Lord of the Mountain

:This article is about the Spirit also known as Satori. For the location, see Satori Mountain.
The , also known as Satori, is a in and in .
==Characteristics==
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The general form of the Lord of the Mountain is that of a horse; like ordinary horses, he can be ridden by Link. Unlike horses, however, it is clear that the Lord of the Mountain is a spiritual apparition rather than a natural creature. He can be distinguished from a horse by his luminescent blue color, his deer-like cloven hooves, a pair of golden, frond-like antlers, a shaggy, white, lion-like mane, and a face that resembles a pair of barn owls, pressed together side-by-side. The outer wings of the owls hang down on either side of his head like droopy ears, and the wings that face each other are merged together to form a single large, floppy structure that occupies the ordinary place of a nose and mouth. The Lord of the Mountain's four eyes (two eyes per face) glow with the same golden color as his antlers and hooves. His torso is covered in mysterious, geometric tattoo-like symbols that alternate in color between pink and green.
The Lord of the Mountain can be found at a spring atop Satori Mountain when a green glow appears. It typically appears alongside several . The Lord of the Mountain is said to be the reincarnation of a sage that protects and the animals in the forest. Its appearance upon the mountain coincides with a massive animal migration to Satori Mountain implied to be due to the Lord of the Mountain's presence which causes the Stalkoblins, Stalmoblins, Stalizalfos, and Stalnoxes, on the mountain to temporarily disappear from the mountain as long as the Lord of the Mountain is present, demonstrating how powerful the Lord of the Mountain is. can ride the Lord of the Mountain if he approaches it stealthily; however, it cannot be registered at a . Bringing it to a stable is a bad omen and stable mangers fear the people at the stable will "all be cursed", however it is unclear if this is simply superstition (such as the unfounded belief that Stalhorses are cannibalistically eating their living counterparts), or if it is actually true. Interestingly, despite this, NPCs do not act frightened of it like Bears or Stalhorses beyond the stable manager's fearful reaction if Link tries to register it. Regardless, it cannot be registered, which is unfortunate given the Lord of the Mountain's superior stats as it has a maximum five Spurs, though its stamina refills automatically as soon as one Spur is used, thus it never actually runs out of stamina and it has maximum speed and strength, making it the best mount in the game in terms of stats. If dismounts it, the Lord of the Mountain disappears shortly after.
The Lord of the Mountain resembles Blupees, which flock around it and appear to be otherworldly spiritual creatures. However, the exact relationship between the two is a mystery. It is possible the Blupees and animals appear on the mountain to pay their respects to it when the spiritual protector of the animals makes an appearance, thus its title, "Lord of the Mountain", may be quite literal, as even the animals recognize it as their lord and protector.
If the player loads a save file in which he is present on Satori Mountain, he will no longer be there. However, if the player loads a save file in which Link is riding him, Link will still be on his back.
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In , pink trees have appeared all around , similar to the one at Satori Mountain. The Lord of the Mountain is said to make its home near these trees. If Link drops any type of in the basin of the small statue near the base of these pink trees, the Lord of the Mountain will appear nearby. He then projects beams of light that highlight any nearby in the area, then disappears. These beams are visible for a limited time. Once they disappear, another fruit must be offered at the statue to highlight these caves again.
==Wetland Stable NPC==
At the Wetland Stable, Link encounters the Hylian Hunter Quince and his faithful Hylian Retriever, Satty. Quince offers to tell Link a harrowing account of how he and Satty met upon Satori Mountain. During one of the mass animal migrations, Quince, a hunter by trade, came to the mountain to hunt wild game. During his time there, he encountered a hungry Hylian Retriever living in the wild, an extremely rare sight as most live very close to people. Quince took pity on the dog and fed it some meat, causing it to inexplicably run off. A tired Quince took a nap but later awoke to find the mysterious creature staring at him. Quince was paralyzed, unable to draw his bow in self-defense. Just as it seemed the creature would attack, the Hylian Retriever he had fed jumped to Quince's defense, barking at the creature and startling it. The terrified Quince took the opportunity to pick up the dog and fled the mountain before the creature could potentially harm either of them. Grateful to the dog, whom he ironically named Satty after Satori Mountain, which shares its name with the creature Quince encountered, Quince adopted the dog that saved his life, and the two became inseparable companions.
As Quince's story is told from his point of view, it is impossible to tell if the Lord of the Mountain truly meant Quince or Satty any harm, as both Quince and Satty may have misunderstood the creature's intentions. It is unclear if his appearance before Quince was an attempt to punish him for harming the animals or if the reincarnated sage had appeared before Quince to try to get Quince to take Satty back to civilization where it belonged, as it was having difficulty surviving in the wild. Additionally, its appearance may have been simply a warning for Quince to leave the mountain.
Regardless of the mountain protector's intentions, Quince was traumatized by the incident to the point of having nightmares about it. Humorously, Quince tells Link to tell the spirit off for its behavior towards him and Satty should he visits the mountain. Ironically, Quince owes the Lord of the Mountain for bringing him and Satty together, which may have been the reincarnated sage's intention all along.
Strangely, if Link speaks to Quince while riding the Lord of the Mountain, Quince will not even notice him and speak as if the creature is not present.
==Homage==
The Satori Mountain is probably named after Satori, the other name of the Lord of the Mountain, and may be an homage to the late Nintendo President, Satoru Iwata."When Iwata passed away, there were moments we'd come up with an idea which we'd be excited to talk to Iwata about. Then we'd remember he was no longer there... The sadness runs deep. This is approaching spiritual talk, but we had the sense he was watching over our work. That became a source of inspiration. A drive for us to improve, and be better." - Hidemaro Fujibayashi
The mountain along with the Lord are first mentioned by Botrick.
The name "Satori" may come from a mountain-dwelling creature of the same name in Japanese mythology.
==Nomenclature==
==Gallery==
File:BotW Satori Mountain 2.png|A promotional image from the Winter 2021 issue of the Nintendo Magazine featuring the 
File:BotW Satori Mountain Lord of the Mountain.png|The atop surrounded by 
==See Also==
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*Satoru Iwata