The Three Goddesses: The Ally, The Enemy, and The Fallen

Skyward Sword has been stated to be a prequel to the entire Zelda series, meaning thus far it is the original story, the first adventure. Until another prequel is made, this is where it all began, and as I’ve discussed numerous times, it will even mark the beginning of the Kingdom of Hyrule itself. But there’s another event within the series that Skyward Sword may mark as well. The original event.

“The Goddess”, the deity of the Skyloftians and seemingly the enemy of Ghirahim’s Tribe. Ever since this figure was first shown, fans have begun wild speculation on the subject. How does this Goddess tie in with the three Golden Goddesses identified in the Hylian Creation myth, first related by the Great Deku Tree in Ocarina of Time? Is this Goddess merely one of the three, an entirely different deity, or are we seeing a prototype of the Hylian religion, which is intended to morph over time into the form we’re familiar with? It’s unclear what part the standard creation myth of The Legend of Zelda will play in Skyward Sword, which is surprising. I’ve discussed my theories that the three Goddesses may be separate patron deities of different cultures, tribes, or regions, and only later will they be united under a single religion. Others have speculated that all three Goddesses will appear physically within the story as mortals, possibly manipulating magic or high technology to do amazing things. The most recent information about The Goddess was revealed in the Skyward Sword Intro, which depicts a tale, seemingly related by Fi, about the creation of Skyloft and the onslaught of demons emerging from the earth from whom the Goddess protected the humans.

Now I’ve made many theories about the plot of Skyward Sword, and I have yet another one. Admittedly I’m not as certain of this one, but the more I think about it the more it makes sense. I think that it’s possible that Fi is actually Nayru, the Goddess of Wisdom. And I think I know what part the other Golden Goddesses will play in Skyward Sword as well.

There are truly almost no identifying traits for the Goddesses. The Wind Waker and Twilight Princess have both depicted statues of the three Goddesses individually, but they are always very similar and seem to carry no consistent symbols or markings aside from those on the three Goddess Pearls in TWW (which appear on the boxart for Skyward Sword). Clearly the Goddesses or at least their legend play some part in the game. Either way, there are no traits to identify the Goddesses with aside from the three symbols, so how could I possibly know Fi is Nayru?

Aside from the symbol, two traits are ascribed to Nayru. Her trait, wisdom, and her color, which is blue. Starting with the color, Fi’s design is blatantly blue. It’s dominated by the color. Aside from some gold and a few other shades, she’s made entirely of blue, even down to the color of her literally statuesque face. Yes, this was possibly intended more for her relation to the Master Sword, but I don’t think that really explains why her appearance is almost entirely blue while the Master Sword isn’t, nor would it match up with the fact that she is now only a spirit inhabiting the Goddess Sword, which doesn’t even resemble the Master Sword in color scheme. Either way it can’t be completely disregarded. Then there’s Fi’s personality. Fi has been described by people who’ve played the game as emotionless, all about duty, and, more importantly, a giver of information and analysis. Her main role is to analyze your items, enemies and surroundings and give you their information, relating it to you in a cold, almost robotic voice. If one was to take the concept of “wisdom” and distill it as pure as possible into a character concept, don’t you think you’d wind up with something pretty much exactly like Fi? Fi has been stated by Nintendo to no longer be the blade itself, simply with its own intelligence, but rather a spirit that inhabits the Goddess Sword. Already identified as a spirit, there’s plenty of room for her to actually be a Goddess, and if not, she could easily be a being that will later be identified as one.

This subject can’t really be discussed in full without bringing up the myth from Ocarina of Time about the creation of Hyrule, particularly because it identifies what specific part each Goddess had in the creation of Hyrule. Most of the time, I’ve considered that statement, “the creation of Hyrule” to be nonliteral, only stating Hyrule simply because it is a Hylian legend. I always assumed that it simply discussed the creation of the world itself, not merely Hyrule but also the other lands, like Labrynna and Holodrum from the Oracle games. (And while I’m on that note, I’ve excluded the Oracles from this article because they are just that; Oracles, not Goddesses, regardless of the names they have in common with the Golden Goddesses.) But perhaps the truth behind this myth actually does specifically apply to Hyrule? This is the legend, as spoken by the Deku Tree:

As I said, this is a myth. If indeed it unfolds during Skyward Sword, it would occur much differently than the Deku Tree told it, and if indeed it does occur differently, that will like exclude the Deku Tree from appearing in the game because if he did, he would have known the true story. As it’s only a myth, applying it to Skyward Sword will require looking at it in a nonliteral way, applying specific traits to what we know.

