Twilight Princess The Light Spirits' Names

[MikauIncarnate]

Has anyone else noticed that the light spirits have really similar names to the godesses? Faron, Eldin, and Lanayru. Do they somehow have a connection to the goddess whose name they almost share? Or was it just that the game designers thought they sounded more 'spirity' than making up brand new ones. And where does Ordona fit into all of this?

 

[MidnaOfTheTwili]

Wow, I never noticed that before. That's interesting, and it sure gets you thinking about why they might do that. They might not have done it for any apparent reason, just to bring back a little bit of the amazingness of OoT and make TP even more spectactular. Hey, that's something I might have to look into.

 

[Djinn]

I believe that Faron and Ordona both make Farora. But that is speculation.

It could be assumed that the light spirits are servants of some kind to the golden goddesses and each is directly under the jurisdiction of each goddess they are named for. And that they are sent on behalf of the goddesses in time of need or when direct intervention is required. Lanayru states that they were sent from the goddesses to stop the dark interlopers and Ordona says that they protect Hyrule by order of the gods.

"It was then that the goddesses ordered us three light spirits to intervene. We sealed away the great magic those individuals had mastered." — Lanayru

O brave youth... I am one of four light spirits that protect Hyrule at the behest of the gods. I am Ordona." — Ordona

They appear to be spiritual beings that serve the gods directly but are lower in status than the goddesses. They are later assigned to specific locations in Hyrule to act as protectors after the Dark Interloper incident. Each has a name derived from the deity that they personally serve. This is very reminiscent of the deity situation in Lord of the Rings which has higher spiritual beings acting as gods of the world while each had various lesser status servants described as similar to angelic beings that served them.

Of those who descended to the world there were fourteen great lords and ladies and they were served by many more. These fourteen lords and ladies were known as Valar and Valier. The Valar were the seven great lords and the Valier were the seven great ladies. These were the ’prime gods’ of this world. Those who served these Valar and Valier were called Maiar. There were many Maiar but we know only a few. They served different Valar although some did what they enjoyed most for none were ordered to do something against their bidding.

http://www.allempires.com/article/index.php?q=lotr_gods

 

[Kaiser Kami]

I believe that Faron and Ordona both make Farora. But that is speculation.

It could be assumed that the light spirits are servants of some kind to the golden goddesses and each is directly under the jurisdiction of each goddess they are named for. And that they are sent on behalf of the goddesses in time of need or when direct intervention is required. Lanayru states that they were sent from the goddesses to stop the dark interlopers and Ordona says that they protect Hyrule by order of the gods.




They appear to be spiritual beings that serve the gods directly but are lower in status than the goddesses. They are later assigned to specific locations in Hyrule to act as protectors after the Dark Interloper incident. Each has a name derived from the deity that they personally serve. This is very reminiscent of the deity situation in Lord of the Rings which has higher spiritual beings acting as gods of the world while each had various lesser status servants described as similar to angelic beings that served them.


http://www.allempires.com/article/index.php?q=lotr_gods

You have the best answer here for this topic.

 

[Lord Fenix]

I noticed this when I first played the game. Yes, their names are the similar. I'm not sure how, exactly, that fits into the plot, but I did notice it. In addition, Din was red, Nayru was blue, and Farore was green. You know those three girls that hang around the STAR game tent? The same girls that fawn over you every time you talk to them after you win? They look similar to the godesses themselves, don't they? And it isn't just there. In the Minish Cap, there are three women near the Inn in castle town. One is red, one is green, and one is blue, and if memory serves me correctly, for I haven't played it in some time, their names were similar to the goddess' as well. In every Zelda game I've played, it seems that the developers managed to fit goddess lok-alikes in there somewhere.

 

[JuicieJ]

This was intentional. It was a reference to them. A shoutout, I guess.

 

[Djinn]

I have believed they were added as a TP as a nod to the oracles Din, Nayru, and Farore. Which were in MC, but were introduced in the Oracle series.

They do have a few superficial similarities, but TP did this in a few other areas. There is another character named Purlo that shared Tingle's look including the strange green hat and clock. TP had a couple small references to previous characters and enemies like this.

