Anemo gnosis fallen, throne gone
(I will keep updating this theory in my notion, so I recommend always checking that version instead)
The Anemo Gnosis is fallen in the Snezhnaya trailer because the Anemo throne is gone. We would know that if the old english translations were better.
Itâs fallen since the time of Decarabian, not because the tyrant fell⊠but because the Nameless Bard did.
Let me explain.
The Snezhnaya trailer came out on 26/6/2026, and ofc Venti is being sus again. People wonder why his Gnosis is fallen, given that the only other one that is also fallen is the Hydro Gnosis - that corresponds to a destroyed throne.
Yes, he likely gave away his authority back to a dragon (Dvalin), which is another similarity to the hydro gnosis and frankly, that might be the whole truth - but there is a very old lore detail that I would like to call your attention to, because the english translation messed up, and eventually fixed the problem⊠but only in a hoyolab post (which goes to show it was a detail that mattered, and yes, early game mistranslations are still there).
It might point out to the possibility that the Anemo Throne is already destroyed - and has been since Decarabianâs defeat (but not because of his death).
For the record, I will consider that: Throne <> Elemental Authority <> Dragon Authority <> Gnosis <> Death
The destruction of the Hydro Throne didnât take down the Hydro authority and Gnosis, for example, and many archons have lost their Gnosis without losing their authority.
Authorities, by having belonged to dragons, should also precede the Celestial thrones and therefore be a separate thing, although presently tied because of the new heavenly rules.
Why Throne <> Elemental Authority <> Dragon Authority <> Gnosis <> Death
[new section for clarity] This is pure interpretation, and I know not everyone sees it the same way. If Iâm wrong, aspects of this throy wonât work so well - although my theory is more about the throne itself, and the moment when the authority of Anemo changed hands doesnât really matter to me and is more something that Iâm mentioning for the sake of recognizing another popular theory.
Still, here are some points worth considering:
An Archonâs death does not affect the throne or the authority. We know this, because most of the original Archons have died, and those two things were not returned to the dragons just because of it
We also know that elemental authority is distinct from dragon authority. Why? Because the Fontaine quest literally states that. Neuvilette always had the authority over the primordial sea, for example, which was a crucial point to the AQ (I elaborate on the next section). The native dragon authority canât be entrusted to Archons, but dragon can hold elemental authority
The game often implies that elements, at least as we know them today, werenât a thing in the time of the dragons. Which confused me about elemental authority. But the fact that Focalos âreturnedâ it to Neuvillette means that the dragons held control over the elements⊠even if they werenât exactly the same back then. But feel free to help me expand on this.
In my opinion, if elemental authority can be returned to the dragons, and since dragons existed in Teyvat before the Primordial One arrived, that means that authority precedes Celestia and, consequently, the Archons + their seats. In other words, authorities were not created at the same time as the thrones, nor for the Archon War.
I am presuming, like many people, that the thrones were only created by Celestia for the sake of the Archon War, to sit a winner in it. That can be wrong: There are some hints in the game (and even in the manga) that Celestia was stolen from the dragons, and was basically a spaceship from dragon civilization.
If the elemental thrones are older than Celestia, yes, the authorities can still be tied to them.
If the thrones were created by Celestia for the purpose of electing an Archon, then no, the authorities canât be tied to them because elemental authorities precede them, by having belonged to dragons, who existed first in Teyvat.
Focalors states âthis was all done to return the authority of the Hydro Archon to the Hydro Dragonâ. I donât think thatâs incompatible with the notion that thrones and authorities are distinct tho, for the reasons I listed above. Imo, for as long as a throne exists, the authority would eventually be entrusted to a newly elected Archon, even if the previous Archon gave it to the dragons (probably because of Celestiaâs laws). They are not the same, the throne just dictates who gets it. So, maybe you can destroy the throne while keeping the authority with an Archon. But you canât give the authority to dragons and be sure it stays with them without destroying the throne first.
Apep, in the second Sumeru AQ, could sense that the Hydro authority was back with the dragons. She has no comments about the Anemo one. Thatâs relevant for when I consider the popular theory about Dvalin possibly holding the anemo authority, as it could imply that theory is false (although, if we really bend it, it could also imply is a super old fact and not worth commenting about⊠but the game states more than once that the Hydro authority was the first to be returned)
We still donât know the exact purpose of a gnosis. Yeah it ensures more power, and is a cursed object, and a remain of the 3rd Descender. Thatâs the only canon info, right? Itâs not needed to make gnosis, it exists independently of thrones, anyone can have it regardless of having authority or not.
Visions can be granted independently of most of this stuff tbh, all thatâs required is elemental authority. Neuvilette could grant one to Furina after the hydro throne was destroyed and he had lost the Gnosis. We also know Visions granted by dragons have differences.
What actually destroyed the throne / why did Focalors have to die:
While this is not crucial to my point, I would like to refresh the memory of those who forgot how the destruction of the Hydro Throne played out.
