#or the regions faron=farore eldin=din and lanayru=nayru

[amiharana]

my favorite part about the hebra region is how a lot of the names are based off of types of birds, because of the presence of the rito there. dronoc's pass = condor. lake kilsie = silkie chickens. sturnida hot spring = sturnidae, starling birds. tickles me pink or something like that.

[adel-memes]

3 and 17 for the fanfic ask game!!

Hiii! Thanks for the ask :D

3. What’s a fic idea that you have but haven’t written yet?

YEAH!! I got many answers for these so if anyone is interested just ask I got monster hunters au, e-rivals au, cyberpunk (PLEASE-) and royalty au. Here I'll talk about royalty :)

SO it's a fic that has all the colors from different regions as different roles. So for example, I'll start with Blue who we follow. He's a prince, Zelda's twin specifically, and they're the children of Nayru ruling Lanayru in a monarch type of system.

Green is Farore's chosen hero, she's the 'chief' of Faron where it isn't exactly ruled by 'royalty' but she does have selections of 'soldiers' who go through her trials to deem as her 'chosen heroes' (think Hylia's chosen hero now make it Farore's)

Vio is actually a rogue count. He was part of Farore's chosen heroes (think child prodigy) and then was like actually I don't wanna be here and left. Do we know where he went? Nope :] Will we find out? Maybe :]

Red is ??? cause I'm still thinking on it. Though he's from Eldin and rn Din & Ganondorf are at war over there with Din + Hyrule + Twilight on one side and Ganondorf + Lorule + Termina on the opposing side rn they're tense around each other but that's the reason Din is MIA most of the time. I'm thinking Red is her son OR Midna's son tbh

Shadow is kinda my favorite, he's lorule's bastard lmao. Hes hilda's younger brother who is adopted but people keep spreading rumors that he's Not and is actually a bastard lmao "who let the bastard speak?" - majority of other princes & princesses at Shadow

Anyway the story follows Blue and his bond with the others. (Yes he meets all of them and has separate dynamics with each. Example: Childhood friends to enemies with Green, bodyguard with Vio, opposites attract with Red, for once idk his dynamic with Shadow but the vibes in my head are pointing to unrequited mutual pining lmao)

I can ramble in more details about the idea and all but :) up to you guys

17. Are there any writers and/of stories that you consider an influence?

Definitely changeling-rin's dimensional links for links meet AUs. I feel like if I ever committed and wrote my links meet au I'd probably be more inspired by dimensional links fr

Also silversage elements fic with Blue, I feel like a LOT of how I characterize Vio's & Blue's relationship with each other is inspired by her fic and especially their relations with their respected elements

Other than that I'm not much of a reader atm (reading slump)

[greyennui]

A Brief (and not at all comprehensive) Analysis of Triforce Lore in Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom

The Triforce is such a massive piece of Hyrule's lore that it's been the focal point in every single Hylian royal crest in the games so far. Despite that, it's never mentioned by name in Breath of the Wild or in Tears of the Kingdom. Of course we see the Triforce on Sonia's tattoos (skin paint?) and when Zelda used magic in BotW, but the symbolism of the three aspects was furthered between BotW and TotK in interesting ways. Here's your warning for mild spoilers about the labyrinths and the Zonai armor set.

For those of you new to the franchise (and those who'd like a refresher), the Triforce is that fun triangle symbol made of three triangles forming a fourth with their points. Each of the triangles represents Courage, Wisdom, and Power, respectively. In BotW, we got a sacred spring for each aspect of the Triforce, though the Triforce itself is never mentioned. In the Zonai ruins in Faron we see carved dragons and owls and even the occasional boar, and it's easy to draw the meaning. Owls are often associated with wisdom, Ganon (the historical bearer of the Triforce of Power) often takes the form of a large boar, and dragons are scattered throughout various mythologies in stories of courage. The Zonai were clearly very aware of this symbolism and its history in Hyrule.

Tears of the Kingdom, while still not mentioning the Triforce by name, takes this even further. One hint we see, when looking closely, is that the Zonai armor chest piece has ornamentation made up of three mask-like objects, bearing resemblances to an owl, a dragon, and a boar. When beginning the quest at each set of labyrinths, Link hears a voice speak to him. These three voices claim to be the Ruler of Owls, the Ruler of Dragons, and the Ruler of Boars. Each labyrinth comes with a task that tests all the aspects of the Triforce: wisdom to locate the terminals, courage to dive into the depths, and power to defeat the enemy at the end.

