History WMG / GenshinImpact

While Chiori says she's just a fashion designer and doesn't have anything she moonlights as, she does collect intelligence for the Special Security and Surveillance Patrol. Additionally, it's improbable that she knew two of the most powerful figures in Inazuma before she moved to Fontaine, as she seems obscure back home. Knowing that, her attitude, skills and connections would be more fitting of a spy. It makes sense that a ninja would be skilled in designing costumes, and it wouldn't be surprising if the threat that forced her to move to Fontaine was being outed as an insurgent, something that could jeopardize Clan Kamisato's good standing.

[[WMG: Chiori was a member of the Shummatsuban before she became a fashion designer.]]

** Baizhu is confirmed for 3.6.

** Yun Jin made it in in 2.4.

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Baizhu and Changsheng are a twist on the Chinese folktale of Madam White Snake, where a kindly man saves in a white snake demon, marries her and earn a living together through their medicine shop. Due to machinations of a Buddhist monk who believed that all demons are evil, the husband dies, prompting the wife on a quest to revive him. Afterwards, the wife is trapped by the Buddhist monk in a magic prison, though her son manages to free her, finally reuniting the whole family. I think Baizhu and Changsheng's story will follow similar story beats from the folktale with Hu Tao as the well-meaning antagonist and Qiqi playing the son's role.

Given he gives a cryptic answer to the Traveler when they ask about them, and even back when Venessa asks Venti about Celestia (which happens far before the fall of Khaenri'ah), his face suddenly becomes dour, at the same time, there are three silhouettes with ominous red backgrounds within Venti's image (the silhouettes could possibly be the Celestial gods). Even in one of his voice lines, he comments how Celestia's water and fruit taste bad (while he's also mentioning there's no cider there). So it's possible that Venti is already aware of Celestia's true nature, even before the fall of Khaenri'ah. But he didn't dare to spit it out because of unknown circumstances.

[[WMG:Sandrone is Alain Guillotin.]]
Alain has created Seymour, an artificial intelligence. It would be reasonable to assume that he also created the Katherynes, as both Seymour and the Katherynes say things like "error" and "rebooting". Katheryne also says at some point "Do I appear like a masterpiece of the Fontaine Research Institute to some?" and the Masterpiece's Overture artifact says that Alain, in his later years, secluded himself to work on ''something'', but no one knows what it is.

Alain's personality, according to Childe and Wanderer's voicelines, also appears to be similar to Sandrone, who is known for her terrible personality and caring for nothing other than her own research. Sandrone also appears to hate Childe for no reason, which would make sense for Alain, who was notably opposed to Rene's dabbling with Abyssal power. Childe, due to his Abyssal connections, would end up triggering Alain's bad memories. Alternatively, it could be due to Childe's relation to the Primordial Sea, which Rene also researched.

It would also make sense for Alain to create a mechanical replica of his sister Mary-Ann, which would be the form of the little girl who appears in the Winter Night's Lazzo trailer. Alain did design the humanoid Clockwork Meka in honour of Carter, and once Alain has progressed his roboticist skills, he could have built a more human-like puppet in honour of Mary-Ann. Sandrone's title, "The Marionette", even means "little Mary" in Middle French, and the word was originally used to refer to figurines of the Virgin Mary. In this case, it would be a "figurine" of Mary-Ann.

Finally, in the Fell Dragon's Monocle, it is stated that "But it is oft-said that heroes who live too long, live to become the evil dragon". Alain was the hero who defeated the dragon Rene, and the artifact seems to hint at Alain becoming a new dragon, perhaps a villainous Fatui Harbinger.

