The evil squirrel sorcerer Woobakwa

>But one day, when he was hunting in the forest, he ran into the evil squirrel sorcerer Woobakwa!
Of all the beings in the ancient world, none were more evil than Woobakwa — not even demons and dragons. Woobakwa despised everything nice, and swore to transform beauty into ugliness and turn light into dark.

ーThe Boar Princess

The mastermind behind Genshin Impact is Woobakwa. Woobakwa is the evil squirrel sorcerer who appears in The Boar Princess. He is the source of the Abyss, the one who corrupted Nibelung and instigated the war between Phanes and Nibelung. Woobakwa is the true enemy of Teyvat.

The Boar Princess

The Octagram is a symbol of the sun—and of Nibelung.

>Because of the curse, the pup's heart was pierced and frozen by an icicle. The pup became cold and mean forever after, and whenever other animals showed kindness to him, he would repay them with the harshest of words or the most woeful of deeds. In the end, every animal loathed him.

ーThe Boar Princess

The wolf pup that appears in The Boar Princess represents Nibelung. In Imaginarium Theater, the wolf pup is marked with an octagram, which is the symbol of Nibelung—the sun of Teyvat. In The Boar Princess, the wolf pup's heart grows cold after he eats the evil squirrel sorcerer Woobakwa. This symbolizes how Nibelung was corrupted by the power of the evil sorcerer of the Abyss.

But why is Woobakwa a squirrel? It's because Woobakwa is inspired by Ratatoskr, the squirrel from Norse mythology.

Woobakwa = Ratatoskr

Yggdrasil

The story of Genshin Impact is partly based on Norse mythology.

Phanes is Hræsvelgr. Hræsvelgr is the eagle that sits at the top of Yggdrasil. It is said that Phanes was born from an egg and has wings, which are characteristics of a bird.

Four Shades are four stags, Dáinn, Dvalinn, Duneyrr and Duraþrór.

Nibelung is Nidhogg. Nidhogg is the great serpent that gnaws at the roots of Yggdrasil. This evokes the theory that Nibelung is connected to the underground kingdom of Khaenri’ah.

And Woobakwa is Ratatoskr. Ratatoskr is the squirrel that lives on Yggdrasil and serves as a messenger between Hræsvelgr and Nidhogg, but it deliberately stirs up quarrels between the two. This represents that Woobakwa is the mastermind behind the war between Phanes and Nibelung.

The evil sorcerer

The evil sorcerer controls the dragon.

>Where there are heroes, there must be wicked mages, and where there are knights, there must be evil dragons.
"Now, now, ██, ██, do get along. Don't fight."
The two who would always play the knight and the fell dragon nodded reluctantly.

ーWicked Mage's Plumule

>Then, they encountered a chipmunk demon king, which her comrades had claimed beforehand was also a species of demon king.
A complete vacuum was used to dispatch it in the end. It seems that it still required aerobic respiration.

ーThe Little Witch and the Undying Fire

Further speculation

Let's take a look at Hroptatyr’s weapon, Ardent Storm!

Squirrel!?

Hroptatyr... are you Woobakwa?

What do you think about this idea? I would love to hear your comments!

Long, long ago, Istaroth began to write the story of this world.

>For some reason, the race that claimed to have transcended time continued to carry out an eternal mission among the stars.

—Celestial Gift

The true identity of Istaroth is "the Voyager".

• Istaroth is the Ruler of Time. The Voyager is the race that had transcended time.
• According to Hymns of the Far North, Istaroth is the one outsider in the sacred courtyard of the gods.

Venti ≈ Istaroth (the Voyager)

Venti is close to Dvalin, just as the Voyager was once close to Nibelung.

What if, when Venti received a power of Istaroth (the Voyager), he also inherited the Voyager's fate?

• Venti borrows the form of the nameless bard, just as the Voyager once borrowed the body of the unnamed youth with star-like pupils.
• Venti is close to Dvalin, just as the Voyager was once close to Nibelung.

