Deities are one of the most powerful and important beings in the worlds of the Legend of Zelda series. Deities vary widely in their form and the extent of their power. Terms such as deity, god, and spirit have been applied to many beings, and there is no clear definition of what is a deity and what is not. These terms are likely not defined levels of power nor races of being but are representative of the speaker's view of the one being described. Ganondorf for example, who is a powerful Gerudo but not generally considered a deity, has once been called a god. It is thinkable that a deity is not an actual race, but more rather to classify a powerful being. Despite supposedly being very powerful creatures, some deities have been defeated or fallen prey to others, with such events happening quite a few times throughout the series.
The most powerful deities are the Golden Goddesses, who descended from a Distant Nebula and created Hyrule and the life that exists there. There are three Golden Goddesses; Din, Goddess of Power, Nayru, Goddess of Wisdom, and Farore, Goddess of Courage. Before returning to the heavens, the Golden Goddesses left the all-powerful Triforce in the Sacred Realm, a world parallel to Hyrule. This also extends to Lorule as they also gave them a parallel Triforce as well.
Link is often said to be the hero chosen by the gods. This may be meant to indicate the Golden Goddesses, or perhaps other deities. In The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword, Link is the chosen hero of the Goddess Hylia, specifically.
The prologue, found in the official manual for the game, is the first time that the creation of Hyrule is explained and the Golden Goddesses are mentioned.
The Wind Fish is a deity with the appearance of a large winged whale. It is trapped in a deep sleep, and the island of Koholint is its dream. Link becomes stranded on the island, and in order to free both himself and the Wind Fish from its dream, he must wake the Wind Fish from its egg atop Mt. Tamaranch.
The Sun Fish is mentioned by Manbo, the Sun Fish's son. Aside from this relationship, nothing else is known about the Sun Fish, though its name possibly indicates that it is a deity not unlike the Wind Fish.
Several guardian deities exist in Hyrule. The Great Deku Tree gave life to the Kokiri and watches over them in Kokiri Forest. The Great Deku Tree was cursed by Ganondorf when he refused to hand over the Kokiri's Emerald, and eventually dies. Seven years later, when the curse on the Forest Temple is broken, the Great Deku Tree's successor, the Deku Tree Sprout, grows in front of the Great Deku Tree. It appears to have the Great Deku Tree's memories.
Lord Jabu-Jabu is the patron deity and guardian god of the Zora race. He is attended by Princess Ruto. Like the Great Deku Tree, Jabu-Jabu has been cursed by Ganondorf, and Link must go inside his body to defeat the parasite within.
The Gerudo worship the Goddess of the Sand. They have constructed a large statue in her honor both on the exterior of the Desert Colossus and on the interior of the Spirit Temple within the colossus. The Goddess of the Sand is never seen, and may or may not be a purely mythical being. It is also said that the Gerudo worship Ganondorf almost like a god.
The Golden Goddesses are also mentioned by the Great Deku Tree when he explains the origins of Hyrule and the Triforce.
The Four Giants are the creators and guardian gods of the land of Termina. Long ago, they departed in the four cardinal directions to guard the land while they slept, telling the people of Termina to call them if they were in danger. Every year the Carnival of Time is held to celebrate the passage of time and ask the gods for a fruitful harvest in the coming year. During the events of the game, the Moon is set on a collision course with Termina and the Four Giants have been imprisoned by Majora's Mask. Link must free the Four Giants and call them to halt the falling Moon.
The Goddess of Time is mentioned by Princess Zelda of Hyrule and several characters native to Termina. The Goddess of Time is apparently responsible for Link's ability to loop time back to the beginning of the three days Termina has before its destruction.
The Giant Turtle is a guardian who watches over Great Bay while he slumbers. When Lulu sings the New Wave Bossa Nova, the turtle awakens from his disguise as an island and takes Link to Great Bay Temple.
A female and male Maku Tree are the guardians of the lands of Labrynna and Holodrum, respectively. Each advises Link throughout his quest to liberate their land from evil. The female and male Maku Trees are aided by Link's collecting of the Essences of Time and Essences of Nature, respectively. When all eight essences are retrieved, each Maku Tree will give Link a Maku Seed needed to break through a curse and confront either Veran or Onox, depending on the game.
