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Spoiler Zelda MM Theory: Fierce Deity- Who Was He?

HeroOfTime

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What I find to be interesting is that when someone wears MM, they stay in their form, but Majora controls them. Whereas, with FD, you inhabit his body, but are able to think clearly. if they were both gods, why would their masks be so different?
 

Spiritual Mask Salesman

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What I find to be interesting is that when someone wears MM, they stay in their form, but Majora controls them. Whereas, with FD, you inhabit his body, but are able to think clearly. if they were both gods, why would their masks be so different?
Because Majora's Mask wants no master, the spirit within it wants to asorb the host body so that it no longer needs to be worn. Different concept entirely from Fierce Dieties Mask, the Mask isn't like Majora's Mask - while it has dark power and may be used for evil, there is no actual spirit within the mask which wants control so that it no longer needs to be worn.
 
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Sep 14, 2015
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A theory I always imaged was that majora was always a main God and he was the brother to the three goddess. His contributions to hyrule was shadow and evil. I think that hylia and the fierce Deity were demi gods. That the fierce Deity was originally created and charged with ruling termina. However the feirce Deity fell in love with hylia and help her protect hylians. This is when majora send the demon king to lead against them. Termina abandoned locked away the majora's mask and flee ikana first creating a split those who fallow majora in ikana and those who follow a new goddess the nayru who now begins to spread influence in majoras domain. This leads to the ikana wars. Like wise in hyrule the pre-shiekiah or the dark interlopers which were in fact hylians who followed majora attacked hyrule hoping to claim the triforce. Majora gives the dark interlopers the fuse shadow to ensure victory. The goddesses step in and seal most the dark interlopers to the twilight realm. The rest were forbidden worship of majora and his symbol destoryed. Majoras temple would become the shadow temple. After hylia and the fierce Deity are bound in human form as Zelda and link respectively, and the events of skyward sword majora retreats and waits. I think he is the fourth and the hidden God. That is why their is connection 4 in the series
 
Joined
Aug 15, 2015
Alright I'm just going to drop my theory here on what the Fierce Deity is.
In order to do that, I'll present you a better understanding of the information in-game.

In the Japanese game, the kids wearing the bosses' masks ask Link to play hide and seek. It is a well known in Japan a game named kakure oni (隠れ⿁鬼?), or more commonly kakurenbo, that means chase the demon and it is the same as the hide-and-seek game that children in western countries play.

The kid wearing Majora's Mask is asking Link to play tag. In Japanese versions of the game tag, the player who is "it" is instead called the "oni." First you can see the Japanese text, then the direct translation, then the American version.

・・・だれも いなくなったな
...Everyone’s gone....
Everyone has gone away, haven't they?

オレと・・・あそぶ か?
Will you...play with me?
Will you play...with me?

オマエ もう、お⾯面 ないんだな・・・
You don’t have any more masks...
You don't have any masks left, do you?

じゃあ、別のあそびを しよう
Then, let’s play something else.
Well, let's do something else.

オニごっこ・・・か、いいな そうだ、それがいい
How about...tag. Yeah, that’ll work.
Let's play good guys against bad guys...Yes. Let's play that.

⿁鬼神の仮⾯面を もらった オニが かぶる オニのお⾯面? [C]でかぶってみよう
You got the Kishin Mask. Is it an oni mask that an oni wears? Try it on with [C].
You got the Fierce Deity's Mask! Could this mask's dark powers be as bad as Majora? Try it on with [C].

いいか・・・オマエが オニだ オニは 逃げるだけだ それでも いいよな
Good...You’re the oni. The oni just runs away. Even so, that’s fine. Are you ready?
You're the bad guy. And when you're bad, you just run. That's fine, right?

じゃあ
Well...
Well...

いこうか
Shall we go?
Shall we play?

The kanji for Kishin literally mean "Oni God". It translates to Fierce God or Demon God.
As you can see, just the American version depicts the thing to be bad and have dark powers, but there's nothing like that in the Japanese version.

The term "fierce god" or "fierce deity" (⿁鬼神) is a term referring to several deities in the Shingon Buddhist pantheon, such as Bishamonten or the Myō-ō, who are fierce and wrathful toward the negative forces that work against humanity's enlightenment, but are benevolent and supportive to humanity. They are seen as deities that work to defeat evil, a quality Link possesses in all his appearances, and which the Fierce Deity's Mask gives him greater ability to achieve. Kishin does not actually equate the subject with oni or evil at all; it merely states that the deity is as fierce as an oni. The term does not carry any connotations of evil in the Japanese language.

