Dominion Rod

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This article is about the item in Twilight Princess. For the weapon in Hyrule Warriors, see Dominion Rod (Hyrule Warriors).
Dominion Rod
Dominion rod.png

Title

Rod of the Heavens

Games

Location

Uses

Controlling Ancient Statues and Owl Statues

Related

In Other Languages[show]
Language Name
France Française Bâton Anima

"You got the Dominion Rod! This mystical artifact breathes life into ancient statues. Set it to [B] on the ["-"] screen, use [W] to aim [R], and press [B] to swing the rod. Statues that have received its light and been filled with life will move like their master."

— In-game description from Wii version

The Dominion Rod, also known as the Rod of the Heavens,[1][2], is a recurring Item from The Legend of Zelda series.

Plot

The Dominion Rod was an ancient treasure handed down among the Oocca, before they severed contact with the Royal Family of Hyrule. The rod was to be carried only by the "messenger to the heavens", and was used whenever the Royal Family needed to contact the Oocca. The Oocca also left the Ancient Sky Book with the Sheikah, who were instructed to give it specifically to the messenger to the heavens.

Overview

Twilight Princess

In Twilight Princess, the Dominion Rod is the dungeon item of the Temple of Time; It is located on the eighth floor, inside a Treasure Chest guarded by a Darknut. The Rod allows Link to bring certain statues to life, causing them to mimic his movements; Pressing the button that the Dominion Rod is tied to will have the statue perform an attack or shake. Link can move four types of statues:

  • Small statuettes in the Temple of Time, which weigh down Switches.
  • Larger, hammer-wielding statues in the Temple of Time; These statues can attack with their hammer, and must be guided back to their original position.
  • Enormous, stationary statues in the Temple of Time; These statues can attack by slamming a large fist down, and must be used to defeat Armogohma.
  • Owl Statues, which can be moved aside to reveal Sky Characters or create platforms for Link.

However, the Dominion Rod loses its power as soon as Link leaves the dungeon, causing it to rust over; Ooccoo states that the Rod's power has been completely exhausted[3][4] from overuse, but there is a spell that can recharge it (although she doesn't remember).[5] Midna notes that the Rod is completely useless without its power, but decides to keep it so they can recharge it and locate the final Mirror Shard.[6][7] After recovering the Ancient Sky Book and giving it to Shad, he reads the text, but doesn't open the path to the heavens as there are missing characters[8]; Instead, he unknowingly casts the spell that restores the Dominion Rod's power.[9] Link must then use the Rod to find the missing Sky Characters and complete the Book.

Other appearances

This section describes a subject that is or may be outside the core Zelda canon.

Hyrule Warriors

Main article: Dominion Rod (Hyrule Warriors)

In Hyrule Warriors, the Dominion Rod is a DLC weapon class that can be used by Princess Zelda. It was added to the Wii U version alongside the Twilight Princess Pack, but is included in the base games of Hyrule Warriors Legends and Definitive Edition.

The Dominion Rod from Twilight Princess appears as the Level 1 variation, titled the Old Dominion Rod in this game.

My Nintendo Picross: Twilight Princess

In My Nintendo Picross: Twilight Princess, the Dominion Rod appears as the thirty-seventh puzzle in the Picross series, and the twenty-ninth puzzle in the Mega Picross series.

Nomenclature

The "Anima" in the French name is derived from animer, the word for "animate".

Trivia

  • In wall carvings in the Temple of Time, one of the Seven Sages can be seen with the Dominion Rod.
  • There is a glitch in Twilight Princess which allows the player to bypass the entire Sky Cannon quest by transforming into Wolf Link right in front of the Owl Statue in the Sanctuary basement. If done correctly, Link lands on the statue, enabling him to continue into the depths of the basement and skip the entire Temple of Time dungeon. Since the Dominion Rod is only required to collect the[Sky Characters during said quest, this glitch makes it possible to complete the game without collecting the Dominion Rod.

Gallery

References

  1. "DOMINION ROD
    Also known as the Rod of the Heavens.
    ", Hyrule Historia, pg. 196
  2. "Statues, the word that breaks the seal, and the rod of the heavens... It just gets odder and odder..." — Shad, Twilight Princess.
  3. "Ooccoo sees what she was looking for." — Ooccoo, Twilight Princess.
  4. "Goodness, yes! It's the Dominion Rod you found in the temple!" — Ooccoo, Twilight Princess.
  5. "And I have completely forgotten the spell that would once again bestow it with magic..." — Ooccoo, Twilight Princess.
  6. "I suppose a useless rod is really just more baggage, but...what are you going to do?" — Midna, Twilight Princess.
  7. "If we can restore magic to the Dominion Rod, maybe it'll come in handy!" — Midna, Twilight Princess.
  8. "...No reaction." — Shad, Twilight Princess.
  9. "Power has returned to the Dominion Rod! This mystical rod breathes life into ancient statues. Set it to [B] on the ["-"] screen, then aim it with [W] and swing it with [B] to make statues mimic your moves." — In-game description, Twilight Princess.