In Oracle of Ages, Jabu-Jabu is the guardian of the peaceful Sea Zoras. In the past, Jabu-Jabu is too small to enter, but in present time, Link must go inside him to retrieve the Rolling Sea, the seventh Essence of Time.
In Oracle of Seasons, the four Season Spirits reside in the Temple of Seasons. Link must travel to the temple with the Rod of Seasons so that each of spirits may imbue the rod with the power to bring about their respective season.
Prior to the events of the game, the evil Ganondorf partially breaks through his seal and invades the kingdom of Hyrule. Unlike during his last invasion, no hero appears to attempt to thwart him, and the people are forced to appeal to the gods. In order to stop Ganondorf's onslaught, the gods cause a Great Flood. Some of the people of Hyrule escape to the mountaintops that remain above the waters. These mountaintops become islands upon the newly formed Great Sea. The land of Hyrule below remains sealed within a large bubble of air. The beings who caused the great flood are simply referred to as "the gods", leaving their exact identity and gender a mystery.
During the events of the game, a number of deities are seen. Valoo the sky spirit lives atop Dragon Roost Island and watches over the Rito people. He bestows one of his scales to young Rito when they come of age, which allows them to grow wings. His tail is stuck inside a cavern and is being attacked by Gohma, and Link must fight through Dragon Roost Cavern and defeat the monster. Prince Komali's Grandmother was Valoo's attendant while she was alive, and trained Medli to be her successor.
The Great Deku Tree is the guardian of the Koroks, the new form taken by the Kokiri when they came to live on the Great Sea. Every year, the Koroks hold a ceremony in which they gather around the Great Deku Tree and play him music. This allows him to produce seeds which the Koroks then carry to distant islands of the Great Sea. With these seeds, the Great Deku Tree intends to grow vast forests which will create new land, and one day unite the scattered islands into one country again. When Link encounters the Great Deku Tree, he is plagued by ChuChus which Link must defeat. Afterward, the Great Deku Tree gives Link a Deku Leaf and asks that he rescue Makar from the Forbidden Woods. When he is successful, Makar and the other Koroks hold their ceremony, and the Deku Tree grants Link Farore's Pearl.
The great sea spirit, Jabun, lived at Greatfish Isle prior to Ganondorf's attack on the island. Link must trace Jabun to a cave on Outset Island to which the water spirit fled. There, the King of Red Lions talks to Jabun and convinces him to grant Link Nayru's Pearl.
The two brothers Cyclos and Zephos are the gods of wind. Angered by the destruction of his monument on Dragon Roost Island, Cyclos causes cyclones across the Great Sea. If Link approaches one of the wind god's cyclones and strikes him with three arrows, he surrenders and teaches Link the "Ballad of Gales". Zehpos appears to Link when he plays the "Wind's Requiem", a song he learned from Zephos's monument on Dragon Roost Island. Zephos congratulates Link on being able to control the wind, dubbing him the "Waker of the Winds", and warns him about Cyclos' anger.
The Queen of Fairies is the leader of all fairies, a high status that potentially defines her as a deity. She resides on Mother & Child Isles and grants Link's bow the power to shoot fire and ice arrows.
The Queen of Fairies is seen in Hyrule Castle, and is potentially powerful enough to be defined as a deity. She has been split into two by dark magic, and Link must reunite the halves. Once he does, the Queen of Fairies aids him by breaking a magic barrier and vanquishing a horde of attacking Hyrule Guards.
The four Light Spirits —Ordona, Faron, Eldin, and Lanayru— are guardians of the provinces of Hyrule. Lanayru explains to Link that the Light Spirits were sent by the goddesses to seal away the Fused Shadow, a powerful magical item which the Interlopers created to use in their quest to establish dominion over the Sacred Realm. Lanayru only mentions three Light Spirits as doing this, however. During the events of the game, the light is stolen from the Light Spirits by Shadow Insects, and Twilight is allowed to cover Hyrule. Link defeats the Shadow Insects and returns the light to the Light Spirit using the Vessel of Light, restoring their power and dispelling the Twilight.
