Sheikah/Sheikah Legends

The Legend of the Five Temples

The Sages seal Ganon.

The Legend of the Five Temples is a tale passed down by the Sheikah tribe, and speaks of how peace will be restored to Hyrule should evil ever come to rule over all of the land. This is the legend that foretells the coming of the Hero of Time, and speaks of his quest to find the mythical Seven Sages in order to seal the darkness plaguing Hyrule away and return peace to the land. It states that when evil rules all, an awakening voice from the Sacred Realm will call out to a group of special individuals across Hyrule, five of which will dwell in the five temples found across the realm of Hyrule: one in a deep forest, one on a high mountain, one under a vast lake, one inside the House of the Dead, and one inside a goddess of the sand. Once awakened this special group, later known as the Seven Sages, would fight alongside the Hero of Time to banish the darkness covering Hyrule and seal it away in the void of the Evil Realm to return the light of peace to Hyrule and its citizens.

This legend comes to pass in Ocarina of Time, when Ganondorf gains hold of the Triforce of Power and uses its might to conquer Hyrule and turn it into a land of darkness overrun with monsters. The Hero of Time, Link, returns from his seven-year slumber and is set on the path to finding the Seven Sages that have the power to seal Ganondorf away in the former Sacred Realm, which has by now become a land of evil and despair known as the Evil Realm. After returning from the Sacred Realm after drawing the Master Sword from the Pedestal of Time, Link meets Sheik, who relates the Legend of the Five Temples to him, thus giving him guidance in the steps he would have to take to accomplish his goal of defeating the Dark Lord. Sheik reveals that because of the evil haunting their respective temples as a result of Ganondorf's evil influence, the special individuals destined to become Sages cannot hear the awakening call from the Sacred Realm to awaken to their true identities. Link discovers that these five individuals he seeks are five friends he had known as a child: Saria the Sage of Forest, Darunia the Sage of Fire, Ruto the Sage of Water, Impa the Sage of Shadow, and Nabooru the Sage of Spirit. Together with Rauru the Sage of Light and Princess Zelda, the Leader of the Sages, they composed the group known as the Seven Sages. With the assistance of the Hero of Time, who defeated the Dark Lord in both his humanoid and beast forms, the Seven Sages cast Ganondorf back into the void of the Evil Realm and sealed the entrance, thus fulfilling the Legend of the Five Temples.

The Legend of the Sacred Triangle

The Sacred Triangle, the Triforce, shining down upon the Sacred Realm.

The Legend of the Sacred Triangle is another ancient legend passed down by the Sheikah for generations and speaks of a very important secret concerning the Triforce and the Sacred Realm. According to the legend, the resting place of the Triforce, the Sacred Realm, is a mirror that will reflect the heart of the one who enters it and lays claim to the so-called "Sacred Triangle". This being said, one of two things can happen when this event occurs. If the heart of the one that holds the Sacred Triangle in his or her hands is pure and balanced, they will gain the True Force to govern all and the Sacred Realm will become a paradise. However, if the heart of the one that holds the Sacred Triangle does not contain an equal balance of Power, Wisdom and Courage, the Triforce will separate into its three component parts, leaving only the part representing the force that one most believes in and transforming the Sacred Realm into a world of evil as well; If that one were to seek the True Force, that one must acquire the two lost parts that will be held by two special individuals chosen by destiny, who will bear the mark of the Triforce on the backs of their hands.

This legend comes to pass in Ocarina of Time as well when Ganondorf gains entry to the Sacred Realm with the unwitting assistance of Link and Princess Zelda. After entering the Sacred Realm and arriving at the Triforce's resting place, Ganondorf laid his tainted hands upon the golden relic. But, as his heart was not in balance due to his disproportionate desire for power, the Legend of the Sacred Triangle came true and the Triforce shattered. Only the Triforce of Power remained in Ganondorf's hand, as that was the piece representing the force he most believed in and desired most. The strength of the Triforce of Power enabled Ganondorf to conquer Hyrule and become a mighty evil king, but his dark ambitions were not satisfied as he hungered for the True Force to govern all. To gain complete mastery of the world, Ganondorf began to search Hyrule high and low for the two special people that were destined to be the keepers of the Triforce of Wisdom and the Triforce of Courage. Secretly, upon his shattering of the Triforce, those two parts were bestowed upon Princess Zelda and the slumbering Hero of Time respectively. Meanwhile, as the Sacred Triangle had been shattered by one of impure heart, the Sacred Realm was transformed into a world of evil and darkness now known as the Evil Realm. This transformation brought the Legend of the Sacred Triangle to fruition and laid the foundations for a great battle between the three holders of the Triforce pieces that would span generations to come.

The Legend of the Sky Beings

The Legend of the Sky Beings is a tale passed down by the Sheikah that speaks of a race of beings that reside in the skies above the land of Hyrule, the Oocca. According to ancient legend, the Oocca had a special relationship with the Royal Family of Hyrule and their protectors, the Sheikah. The Oocca were said by the Sheikah to have created a magical rod known to the Sheikah as the "Rod of the Heavens", properly called the Dominion Rod, that possessed the power to infuse life into certain mystical statues created by the Oocca and would be carried by the so-called "Messenger to the Heavens", the Royal Family's representative that would travel between Hyrule and the Oocca's home settlement in the heavens, the City in the Sky. Before their departure for the City in the Sky, the Oocca were said to have left the Ancient Sky Book in the hands of the Sheikah in order to offer a clue to the whereabouts of their mythical city in the clouds. After the Oocca lost touch with the surface of Hyrule, a royal decree was issued to the Sheikah, stating that a designated member of the tribe would be entrusted with the Ancient Sky Book and would be bound to the Hidden Village that was home to the tribe until the coming of a new Messenger to the Heavens, who would be identifiable by his or her possession of the Rod of the Heavens.

The events spoken of in this legend come to pass in Twilight Princess, when the new Hero, Link, discovers the long lost Dominion Rod in the Temple of Time after accessing it through a time portal found in the original door that still stands in the Sacred Grove. However, after bringing it out of the past temple, the rod loses its power to infuse life into the statues. Coming to the conclusion that its power must be recharged somehow, Link goes on a quest to restore the memory of his childhood friend Ilia, rediscovering the Hidden Village and meeting the last known resident and Sheikah, Impaz, in the process. After succeeding in restoring Ilia's memory, Link hears her speak about a statement Impaz had made to her, telling of the "Rod of the Heavens" and speaking of the heavenly messenger that would possess it. Link deduces that this is referring to the Dominion Rod and takes it to Impaz in the Hidden Village, where the overjoyed old woman declares Link the new Messenger to the Heavens she has been awaiting for quite a long time and gives him the Ancient Sky Book, fulfilling her obligation to pass the manuscript on to the heavenly messenger. Using the book, Link is eventually able to restore power to the Dominion Rod by means of a spell written inside it and uses the Dominion Rod to find the missing Sky Characters hidden all across Hyrule and locate the long lost, dilapidated Sky Cannon. After paying to have the ancient cannon restored, Link uses the powerful machine to launch himself up to the City in the Sky, where he becomes the first Messenger to the Heavens to see the Oocca and their city in generations.