Envoy to the Heavens

Most of the legends in Hyrule speak of the valiant exploits of ancient heroes in their romps against the forces of evil. Usually they wear the trademark green garb and cap and bear a sword with the power to repel dark magic. The trend is so overwhelming that it’s a breath of fresh air when a story comes along that’s not set in Hyrule, and thus without the same-old-same-old plot line.

In Twilight Princess, mentions of a hero of old were prevalent, but much vaguer than in previous entries in the series (here’s looking at you, Wind Waker). Instead we heard a story of a messenger between Hyrule and the land of the heavens where the sky people lived. Link turned out to be the inheritor of that role in Twilight Princess, which raises the ultimate question: Is the Link from Skyward Sword also one of these envoys of the heavens?

The old woman in the Hidden Village explained the legend of the messenger to the heavens to Link after he rescued her from a gang of monsters:

Among the legends of my clan, there is a story from the time when the Oocca still maintained contact with the royal family. Yes, it said that a mysterious rod was handed down from the people of the sky, and it was called the Dominion Rod…

The rod was only to be carried by the messenger to the heavens when the royal family needed to communicate with the Oocca. From generation to generation, my ancestors have guarded the book that, by royal decree, was to be given to the messenger to the heavens.

– Impaz, Twilight Princess

From what we know about Skyward Sword, Link’s homeland of Skyloft is already separate from Hyrule, having been divided from the surface world at some point. If we speculate that some kind of connection exists between Skyloft and the Oocca, it’s not exactly clear whether Skyward Sword would take place during “the time when the Oocca still maintained contact” with the world below, or if the veil of separation between the worlds would indicate that it happens sometime after that contact ceased.

It’s possible that the inclusion (or exclusion) of the Dominion Rod could shed some light on the mystery, but we also don’t know whether the rod was actually used during the time when contact between the sky and the royal family was still strong or simply as an emergency measure after communications ended. All we can be sure of is that at some point the rod was introduced as a way for the royal family to get in touch with the sky civilization.

To make matters even more difficult, we have to consider Nintendo’s philosophy of giving the storyline a backseat and prioritizing game elements. The Dominion Rod had a specific purpose during Twilight Princess‘s gameplay that the developers are not likely to want to recycle again for Skyward Sword, even if the relic’s appearance might suit the story. (Of course, there’s also that Ancient Sky Book.)

Considering the history of Skyward Sword’s director, Hidemaro Fujibayashi, with the series thus far, however, it wouldn’t be at all surprising if some gameplay element involving the newly-established contact between worlds featured in the final game. One of Fujibayashi’s most cherished creations was The Minish Cap, which featured the unique Kinstone system. Modeled somewhat after the theme of spreading happiness set down in Majora’s Mask, the Kinstone feature involved matching up medallion shards to generate “lucky” events to progress both the story and various sidequests. A similar system that requires Link to match up objects from both the upper and lower world might serve as an interesting way to flesh out Skyward Sword’s game world while at the same time establishing him as a medium between the two lands. Perhaps such a feature might be able to make use of the Dominion Rod or Ancient Sky Book in some fashion?

Even if the messenger’s items doesn’t feature in the story, however, Link is from the sky world, and probably will establish some kind of communication between Skyloft and the surface land. Whether this constitutes the “first contact” or a reconnection between two long-divided lands, it’s highly doubtful that Nintendo would miss an opportunity to make a reference one of the series’ best-selling installments.

For more information on possible connections between Skyloft and the Oocca, read Dawn of Evil’s Bane.

The Skyward Sword Speculation Series is a new regular column that will focus 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. While we try to make our 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.