The Golden Goddesses are mentioned during Lanayru's explanation of Hyrule's early history. Though it is implied that Link, Zelda, and Ganondorf each possess their respective Triforce pieces, it is near explicitly stated as they are simply side to have been chosen by the Goddesses to wield their power, though in the case of Ganondorf the Ancient Sages are confused as why the goddesses would choose someone as evil as Ganondorf to wield their power, considering the notion a "divine prank". It is quite possible however, that the goddesses were not the reason for Ganondorf gaining the Triforce of Power, and that something else was the true cause of it.
Zant considers Ganondorf his god (similar to most of the Gerudo, who held Ganondorf in a similar regard). This is largely a matter of Zant's point of view, and Ganondorf is not generally considered a deity. However considering Ganondorf's great power (shown to be strong enough to defeat Midna while she was wielding the power of the Fused Shadow) and the fact that while in the Twilight Realm he took the form of a giant flaming head, it is not surprising that Zant would mistake him for one.
Hylia is a goddess who was entrusted with the Triforce by the Golden Goddesses. When the Demon King Demise and his forces invaded the land, Hylia gathered the Hylians and used her powers to create Skyloft along with the other islands floating in the sky. Together with the races that remained on the Surface, she fought and sealed Demise within the Sealed Grounds.
At some point she created the Goddess Sword and its spirit Fi to guide her chosen hero on his quest and left behind the Three Sacred Gifts within the Silent Realm, to aid him in his quest to find the Sacred Flames which would transform the Goddess Sword into the Master Sword. Additionally, Hylia is said to be responsible for the existence of several other items, such the Goddess Crests, Goddess Cubes, Goddess Chests, Goddess Plumes, and Goddess Walls, all of which are said to have been created to aid her chosen Hero and/or prove to be useful in his quest. Goddess Plumes are implied to possess some of Hylia's power as the Sacred Bow is said to possess the power of the goddess and a Goddess Plume is one of the Materials required to create it. She eventually gives up her divinity to be reincarnated as Zelda. Due to her connection to Zelda, it is implied that Zelda's abilities may have been inherited from Hylia and may have been inherited by the various incarnations of Princess Zelda. Before giving up her divinity, Hylia entrusted the protection of the Spirit Maiden (her reincarnation) to the Sheikah who served Hylia both prior and during the war with Demise. Impa inherits this duty and protects Zelda during her journey to discover the memories of her past life as Hylia. Zelda later uses some of the power she inherited from Hylia to bless the Master Sword, transforming it into the True Master Sword. As a result, Hylia is both directly and indirectly responsible for the existence of the legendary Blade of Evil's Bane, thus the blade's various powers can be explained as divine in origin.
Unaware that Hylia had given up her divinity, the people of Skyloft and some races remaining on the Surface, continued to worship her or at least know of her, though most seem to have forgotten her true name and instead refer to her simply as the Goddess or Her Grace. Statues and murals of her can be found in a variety of locations. Her image also appears on the Goddess Shield.
The Three Dragons; Eldin, Faron and Lanayru, protect the regions of The Surface. Allies of Hylia the Three Dragons where entrusted with guiding and aid the chosen Hero on his quest. They were also entrusted with parts of the Song of the Hero that provides clues to the location of the Triforce.
Levias, a whale-like creature (similar to the Wind Fish), protects The Sky from inside the Thunderhead; however, a parasite has infected him, and Link must cleanse the spirit before he is able to learn about the Triforce and the Song of the Hero.
Though Demise himself is only referred to as the Demon King, it is shown that his power is comparable to (if not above) a deity`s. The Goddess Hylia herself was mortally wounded when fighting the Demon King, and only managed to seal him away in the grounds near her Temple, which eventually became known as the Sealed Grounds and Sealed Temple, respectively. However this was only a temporary measure, as The Imprisoned Demise would manage to escape the seal several times in Skyward Sword, forcing Link and Fi to reseal him. In fact, only the Triforce and True Master Sword is shown capable of destroying Demise, as Link's wish on the Triforce resulted in the death of his Imprisoned form in the present, while Link was able to slay the completely revived Demise in the past using the True Master Sword. During their battle, the fully resurrected Demise demonstrates the ability to manipulate time and space, further signifying his true potential.
It is revealed that the parallel world of Lorule originally had a Triforce, which was presumably created the Golden Goddesses as well. It is alternatively possible though, that some other divine force was the reason for its creation, possibly Lorulean counterparts of the Golden Goddesses.
