Skyward Sword Unanswered Questions

[tman]

Some of these have more obvious answers, some can be answered with a little speculation, some require a lot, and some are just unanswered.

I just replayed.

• Why does Impa have Zelda's bracelet at the beginning, but the Tree of Life and Master Sword aren't there yet?
• Why does Zelda say Hylia made two different plans? As if each alone could solve the problem. The first plan is Fi and Link, which I assume goes all the way to the TriForce since you use the sword to access the sacred realm. The second plan is to become mortal specifically so Hylia can make a wish on the Triforce
• Why does Demise say, "You gave up your immortal form to imprison me." I feel like we never saw that happen in the game, but Demise is referencing it as if he has seen it.
• Why did Zelda awaken her memories and go to the past? Why did she sleep? She explains this as she has to "maintain the vigil of Hylia to keep Hylia's seal on the Imprisoned". But she doesn't have to be mortal to do that.
• What is with the silent realm? What is Link doing there with the spirit flower?
• What does Zelda's blessing of the master sword accomplish? If she's mortal, how does she do this (I assume this is just the generic power of light in all the Zelda's lineage which must once have belonged to Hylia)
• Why collect the flames of the goddesses, and what are these relative to the triforce?
• Why collect the flames AND the song of the hero as part of the quest? Why not just get the flames and the master sword unlocks the Triforce?
• Why have the Triforce be used so late after the plan was made? Did it have to recharge?
• Other than Zelda having a crush on him, what in particular makes Link the "chosen hero". Yes he went through spirit trials and gained godly power, but Demise says his swordsmanship is unlike any god or man he met. I assume this means something to the effect that the trials Link went through and the power he obtained (the game's main story) took him up to that level. This is how he was part of the plan.
• If Demise was killed in the past, then why would Link have wished the Sealed Temple to fall on him? Wouldn't that have not needed to happen?
• "It's all like the timeshift stones, they violate causality." Then why did Impa have Zelda's bracelet from the getgo???

So here are some observations that might answer this:

• Hylia had two plans. The main story is only the Fi/Link plan. Hylia's own Triforce wish is a secret.
• There are two time gates. The sealed temple time gate very much seems like a secret back-up plan, and is very much associated with the Master Sword. So it's likely connected to the chosen hero plan, which therefore probably involves giving the chosen hero a path to the past to defeat Demise at the time of the seal breaking. The main plan, therefore, would be to use the temple of time to become mortal and go back to use the Triforce on Demise. Or something like that.

Anyway, something isn't adding up.

Either Nintendo is just sort of sloppy, or there's a mystery here. At the very least, it doesn't make sense why Hylia's own plan A of becoming mortal to wish on the Triforce didn't work. Then it doesn't make sense why plan B of Link wishing on the Triforce was even necessary when plan B was making Link powerful enough to defeat Demise. This theory is complete, but it makes as many speculations as any other.

THE BORING THEORY:

The Master Sword is in skyview temple all along, just the pedestal is lowered in the ground until the ending. The Imprisoned lacks Demise's consciousness theory, which is what it hopes to obtain at the Skyview Temple. The Tree of Life follows timeshift stone rules because that's how you obtained the seedling. If you had obtained the seedling by going into the Time Gate, it would have followed "it's always been that way" rules.

The problem with this theory is that while it's tidier than others, it still relies on speculation that is not confirmed in any way. We have to assume this theory that the Imprisoned is Demise's brainless essence, but that's just made up speculation, although a point was made to tell use Demise's consciousness was in the sword. Still, we are told the imprisoned is after the timegate to destroy it, then he's after Zelda. But maybe that's plot misdirection where we imagine he was after his consciousness in the hidden sword the whole time.

The strongest evidence against this theory is the seal on the Imprisoned. There's no reason to think "Demise's essence slowly returned and Impa created a new seal and resealed it". That is purely speculative. As far as we know, the sealing spike was put there by Hylia.

So how do we return from defeating Demise in the past, and find that the temple and Triforce defeat of Demise is something that still happened in the future. That's the strongest evidence for two timelines.