What I find interesting is that Link is repeatedly tested on all three aspects—not only courage, which has historically been associated with the Hero. Considering Zelda attended and prayed at all the springs during BotW's story, and she bore the mark of the Triforce when sealing Dark Beast Ganon, I wonder whether the Triforce now exists more as a spiritual concept than a physical artifact. Link, who is continually proving his proficiency in all three aspects, bears his own Triforce in a way, living within a balance of the three just as Zelda has. This, essentially, makes him worthy of bearing the Master Sword, just as it makes Zelda worthy to wield the Sealing magic.

While this is a fun theory, it still stings that the Triforce has seemingly been ignored in the recent lore, and feels a bit reminiscent of the same treatment of the Golden Goddesses, who each created one aspect of the Triforce. They are not mentioned at all in BotW or TotK, save in veiled references by way of the dragons' names and names of regions: Naydra and Lanayru (Nayru), Farosh and Faron (Farore), and Dinraal and Eldin (Din). I've seen it mentioned that Nintendo may be trying to appeal to their Western audience by angling the franchise toward monotheism—which is a whole other discussion I'm not at all qualified for, but I'm mentioning it here for its vague relevance. It's disappointing, to say the least, and that the Triforce has been set aside along with the Golden Goddesses gives me cause to mourn a little. Here's hoping the next game brings them back in more substantial ways than vague references.

[emissary-of-the-moon]

More Miscellaneous World-Building from my 'Modern' AU

-Twilight isn't allowed to talk about what happened during the war per the Light Spirits, but a few people do still know due to him accidentally blabbing after getting a little too drunk. Time and Malon know there's something and that he can't talk about it. Originally only Midna knew, it wasn't until a few years later when as previously mentioned, he got too drunk. Ilia didn't believe him at first which led to him using the shadow crystal, Wars then woke up the next morning to wolf Twilight in his living room. Legend didn't explicitly know until one night when he, Wars, and Twi were having their 'get drunk in a cornfield & have a bonfire' night when Wars off-handily mentioned fighting with wolf Twi & cursed Midna during the war. Legend always knew there was something with Twilight, just never specifically what (being around enough ancient magical artifacts will do that to a guy). Wind recognizes the marks on Twilight are eerily similar to a wolf he encountered not long after he landed in mainland Hyrule, but has yet to make the conection.

^TDLR: Midna, Warriors, Legend, and Ilia are the only ones who directly know. Malon, Time, and the people in Ordon know something happened during those years but don't ask. Wind just didn't put two and two together.

-There are region specific curses. (The map from my 'modern' au is heavily based on the twilight princess's map)

Example: 'Oh Ordona/For Ordona's sake'

Ordona Province: 'Ordona'

Faron Province: 'Faron, Farore'

Eldin Province: 'Eldin'

Lanayru Province: 'Lanayru'

Desert Province: 'Lanayru, Argorok, Hylia, Sols (Twili specific)'

Peak Province: 'Lanayru, Hylia'

Castle Town: despite being located in the Lanayru Province, most locals don't have as much faith tied to the Light Spirit, mostly just using 'Hylia' in some form or another

Lorule: 'Lolia'

Holodrum: 'Din/Dinraal'

Labrynna: 'Nayru/Naydra, Laruto'

Great Sea Islands: 'Valoo, Cyclos, Zephos, Jabun' (varies from island to island)

New Hyrule: 'Spirits'

-The Zora Race is predominantly from Labrynna. Wild is technically Labrynnian, not Hyrulian (aka he was born in Labrynna and lived a good chunk of life there).

Gorons are from Holodrum. Speculated that is where Hyrule is from (he still doesn't actually know where hes from).

Twili were banished to the Desert Province (that is no longer the case).

Gerudo used to be mainly in the Desert Province/Gerudo Desert but have mostly migrated into other provinces in Hyrule.

Anouki are mainly from New Hyrule, but a good amount is from the Peak Province in Hyrule. Ashei is half-Anouki.

Rito predominantly from Dragon Roost 'Island' (the island is significantly bigger than it is in-game, county sized)

Zora, Rito, Gorons, Twili, and other humanoid races are just human races.

[lanternagainstthedark]

Epithets of Hyrule

Regional Spirits/Dieties

Soooooo.... As I posted prior, I'm a moderator for a relatively new discord server called the Community of Hyrulean Faiths, which is a wonderful experience so far! However, as a quick disclaimer, most of my experience with LoZ is BOTW/TOTK, with a smattering of a few other games mostly lived vicarious through fanfiction. I make no promises that I will cover all the deities and spirits of Hyrule, both for personal reasons(I just objectively refuse to honor Demise/the Calamity with epithets), and also just from lack of knowledge(sorry Lord Jabu-Jabu).

