The Master Sword Explored

The following article is a summary article. However, it may contain

theoretical elements which only reflects the opinions of the writer and

not ZeldaInformer as a whole. That said, enjoy the article!

When

speaking of Zelda, the Master Sword, the blade of evil’s bane, often

comes to mind. It is the iconic weapon of our hero, Link, and it has

made many appearances throughout the series. Link has sealed the fate

of Ganon and his minions many times with the blade, making use of its

amazing evil-repelling abilities. The blade is often well hidden within

the world of Hyrule, and after enduring many harsh tasks and winning

many fatiguing battles Link is able to wield the mythical blade with

pride. But do we fully understand its capabilities?

A Link to the Past was the first Zelda

tale to feature the legendary Master Sword. Its history is indeed

clouded, and very few know of its existence. However, an Old Woman in

Kakariko Village enlightens us about its past.
Her story details

many facts about the Master Sword. It was an ancient Hylian artifact

that is now hidden within the Lost Woods. We also discover that the

blade can harm and even destroy evil beings. It is Link’s job to

acquire this sword, and use it to slay the evil that is plaguing

Hyrule. The sword can also deflect evil magic, as its power suggests.

Link uses this technique against Agahnim, managing to defeat the evil

wizard.
In addition to this tale, the Japanese version of the A Link to the Past’s manual gives an insight to its origins.

This

divine oracle warned the people of Hyrule that evil-minded people may

try to claim the Triforce, and so the oracle instructed them to forge a

blade as a defensive measure. This blade was the Master Sword, and it

now lies in the Lost Woods awaiting one worthy to wield it. Link

ventured into the Lost Woods and in the depths of the wondrous forest

he found the sacred Master Sword. The blade rested in a pedestal

inscribed with words from the ancient Hylian language.

This

ancient text defines the Master Sword as a blade that can only be

wielded by one who is chosen by the sword itself, a true hero. This

hero is related to Hylian Knights that were told to have been wiped out

by Ganon.
The three symbols of virtue relate to the three pendants

that Link had collected so far, with Cataclysm’s eve referring to the

evil that is currently controlling Hyrule. After acquiring the three

symbols of virtue, the Hero receives the Master Sword, and the

generation of the Hylian knights, which Link is a part of, continues.

The sword can also be empowered, increasing its effectiveness in battle. In A Link to the Past,

Link is able to have the Master Sword forged into the Tempered Sword,

sharpening its edges. Later, it is then blessed by a Great fairy,

transforming the blade into the Golden Sword. Throughout all these

changes, the sword retains its evil-repelling powers.

Link,

wielding the Master Sword in combination with the Silver Arrows,

manages to finally destroy Ganon. After Ganon is defeated, we are told

that the Master Sword shall rest forever. This implies that A Link to the Past is the final tale in the series involving the sword.

Ocarina of Time

was certainly the defining game of the Zelda series. It had everything

the fans wanted, and was an extremely important game to the events of

the series. The Imprisoning War spoken of in Link to the Past is

theorised to have taken place on the Adult side of Ocarina of Time, as the adult portion of the game shows Ganondorf coming to power and then being sealed in the Sacred Realm. Ocarina of Time

is also the earliest known game to feature the Triforce outside of the

Sacred Realm. But most importantly, this game deals with the seven

Sages who sealed Ganon. The sealing of Ganon is an indication that Ocarina of Time could be the Seal War spoken of in A Link to the Past.

This confirms that Ocarina of Time was the Seal War at one point, but that has been thrown into question since the releases of The Wind Waker, Four Swords Adventures and Twilight Princess. Still, these events seem to match those of the back story of A Link to the Past quite well. As well as being the possible back story to A Link to the Past, Ocarina of Time tells of the origins of the Master Sword and the Hero of Time.

Link

was too young to assume the role of The “Hero of Time”, and so the

Sages sealed him within the Sacred Realm until he was old enough to

fulfil his destiny. The Temple of Time is the entrance to the Sacred

Realm, acting as the final defence for the Triforce. With the Master

Sword being the final key to the Sacred Realm, it is also defending the

Triforce. This ties in well with the Japanese quote from A Link to the Past, stating that the Master Sword was created to protect the Triforce.

