Fanfiction Is My Life

As all things do, it started with Kaeya.

Veluriyam Mirage Kaeya stars as his grandfather in a play written by Zosimos. Idyia remarks Zosimos always wanted to write a story based on rumors he heard about a thief and a mage, suggesting there is some truth to it.

Idyia: *sigh* Zosimos has always wanted to write an epic story about a thief and a mage. Apparently, he got the idea from some rumors that were swirling around.

There are much deeper layers to this story, though. Kaeya's grandpa seems to be from Khaenri'ah, judging by the soundtrack title that accompanied the play: Towers of Afrasiab. The name of the cave where the door of Khaenri'ah is situated is "Hangeh Afrasiyab". The thief lived in a dark realm which matches Khaenri'ah's subterranean environment.

Then who is the mage supposed to be? Alice? Could be, but it's not that simple. The play combines TWO stories; that of Idyia/Alice and the thief/mage. So we have to remove the excess backstory and dig a little deeper.

How was the mage portrayed? As a star zipping through the sky. In the book The Tale of Qoyllor and Ukuku, it's implied the titular character Qoyllor is a fallen angel. She is the daughter of the sun (the Heavenly Principles?), gets compared to a fallen star and has starry eyes. Nicole Reeyn also has star shaped pupils (even though Zibai, another angel, does not) and manifests as a star when she can't physically be there.

(Another hint is the real Princess Fischl; she is compared to a star and is most likely an angel as well, (corroborated by the fact that Nicole and a Seelie wrote the books together)).

Who played the starmage? Idyia, who is an oceanid, often equated to fairies or the descendants of angels. Who wrote the play? Zosimos, named after the alchemist who said fallen angels taught humans the art of metallurgy/forbidden knowledge...

All this points to one simple conclusion: the mage was an angel. Currently, we can count on one hand the amount of angelmages in this game.

The most important takeaways from this play are:

Kaeya's pirate grandfather was from Khaenri'ah

The mage who met the thief was an angel (or perhaps an angel descendant like a Jinni)

The next logical step is to look for an angel who was in Khaenri'ah.

The omniscient sage Yeah listen, I'm not going to drag this out, it's Nicole. It's literally just Nicole.

Direidyth: There was once a sage who passed through my village. People got the sense that she was truly omniscient. The sage said that... doomsday was coming, but as that day approached, a Savior would reveal themselves to us.

In the quest A Space and Time for You, we learn there was a female "sage" who passed through Direidyth's village in Khaenri'ah, spreading word of Khaenri'ah's destruction. We later hear this same sage speak the prophecy in a shared flashback/dream with Direidyth. While the speaker isn't named, the voice belongs to NICOLE.

In Durin's SQ, there's a flashback in which the Hexenzirkel discuss the witches who are absent. This conversation took place shortly after the cataclysm.

Seer-Witch: Then how about [Nicole]? Does she still walk the mortal realm? Merry-Witch: Yes... She has that secret mission of hers to accomplish, so she couldn't make it to our gathering. But, she doesn't seem to regret her choice, so naturally, it's not my place to pry.

Awfully suspicious if you ask me! Perhaps this concerns the travelers whose fate she inadvertently meddled in, or maybe, just maybe, a certain Knight Marshal who was desperately searching for a way to save Khaenri'ah.

Look at it this way: what does a pirate want? Treasure. What does an angel do? Guide people to treasure. I've cracked the code!

Since Nicole is the mastermind behind princess Fischl, it's worth noting she namedrops king "Irmin" in Legend of the Shattered Halberd, and references "(Mi)Mir", another important figure from norse mythology. Fischl's soundtrack album also contains a reference to the Norse goddess Freyja (Das Folkwanglied), suggesting she's her equivalent. As we all know, Norse mythology is most prominently incorporated in Khaenri'ah.

Another option is the woman named Angelica from the book Perinheri, using the most inconspicuous alias since Nicola Coco. The authors claim this book is based on a story that was "famous" throughout Khaenri'ah, suggesting there might be some truth to this one as well. Angelica arrived in Khaenri'ah under false pretences using a fake backstory, so it's possible she was actually a poorly disguised Nicole all along. Nicole is an imaginative writer who likes to improvise stories so it wouldn't be too out of character for her to lie.

Perinheri "Njord, who walks with the Darksprites, Alf, the greatest warrior in the Universitas Magistrorum, Alberich, commander of half the knights, and Perinheri the undefeated." Angelica spoke thus of the mightiest figures in the Kingdom as she saw them.

Angelica also conveniently namedrops a commander named Alberich as one of the four strongest individuals in Khaenri'ah, likely referencing the Four Pillars.

Perinheri And when he glanced back at Angelica, he saw that she was neither a beautiful woman from Liyue nor a wicked witch. "I am freedom, that which has broken free of fate. This is what Hleobrant sought in agony, but that which is now yours for the taking."

