The Undead

[DeletedUser9]

Just because they are a criminal element does not mean that they do not have honor. There is the old addage "honor among theives." While they steal from the people of Hyrule, they do actually seem to care about each other/their own tribeswomen. Also, consider what Nabouroo said to young Link - she was quite upset that Ganondorf "stole from women and children" and killed people. Of course, she could have just been acting honorable to smoochze the kid into helping her, but since she was Sage material in the end, I think she really did have a sense of honor going on. I've always imagined the Gerudo to be pretty tight-knit among their own kind, so I think rituals for their dead would be very fitting with their character. Sure they'd leave a Hylian killed in battle to rot in the desert (especially if it was a man), but their own? I think they'd give high honors to their own dead.

Well, I suppose you may have a point there. I still think it would a bit much for them to perform rituals, like mummification. I could understand them burying their dead, but rituals such as these are usually reserved for royalty.

Sure, it is silly, but it doesn't keep fanfiction writers and fan theorists from having fun! Plus, the creators started making some of their own connections when they decided that burning the bandages off Gibdos in Majora's Mask = ReDeads. I think they thought "Let's throw the fans something fun" more than anything of serious worldbuilding. Still, 'tis fun to come up with little theories.

Yeah, you're right there. It's just that this thread was presented as a speculation for the game series itself, not as a concept for a fanfic. As a fanfic, I would support this. As a theory for the canon world, I greatly disagree with it.

Exactly, for those of you who STILL don't believe the gibdo-redead-stalfos-buble thingymajigey... In Minish Cap (Possibly another game) if you burn the cloths of a gibdo it becomes a STALFOS. So this atleast proves that the Gibdos and Rededs have a connection to the Stalfos. So the Gibdo-Redead-Stalfos is proven at the least and the stalfos-bubble remains likely but not proven.

I actually did mention that in one of my posts...

Yes, in Minish Cap the Gibdos, once burned with the flame lantern, turn into Stalfos. This actually disproves your theory more than it helps it, as you place ReDeads before Stalfos in your Circle of Death.

In Majora's Mask, burning Gibdos instead reveals ReDeads.

What you have to understand is that in the various games, enemies evolve into different creatures. In some games, they're supposed to be roughly the same creature (with perhaps some differences in appearance.) In others, they're completely unrelated beings sharing only the name and maybe some other traits. A perfect example is Gyorg:

He first appeared in Majora's Mask as a boss. He was one of several evil creatures who were controlled by Majora, and wore masks containing the Giants. Then in WW the Gyorgs were shark creatures, and there were many of them, so they weren't a unique evil being like in Majora's Mask. Even more different is in Minish Cap, in which Gyorg was a species of massive flying manta ray-like beings.

This strongly suggests if not proves that in some of the games, the creatures, despite having the same name, are completely separate. It at least proves that Minish Cap does this. So while some games might place creatures as related species, others might use completely different ideas.

 

[Zeldaduderox]

Well I was attempting to combine them as if they all co-exist with one another.

 

[Master Kokiri 9]

Just because they are a criminal element does not mean that they do not have honor. There is the old addage "honor among theives." While they steal from the people of Hyrule, they do actually seem to care about each other/their own tribeswomen. Also, consider what Nabouroo said to young Link - she was quite upset that Ganondorf "stole from women and children" and killed people. Of course, she could have just been acting honorable to smoochze the kid into helping her, but since she was Sage material in the end, I think she really did have a sense of honor going on. I've always imagined the Gerudo to be pretty tight-knit among their own kind, so I think rituals for their dead would be very fitting with their character. Sure they'd leave a Hylian killed in battle to rot in the desert (especially if it was a man), but their own? I think they'd give high honors to their own dead.

Exactly Shadsie! Just cuz they're thieves doesn't mean they don't honor they're dead and yeah they would leave a dead hylian to rot in the desert but they would do the opposite with their own kind. Plus if you think about it the gerudo are kinda like the zelda equivilent of the ancient egyptians so it's very concievalbe that they'd mummify the dead. And yeah redeads and gibdos are very much like each other (in fact redead are just gibdo without bandages as proven by the boss key room of the shadow temple in oot and mm). So yeah it's very concievable that the gerudo mummify their dead.




Also I forgot about another type of real life people the gerudo resemble. No not the americans! And the French aren't it either. I'm talking about the Amazon Tribe of the Amazon Rainforest. The Gerudo consist solely of women excluding the king. The Amazon consist only of women and (correct me if i'm wrong) have men as their slaves. Veeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeery similar don't ya think? So basically the gerudo are like the zelda equivilent of the egyptians and the amazon tribe in one.

 

[Zeldaduderox]

^Agreed. Egyptians and other desert people were "thieves" as well.

 

[Bongo Bongo]

I'd just like to point out that it was his theory/speculation. When it comes to this kind of thing, it's never 'correct' nor is it 'wrong.' He never said this was the correct theory. There has never been an official story behind how the undeads come to be, so any and all theories could be right. You never know.
To the OP, it's a good idea and the cycle is for the most part decent. I have a hard time believing that the water from the fountains cause it, but again...it's your theory and to each his own.