In Buddhism, wrathful deities are enlightened beings who take on wrathful forms in order to lead sentient beings to enlightenment. They are a notable feature of the iconography of Mahayana Buddhism and of Tibetan Buddhism, and other Vajrayana traditions in particular. A wrathful deity is often an alternative manifestation of a bodhisattva or other normally peaceful figure, making the representations of all human vices and atrocities. True to their name, in Tibetan art, wrathful deities are presented as fearsome, demonic beings. While the deities have a hideous and ferocious appearance, they are not personifications of evil or demonic forces. The ferocious appearance of these deities is used to instill fear in evil spirits which threaten the Dharma.

Every other bit of information I could find on the Fierce Deity:

In the Beta version of Majora's Mask, also known as Zelda Gaiden, an Adult Mask of Link can be seen in the game. The sketches found in Hyrule Historia on Majora's Mask imply Link was supposed to transform into an adult at some point. However, this mask was considered useless because Young Link was able to hold all weapons. So instead, this mask is reforged into the Fierce Deity's mask.

The gossip stone says: "The Fierce Deity Mask, a mask that contains the merits of all masks seems to be... somewhere in this world..."

Ever since I saw that interview with this quote, it just added up even more;
"Whose soul is inside the Fierce Deity Mask?
Aonuma: The best I can give you is just a suggestion. The best way to think about it is that the memories of all the people of Termina are inside of the Fierce Deity Mask."

And both statements make sense. Because in order to represent all humans vices and atrocities, you need to complete the entire game and have helped every person in it. Doing so makes you able to get all the masks that consists their memories, as stated in game that masks are made from memories of that person. When you manage to get hands on all the masks, you will be granted the Kishin Mask; a mask that doesn't actually have a soul as it's the alternative manifestation of Link himself.

So, here's my thoughts on the subject.
 
Joined
Feb 17, 2015
鬼神の仮面 - Kishin no Kamen
I these are the correct kanji for Fierce Deity mask. Which literally means oni or demon god mask. In Japanese Buddist mythology, Kishin are known as Wrathful gods so I assume that is where the term Fierce Deity comes from.

I don't know where you read that oni are good or not scary in Japanese cultures, but most Oni are depicted as rulers and prison guards of hell. Oni's are bad guys in the sense that they are scary demons. There's actually a whole day in February called Setsubun where kids will throw soybeans at someone dressed up as a oni in order to protect their school, home, etc. It's pretty fun.

Now in regards to Kishin, you are pretty much right on with how the Japanese view a Kishin. While in legend, you would never want to cross a Kishin, they are usually helpful.

What does that mean for the Fierce Deity Mask? Other than the fact that Legend of Zelda is highly influenced by Japanese mythology and literature, I don't know much.
 
Joined
Aug 15, 2015
鬼神の仮面 - Kishin no Kamen
I don't know where you read that oni are good or not scary in Japanese cultures, but most Oni are depicted as rulers and prison guards of hell. Oni's are bad guys in the sense that they are scary demons. There's actually a whole day in February called Setsubun where kids will throw soybeans at someone dressed up as a oni in order to protect their school, home, etc. It's pretty fun.

I'm curious how it came to this misunderstanding. I've been explaining the term Kishin, not oni. Oni means demon, yes for sure. It's doesn't just mean that however. It also a word to describe foreigners, and is used in various cultures in different ways. And if I were to just go with "Oni" than I'd be sure that we're talking about something that has a bad influence. However, the term Kishin, Demon God, Fierce God, Fierce Deity carries a different context within. And that context is something I've been trying to explain.
As any other demon he comes with a scary form;
Wrathful deities are enlightened beings who take on wrathful forms in order to lead sentient beings to enlightenment.

It's like the creatures they display on the Notre Dame. They are in sense demons, but guard the church and watch over them. They are protective demons, protective deities.

