Every year the Hexenzirkel puts on a summer event that foreshadows the upcoming region and this year was no exception! Although a little more cryptic than usual, the paperbound world of Simulanka gave us plenty of information to make some educated guesses about what we can expect to see in Natlan.
Get ready to learn about frogs, squirrels, dragons and ball games folks! The Pyro Archon Mavuika has a very interesting story to share with us.
**TIMESTAMPS**
00:00 Introduction
01:50 Names
10:14 Games
19:07 Ignition
29:00 Heroes & Dragons
**SPOILER WARNINGS**
– Venti SQ 1
– Golden Slumber
– Simulanka (all quests)
– Zhongli SQ 2
– Nahida SQ 2
– Inversion of Genesis
– All archon quests through Chapter 4
**RELATED CONTENT**
Natlan Speculations (Ashikai): https://youtu.be/SS6lNjVK8J0
Vampire Penguins (Ashikai): https://youtu.be/o1C0_p98Zhs
Bale Moon (Ashikai): https://youtu.be/dmcmBf5H0pA
Death God (Ashikai): https://youtu.be/AajyhNchuRI
Hero Twin Myth (TED-Ed): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s-kDttqywJ4
Kinich Ahau Myth (TED-Ed): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z2vzrQWny_c
Natlan’s Fire is Fadin (The Laughing Man): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zfViFjIr5Ss
**CITATIONS & ATTRIBUTIONS**
https://pastebin.com/zDRZ3YSR
source
*NOTES & CORRECTIONS*
Any bets on how much of this theory will still be valid after the livestream in a couple of days?
I love the lore theories for Natlan going right now, this makes me wonder how much we'll be able to see in a couple of days and if we're able to make some connections. I'm SO HYPED
i did a project on the mayans for my college work so i have a something to add !!
different sources say different things about what happens to the winners/losers of pok a tok (mayan ball game), some of them say that they sacrifice the losers but one source i read said that the winners's prize is to be decapitated and to move onto the afterlife and be closer to the gods
I also thought the tribe that fled Natlan, Vennessa's Tribe, was the Pyro Tribe.
hearing this, i realized something that made me emotional. the importance of names is why we have expys in the honkaiverse, they are destined to the same fate. meaning that, most likely, by the end of honkai star rail our himeko will die, and it gives me more fodder to my theory that mavuika isn't the pyro archon, just simply a friend/familiar to the pyro archon. I'm convinced the pyro archon will be a fuhua expy
Based on the trailer alone the whole thing with the dragon might be more about Dainsleif whose constellation we already have said to be "Snake Ring" so Ouroboros. There are several things referenced in the trailer for Wanderer and the dragon:
1st is Bravely Default/Bravely Second: which has Ouroboros and Providence be enemies of separate games but has them kinda working against each other just due to the nature of their plans. the Interdarshan Championship happened in the version "Parade of Providence". In Genshin it seems like Providence = Sachin = "Wanderer"
2nd is Night on the Galactic Railroad: "However, as the train approaches Coalsack, a black hole, Campanella sees his mother waiting for him in a meadow (in the "true heaven" of his faith) that Giovanni is unable to see. Campanella vanishes from the train, leaving Giovanni weeping in despair." So there's the whole thing of is Ei/Raiden Scara's mother or sister, right? Same thing with Dain and Vedrfolnir.
3rd is The Sailor Who Fell from Grace with the Sea: where pretty much some guy decides to get together with his gang to klll and cut up his father-to-be through marriage so that the father will be a "hero" again. (Six Sinners of Khaenri'ah… similar to what happened with Herrscher of Metal in Honkai Gakuen…)
Also note: Wanderer's whole name and being depicted as a kitten is a pun on Houraiji Kyuushou's name (Honkai Gakuen) whose whole thing is being the "Savior of Light" and a hero. We also have Mauvika looking pretty similar to another character exclusive to that game Herrscher of Rock Azta. And that thing about wishing made the stars fall explains a certain thing in Ninti's theme song. Like the way the PV is edited and the song goes it kinda implies Ninti caused the Honkai thing to happen and afaik that doesn't have an actual explanation behind it.