 

[ottobot]

good theory, especialy the gidbo - redead - stalfos part. however i dont think they come back to life because fairy spring water. its more likely that whoever the game's villain is :ganondorf: use his or her evil power to ressurect them.

 

[lonely_moon]

A very interesting theory! I like the connection between the Gibdos, the ReDeads and the Stalfos, but I do have some problems with it.

Firstly, these creatures are found all over Hyrule, and you say that they are the mummified remains of a Gerudo. But the Gerudo live in the desert; I hardly think they'd bury their dead all over Hyrule. Also, especially the case with the Gibdos/ReDeads/Stalfos, they're undead. I don't think they'd have the smarts to move so far away from where they were reanimated. And if they tried, they'd be killed again the second a competent fighter caught sight of them. So maybe they aren't just Gerudos. As for the ReDeads and Stalfos inhabiting the Arbiter's Grounds, I don't think they were once Gerudos either, seeing as how the Grounds were once a prison. They were probably the executed criminals.

Secondly, I really don't see the connection between all the other creatures besides the three I have been talking about earlier. Would the spring water really continue to have such an effect on them? Sure, it may reanimate them, due to the water's healing properties (which is a really good concept), but would it actually make them evolve?

Finally, and I'm not sure on this, so feel free to disprove me, but what if there were an undead creature with no fairies' fountain nearby? Wind Waker ReDeads are found nowhere near any fairy fountains as far as I can remember, and I made my point earlier about how they were not liable to travel.

Your general concept was well thought out though, and you made a good attempt at explaining the origins of the various undead species around Hyrule.

 

[Flagpole]

OK, let's kill this theory.
The stalfos are people who have been lost in the Lost Woods.

That's it, theory killed!

 

[Link428]

I like your theory Zeldaduderox. Its really creative. I was woundering about those creatures myself.

 

[Kat :3]

Redeads are hot.

But yes, that is an interesting cycle you have there.

 

[Subrosian]

Personally, I always thought that it was perfectly natural for the dead to become undead. Oot proves that Poes aren't Ganon's minions, they have personalities and are capable of acting on their own whim(The Sharp Brothers). MM proves that Gibdos and Redeads aren't minions(and have souls/minds), remember the man who you heal to get the Gibdo Mask? If you put on the mask and go up to a Gibdo you can talk to it, if you go in front of some specific Redeads(here's a hint: Ikana) with the mask on they'll start dancing because in their past life, they were performers. Plus, in MM weren't the Stalfos and some Redeads loyal to that one important dead guy?

 

[Faedeur]

I believe that it all depends on the game itself, and the region of the game. In Link's Awakening, if you were to incinerate a Gibdo, it becomes a Stalfos. Wheras in later games, they become ReDead.
While the cycle is interesting, it feels a bit sketchy to me. (Then again, I am also reading and typing with a mind deprived of sleep).

 

[DeletedUser9]

Exactly Shadsie! Just cuz they're thieves doesn't mean they don't honor they're dead and yeah they would leave a dead hylian to rot in the desert but they would do the opposite with their own kind. Plus if you think about it the gerudo are kinda like the zelda equivilent of the ancient egyptians so it's very concievalbe that they'd mummify the dead. And yeah redeads and gibdos are very much like each other (in fact redead are just gibdo without bandages as proven by the boss key room of the shadow temple in oot and mm). So yeah it's very concievable that the gerudo mummify their dead.

Also I forgot about another type of real life people the gerudo resemble. No not the americans! And the French aren't it either. I'm talking about the Amazon Tribe of the Amazon Rainforest. The Gerudo consist solely of women excluding the king. The Amazon consist only of women and (correct me if i'm wrong) have men as their slaves. Veeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeery similar don't ya think? So basically the gerudo are like the zelda equivilent of the egyptians and the amazon tribe in one.

The Gerudo actually really don't resemble the Egyptians that much. The only similarity is that they live in the desert. All of the themes, cultural elements, dress, and etc. of the Gerudo are more Indian than Egyptian.

The only race in Zelda that really resembles Egyptians is the Zuna, a desert-dwelling race of green-skinned humanoids, but they only appear in Four Swords Adventures. For the record, the Gerudo also appear in that game.

Yeah, the Gerudo do slightly resemble the Amazon, primarily in that they are a race of women and some aspects of their culture. However, that is the only way the Gerudo resemble them. Also, the Gerudo have the unique trait in that they're not just a culture of women; they're a race of women. Only one male is born every hundred years. It's more of a biology thing.

I believe that it all depends on the game itself, and the region of the game. In Link's Awakening, if you were to incinerate a Gibdo, it becomes a Stalfos. Wheras in later games, they become ReDead.
While the cycle is interesting, it feels a bit sketchy to me. (Then again, I am also reading and typing with a mind deprived of sleep).

Exactly. The different creatures of the series change from game to game. While physical or mythological details of a creature are one way, they might change completely in another game.

The same can be said for the connections and relations between creatures.