If we were to just go with "oni", just "demon", one can assume it's displayed in a bad context. For the Fierce Deity, that's not the case.
To give you an example of what doesn't carry extra weight to the context of "oni";

Happy Mask Salesman:
ワタクシは、しあわせのお面屋 古今東西、しあわせのお面を 求める行商人・・・ 旅の途中、森でキミョウな小鬼に 大切な仮面を 盗まれ 途方に くれていたところ アナタを 見つけまして
I am the Happy Mask Shop Owner. I am a peddler who searches for happy masks at all times in all places… While in a forest in the middle of my travels, a strange little demon stole a precious mask. When I was at a loss as to what to do, I found you.
I own the Happy Mask Shop. I travel far and wide in search of masks... During my travels, a very important mask was stolen from me by an imp in the woods. So here I am at a loss... And now I've found you.

・・・そのかわり ついでに あの小鬼から ワタクシの 大切な仮面を とりかえして もらえませんか?
…In exchange, could you get my precoius mask back from that little demon while you’re at it?
In exchange... All I ask is that you also get back my precious mask that the imp stole from me.

あれが 今 あの小鬼の手にある・・・
Now it is in the hands of that little demon…
And now... that imp has it...

Story of the giants:

さて・・・これを聞き おどろき 悲しんだモノがいた 小鬼だった 小鬼は、巨人たちが 大地を創る前からの 友であった
Now then…listen to this. There was a little demon who was surprised and saddened by this. The little demon had been friends with the giants since before they had created the earth.
Now then... There was one who was shocked and saddened by all this. A little imp. The imp was a friend of the giants since before they had created the four worlds.

小鬼は おびえ 悲しんだ 幼きころの友を 失ったのだ 小鬼は 天界に帰っていった こうして、四界に 和が戻った 民は 喜び 四界の巨人を 神として まつったとさ めでたし・・・めでたし・・・
The little demon was frightened and saddened. He had lost his friends that he had had since he was a child. The little demon returned to the heavenly realm. Thus, peace returned to the four worlds. The people were joyous and worshipped the giants of the four worlds as gods. And they all lived happily ever after…
The imp was frightened and saddened. He had lost his old friends. The imp returned to the heavens, and harmony was restored to the four worlds. And the people rejoiced and they worshiped the giants of the four worlds like gods. And they lived happily...ever after...

小鬼は おびえ 悲しんだ 幼きころの友を 失ったのだ 小鬼は 天界に帰っていった こうして、四界に 和が戻った 民は 喜び 四界の巨人を 神として まつったとさ めでたし・・・めでたし・・・
The little demon was frightened and saddened. He had lost his friends that he had had since he was a child. The little demon returned to the heavenly realm. Thus, peace returned to the four worlds. The people were joyous and worshipped the giants of the four worlds as gods. And they all lived happily ever after…
The imp was frightened and saddened. He had lost his old friends. The imp returned to the heavens, and harmony was restored to the four worlds. And the people rejoiced and they worshiped the giants of the four worlds like gods. And they lived happily...ever after...


Flat:
悪魔に魂を売り 私を こんな所に閉じ込めた 張本人・・・・
He sold his soul to a demon and is the one who sealed me here…
He sold his soul to the devil and was the one who locked me in here...
 
Joined
Nov 4, 2015
People are probably going to attack me for this, but personally I just can't really consider Termina or the events of Majora's Mask to be real. It's just so weird and dreamlike. I think there's good reason to consider it similar to Koholint Island--a magically 'real' dreamworld, meaning that it's not all in Link's head, but it's also not rooted in reality.
From that perspective, everything make sense: the repetitive time cycle, Terminian counterparts of people Link met in Hyrule, the Happy Mask Salesman's inexplicable feats (like immediately changing poses, not being subjected to the time cycle, pulling an organ out of nowhere, vanishing in the end), a moon with a face, going inside the moon with a face, transforming into other forms (quite dreamlike if you ask me), stone tower temple turning upside down, etc.
Not to mention that we could consider Link wrestling with inner demons which could have been manifested in this dream, such as: helping others with no reward, being stuck in a child's body even though mentally matured (cf Kafei, and the ultimate empowerment of the Fierce Deity, granting him adult form once again), death and loss and grief (not just Navi, but possibly others as well. Perhaps the kokiri had already vanished by this point?), etc.