Focalors only had half of the authority of Hydro. The other half always belonged to Neuvilette since birth, which is why, for example, his sadness could cause rain, and why he could seal the primordial sea in the prison. Thatâs because the Primordial Sea is strictly tied to the Hydro dragon, which means there are parts of the dragon civilizations and world that cannot be under Celestiaâs control, especially not the origin of life. The only thing Celestia managed to grant to the Archons was the authority over the elements.
As such, Focalors wanted to give the half of the authority she held to Neuvilette, for two reasons: 1) It was the just thing to do and she was the Archon of Justice 2) He would be able to use his inherent dragon powers, combined with the other half of the authority, to turn the people of Fontaine from oceanid-likes into full humans, thus saving them from being dissolved by the prophesized flood. The 500 years of waiting that allowed Focalors to collect Indemnitium also provided enough time to make Neuvillette like humans and wish to save them.
Why couldnât Focalors just have the full authority and save the humans herself? Because:
She would forever lack control over the Primordial Sea, which was crucial to convert Fontainians into humans, since it is literally the source of life
In the background, during the 500 of wait, the Oratrice Mecanique DâAnalyse Cardinale collected Indemnitium, that Focalors eventually used to destroy the throne of Hydro - and herself.
As you can see⊠none of this explains why did she really have to die. Couldnât she have used the collected energy to just sever the throne, and survive? The prophecy would have been fulfilled, the authority returned to Neuvilette, and the Fontainians turned to humans.
We can argue that the death of the Hydro Archon is what caused the destruction of the throne. But if that was true, a throne would be destroyed every time an archon dies, and we know thatâs not the case because archons have died before (the only Archons that remain from those elected originally are Venti and Zhongli - yet most thrones are intact)
We also know that death isnât what returns the authority to Dragon Sovereigns, by the same logic. Besides, if death of an Archon was needed for the authority to be returned to the dragons, that means Venti shoudnât be able to entrust the Anemo authority to Dvalin while alive - which is a popular theory, that I will recall at the end of this theory post.
The only reason I can see is the matter of Fate and Punishment. Maybe the prophecy required the part of the âhydro archon crying on her throneâ to be the final fate, which was the case since Furina stopped being seen as an Archon, but wouldnât be true if Focalors simply survived and resume the role of Archon afterwards. And that fate was a punishment derived from Egeriaâs actions, who was the one that allowed oceanids to becomesemi-humans in the first place, âmisusingâ the sea of life.
Someone pointed that it relates to the destruction caused by a godâs death. Good point! But usually, death causes destruction, and things happen in that order. The exception is if the god passes by letting their lifeform dissolve into the leylines, like what Boreas did - but idk, maybe thatâs what Focalors did as well to prevent an explosion, and it just wasnât clear.
Itâs still unclear to me. But it really proves once again how itâs near impossible to go against Fate.
English translations ruined the truth of Old Mondstadt to players - and the throne mention was corrected later in an official Hoyolab post
In the cutscene where Venti tells us about the nameless bard - the one who led the rebellion against Decarabian, whose appearance Venti took, as we learn about in Ventiâs story quest - one of the verses says:
âMondstadt began anew, its story passed down - and since then, never has another worn its CROWN.â
Thatâs a mistranslation, as this fan translation by dkniade pointed that it said 'THRONE' in CN. The ENG version only says crown for the sake of rhyming.
And itâs a change significant enough that it was corrected in the future, in this official Hoyolab post, where they mention a divine throne twice: they say it was destroyed, and they say no one else has ever ascended the throne.
Yes, it can simply be the throne of Decarabian, especially considering how many traits he shares with other god-kings like Remus and Deshret (no iâm not making it up, this post of mine is technically a wip but I really recommend if you want to learn everything about the seal of chemical marriage, divine pairs of sun and moon, and every single mention or allegory to it in the game). It can also be metaphorical, and mean that no one has ever ruled Mondstadt again or become a Tyrant.
But given the other things I think about Venti and the bard - that I will mention in the next section - and how the Anemo Gnosis was fallen, I think there is a possibility that the throne being referenced here is the Anemo Celestial Throne.
Decarabianâs death didnât cause the destruction of the throne - the bardâs death did
Contrary to what the english translation states, DECARABIAN WAS NEVER THE ANEMO ARCHON (yes, they messed up that badly).
This is obvious because he was not the winner of the Archon War in Mondstadt, in fact, the Tyrant was defeated by the rebellion. So he never held the title, gnosis, throne and possibly even the anemo authority*
(Note about this: Itâs heavily implied that Decarabianâs tower was taken from a dragon he defeated, not just because Dvalin later made the tower into his lair - so it was the perfect home for a dragon - but because a dragon is mentioned multiple times in recent lore drops about Old Mondstadt, like in Golden Frostbound Oath and A day carved from rising winds. That dragon was either
1) Ursa the Drake, who used to be Mondstadtâs angel as confirmed by Nicole, and therefore is definitely old enough for that
2) The original Anemo Sovereign, meaning that if Decarabian defeated him, there is a chance that he held the Anemo authority at least temporarily)
Okay, why does this matter? Because, by never being an Archon, his death couldnât have caused the destruction of the Anemo Throne.
