7 Unsolved Mysteries & Secrets of the Depths (Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom)

[@NintendoBlackCrisis]

Did I just upload a video on Christmas instead of earlier when I had planned to? Yes...yes I did. Merry Christmas and happy holidays everyone! Also remember to check out the NordVPN deal if you're interested: 🌏 Get exclusive NordVPN deal here ➵ NordVPN.com/nintendobc It’s risk free with Nord’s 30 day money-back guarantee!✌

[@alt_.maezzmachine]

Merry christmas NBC!

[@javiervasquez625]

Merry Christmas as well NBC! 🎅🎄🎁☃️

[@chuckrichardson83]

The tail has to also do with the hair of the heroes aspect outfit if you take a look at that hair even though it's long and draping down it is to resemble a Mane... Do I really need to bring up all of Zelda's previous history that has to do with Buddhism and Shintoism? They have literally given him an outfit that is to protect the gods and the Kami he has a main and a tail..... that outfit is depicting a zonai design of a lion. When it comes to things like Buddhism and Shintoism the lion is a very big representation you will see them guarding different areas and temples even. That is the significance of the tail Not to mention that a lion has always been a symbol of courage and in Shintoism and Buddhism it was I believe a heightened state that you could reach I don't quite know how to word what I'm getting at but somebody that knows the religion more than I will know what I'm talking about. The coverage of the hero in this game is depicted in what the look of a Zone a lion outfit would be

[@williamwalkup988]

Merry Christmas to all.

[@javiervasquez625]

@@chuckrichardson83 I agree and to be honest i believe there's a strong argument to be made that the reason why the Ancient Hero from 10.000 years looks the way it does it's because he belongs to a different _breed_ of lion-like Zonai who differs greatly from the goat-like Zonai of which Rauru and Mineru are born from. This lion-like Zonai might have mostly inhabited the Depths due to the many Colosseums spreads within suggesting a rather combat-obsessed culture which would fit perfectly with the Hero and his exceptional skills as a fighter.

[@FierceDeity35]

Dont forget that theres an entire demon clan that has never been explored. 1st. Ghirahim mentions hes fought other demons. 2nd. Demise says other demons will find link 3rd. Shrines are where "demons" were defeated.

[@clark5317]

Isn't it possible that demons simply refers to monsters? I think in regards to the Shrines of Light, the word demon and monster are used interchangably.

[@javiervasquez625]

That "Demon Clan" most likely refers to the _Demon Tribe_ mentioned by Demise in the japanese localization of Skyward Sword which is itself at war with the _God Tribe_ also mentioned only in the japanese localization as part of a conflict between Chaos (Demon Tribe) and Order (God Tribe). It's safe to assume that the many bosses and monsters that we face across the entire Zelda timeline *are* the Demon Tribe which exists appart from either Demise and Ganondorf who are mere "extensions" birthed by the tribe to directly antagonize the mortal descendants of the God Tribe (Zelda and the Royal Family) throughout the timeline.

[@mobgabriel1767]

We also see other demons in the adult timeline

[@BioAlpha5]

That evil tree underground is also a kind of Demon, based on a Shinto Yokai from Japan called a Jubokku

[@sboinkthelegday3892]

Horses are clearly deified and the connection is made to Dondon as "horses ancestors", which would be whales and thus connect to sky whales like wind fish and Levias.

[@TheCayDawg]

I'm on board with the theory that Link is the one naming the discoveries. Since Link is the first person to explore the Depths thoroughly and has access to an immediate map of all regions, he is the one naming the Depth locales. He's just naming them based on what is directly above them on the surface. "A mine directly below Tarrey Town? The Abandoned Tarrey Mine."

[@javiervasquez625]

As someone else has pointed out the Constructs all mention locations by NAME meaning it is not Link who's naming them.

[@NintendoBlackCrisis]

They only do so with the mines named after the regions (the ones involved in the kohga quest) The only time ones like Tarry Mine are mentioned is on the map iirc

[@cheeplethebulldog1420]

@@javiervasquez625what if the Constructs are running off the data coming from the Purah Pad?

[@javiervasquez625]

@@cheeplethebulldog1420 The Constructs already existed since before Zelda arrived at the past with the Purah Pad so i don't see why they would magically be able to connect to it when Zelda is never shown "tinkering" with the Constructs in such a way that would explain why they are able to extract information from it.

