What Exactly is the Sailcloth?

[Justac00lguy]

Now don't get me wrong, I know what the Sailcloth is and it's uses, but I want to raise a few questions regarding the item itself.

So what do we exactly know about this item? Well for one it's a cloth (obviously), well a royal cloth of sorts. Now the image above isn't too clear, but the cloth has a familiar symbol, the bird like outlining that is usually complemented by the Triforce in latter games on the chronological Timeline.

So this cloth is pretty significant, it's a gift of sorts given by the Goddess herself, Hylia. However, what exactly for? Well in Skyward Sword it's actually useful somewhat -- we use it to travel to the surface and soften landings in other situations. It seemed though that its main use was to travel safely between the Sky and the Surface. I have one problem though, look at this quote.

Zelda "You know, they say that the goddess gave the Sailcloth to her chosen hero long ago. Of course, the one you're holding isn't the same one."

So wait... This was a reenactment of an original ceremony? This indicates that there was a hero beforehand, but this was before Skyloft was even created and the separation between the Sky and the Surface. So why exactly would this Sailcloth be given to Link? Is it just an item of the Goddess used to symbolise that Hero actually becoming a Hero? Or could it have had more signicance? Maybe there was more involvement with the Sky and the Surface beforehand.

So what are your thoughts on this?

 

[ILU]

Maybe Hylia's chosen hero also had to travel between Sky and Land. It was never stated where Hylia dwelled. We might be able to assume she watched from the heavens being that she's associated with birds... if you look at her statue, it looks like her hair is made of feathers. She probably didn't look like how Himekawa drew her, and even Demise said her human form wasn't all that impressive.

There isn't anything to say there weren't lands similar to Skyloft or the Oocca's up in the sky before Skyloft was up there.

EDIT: I also want to point out that the Picori hadn't descended from the heavens yet, so there was at least ONE land that was up there. Perhaps the Light they brought (the type that dwells within future princesses of Hyrule) is of- or even part of- the same Light SSZelda had due to her previous life as Hylia. A little off-topic, but it might be worth noting.

I doubt Hylia's previous hero had any connections with the Picori, but the possibility of land-air travel seems believable pre-SS.

 

[Spirit]

Zelda's Pillowcase is what it is

 

[JoeDeLait]

Not the best Goddess was she.....'You are the chosen hero, you will banish all evil and darkness from the world! Here! Take this tea towel to aid you on your quest!' It could have been a sword, or a giant hammer, or a pet tiger, but no it's a bit of linen.

 

[Ventus]

The Sailcloth is
1) Zelda's pillowcase as Spirit said
2) Nothing important whatsoever. It's there. It's an item. It has no significance at all, except some faux-backstory to make it seem important.

They shouldn't have had Lore in Skyward Sword, just makes it feel like it isn't the first game.

???
1) ???
2) Aonuma said that Skyward Sword isn't [necessarily] the first game in the series - that new games can come before it - but as of now it is the first.

 

[Locke]

Link is the Goddess's chosen hero. That tale originated from the time when Link traveled to the past. Yes, the event itself didn't happen in the past, but the past learned of it so it might as well have. It's a predestination paradox. It's also evidence that SS did not result in a split timeline.

 

[Shadsie]

Hmmm.

For me, it is evidence of the possibility of Eternal Recurrence in the Legend of Zelda universe.

Well, okay, so I won't actually argue that as a valid theory, but I remember when I was first playing the game and my fiance' was watching me, he made a comment to that effect in regards to the SAILCLOTH and ever since then, I had it stuck in my head that somehow, the people of Skyloft know of the Great Sea - and Skyward Sword was somehow a *sequel* as well as a *prequel* to all Zelda game so far.

That, in turn, lead me to writing a story about that. Since most people here aren't into fanfiction and don't care about the crazy stories I write, I'll just leave it at that unless someone asks.

Don't mind my mind. It's weird in here.

 

[Spiritual Mask Salesman]

Dang it JC, I was going to write a thread about this but while looking for the particular quote you used I found this thread on google. Looks like you were way ahead of me. XD

Anyway I was thinking that the ritual was lie. There was no hero before Skyward Sword Link. Since it is said Hylia set things up perfectly even though she was already dead when the events began to fall into place. She probably knew the hero who would arise later would need a sailcloth in his quest (with all that jumping from the sky to the surface) so she created a fake ritual so that the real hero would later get an item he would need. (That hero being SS Link)

Kudos to you JC for beating me to the punch like 2 years ago.