Of course, there are also numerous reasons to believe Termina physically exists somehow too, so we can all just believe what we want. :)
 
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Aug 15, 2015
People are probably going to attack me for this, but personally I just can't really consider Termina or the events of Majora's Mask to be real. It's just so weird and dreamlike. I think there's good reason to consider it similar to Koholint Island--a magically 'real' dreamworld, meaning that it's not all in Link's head, but it's also not rooted in reality.
From that perspective, everything make sense: the repetitive time cycle, Terminian counterparts of people Link met in Hyrule, the Happy Mask Salesman's inexplicable feats (like immediately changing poses, not being subjected to the time cycle, pulling an organ out of nowhere, vanishing in the end), a moon with a face, going inside the moon with a face, transforming into other forms (quite dreamlike if you ask me), stone tower temple turning upside down, etc.
Not to mention that we could consider Link wrestling with inner demons which could have been manifested in this dream, such as: helping others with no reward, being stuck in a child's body even though mentally matured (cf Kafei, and the ultimate empowerment of the Fierce Deity, granting him adult form once again), death and loss and grief (not just Navi, but possibly others as well. Perhaps the kokiri had already vanished by this point?), etc.

Of course, there are also numerous reasons to believe Termina physically exists somehow too, so we can all just believe what we want. :)

Well, if you consider for Termina not to be real is fine, it's just that I don't really agree with the reasons you mention to think so
- Traveling in time isn't new, it has been done multiple times in Oracle of Ages & Ocarina of Time
- we know the counterparts are just the result of the fact that they only had a year and reused models instead of creating entirely different ones, so they focused on the important models only; Mayor and his family, Deku Family & Monkeys, Goron Family, Zora Band, Ikana's Royal Family,
- the Happy Mask Salesman is a mystery to all and those things are only limited to him really
- the moon actually didn't have a face in the beta, I wonder why though...
- going inside the moon, because going inside the mouth of a fish, or a turtle, or a giant dodongo, or a deku tree with all having giant mazed isn't weird all of sudden
- transforming into other forms is some kind of soul in different body concept, something that has also been used in Spirit Tracks for example, it has to do with mythology
- the law of physics are also broken in the Forest Temple of OOT

And I really don't know why people think Link should have matured mentally. I mean, the adventure of OOT took like what? A month? You think after a month being in an adult body would achieve anything like that? He didn't behave or act any different in the game as an adult as from when he was a kid. The entire point Nintendo wanted to make is to see the adult world from a child's mind and such a mind doesn't change only because he got taller. Even Majora's Mask most of the time still points out that you're too young to understand some things, especially during Kafei & Anju quest. So I think it's really odd to say that he's stuck in a child's body. If anything, that's Kafei's burden. Kafei mirrors Link's past burden.
The Fierce Deity is actually not supposed to represent his adult form. I mean, the beta version had an adult version. Why wouldn't they just keep the literal adult version if they meant him to be his own adult version? And even so, name it Fierce Deity?
 
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Well, if you consider for Termina not to be real is fine, it's just that I don't really agree with the reasons you mention to think so
- Traveling in time isn't new, it has been done multiple times in Oracle of Ages & Ocarina of Time
- we know the counterparts are just the result of the fact that they only had a year and reused models instead of creating entirely different ones, so they focused on the important models only; Mayor and his family, Deku Family & Monkeys, Goron Family, Zora Band, Ikana's Royal Family,
- the Happy Mask Salesman is a mystery to all and those things are only limited to him really
- the moon actually didn't have a face in the beta, I wonder why though...
- going inside the moon, because going inside the mouth of a fish, or a turtle, or a giant dodongo, or a deku tree with all having giant mazed isn't weird all of sudden
- transforming into other forms is some kind of soul in different body concept, something that has also been used in Spirit Tracks for example, it has to do with mythology
- the law of physics are also broken in the Forest Temple of OOT

And I really don't know why people think Link should have matured mentally. I mean, the adventure of OOT took like what? A month? You think after a month being in an adult body would achieve anything like that? He didn't behave or act any different in the game as an adult as from when he was a kid. The entire point Nintendo wanted to make is to see the adult world from a child's mind and such a mind doesn't change only because he got taller. Even Majora's Mask most of the time still points out that you're too young to understand some things, especially during Kafei & Anju quest. So I think it's really odd to say that he's stuck in a child's body. If anything, that's Kafei's burden. Kafei mirrors Link's past burden.
The Fierce Deity is actually not supposed to represent his adult form. I mean, the beta version had an adult version. Why wouldn't they just keep the literal adult version if they meant him to be his own adult version? And even so, name it Fierce Deity?
Like I said, I think there are reasons to consider both options. In any case, Termina is a strange place and distinctly different from Hyrule.
 