Do you know who was the Anemo Archon who died very soon after Decarabian, even getting erased by time, in a way that is likely comparable to the special kind of death that Focalors brought upon herself? The Nameless Bard!
My theory is that he is Venti from the future, who traveled into the past, and the wisp is his split soul - basically like what Columbina did. And if you think itâs impossible, I beg that you check this theory of mine because I am more certain of it every month. At the very least, check the picture below that summarizes it, but the theory has proper explanations that would help all of this make sense. From the gnosis framing, to the almost-cecilia in the chest, the origin of the wisp and more, it is all too significant. Please donât come screaming at me to say he was a human without reading my post - there isnât a single canon mention to that.
And I know many people dislike this theory - I was torn too at first - but I quickly realized that:
It doesnât ruin the relationship between Venti and the bard (at least in the present, because he likely doesnât know the bard will be himself and his mourning is genuine, just like his âmistakeâ in salvaging/taking the bardâs name and, consequently, fate)
It doesnât go against the gameâs themes about love for humanity and letting it become independent, since itâs the rebellion who takes down Decarabian, not Venti/the bard, and in fact the role of the bard - of inspiring people into rebelling and doing whatâs right while giving side-support - is very much the way Venti already helps Mondstadt without doing things for them. (yes, this proves nothing and is not why I say they are the same, he could have just learned it from the bard. My point is simply that there is no behavior or thematic contradiction)
I elaborate on this properly in a section of the post I linked
What about returning the Anemo authority to Dvalin?
This is a pretty old theory, but since the only Gnosis whose Archons share this trait are the Anemo (in theory) and Hydro (canonically) - whose authorities over the elements resides with Dvalin and Neuvillette respectively - it would make sense to be the simpler explanation to the fallen chess pieces.
People believe Venti entrusted the Anemo Authority to Dvalin at the end of the Mondstadtâs Prologue, after defeating and purifying him. The party was falling, the dragon caught them, and Venti had that whole speech about âFreedom, if demanded from you by an Archon, is really no freedom at allâ. Then, a teal particle flies from him into Dvalin, who glows with the color of Anemo. Dvalin asks âIs this the power of the Anemo Archon?â
It would be a fitting moment to entrust the authority to him, and match what Venti was saying. After all, was Dvalin really free and allied of his own volition, when the power that was his birthright was still detained by the god that sang about freedom?
If this is true, is another aspect in common with Hydro: the elemental authority was entrusted to a dragon sovereign, who now has a complete authority
Note: Apep seems able to sense authority transfer, and she only comments about Neuvillette, not Dvalin. So the Dvalin part might not be true (although, if we really bend the interpretation, it could also imply that Anemo being with the dragons is a super old fact and not worth commenting about⊠but the game states more than once that the Hydro authority was the first to be returned).
Neuvilette also states in his âAbout the Anemo Archonâ section that âAs the recipient of the Authority of Anemo, the God of Breeze and Hope must also stand trialâ. It could be another counterpoint to this popular theory that I mention (although once again, people could interpret that he doesnât know/canât sense what Apep does, or that Barbatos being the recipient once doesnât mean he still his. Ofc that would be bending things to fit the theory tho)
Regardless, I mentioned the part about the authority only because many people believe it. My own theory is more about the throne being destroyed, and it's what I believe in more. Like I added in the new section, the destruction of a throne is needed to ensure authorities wonât return to newly elected Archons, but authorities precede the thrones of Celestia. Therefore, the concepts are tied but arenât the same.
Points that I consider true counterarguments to the core of my theory
There are things that people have argued that go against some aspects of my theory, but not my main point about the throne. Thereâs also valid points that are sadly, not so certain or are contradicted in other parts of the game, that I have now addressed by adding a new introductory section that states what we know about the relation between gnosis, authorities and thrones.
But there are also some counterarguments that would 100% make this theory wrong. I will keep adding them here:
In the first time we see the chessboard in the Tsaritsaâs palace, the Anemo Gnosis was still glowing. That would force my theory to be wrong in one of two ways:
either the piece being fallen now has nothing to do with the throne being destroyed, and the symbolism interpretation is incorrect;
or, if the symbolism is correct and it implies the throne has fallen, then it canât have fallen when the bard died to stop the destruction caused by Decarabianâs death, because that happen waaaaay before the first time we saw the chessboard.
Alternatively, we can consider hoyoverse just wasnât thinking about using that symbolism back then, which is what I chose to consider in order to make this theory. But it might be totally off