 

[Retro Ganon]

Anyway I was thinking that the ritual was lie. There was no hero before Skyward Sword Link. Since it is said Hylia set things up perfectly even though she was already dead when the events began to fall into place. She probably knew the hero who would arise later would need a sailcloth in his quest (with all that jumping from the sky to the surface) so she created a fake ritual so that the real hero would later get an item he would need. (That hero being SS Link)

I wouldn't say the legend was a lie, but perhaps a mistranslation in the way Fi refers to the Goddess' Legend of the Chosen Hero only being passed on in part because word of mouth is unreliable.

Fi Target lock - Demise:
This eternal being has conquered time itself. It is the source of all monsters.
According to tales passed down through generations, it appears differently in each epoch and to each person who lays eyes on it.

Demise (End of Battle):

Extraordinary. You stand as a paragon of your kind, human. You fight like no man or demon I have ever known. Though this is not the end. My hate...never perishes. It is born anew in a cycle with no end!
I will rise again! Those like you... Those who share the blood of the goddess and the spirit of the hero... They are eternally bound to this curse. An incarnation of my hatred shall ever follow your kind, dooming them to wander a blood-soaked sea of darkness for all time!

The short dialogs of Demise unveils more history of Hyrule than what we ever thought prior to OoT. It is safe to assume that with his existence being present for over a millennia, the Goddess is not the only benevolent being that has had to confront his threat to the world. Just as we learned from Ganon's death in TP and FSA, their is always a hero to be born to face the rebirth of an old evil. Exempted texts from Ganondorf's death speech at the end of TP especially parallel Demises resolve in the quotes above.

The legend stated by Zelda may be vague, yet history passed down by members of the would-be-royal-family have a habit of leaving out some of the details regarding the 'hero' whom aided the kingdom. On the CT, TP references the SS's hero but fails to remember the Hero of Times deeds that lead to Ganondorfs capture, and then FSA takes note of prior FS wielders, but no reverence of previous saviors' dealings with demon kings. And the same goes for the a gap between ALttP and LoZ/AoL on the timeline. The AoL manual says a King was the one who ruled the land with the Triforce, but gives no credit to the actual Hero who acquired it from Ganon in the first place. Granted we don't exactly know how the Triforce got broken back into three individual pieces between OoS/OoA - ALBW, but that's another topic for debate which I'll glady engage, Sir.

 

[MrPsychoSlayer]

We know that it smells like Zelda. But other than that, it's just a cloth. Breaks your fall. Not much more than that.

 

[Nicolai]

Lol, maybe Hylia tried to anoint a hylian hero long ago, but it's never talked about in legend because he didn't do a very good job. I mean, would anyone talk about the legend of Link if he didn't complete his destiny?

And thus, the great Goddess Hylia learned from that day never to give her sailcloth to anyone who isn't named Link. This is the story passed down from generation to generation...​

 

[TattooArtist]

Zelda went through her panty draw, found some "fabric" and made it into a sailcloth. Basically, Link has been floating down with panties.

 

[Spamomanospam]

An interesting possibility I came up with reading various answers here, is that it IS the same sailcloth Hylia gave to the hero. How? Well, she says this upon presenting Link the sailcloth at the beginning of the game. After the events, though, Link had travelled back in time, and perhaps his tale was recounted because he received the sailcloth from Hylia incarnate, who was Princess Zelda. Or maybe it's just a magic blankey.

 

[Woyogoyo]

Not sure if it counts as canon, but there's a pre-SS hero shown in the manga in the back of Hyrule Historia.

 

[Spamomanospam]

Not sure if it counts as canon, but there's a pre-SS hero shown in the manga in the back of Hyrule Historia.

Not technically included, since it's not actually listed in the Historia's chronology, but it's interesting to look at possibilities based on the mangas. I really like a lot of the alternate stories Himekawa presents, they make a lot more sense than "Link inexplicably understands how to weild every weapon known to man like an expert." It also gives some interesting depth to characters you otherwise might not have considered characters.
Anyways, it could very well have been presented to this hero, if he, or an equivalent hero exists in the canon, which is likely since Hylia did have to raise her people to the sky to escape the terrors of the surface. I like the idea of this Link using himself as a martyr to allow time to raise Skyloft. If this is the case, also, the sailcloth could simply be a token of her affection to the brave knight. Noble women would often gift such tokens to knights before they would joust, inspiring them to fight for their affections. That would make sense as well.