Nabu Malikata

Nabu Malikata was the Goddess of Flowers^[6] and a close friend of Greater Lord Rukkhadevata, the previous Dendro Archon of Sumeru. The two were considered among the Three Eternal Companion-Gods of Sumeru alongside King Deshret, and were friends who each pursued their own paths towards "wisdom."^[7][8]

She was the creator of the Jinn and Khvarena, a Moon Envoy of the Lunar Palace,^{[Note 1]} and a survivor of the Angels.^[4][5] A portion of her remains were sealed within Collei's body until they were finally removed in the Archon Quest Your Past Is Like a Garden.

Profile

Appearance

According to legend, Nabu Malikata was said to have "beautiful" horns on her head. The horns of Nilou's crown in her default outfit, Neither Flower Nor Mist, were made to reflect this trait.^[6] Nabu Malikata also wore an amethyst crown, which became traditional headgear for her priests.^[9]

When the Traveler sees Nabu Malikata in Liloupar's memories, her appearance is described as being "ineffably beautiful," comparable to "the totality of her Jinn." However, when they meet her gaze, they are faced with "nothingness."^[10]

Based on the appearance of Nicole and other angels, it can be surmised that Nabu Malikata once had a halo-like crown and wings, both made from shimmering light.^[11]

While possessing Collei, the pieces of Nabu Malikata's remains took the form of a large magenta and purple serpent wreathed in black flames. Notably, the colors of the serpent closely resemble the flowers seen in her royal court in the Desert of Hadramaveth.

Story

Nabu Malikata was one of the Angels created by the Heavenly Principles for the purpose of guiding humanity as divine envoys of Celestia during the era of Teyvat's unified civilization. At some point, she became a Moon Envoy and began residing in the Lunar Palace.^{[13][14][Note 1]}

She participated in her elder sister Koitar's rebellion against their creator, the Heavenly Principles. During the rebellion, she assisted the other Angels in hiding and shielding their youngest sister, Nicole.^[15] For their rebellion, the Angels were punished with a curse that would strip them of their strength and memories if they were to ever love for an individual's sake over humanity's, turning them into husks of their former selves in the form of Seelies.^[16] While Nabu Malikata was able to escape punishment by hiding herself beneath the Great Red Sand, almost all of her sisters succumbed to the curse.^[9][17] According to a legend, she wandered the barren wastes for 72 days. Springs gushed from her wounds, becoming streams that flowed into gardens. Water lilies grew in these gardens, and the Jinn were born from them. The first Jinn begged her to stay with them, and she relented. Purple flowers resembling the moon bloomed wherever she stopped, and they were called Padisarahs.^[4]

Sometime during the Archon War, she met King Deshret, and later, Greater Lord Rukkhadevata. King Deshret shared his throne with the two goddesses, and they became known as the "Three Eternal Companion-Gods" of Sumeru, and good friends.^[7]

Nabu Malikata and King Deshret built the ancient civilization of Ay-Khanoum in the desert as an earthly paradise.^[18] While Nabu Malikata was aware of King Deshret's affections for her, it is implied that the feelings were not reciprocated.^[19][20]

Nabu Malikata is said to have composed the text Scroll of Streaming Song, which recounts her later meeting and union with Greater Lord Rukkhadevata. Nabu Malikata was the originator and namesake of the Sabzeruz Festival (Chinese: 花神诞日 "Birthday of the Goddess of Flowers"), which originally commemorated Greater Lord Rukkhadevata's birthday.^[6] After Greater Lord Rukkhadevata's death, the Sabzeruz Festival became a celebration for her successor Lesser Lord Kusanali's birthday.^[21]

On this same birthday, Nabu Malikata foresaw the coming of the cataclysm, so she created a shard of Khvarena, who she named her daughter. Khvarena was gifted to Greater Lord Rukkhadevata, as Nabu believed that Rukkhadevata's "light" was more radiant than hers. Rukkhadevata later transformed Khvarena into the divine bird Simurgh, who was the daughter of both goddesses together. The divine bird was destined to sacrifice herself during the cataclysm in order to save the Girdle of the Sands from its abyssal corruption. Simurgh's Khvarena alighted upon the Hydro Archon, Egeria's remains, giving birth to the Pari of the Vourukasha Oasis, who are the daughters of all three goddesses.^[22][23]

At some point, Nabu Malikata warned King Deshret against pursuing forbidden knowledge, the Heavenly Principles, or the "mysteries of the stars and abyss," relating her past experiences and the fate of the Angels to him.^[9] However, he remained undeterred and told her about his ambitions. Having long planned to continue the rebellion of the angels herself,^[24] she relented, and agreed to assist him with his plans.^[25][26] Greater Lord Rukkhadevata was heartbroken by her fellow God-Kings' plans, so she shepherded her own people away to create an oasis in the east of the desert, leaving Nabu Malikata to wait for a return that never came.^[27][28]

Death

Using her lingering connection to Celestia, Nabu Malikata granted King Deshret divine knowledge, and was consequently "burned to ashes by the flames of wrath" for her crime.^[29] It is suggested that she knew she would be punished by death,^[25] but went through with her actions regardless so that the bitterness of her death would preserve her legacy forever. King Deshret, who was enamored with her, never realized this intention.^[20] Her remains were scattered across the desert, and King Deshret gathered all the pieces he could find to bury them in the Eternal Oasis, but some fragments of her body went unaccounted for.

