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!
A while ago I brought up the consequences of Capitano's power play. It was awesome that he stuck it to Ronova but there was an established reason for why the Khaenri'ahns couldn't be allowed back into the Ley Lines and we've now gotten two examples illustrating that for us.
Last time I brought up that I believe we'll be seeing more examples of this in each of the remaining regions. This was hinted about by miHoYo in the v5.3 livestream when they brought up that we'd be seeing new characters in the following 6 months that were tied to Teyvat's fate. One character they teased was clearly Skirk who we know is tied to one of Khaenri'ah's Sinners, Surtalogi. Another one Mizuki we just had relate to Teyvat's fate because she was crucial to our dealing with the Nightmare in Inazuma. I said I wondered what miHoYo would come up with but I'm not known for my patience so let's see if we can't figure it out first.
To start us off what if we're getting Iansan and Varesa, both characters teased alongside Mizuki and Skirk because Capitano's actions also impact Natlan? Yes the nation's been through enough but this is miHoYo we're talking about. Didn't Kiana have enough after getting possessed by Sirin and then losing Himeko? Did they really need to throw a dirty bomb at her hometown? Did they really need to give her a terminal illness? Did they really need to have her beat up by her girlfriend, assaulted by a Herrscher possessing the body of her mentor and then have a puppeteer torture her friends and tell her she was useless? No but miHoYo did it anyway and Honkai players have been crying ever since.
So how could we kick Natlan while it's trying so hard to get back on its feet? How about we throw a musezi at them? This Ugandan creature charms its victims so that their bodies cannot decay. What does that sound similar to? How about Khaenri'ahns who can't die but constantly suffer decay in the form of Erosion?
In Genshin this could be devastating for a nation who only recently buried their dead. Imagine the people we've met in Natlan "rising up out of their graves" and shambling towards the open maw of an Abyssal musezi in the same location as the breach into the Night Kingdom we once entered back in Act II. It could be explained in the same way as the Abyssal Tumors we've already dealt with in other places, a collection of Abyssal filth that would have remained dormant and slowly evaporated but thanks to the added strain on the Ley Lines provided by the many polluted Khaenri'ahn souls, it activated and began drawing in souls in the Night Kingdom. Souls like Chuychu.
This of course will be separate from Iansan's Tribal Chronicle but could still focus around her and Varesa. Maybe the Collective of Plenty have some kind of history with the musezi just like Ei had history with the Nightmare and the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor knew about the fetor. Maybe the event will have us looking into their records. It wouldn't be the first time a new character was the focus of both a chronicle and an event. I'm looking at you Granny Itztli.
There was a thing in Fontaine that miHoYo left unanswered. From back during the Sumeru era we had a Fontaine NPC who stated that Fontaine's air was toxic compared to that of Sumeru's healthy rain forest. Then in Fontaine we were hinted that Alain's Arkhe System was polluting Fontaine as well since it was an artificial system which Neuvillette allowed Fontainians to continue using since they could no longer use Indemnitium.
I had theorized that the "pollution" related to the mutated Hydro Eidolons that are present in modern Fontaine and we can link that with the Abyssal corruption caused by Elynas too. Therefore what if the agitation caused by Khaenri'ahn souls now in the Ley Lines mutate those Tainted Hydro Phantasms into a French monster called the Mahwot, depicted above? This could actually just be an omen of things to come. What if the Abyssal Corrosion also revives Elynas itself? Perhaps not the mind which is benevolent but just the body which could then cause serious damage to Fontaine. And Neuvillette might not be able to deal with it because even the dragons were once corrupted by the Abyss. We already know of Nibelung, Apep and Xiuhcoatl and I theorized that Neuvillette likely also became corrupted, having been a follower of Nibelung in the past.
I had another theory that hasn't played out yet which is that Mondstadt and Fontaine shared history during ancient times. Their real life inspirations Germany and France were once a single kingdom called the Kingdom of the Franks. In terms of Genshin it just so happened these are the only two nations we know of that Rhinedottir chose to attack using draconic Abyssal creatures, Elynas as previously mentioned for Fontaine and Durin for Mondstadt. As such if the Ley Line pollution was going to revive Elynas in Fontaine it stands to reason Durin would be the thing revived by it in Mondstadt, something that was already forewarned.
As such why not have similar stories? If the Mahwot could be an omen of death and pestilence with a water theme then Mondstadt should also have a harbinger with powers carried over on the winds. How about the Nachzehrer depicted above? These are something like a cross between zombies and vampires and they kill their victims remotely by draining the lives of those closest to them in life. If the deceased was buried with keepsakes from friends and family and then turned into a Nachzehrer they could feed off those keepsakes (literally) and as they consumed them the owners of those items would likewise be drained of life.
And if we're talking about a reviving Durin then of course the story could bring in Mini-Durin and Wanderer which was set up back in Simulanka. It is about time we got a follow-up to that story. And Wanderer could play another role in this arc as well.
We don't have Snezhnaya yet but we do know people in high places over there. Perhaps Arlecchino or Childe or maybe even just Lyney, Lynette and Freminet might cameo somewhere (like in Fontaine) and let us know about how there are creepy ghost women floating around Snezhnaya.
