#sumeru lore

[aeroblossom]

sumeru was so ahead of its time. brain damage caused by ai, rampant anti intellectualism, repression of the humanities, techbros, exploitation of children whilst dehumanizing them, encouraging the average person to become lobotomised, inaccessibility of equal education, suppression of individual thought, abuse and abandonment of the physically and mentally ill, outcasting troubled individuals like zandik instead of extending community, understanding and support

[earth-shaker]

goddess of flowers lore i think about a lot

1/ she didnt have her original form during her desert arc - although she managed to maintain herself a lot better than the other angels

2/ the jinn were birthed from her wounds, her bitterness and intoxication

3/ she is goddess of escapism and alcohol pretty much

4/ the traveler actually saw her during the world quest and her eyes were empty. might be the abyss might be something else

5/ she wants her death to have an impact and spread bitterness. she may have known her death would have an Impact on deshret and wanted precisely that

6/ she created a daughter and imparted onto her this view of the importance of sacrifice (though in this case to stop the cataclysm, sorush who is a fragment of the khvarena also wanted to sacrifice)

7/ she entrusted this daughter to rukkhadevata (warning her about the future cataclysm too) and said that rukkhadevata is more radiant than herself

8/ she (with sybilla, likely celadon mare and another who might be yohualtecuhtin or might not?) attended koitar's revolutionary speech in which the latter said that she would never comprehend deshret's or rukkhadevata's affections for her

9/ she knew the moon sisters & danced with them

& she is herself known as a moon maiden

10/ she speaks in riddles a lot. you must Answer her Three Riddles

11/ deshret likes her and rukkhadevata calls her her lover. she says her heart holds feelings for both of them (whatever that means), but one of the riddles she gave rukkhadevata seems to imply she didn't love anybody like that. and never forget that legendary deshret slander

12/ shes one of the best lore characters (factual and true)

[parentscomputer-official]

didn't tighnari's whole fuckin species used to be a part of the temple of silence hermanubis cult thing. god just say tighnari and cyno are fucking soulmates or some bullshit hoyo

[hollowwhisperings]

The Seven Pillars of King Deshret

Heryshaf the Goat King, Minister of Ministers.

Sobek the Crocodile King, Captain of Captains.

Thoth the Ibis King, Scribe of Scribes.

Hermanubis, Priest of All Priests (per Temple of Silence NPCs).

Bennu Most-Radiant.

Sheshepankh Most-Holy.

Al-Apep the Dragon King.

"these "seven sages" are sometimes identified as "kings" or "saints" instead: that's because the chinese character for sage (圣) can mean any or all of these things at once. it can also mean "these "seven sages" are sometimes identified as "kings" or "saints" instead: that's because the chinese character for sage (圣) can mean any or all of these things at once.

(it can also mean "holy", "peerless", "master [of a skill]", or "emperor")

nefer's being released next patch alongside long awaited appearances from our sumeru cast so now seemed like a good time to brush people up on what we already "know" of the seven sages!

the sage lore is largely told through item descriptions, ruin sites, dialogue, and in-universe fanfic historical fiction: i have tried to link to specific sources where possible but many of them overlap.

i have also made comparisons of each sage to the ancient egyptian god(s) they seem to be based on.

watch this space to see what gets completely debunked in v6.1!

APEP (Dragon King)

namesake: the ancient egyptian god/demon apep, nemesis of ra & would-be devourer of the sun, depicted as a great serpent or "evil dragon" (the ancient greek equivalent thereof).

counterpart: same as namesake.

role: none, in king deshret's court, as her inclusion was "symbolic" [of the temporary alliance/ceasefire between she and sumeru, after her losses against celestia, and to honour her status as the original sovereign of dendro].

appearance: giant serpentine dragon (emphasis on "giant").

location(s): no artistic depictions have been found (thus far) but she is a boss domain.

successor: nahida, current lord of dendro.

SHESEPANKH

namesake: shese pankh is ancient egyptian for "sphinx" (lion with a human's head; greek & babylonian sphinxes are also winged).

counterpart: most probably the ancient egyptian goddess mut but plausibly any or all of the many other egyptian goddesses associated with cats; mut is a primordial creation goddess associated with kingship and motherhood.

role: speculated representative of the jinni.

depiction: winged-cat with a reptilian/serpent-like face.

location(s): paired statues throughout the land of upper setekh, most notably within khaj-nisut; paired cat (or snake) frescos on one of the mini monuments placed at safhe shatranj (the chessboard).

successor: nefer? ashru? dori's jinn?? unknown.

