Zelda (Skyward Sword)

This article is about the Knight Academy student and goddess reincarnation from Skyward Sword. For other versions of the character, see Zelda.

Zelda

Art of Zelda with her loftwing from Skyward Sword

Race	Hylian
Gender	Female
Occupation	Student
Member of	Knight Academy
Games	Skyward Sword (HD)
Series	The Legend of Zelda series
Location	Skyloft
Occurrence	Sky Era
Related	Gaepora (father) Hylia (prior incarnation)
Media
Gallery	Gallery:Zelda

Zelda is a Knight Academy student from Skyward Sword. Unlike in other games in the series, she is not a princess, but a seemingly-normal girl with a grave destiny.

Skyward Sword

Wing Ceremony

Zelda is Link's closest friend and rides around on a Blue Loftwing. Her father, Gaepora, the headmaster of the Knight Academy, along with Instructors Owlan and Horwell, chose her to act as the goddess in the Ceremony of the Goddess for the winner of the Wing Ceremony, an annual race in which Link is competing. She sends a letter to Link on the day of the ceremony, asking him to visit her at the Statue of the Goddess. When he comes, she shows him her costume of the goddess and her new Goddess's Harp. After a conversation with Gaepora about Link's ceremony, Zelda throws Link off Skyloft so that his Crimson Loftwing can catch him. But after a few seconds, Zelda and Gaepora notice that his bird isn't coming. Zelda rescues Link, and Gaepora tells him that something is wrong and that he needs to inform Instructor Horwell, the general in charge of that year's Wing Ceremony, to delay the race for him.

After Zelda tends for her bird that got tired from carrying both Link and Zelda, she goes to the The Plaza where she finds that Link and Groose, the school bully, are having an argument in which Link has suspicions about Groose kidnapping his bird. After Groose and his lackeys, Cawlin and Strich leave, Zelda searches for Link's bird in the skies, hoping to find him before the race. After a few minutes, she finds Link with a sword looking in an area below the waterfall, also known as Groose's hideout. They search around there and find the Crimson Loftwing locked up in a cave. After Link saves him, Zelda starts talking to him about the "surface world" beneath the clouds and how she wants to see it. She also speaks with Link about a mysterious voice that keeps talking to her in her head. After talking, they mount their Loftwings for some last-minute review flight practice, and then Zelda goes off to tell Gaepora that they can start the ceremony.

After Link wins the race, Zelda joyfully jumps off Skyloft for Link and his bird to catch her, and then they go to the top of the statue to continue on with the ceremony. Zelda hands him the Sailcloth, a legendary parachute used as the prize for that year's race. She then pushes Link off the statue and tells him to land on the circle in the ground with his new sailcloth. After that, Zelda asks Link out on a date in the sky. While flying, a black tornado appears out of nowhere and sucks Zelda in while it throws Link off his bird unconscious. Link later has a dream of Zelda being swallowed by a huge black monster with scales.

Faron Woods

Zelda wakes up in the Sealed Grounds in the surface, and is found by an old woman. She takes her inside into the Sealed Temple and tells her that she has been waiting for her for a long time. She explains to her about Demise and the goddess Hylia, how they fought, how she defeated him and sealed him away, and how she believed that he will escape his prison. She tells the story of Hylia's two plans that she thought of and set in motion almost immediately: first is Fi, the spirit of a sword that Link, as Hylia's chosen hero, will use in his mission to defeat Demise. Fi was made to guide him through his journey on the surface. The second plan was to give up her immortality and reincarnate into a human to hide from the evil forces that still walk on the surface.

The old woman says that Zelda is the reincarnation of Hylia, and that to regain her memory of her past life she must travel to the two springs to pray and purify herself, and travel to the past through a portal in time. She later mentions that Zelda must go into a deep sleep and wait for her chosen hero to finally defeat Demise. She also explains that Link must be tested to see if he can be the chosen hero, and to do that he must go through many challenges to prove himself worthy. She devised a plan to travel to the two springs and to the past so that Link can follow her and can prove himself worthy of that title. The next day Zelda, with her new clothes, sets out into the Faron Woods to find the first spring.

While Link lands on the Sealed Grounds with his new clothes and sword, Zelda is trying to find the Skyview Temple. She got some help from the Kikwis, but they also mentioned that it was dangerous to go there, but she still goes anyways. She somehow made it to the temple and to the spring, and she prayed and purified herself there. As soon as Link gets there, she had already left.