I think it's a little incorrect to say Scara was introduced in Inazuma since he was actually originally introduced during an event (and even got the Harbinger intro screen). He first showed up, then, in Liyue and then got the intro screen revealing him as Scaramouche in Mondstadt. Sure, most players will not have met him until Inazuma but…if we're going to use that event to inform other lore theories (because the whole "sky is fake" thing) then probably we should stick with it for other things too.
Also your pattern doesn't account for a Harbinger from LIyue in Liyue (since we got Tartaglia and he's from Snezhnaya) so…yeah…I'm not sure I'm down with that part of the video, it seems like trying to find a pattern where there isn't actually one.
Xbalanque is pronounced "eesh-bah-lan-keh". Just in case you're interested.
IVE BEEN WAITING FOR THIS VIDEO THANK YOU ASHIKAI FOR YOUR AMAZING ANALYSISES(idk how the plural for this word lol)
SIMULANKA’S STORY WAS SO COMPLEX AND I COULDNT WAIT FOR YOUR TAKE ON IT IM SO HYPED AAAA
ily but why is deshret in literally every theory videos 😭
I think the harbinger from Natlan is Columbina, she's strong enough to scare Tartaglia and Natlan people are describe like "their souls were forged for battle from birth" ( for capitano I think his strengh/battle stuff come from training and such, it doesn't feel like something he was born with at least to me, unlike Columbina ), she have a seele/angel vibe jsut like the monster we saw in the short teaser and is the harbinger we know nothing about, we didn't knew shr existed, until they drop the Lazzo teaser – and Natlan is the nation that was the most secret – it make sense to me to give to her a background related to Natlan ( like we haven't heard of her because she's related to Natlan and we never have that much info about this nation so never heard of her, it make sense in my head ). Also I think it will be a good time to introduced more about her – Snez will have a lot of Harbingers to speak of so I think it's more preferable to have her now rather then have all of them in Snez – while for me Capitano is either the Bloodstained knighs or someone from Mondstat, but maybe he's an outlander ( not a descender just a outlander ) of Teyvat because it would be cool to have one other than the twins and so far he's the only one I can think of coming from beyond Teyvat. Ps : sorry if I'm not clear at all, it make a lot of sense to me but I'm not sure I explain correctly.
It’s funny, I think I was accidentally more profound than intended… I named my Wanderer “Quidam” (key-dahm), which means “somebody”. In modern colloquialism, it’s an idea of a person rather than a specific person- “My Prince Charming is out there” or “some passerby on the street”. It was a name of an early Cirque du Soleil show, where the main character was in search of a more ideal father figure.
Wanderer, in search of his own identity, just wanted to be somebody… his role is to be somebody: Quidam.
the only thing im very irked about is, What is Deshrath (deshret) doin here? the genshin deshret doesnt have any wives or kids, or is deshret deshrath because he has desh raths ? ( desh raths= 10 chariots (literal translation))😆😆
like, if they wanted to emphasize sun king, a better pick would be Raghu. Another would be Karn (tho he's more like a sun-child, nevertheless a sun king)
mavuhika being married to the god of comets and zhongli and mavuhika's voice actors being married irl just makes too much sense
I love imagining Capitano just dunking on everyone in a sports jersey. Like a MonStar from Space Jam
Ororon's name in official russian localization is actually Olorun
I think you might be underestimating the misspelled names from that Sumeru post-event quest. They make special mention that all of the characters' names are slight misspellings of important historical figures, which lines up perfectly with two of the known Natlan characters, Mavuika and Ororon, whose names are slight misspellings of Mahuika and Olorun (who I think is definitely Ororon's namesake). If names are a kind of determinator of fate, then maybe they intentionally chose these slight misspellings as a way to defy the fate attached to their "correct" names, whatever that might be. The fact the two misspelled characters are the pyro archon and a shifty looking dude who seems to be working with Capitano makes me very suspicious of it and I don't think it should be written off at all.
I am UNREASONABLY hype for Natlan now! I am ethnically Mestiza, but never learned much about the culture of my indigenous half since I was born in the US. It’s so cool to learn more about part of my ancestors culture through Genshin ❤🇲🇽❤️
yes this video i knew it must be coming and im so glad its here lol
Well rest in piece signora; youre not getting revived
My view of the post-text mystery quest is that it's writers getting cheeky and reminding players (especially lore-focused players) that just because they borrow names and minor elements from real life mythology and history doesn't mean that they have a direct bearing on what they're doing with them in the story. They're taking loose inspiration only, and trying to divine where the story is going based on its inspirations is a fallacy (or so they're saying).