We

are now assured that Link was destined to be the legendary hero. He

needed to acquire the three spiritual stones and then play the Song of

Time to gain the Master Sword and assume his destiny. This is very

similar to the text on the Pedestal in A Link to the Past. Link

claimed the three spiritual stones, representing the symbols of virtue

and then claimed the Master Sword. However, it has more mysterious

properties that are not encountered until later in the game.

This solidifies

the connections between the sword and time itself. When Link first

pulled the sword as a child, he was too young to be the Hero of Time,

and so the Master Sword took Link to the Sacred Realm, where he lay in

rest for seven years. Upon awakening, Link was older and stronger, and

he was then able to fulfil his destiny. As an adult, Link could then

place the Master Sword back in its pedestal, and return to his own time.

Of

course, the Master Sword’s main purpose is to vanquish the evil that

threatens Hyrule. During his fight with Ganondorf, Link is able to

reflect the Evil King’s magical attacks by hitting them with the Master

Sword, very much like he did against Agahnim. This property is indeed

linked to the swords anti-evil magic as Ganondorf would be using dark

energies to attack Link.
Link strikes Ganon in the forehead, causing

him to be extremely vulnerable, not destroyed. The seven Sages then

strike, sealing Ganon within the Evil Realm he himself created,

bringing peace to Hyrule, for a time.

Ocarina of Time

then draws to a close. Zelda sends Link back to his original time, so

he can return the Master Sword to its resting place, the Temple of

Time. She mentions that the road between times will close, implying

that Link will not be able to draw the sword to travel forward in time

again. As Link is sent back, it is assumed that the Master Sword was

duplicated just like everything else as the split timeline occurs.

The

Master Sword made a brief appearance in each of these games, but was

only accessible by playing the linked games. There are eight different

circumstances in which the sword was attainable where the games can be

played in either order. Many people disregard the sword as canon in

this game as it can only be obtained by passwords, but this does not

automatically make the sword redundant. The password system was

designed to add more depth to the story of the games, and in no way

does it suggest the sword is not legit. The fact that the sword must be

earned should give it enough credibility.

The Master Sword is

described as the “Blade of Legends”, and was the only sword in the

Oracles games that could harm Ganon without a spin attack. This shows

that is indeed the very same Master Sword we have seen before, as it

possesses its trademark evil-repelling powers. All that remains to be

questioned is whether the methods of obtaining it within the games can

be considered canon.

A confirmed carry-on from the adult ending of Ocarina of Time,

the Wind Waker takes place hundreds of years after the sealing of

Ganon. It is told that Ganon escaped the seal, and that there was no

hero to stop him again, as the Hero of Time had become “lost in time”.

The Goddesses then flooded Hyrule, washing away the kingdom. However,

as the tale of the Hero of Winds unfolds, Hyrule is revisited, and the

Master Sword is rediscovered. Similarly to Ocarina of Time and A Link to the Past, Link had to collect three objects, the pearls of the gods, in-order to obtain the Master Sword.

Link

finds the legendary Master Sword in its pedestal hidden in a basement

inside Hyrule castle, which is concealed by a statue of the original

Hero of Time. Link draws the blade, and holds it proudly. This is

strange, as the original Hero of Time, who was a similar age to this

Link, was sealed within the Sacred Realm for seven years before he

could wield the sword, yet this Link simply claimed the legendary

blade. This is likely due to the fact the the Master Sword was not in

its usual resting place; the Temple of Time. This could also be due to

the fact that it had lost its all of its power, as Link finds out when

he encounters Ganondorf atop the Forsaken Fortress after saving his

little sister.

This

is the literal translation of Ganondorf’s quote when you encounter him

after acquiring the Master Sword from the Japanese version of The Wind Waker.

He states that the Master Sword was sealing his “Mazoku”, not his

magic, which is what the English version suggests. “Mazoku” translates

to “Demon Tribe”, which means the followers of a Demon. We can see this

is true, as when Link pulls the Master Sword from its pedestal in the

castle basement, all the monsters within the castle that were stone

re-animate.