I can say this one will include the Great Deku Tree, Lord Satori, Farosh, Naydra, Dinraal, and probably Fierce Deity. I may include a bit on Ancestors/Repetitive Spirits(like the Blood of the Goddess, The Hero's Spirit, and the Corrupted Champion, among others), but I make no guarantees. If YOU have an epithet that you think of/use, please share! I would love to expand my lists, and share to others!

@ringaroundtheroses Thank you for the lovely reblog, it was so nice I had to write more!

The Great Deku Tree

Lord of the Forest, The Korok Guardian, Grandfather, Eternal Cycle, He Who Was Planted By The Hero, He with 1000 Memories, Watcher of the Sword, The Verdant Sage, He Whose Roots Run Deep

Lord Satori

Lord of the Mountain, Keeper of Abundance, Blupee Father, Grandfather, Unknowable One, Mystical Guide, He Who Was Lost, Keeper of Hidden Things

Fierce Deity

The Hero's Ascension*, Guardian of Termina, He Who Broke The Moon, Catcher of the Falling Moon, Timebreaker, He Who Is the Mask of Ancient Power, The Trapped Guardian, The Fury, Furious Warrior, He Who Is Ready for War, The War Herald,

NOTE THAT THERE ARE POSSIBLE SPOILERS FOR TOTK BELOW

Dinraal

Guardian of Power's Spring, Lost Sage, Devoted of Din, Burning Fury, Burning Peace, Eldin's Dragon

Naydra

Guardian of Wisdom's Spring, Lost Sage, Devoted of Nayru, Freezing Fury, Frozen Peace, Guardian of Age, Lanayru's Dragon

Farosh

Guardian of Courage's Spring, Lost Sage, Devoted of Farore, Chraged Fury, Storming Peace, Faron's Dragon

Worship of the Heroes

Heroes are where things can get a little complicated. Most people know the story of the Hero, the Blood of the Goddess and the demon king. Most regions have specific epithets that correspond to each of the three(baring the Corrupted Champion, who is usually refered to as Demise, of the Lord of Hatred. SO the worship of these spirits always looks different, and its very easy to adjust your worship to match your life.

Anyway, I am now exhausted. Have a wonderful day! I will try to add some more tomorrow! Enjoy!

Merrily Met and Blessedly Go,

Ori

[tarotcard0]

@smashgal Sorry for the reblog, again.

Both of these at once, and lots of Quoting. Easier to respond to.

>The Triforce has been relegated to a symbol of the Royal Family at this point [...] What are Din, Nayru, and Farore?

I find that hard to believe considering that the Triforce plaque visible in both games still has the three symbols on it. And the lands of Eldin, Lanayru, and Faron are still named after them. And so are the dragons patrolling those regions. But characters have yet to talk about the Triforce by name, so what I only know for sure is that "Oral tradition" is "one of the least reliable methods of information retention and transmission" so maybe everyone "just forgot" all of that too. Maybe everyone in Hyrule "Just forgot" their own creation myth.

Still really hard for me to believe that because if it's been long enough that the three golden goddesses have been forgotten to time, then there's one more name they should have forgotten; Hylia.

>Why did they NEVER ONCE thought to find it, and wish upon it to defeat Calamity Ganon

Well, Zelda already has the Triforce, as seen in the ending of BotW. The full mark is on the back of her hand when she uses her powers.

And Nintendo has been pretty consistently bad about what the heroes wish for, as they always make a decently dumb wish that doesn't solve literally every problem, resulting in people pointing out the obvious wish that could have been made instead. (The exception being LttP, in which the Protagonist's wish solved literally every problem)

My best guess is that Nintendo quietly tried to ret-con that ability of the Triforce away after said complaints that the heroes were utterly wasting their wishes.

-

Still haven't beaten the game as of writing, still enjoying it for the most part, the gameplay at least. And at least the story is unintentionally hilarious instead of just bad.

It is with a heavy heart that I must admit that I spent money on Tears of the Kingdom.

At the very least I got a hacked 3ds, so I'm willing to say that's my revenge for that transgression.

I have now started playing Tears of the Kingdom, and by the time I'm done, I'm a little more that 100% certain that its plot will not, in any way throw a wrench into the plans I have for my fan fic.

I'm only, like, 5 minutes in and already Zelda's name-dropped the Zonai as if they were just a thing we knew about, apparently. Next they'll be telling me a Boomerang was the murderer. Oh well, maybe everyone "just forgot" until they didn't. After all, "Oral tradition" is "one of the least reliable methods of information retention and transmission" right Nintendo? Just use that excuse to justify all your fucking retcon! "Everyone just forgot!"

