Zelda

## Facts

### Info

**Zelda**, traditionally **Princess Zelda** is the eponymous character of *The Legend of Zelda* series. With the exception of *Link's Awakening*, *Majora's Mask*, and *Tri Force Heroes*, an incarnation of Zelda or one of her alter egos has always been one of the central characters in the series.

### Physical traits

Princess Zelda is often shown as a beautiful and elegant princess, with the exception of *Skyward Sword*, where she is portrayed as an ordinary girl before the kingdom of Hyrule had been established. She is always either a child, teen, or young adult. Her hair color is depicted as blonde in most games of the series, as well as brown in *Twilight Princess* and red in *The Legend of Zelda* and *The Adventure of Link*. Her eyes are portrayed in different shades of blue throughout all the games, with the exception of her green eyes in *Breath of the Wild*. Her ears are always pointed, as is characteristic of all Hylians, although in some games her ears are shorter than in others. The dresses that she wears are long with determinate colors, such as different tones of pink, white, and blue. Most of her dresses are shown with the Hylian Crest, and in almost every game, she is seen wearing a tiara with either a red, pink, or blue jewel in it. In some games, she also wears long gloves. Princess Zelda is seen wearing makeup in most games, such as in *The Wind Waker* and *Spirit Tracks*, and her hairstyle is characterized either with her hair down or with braids. She wears high heels, although in *Twilight Princess*, *Skyward Sword*, and *Breath of the Wild* she wears boots. She also occasionally wears sandals, such as in *Skyward Sword* and *Breath of the Wild*. Each incarnation of Zelda has been shown at various ages depending on which title they appear in. They have appeared as a child, a teenager and as a young adult; for example, the Princess Zelda in *Twilight Princess* is around 20 years of age.

### Personality

Zelda is depicted as a kind and benevolent ruler with a wisdom beyond her years and a deep love towards the people she watches over. She is a caring, gracious, and self-sacrificing person. Zelda's most prominent display of compassion and selflessness was when she saved the life of Midna, the Princess of the Twilight Realm, who had been nearly killed by the false King of the Twilight, Zant. Zelda's wisdom is her most valuable attribute. As a matriarch, it is imperative that she makes the wisest decision concerning the fate of Hyrule; in *Twilight Princess* when Zant threatened her life and the lives of all of her subjects, she wisely surrendered to him. She upholds her responsibilities no matter the cost and is always willing to help her friends, such as in *Skyward Sword*, where Zelda faces her duties as the goddess reborn and willingly remains in a deep sleep to keep Demise imprisoned within his seal. Above all, Zelda is known to be a forgiving person even towards those who have harmed her before, as seen in *Spirit Tracks*, where she asks Anjean to take care of Byrne even though he was the one who stole her body.

Princess Zelda is one of the three most important characters of *The Legend of Zelda* series, which is also why her name appears in the title of every game. Princess Zelda first appeared in the original *The Legend of Zelda*, and has since been featured in every subsequent game, with the exception of *Link's Awakening*. Each incarnation of the Princess is chosen by destiny to be the keeper of the Triforce of Wisdom in their respective eras, which is the main reason why they play such an integral role in the legends of Hyrule.

### Great Calamity

#### *Breath of the Wild*

Artwork of Zelda from

*The Champions' Ballad*

In *Breath of the Wild*, Zelda is not only the princess of Hyrule, she is also an aspiring scholar who is very curious. She is also the leader of the Champions of Hyrule. Zelda is the mysterious voice that guides Link throughout his journey while she contains Calamity Ganon inside of Hyrule Castle.

Zelda has been training to unlock her sealing powers passed down the royal family since she was 7 years old, one year after her mother unexpectedly passed away. With her mother gone there was nobody else around with the sacred power who could teach her how to use it, leaving Zelda to figure it out on her own. 100 years prior to the events of *Breath of the Wild*, Zelda met with the Champions. After meeting with them, she left the Castle to research ancient technology, but she did not come across anything of note. During this time, she felt the presence of Ganon and devoted herself to learning all she could about ancient relics in order to stop him. She then met with a fortune teller who told her a prophecy, to which Zelda felt that there was not much time left. The following day, Link was appointed as Zelda's knight, to Zelda's chagrin. During the ceremony, Urbosa explains that Link is a living reminder of Zelda's own failures. Link and Zelda then set out to Goron City to make adjustments to the Divine Beast Vah Rudania to make it easier for Daruk to control. During their journey to Eldin, Zelda comes to a stop and asks him how proficient he is wielding his Sword and asks him if he can hear the voice within the blade.

During her time with Link, Zelda wonders why he never speaks. Link's initial silence causes Zelda to believe that Link despised her due to her inability to use sealing power despite being a daughter of Hyrule's royal family. Later on, Zelda discovers an Ancient Shrine and fails to open it. Link arrives at the scene, which angers Zelda and causes her to lash out. She tells Link to return to the castle and testily demands he stop following her, regardless of the King's orders. Later on, Zelda travels to the Gerudo Desert and is ambushed by the Yiga Clan. Link rescues her right before a Yiga assassin is about to kill her, striking him down and causing the other two Yiga to flee. This causes Zelda to change her attitude towards Link, valuing his devotion to protect her. Over the course of their journey, both start to open up to each other and realize how similar they are in their hardships of fulfilling their respective tasks. Her growing care and relationship towards Link plays a crucial role in awakening her legendary abilities, as Link sacrifices himself to save Zelda's life during the second Great Calamity and Zelda's powers awaken when she tries to rescue the wounded Link from a Guardian. Zelda hears a voice inside the Master Sword saying that Link can be saved and orders the Sheikah to transport Link to the Shrine of Resurrection. Then, she goes to the Korok Forest and places the Master Sword in its pedestal to recover. Zelda then spends the next 100 years inside Hyrule Castle with Calamity Ganon, keeping the demon in place within the Castle to prevent the destruction of the entirety of Hyrule. After Link awakens, she then telepathically guides him throughout his journey. Unfortunately, she was not able to hold off Calamity Ganon for much longer before he developed a rudimentary body. After Link managed to disable Calamity Ganon's most powerful form, Dark Beast Ganon, she was freed, and proceeded to destroy Calamity Ganon's essence. She then reconvened with Link for the first time in a hundred years, and asked him if he still remembered her (as Link was initially left with amnesia thanks to his near-death experience). Some time later, she alongside Link left for Lake Hylia in order to investigate what caused the Divine Beast Vah Ruta to stop working, and that they ultimately need to restore Hyrule back to its former glory.

### Other Forms

In *Ocarina of Time*, Link met up with a mysterious member of the Sheikah Tribe, fittingly called Sheik. This person taught Link a multitude of different songs and gave him tips on how to proceed in his quest. At the end of the game, Sheik revealed himself to be none other than Princess Zelda in a disguise. During the seven years Link had been asleep while maturing to become ready to fight Ganondorf, Zelda had gone underground and taken the disguise as Sheik so that Ganondorf would not find her in his search for the two remaining pieces of the Triforce, one of which was held by Princess Zelda herself.