Oathkeeper95

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^That's actually what Eiji Aonuma said in a GameInformer interview where they questioned him on what the Fierce Deity Mask is made of. Except he used the word 'memories' instead of 'regrets' but the inclination is still the same. The quote in question that I'm referring to is this one:

"The best I can give you is just a suggestion. The best way to think of it is that the memories of all the people of Termina are inside of the Fierce Deity mask."

I can't give you a link to the actual interview because it was exclusive to the magazine (subscribers) only, but I do know that ZeldaInformer posted an article about it here that you and look at (Yes, I know its the enemy! Shun knowlee! XD ): http://www.zeldainformer.com/news/a...explains-whose-soul-is-inside-th#.VasqavlQBvY

Either way though I do like the theory of him being the god of the moon and such. It sound plausible as well (makes me think of a fanfiction I read once that actually presented the same theory...), but since Eiji Aonuma said that it was made out of the memories of Termina's citizens, I'm inclined to go with that as the explanation for where he comes from.

It's possible that the Fierce Diety Mask transforms Link into .. well.. the Diety of Termina. One that exists to protect Termina. I remember the manga had a figure that LOOKED like FD Link, maybe they are the same person.

If the spirit of Calamity exists across multiple universes, then perhaps the spirit of the Hero does too? Given enough time, maybe this spirit can become a God, then go dormat, then find another with the same spirit across the multiverse. We already know OOT link carries this spirit, cause well, it's a Zelda game (See Skyward Sword).

My point (and conclusion) is that this mask may have the memories of everyone who's lived in Termina because the spirit of the Fierce Diety has omnipresent and omniscient view of all of Termina.

Regardless, it makes perfect sense when Eiji Aonuma says you get the mask after acquiring every mask, every sidequest, every memory in the game. Its made up of the memories (regrets? hopes?) of the people you saved.
 
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My point (and conclusion) is that this mask may have the memories of everyone who's lived in Termina because the spirit of the Fierce Diety has omnipresent and omniscient view of all of Termina.
This is a very insightful conclusion. The mask functions as the combination of the souls of all the others in Termina.

This is much like another concept of Life Force, or Light Force, most prominently introduced in The Minish Cap, and expanded on in Spirit Tracks and Phantom Hourglass. The Force Gems, upside-down Triforce pieces, are made of "the Sand of Hours" which is the universal life force of all living beings within all Zelda games. This is, in my theory, the fourth piece of the Triforce; functionally it is the tetraforce, inherent to all things.

This makes it likely that the Fierce Deity Mask, as a manifestation of the combination of the souls of Termina, is the God of the Tetraforce and therefore the God of Termina. The only mystery left is why it looks like Link, but that could just be because of Link's unique connection to Termina, as he and the Happy Mask Salesman and the Skull Kid seem to be the only ones who can go between realms. Perhaps if Zelda or Ganondorf were to have entered Termina, their Fierce Deity Masks would have looked like them. If not it may just mean that, and this is non-canonical, that the Link who killed the beast infesting Majora's Mask became the God of Termina, a manifestation of the tetraforce, and thus the mask looks like that Link.
 
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Oct 10, 2017
I'm not going to attack you, Mhaerdel, or anyone else, for sticking to the Link is dead, theory. Though I do think it does the game a disservice. The events are far more interesting when they are part of the larger narrative. After all, at the end, Link is shown to be the child version, riding off into the woods where he started. In the next title, chronologically, the shade/ghost/remnant of the very same individual is in an adult form, who managed to have children, allowing him to train his blood descendant.

If we include the theory that Termina is a part of the same realm as Lorule, then we have even more connections to make use of. The blocks with the triforce isn't just a questionable reference to something that is in a different realm, but a part of that very realm. A realm that has/had a triforce of its own, and was part of the creation of the Golden Goddesses. The Four giants could easily be akin to the dragons we see throughout the series. The dragons have a bit of a following, as it is. If the people of Hyrule decided to warship something other than the goddesses, the Dragons would probably be the first pick.

It also follows that the origin of Majoa's Mask would be of equivalent, or even greater power. After all, it takes all four giants, and link defeating the mask to save termina (possibly all of Lorule). The game suggests that the fierce deity mask is on par with that of Majora. It is noteworthy that I missed the mask on my first play through, and didn't find the final battle as young link very difficult. This all bolsters the idea that the mask was a previous hero of Termina/Lorule. As we all know, if a dragon, living or dead, stood between the hero and saving the day, the dragon would go down. Now change dragon to giant, and we have an origin for both masks.
 

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