ANOTHER THEORY:

Zelda going through two separate gates creates a paradox, splitting the timeline. One where Impa does vigil over the Master Sword and the Skyloft future never happens, but Demise is defeated already. I don't know how this works, but remember that Zelda never returned back through the Lanayru gate. She came to the future by waiting. So she never reset to her own proper timeline. I don't know if that would affect going through the Skyview gate.

When Zelda and Link return, they return to the old "I stood vigil over the crystal" timeline where Demise was only just defeated. This assumes the Impa which saw Link first open the Skyview gate was crystal Impa (she was for a while). She's still crystal Impa when they return. They only defeated Demise in Ghirahim's second chance timeline. Sword Impa becomes an orphaned timeline where the Skyloft events happen differently or never happen.

There's only one thing needing explanation: the Master Sword. Whatever could have created a second Master Sword could also explain Impa's bracelet. As if crystal Impa didn't experience Sword Impa's timeline, but somehow Sword Impa managed to get the sword and the bracelet across the multiverse to her for some reason.

The only way there's room for this theory is looking at Hylia's plan A to wish on the Triforce herself, which we never see happen, and which Demise hints at by referencing how she had to become mortal to seal him. So this implies a kind of conspiracy or secret to create a second timeline but conceal it.

GRAND HYLIA CONSPIRACY OF TIME THEORY:

Demise is said to be "the eternal being who has conquered time itself and the source of all monsters". How do you defeat a being who has conquered time? What did Fi mean he had conquered time?

I have a little theory that the Downfall timeline Ganon, the one who obtained the Triforce, found a way to become Demise and loop himself back in time. Ensuring his inevitable existence.

In this theory, the "Demise is defeated in the past" timeline becomes the three split timelines of Ocarina of Time.

The "Demise is defeated by the Triforce in the future" timeline becomes the BOTW/TOTK timeline.

The idea is that the three split timelines allow for Ganon to always win in one timeline enough to go back in time and ensure his own creation. He cannot be purged from time.

My theory also has the Child Timeline Master Sword split into a sword of light and a sword of darkness. The sword of darkness would be obtained by downfall timeline's ganon to become Demise (I assume an additional Triforce wish was used that sends Demise back to the beginning of time, and his demon realm is then what Din or the Oocca build Hyrule's surface on top of to seal the demon realm

Spoiler: ToTK Spoiler

After which point it becomes the Depths and it is from here Demise breaches.

The sword of light might be what is brought back secretly to the original Skyward Sword timline at the finale to become the BOTW Master Sword.

So Hylia's god-level strategy for defeating this demi-god who "conquered time itself" is to branch a secret timeline that can loop around and seal Ganon/Demise in his own loop of inevitable defeat, and give Hyrule a future without him.

Spoiler: ToTK Spoiler

In TotK: Ganon is totally defeated. While no reference is made to Skyward Sword or Hylia, the plot involves a time loop with Zelda that guarantees Link will have the resources to defeat Ganon. The symbol in the game logo is an Ouroboros, heavily implying that the loop of time Zelda is in is part of what enables Ganon's defeat.

If that TotK situation is part of a plan by Hylia, then perhaps somehow it's the result of her Triforce wish which Skyward Sword never reveals. Link is then given the resources to use the Triforce to defeat Demise in the Skyloft timeline, before being prepared to go back in time to the Master Sword timeline to defeat Demise there. This tricks Demise who is not aware of the other timeline, and it's why he's safely caught in the OOT three timelines -> Skyward Sword loop.

Yeah I know, nutso theory. But it almost works. Why didn't Hylia as Zelda just wish on the Triforce herself? Wasn't that plan A? So it feels like there was a wish and the game is deliberately hiding it from us. Then the bracelet and Master Sword at the end become these contradictions along with the Tree of Life, like elephants in the room.

I suspect that Nintendo had planned that after you get the Master Sword in Skyward Sword, you go to the past and there would be past versions of the lands to explore, in the quest for the Triforce, but it was cut content. If they had done that, having a separate Zelda and Link plan makes more sense. But they never cut the two plans storyline.

