Ancient Tablet

The Ancient Tablet is an item in Skyward Sword.

Quest Purpose
Normally, the inhabitants of Skyloft cannot reach to the surface, and in fact its lands are simply a legend for them. However, the Ancient Tablet, when placed in the altar inside the Statue of the Goddess, allows Link to penetrate the Cloud Barrier by forming a Column of Light in each of the three regions of the surface. The tablet is broken into three parts - emerald, ruby and amber. These three fragments open the way to the woods, volcano and desert, respectively.

Emerald Tablet
The Emerald Tablet is found inside the Statue of the Goddess in Skyloft. When Link first enters this place and receives the Goddess Sword, Fi materializes this tablet to give to Link and instructs him to hit the Goddess Crest with a Skyward Strike. Link does this, raising an altar in which the Emerald Tablet can be inserted. When he inserts the tablet, a break in the clouds appears in the southeastern part of The Sky and a pillar of green light radiates from it. This marks the way to Faron Woods.

Ruby Tablet
The Ruby Tablet is found in Skyview Spring, located behind the room where Link fights Ghirahim in Skyview Temple. Like the altar on which the tablets are placed, it is revealed by hitting the Goddess Crest on Skyview Spring's altar with a Skyward Strike. After Link has done this, Fi will relay a message from the gods of old to him and then materialize the tablet. When the Ruby Tablet is returned to the altar in the Statue of the Goddess, a cloud rift with a red light pillar appears in the northern part of the Sky. This marks the way to Eldin Volcano.

Amber Tablet
The Amber Tablet is found in the Earth Spring, located behind the room where Link fights Scaldera in the Earth Temple. As with the Ruby Tablet, hitting the Goddess Crest with a Skyward Strike leads to another message from the gods and the acquisition of the Amber Tablet. When the Amber Tablet is returned to the altar in the Statue of the Goddess, the entire Ancient Tablet is reassembled and a cloud rift with a yellow light pillar appears in the southwestern part of the Sky. This marks the way to Lanayru Desert, the final continuous area of the Surface reachable from the Sky.

Trivia

 * The Ancient Tablet is very similar in appearance and basic function to the Rail Map of.