[[WMG: One of the remaining extant Archons will be deposed during the events of their Archon Quest]]
The most likely candidates are the Tsaritsa (who, as she runs the Fatui, is part of the BigBadEnsemble) or Focalors (if, as theorized earlier, Fontaine's plotline takes some cues from the French Revolution). If it's the latter, no doubt [[TheUsualAdversaries the Fatui]] will play a part in it.
* Within the first two Archon Quests of 4.0, two things occur to support this theory: In Chapter IV Act I, Focalors overzealously accuses an innocent man (Lyney) of murder and kidnapping, and is greatly embarrassed when the Traveler is able to successfully refute her theory of the crime and prove Lyney's innocence. In Act II, the Oratrice Mecanique d'Analyse Cardinale inexplicably finds Childe guilty of the Fontaine disappearance cases despite Chief Justice Neuvillette's reasoning establishing Childe's innocence in that case and the guilt of [[spoiler:Marcel]] in the serial-killings of several young women over a twenty year span after the Traveler assists Navia in obtaining vital evidence to prove their accusation. Together, these two blows to the reputation of Fontaine's legal system and the fact that Fontaine just falsely imprisoned a Fatui Harbinger (something not even Liyue's Qixing could do, presumably due to Childe's diplomatic immunity) will likely have major repercussions on the stability of Fontaine's government. This Troper expects potential civil unrest and possible action by the Fatui against Fontaine when word of this hits ''The Steambird'' and/or gets back to the Northland Bank.
** Additionally, Fontaine may soon be facing an [[PostPeakOil energy crisis]] due to being a {{Terminally Dependent Society}} that powers many of its advanced technologies on an energy called Indemnitium, which is produced from the [[ClapYourhandsIfYouBelieve people's faith in their justice system]] when the Oratrice renders a judgement. What happens if the people's faith in justice is shaken or broken entirely, due to the recent spate of false accusations and the miscarriage of justice thanks to the Oratrice sentencing a man to prison for a crime he did not commit? We could be looking at a situation where {{The Magic Goes Away}}, or at least the end of the [[ClarkesThirdLaw sufficiently advanced technology]] which forms the basis of modern life for Fontanians. Widespread protests and riots could occur, leading to a breakdown of law and order, and give rise to a revolution to depose Focalors and Neuvillette... or rationale for a Fatui invasion and occupation as a "[[PretextForWar peacekeeping force]]" to effect {{Regime Change}}.
*** Whether she likes it or not, Navia (being a popular and attractive young businesswoman who has proven herself to be a lady of noble bearing and sterling character) might be {{Offered the Crown}} by the revolutionary forces and find herself in the unenviable situation of being Fontaine's new {{Reluctant Ruler}}. (The Fatui would likely spirit away the Hydro Archon's Gnosis though, during the chaos and confusion of a revolution.)
** Either Neuvillette or Clorinde might feel they have to lead {{The Coup}} to depose an increasingly-unstable Focalors, or Focalors might be wary that her government is plotting against her and decide to [[ThePurge purge]] them from their positions of authority.
** Additionally, if Neuvillette is correct, the Oratrice [[spoiler:is developing a sense of self-awareness]]. It's not inconceivable that it might [[spoiler: go rampant, to borrow a turn of phrase from the ''Halo'' series]] and decide to [[spoiler:seize power for itself and cut out the middlemen, i.e., Focalors, Neuvillette, and Fontaine's human population]].
* In addition to the Fatui, there are two other big international power players we haven't accounted for, and one force outside Fontaine but with deep links to the nation: the Heavenly Principles, the Hexenzirkel, and the Oceanids living in exile. It may be more of a longshot, but one of them may utilize societal instability in Fontaine for their chance to seize power.

[[WMG: Alice is one of the Descenders.]]
Presumably the Third, given that the First Descender was the Heavenly Principles, which arrived on Teyvat far before Alice has ever been indicated to be present there. Both of the Descenders that have been revealed are {{Outside Context Problem}}s that are or were of unimaginable power and have had a significant impact on Teyvat's landscape, and Alice is TheArchmage who has been on Teyvat for centuries, met with several historical figures, and achieved a position of simultanous fear and respect. It's an obvious connection that it will almost certainly be made whenever Alice [[UnseenNoMore finally shows up.]] The question is whether or not it's actually the case, given that one of the most obvious candidates for a Descender, the Traveler's sibling, is apparently of Teyvat.

** Yaoyao’s in as of 3.4.

It would also make sense for Alain to create a mechanical replica of his sister Mary-Ann, which would be the form of the little girl who appears in the Winter Night's Lazzo trailer. Alain did design the humanoid Clockwork Meka in honour of Carter, and once Alain has progressed his roboticist skills, he could have built a more human-like puppet in honour of Mary-Ann.

* Jossed in Chapter IV Act V, which reveals that [[spoiler: the prophecy was a punishment by Celestia for Egeria transforming Fontaine's Oceanids into humans using Waters of the Primordial Sea, which is the original sin. The fact that Celestia punished her for doing this in spite of also using alien powers for their own gain is described as hypocritical by Focalors, who argues that all of Fontaine was unjustly sentenced for its god granting her people's heartfelt desire. Ultimately, nothing that Egeria did is responsible for the current state of Fontaine.]]

* Jossed in Chapter IV Act V, which reveals that [[spoiler: the original sin was a punishment by Celestia for transforming Fontaine's Oceanids into humans using Waters of the Primordial Sea. The fact that Celestia punished Egeria for doing this in spite of also using alien powers for their own gain is described as hypocritical by Focalors, who argues that Egeria was unjustly sentenced for granting her people's heartfelt desire. Ultimately, nothing that Egeria did is responsible for the current state of Fontaine.]]