There have also been a few other references to the goddesses in the series. In OoT and MM there are Great fairies of Power, Wisdom, and Courage which also follow the color scheme. In Phantom Hourglass the fairies Ceila, Leaf, and Neri also represent power wisdom and courage.

 

[Nicole]

I tend to agree with what most people here have said. It seems to be more of an Easter Egg of sorts, rather than something really plot related. However, it is possible that it can be plot related, depending on what happens in future Zelda games. Regarding the names, I never noticed that on my own. I only realized the similarities while browsing ZeldaWiki, and read some trivia about it.

It was then that the goddesses ordered us three light spirits to intervene. We sealed away the great magic those individuals had mastered.

When I first heard this, I thought it might have been a mistake. Of course it isn't. Nintendo wouldn't let a gaping mistake like that slip past them, so it was obviously intentional. I assume this has something to do with it:

Oh, no. I don't believe he's from Hyrule proper at all.

No, my understanding is that he's from the small neighboring village of Ordona.

From this, I had gathered that Ordona, the village and the spirit, are separated from everything else, more or less. I believe the three Light Spirit that intervened on the Dark Interlopers are Eldin, Faron, and Lanayru, not Ordona. The trivia with the names also supports my theory, and so does this fact: Each of those three Light Spirits have a corresponding element, matching their "namesake's" element. Faron has Earth/Forest (the Forset Temple); Eldin has Fire (the Goron Mines); and Lanayru has Water (the Lakebed Temple).

I assume it is just those three, but you have reason to wonder why Ordona wasn't included. This would certainly be a cool thing to hear more about in future Zelda games, I think.

 

[pupairo12]

I've seen something like this before. http://zelda.wikia.com/wiki/Light_Spirits There's a theory there about it, second paragraph I believe.

 

[JuicieJ]

I tend to agree with what most people here have said. It seems to be more of an Easter Egg of sorts, rather than something really plot related. However, it is possible that it can be plot related, depending on what happens in future Zelda games. Regarding the names, I never noticed that on my own. I only realized the similarities while browsing ZeldaWiki, and read some trivia about it.


When I first heard this, I thought it might have been a mistake. Of course it isn't. Nintendo wouldn't let a gaping mistake like that slip past them, so it was obviously intentional. I assume this has something to do with it:



From this, I had gathered that Ordona, the village and the spirit, are separated from everything else, more or less. I believe the three Light Spirit that intervened on the Dark Interlopers are Eldin, Faron, and Lanayru, not Ordona. The trivia with the names also supports my theory, and so does this fact: Each of those three Light Spirits have a corresponding element, matching their "namesake's" element. Faron has Earth/Forest (the Forset Temple); Eldin has Fire (the Goron Mines); and Lanayru has Water (the Lakebed Temple).

I assume it is just those three, but you have reason to wonder why Ordona wasn't included. This would certainly be a cool thing to hear more about in future Zelda games, I think.

Yes, Ordon was added to Hyrule later. Ordona wasn't a Light Spirit when the "dark interlopers" attacked.

 

[Nicole]

Yes, Ordon was added to Hyrule later. Ordona wasn't a Light Spirit when the "dark interlopers" attacked.

I have never heard that before. Mind giving me a link or a source of where you heard that? If so, that's really something interesting.

If they added Ordona to Hyrule later on, why give Ordona a guardian spirit? Other provinces like Gerudo Province and Snowpeak Province do not have Light Spirits. Is it because they spirits are supposed to look after regions with a lot of people? That seems the most likely.

 

[JuicieJ]

I have never heard that before. Mind giving me a link or a source of where you heard that? If so, that's really something interesting.

If they added Ordon to Hyrule later on, why give Ordon a guardian spirit? Other provinces like Gerudo Province and Snowpeak Province do not have Light Spirits. Is it because they spirits are supposed to look after regions with a lot of people? That seems the most likely.