Nicole: Fate is always ineffable, and yet... I still hope I can guide those I meet towards a happy ending to their tale. That applies to characters in my stories as well.

Nicole says she wants to help people overcome their fate and give them a happier ending, which is exactly what Angelica did for Perinheri (if you ignore his best friend turning into a hilichurl).

It's also possible Angelica was Zibai since she claimed she was a princess from Liyue. However, at the time of writing, it doesn't sound like Zibai was able to move freely.

Princess Fischl It's genuinely unreal how important princess Fischl is to the overarching story. Even more ridiculous how she always seemed to be connected to Kaeya long before we knew Nicole authored her. She might be an allegory for the first angel, she might be Nicole, or a mixture of both. truth is, we don't know.

What I do know is that Fischl has several references to Midsummer Night's Dream, the play that famously stars Oberon and Titania, the king and queen of the fairies.

Hmmm. In DnD they are even king and queen of the Seelie. Fun fact: Oberon is actually derived from Alberich, which aptly means "elf king". Funfun fact: Oberon and Titania adopted an Indian prince who they constantly fought over. As of now, we can count on one hand the amount of brown princes in this game.

Midsummer Courtyard With the fall of the ancient lost civilization, the once prosperous and magnificent Sommernachtgarten was also buried underground, leaving only its ancient trees and stones to remember its past glory.

Fischl's Sommernachtgarten (Summer Night Garden) is referenced in Mond's artifact domain, Midsummer Courtyard. The garden was part of Mondstadt's ancient civilization, which we now know is likely to be ARCADIA. Because Nicole came up with these books, the garden could have belonged to Nicole/the real Fischl or another angel. Interestingly enough, Nicole's meeting point is the "Witch's Garden" and she even says she has made several gardens/homes to increase the chances of people stumbling in.

Lucky Coin

When Nicole buffs the other characters, her skill shows a double triquetra that's similar to the shape on the Mora coin. As you might already have guessed, Kaeya's passive talent "Glacial Heart" also shows a double triquetra...

But what really grinds my gears is that for some reason, Kaeya owns a "lucky" coin that does whatever he tells it to do.

Traveler: How do you control it, anyway? Kaeya: Mm, a better question to ask might be, what do I do to make this coin happy to work with me, and show me whichever side I wish? My answer would be that I tell the coin a joke every time I toss it into the air. If it finds my joke funny, then it cooperates with me. Of course, this whole arrangement hinges on a preexisting amount of trust between the two of us. I can't just get any strange coins to listen to me.

You might think he was joking, but usually when Kaeya jokes, the traveler will express skepticism; this time however, it's played completely straight. If the coin is truly "lucky", maybe it was blessed by some kind of deity. For example, in Norse mythology, there are guardian spirits called hamingja who help their chosen person with matters regarding fate and happiness.

This symbol is also the shape of the Cecilia flower which was once cultivated in Mond's ancient civilization.

Kaeya: Some say, the god of fate calls the outcome of every dice roll before it's even made. And that's why, the secret to winning a lot of games is having that god on your side. Klee: Hehe, your luck is amazing, Kaeya!

In Durin's SQ, Kaeya ominously says the god of fate decides every outcome before it's made. Kaeya then procedes to win the match after which Klee remarks his luck is "amazing".

If you pay close attention to everything Kaeya says, you'll notice he will OFTEN say something is "fortunate", "lucky" or the will of "fate" etc.

Other connections/similarities

Nicole's star-shaped pupils might be a hint towards the ancestry of Khaenri'ahns. It's long suspected Khaenri'ahns might be nephilim, the descendants of angels and humans, hence why their pupils are also stars, albeit bigger and more diamond shaped. It should be noted Kaeya's pupil in-game is extremely bizarre. If you zoom in on his model, there's actually a tinier star inside his pupil.

(There is of course another possibility regarding Khaenri'ah's origins: the Voyager with star-like pupils who married the first angel. However, it's unclear if the pupils belong to the original Voyager or the body of the boy they possessed. Surtalogi seems to know about them since he told Skirk to look for traces of the Voyager.)

After it was revealed Nicole and Mr. Nine wrote the Fischl saga I've been thinking about what other novels they might have written together. Kaeya's Adventures of ANGELos book immediately came to mind. Based on its CN title, this book is likely a reference to The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, suggesting the titular "Angelos" is a detective. An angel detective sounds completely on brand for Nicole's rich inner world. But even if it turns out it was written by someone else, it's still eyebrow-raising that Kaeya carries around a book with this title.

It's a bit nothingburger compared to everything else but the spiral pattern on Nicole's dress is eerily similar to the icicles in Kaeya's burst. Interestingly enough, the Seelie husks also have a spiral pattern on their body, though their spirals are more rounded.

Nicole has two earrings that have the colorscheme of Kaeya's earring though the shape is different 💔.

I do think it's funny that these tiny earrings are completely hidden behind her hair as if we're not allowed to see them.