u/Senchaten

I needed to post this theory out somewhere, so I’m just going to quickly list some observations I made. I made an account for this (but mostly also because Reddit kept giving me annoying popups for not having one). These observations obviously include spoilers that have been part of the previews, so I'm adding the tag just in case.

• When Theodora’s crew arrived in Dagsion, Bonaventure suggested they go visit the temple of Yu Phas and coincidentally his gameplay clip is situated in a ruined temple where they’re fighting the undead and the masked man that took Theodora’s arm. This temple notably has the crest of Aubin on the wall, but the statues shown do not portray Aurora nor do the dark blue colors match her own brighter and more teal-colored temple. So, if it’s not Aurora’s temple, is this how the temple of Yu Phas was found after Bonaventure and the rest arrived there? Being her mother, the crest of Aubin being there wouldn't be suspicious, especially if they share crests. Other option is that this is some forgotten basement of Aurora's temple with a different color scheme, but even then the statue of another Goddess being there is strange, unless of course it is her own mother Yu Phas. Regardless, Aurora and this woman in the statue are very much linked together. In fact, the statue portrays a woman with a different style of dress from Aurora, straight long hair with a couple of shorter strands on the sides and visible bangs. So, the exact same hair style Iliana has under her veil.
• The teddy bear has crests of Gautier all over it, its associated tarot card being Death and Yu Phas is the Goddess of death. Of course, the temple had the crest of Aubin on the wall, so perhaps as the is the mother of Aurora shares her crest of Aubin and the crest of Gautier belongs to someone else. We have seen various characters with its boon, but I would be surprised if Gautier doesn’t have some connection to Yu Phas with the tarot card and everything. Similarly, lilies are often funeral flowers, so the connection to death is there as well.
• Yu Phas has not been revealed in any of the previews so far, even though Bonaventure happily wanted to go visit her temple. Unless she is dead, it implies she could be suspiciously missing, because she is currently operating under a fake identity. The veil Iliana uses to hide her face supports this idea.
• The profiles on Nintendo Today were revealed in the order of Solel > Iliana > Aurora, suspiciously placing Iliana between the father and the daughter, possibly implying she is the missing mother. Iliana was seen laughing behind Solel in the footage shown with his profile, tying them together even further.
• While Iliana cradling the teddy bear could be seen as her just playing with a toy, especially due to her childish personality, it can also evoke the image of a mother cradling a child. Others have already pointed out the similarity to Virgin Mary as well with all the symbolism. Considering Yu Phas is a mother as well, the connection could be intentional (although this could instead also imply that Ilian is connected to the advent of the underworld woman instead who was also seen cradling a child). I suspect that underworld woman could be hiding as Raksha as well by process of elimination, but I don’t have any evidence to support that.

But if Iliana really is Yu Phas, what does this mean? Well, I have two ideas, neither of which I actually like too much, but oh well.

• Yu Phas is actually evil and the other nations are right about Saramis worshipping an evil Goddess. Not fond of this option, because it would prove the bigots right, especially since she supposedly saved the lives of thousands of children of Saramis from a massacre. I would like Saramis to be treated with more sympathy in their position and Yu Phas despite her intimidating association with death and night to be a good person.
• Yu Phas is not evil, but is mind-controlled or corrupted, the old Fire Emblem classic. Her appearance and mannerisms do remind me of corrupted Veyle from Engage strongly, complete with the unnaturally evil red eyes and the suspicious headgear. The fact that the teddy bear has the same red eyes as too could imply the teddy bear itself is a cursed object corrupting her mind, much like the ones the four lords have. I could imagine she somehow thinks her teddy bear is Aurora as a baby, which is why she cradles it. Or perhaps someone else is possessing/controlling her via the teddy bear, maybe the one crest of Gautier belongs to, if it’s not Iliana’s own crest. Maybe Iliana is not even a fake name, but this is the true person who it belongs to, Raksha and/or the underworld woman maybe? Iliana does have the same greyish green hair as Raksha, almost as if the vibrant green typical of Nabateans had withered away. While more favorable to me than the first option since it would mean Yu Phas is a decent person and Saramis was not wrong for worshiping her, it’s still an old trope of taking away agency from women that I’m not quite fond of. In best case scenario to me this could be resolved by Theodora rescuing her, so it’s at least another woman helping her out in her predicament.

If anyone has any other more favorable possibilities in mind for how this theory could play out, please do point them out.