Hey all, just wanted to put together a list of random theories I have about Nefer. Several of these rely on the idea of her lacking a vision. This is still somewhat up to debate. The two things I've seen suggested as possibly being her vision are these two
Behind the earring?
The first one seems more likely to be a vision, but it's not a good enough view to say for certain. Until we get a better view of her I'd argue it could just as easily be a regular green gem.
Now of course if it is a vision, then the easy answer is just that she just happens to come from Sumeru, and the other sketch things in her design are simply because it's a neat aesthetic. I hope this isn't the case, however, and also believe Hoyo wouldn't throw up so many red flags without reason.
As for said "sketch things," they primarily consist of her Egyptian inspired aesthetic, her general serpentine look, and her eyes (more on the last one later). The serpent aspect and Egyptian clothing would indicate that she's related to the desert area specifically. This automatically opens up questions, as even if she were to be an ordinary person, then all the other desert characters have very clear connections to one of the former civilizations in some form, we don't tend to have "dude who just decided to camp out there."
Anyways, with the generic information out of the way, each of my theories.
- She's a Jinni we haven't met yet. This is one of the most likely to be the case. In the case she isn't a vision holder, we've established that at the very least Liloupar's fragments can sustain localized ecosystems, so dendro power wouldn't be out of the picture. Or if she is, I don't believe there's any indication so far to suggest that a Jinni wouldn't be able to gain a vision. We've seen adepti with innate power still gain and use visions (Xiao, Xianyun), and I'd be inclined to believe that the two species could be similar in that particular regard. Her headpiece also bears some visual resemblance to Liloupar's bottle.
Both the gold ornaments on the bottle and the centerpiece for Nefer seem to come together in a kind of layered triangle pattern. Also, the horn like ornament on the back of her head bears a resemblance to the downwards curve on Liloupar's ornamentation. The last thing I would say indicating Nefer as being a Jinni is her statement about how an even greater storyteller arrived upon noticing Nicole. This is of note due to the Jinn's origins as having sprouted from Nabu Malikata's wounds, and their immense respect and affection for her after their birth. That in mind, it would not be a stretch for the Jinn to hold a default level of admiration for any angel they encountered. As for Nicole being an angel, the main pieces of evidence are Skirk's voiceline about her, as well as her own design features in the Nod Krai preview. There are almost definitely other theories which go far more in depth down this rabbit hole elsewhere, however. I am simply operating off the assumption, and drawing a conclusion about Nefer's reaction to her being a Jinni sensing an angel.
- She is one of Liloupar's descendants. Throughout the desert world quests we hear about Liloupar using her descendants to wreak vengeance upon Gurabad and its rulers, as well as her own suggestion that some of them still wait for her within its ruins. This is another useable explanation for all the Liloupar similarities, and would possibly work better as a hook into a new Sumeru expansion, with us finding Liloupar again through her descendants. Of the people Nefer could possibly be, Shirin, or a till-now-unkown descendant of hers, would be most likely, as The Tale of Shiruyeh and Shirin, Volume 2 indicates that Shirin may have continued wandering the desert.
- The Lay of Al-Ahmar suggests that Deshret had three retainers, the Goat King, the Ibis King, and the Crocodile King. The book isn't exactly portrayed as inherently reliable, but throughout the desert plenty of murals and symbols and statues portray similar things. She might be one of them, or related to one of them. Would explain her design influences. I don't have anything else, this one is kinda a crack theory, but I thought it was worth putting out there. (As an aside, Deshret frequently has some amount of sheep connection (Liloupar's reference to him, the only goat statue being in his throne room), so perhaps these three retainers are simply a misconstrued way of referring to Deshret himself, Nabu Malikata, and Rukkhadevata)
- She's some kind of gravekeeper for King Deshret.
Eye of horus
Nefer's right eye
The eye of Horus and Ra, are the two eyes of the Wadjet. The Wadjet is a deity of ancient Egyptian folkore, who protected the lands but most specifically, Kings and the royal families. It was also at times portrayed as a flying serpent, fitting Nefer's serpentine aspects, as well as her wing-like headpiece. Additionally, in game there is the Wedjat Eye (wow big spelling change), which was gifted from Deshret to Rukkhadevata. While the original amulet was broken, the two halves are still capable of viewing fragments of the past, and are now under protection of the Temple of Silence. Also the colors of Nefer and the Eye just. Match too well.
- Don't kill me - I'm putting this out here for context on the next two - She's Apep. It's a cool theory. I really want more playable sovereigns. It doesn't work though. However, I want to share it cause it's still neat, and also gives some more context on my last theories. I will be sharing both the idea of the theory and why it doesn't actually work. First why it came into being. So the initial obvious things are the serpentine design, and the ties to the desert theming. Now into a little bit more detail.
Enjou shares that humanoid vishaps' distinguishing feature is the pupils
Confirmed humanoid sovereign showing very draconic puils
Guess who else has draconic pupils
Another little design detail is the. Regal aspect of both attires.
Both of their ornamentations and flairs seem somewhat similar. Just a cute little thing.
As for WHY Apep would show up, the general idea is that the dragons viewed the moon sisters being under the Principles's control as a betrayal. Perhaps she went to Nod Krai to try and get more information about this?
As for why this whole theory doesn't work, here's the brief rundown.
- Apep is far too prideful and hateful of humanity to EVER deign to run around in human form and talk to overly ambitious mortals like Varka
- She's still stuck recovering from her little abyss scare
- Modern Apep adapted to fit into the desert, so a human form would make more sense to reflect the yellows and oranges modern dragon Apep has taken on
- She wouldn't take so much inspiration from the desert civilizations after her bad deal with Deshret
There are probably more reasons, but this is plenty
- Nefer is an offspring of Apep. Would explain the vishap eyes. Also the colors still match.
- "Apep" as we know her is no longer Sovereign. Two ways this could happen.
- The fundamental authority has gotten passed down. There is some precedent for this, as in the conclusion of the Natlan world quests, the possibility of Little One inheriting the Pyro authority is raised. It's not. Especially explained, but it marks a precedent.
- Apep, being a being that's both serpentine and associated with evolution, could have "molted." From Neuvillette, we know that the sovereigns reincarnate. Apep also brings up how her death would cause such an explosion of Dendro energy as to cause irreversible damage to Sumeru. But what if she were to willingly shed her current form and partially regress so as to be able to better function? There's not exactly a precedent, but I think there is room for Apep to have a prepared "death" for herself so as to shed much of the currently cumbersome history, and forcibly rebirth the Sovereign. It's kinda a weird theory, but I like it, and I wanted to hear others' thoughts.
That's all, let me know your thoughts :3