With her death, the original Padisarah flower went extinct,^[18] and although Greater Lord Rukkhadevata attempted to recreate the flowers in her friend's memory, she was unable to replicate its original shade of purple.

Legacy

Following Nabu Malikata's death, King Deshret deceived the Jinn into becoming his servants by telling them the Goddess of Flowers was merely in a deep slumber, and in exchange for the Jinn's power, he would help them find her.^[30] He created the Orchard of Pairidaeza as a cemetery for her,^[31] and set up the mortal kingdom of Gurabad with the duty of protecting the Orchard.^[7][32][33]

Using the divine knowledge granted by Nabu Malikata, King Deshret constructed his Mausoleum, with Aaru as the centerpiece. While Deshret had initially intended his creation to rival the world itself, his friendship with Nabu Malikata and Rukkhadevata led him to limit Aaru to a monument of the past when Nabu Malikata was still alive, at least according to Thoth.^[29] It is implied by the notes of the Belyi Tsar that Nabu Malikata's ultimate goal for this project was a system "that would stand independent of both the Ley Lines and Heimarmene," thus weakening Irminsul's control over Fate. As of the Archon Quest Truth Amongst the Pages of Purana, the destruction of Irminsul allowed Aaru to replace it as the hub for all of Teyvat's memories and a new anchor for the Dendro Archon's existence, completing the usurpation of the Ley Lines she had planned thousands of years in advance.^[24]

Eventually, the Fatui Harbinger Dottore tracked down Nabu Malikata's unaccounted-for remains and used them in various experiments, one of which was treating Eleazar with injections of god remains. Thus, a fragment of Nabu Malikata came to reside within Collei's body. Collei was the only one of the experimental subjects to successfully merge with Nabu's remains,^[34] but she remained unable to control them. The lingering malice within the remains continued to cause harm to people around Collei, until they were sealed within her by Cyno, prior to the events of the game.^[35]

Guided by her remaining impulses to aid mortals, Nabu's remains would grant Collei prophetic visions of both the burning^[36] and corruption^[37] of Irminsul. The first prophecy came true in the Truth Amongst the Pages of Purana, whilst the latter was averted by the cumulative fissures rent in fate.^[24] Ultimately, the prophecy proved essential to saving Sumeru and ultimately all of Teyvat from Il Dottore.

Finally, Nabu Malikata's daughter, the Jinni Liloupar, sacrificed her life to remove the last fragment of the Goddess' body from Collei, laying her to rest for the last time.^[38]

Character Mentions

Character Stories

Character	Stories
Collei	Character Story 4
Nefer	Moon Wheel
Nicole	Character Story 4

Character Voice-Overs

Character	Voice-Overs
Collei	Feelings About Ascension: Climax  Media:VO_Collei Feelings About Ascension - 03.ogg Media:VO ZH_Collei Feelings About Ascension - 03.ogg Media:VO JA_Collei Feelings About Ascension - 03.ogg Media:VO KO_Collei Feelings About Ascension - 03.ogg Even if it's a life-or-death situation, I'll never need to rely on their power again. Feelings About Ascension: Conclusion  Media:VO_Collei Feelings About Ascension - 04.ogg Media:VO ZH_Collei Feelings About Ascension - 04.ogg Media:VO JA_Collei Feelings About Ascension - 04.ogg Media:VO KO_Collei Feelings About Ascension - 04.ogg It probably wouldn't even matter if I unsealed that power now — I've come so far, I think I'd be able to control it, don't you? Well — only one way to find out! Hu-uh! ...Just kidding. My real superpower is all about the adventure experience I've had with you.
Cyno	About Collei  Media:VO_Cyno About Collei.ogg Media:VO ZH_Cyno About Collei.ogg Media:VO JA_Cyno About Collei.ogg Media:VO KO_Cyno About Collei.ogg I once helped Collei seal away the god's remains in her body, but the process was an unthinkably painful one. To many, enduring that kind of pain would be a prospect more terrifying than death, so it was very admirable that she was able to persevere through it all.
Nilou	Interesting Things: Padisarahs  Media:VO_Nilou Interesting Things - Padisarahs.ogg Media:VO ZH_Nilou Interesting Things - Padisarahs.ogg Media:VO JA_Nilou Interesting Things - Padisarahs.ogg Media:VO KO_Nilou Interesting Things - Padisarahs.ogg When the Goddess of Flowers danced, real Padisarahs would bloom underneath her feet. That sounds like such a beautiful scene. I'd love to see it.