The Goddess Hylia is mentioned by the Sheikah Monks in their Shrine as having blessed them to aid Link in his quest to stop Ganon. Also, several Goddess Statues are found throughout the game. Link can pray at these statues, and, if he has at least four Spirit Orbs, he can exchange them for either Stamina Vessels or Heart Containers.
The Goddess Statues found in the Spring of Power, Spring of Wisdom, and Spring of Courage also serve to guide Link to the Shrines located there. The one at the Spring of Wisdom also guides Link in freeing the Dragon Naydra from the corruptive influence of Calamity Ganon's Malice.
According to the elderly Gerudo Muava, worship of Hylia has waned among the Gerudo living in Gerudo Town. However she is still widely worshiped by the Hylians, Sheikah, and other races such as Gorons, Rito, Korok, and Zora. Before the Great Calamity, the Old Man reveals that people would make pilgrimages to the Temple of Time located on the Great Plateau to pray, indicating that it was once a place of worship and features a large Goddess Statue surrounded by several smaller Goddess statues. Some Hylians are known to invoke Hylia's name in shock (like "What in Hylia's name?"). A giant Goddess Statue appears at the end of the Forgotten Temple which is comparable in size to the Statue of the Goddess from Skyward Sword.
Though the Rito Kass and his teacher were apparently aware of an old folk song that tells the legend of the Divine Beasts creation and battle that took place ten thousand years ago. It is implied in this legend that the princesses of Hyrule, and by extension the Royal Family of Hyrule, are descended from Hylia's mortal incarnation from Skyward Sword, as Hyrule's princess is known as the "Goddess-blood Princess" in his retelling of the legend which he learned from his teacher.
Additionally, Impa directly implies that the princess of Hyrule possesses the blood of the Goddess at the very beginning of her retelling of Calamity Ganon`s defeat ten thousand years prior, though she simply mentions that each time Ganon returned he was stopped by a warrior wielding the soul of a hero and a princess who carries the blood of the goddess, which are strongly implied to refer to the various incarnations of Link and Princess Zelda.
It is also stated that the sealing magic possessed by the Princesses of Hyrule is awakened once they go on a pilgrimage to the Spring of Power, Spring of Wisdom, and Spring of Courage and "purify" themselves. This is likely a nod to how Zelda in Skyward Sword (the mortal reincarnation of Hylia) visited the Skyview Spring and Earth Spring to regain memories of her former life as Hylia by "purifying" herself.
In Breath of the Wild however, Zelda struggled to awaken this power and began to doubt herself, which allowed Ganon to control Sheikah technology and cause the Great Calamity. It was only after Link was injured fighting the Guardians that Zelda's powers finally awoke. Using her newly awakened powers, Zelda shut down the guardians and sealed both Ganon as well as herself inside Hyrule Castle for 100 years, buying Link time to recover from his injuries inside the Shrine of Resurrection. This power is later lost in the final battle against Calamity Ganon, as Zelda herself confirms to Link.
Link can encounter the Horse Goddess Malanya living inside a Great Fairy Fountain located in her Spring. Like the Great Fairies in Hyrule, her power is shown to have waned over the years and requires Link to give her an offering of 1,000 Rupees to restore her power. After being restored, out of gratitude Malanya will offer to revive any of Link's tamed and registered horses that have been killed. She will revive the first horse for free, then requires Link to bring her an Endura Carrot for each subsequent revival. Malanya is playful and occasional pretends to be more menacing than she actually is only to reveal she is only joking by saying "I jest". In addition to her Spring there are two other locations that are named in honor of her, the Horse God Bridge and Lake of the Horse God.
The Great Deku Tree
The Great Deku Tree can be found in the center of Korok Forest located in the Great Hyrule Forest region. During the Great Calamity one century ago, Princess Zelda brought the Master Sword to Korok Forest to entrust its protection to the ancient tree deity, placing it in a pedestal located in front of The Great Deku Tree to await Link's return one hundred years later. The Great Deku Tree is the protector of the Koroks like the Great Deku Tree from The Wind Waker. The Great Deku Tree is also shown to be aware of the Master Sword's true origins and Hylia's involvement in its creation. Link meets the Great Deku Tree who reveals that the Master Sword will test him to ensure he is strong and worthy enough to wield it.