Something that struck me in the simulanka event was how reluctant the frog was to win the tournament (almost seeming to lose on purpose), a sentiment that seemed to be mirrored in the ignition trailer where the majority of the players seemed annoyed at being hit by the ball – like they all know the tournament is pointless and don’t want to play
Similarly kachina’s introduction mentions that she is convinced she’s destined to win eventually and proudly competes every year despite being made fun of by her peers for not giving up. I’m really interested in how this aspect will play out in Natlan
Great video as always
Literally no one said that Mavuika would be the pyro archon. She doesn't act anything like an archon, and archons were never introduced in region trailers(like the final feast), so its more likely, that she is NOT the archon, than that she is. My guess would be she's similar to Yae or Ningguang.
God every time Ashikai cut between historical art and the Genshin characters make me so sad. I'm literally here for Ashikai and not Genshin anymore.
I'm 31mins into it, BUT, I really wanted to ask you this – What do you think of the teasing made by Albedo at the end of the Summer event quest?
I find this summer event veeeeery boring
Hello Ashikai. I am sorry to bother you but when I saw your reference to the wind element and death it made me remember about a song that was popular in japan about 15 years ago that was inspired by the poem “Do not stand at my grave and weep". The song is called “Sen no kaze ni natte” that translates as “To become the thousand winds”. It talks about someone telling to not be sad by their death because he will become the thousand winds and always be present.
Since Venti is said to be the thousand winds, could he be someone that was reborn? Or that be an explanation of why he becomes asleep sometimes?
You’re not getting maize right ash! You’re saying maize as maze, it’s actually a 2 syllable word pronounced “mah-ease” hope that helps 😊
I do remember myths about Kachina dolls and ceremonies, but also I vaguely remember a Hopi or Pueblo myth about humans living underground and climbing up to the surface. Maybe on a cornstalk? I wonder if this will be referenced as them coming from Khanrieh
4:50 What about Kunikuzushi? Wasn't that Wanderer's name at one point?
Capitano once lost a ballgame. Became a Harbinger instead.
I mean scara was introduced in mondstat during 1.1
I'm dissapointed that after so much dark events and stories in every region, the actual nation of war… avoids war, my brain can't.
IM HEREEE
Natlan might be a place in story book outside Teyvat ruled by dragons. Does that mean we travel there using the star rail express.
Yay! I get to watch the video and then watch it again because my brain will fry after the ~20 min mark
Wanderer being the most important character in the lore and NOT traveler is really cool, simulanka even places wanderer as the real hero while the traveler is just an observer to the events in the story.
I’ve heard that the spelling of Ororon’s name is actually Olorun in both the Chinese and Japanese translations, and was only changed in English. Maybe they might be using the stories surrounding both names for him?
39:53 Cooking in the oven like Xbalanque huh
Id genuinely be shocked if this stuff about names osnt exactly what they were getting at, your theories are always convincing but this time i literally cannot think of any other explanation for that bizarre epilogue quest that had literally NOTHING to do with Simulanka 😅
It also just felt like a lot of importance placed on pure nothingness as it was happening, i kept wondering why we cared to keep investigating after Kaveh told us that the circles started with him doing something innocuous, there was no important purpose from the beginning so WHY DID WE CARE?! It HAS to be an attempt to tell us something in a rather clunky and unclear way, and the way the names are treated can only really make any relevant sense as you interpret them – the names themselves dont matter, its the roles
vibrates in getting SO excited to see Kinich's part to play in the story, Ajaw as well, seriously, what the heck is up with them and what will their role in the story be? It sure feels important wirh names and reputations like THAT!
xbalanque. simulanka .?
Idk if anyone said this, but I also wanted to mention that at the end of the scaramouche interlude archon quest, the voice said that no matter who breaks the vase, the vase is broken. This could mean that anyone can assumes the role of the vase breaker, but the outcome is the same.
I thought you would have mentioned something about the traveller having their name, but choosing a different name, since you talked a lot about names. Especially since you talked about names not mattering, and just being a role. Which is directly linked to the fact that everyone calls them "the traveller"