Still, it's a huge hanging plot thread. Hylia becomes mortal to wish on the Triforce. But we never see that. Link wishes on it, and defeats Demise with the Master Sword. Demise has to be defeated twice. That's weird.

 

[Ryuu Kage Desu]

Why does Impa have Zelda's bracelet at the beginning, but the Tree of Life and Master Sword aren't there yet?

I've long theorized that the game series, and SS in particular, makes use of what I call time echoes. This really isn't time "travel" in the same sense. This is when the effects of a different time frame are overlapped with a different time frame. Actions by an echo do not effect the world at large because the past is not altered. The timeshift stones in Skyward Sword would be an example of this. When Link activates one of these, he isn't actually transported to the ancient era; but the era is duplicated, and overlapped on to the current time. When Link plants a seed, or causes something to move, he didn't actually go back in time to cause the change. What the stones allowed is for changes to happen in the present, as though they happened over a long time. When Link picks one of those flowers, he doesn't actually pick that flower from way back then, but a duplication of that flower.

While it's not a perfect fit, I have played with the idea that the two time portals, in SS, function differently. The one in the desert works with absolute time, while the one in the Sealed Grounds works with echoes. Being that Zelda has then awaken as Hylia, the echoes of some events are made to change the past, by duplicating the echoes from the future.

 

[tman]

While it's not a perfect fit, I have played with the idea that the two time portals, in SS, function differently. The one in the desert works with absolute time, while the one in the Sealed Grounds works with echoes. Being that Zelda has then awaken as Hylia, the echoes of some events are made to change the past, by duplicating the echoes from the future.

So what if you have to go into the gate, and then come BACK to the future to activate the echo or bring it with you?

Zelda never goes back through the Lanayru gate, she comes to the future by way of the crystal. So the changes made by her become part of the absolute time line.

It still doesn't quite explain everything though.

I also am convinced Hylia had two separate plans, she says so, and all of Skyward Sword seems to be specifically the Fi/Link/Master Sword plan.

 

[Ryuu Kage Desu]

So what if you have to go into the gate, and then come BACK to the future to activate the echo or bring it with you?

A fascinating question. I would say that the echoes ultimately only alter the later time period. Unless, there is a god involved, who can bend the rules.

 

[GZ Zelda]

I just finished an SS playthrough and thought about answering these questions. Just to preface, there are obviously two camps when it comes to SS: split theory and linear theory. Split theory has to account for Impa's bracelet and Zelda's crystal, linear theory has to account for The Imprisoned/Demise, the Master Sword, and Lanayru/Life Tree/timeshift stones. I much prefer Linear SS: I think it was the devs intention that the Link who is regarded as Hylia's Chosen Hero in the past is actually the Link we play as in Skyward Sword (I'm pretty sure this is also what Zeltik thinks), and this only works with a Linear SS. Along your lines, most of these answers will fall into the "boring" category.

• Why does Impa have Zelda's bracelet at the beginning, but the Tree of Life and Master Sword aren't there yet?

The Master Sword is hidden by Impa. The Tree of Life is part of one of these "time echoes," seen in Oracle of Ages, Ocarina of Time and with all modes of Timeshift Stone. Link physically cannot unplant the seed in the Temple of Hylia: The Tree of Life's "destiny" is to end up in the Temple of Hylia to revive Lanayru to create the Master Sword. In other words, Link un-ages (in Lanayru) and re-ages (in Faron) the Tree of Life by activating the timeshift stones; he doesn't split the timeline.

• Why does Zelda say Hylia made two different plans? As if each alone could solve the problem. The first plan is Fi and Link, which I assume goes all the way to the TriForce since you use the sword to access the sacred realm. The second plan is to become mortal specifically so Hylia can make a wish on the Triforce

The first plan deals with "Demise" and the second plan deals with "The Imprisoned." Each alone couldn't solve the problem.