As part of "The Master Trials" DLC, during the "EX Trial of the Sword" Link is instructed by a mysterious voice to speak to the Great Deku Tree about a glorious trial. The Great Deku Tree informs Link that this trial will allow Link to increase the power of the Master Sword, though requires him to face various challenges without any of his current items or equipment (weapons, shields, bows, armor, materials, or cooked food) forcing him to face the challenges with only his Runes and any items he can acquire during the trial. He tells Link to return the Master Sword in its pedestal to begin the trial. If Link perishes during the trial he will have to start over from the beginning.
The three Dragons
Link can encounter three guardian dragon spirits that live in Hyrule and known as Dinraal, Naydra, and Farosh. They allow him to obtain rare materials known as "Dragon parts" if hits a part of their body with an arrow. According to legend, the Dueling Peaks was once a single mountain that was split in two by one of these Dragons. Each of the three Springs is associated with one of these dragons, Dinraal is associated with the Spring of Power, Naydra with the Spring of Wisdom, and Farosh with the Spring of Courage. Link must present a "Scale" from that spring's respective dragon to Hylia's Goddess Statues in each of the three springs in order to make the Shrines appear.
At the Spring of Wisdom, Link must first free Naydra from the Malice as part of a related Shrine quest which will lead to Link receiving Naydra's Scale. The other Springs however require Link to obtain Dinraal and Farosh's respective scales by shooting them with an arrow. Dragon Parts are also used by Great Fairies as materials to upgrade Link's armor. Dragon Parts can also be used as Cooking ingredients, though it is somewhat considered a waste due to their rarity, it does ensure the possibility of critical success when added to a recipe. Link can also sell them to shops and merchants for Rupees or to Kilton at the Fang and Bone for Mon.Scales are dropped when the dragon's body is hit, while Claws are dropped by hitting the dragon's arms or claws, Horn shards are dropped by hitting their horns, and fang shards are dropped by hitting the dragon's mouth. With the exception of their scales, the other parts are not required to complete the Shrine Quests and obtaining them is completely optional. While the Dragons are non-aggressive (even when corrupted with malice, Naydra does not attack Link directly), the elements they produce from their body can hurt Link, though they do this unintentionally, and according to their Hyrule Compendium entries they hold no ill will toward people which is shown by them not being bothered by Link attacking them with arrows to obtain their parts. Despite their benign nature, they appear in the "monster" section of Hyrule Compendium.
Baron is the god of war.
The Fierce Deity appears as a transformation of Young Link. The Fierce Deity form is depicted as being capable of dashing at speeds comparable to the Pegasus Boots and can cleave the Moon in two with his sword during his Focus Spirit Attack. Dark Young Link can also transform into a Dark version of the Fierce Deity as part of his version of the Mask moveset.
Levias also appears in the story and as part of the Great Fairy's moveset. In Land of the Sky, Link and Fi use Pumpkin Soup to summon the aid of the Sky Spirit Levias to create land bridges on Skyloft and with the aid of the Great Fairy empower Levias so he can use his power to weaken Volga.
In Liberation of the Triforce, while possessing the power of the complete Triforce as well as the power he obtained from a dark ritual performed in Ganon's Tower, Ganondorf claimed that no Hero or Goddess could defeat him and his overwhelming power, forced the Hyrulean Forces and their allies to capture the Hyrule Castle Keep (as Ganondorf had converted the castle into Ganon's Tower), in order to cut off the power he obtained from the ritual, weakening Ganondorf to the point he was forced to resort to use the Triforce to resurrect him in his Ganon form.
Though the Guardian of Time, Cia, and Lana are referred to as Sorceresses, they have abilities and powers more in common with deities such as the ability to manipulate time-space, create & control Summoning Gates, and use fission to divide themselves into clones that are the same as the original. The Guardian of Time's role of watching over the countless battles over the Triforce is also more in line with that of a deity and it is implied she has watched over the battles over the Triforce for centuries before Ganondorf's spirit drove the light from her heart, resulting in the creation of Cia and Lana.
As part of the Link's Awakening DLC, the Wind Fish appears as part of Marin's Bell moveset. He also appears as an egg on the Koholint Island Adventure Mode Map and like Link's Awakening, the main goal is to awaken the Wind Fish using the eight Instruments of the Sirens which appear as Item Cards. Cia and Lana also have Recolors of their Standard Outfit based on the Wind Fish.