BENNU

namesake: bennu, bird-personification of the ba (soul) of amon-ra (king of the egyptian gods & god of the sun).

counterpart: see namesake.

role: speculated to be the living "soul" of the king (which would make her something akin to the spirit currently possessing cyno).

depiction: statues and frescos of a giant bird of an undetermined species, sometimes adorned with ornate jewelery.

location(s): statues atop the mausoleum of king deshret (there are a few within it too); painted fresco found within the "bygone glories passed" domain from dehya's story quest; frescos on one of the chesspieces at safhe shatranj.

successor: candace, current guardian of aaru village (the "soul" of a king lives on in his people?).

HERMANUBIS

namesake: the greco-egyptian deity hermanubis, a dog-headed god of healing, composed of the greek god hermes (as divine herald & a guide of the dead) and the egyptian anubis (jackal-headed guardian of the dead), as mildly conflated with the cult of asklepios the healer.

counterparts: hermanubis (see above) & anubis.

role: high priest of the king & (presumably) head of the priestly caste who later founded the temple of silence.

depictions: a "tighnarian" in priestly regalia (animated short); statues and frescos of an ornately dressed jackal-headed man; a black jackal "sitting" guard; possibly those frescos of pointy-eared priests?; spirit posessing cyno during his ultimate.

locations: outside & inside the temple of silence (jackal-headed statuary & frescos); before the mausoleum of king deshret & within it (black jackals).

successors: tighnari (hermanubis as healer and guide); cyno (anubis as a protective guardian); sethos (current head of his temple).

THOTH (Ibis King)

namesake: thoth, ancient egyptian god of knowledge oft depicted as or with the head of an ibis bird or baboon, the divine scribe.

counterpart: same as namesake.

role: court scribe (i.e. transcriber of the king's speech and court records) and (presumably) head of the scholarly caste.

depiction: statues and frescos of an ornately dressed ibis-headed man.

location(s): frescos are found on the walls of most ruins in the lower desert (e.g. the mausoleum or khaj-nisut); statues are similarly common (e.g. throughout the mausoleum and its neighbouring temples).

successors: alhaitham, current scribe of "god" (nahida).

SOBEK (Crocodile King)

namesake: sobek, ancient egyptian god of the nile river's annual flooding & divine protector from its many dangers.

counterpart: see namesake.

role: head of the royal guard &/or head of the warrior caste ("captain of captains").

depiction: ornately dressed crocodile-headed man.

location(s): statues beneath sebek oasis (sebek is an alternative spelling of sobek) and a few other artificial oases (such as thar of the hypostyle desert or lamb-revouring rock subareas).

successor: the protagonist of the King of Invokations light novel unknown.

HERYSHAF (Goat King)

namesake: heryshaf, ram-headed ancient egyptian god of the nile's riverbanks & thus fertility (conflated varyingly with the gods osiris, atum, & khnum/khenemu).

counterpart: see namesake.

role: prime minister & (presumably) head of the noble caste.

depiction: ornately dressed ram-headed man seated upon a throne.

location(s): paired statues seated outside the main entrance into khaj-nisut & at least one within its main building.

successor: presumably, whomever gets elected as the akademiya's new grand sage (current forerunners are the still-faceless "vikram" and "rifaet").

[valenteal]

So was all of Irminsul destroyed or just the new bit? Does Aaru now house all the historical records formerly held in Irminsul? Like, is Irminsul really genuinely destroyed and replaced or is it just certain parts of it? Because if Irminsul is really destroyed I think the Traveler deserves to be able to tell Nahida about Rukkhadevata.

Because I don’t think the things “erased” or “deleted” from Irminsul were actually deleted, more like quarantined. The information itself remains, it’s the connections to it that were deleted so that it couldn’t be accessed, as evidenced by the fact that the Traveler even mentioning Rukkhadevata could bring the corruption back and make everything for naught. But if Irminsul is gone, then that risk is too, because Aaru doesn’t hold any of the corrupted data about Rukkhadevata. And I think the people of Sumeru, and Nahida in particular, deserve to know the truth, not because it makes any tangible difference in anything, the story after her erasure is pretty much the truth that people didn’t understand originally, but because it matters so much to everyone’s motivations and psyches.

The Sumeru story line is so deeply tied to religious conflict, and making Nahida and Rukkhadevata the same god in the eyes of the people takes away such a huge reason for there to be any conflict at all. I’m sure that a lot of people were confused after the fact because they couldn’t understand their own motivations or feelings. Because so many people in Sumeru worshipped Rukkhadevata over Kusanali, saw her as “Lesser” and held a certain amount of resentment towards her. Which doesn’t make any sense if everyone was aware they were basically the same person from the beginning. People like Nilou and Dunyarzad were outliers in worshipping Kusanali, not only that, they were persecuted. And don’t even get me started on the Sabzeruz Festival and what the logic behind that could possibly be if they saw Nahida and Rukkhadevata as the same being!

Anyway yeah. Please tell the people of Sumeru the truth about their own history now Hoyo, I’m begging, this is a gaping plot hole and I know that’s on purpose and we the audience know the answers but it still really bugs me please it could be so interesting please please please—

[radaedan]

"Truth Amongst the Pages of Purana" AQ spoiler. Scroll past if you don't want to get spoiler!!!