The Master Sword was sealing Ganondorf’s minions all

this time, and by claiming the sword, Link awakened these monstrous

creatures. Because the blade lacked its legendary power, Link could not

stop Ganondorf then and there.
The Sages who once prayed to the Gods

to grant the Master Sword its evil repelling power have been killed by

Ganondorf. It is Link’s job to recover the descendants of these Sages,

and take them to their respective temples, so they can pray to the Gods

once more, allowing the Master Sword to glow brightly with the power of

light and repel evil once again.

Medli, the young Rito girl,

assumes her role as the Earth Sage, and blesses the blade with her

prayers. The same goes for Makar, the young Korok, who is the Wind

Sage.
And so, with the Master Sword returned to full power, Link travelled back to Hyrule, and engaged Ganondorf.
With help from Zelda, Link manages to strike Ganondorf in the forehead with the Master Sword, killing him.

Twilight

Princess was indeed an epic adventure, and of course, it featured our

favourite sword as well. The game was confirmed by Eiji Aonuma to take

place a hundred or so years after the child ending of Ocarina of Time.

This shows that the split timeline must have duplicated the sword

(along with many other objects in the world of Hyrule), as it appears

in Twilight Princess and The Wind Waker. Interestingly

enough, Link also had to collect three items (the Fused Shadow pieces)

before he was able to access the Master Sword.

Similarly to A Link to the Past,

the Master Sword is kept in the Woods, more specifically, in the Sacred

Grove. However, the scenario is different here as the ruins of the

Temple of Time are also in the Sacred Grove. Most importantly this

tells us that the Master Sword was forged by the Sages, who could

possibly have been the “Divine Oracle” mentioned in A Link to the Past.

The blade indeed has some interesting properties in Twilight Princess.

When Link enters the Temple of Time inside the grove, he places the

sword in its original pedestal, the same one that was used in Ocarina of Time. The sword is a key that opens the dungeon half of the temple. Although this Temple of Time resembles the Temple we saw in Ocarina of Time,

the Master Sword does not cause Link to travel forward in time. This is

because he is already the correct age to wield the sword and assume the

title of “The Hero of Time”, unlike his counter-part in Ocarina. The Master Sword also broke the curse Zant placed on Link, showing that its evil-repelling powers are intact.

The Twilight Realm was a hotspot in Twilight Princess,

being the second last dungeon and the home of Zant and Midna. When Link

collects the Sols, the essence of light in the Twilight Realm, they

fuse with the Master Sword, imbuing it with light.

This

allows Link to destroy most twilight monsters in one attack, and cut

through the twilight fog. This shows that as well as losing power, the

Master Sword can gain power, much like how it was empowered in A Link to the Past.

Link

does battle with Ganondorf, and he manages to deal a fatal blow to the

Evil King. However, Ganondorf survived the attack, despite having the

Master Sword piercing his noticeable weak point. He began to speak,

insisting that he will merge shadow and light, but his Triforce of

Power suddenly fades, causing him to lose his source of power. The Evil

King then died standing.
Following the battle, Link returns the sword to its resting place in the Sacred Grove.

To

conclude, the Master Sword’s history and various abilities are

explained with great detail throughout the series. From the games,

various traits can be drawn together to summarise the powers of the

sacred blade.
The Master Sword was created to protect the Triforce

from those with dark ambitions, and it is kept safe within the Temple

of Time, acting as the final key to the Sacred Realm. It has also been

found resting in The Lost Woods, an alternative location if the Temple

of Time is not present. It is blessed with the power to repel evil,

allowing it to deflect dark magic and seal the monstrous powers of

Ganon and his minions. This power is granted by the Sages’ prayers to

the Gods. The blade chooses its master, one who is destined to be the

true Hero of Hyrule. Link is a Hylian Knight, and is destined to wield

the sword when danger approaches Hyrule and its people. In Ocarina of Time, it even allowed Link to travel through time in order to stop the evil threatening Hyrule.
It

has been Link’s companion throughout the series, and has backed him up

in the toughest of battles. It shall continue to aid the chosen Hero in

future games, possibly with a new array of mystic powers.

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