Summary
- The Triforce is noticeably absent in BOTW & TOTK, but clues suggest it may still play a role in the lore of the games.
- TOTK players have noticed a Triforce-like symbol on the back of the game's three dragons, Dinraal, Naydra, and Farosh.
- The dragons in TOTK could have been goddesses or oracles who took extreme measures to protect the Triforce in a new form.
The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom continues the story of BOTW as a direct sequel, but it also comes with plenty of its own lore to add to the franchise. Zelda's adventure through time in particular reveals information about Hyrule and Ganondorf that would otherwise be lost to history and left only as drawings beneath Hyrule Castle that Link and Zelda are unable to fully interpret. But in both the past and present, the Triforce seems to be absent, not even receiving a mention.
The Triforce tends to be a central item in Zelda games, but it's not mentioned in BOTW and TOTK. It's still part of the Hylian Crest, and an image of it appears when Zelda uses her powers against Calamity Ganon, but it's not a central part of the story. Since the physical relic typically resides in the Sacred Realm, it might've even been forgotten there over time. However, subtle details provide clues about the Triforce in this new section of the timeline, and it might not be as absent as it seems.
TOTK's Three Elemental Dragons Could Be Linked To The Triforce
Each May Carry A Piece Of It
TheMathNut on Reddit discovered an interesting detail about the three elemental dragons in TOTK while farming parts. About halfway down the back of these dragons, there's a little triangle that's awfully reminiscent of the pieces of the Triforce. Throughout the game, not a lot of information is given about dragons, aside from the fact that eating a Sacred Stone can turn a person into a dragon. But there's nothing saying that it's the only way to become a dragon, or that the Sacred Stones seen in the Sages' possession are the only type that exists.
If pieces of the Triforce could be considered Sacred Stones, or another type of object with the ability to turn people into immortal dragons, then it'spossible that Farosh, Dinraal, and Naydra haven't always been the dragons who travel above Hyrule and into the Depths. However, it's also possible that the people who turned into these dragons consumed the Sacred Stones while holding onto the pieces of the Triforce, like Zelda transformed while holding the Master Sword. There's also a trio of women invested enough in the safety of the Triforce to turn themselves into dragons: the Golden Goddesses.
The True Identities Of The Dragons
Before Consuming The Sacred Stones
Aside from the Triforce pieces appearing on the backs of the dragons, their names are incredibly similar to the names of the goddesses. It wouldn't be a stretch to believe that Dinraal is Din, Naydra is Nayru, and Farosh is Farore. At various points in Hyrule's history, the goddesses have entrusted pieces of the Triforce to Link and Zelda, with Ganondorf having a habit of stealing the last piece for himself. However, the goddesses might've decided to use more extreme methods to protect the Triforce, hiding the pieces within themselves as dragons.
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According to the book Creating a Champion, which is about the development of BOTW, both BOTW and TOTK are set in the distant future, far enough that the events of other games in the franchise are nothing more than legends. It's possible that something happened during this time period that led to the goddesses making the decision to protect the Triforce as dragons, but the events haven't been included in the games because they haven't been necessary to reveal. Alternatively, the details could've been lost to time like the events of other games have.
To further support the possibility of the dragons being goddesses are the elements and abilities of the dragons. Dinraal is associated with fire and guards the Spring of Power in BOTW, and Din is the Goddess of Power. Naydra is associated with ice and guards the Spring of Wisdom, and Nayru is the Goddess of Wisdom. Finally, Farosh is associated with lightning and part of the Spring of Courage quest, and Farore is the Goddess of Courage. If they aren't meant to be the goddesses in a new form, then they were certainly inspired by them at least.
Possible Reasons The Goddesses Became TOTK's Dragons
If It Was The Goddesses At All
Another option is that the people who turned into the dragons weren't the goddesses themselves, but oracles of the goddesses. There are two games that show that the goddesses can have oracles living in the normal world: Oracle of Ages and Oracle of Seasons. The oracles have the names of the goddesses, and they have unique abilities related to the goddess they represent. Using this information, it's entirely possible that the dragons were formerly oracles, and they had to make the decision to protect the Triforce in a new way if there was a unique threat to it.
If it was the real goddesses who took the form of dragons, it could've been due to the long period of time when the hero's actions were fading into nothing more than legends. Without information about this time period, it's difficult to know what was happening and how Hyrule might've been threatened. There might've been situations similar to the Fallen Hero timeline, where Link was defeated, and extreme measures had to be taken to handle Ganondorf without Link there, which also opens up a lot of potential for future games to explore this period of time.
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Given the time period and how Rauru knows about the Sacred Stones turning people who consume them into dragons, the goddesses could've become dragons before he was the king of Hyrule. As a Zonai, he could have more access to information about the past, and possibly records about the birth of Dinraal, Naydra, and Farosh. The people who became the dragons might've even been Zonai as well, since there's no reason that the goddesses or their oracles couldn't be part of that race.
Zelda as a franchise is always brimming with potential stories to be told and adventures for Link to have, and this detail about the dragons only fuels that. If the goddesses or their oracles turned into dragons, then that could become a future game that reveals the situation at that time, and why this decision was made. If nothing else, Triforce symbols appearing on Dinraal, Naydra, and Farosh makes for a fun Easter egg and an interesting fan theory in The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom.
Source: TheMathNut/Reddit
The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom
The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom is the anticipated follow-up to Breath of the Wild, released in 2017. A rare occurrence in Zelda titles, Tears of the Kingdom is a direct sequel instead of loosely connected. In Tears of the Kingdom, Link will take to the skies and learn about a mysterious kingdom in the clouds.
- Franchise
- The Legend of Zelda
- Platform(s)
- Nintendo Switch
- Released
- May 12, 2023
- Developer(s)
- Nintendo EPD
- Publisher(s)
- Nintendo
- Genre(s)
- Action-Adventure
- ESRB
- E10+