Gallery

Collei manifesting Nabu Malikata's power within her

Trivia

• The name Bilqis, used in the World Quest Series The Dirge of Bilqis, is the arabic name for the Biblical Queen of Sheba, who travels to King Solomon bearing him great gifts to test his wisdom with difficult riddles. In later Islamic accounts and traditions, where the name Bilqis is derived from, she is instead invited by Solomon to submit to God rather than worship the sun in her kingdom, and ultimately acknowledges God's sovereignty (Surat An-Naml 27:20–44).
  • King Deshret's lore draws inspiration from several parts of King Solomon's mythos, which suggests that Nabu Malikata can only be the analogue for Bilqis.
• Nabu Malikata is presumably inspired by mainly numerous Middle Eastern goddesses, as implied from the known tribes that worshipped her and the etymology of their respective names (see The Eremites § Etymology):
  • Tanit, a Punic goddess with possible Berber origins, became the chief deity of Ancient Carthage during the 5th century BCE. Tanit was the Phoenician equivalent of the Babylonian goddess Ishtar.
  • Shimti,^[39] likely named after the Akkadian goddess, can also refer to a title used for several other Mesopotamian goddesses.
  • Uzza, likely named after Al-Uzza, a pre-Islamic Arabian goddess of the morning and evening star, worshipped alongside Al-Lat and Manat by polytheistic Arabian people, which includes the likes of the Nabataeans and many other pre-Islamic civilizations.
  • It is not clear whether the Unut and Iab tribes directly worshipped Nabu Malikata, but they possess the same pattern of having their tribes named after a goddess, which suggests that Nabu Malikata could also be based on the Egyptian goddesses Unut and Iabet.
    • Additional possible inspirations includes the Syrian goddess Atargatis, who bore the future Assyrian empress Semiramis (whom Liloupar is inspired by.)

Aliases and Titles

• Nabu Malikata is known by these aliases or titles:
  • Goddess of Flowers^[6]
  • God King^[8]
  • Mistress of Flowers^[10]
  • Lord of Flowers^[13]
  • Lord of Joy and Happiness^[13]
  • Moon Maiden^[13][14]
  • Mistress of Flowers and Oases^[18]
  • Mistress of Pushpavatika^[19]
  • Queen of All Oases^[30]
  • Mother of Dreams^[34]
  • Mistress of Dreams^[40]
  • Queen of the Garden^[41]
  • Gul Xvatun^[42] (in Deshret Script)
  • Bay Mihraban^[42] (in Deshret Script)
  • Xwemn Banbisn^[42] (in Deshret Script)

Etymology

• Nabu is an ancient Mesopotamian god of literacy, the rational arts, scribes, and wisdom. His name (Akkadian: 𒀭𒀝 Nabû) means "announcer" or "authorized person" and is a cognate with words in several other Semitic languages, such as Arabic نبي nabiyy and Hebrew נביא naví, meaning "enlightened" or "prophet."
  • Paralleling the horns atop Nabu Malikata's head, Nabu is described as wearing a horned cap.
  • Nabu and his father Marduk also rode the winged dragon Sirrush (more accurately rendered with modern knowledge of cuneiform as “Mušḫuššu”), a name which bears great similarity to one of Nabu Malikata's indirect descendants, Sorush.
    • Note that this connection is highly tentative, as Sorush's name is likely derived instead from the Zoroastrian yazata Soroush.
• Malikata is one of many forms of the Arabic word مَلِكَة Malika, "queen" (modern form) or alternatively مَلَكَة Malaka, "queen" (archaic form), or from the ideogram of the Middle Persian word for queen, MLKTA (Middle Persian: 𐭬𐭫𐭪𐭲𐭠 bāmbišn).
  • In the Eternal Oasis, her name is written as "NABU MLKTA" in Deshret Script, the same as the ideogram of the Middle Persian word.
  • Malikat (Arabic: ملكة "Queen of") is construct state of the word Malika, while Malikata is its accusative form with the same meaning. This is similar to how 'Queen of Sheba' is written in Arabic: ملكة سبأ Malikat Saba.
  • The use of ملكة in 'Queen of Sheba' allows it to be in either archaic or modern form depending on the context, with the common romanization is 'Malika'.
• The title "Gul Xvatun" has an approximate Middle Persian meaning of "Mistress of Flowers": Gul (Middle Persian: gwl gul, "flower") and xvatun (Middle Persian: xʾṯwn ⁠xātūn, "lady, noblewoman")
• The title "Bay Mihraban" has an apprximate Middle Persian meaning of "Kindly Lord": Bay (Middle Persian: 𐭡𐭢 bay, "lord") and mihraban (Middle Persian: mtr'pʾn' ⁠mihrbān, "kind")
• The title "Xwemn Banbisn" has an approximate Middle Persian meaning of "Queen of Dreams": Xwemn (Middle Persian: xwmn xwamn, "dream, sleep") and Banbisn (Middle Persian: bʾnbyšn bānbišn, "queen")

Notes

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References