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A lot of this rumor feels very reverse engineered from the existing info we have.

The part where all the other riders being based on "cultural warriors" is very much building off the idea that Geats is based on Beowulf.

Geats transformation item separating into a Wolf and an Axe clearly comes from that supposedly leaked description of him resembling Build with a Wolf and an Axe for eyes.
- Also, if both the Animal and Weapon are tied to the identity of the Riders (i.e Geats' base form can only be formed using the Wolf and Axe item, same for Arthur with the Horse and Sword item), how are the mandatory Q1 side forms supposed to work for any of them? Or are we supposed to believe they all swap the animal/weapons halves of their gimmick item with each other (despite the premise being them all competing with each other) to obtain their side forms?

The "1 returning Rider with their Driver and an upgrade." is also based on the supposed the Build connection.