Venti's lyre resembles the First Angel's harp.

• Venti and his lyre, Der Himmel ("the Sky"), are partners, just as the Voyager and the First Angel once were.

Cassiodor and Erinnyes ≈ Istaroth (the Voyager) and the First Angel

Remuria and Teyvat

The story of Remuria resembles the story of Teyvat.

• Boethius, the only one who followed Phobos is Asmoday.
• Cassiodor, who was close to Boethius is Istaroth.
• The relationship between Erinnyes and Cassiodor resembles that between the First Angel and the Voyager.

Erinnyes and Romaritime Flower

• The flower worn by Erinnyes is the Romari "time" Flower. Istaroth is the Ruler of Time.

Istaroth (the Voyager) is "the Great Race of Yith".

The lost Ancient City of Yith

The Voyager can exchange minds with others, possesses advanced technology, and transcends time. Does this remind you of any race? Yes, it is “the Great Race of Yith.” The Great Race of Yith is an alien race that appears in the Cthulhu Mythos. They can exchange minds with others, possess highly advanced technology, and are said to be the only race to have mastered the secrets of time.

• In Chinese, "The Great Race of Yith" is written as "伊斯"之伟大种族, while Istaroth's name is written as "伊斯"塔露.

The true name of Istaroth is "Cecilia".

Nibelung and Istaroth

>A book about a young woman named Lycia who sets out on a journey alone following the ruination of her homeland at the hands of a black dragon.

—Dreams of the Ancient Capital

• In Dreams of the Ancient Capital, the woman whose homeland was destroyed by the Black Dragon is named Lycia (莉西亚), a name that resembles Cecilia (塞西莉亚).
• Cecilias only grow near Istaroth's temple.
• Cecilia is the name of Kiana Kaslana's mother. If Asmoday is indeed based on Kiana, then Istaroth's true name could be Cecilia.

Cecilia Schariac, the mother of Kiana Kaslana

>Perhaps this so-called race that had transcended time was, in the end, nothing more than prisoners keeping vigil over a graveyard of stars.
No matter how brilliant a world or civilization may be, it shall, in the end, fall to its destined ruin in despair.
And yet, why does the voyager who wanders the void still dream of a dragon and a fragile little world?
After untold millennia of silent contemplation, just before the end could catch up with her, the sleeping voyager finally awakened...

—Heavensent Fragrance

According to the description of the new Artifacts, the Voyager is said to be “the race that had transcended time.” Based on the information revealed so far, the Voyager can exchange minds with others, possesses advanced technology, and transcends time. Does this remind you of any race? Yes, it is “the Great Race of Yith.” The Great Race of Yith is an alien race that appears in the Cthulhu Mythos. They can exchange minds with others, possess highly advanced technology, and are said to be the only race to have mastered the secrets of time.

>A non-corporeal spiritual life form that arrived on Earth 600 million years ago from a dying galaxy called Yith . As the only race that has mastered the secrets of time, they are revered and called the Great Race .

—Wikipedia: The Great Race of Yith

The lost Ancient City of Yith

The name “Yith” was also mentioned in the world quest “Ann of the Narzissenkreuz.” At the same time, Arcadia and Hyperborea, which were mentioned alongside it, have already appeared in the main story, while Yith alone has yet to appear. Could this be because Yith does not belong to a civilization of Teyvat, but rather to an civilization associated with the Voyager?

Gosoythoth = Yog-Sothoth

Since the Abyss seems to be connected to the eldritch gods of the Cthulhu Mythos—for example, “Gosoythoth” being an anagram of Yog-Sothoth—it wouldn’t be strange if the Voyager’s true identity turned out to be the Great Race of Yith, would it?

Could Istaroth be connected to Seutervoinen, the Voyager?

One more thing that interests me is that ”the Great Race of Yith” is written in Chinese as “伊斯”之伟大种族, while Istaroth is written as “伊斯”塔露. I wonder if there could be some kind of connection between them?

What do you think about this idea? I would love to hear your comments!