The thing is Germany and France weren't the only people to be connected. The Franks were Germanic people and those guys spread far and wide after the fall of Rome. Back in the "old country" another kind of Germanic people or rather the older Scandinavian people were the Slavs. Russians are an Eastern Slavic people descended from the Rus. It's a few steps removed but it means Snezhnaya could easily be made to share history with Fontaine and Mondstadt as well and geographically speaking it sits right on top of them. It wouldn't be too much of a stretch to believe Rhinedottir might have had a third draconic Abyssal creature that attacked it during the Cataclysm and so it might suffer a similar situation as well.
The Lihoradka or Лихорадка (fever) spirit depicted above is capable of inhabiting the body of the living to cause illness. But there's a very similar spirit in Slavic folklore that could push this closer to Mondstadt's Nachzehrer and Fontaine's Mahwot, the Morowa dziewica or Sickness Maiden. These ghosts pass through a town and wave their blood soaked handkerchiefs through people's doors. Shortly thereafter that town would be stricken with an epidemic. The only way to resolve this is to take the handkerchief from the ghost which requires killing them. This story is Christianized though so the method of killing the ghost is to use a sword with the word Jesus scrawled on the blade. Unfortunately even gazing upon the ghost could kill you so the guy died even after killing it.
It could be that whatever dragon was sent to Snezhnaya would revive as well and its corruption creates these Lihoradka who then invade towns like Morepesok causing devastation. If Childe is the one we hear this from it'd likely be after the fact and he'd explain that he can't spar with us because he's still recovering from the ordeal. There's another interesting thing about the Lihoradka and that's that there's a story about them that said there are specifically 12 of them and they each represent a different disease. 12 ghosts. 11 Harbingers and 1 Tsaritsa. Good odds.
Side Note: About the theme I think there's two ways to go about it. On the one hand lihoradka means fever in the modern day and while fever is a rise in body temperature, in TCM it's believed that fever is triggered by the body to compensate for illness dropping its core temperature. On the other hand, Cryo has been related to the Hyperborean Root Cycle. In its original Theosophy, this period was actually warm and pleasant. We can relate this to the likely plot that the Tsaritsa was once the God of Love until the Cataclysm changed her into a "god with no love left for her people."
There is no monster picture for you guys with the last nation I can bring up. Nope just our good ol' Irminsul. But that's the story isn't it? In Liyue we had the fetor which was damaging the Ley Line tree, Tao Dou. Inazuma has the Ley Line tree, the Sacred Sakura that was being damaged by the Abyss even earlier. Well Abyssal Corruption on a Ley Line tree was the central plot to the Sumeru Archon Quest wasn't it? So this new situation is old hat for them. As such we can get further into the underlying situation through Sumeru.
What I'm trying to say is this may be the site of our next Dainsleif quest. It may also be the quest that Skirk makes her next appearance. The story will fully explain how persistent the Abyss is and that any lapse in judgment that allows it to come into contact with the healthy parts of Teyvat will add a new and also near-impossible to remove blemish.
On top of this, if I'm right and this becomes the final chapter dealing with Capitano's actions then it could also culminate in everything we'd already experienced prior: the fetor, the Nightmare, the resurrections, the pollution, the revenants, etc. Therefore Wanderer will be back in Sumeru to report on Mini-Durin's success against its original self and what that means. Mavuika (and maybe Citlali because miHoYo seems to include her where they can) will arrive in Sumeru to help out considering the problems started in Natlan. Finally there's the Traveler. They know they can't be affected by the Abyss. They are the only ones to remember Rukkhadevata. They took on the fetor for Hu Tao and couldn't be obfuscated. They were empowered to help Ei weaken the Nightmare so Miko and Mizuki could defeat it. There won't be a need to sacrifice anyone else to remove the Abyss from Irminsul this time.
I can't really be sure what miHoYo might reveal through this finale but it could go as far as learning about the Sea of Quanta if they wanted. Skirk already travels outside of the false sky after all. She and the Sinners should know who they really work for and what it all means. However this plotline will still be playing out before Snezhnaya releases so it may be too early to reveal all of that. It really depends on how miHoYo wants to play it.
Ok and now to pour some cold water onto the whole thing. Much of the story hinges on the Traveler being a Descender and therefore being immune to anything that takes place on Teyvat. However we know there is a way for a Descender to fall. Their sibling the Third Descender is recorded by Irminsul. As it was repeatedly explained, being recorded by Irminsul and the Ley Lines means they would be affected by it because they can connect to it.
Well what was Tumaini? The only way Mavuika would allow the Traveler to assist her in the final conflict was if they could be resurrected by the ode and the only way for that to happen was if the Night Kingdom had records of their exploits in Natlan. Therefore the Ancient Name was forged and the Traveler is recorded as Tumaini in Natlan. However what became of the Night Kingdom by the end of the Archon Quest? What was Capitano's goal? He merged himself with Yohualtecuhtin in order to pass his immortality onto her and then have her connect the Night Kingdom back to the Ley Lines of Teyvat thereby allowing the souls within his body to return to the cycle. The consequence I kept bringing up in this topic was that Khaenri'ahn souls polluted by the Abyss are now back in the Ley Lines thus causing the fetor and Nightmare. Therefore if those souls are connected from the Night Kingdom to the rest of Teyvat, the same must be true of the Tumaini Ancient Name recorded in the Night Kingdom. Therefore Irminsul now must have records of the Traveler and now you see the plot hole. They should be affected by Irminsul now just like their sibling.
