Do ancient humans also worshipped/were under the rule of the Dragon Sovereigns? (Pst pst there are Enkanomiya lore here👀)
Yesterday I just realized that Hymns of the Far North's book cover is probably depicting a solar eclipse🤔 (okay maybe I'm slow for only realizing this in Luna III😭🙏) The pointed lights make it look like the tripled moon is covering the sun.
(Natlan and Nod-Krai's icons for comparison. Natlan's sun has more pointed lights though.)
Also, there are seven stars surrounding it... could it be that they're meant to represent the seven sovereigns?
(Mayhaps this is a sign that Nibelung is a leader of the Sovereigns with his own power instead being an elemental sovereigns like them🤔)
Eclipse... and the sovereigns... this might be a nothing-burger but I like how the symbols, despite being primarily recording the prayers to the Primordial One's kin (and Voyager and the Third Descender too hi), might be depicting the original rulers of Teyvat on its cover...
Would we have a book of prayers to the elemental sovereigns? (With the PO and the Shades on the cover too as a treat lmao) That would be epic (I'll glaze Xiuhcoatl's prayer through heaven and hell🤤 can you imagine...) but it seems that the Hyperborean people only worshipped the moons, not including the Sovereigns...🤔
However, there were people who might have worshipped the dragons in Natlan, or perhaps more accurately allied with them.
Damaged Stone Tablet (IV): "...Thrice were all the barbarians who worshipped the evil dragons sacked, seizing... 'Relaxation Ravine,' and 'Twisted Ivy Expanse,' these three regions, uncounted ancient dragon idols destroyed, prisoners of war... all..."
Damaged Stone Tablet (IV): "...chief priest... asked the Lord of the Crossroads... sprinkle the Essence of Sacrifice onto the soil, and each of the Head Elders of the three districts, of each of the tribes..."
Damaged Stone Tablet (IV): "...priests of all tribes must recruit large numbers of craftsmen to expand the temples and forts, spreading their blessings to the savage lands once ruled by dragons..."
- From the Ancestral Temple, Natlan.
Though perhaps it's more like the case of the ancestors of the Masters of the Night-Wind. They created some 'dream-realm' for the dragons under CL-03's rule via their chosen mystic, the Holy Sovereign, in exchange for the dragons' protection. Their enemies might have saw similar cases such as theirs as mere dragon-worship instead of alliance.
Could there might be similar cases in other nations? Nothing that could be proven as of now (as far as I know. The closest thing might be the Scylla-Remus's alliance but the Remurians ultimately betrayed the Vishaps too. If there are any other cases, do tell!). But let's see...
...Okay I lied because here's come the thing I have long suspected about: Enkanomiya was actually ruled by the Electro or the Hydro Sovereign (idk actually any sovereign here) and they're the imaginary serpent that the Enkanomiyans used to worship before Orobashi's arrival.
- Cover of "The Serpent and Drakes of Tokoyokoku", which tells the story of the Sunchildren punishing Aberaku/Abrax, creator of the Dainichi Mikoshi, the artificial sun that saved the nations from the threat of bathysimal vishaps, and also how Orobashi came to rule Enkanomiya [A child met the resting Orobashi during the Sunchildren's reign, and asked him to be their god]. The purple snake fits the images of Orobashi;
(The right one even fits the Hydrological Studies's info that Orobashi is depicted as coral-adorned Serpent.)
Then who's the green dragon he was fighting against?
Though, I do admit that there are some counterarguments here: mayhaps its the symbolism the of the Bathysimal Vishaps (more unlikely, since the Vishaps had been 'chased away' by Dainichi Mikoshi's light); or its the depiction of Deus Auri-- heavily implied to be Zhongli-- who defeated Orobashi (more likely.)
"You wish for me to become your deity?"
The giant white snake gazed down at the child standing before him.
"It was because I could best neither Deus Auri nor Narukami that I elected to flee into waters unknown."
- Oathsworn Eye weapon lore
However... I can argue back that the dragon doesn't look like Zhongli. At least, his Exuvia form.
Zhongli's horns are more swirly (?), his tail is fluffier-looking than fin-like, the color of his stomach/down side (?) is darker instead of lighter like the green dragon's, he has rockier (?) upper scales rather than the regulated ones of the green dragon's, and he has a pair of feelers.
Although, you can counter-counter-counterargument back that its simply the depiction of Inazuman/Enkanomiyan idea of a dragon. And its not like Orobashi would tell the appearence of the dragon who defeated him in great details, so the artist took some liberties in drawing Deus Auri.