I have so many questions... but this is such a nice wrap for Sumeru lore (GOD PLS NATLAN LORE IN AQ TOO LIKE THIS GOD HOYO EVERYONE IM BEGGING YOU LIKE THE BEGGIEST BEGGAR IN THE WHOLE BEGDOM. THE WHOLE LANQUE GANG & STARCALLER & THE REST OF THE PYRO ARCHONS & HEROES). Braindump below:

I cant help but melt at Apep-Nahida interaction... I KNOW that lizard is very fond of her. And her line abt Neuvillette? Pfttt should we tell her?

The title transitions having Dottore's glitch effect and then burning effect is a one-of-a-kind transition. I was GAGGED.

Ngl I thought the Irminsul burning will have more direct consequences... But yk, typical hoyo to store it in later chapters I presume.

Besides... THE PYRO GNOSIS GONE😭 I think we aren't freaked out enough about this. I was already utterly confounded with the Pyro Gnosis absorbing into the Traveler's body like, I quote, phlogiston. I thought it's already established that the Gnosis are made from Seutervoinen or Saarelainen's body??? Why does his remain have phlogiston-like quality or even a phlogiston itself? Venti stored his Gnosis in his body before Signora took it... but he's the Anemo Archon so that makes sense... But the Traveler??? Is it because they're also a Descender??? Unless... "O Syrup Mother, o Phlogiston Father! Let us meld together like sweet honey, and burn like flames..."

I felt emotional when Nahida & the cast prepared the Irminsul burning in the Eternal Oasis... The friends still keeping their vows even after their deaths... Ohhh Sumeru Gods Trio...

What a beautiful final for Dottore. Rest (not) in peace, Mad Heretic. You've seen the end of your experiments and you shall conduct it no more.

It's insane how many "love" theming is thrown at here. Thoth saying (in reference to Deshret's actions) that "Love is both a prison and a monument"... Pantalone & Dottore's conversation about it... Hmm... what does this imply about our next destination huh...

Was about to say that Nicole transferring Irminsul's datas/ability to Aaru to be quite out of nowhere until I remembered Lord of the Night creating the Night Kingdom... Though even then, she needed Ronova and the rest of the Seelies' help... Huh, maybe Nicole learned from her and perfected it through the Hexenzirkel's Ley Lines exploration?

I find it beautiful that the Irminsul saving cutscene callsback to the Sumeru III act cutscene too... Talk about parralels.

That's it for now. Snezhnaya AQ has such a rich background to continue the story...

[intogenshin]

Alhaitham & the Ibis King

Always wondered why he dresses like this birb, especially because the statue sits at the top of Deshret’s mausoleum alongside the jackal that has close ties to Cyno

The jackal is the symbol of Hermanubis, one of the seven sages of king Deshret and leader of the priest class Kasala belonged to.

There isn’t much actual lore about the sages other than the questionable book The Lay of Al-Ahmad and the fictionalized setting of King of Invokations from Dialogues of the Desert Sages weapon description. What we know for sure about Hermanubis is he established himself in Tulaytullah at some point alongside the Tighnarians and of course that Cyno possesses power related to him.

The Lay of Al-Ahmar describes the Ibis King (who tried to persuade Deshret before his falling but was turned down) as the scribe of scribes, while Dialogue of the Desert Sages portrays him bickering with the Crocodile King.

Dialogues of the Desert Sages describes two sages that had not featured in other lore before:

Saint Bennu: the king’s soul

Saint Shesepankh: a lioness and the king’s will

Bennu is an ancient Egyptian deity in the form of a heron, which outsiders tell Candace her shield has been blessed by

While “shesepankh” is another name for the sphynx, a lion with the head of a man in Egypt and a winged lion with the head of a woman in Greek myth, but the novel specifies it’s a lioness like Dehya

So we have so far among the seven sages of Deshret:

Hermanubis with jackal imagery and a direct connection to Cyno

Ibis King who is the scribe of all scribes and a bird statue with similar motifs as Alhaitham’s

Saint Bennu whose symbol Candace wears

Saint Shesepankh whose imagery is like that of Dehya

The remaining sages are the Goat King (minister of all minister and allegedly right hand of Deshret), the Crocodile King (commander of all commanders), and Apep (who didn’t count themselves among the sages)

So either it’s a coincidence or they might drop a goat and a crocodile character in the future lol although maybe Nilou could count for the goat imagery because of GoF’a horns?

I don’t think this means anything in terms of lore (reincarnation theory has long been dead) but thematically it could stand for something (desert gang has a role in fixing Deshret’s mess after all) also the two statues up there in Deshret’s mausoleum are gay as hell

[sciencemademeahom0]

fr him