[[WMG: The Former Hydro Archon is the GreaterScopeVillain of Fontaine.]]
Perhaps to further [[ContrastingSequelMainCharacter contrast Furina with Nahida]], this will turn out to be the case, with the former Hydro Archon, Egeria, proving vastly different from Rukkhadevata's BigGood status. It's stated that TheProphecy that serves as the main point of interest in the Fontaine questline, and serves to drive Furina's actions and insecurities, were the last words of the first Hydro Archon, claiming that that every person in Fontaine is filled with a sin that can't be redeemed, and that the water levels in Fontaine will eventually rise, engulf the nation, and dissolve its citizens into water, leaving Furina as the SoleSurvivor. However, what if these words weren't a prophecy, but in fact a DyingCurse inflicted on her people?
* It's not hard to see why Fontainians of today might be seen as "sinful", what with many of them treating the trials that put the lives and reputations of the accused at stake as entertainment. However, this could largely be attributed to Furina's influence, who also treats the trials as entertainment and very likely advertised them as such to help her reputation. With this in mind, it's hard to imagine what the Fontainians of old did to earn such a descriptor from their own Archon. In short, maybe Egeria experienced some manner of betrayal at the hands of her people at the time of her death, perhaps in a similar vein to Havria, the Godess of Salt, hence why she'd describe them as such and potentially curse them.
** Alternatively, maybe being the God of Justice and witnessing the kinds of crimes people would commit even under her rule gave her a pair of JadeColoredGlasses, and she placed the curse in a fit of BlackAndWhiteInsanity.
* According to Idyia, the reason many of the Oceanids left Fontaine was because the water there became filled with pain and hatred, {{Implied}} to be due to the Hydro Archon's influence. However, while "pain" could refer to Furina's insecurities and attempts at preventing the prophecy, it's hard to see why her influence would fill it with "hatred." An alternative explanation would be that these were the feelings the Egeria experienced when she died, which contaminated the waters and Furina has yet to become powerful enough to fix them.
* Act IV of the Fontaine Archon Quest reveals that the origins of the Fortress of Meropide is that the repentant exiles of the past prayed to Egeria for forgiveness, and she said they could atone by guarding her closest secret, which the Fortress was built on top of. Your investigation reveals that this supposed secret is a gate sealing the source of Primordial Seawater, which is threatening the break under the rising pressure. Additionally, when Neuvillette shows up to suppress the Primordial Seawater, he remarks that "This sentence is too severe. Forgive me for overruling it", suggesting that there's someone who ''wants'' the prophecy to come true, and that it's someone Neuvillette knows. Considering his willingness to serve Fontaine's current Archon, with hints such as his character trailer suggesting it's due to a connection to her predecessor, and Egeria's already established connection to the Fortress' secret, this further suggests that the Prophecy was less a prediction by her, but something of her own design.

** Partially confirmed. Furina turned out to be a human masquerading as the Hydro Archon (which, given that Fontanian humans are transformed Oceanids, isn't that off from the crux of this WMG) due to a request made by the real Hydro Archon Focalors.

[[WMG:Furina is an Oceanid.]]
At the end of Chapter IV Act IV, [[spoiler: Arlecchino speculates that given Furina's lack of godly bearing and power that she isn't an Archon or even a god.]] It's been demonstrated that Oceanids are capable of assuming human form. Perhaps after Egeria died, the Hydro Gnosis was lost somehow, and Furina fabricated her identity as Archon in order to maintain stability in Fontaine.

[[WMG:The Oratrice intentionally pronounced Childe guilty in order to remove a Fatui Harbinger from play.]]
A developing plot point concerning the Oratrice is that it may be developing sentience and gaining a will beyond its original design and purpose, and part of this sentience could include the desire for self-preservation. The Oratrice is also directly sustained by the Hydro Gnosis, and removing it would destroy the machine--something that could very likely happen if the Fatui were allowed to roam free in Fontaine. Despite knowing that Childe was innocent of the crime he was accused of, the Oratrice may have decided that eliminating the Fatui and preserving its existence were more important than the notion of "justice" and deliberately pronounced him guilty in order to take out one of their most powerful members while it had the chance.

[[WMG: Furina will be able to use both Arkhe types in gameplay.]]
Like the Raiden Shogun/Ei before her, Furina is established to have something of a DualityMotif. Along with her having two different eyes, she has the persona of a boisterous showwoman that hides a NervousWreck [[SlaveToPR concerned with PR]], and following her[=PoV=] shows there's a version of her in her head that speaks her inner thoughts, as shown during Lyney's trial. In line with this, it's possible that her playable appearance will be capable of wielding both the Pneuma and Ousia Arkhes, maybe through switching between the two with her Skill, Burst, or one of her passives, or maybe her normals, Skill, or Burst using one respectively.