Butttt even with all the counterarguments mess about the book cover, the content is a far more interesting part.
"The origin of heaven and earth is like the chicken and egg, and are not dragons and snakes kin?" No sooner had the sage Aberaku uttered these words than he was overthrown by troops lying in ambush.
Context: Aberaku was telling a sunchild about the nature and origin of the universe and their land, which might be used by the resenting sunchild to capture him under the pretext of blasphemy. However, I always found that the "are not dragons and snakes kin" a bit off-topic with the matter. Like, what's the connections between it and the origin of heaven and earth???
While I'm still scratching my head on the above matter, it couldn't erase the facts that Enkanomiya was called the land of snakes even before Orobashi's arrival and worshipped a serpentine god... Hell, even back in Hyperborea's time!
Razmaspes: Those names are unknown to me, I'm afraid, yes. Have you heard of Hyperborea?
Durin: I have, but... I heard that it was destroyed in the distant past...
Razmaspes: I see. That was where my ancestors once lived. What about Delphi Pytho? Was it later rebuilt?
(Wanderer): I've never heard that name.
Razmaspes: Then what about Sal Vindagnyr?
Albedo: I have seen that name on stone tablets on Dragonspine, but I'm afraid the only things left of that place are its ruins.
- "Ripples that will Never Reach" quest, Song of the Welkin Moon: Act V - A Nocturne of the Far North.
Delphi Pytho's name (and the whole Enkanomiya Greek theming tbh) is inspired after Delphi, the ancient greek city/place of worship, home of Pythia (often glossed as Pythoness), head priestess of the Temple of Apollo and the oracle whose was consulted about important decisions throughout the ancient classical world.
Legends said that the place took its name from the Delphyne, the she-serpent (drakaina) who lived there and was killed by the god Apollo. But in other and later accounts the serpent was the male serpent (drakon), Python.
The fact that there are two legend-founding serpents could be an indication that the imaginary serpent took the place of Delphyne, and Orobashi as Python. But much more could be said about these two dragons:
- Delphyne and the city's name shared the same root with the Greek word for womb, δελφύς [delphys]. While Python is derived from the verb πύθω [pythōs] "to rot".
- The ancient Greeks considered the centre of the world to be in Delphi, marked by the stone monument known as the Omphalos of Delphi. The term omphalos was the Greek word for "navel".
- The Oracle at Delphi seems to have originally been held by Gaia, the personification of earth. As Python was one of her children, he guarded her oracle. When Apollo came to take over the oracle, he first had to kill the dragon in order to take possession of it. Apollo’s priestess got her title, the Pythia, from the Python.
The womb and motherhood theming of Delphi makes me think on how the (confirmed) Sovereigns often have motherhood theming around them... hmm... Ouroboros itself is often interpreted as a symbol for eternal cyclic renewal or a cycle of life, death and rebirth; the snake's skin sloughing symbolises the transmigration of souls. The snake biting its own tail is a fertility symbol in some religions: the tail is a phallic symbol and the mouth is a yonic or womb-like symbol.
Back to the question of what the helly is the book cover... Mayhaps, the book cover is both depicting Orobashi's fight with Deus Auri, AND symbolizing Orobashi's influence fighting the older Ouroboros in Enkanomiya's culture. Orobashi experimented with the vishaps, and if my assumption that Ouroboros is a name of a Dragon Sovereign, it could be interpreted as him fighting back Ouroboros.
"But isn't Ouroboros the name of Dainsleif's cons? What's their connection with him?" Here it is, my dear readers...
...I genuinely have no idea😭
Yeah fr no cap I genuinely have no idea what's the connection between the Enkanomiyan Ouroboros and Dainsleif. You all can boo me off-stage now🥲 (HOWEVER, you verily can add your own theories and interpretations! In fact, this is the call for YOU to help me connect these two, because my brain is too small to do that😭🙏 But our braincells together might solve Genshin Impact🤯 So go, write avalanches of theories about them!)
The confusion about them aside, if Ouroboros, as in my assumption, was a Sovereign, how come the Enkanomiyans were enemies with the Vishaps? Shouldn't they be allies?
Now this is the realm of pure speculation; they were, once. They were so close to the point that the Vishaps adapted into human forms...
Before the fall of Enkanomiya from the surface...