I... need some soda. These dungeons better rule, because the story is not looking good so far.

Hope... springs eternal. I'm only 5 minutes in. Let's go.

[grooviestsadpapaya]

────⊱⁜⊰──── Shadow Over Hyrule ────⊱⁜⊰────

The people of Hyrule have abandoned their peace and unity in exchange for luxury. In their divided state, monstrous forces grow more powerful in an attempt to resurrect their king, Demise. Three warriors who possess the blessing of the Goddesses form an alliance to prevent a brutal war.

────⊱⁜⊰────

Pretty basic idea, but I think it’s fun 👍 Here is a more detailed description: (keep in mind this is probably going to change in the future) it’s cheesy so bear with me

Like I said, Hyrule is no longer a joint force. The Rito, Zora, Gerudo, Sheikah, Gorons, and Hylians no longer see each other on equal terms. While the Gorons manage to sustain neutrality, everyone excluding the People of Central Hyrule have fallen victim to immense poverty. Central Hyrule is walled off from the starvation and scarcity surrounding it: the people within its borders live very indulgent lifestyles and are unaware of the dire state of their neighbors. The Royal Hylian family has become corrupt and hellbent on perpetuating tradition, so much so that when their firstborn child had the mark of the Goddess on the back of their hand, they went to extreme lengths to uphold the family image.

Beyond the walls lies desolation. Zora’s Domain is flooded and riddled with disease, Gerudo Valley is a derelict shell of its former glory, and there is nothing left of Rito Village but ash. Despite this, the people of these nations found a way to pull through. They formed ramshackle sanctuaries and communities to accommodate the remaining survivors. Because of poverty and hunger unfortunately, violence among these communities is inevitable. Many youths are attempting to cultivate environments to put a stop to this disorder, mainly the Resistance and the Yiga Clan.

Demise’s army develops behind the scenes… or under the scenes I guess. Yeah, there are massive catacombs underneath Hyrule and they house the Twili People. The Twili are not monsters, nor are they even a part of Demise’s forces. In fact, they are forced to serve Demise against their will. (I’m gonna develop this more later, it’s a big fat WIP rn. The characters that will be the main antagonist forces will be Demise, Ghirahim, Zant, Vaati, and Yuga, all of which are exclusively tied to a region underneath Hyrule. Ghirahim is in the Lanayru region, Zant in the Eldin Region, Vaati in the Faron Region, Yuga in the Hebra region, and Demise in Central Hyrule. I’m tired lol)

ALRIGHT FOLKS TIME TO TALK ABOUT THE CHARACTERS WOOOO!! I’ll just explain some of their backstories bc I want to save their actual arcs and stuff for the comic. Keep in mind I am NOT a writer lmao

Shown are the three “warriors” who wield the blessings of the Goddesses Din, Nayru, and Farore (Power, Wisdom, and Courage respectively). We’ll talk about the very top one first because he’s my favorite <3

Bestir Ganondorf Rova ────⊱⁜⊰────

Bestir’s name was changed from Ganondorf to protect him. The Royal Hylian Family would kill him if they found out he was the first Gerudo Male to be born in more than a century. He was raised by twins Fyre and Aice Rova with his sister Nabooru (he calls her Nabbi). Nabooru was always far more outgoing and athletic than her brother, but Bestir had always had a way with words. He was cunning and knew how to make people do what he wanted. This duality would usually result in them playing tricks on the Hylian guards patrolling the area. They even became friends with some of the guards on duty. Eventually though, tragedy befell the Gerudo and him and his sister were left as orphans at the age of ten. He fled to the nearest settlement, hand-in-hand with Nabooru, and stumbled upon a tavern in the southern Hebra region named Telma’s Bar. The siblings were taken in by the tavern’s owner, Telma, who had also taken in various other strays. Among these strays were Remedy, Key, Shad, and Ashei, all of whom were left homeless after the destruction of Rito Village. After about a year, Bestir is visited by the Goddess of Power Din in a dream. If I go any further I will end up spoiling stuff so mehhh I’ll just move on to Sheik

TL;DR — The only sane one of the three and an orphan who maxed out his charisma stat.

Sheik Nexus Hyrule (prev. Zelda Nexus Hyrule) ────⊱⁜⊰────

Sheik was the firstborn child of the Queen of Hyrule and was born with the mark of the Goddess on the back of their left hand. This sent the Royal Family into a frenzy as the mark had not been seen among the people for centuries. However, contrary to what legends would usually suggest about the Goddesses Vessel, Sheik was born with jet black hair rather than a golden blonde. When the heir turned six, their parents made the decision to change that. They bleached the child’s hair on a monthly basis from then on out, presenting the change to the public as a miracle from the Goddess Hylia. Eventually their monthly bleaching ended up in disaster, burning the child’s face and leaving them with a permanent scar. Sheik had always been discontented with their home life, but this tipped them over the edge. They began to lash out and became angry. They packed a small bag with little to none of the basic items they needed to survive and left the castle. Their first night under the stars, away from their lavish life at the castle, they receive a dream from the Goddess of Wisdom Nayru.