Well, it's never stated, but it's easily assumable. I mean, it's on Hyrule's map, and Ordona wasn't one of the Light Spirits at the time of the "dark interlopers." I don't know about the other regions, maybe they didn't need one. Besides, they were just part of the second half of the game. The point is the Ordona Providence is obviously an addition to Hyrule later on in its history.

 

[Djinn]

Yes, Ordon was added to Hyrule later. Ordona wasn't a Light Spirit when the "dark interlopers" attacked.

I am not sure how you could ever reach this conclusion. Of course Ordonna was a light spirit but was not on of the three commanded by the Goddesses to stop the interlopers. However when you meed Ordonna, it says that the gods did commanded it to guard that area.

"Come...to my spring... You have...been transformed...by the power...of shadow... [...] O brave youth... I am one of four light spirits that protect Hyrule at the behest of the gods. I am Ordona. My brethren in Hyrule have already had their light stolen by these fell beasts. The entire kingdom has been reduced to a netherworld ruled by the cursed powers of darkness." " — Ordona

Notice how Ordonna mentioned it's brethren lived in Hyrule further showing that there is a separation between the two regions. Ordonna was a Light Spirit charged by the gods to guard an area, it just happened to be an area outside of Hyrule.

"Among those living in the light, interlopers who excelled at magic appeared. Wielding powerful sorcery, they tried to establish dominion over the Sacred Realm. It was then that the goddesses ordered us three light spirits to intervene. We sealed away the great magic those individuals had mastered. You know this magic..." — Lanayru

It sounds to me that the light spirits guard regions in the Light world, however during the events of the Interloper War only those three were specifically told to seal the Interlopers. So Ordonna was not one of the Light Spirits commanded by the gods to interfere since the three might have been sufficient for the job. Nothing here states that Ordonna did not exist. Just that Ordonna was not needed or called upon.

when Zelda required the Light Arrow, she pleads to the light spirits, and mentions that they both shine over the lands of the world and have the power to banish evil.

"Spirits of the light! Wielders of the great power that shines far and wide upon the lands of our world... In my hour of need, grant me the light to banish evil!" — Princess Zelda

This power to banish evil might be why the goddesses called on them to intervene in the Interloper war. The Light Spirits acted in their stead. They appear to take on the names of the lands they guard instead of the opposite. The people very likely did not know of the Light Spirit Ordon since Link had to be explained about it's existence. And since the people of Hyrule are a little stronger in their beliefs of the goddesses than most other people their would name their main three provinces after them. Therefore the light spirits of the regions would take on the names of the regions that just so happen to be named after the goddesses. The names are probably a shortened version just to make things easy for conversation anyway, instead of constantly having to say Light Spirit of Faron, people just call it Faron. This way the Light Spirit of Ordon could ne called Ordon for short and it would make a little more sense and it would not have to be named for a goddess. It is named for the area it is assigned to protect.

 

[JuicieJ]

I am not sure how you could ever reach this conclusion. Of course Ordonna was a light spirit but was not on of the three commanded by the Goddesses to stop the interlopers. However when you meed Ordonna, it says that the gods did commanded it to guard that area.

I don't know, that's just the general idea of what I think is intended by Nintendo. There's nothing that says Light Spirits can't be made by the goddesses, so it could be that Ordona wasn't a Light Spirit at the time. That makes more sense, as it would make more sense to send all of the Light Spirits to seal an evil away rather than just some of them. I'm not saying this is correct, I'm just saying it makes most sense to me.

 

[Squirrel]

There's the theory of the fourth peice of the triforce and of course, having a fourth piece, means a fourth goddess, so ordona is probably named afterthe fourth one (if the theory is correct. Also, Ordona is a combination of the 3 goddesses' names. Or: Farore. Don: Din. Na: Nayru. There is one view of the fourth piece of the triforce, that the fourth piece isn't a physical fourth piece, but the result of the other 3 working together. From that view point, the fourth piece is what keeps the other three united and working together in which case, the fourth one would have to be stronger than the other three. To me, it makes sense that Ordona would be a combination of the names if the goddess that it's name after is stronger than the other three. That's just what I think.