This is something I brought up before. I believe that since Fontaine, Genshin replaced their original dev team with a new one. They hinted as much in the v5.3 livestream but it would explain why Fontaine had so many inconsistencies and why while Natlan is better than Fontaine it also has plenty of issues. This problem with Tumaini isn't something the dev team can just excuse. It was crucial to the plot of the Archon Quest that Aether was recognized by the Night Kingdom and it was crucial for the Night Kingdom to be reconnected to the Ley Lines.
However I actually don't have a problem with that if it didn't become this plot hole. Back when it was first brought up at the end of Inversion of Genesis I explained how much of a "get out of jail free card" it was. At any point miHoYo could just use this immunity by the Traveler to resolve problems in the story that would otherwise be impossible to resolve without casualties. In fact you could resolve the main conflict of the game right now. If you altered Irminsul's record so that the Cataclysm's consequences were explained another way then it removes any desire for vengeance from the Harbingers, Tsaritsa and the Traveler's sibling. No Abyss Order, no Fatui. Without those factions at play the Traveler could then use allegory (also demonstrated in Inversion) to recover the memories of the Archons so that they could rally together all their forces and focus on Celestia itself. This game could have been done as early as v3.4. It is far too powerful of a loophole and it makes for lazy storytelling. I was happy for its use in Lantern Rite because it was told well but the fact that we can do this means we can think more ambitiously and should have already thought this ambitiously which in and of itself would be a plot hole that we didn't. Removing it as an option allows the stakes to be reestablished. But I doubt that's what will happen. I have a feeling this dev team will continue to employ the Traveler's immunity as they see fit and therefore perpetuate these two plot holes.
Plot Hole Consideration 1: Tumaini connects the Traveler to the Ley Lines and therefore they should be affected by the Ley Lines.
Now there are ways around this but it would open up other story details. The first is that Tumaini never really connected the Traveler. While by Teyvat's own reckoning there was now a record of someone fitting the description and actions of the Traveler, in practice nothing really connected the Traveler and so had they fallen during Act V they wouldn't have been able to be resurrected. Another thing could be that Tumaini did work but as a Descender, the Ancient Name only functioned temporarily and once Act V ended it no longer operates on the Traveler. This should carry consequences for any future stories in Natlan. A third option could be the allegorical nature of the Ancient Names. Since they only record the qualities of the person linked with it, perhaps Irminsul can still be fooled and therefore while the direct ritual of the Ode of Resurrection could save the Traveler and connects them to Natlan, Irminsul still can't recognize the Traveler from it. That would open up other weaknesses to Irminsul that should be exploited to solve problems.
Plot Hole Consideration 2: Stupidity.
Simply put if miHoYo wants to keep using this immunity thing then they're necessarily making their characters less intelligent if they don't use it toward greater achievements. If the Traveler can't be affected at all by Irminsul such that even sacrifice can be prevented then there are many situations that should demand the Traveler's intervention. By doing something like that though it undermines all stakes in the game. So we remove it. But then Lantern Rite doesn't work. The Traveler should have been obfuscated. How do we fix that? There could be a workaround to this just from the Traveler's own constitution. They are after all a Descender and likely can't be obfuscated just because of that alone. Their existence is on another scale compared to Teyvat's natives. Without the immunity though they might still take damage and therefore the stakes would still be reestablished as you can't just keep throwing these problems at the Traveler or they'll eventually succumb to them. This would still require explanation though as the Traveler's been dealt significant damage before to no lasting effect.
Speaking of which Zhongli's statement about not being able to connect the Traveler to the Ley Lines is also untrue. They were connected to the Night Kingdom by Yohualtecuhtin right? An angel or Seelie is just another form of Elemental Being just like a Dragon Sovereign or Archon. Therefore if one can connect us to the Ley Lines then any of them could as well including Geo boy. And if not for that relation then we know Nahida presides over Irminsul and I'd pointed out that she doesn't have any unique attributes that suit her for the role over any other Archon. Therefore it only makes sense her fellow Archons would be able to connect someone to Irminsul as well. (even Scara was able to do so and all he had were some Divine Knowledge Capsules)
Fortunately we can consider this a blatant lie by Zhongli to serve a purpose. As later revealed, Zhongli and his adepti had set the stage for the entire event. Therefore, despite the fact that the Traveler shouldn't have been immune thanks to their Ancient Name, Zhongli refused to connect them to the Ley Lines so that they could make use of their immunity.
How many of these ideas might play out? Well at the end of this coming week we'll get the v5.5 livestream so we can see if my Natlan idea will happen at least. As for the rest, we'll just have to wait and see!
Topic originally created on March 9th, 2025.