TL;DR — A really really angsty teen with horrible familial trauma and anger problems.

Link ────⊱⁜⊰────

That’s it. That’s his name. He has no memory of who he was in a past life, all he knows is that he wasn’t always like… that. He is aware of what is wrong with him and why he looks the way he does, but his mental is a bit of an enigma, especially to him. He knows that he had been cursed; that there is something unwanted inside of him. A parasite. I really can’t say much more about his backstory because I don’t wanna spoil the comic, so I’ll just say that he hates his superiors, in particular Ghirahim and Yuga, and he is really romantically frustrated. He is a Shadow, which means he is basically a normal person who has become corrupted, or “Twilit”. Basically they have big evil tapeworms that make you really strong and scary (think how Darbus became Fyrus in TP). The Shadows are kind of a method Ghirahim uses to keep the Twili serfs in line. If the parasite is removed, the Host dies. Oh yeah, he also will not hesitate to fuck you up so bad you get turned into a headline. He gets visited by Farore, Goddess of Courage, bla bla, no one cares.

TL;DR — Ruthless murderer with a parasite, amnesia, and no bitches.

It’s kinda sad because Bestir is eleven and is literally babysitting two grown ass adults because they are both so unhinged and hate each other’s guts so much that nothing gets done.. just thought I’d put that out there. Luckily Telma helps him because she is a girlboss.

────⊱⁜⊰────

If you are reading this tysm, like I said this is prone to changes so don’t get too attached to any certain part of my really rough outline of my story. Ily all and thank you for the support 💖 Reblogs are greatly appreciated!

[powdermelonkeg]

Hey, I'm the anon from the ask about Hyrule's religion! I meant it as question one, with the information that we know of. Thank you!

For those wondering, this was the original ask

Hyrule's religion is polytheistic, meaning that they worship a pantheon of gods. However, since the term "god" is pretty generously used, I'm going to be dividing that up a bit further for clarity's sakes.

Gods/Goddesses refers to the beings that created the world, but left it behind. Across the Zelda games, we've heard these referred to all the time, most notably in Skyward Sword.

This includes the High Three: Din, Nayru, and Farore, as well as the unnamed gods of which they’re a pantheon of (if those three were the only gods in the pantheon, it would stand to reason that they’d be called the Golden Goddesses in this context, like they were in Ocarina of Time. There are other gods named throughout the series, like the Goddess of Time in Majora’s Mask, so it stands that there are various divine beings that go unnamed in Hyrule’s religion)

Deities refers to beings that stay in Hyrule and have power over its elements. Hylia toes the line between Goddess and Deity by this definition, because she’s seen as a Goddess that was left behind by the others to guard over the world. However, this term is more concrete in people like Cyclos, Zephos, and Malanya.

Guardian Spirits refers to beings that are tasked with guarding a region, but have limited control of the world beyond their states of being. They might be tied to forces of nature, but they don’t wield its power completely at will.

Like how Hylia toes the line between Deity and Goddess, the Light Spirits of Twilight Princess and the dragons of Skyward Sword toe the line between Deity and Spirit. They’re guardians of the world, but they do have at least some influence over their element; we just don’t get to see that influence, not beyond Lanayru vs Midna or Faron stopping a waterfall.

Divine beings that more directly fit here are things like Lord Jabu-Jabu, Valoo, or Majora’s Mask’s four giants.

Now, with those technicalities out of the way, let’s get to the religion itself.

Worship of divine beings varies from location to location. The Gods and Goddesses are fairly broadly prayed to across the land, of course, but it wouldn’t make sense to make an offering to Lanayru when you’re all the way up on Death Mountain. That’s why you’ll see the yet-to-be-named Snake Goddess and the Eight Heroines in Gerudo, while running into various dragon carvings in Eldin and Faron regions.

Worship of Gods requires prayer and devotion, and it’s generally understood that they do not reply; they left this world ages ago, so it must be a dire circumstance to draw them back.

There was a brief resurgence in urgent prayer when the Oracles were known to roam the earth.

But it was short lived, as the Oracles were as mortal as Skyward Sword Zelda, and eventually had to return to the heavens.

