Daily Debate: What Do You Think About the Dragon Lore in Tears of the Kingdom?
Posted on July 08 2023 by Michaela El-Ters
Spoiler Warning: This article and the comments section may contain spoilers for The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom.
In Tears of the Kingdom, past memories of Zelda during her time with King Rauru and Queen Sonia reveal that there is a forbidden act called “draconification.” As Mineru describes it, “To swallow a Secret Stone is to become an immortal dragon…one blessed with eternal life,” but there’s a cost. The individual can’t change back, and they end up losing themselves. Zelda does eventually perform draconification to return to her original time. Overall it’s an interesting idea, but the notion that swallowing a Secret Stone leads to becoming an immortal dragon has some potentially unintended implications for the other “dragon spirits” in the game.
Does this mean Farosh, Dinraal, and Naydra were former sages or even incarnations of the Golden Goddesses before becoming dragons? Which Secret Stones did they swallow, and how many different types are there? Can they be returned to their human form? Do they no longer remember their former lives or who they used to be? And what about other dragons in the series like Volvagia? Now, every time I farm for dragon claws, scales, and spikes, I can’t help but feel a pang of guilt knowing that these dragons were very likely once people. I’m not sure if this is the takeaway Nintendo wanted players to have from all of this, but here we are.
What do you think? What are your thoughts on the dragon lore in Tears of the Kingdom and its implications for the other dragons in the game? Let us know in the comments!
Michaela El-Ters is a Senior Editor for Zelda Dungeon. She is also an Senior Writer for Boss Rush Network, and writes blogs and streams games on Objection Network. Her favorite Zelda game changes with the seasons, but the series as a whole is near and dear to her heart.