Given he gives a cryptic answer to the Traveler when they ask about them, and even back when Venessa asks Venti about Celestia (which happens far before the fall of Khaenri'ah), his face suddenly becomes dour, at the same time, there are three silhouettes with ominous red backgrounds within Venti's image (the silhouettes could possibly be the Celestial gods). Even in one of his voice lines, he comments how Celestia's water and fruit taste bad (while he's also mentioning there's no cider there). So it's possible that Venti is already aware of Celestia's true nature, even before the fall of Khaenri'ah. But he didn't dare to spit it out because of unknown circumstances.

A known, maybe even an already playable character who is actually acting as a spy in one of the seven nations. This could explain why no one in the Fatui mentions the 10th: most of them probably don't even know their identity if they act as a spy. It's even possible that only Pierro and the Tsarista know who they are, which would explain why none of the other Harbingers mention them.

Assuming Pierro is the 0th Harbinger and Capitano is the 1st, that leaves the 10th spot among the Fatui Harbingers empty. Crepus is very suspicious: he has a special Delusion that can summon chains, not something he could have picked up or stolen from an average Fatui grunt. Diluc's Red Dead of Night outfit is also said to be an outfit Crepus tailored for his son, and it features many similarities with Fatui outfits, notably Childe's and Arlecchino's. Crepus' Harbinger codename would be Brighella, a Comedia character who is a tavern owner dressed in white with facial hair and hidden eyes (which matches Crepus' appearance in the manga). His constellation would be the Hand of Glory (a candle made out of the hand of a traitor), since Crepus would have betrayed the Fatui and he wears the Delusion on his hand. Crepus being a traitor would explain why no Fatui members ever mention the 10th Harbinger. The events leading up to Crepus' death would be a deliberate assassination attempt aiming to eliminate a traitor.

We don't know much about Ursa the Drake, but we do know it was a purple dragon. You know, as the ([[TheGhost mysteriously absent]]) Electro Sovereign would be. It's certainly not lacking in the power of a PhysicalGod, given that Mondstadt required the aid of someone with that kind of power to defeat it. (Of course, it could just as easily be an Abyssal dragon.)

[[WMG: Neuvillette is the reincarnation of the Hydro Sovereign.]]
Some of Neuvillette's comments make it all but explicit that he himself is not human, but exactly ''what'' he is has not yet been made clear beyond some speculation that he is [[TheOneGuy a male]] [[OneGenderRace Melusine]]. However, there are a few bits of evidence that point to him being the prophesied reincarnation of the Hydro Sovereign/Dragon of Water.
* The people of Ekanomiya believed that the Dragon of Water would be reborn as a human rather than a dragon/vishap due to the Bathysmal Vishaps becoming 'impure' by absorbing the elements of Electro and Cryo.
* Freminet relates a story about the Hydro Dragon's tears being responsible for rain in Fontaine. Rain is also noted to crop up fairly often during trials (i.e. when Neuvillette's emotions might be inflamed, even if he keeps them under wraps), and it is raining when Neuvillette is contemplating his role in Callus' unjust death, but stops after he finds some closure through talking to Navia (with the characters even [[LampshadeHanging Lampshading]] the sudden turn in the weather).
* Upon close inspection, Neuvillette's pupils are vertical slits, similar to those you might expect to see on a reptile.
* Neuvillette is powerful enough to one-shot Childe while he was gearing up his Foul Legacy Transformation. Even accounting for Childe not having the use of his vision at that moment, that's an incredible amount of firepower on display.
* Unlike most characters whose element is listed under their "Vision," or Archons who have the "Gnosis" category, Neuvillette's drip marketing lists the source of his Hydro powers as "???". His constelation is similarly obfuscated.

[[WMG:Alhaitham will at one point in the future be a survivor of a huge tragic world or nation-ending crisis, have a huge fight with Kaveh over differences in execution of a plan to save many people, gain the ability to turn into a bird monster through a surgery that infuses him with the power of the Abyss and be renamed with a name that starts with "S".]]

We don't know much about Ursa the Drake, but we do know it was a purple dragon. You know, as the Electro Sovereign would be. It's certainly not lacking in the power of a PhysicalGod, given that Mondstadt required the aid of someone with that kind of power to defeat it. (Of course, it could just as easily be an Abyssal dragon.)

A developing plot point concerning the Oratrice is that it may be developing sentience and gaining a will beyond its original design and purpose, and part of this sentience could include the desire for self-preservation. The Oratrice is also directly sustained by the Hydro Gnosis, and removing it would destroy the machine--something that could very likely happen if the Fatui were allowed to roam free in Fontaine. Despite knowing that Childe was innocent of the crime he was accused of, the Oratrice may have decided that eliminating the Fatui and preserving its existence were more important than the notion of "justice" and deliberately pronounced him guilty in order to take out one of their most powerful members while it had the chance.

** The end of the Sumeru Archon Quest confirms that the Hydro Archon’s name is Focalors.