Women of Legend: Tetra

In the last Women of Legend the ZD staff discussed one of Zelda’s reincarnates, specifically her role as Sheik in Ocarina of Time. We were reminded that Zelda took on the persona known as Sheik in order to protect the land that she endangered as a child while the Hero of Time was in a deep slumber. This time around, we will be discussing another one of Zelda’s dual roles; Tetra from The Wind Waker, and how this time the situation is reversed, in which Tetra takes on the role of Zelda, her true identity, to protect her beloved ocean.

There are a number of Zelda reincarnations that are born into their role as the beholder of the Triforce of Wisdom and the representative of the Royal Family that watches over Hyrule. Tetra, however, is not one of them.

Tetra is born into a word where Hyrule doesn’t exist. Well, to put it more precisely, Hyrule is essentially extinct, swallowed by the waters she is raised on by her pirate mother and crew. Tetra soon inherits from her mother the crew and a necklace that she is told to keep safe, no matter what. Unbeknownst to the fact that this necklace holds the truth of her fate as the princess in the old legends she finds fascinating- as evidenced by the picture of the Hero of Time found in her cabin- Tetra roams the seas with her swabbies in search for what all pirates desire. Treasure.

This is when we as the player first meet Tetra. She’s captured by the Helmaroc King on orders from Ganondorf in search for girls with pointy ears. Link helps her out of her pinch only to have his little sister abducted by the giant bird instead. Tetra is hesitant when Link asks to join her on her ship in order to find his sister but finally relents and aides Link as he tackles the Forsaken Fortress where his sister is being held. When Link fails to save his sister, he and Tetra are separated and the pirates continue on their initial task in finding an ancient treasure.

The next time we see Tetra is at the bomb shop on Windfall Island. Tetra seems to understand that she and Link are after the same thing and when she spots him in the shop, instead of capturing him or racing ahead to get to their prize, Tetra tells the pirates that they should rest for the night and stay on the island. She warns Link that if he wants to beat them to their destination, though, he better be fast, because come morning, she and her crew will be on his tail. This is the first time we’re seeing someone other than the brash and blunt leader of a band of pirates. Even if its in her own way, this is Tetra showing Link kindness because she can see how hard he is working to save his sister.

Again, Tetra’s next meeting with Link is one played off as if she cares for nothing more than loot and treasure. Link reaches his sister and the two other girls who had been captured by Ganondorf and Tetra orders her crew to take them aboard their ship, claiming that their fathers would pay them for their return. However, when her crew is gone, Tetra turns to Link and winks, promising she’ll be back. She keeps that promise when Link is facing Ganondorf. She climbs through the window and aides a fallen Link by distracting Ganondorf, until the master of the Forsaken Fortress realizes that this pirate girl is the one he has been looking for. The time has come for Tetra to face her destiny.

Tetra quickly learns why it is that Ganondorf has been searching for her. She and Link are rescued from evil’s clutches by Quill, Komali and Lord Valoo and then taken down to the submerged Hyrule by the King of Red Lions. We can see at this point that Link has grown on Tetra and that she considers him as someone special to her, but still acts brash and speaks harshly as they are summoned into the underwater castle. Tetra may learn here that she is in fact Princess Zelda, that her ancestors were part of the Royal Family that once ruled over Hyrule, but the fact still remains that she is Tetra. At first she as the pirate she was raised to be is hesitant and unsure of her true role as the beholder of the Triforce of Wisdom. She’s shocked and we can even see a hint of fear and apprehension when she learns of her true identity. She seems to close in on herself in order to process the meaning of everything she has just learned, and it’s a long time before we see her again.

When she does meet with Link again, it’s during his final battle with Ganondorf. In that moment she seems to make the decision that it doesn’t matter who she is or what her destiny has in store for her; all that matters is that her friend needs her help. “Link! I’m sorry! I overslept!” is what she tells Link, and her words are true in more ways than one. She wasn’t just unconciounse from being captured by Ganondorf. For a short time she lost herself in the wake of discovering that she is Princess Zelda. In this pressing time, however, she is more awake than ever, and though she looks like Zelda and seems to accept that that is a part of who she is now, she fights at Link’s side as the friend he had originally set sail with. She fights at Link’s side as Tetra.

This is why, as one of Zelda reimagining’s, Tetra is so special and important. Her predecessors were born as the princess, but she was born a pirate. She remains true to herself, her crew, and her new friends even as she takes on her role as Zelda and sets out to fulfill her promise to King Daphnes to find a future. As Zelda she is finding a new home for her people far above the failure of Hyrule. As Tetra, though, she continues doing what she loves and what she does best; pirating the Great Seas.