Eldin Volcano

Zelda travels to Eldin Volcano through teleportation. As soon as she reaches this area, she sees Bokoblins everywhere. She did her best to get to the top unnoticed, but the bokoblins surround her at the temple entrance. Two Mogmas see her getting dragged away into the temple, and Link overhears them talking about her. Before the leader of the bokoblins gets to her, Impa, a servant of the goddess, saves her by using her magic. She takes Zelda to the spring and explains who she is and that she helped Link on the way there. While Zelda prays, Link comes in and sees Zelda again, but Impa tells her that she must go to the desert. While Impa scolds Link from being late to save Zelda from the bokoblins, Zelda goes through the portal to the Lanayru Desert.

Temple of Time

Zelda and Impa go through the desert into the Temple of Time, and Impa destroys the entrance to delay the enemy following Zelda. She plays her harp to activate the Gate of Time leading to the past. As soon as it opens, Zelda sees Link come in through the side entrance of the temple, but Ghirahim breaks through the blocked entrance Impa created, and blocks Link from getting closer to Zelda with magical fire. While Impa and Ghirahim fight, Zelda teleports her harp to Link and tells him that he will need it where he is going. After that Link notices that the fire disappeared and attacks Ghirahim while Impa and Zelda escape through the portal. Zelda promises Link that they will see each other again before Impa breaks the portal.

Endless Sleep

After Link has gotten the power of the Master Sword, he goes off to the Sealed Temple to open the Gate of Time. When he arrives in the past and meets Zelda, she tells him the legend of Hylia that the old woman told her thousands of years later and her plan of using him to save the world. After she tells him all that, Zelda seals herself and asks Link if he can wake her up when the seal is broken and Demise is gone.

Demise's Resurrection

		Zelda (Skyward Sword)

Zelda finally woke up after thousands of years of sleep, thanks to Link and the Triforce, who killed Demise with the Statue of the Goddess. But just after a couple of minutes of happiness, Ghirahim showed up, injured Link and Zelda, kidnapped Zelda and entered The Gate of Time to resurrect Demise (since he is just sealed in the past). Link got to his feet and ran after them. When Link arrives in the past, he sees Zelda lying on the ground, fainted. Ghirahim is doing a spell to resurrect Demise and sings his theme. Ghirahim sends hundreds of monsters to attack Link. After the one vs hundreds war, Link comes down to Ghirahim to fight against him and save Zelda from losing her soul. When Link is done with the battle, Ghirahim says he has been doing the spell while he fought against Link. He then successfully resurrects Demise. Just as Demise has been resurrected, Demise is taking a sword from Ghirahim's body and takes all of his powers. Groose comes and tells Link he can save Zelda by killing Demise before her whole soul is gone. Demise is making a portal and tells Link he wants to fight in another dimension where there are no going out except Demise gets killed, if he dares. Link enters and faces Demise.

When Link has won over Demise, Demise's last words are: "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!"

Demise is gone for now and Zelda comes back to normal. While Link seals away Fi for the next Hero, Zelda asks Impa to go to the future with her. Impa says she can't because the past is her present, but she promises that they will see each other again, so Zelda gives her one of her bracelets that she was wearing so that Impa could remember her while she waits to see each other again. When they come back to their time, the Gate of Time disappears and they see the old woman. She shows Zelda the same bracelet, meaning she is Impa in the present. After seeing each other one last time, Impa dies and disappears, her promise finally fulfilled. Later, Gaepora comes down to visit and Groose goes back to Skyloft. Then, while Link and Zelda stand on the Statue of the Goddess alone with the Triforce, she says that she wants to stay and live in the land below.

Gallery

Concept art

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  Rough version of Zelda+Loftwing art

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  Design of the final Zelda in her goddess cosplay outfit, with sailcloth

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  Design of the final Zelda in her goddess cosplay outfit, without sailcloth

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  Concept of Zelda in a typical Skyloft outfit

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  Alternate colours/hair

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  Rejected concept

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  Design of the final Zelda in her goddess outfit

Screenshots

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  Zelda in her civilian dress, the Sailcloth on her shoulders.

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  Link and Zelda during the Ceremony of the Goddess.

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  Zelda presents Link with the Sailcloth

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  Zelda intimidates Link during the Ceremony of the Goddess.

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  Link on his Crimson Loftwing and Zelda on her blue Loftwing fly together after the Ceremony of the Goddess.

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  Link and Zelda falling after Ghirahim's tornado attack.

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  Zelda and Impa in front of the active Gate of Time

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  Link sees Zelda and Impa in front of the active Gate

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  Link kneels before Zelda, with her Hylia memories restored, in preparation to receive the blessing which upgrades the Master Sword to the True Master Sword.

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  Zelda sealed

Other games and media

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  Hyrule Warriors Zelda "Skyloft Robes" costume

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  The Legend of Zelda Concert 2018 promotional art