The Baga Tree appears as an evil counterpart to the Great Deku Tree in the bonus section of the manga. He appears to be the ruler of the Skull Kids in the Lost Woods. He is also able to summon monsters such as Wolfos and Moblins, and form projectiles out of his roots and limbs. Skull Kid kidnaps Saria when she was following Link into the Lost Woods. This pleases the Baga Tree, who thinks of it as revenge against the Deku Tree's rule over the forest. Link and Mido team up and defeat the Baga Tree, and discover that it was a parasite, similar in appearance to Queen Gohma who kills the Great Deku Tree later, that made the Baga Tree evil.
|Link (x4) · Princess Zelda · Six Maidens · Vaati|
—Full list of characters
|Phantom Ganon · Helmaroc King · Stone Arrghus · Jalhalla · Dagtail · Frostare · Big Dodongo · Vaati · Ganon|
| Whereabouts of the Wind · Eastern Hyrule · Death Mountain · Near the Fields · The Dark World · The Desert of Doubt · Frozen Hyrule · Realm of the Heavens|
—Full list of locations
|Bomb · Bombos Medallion · Boomerang · Bow · Fire Rod · Four Sword · Lantern · Magic Hammer · Quake Medallion · Shield · Slingshot|
|Blue Bracelet · Carrot · Force Gem · Force Fairy · Heart · Heart Container · Moon Pearl · Pegasus Boots · Power Bracelet · Roc's Feather · Shovel · Small Key|
|Knight Mark · Letter · Magic Book · Royal Jewels · Vaati Barrier|
|Gerudo · Goron · Hylian · Zuna|
|Bellum · Ciela · Linebeck · Link · Ocean King · Oshus · Tetra|
—Full list of characters
|Blaaz · Cyclok · Crayk · Diabolical Cubus Sisters · Dongorongo · Gleeok · Eox · Bellum · Ghost Ship · Bellumbeck|
|Bannan Island · Cannon Island · Goron Island · Harrow Island · Isle of Ember · Isle of Frost · Isle of Gust · Isle of Ruins · Isle of the Dead · Mercay Island · Molida Island · Zauz's Island|
—Full list of locations
|Temple of Fire · Temple of Wind · Temple of Courage · Ghost Ship · Goron Temple · Temple of Ice · Mutoh's Temple · Temple of the Ocean King|
|Oshus's Sword · Wooden Shield · Boomerang · Bombs · Bow · Bombchus · Grappling Hook · Hammer · Phantom Sword · Shovel · Fishing Rod|
|Leaf · Neri · Ciela · Pure Metals · Phantom Hourglass · Spirit Gem|
|Anouki · Deity · Fairy · Gerudo · Goron · Human · Hylian · Yook|
|Anjean · Byrne · Chancellor Cole · Link · Malladus · Princess Zelda|
—Full list of characters
|Stagnox · Fraaz · Phytops · Cragma · Byrne · Skeldritch · Demon Train · Chancellor Cole · Malladus|
| Fire Realm · Forest Realm · Ocean Realm · Sand Realm · Snow Realm|
—Full list of locations
|Forest Temple · Snow Temple · Ocean Temple · Fire Temple · Sand Temple · Tower of Spirits|
|Lokomo Sword · Rail Map · Recruit's Sword · Recruit Uniform · Spirit Flute · Spirit Tracks · Spirit Train · Stamp Book · Tears of Light|
|Boomerang · Whip · Whirlwind · Bow · Sand Wand · Bow of Light|
|Anouki · Demon · Goron · Hylian · Lokomo|
|Tingle · Uncle Rupee · Pinkle · Barkle|
—Full list of characters
|Beetle Lord Death Bug · Captain Stalfos · Bana Bana · Beetle King Death Bug · Dora Dora · Uncle Rupee|
|First Continent · Second Continent · Third Continent · Rupeeland|
—Full list of locations
|Hero's Shrine · Pirate Hideaway · Deku Temple · Insect Cavern · Desma's Labyrinth|
|Bone Ocarina · Master Rupee · Mini Death Bug Chrysalis · Pure Dew · Rupee Goods · Super Rupees · Tingle Bomb · Tingle Tuner|
|Deity · Fairy · Human · Hylian · Salona · Yamatami|