• Why does Demise say, "You gave up your immortal form to imprison me." I feel like we never saw that happen in the game, but Demise is referencing it as if he has seen it.

This happens before the game, before Skyloft is raised which we don't see in-game.

• Why did Zelda awaken her memories and go to the past? Why did she sleep? She explains this as she has to "maintain the vigil of Hylia to keep Hylia's seal on the Imprisoned". But she doesn't have to be mortal to do that.

Hylia's sealing spike is not present in the distant past: maybe Zelda's slumber helps to create the spike? Her presence was effective in preventing The Imprisoned's escape up until the present, this much we know.

• What is with the silent realm? What is Link doing there with the spirit flower?

Many have theorized this is the Sacred Realm, with trials created by the goddess. I agree with these theories: the Triforce is found here and guarded by Hylia's trials. The Sacred Realm has been shown as a reflection of Hyrule before, in ALttP and TP specifically. The "treasures of the Goddess" guard the sacred flames that make the Master Sword, and the Skyloft treasure guards the Triforce: the two parts of Hylia's plan.

• What does Zelda's blessing of the master sword accomplish? If she's mortal, how does she do this (I assume this is just the generic power of light in all the Zelda's lineage which must once have belonged to Hylia)

Yeah, she still possess the goddess' light powers (as shown in MC and BotW) and this is shown to bless and restore the Master Sword (in TotK).

• Why collect the flames of the goddesses, and what are these relative to the triforce?

These aren't part of the Triforce plan, they are part of the Master Sword plan. They initially weren't supposed to relate to the Triforce until it turned out that Link had to accomplish Zelda's part of the plan cuz she was slumbering.

• Why collect the flames AND the song of the hero as part of the quest? Why not just get the flames and the master sword unlocks the Triforce?

Again, because there are two parts to the plan. The Ballad of the Goddess/Isle of Songs and the Song of the Hero are two parallel plans, one for the past and one for the present. And it seems Link needed the Master Sword and Hylia/Zelda's blessing to get chosen by the Triforce.

• Why have the Triforce be used so late after the plan was made? Did it have to recharge?

Kind of a spitball, but maybe they wanted a weaker Imprisoned? I think, as you point out, Hylia expected to wish on the Triforce herself, but it turned out that she had to hold vigil at the Imprisoned's seal. Link absorbing Demise's consciousness into the Master Sword clearly didn't kill The Imprisoned: she needed the sealing spike and the lowering of the Isle of the Goddess for that.

• Other than Zelda having a crush on him, what in particular makes Link the "chosen hero". Yes he went through spirit trials and gained godly power, but Demise says his swordsmanship is unlike any god or man he met. I assume this means something to the effect that the trials Link went through and the power he obtained (the game's main story) took him up to that level. This is how he was part of the plan.

There isn't any other reason for him being the chosen hero other than his love and commitment and courage for Zelda.

• If Demise was killed in the past, then why would Link have wished the Sealed Temple to fall on him? Wouldn't that have not needed to happen?

If there isn't a split, Demise could have been killed and absorbed into the Master Sword and the Imprisoned and his hatred and malice could have still been sealed by the sealing spike (a pre-Ganon calamity essentially). In a linear model, this is, in fact, what has to have happened. In a split model, there is a timeline where Skyloft never descended and the Triforce was never collected and the hero and princess were never born and Ghirahim never existed and none of the timelines ever happened and only if the three timelines merged and then the two timelines merged could there be future games or stories. And that would also mean that the main timeline would never have received Demise's curse. It basically has to be linear.

• "It's all like the timeshift stones, they violate causality." Then why did Impa have Zelda's bracelet from the getgo???

The timeshift stones are just aging devices.


A note on the timeline:
The final battle with Demise takes place after Skyloft is sent into the sky, after the Life Tree Sapling was moved, but before Zelda was sealed in the crystal (she is not seen in the crystal at the end) and before the sealing spike was placed in The Imprisoned. This lends more evidence to the idea that Zelda keeping vigil in the crystal was a later edition to the plan, only brought about because the Imprionsed still existed.