Worship of Deities is a lot more finicky. They tend to be very fussy about their work; they consider themselves leagues above humans, and get bitter if their domains or shrines aren’t well cared for.

Then worship of Guardian Spirits is a lot more casual, as far as the Hyruleans are concerned. Spirits influence their day-to-day lives and protect their homes from things like Ganon, so the people of Hyrule give regular offerings to them. You might have seen dishes of apples or durians out in the wilds of Breath of the Wild, or heard about masks that offer tribute to Termina’s various gods (Terminian religion is an offshoot and parallel to Hyrulean; they share similar origins, but went off in different directions).

As for how the Princess of Hyrule plays into religion, her influence has waned significantly as the ages pass.

In Skyward Sword, Zelda was, quite literally, Hylia reborn.

We can assume based on the history that followed that this status gave her family the ruling rights over Hyrule, along with custody of the Triforce.

In Minish Cap, she’s honored for the Light Force, and the Royal Family keeps the secret of the Picori, very minor Guardian Spirits that look after the Hylians themselves.

However, the true peak of Hyrulean religion comes in Ocarina of Time; we don’t see people worshipping Zelda, of course, but the reaches of the Royal Family are everywhere, most notably in hidden temples.

This tells us that, despite us not seeing it directly in dialogue, the Royal Family has taken a position of power as head of both the state AND the church. This is punctuated by the fact that the Temple of Time, the resting place of the Master Sword, the legendary Triforce, and the Sacred Realm, is right at the palace doorstep.

In all other games, the sword and Triforce are either stored separately, or the temple has fallen into ruin, most often hidden away.

From there, however, we see a sharp decline. In the child timeline, the temple of time fades away into nothing; Zelda maintains her power as the Seventh Sage, which has its own religious implications—

—but loses the Triforce’s full form and the Master Sword.

In the downfall timeline, we see a similar fate, though the Triforce of Courage and the Master Sword are lost entirely by the end of it due to royal mishap and shrinking borders.

Instead, our best sword is a gold-hilted magical sword we get from a hermit in a cave.

And then in the adult timeline, it’s snuffed out entirely. No one knows who Zelda is when she’s Tetra, and Tetra’s descendant has no religious ties; in fact, in her time of need, Spirit Tracks Zel prays to Tetra, not any gods.

She even doubts if there’s a sacred power to be had in her at all.

Now Breath of the Wild. That’s...trickier.

We know that Zelda herself knows she has a tie to the Gods of old through her prayers to them; she might not know she’s Hylia’s descendant, but she knows that that’s where her ability to seal Ganon away comes from.

She has ceremonial gear bearing Hylia’s symbol, as well as bracelets that match Skyward Sword Zelda’s.

Yet it also bears some similarity to the Door of Time in Ocarina of Time, namely  via the circle with rays extending out from it.

That being said, by Breath of the Wild’s era, I don’t think that the Royal Family are heralded as the leaders of Hyrulean religion anymore. Rather, their tie to the power that seals Ganon is more important than the place it came from, and Zelda’s ceremonial garb is modeled after the royal crest, instead of Hylia herself’s symbol.

We can also see sign of this in the Sanctum. Compare the Triforce here

with its counterpart in Twilight Princess.

By Breath of the Wild, all traces of connection between the Triforce and the Goddesses are gone. Considering how far in the future BotW IS compared to the rest of the timeline, we don’t even know if Zelda knows what the Triforce IS; not in its wish-making state, anyways. With how desperate she and Rhoam were, if they HAD known, it would have been their top priority to find, rather than freezing to death in a cold spring.

By Breath of the Wild, worship of the old gods has faded into near-obscurity, save for people among the royal family. However, worship of tangible spirits, things that the Hyruleans have come to know they can rely on for even small things, has flourished. You’d be hard pressed to walk a kilometer without finding a little bowl to leave some fruit in, and may fortune befall whoever fills it.

☕ 

[waffliesinyoface]

the timeline of Skyward Sword is. confusing.

“canonically”, it’s the first one. This is where the curse begins, this is where the hylians came from, etc.

but! the opening talks about how hylia's power (presumably, the triforce) was handed down “by gods of old”, ie: Din/Nayru/Farore (likely not a different set of gods because Eldin/Lanayru/Faron are still the names of the regions)

Between that and our introduction to Lanayru Desert....

Desertification takes a long time, and it takes even longer (with a lot more effort involved) to reverse it. So... how is it that Lanayru becomes home to lake hylia and the zora in the future?

Of course, this game also has time travel. That’s kinda the gimmick of the dungeon(s?) here in Lanayru, and it’s the reveal with impa later on.