Here's my proposed theory 1#: Ouroboros (perhaps its not their true name either, but let's call them that for now) either was spared or surrendered to the Heavenly Principles, and in turn, just like the Moon Sisters, were worshipped and followed by humans who disliked the HP. They might even be allied with the Moon Sisters and their civilizations. The dragons under Ouroboros mingled with the human followers, and as evolution is the dragons' nature, they adapted into human forms. However, peace didn't last; Nibelung returned, and started the Funerary War that plunged Enkanomiya down into the underground realm. Ouroboros was either recalled by Nibelung to fight on his side, or one of the first casualties. Without their leader and trapped in the dark, the Enkanomiyans were left in a state of panic.
In this moment of distress, Istaroth came to the 'rescue'... or more accurately, used this moment to banish all the draconic influence from Enkanomiya. Using her power, she rewrote history and made it seems that the vishaps and humankind were enemies from the start. Thus, humankind became hostile to them. Betrayed, the vishaps grew immense hatred for humanity.
Tsumi: I have no intention of explaining anything. Although I can communicate with you, I know all too well that interaction with humans can only end in betrayal.
- Three Realms Gateway Offering: Aftermath
The vishap-human hybrids couldn't be explained away as smoothly, thus they became a stuff of urban legend until Orobashi made them his vassals. That's the origin of the Reptilians, later known as Vassals of Watatsumi. Thus, both Enjou, who proclaimed the existence of the Reptilians, and Kokomi, who debunked Enjou's theory and said that they were familiars of Orobashi, are (somewhat) right. (Mayhaps the Vishaps that kidnapped the infant Tsumi sensed their blood in her, and raised her instead of killing her.)
#2: Ouroboros wasn't a name for a single Sovereign, but a bunch of Sovereigns that had helped Enkanomiya. That's why it's called "imaginary" and why there are vishaps of various elements instead of just one.
- The Icon of Three Realms Gateway Offering story quest, Apothic Diffusal. Depicting three snakes interlocking into a triquetra symbol, which now we know as the symbol of the Moon Sisters. Each snakes are reaching toward their own tails, as if trying to eat it. It is also the symbol carved into a pendant which fragments are shared between the Vassals of Watatsumi, the Dainichi Mikoshi, and the Sangonomiya Clan. (I have a mini-theory for this too. Mayhaps besides the Ouroboros thingy, its also correspond with the amount of lunar reactions that we'll have in Luna IV. But let's see if they'd add another reactions in the future... one must imagine lunar-swirl...)
Also, the Bathysimal Vishaps experiments indicated that they could express multiple elements... except Pyro, for whatever reason.
The Dragonheirs'... evolution is plain for all to see... We have tried lowering the temperature in the living environs of a young heat-resistant vishap. As a result, they were weaker once matured. We suspect that this is because its body did not possess the "seed" required to resist such an environment. However, its descendants would all possess high body fat, greater predilection towards sleep, and would express the Cryo element...
When we then placed their descendants into sweltering conditions, they would again choose, like their ancestors, the heat resistance trait. However, none of them have developed traits indicative of the Pyro element thus far.
- The Byakuyakoku Collection Vol.4 "Bathysmal Vishap Experimental Records"
Ngl I feel this passage is kind of ambiguous. Does that mean that there are Vishaps who expressed Dendro and Anemo elements? Where are they in the wild? Or did it happen because they were controlled in the captivity? Mayhaps the latter... But it's so strange that Pyro don't appear in any of them...
If we connect this to the 2# theory, does that mean out of all the Sovereigns, Xiuhcoatl was the only one who didn't help Enkanomiya? Or is it more indicative of the Pyro element's true nature?🤔
For the rest, it's still the same as the 1# theory. With added horror as each Sovereigns died one by one...😁
#3: Only Delphi Pytho/The Serpent's Heart was the dragon worshiping people's land. The rest of the lands were parts of the Unified Civilization that fell and together they made up the current Enkanomiya. Either theory 1# and 2# can work in cadence with this theory. It's derived from the fact that it's only Delphi's name that got referenced outside Watatsumi/Inazuma itself, as seen in the AQ above, and the book Vera's Melancholy.
"There are times when I think to myself... There's nothing to do in this tiny village. What a dull place to live."
This wasn't the first time that Vera had complained about her hometown, the small country village of Delphi. Her frown eased slightly as she lay on the hillside near the village, eyes closed, feeling the breeze of the early summer.