With this in mind, the specific part Nayru plays in Hyrule’s creation is as follows:

In the past, I’ve thought a lot about what this means. I originally took it to simply mean spirits and laws in the literal, but I also later extended it to mean physics and science… the natural laws of the universe. But applying it to Fi, there’s an interesting correlation. Fi possesses the Goddess Sword, which will directly become the Master Sword that is supposed to be created during the course of Skyward Sword. This is the Blade of Evil’s Bane, the weapon that judges and strikes down evil, the law incarnate. Fi, in a way, does create the law in Skyward Sword, because she aids Link in creating the ultimate punisher of evil. Even excluding this, clearly she along with Link play the role of enforcers as they fight against the first evil of the series in Ghirahim’s Tribe and first establish true heroism. Fi in this role personifies Zelda’s Triforce trait, Wisdom, as well as many aspects of Zelda and the Royal Family themselves. They played the role as Hyrule’s protectors, the keepers of its secrets, the law. Fi shares these traits in common with the Royal Family. The Ally.

Next is Din. As I said, I believe I’ve figured out probable parts that all three Goddesses could play in Skyward Sword, and Din is no exception.

The backstory of Skyward Sword in the intro tells that the demons, Ghirahim’s Tribe (or the Dark Tribe as I’ve stated in my older theory), emerged from cracks in the earth itself, coming out of the land. These beings are clearly the Dark Interlopers from the backstory of Twilight Princess; Skyward Sword’s intro shows that they seek a power that must be the Triforce, and they seem to have overrun the land itself. These are beings who seek ultimate power. And in addition, whether you believe they’re the Dark Interlopers, the Dark Tribe, or both, they have serious connections to the later villain Ganondorf, a man who possesses the Triforce of Power.

I think that Din, or a spirit that would later come to be identified as the Goddess Din, is somehow either behind or controlled by Ghirahim’s Tribe. Nintendo has suggested that while Ganon will not appear in Skyward Sword, elements of the story will ultimately culminate in or explain his uprising in Ocarina of Time, and Din would directly play into that. I’m not suggesting that Din is evil, merely that, like Fi, she is a being personified by her trait, in this case Power. She could either be amoral, neither good nor evil, or she could be simply a being of power that is ultimately good but also ultimately captured and controlled.

Din’s relation to the Demon Tribe is also supported by the red cloaks of their members. Ghirahim himself wears a red cloak, even bearing jewel decoration like Fi’s, whereas the other members of the tribe are also described as wearing red, and though we haven’t seen it firsthand, this is important because it means that characters from within the game have taken note of the red in particular; it’s the defining uniform of the Demon Tribe.

This relates directly to her part in the creation story, because Din “created the land”. If Din appears in a role similar to this, then she ends up being represented by the Demon Tribe, a group that rules over and emerged from within the surface itself. This theme dominates the entire surface world, the earth itself, and thus Din and the Demon Tribe fit the myth. The Enemy.

So then where is the last Goddess, Farore? Perhaps she is an unrevealed character, somewhat like Din? No, actually I think Nintendo has already discussed Farore pretty extensively. I believe Farore is The Goddess, the deity of the Skyloftian people who is also discussed in the game’s intro.

Why? The Goddess perfectly fits the trait of Courage, and even Link specifically. She’s the warrior who fought off the demons, displaying great courage as she risked her life and ultimately disappeared… perhaps even died. She sent the humans above so they could survive, and her memory is carried forward in their worship of her. A Goddess directly involved with combat and heroism, and the deity of Link’s people, the Skyloftians. It’s possible that the Skyloftians even borrow their knight culture from their legends of her valor.

Farore easily fits into the creation myth. She only sent the humans into the sky. The other races stayed with her and fought the demons. In this way, she protected all the creatures of the land and even fought alongside most of them. Yes there’s a difference between creation and protection, but in both the creation myth and in Skyward Sword, she is the only Goddess who’s directly identified with or related to the races of the land, and with both creation and protection, the creatures would not have been alive afterwards. Furthermore, the other tribes fight alongside her in the battle against the demons, upholding the law, and later side with the Royal Family and form Hyrule, protectors of the land. But in order to protect all the people and display that courage, she had to fight until her last breath. The Fallen.

I think there’s definitely enough evidence to support the theory of these three appearances of the Goddesses, and while it’s all uncertain, some more than the rest, it’s a reasonable concept, and I think it’s probable that some form of it will occur in Skyward Sword.