So, I can’t help but wonder... is Skyward Sword really the first? Because between the various timeline discrepancies, and the fact that BotW features very little mention of the trinity, but a statue of hylia in every town, despite it being the last game chronologically... that doesn’t make sense?

The official timeline would posit that it goes something like this

1 - Din/Nayru/Farore (old gods) create triforce 2 - Hylia inherits triforce 3 - Demise and Hylia wage war 4 - Skyloft, Goddess Sword is created, eventually becomes the Master Sword 5 - Creation of Hyrule 6 - OoT, Hylia has vanished from history and Din/Nayru/Farore worship is once again prevalent 7 - Branching timeline split, gerudo get shafted in basically every timeline 8 - ??? 9 - BotW, Gerudo have recovered, Din/Nayru/Farore are forgotten again, Hylia worship is present again

Here’s my revised timeline

1 - Triforce/Hyrule is created 2 - Master Sword is created to protect it, is blessed by the goddesses to give it power (as seen by Sages in Wind Waker literally powering it up) 3 - OoT happens, Ganondorf shows up, Triforce splits 4 - Timeline split 5 - Master sword lost/destroyed/etc (in wind waker, it’s buried at the bottom of the ocean in ganondorf’s skull), Triforce is reunited 6 - Hylia arrives/Demise arrives 7 - Hylia inherits the complete triforce, creates Fi & the Goddess Sword 8 - Goddess Sword becomes the new Master Sword, after being blessed by the trinity 9 - Demise is defeated, curses hyrule 10 - Demise reincarnates using Ganondorf, and the two get all stuck together, whereas Hylia binds herself to Zelda’s bloodline. 11 - MASSIVE TIMELINE GAP (botw takes place what, 20,000 years later?) 12 - BotW

(Yes, I know the real answer for timeline fuckery is “because they wrote the games in that order” but it’s more fun to do watsonian analysis over doyalist analysis.)

Also, re: Fi & time travel being a thing - the sacred realm exists outside of time, it is entirely possible that, after having been created in the future, the master sword could be drawn in the past. So Fi could be the original master sword or she could be a replacement who inherited its blessing. Either works!!

[russeliarat]

The Three Golden Goddesses and Creation Mythos

Masterlist

Trying something new here so if anything goes wrong when it comes to the Masterlist, please let me know! This will be a series of worldbuilding exercises I’m doing to build up a more solid world for my own stories, as well as to help you understand the world of Oath of the Forsaken more!

I do apologise for all of the stuff I will be releasing at once, I want to get a few headcannons out there to fill the Masterlist quickly.

Content under the Cut!

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When three local Suns collided, in the wake of destruction, three celestial beings formed. These beings came to be known as Din, Nayru, and Farore. For aeons, they searched the universe for a purpose until they found a planet full of potential to be shaped into their own. However, this planet was inhabited by a Demon Tribe, reigning with malice and dark intent. The Three wiped the chaotic world of the tribe, started the planet anew. Demise, the Demon Tribe’s god, however, was more than angered by this. Planning to take back his world in the future, he embedded the spirit of his High Priest into his sword, hiding both himself and the sword away from the goddesses. This sword would later become Ghirahim.

The goddesses formed the Triforce as their gift to humanity, with the ability to give the holder any wish of their choosing. They decided to place the Triforce in a place which would later become the Kingdom of Hyrule and built their magical defences around the state. They took the energy from dying stars to form an immortal saint and guardian, calling her Hylia. Hylia’s purpose was to protect the Triforce and the people inhabiting Hyrule, forever in a state of neutrality due to her immortal status.

Before leaving to find a new planet in this one’s potential likeness, the Three each broke off a shard of their souls to create beings able to protect the land they formed in their stead. These shards would fall into what would become known as the Eldin, Lanayru, and Faron regions.

From Din’s shard, a volcano formed, so dangerous to those with mortal flesh, it was named Death Mountain.

From Nayru’s shard, Hyrule’s river systems formed, bringing life to the people that would roam the lands.

From Farore’s shard, lush forest formed, rife with magic that could grow whole woodlands in less than three decades.

Each of these areas had a guardian created from the shards, protecting the people who resided there. Their forms were many and often reflected the popular aspects of mythology at the time. Their first forms were mystical dragons, which seemed to be a favourite form for the guardian spirits. They were also said to be oracles, giants, and even the first Great Fairies, known as Great Mothers at the time.

