Tribes of Skyward Sword: The Origins of the Hylia

Could this guardian spirit be the key to unlocking the mystery of the Hylians' origins?

One of the biggest mysteries I’ve been hoping Skyward Sword would unravel is the reason why the Hylians are the “chosen people of the gods.” We know that that revered status is the reason they gained long ears that could hear the gods’ voices and the ability to prophesy and use magic, but we don’t know what it is that gave them that status. Now, with the recent Skyward Sword info out of both Japan and America, I think we’re one step closer to the answer.

Naturally, if you want to avoid key spoilers, don’t read past this point.

The water dragon seen above is named “Faron,” according to a translation of the info from the Japanese Skyward Sword site. You can obviously see a connection to Farore based on the crest Faron wears, but what’s a little stranger is why that connection exists for a water deity in the first place. In Twilight Princess, Faron was a forest guardian, and certainly didn’t take on the form of a dragon. Now, admittedly, this Faron still does live in a lake flanking the forest, so the relationship isn’t as far gone as it sounds, but it’s still a sort of not-quite-perfect reference.

But that’s not what I want to focus on. Another detail revealed at the Japanese site was that Faron is a servant – a servant of the goddess we saw in the game’s intro legend and who is referenced throughout. What’s more, the info from the website actually names this goddess. And what do they call her? Hylia.


That’s the name of the Hylian people, eventually passed down to name the land’s largest lake and the very kingdom itself! All this time we knew that Hyrule was named for the Hylians, but we didn’t know that the Hylians were named for a goddess! This makes Hylia’s relationship to the humans she saved a whole lot more meaningful. Will we see the birth of the name “Hylian” in this game? What does this mean for the Hylian Shield, which we already know appears this time around? And, most importantly, we’ve seen a lot of origins for series icons in this game, but how many more wait just below the surface?

Look for more Tribes of Skyward Sword features and updates to the Skyward Sword Character Guide related to the Kikwi and Parella over the weekend! (They’ll be much more substantial than this since there’s a much wider range of info to cover, I assure you.) I’ll be capping them off with the launch of our Skyward Sword Storyline Guide! First subject on the list: the intro legend and the creation of Skyloft.


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The Skyward Sword Speculation Series is a column that focuses on speculated possibilities for Skyward Sword‘s gameplay and storyline. The idea came from a general speculation article we published in the wake of E3 2010, and I’m bringing it back in the wake of E3 and Comic Con 2011! While I try to make my guesses based on confirmed or suggested facts, bear in mind that they are still just that – guesses – and may or may not prove to be true, or even at all accurate. I’ll be dealing with all kinds of other possibilities in future articles, so stay tuned for upcoming installments!

You can check out the full lineup of Skyward Sword articles at our Skyward Sword Article Archive.

This is just a taste of the kinds of analysis and content you’ll see in our upcoming Skyward Sword Storyline Guide, part of our massive Skyward Sword Walkthrough project. Keep checking our walkthrough homepage for daily updates as more information pours in and we take the time to break it down, ZI-style!

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