Now, in the middle of all this is the Triforce. If The Goddess is Farore, then what about the Triforce, now stated to be created by the “Gods of Old”? Actually, going along with the Deku Tree’s creation tale, this isn’t a contradiction of any kind:

It is never stated in Ocarina of Time that the Goddesses created the Triforce, but rather that they left it behind. Going by this, the Old Gods can still be the creators of the Triforce and if so, I think that by the end of Skyward Sword, after whatever events occur, the Triforce will ultimately be left in the middle of everything. It will be laying in the aftermath, and theoretically the Unifying War could follow at some point.

However, that is based on Ocarina of Time’s version of the creation myth. A Link to the Past has a different version:

The story is very similar, actually, save for them being referred to as Gods rather than Goddesses, and the statement of them creating the Triforce. Even though it states this, however, the Ocarina of Time version could possibly be a retcon. It might not even matter either way, as both the OoT and ALttP versions are still no more than myths and legends, meaning that whether or not it states that they created the Triforce, that can still easily be false. But another possibility is that these Gods who created the Triforce are actually Skyward Sword’s “Old Gods” above the Golden Goddesses. It’s certain that they didn’t intend this when they made A Link to the Past, but it seems like an easy connection to make while expanding the lore in Skyward Sword, and it’s reasonable to think that the Old Gods, which likely created the Goddesses, bore the same core traits, rather than creating the Goddesses with a random set of traits that did not apply to themselves.

Another particularly interesting bit about the A Link to the Past creation myth is the “three titles which gave the person who received them great powers”. The Forger of Strength; doesn’t this fit Din’s proposed role as a captured tool used by the Demon Tribe to gain power? The Keeper of Knowledge; doesn’t this fit Fi’s role as an encyclopedia of information? And The Juror of Courage; Farore’s proposed role has her serving as the original enforcer of the law, before Link and Fi? Now these titles are seemingly applied specifically to the three Triforces and their bearers, but they still represent the three traits of the Goddesses, and who’s to say that the Goddesses don’t eventually become absorbed by the Triforce and become the three individual pieces? Perhaps the term “Master Force” that appears on the artwork accompanying A Link to the Past’s creation myth will take on an important meaning and it will only become the Triforce when it becomes one with the Goddesses.

For the record, the Japanese translation uses three different titles. The ones who would “Conquer Power”, “Govern Wisdom” and “Temper Courage”. These change the associations, but for the most part still fit these three proposed roles of the Goddesses in Skyward Sword (Din and the Demon Tribe conquer, as does Ganon, Fi establishes law, and Farore’s valor inspires courage). Although it’s possible that at this point I may just be coming up with conclusions based on these titles to suit my theory. Either way, it’s interesting.

Along the same line as the “Master Force” is the “Light Force” mentioned in The Minish Cap, a power possessed by the line of ladies in the Royal Family, which sounds very similar to the implication that Skyward Sword’s Zelda somehow possesses the Triforce (or Master Force?) itself. And the phrasing reminds me of the Light Spirits. Faron has already been shown in Skyward Sword as a “spirit”, the same term used to describe Fi, and is depicted quite differently than he was in Twilight Princess. Indeed, he seems completely physical, even mortal. Perhaps the Goddesses truly are spirits, and maybe they’re even equals of a sort to the prototypes of the Light Spirits, both made by the Old Gods. Perhaps it is only later that Nayru, Din and Farore come to be known as Goddesses, and that the Light Spirits truly take on a form fitting their name.

Realistically, if any of this comes true in Skyward Sword, the changes between the story and the creation myths of the older games are completely logical. No legend can be perfectly maintained as it’s passed down through the ages, especially by those who never knew the full story. It’s probable that the Goddesses or spirits won’t even go by the names we know them by at all, but rather are given those names later. How the Light Spirits tie in is unclear, though it is curious how similar their names are to the Goddesses (something many fans have noticed). And it would be interesting, as the theories about the Goddesses appearing in person and the idea of patron deities will both, in a weird way, be realized.

Skyward Sword is still a month away, but that time is passing fast and when it does release we’ll be able to find out the true nature of Fi, The Goddess, the Triforce, Light Spirits, and the Demon Tribe. Only time will tell if my theory comes true or not, and as I said before, I’m not as sure of it as I was about the Dark Tribe or the Sheikah’s roles in the game. Still, much of it makes sense and it would be an intriguing tale, so we can only hope. I suppose that, when Skyward Sword releases, we’ll find out the truth of Hyrule’s origin.