When the guardians gifted a piece of their power to their respective races, they formed as shining orbs encased in a diamond, of which the wielders could use a small portion of the magic immortals held. The first stone was Nayru’s Love, which would protect the holder from all harm. Then was Din’s Fire, which would create a shockwave of heat that lit everything in the immediate area on fire. And finally, the Farore’s Wind, which could be used to teleport across the region freely. Originally, these spells came from the stones gifted to the races; the Zora Sapphire, the Goron Ruby, and the Kokiri Emerald, however the Great Fairies had to separate the spells from the races once people learned of their properties and became power-hungry. Over time, these stones travelled across Hyrule, disaster after disaster, eventually smoothing into the Goddess Pearls during the time of the Great Flood and Era of Winds. Nayru’s Peal was discovered to the Zora, who passed it onto their patron deity, Jabun, Din’s Pearl washed ashore Dragon Roost Island with the Rito, and Farore’s Pearl remained in the Korok’s possession long before the Great Flood.

In the days before Skyloft, humans worshipped all five major deities; The Golden Three, Hylia, and Demise. Due to geographical locations, Din was seen as the Goddess of Fire, Nayru as the Goddess of Water, and Farore as the Goddess of Nature. Hylia and Demise were opposites which neither’s symbols could exist without the others’. Hylia was the Saint of Light and Protection, with symbols such as the Sun, warmth, and happiness. Demise was the God of Darkness and Danger, associated with the Moon and stars, coldness, and isolation. If something bad were to happen, one was thanked for it happening as a learning experience, and the other for the protection the situation had gained.

[theunsubtleknife]

Hmmmm something about Legend of Zelda's 3 goddesses, 3 sacred springs, 3 dragons, 3 elemental types. Something about the goddess Din and the Eldin region and the dragon Dinraal. Nayru and Lanayru and Naydra. Farore and Faron and Farosh. Fire and ice and lightning and power and wisdom and courage

[earthnashes]

Aren't Farosh, Naydra, and Dinraal the dragons, correlating to Faron and Faror, Lanayru and Nayru, and Eldin and Din as their region and deity respectively?

That was a mouthful and took me a few reads to understand what you were asking but, no, the dragons Farosh, Naydra, and Dinraal are not deities. Dragons are generally seen as sacred entities, a race as old as time itself, but not all dragons are of divine blood. Farosh, Naydra, and Dinraal are more akin to seeing a white coated buck with huge antlers on a clear night: it feels ethereal, and is something to be in awe of, but they aren’t worshiped for it. Maybe something more like seeing a blue whale and swimming alongside it would be a better comparison but yeah.

I’m sure people do revere these dragons: dragons in general are the stuff of legends and aren’t common at all (only a handful still live to this day), so seeing one is thought to be a blessing or a sign of good fortune, and the three that are named after the goddesses could be particularly a sight to behold. And given the regions they live in are under their protection since it’s their home and territory. But they aren’t actual deities nor at their necessarily treated as if they were.

So! While I’m on the topic I suppose I could lay out the differences between a Deity and a Sacred Being:

A Deity is a creature of divine blood: they may not necessarily be a god but they’re damn close, either because they were born to a god or because a god made them. More often than not, though, a Deity is made, usually to fulfill a specific purpose. A Deity is able to grant gifts and boons and have a degree of control over reality. For example, Faron, the deity dragon of Water, is able to spontaneously bring rain to her immediate location, and she is able to grant gifts to mortals.

In contrast, a Sacred Being is seen as something to respect and sometimes even revere, however more often than not this Sacred Being isn’t anything more than a normal thing. This status is mostly delegated to animals that are important to a race’s culture.  

[techmomma]

Neat things I’m thinkin’ about regarding Farosh:

The dragons spawn in various regions, Dinraal over the Forgotten Temple and and Eldin’s Flank, Naydra over Mt. Lanayru, and Farosh spawns in three places; Lake Hylia, Riola Spring, and Gerudo Summit. 

Gerudo Summit is especially interesting because there’s also a giant excavated rune in the Gerudo Highlands that you shoot lightning at (Farosh being a giant lightning dragon). 

I originally though this was where Naboris was excavated, but it turns out, according to the concept book, Naboris was excavated at Spectacle Rock. But there was clearly a large-scale excavation going on in the Gerudo Highlands.

So... what were they excavating? And why, of all places, would Farosh be associated with Gerudo Summit--which is like, way out of its element. You can make association between the other dragons (Dinraal, Din, fire, El-din Flank, uhh... hot dry tanager canyon near forgotten temple) (Naydra, Nayru, ice, Mt. Lanayru) (Farosh, Farore, thunder, Lake Hylia, Faron region), but Gerudo Summit  is a weird outlier. There’s nothing there, save for the giant rune in the cliffside, that’s associated with Lightning or Courage. 

Weirder still is the fact that this area is where you find the eighth heroine’s statue. (And the sword, near the summit.)