- Vera's Melacholy Vol.1 "Endless Days in Infinite Worlds"
I used to think that the whole Enkanomiya is named Delphi, but as you can see, only the Serpent's Heart is named that.
"The Funerary Year"
The second throne of the heavens came, and war was rekindled, as it was in the world's creation. That day, the heavens collapsed and the earth was rent asunder. Our ancestors and their ancestral land fell into this place during that conflict.
The era of darkness had begun.
"The First Year of Darkness"
The people of the Seven Sovereigns had found refuge in the oceans, and the Dragonheirs of the Depths ruled this particular place, which led to war between them and our ancestors...
"The people of the Seven Sovereigns found refuge in the oceans." In accordance to the previous passage, it implies that this people preceeded Enkanomiyans' ancestors. As you can see, the choice of words is a little too sus here; "people? You'll think that as enemies of the Vishaps, the writer would use a more dehumanizing term or just refer them as "dragons". But no, they used "people".
Although, as I've said, this is a rather weak evidence. We really need to see the original CN text. (unfortunately I can't read Chinese... but dear readers😁 I'll be so happy if you're willing to check to CN text, to see if the 'people' there carry the same connotations as the English one.) And then again, it could be just a general term for a mass of individuals of the same species in Genshin.
That's it for now. Of course, these theories have TOO MANY holes... Feel free to pick it apart🥲 For me it's theory #2: if the Byakuyakoku Collection Vol.5 "In the Light, Beneath the Shadow" is reliable (which also contains the prophecy of the Hydro Dragon reincarnating into a human, so maybe it is reliable), vishaps could wield multiple elements because they lost their elemental purity, so the speculation that multiple sovereigns had helped Enkanomiya with the basis of multiple elemental vishaps could, mayhaps, be jossed. (Although there's still a mystery of why they don't express the Pyro element.)
And there's the matter of the Vassals of Watatsumi/Reptilians. Bathysmal Vishaps hated man-made light.
A mighty race of vishaps that dwell within the deep seas.
That they hate light is not due to an overly fragile sense of sight. Instead, it is because they have had the selfless sunlight and the surface world taken from them that they refuse to countenance man-made light.
- Adventurer Handbook
Do the same reason apply to the Reptilians? Because if it is, it couldn't explain how the Vassals of Watatsumi could control the Dainichi Mikoshi (or at least in Tsumi's case) and the Towers of Three Realms that stabilize the tendencies of Byakuyakoku and maintain harmony between the Human realm, the Elemental (Vishaps) realm, and the Abyssal (Void) realm.
Tsumi: Before I leave, I'm going to destroy this light.
Tsumi: Do not come any closer. And don't even think about trying to sneak up on me.
Tsumi: This tower seems to hear my wishes... I just need to think the thought and it will change its brightness.
Tsumi: And if I so desire, it will collapse before me.
- Three Realms Gateway Offering: Aftermath.
The borders of Byakuyakoku are marked out by three corners. These mark the limits of the see-saw clash between humanity and the vishaps.
During the era of Byakuyakoku, Towers of the Three Realms were built at these three corners... to stabilize the tendencies of Byakuyakoku and maintain harmony between the three realms... If these towers were to be imperiled, so would the entire nation. As such, they have been hidden using secret arts. Only the shrine maidens and the Vassals of Watatsumi can summon them forth.
- The Hydrological Studies in Byakuyakoku "The Borders of Byakuyakoku"
Unless, of course, since they're affected by Orobashi's vassalage and Istaroth's manipulation, the Reptillians turned Vassals of Watatsumi had no ill-feel toward mankind's structures and could wield it at their will. Besides, isn't that the sign of their evolution at play?
That's a wrap for now. Ngl, I don't expect my theories to be true in the end, but isn't it fun to speculate. Thank you if you guys read this up to this very point😭🙏 Much appreciated if you guys shared your thoughts and theories!
Tl;dr: The Hymns of the Far North perhaps depicted Nibelung, the Moon Sisters, and the Seven Sovereigns. I wonder if its a sign that ancient humans worshipped the Sovereigns too. There are hints of it in Natlan. Enkanomiya especially, used to worship an "imaginary serpent", Ouroboros, before Orobashi's arrival. They also has one of its place, Delphi, named after an Ancient Greek place of worship whose said to be founded/guarded by a dragon, Delphyne or Python, before they got slain by Apollo. I theorized that mayhaps this Ouroboros was a Sovereign or a bunch of them that protected Enkanomiya before the Funerary War and Istaroth's manipulation.
