Is Yae the previous Electro Archon in Genshin Impact?

Last Updated on: 23rd August 2021, 05:43 am

The hype for the 2.1 version is real! Genshin Impact will receive the next update for Inazuma, bringing new areas and two new characters: Kokomi, the Sangonomiya Resistance’s leader and the Raiden Shogun Baal, the Archon of Inazuma. 

But one of the many fan speculations is around the character we meet during our Archon Quests, Yae Miko. The Chief Priestess of the Grand Narukami Shrine has brought many theories to the table because of her mysterious behavior. And one popular theory is that Yae is the previous Electro Archon before Baal.

Who is Yae Miko?

Also known as Guuji Yae, she is an old friend of Zhongli, and was the first Inazuma character actually revealed during the 1.5 livestream in a chibi form. We meet her when we visit the Great Narukami Shrine at Ayaka’s request.

She has a striking resemblance to another miHoYo character, Yae Sakura from Honkai Impact 3rd, sharing the fox-themed design and having the same name and voice actors in both Japan and China.

This is important since Kitsunes are present in Inazuma as seen in the Sakura Cleansing Ritual world quest. She may be a Kitsune or, at least, be related to one in some way.

She also seems to know a lot more than the average priestess. During the new trailer, we could see Yae having a “wakey wakey” moment with the Traveler, and later she mysteriously appears behind him when he’s having his second match with the Raiden Shogun.

How does someone become an Archon?

We know that Vision bearers have the power to ascend to godhood, and this could possibly be how they would become Archons. By showing a strong will, they would ascend to Celestia, and possibly become the next Archon for a region.

A Vision represents the holder’s ambitions and dreams, so we can speculate that these would become their “Ideal” as an Archon (Freedom, Contracts or Eternity, for example), should they become one.

Note that this couldn’t be applied for the original Seven, since they became Archons by winning the Archon War 2000 years ago. While we know this, we don’t know the exact process any of them went through, with the exception of Venti, who became the Anemo Archon after defeating Decarabian.

If Yae is truly the previous Electro Archon, it is possible that she decided to retire (similar to Zhongli. Remember, they are known to be friends), and Baal succeeded her with her strong ambition of Eternity.

READ MORE: Genshin Impact 2.1: First Trailer Revealed

Why could Yae be the Electro Archon?

This theory comes from a lot of strange facts. When we first see the Statue of the Omnipresent God in Inazuma City, it doesn’t look at all with Baal. It resembles Yae more than her, and this statue should be the Inazuman counterpart to Venti’s statue in Mondstadt.

Another reinforcement is that Baal is not the original Electro Archon, as mentioned by Zhongli. So if there was someone before her, who could that person be?

Kitsunes are said to live through many years, so if Yae were the previous Archon and gave up her Gnosis, it wouldn’t be impossible for her to still be around after more than 500 years (The newest Archon is the Dendro one, ascended 500 years ago).

Also, when the Traveler encounters her, she acts like she was already expecting it. She also mentions that the way the swordsman who lost his vision finds himself, griefing with anxiety, is similar to a “certain flawed friend” of hers. 

Could that friend be Baal, pursuing her Eternity at the cost of the dreams and ambitions of her citizens?

Again, there’s the moment in the trailer when she talks to the Traveler. She addresses the Raiden Shogun as “Ei”, which may be her mortal name before she ascended. Does she know something special about her?

Her design choice is also interesting. Venti and Baal have similar characters in Honkai Impact 3rd, in the form of Wendy and Raiden Mei respectively. People often point that Zhongli also has some similarities with Fu Hua, but on a smaller scale.

This does not mean that “similar character in Honkai  = Archon”, but this should not be taken as a pure coincidence.

She is not a playable character yet, and while recent leaks indicate that she’ll soon be added to the game, aside from the fact that she’s an Electro Catalyst user, we don’t know anything else about her or her story.

Yae being the previous Electro Archon does not look like a complete impossible theory, and is being discussed since the version release. But is that actually possible?

READ MORE: Genshin Impact 2.1: Banner Order Officially Revealed, Baal and Kokomi to Star

TLDR; Is Yae the previous Electro Archon?

Even with many things indicating it, no. Yae is not the previous Electro Archon. 

How can we be so sure? Firstly, while the Statue DOES resemble Yae more than Baal, it isn’t possible to be her. As stated by CatWithTheBlueHat in his video, when you look closely, it does not look like any of them at all. It just happens to look more like the foxy girl.

Also, the statue wouldn’t be able to fit her ears, and it seems to represent a young girl. The Statue is more like a monument to Eternity than a way to show respect to the nation’s ruler.

Secondly, Yae is relatively young. One of the in-game books, “New Chronicles of the Six Kitsune, Vol. 1”, mentions Yae in a certain segment, where she’s mistaken for Kitsune Saiguu, the main focus of the Sakura Cleansing Ritual quest. Yae says that she wasn’t even born when Saiguu left.

We learn from the quest that Kitsune Saiguu disappeared around 500 years ago, so Yae is younger than that. This already confirms that she couldn’t have been an Archon.

Even more: We know that the previous Electro Archon was one of the victors of the Archon War 2000 years ago. Yae wasn’t even born, so she couldn’t have attended it. This previous Archon wasn’t Baal, but it surely couldn’t be Yae either.

She wasn’t the original Electro Archon that came from the Wars. All the original Archons, aside from Venti and Zhongli, are already gone. She does know Zhongli, but they probably met years before Inazuma was closed.

People have also proposed her as the real Archon, while Baal is just a fake ruler for some mysterious plot. This would be interesting, but that idea doesn’t hold itself either.

Going back to talk about statues, is nice to notice that the hair of the regular Statues of the Seven in Inazuma resembles Baal’s hairstyle, just like the previous statues resembled Venti and Zhongli.

Also, Baal is too powerful for a normal Vision bearer. She could open a new dimension in which she battled the Traveler and won easily. And also, there are registers from the Raiden Shogun’s presence in Inazuma from hundreds of years ago.

We have many examples of people living more than the usual human lifespan in Genshin Impact, but these are usually from other races (like Klee and her mom) or have some kind of divine power involved (adepti like Xiao and Ganyu).

Normal humans seem to live the same as we usually do, having a Vision or not. Baal wouldn’t be able to live that long without being a real god. She’s surely the Electro Archon, and not Yae.

Yae also seems to be very responsible, and does not seem like the type of person who would retire while leaving her nation for a tyrant like the Raiden Shogun.

READ MORE: Genshin Impact 2.1: Aloy first official gameplay trailer revealed

But even if Yae Miko is not the previous Electro Archon, she is clearly suspicious. She seems to know too much, and why would miHoYo give her the spotlights “randomly” during the 1.5 livestream? Ayaka could have fit that place far better if they just wanted to create hype.

Some of these questions should be answered when the 2.1 version finally arrives. And when Yae finally becomes playable, her story will surely reveal a lot about the lore.

You can play Genshin Impact for free on mobile devices, Playstation 4, Playstation 5 and Pcs on both miHoYo’s official launcher and Epic Games Store. A Nintendo Switch version is stated to be in development.