic duties for the nation either personally or through her subordinate in the Yashiro Commission Ayato. This reflects Emperor Meiji during the Meiji Restoration which happens to be where Inazuma is left by the end of the Archon Quest.
• Ame no Uzume used her mirror to reflect the importance of Amaterasu the Sun Goddess back onto her so she'd return form her seclusion. This is the exact events of the Archon Quest where Yae uses the Traveler to reflect the ambitions of Inazuma to Ei to motivate her to leave Euthymia because of her importance to the region.
• Another sign that Yae represents the Tenno is that Ame no Uzume's mirror is one of the imperial regalia of Japan. Ame no Uzume also owned the other imperial regalia the Yasakani no Magatama. Only Kusanagi the sword remains but is also not related to Ei.
• In the same myth Ame no Uzume was able to win Amaterasu's attention by dancing and this dance would go on to be called the Kagura dance. While dancing the dancer wields a Suzu Bell. Yae's signature weapon is called the Kagura's Verity which is a Suzu Bell.
• Unlike almost all other Catalyst Characters Yae attacks using a Gohei. The Gohei is said to house the spirit of a deity, a Goshintai. A miko was once said to be a vessel for these deities a 神子 or God's child.
• Kitsunetsuki is a term found in the description of Yae's Burst and means possession by a kitsune which is no different than a miko being a vessel for a god if said kitsune is Inari Okami a goddess.
• Makoto is never explicitly stated as the "first Electro Archon" only ever as the "previous Electro Archon." This was eventually seen as a purposeful move by miHoYo when Rukkhadevata was explicitly stated as the "first Dendro Archon."
• The Golden Apple Archipelago may have originally been a prelude region into Inazuma. It accurately reflects the Ryukyu Islands that connect China's Taiwan provine to Japan's Kyushu province which is still represented by Watatsumi also the closest island to Liyue.
• Inazuma's story was changed due to international politics. A Chinese game telling the story of overthrowing the Shogunate (leadership) of Japan and helping its troubled Ryukyu and Kyushu regions gain independence from the country didn't sit right with the Diet. This explains the many well-known inconsistencies of the Archon Quest.
• In fact Makoto may be both a jab at these changes as well as entirely fabricated to make them. Makoto means truth in Japan.
• The Gohei and kitsunetsuki aspects of Yae's character may also be part of the changes, allowing miHoYo to continue implying Yae's greater role but also use "Yae Miko" the vessel as a far younger and less important character.
• Some of the original role would include the revelation back in v1.5's livestream that Zhongli is well-acquainted with Yae while it is later revealed he does not have any such relationship with Ei. This relationship is such that Yae already knew Zhongli was Morax's human name despite even some of his own adepti not knowing until he tells them at the end of the Archon Quest. She is also acquainted with Venti and is the first to visit Sumeru once the Archon Quest concludes which involves Nahida's freedom and Scaramouche's imprisonment.
• Yae's Constellation is Divina Vulpes meaning divine fox. In English the only Constellations that allude to godhood are Archon Constellations. Zhongli and Venti's are Lapis Dei and Carmen Dei for example. Ei's in the human Imperatrix Umbrosa or Shadow Empress. Yae also admits to having a fake Vision much like Venti and also Neuvillette.
• Ei's Constellation on the other hand hint that she may be a human allogene who ascended to godhood.
• It is likely Yae was originally mentor to Ei, betrayed and defeated by her on Seirai Island, replaced when Ei ascended using her Gnosis and then the Archon Quest has the Traveler defeat Ei and return Yae back to power so she can then hand it off to Ayato much like Zhongli did with Ningguang. Instead to remove the overthrow of Ei's Shogunate the story became Yae being murdered by Ei on Mt. Yougou so Ei could place her sister Makoto in power and then the Archon Quest has the Traveler correct Ei's ideal of eternity without removing her from power. Then all of the following events where Yae would have been ruler were changed to her acting on behalf of the Shogunate.

So what do you guys make of it? Does it stand to reason that Yae makes more sense as an Archon than as a familiar? Did I miss any other details on the subject that you caught during your playthroughs?

Topic originally based on even older theories extending all the way back to 4/17/2021 and acts as a compilation of those theories.