Genshin Impact: Who Is Katheryne? (2024)

Throughout your travels around Teyvat, you'll meet a lot of NPCs whom you will help, and who sometimes help you in turn. But Katheryne is one of the most prominent ones. You almost always see her, as she's the one who gives out your daily commissions, as well as starting many of your limited-time events.

Related: Genshin Impact: What Is Paimon?

Somehow, she manages to be at every region's guild reception desk, and both the Traveler and Paimon question how she does this frequently, though they never get a clear answer. This uncanny ability of hers is just one of the things that have made the Genshin Impact community ask this all-important question: who exactly is Katheryne?

Fan Theories And Nahida's Confirmation

Besides the apparent ability to teleport at will, Genshin fans had noticed a keyhole shape on Katheryne's back. On top of that, if you hang around her long enough, you'll hear her mechanically say "error" and "rebooting." All these things put together prompted fans to theorize that Katheryne is actually some sort of robot or android.

Suspicions were raised even further during a Sumeru Archon Quest, where Katheryne appears to be wandering around and interacting with the Traveler outside of her reception desk for the first time ever (that you've seen). You soon find out that it's actually Nahida controlling Katheryne's body.

Related: Genshin Impact: What Are Adepti?

The Archon explains that she has the ability to occupy people's consciousness. However, she respects her people's free will too much to actually do it.

But why is Katheryne an exception, then? Nahida answers this herself by pointing out that Katheryne is a "bionic Snezhnayan puppet" and therefore not really a person with her own free will. For being such a significant piece of information that confirms what fans have been wondering for some time, this piece of dialogue is easily missable, as you have to choose to ask Nahida about Katheryne at the end of the Sumeru Archon quest.

Is Katheryne Working For The Fatui?

Since Nahida outright uses the word "puppet," it's safe to assume that the one who created her—or at least had a huge hand in it—is Sandrone, also known as the Seventh of the Eleven Fatui Harbingers, Marionette.

Not much is known about Marionette, but in one of his voice lines, Childe mentions that she's always deep in research on automatons like Ruin Guards. The huge one seen next to her was most likely modified by her, if she didn't outright create it.

If Marionette is that invested in researching automatons, then making something like Katheryne is probably child's play to her.

But that would mean that Katheryne is not only of Snezhnayan origin, but also directly linked to the Fatui. The Fatui have proven to be less than trustworthy, though not all of them have bad intentions or seek to go directly against the Traveler. So, which side is Katheryne on?

Related: Genshin Impact's Entire Plot So Far, Explained

Since she can be at the forefront of the Adventurer's Guild at any time, Katheryne has probably witnessed a lot of conversations and activities between people, including the Traveler and Paimon. But what does she do with this information? Does she keep it to herself or report back to the Fatui? Does she even have to do anything, or is everything automatically being recorded and directly sent to them?

It's still unclear whether Katheryne has any ill intentions or ulterior motives when interacting with the Traveler. However, you still talk to her and get commissions from her like you usually would even after Nahida's confirmation. So, either the Traveler feels like Katheryne isn't a direct threat to their objectives, or they're playing it cool in front of her for now.

Either way, though she's ostensibly just another NPC right now, Katheryne has a lot of potential to eventually become a much bigger part of Genshin Impact's story. The Traveler has met Tartaglia, Dottore, and Signora until now. Maybe when it's Sandrone's turn, we'll be seeing much more of Katheryne--whether she ultimately goes against the Traveler or somehow fights against her initial programming.

Next: Genshin Impact: Who Is Scaramouche?