[@DoctorWhoNow01]

​@@javiervasquez625 It's a videogame, not everything is tied to lore. You can make it up, but it doesn't mean ANYTHING concrete b

[@blackreaper2247]

its safe to say that Ganondorf was most likely creating a reverse Light Root, instead of using Light to purify evil, he was creating a massive singular Gloom Root which now corrupted and pushed back the light.

[@SquirreLJ7]

If Ganondorf is like the heart of the roots, they could be like a circulatory system of both veins and arteries instead of one or the other. It's possible they both drain life from the Depths (or maybe Hyrule itself) to give to Ganondorf but also pump out gloom to coat the Depths.

[@netweed09]

Yep, as can be seen in the area's leading to Gloom's Lair, directly under the Imprisoning chamber it's clear he is trying to establish some sort of 'network' of corruption. It's similar to the Royal chamber from breath, where a grotesque, 'bloodied' sack of malice seems to be nurturing Calamity Ganon. It's some really cool, Alien-like lore. It's interesting to see this concept also appear for the very 1st time in Skyward Sword too.

[@BioAlpha5]

workin on a video bout that tree but its also related to the shinto yokai Jubukko and also the gloom is like zonai energy and shiekah tech energy, a form of life energy but it takes it from every living thing, so every calamity that causes death goes into that tree and into him. then he creates demons or more gloom to spread. which in japanese gloom is called miasma

[@EmethMatthew]

Yes, I think that makes a lot of sense

[@errorcode9542]

Or we get continent sized ganon

[@SEMIA123]

Rauru spread his magic across the land when he sealed dorf, I'm pretty what we're seeing is him just gathering it all back

[@shirosenshiesq]

I think the easiest explanation for the Tarrey Town mystery is that it wasn't the Zonai that named it, but rather whatever person or algorithm named it in the Purah Pad. Purah clearly designed it to operate similarly to the Sheikah Slate, which fills in place names when scanning the environment. It uses modern names, like calling things 'ruins' when they wouldn't have been ruins at the time that the Sheikah Slate was made, and is filled in automatically, likely using existing data to supplement it. Just as it named the regions of the Sky Islands after the general region they were over, it named the Tarrey Town mine after the modern location it was under.

[@KumiChan2004]

I was thinking something similar. That makes sense in game more though. Out of game it was probably decided to be this way since it is under whatever town is there now. There could have been a different settlement there in the past that is no longer there.

[@mineralwassser]

But why is there a major mine in the first place?

[@TheCBoysDotCom]

As pointed out elsewhere though, the constructs in the mines often use the name from the purah pad, and it’s unlikely they’re actually connected.

[@alexmiotke8016]

game design@@mineralwassser

[@Hairo-rv9kl]

Something I just realized as I was playing the game while watching this video, the brightbloom seeds have the same scaly pattern as the lightroots! Not only that, but the blooms themselves also look strikingly similar to the strange egg/lotus structures that can be found all over the Zonai architecture and constructs!

[@javiervasquez625]

Funnily enough we also have the strange egg/lotus structures inside the Sheikah Shrines in Breath of the Wild so it's clearly all connected in some capacity. My guess is it's all a reference to Shintoism and "enlightenment" fitting the theme of corruption and darkness as presented by Ganondorf's Malice and Gloom overwhelming the entire kingdom.

[@pancakes8670]

The Zonai probably modeled their lightbulbs after the bright bloom seeds. As for the connection to the Light Roots, it is strange

[@GarfieldLasgnaMaster77]

its all based on Shinto and a lot of people in the west think the game has no plot but they just dont realize how Shinto is what inspired the lore of this game, not just the design of the aesthitc but the lore too. Light vs darkness orii gates jubukko, etc etc

[@dirtywhitellama]

The lower walls inside the shrines have a similar texture as well, and the dragons.

[@Davidledonkayy]

simple: brightblooms are baby lightroots, they are that "bioluminescent light" that zonai conveniently use in their architechture becuz, well, its convenient!

[@Applemangh]

Something I find interesting is the idea that there's an innate elemental power of darkness that isn't inherently evil (see the Sage of Shadow from OoT), and gloom is actually Ganondorf's corruption of that power using his own evil magic. The bargainer statues might be somehow representing darkness as a morally neutral force of nature. The depths outfit might be able to resist gloom, because it's infused with the same neutral darkness that Ganondorf corrupted to make gloom.

[@CanidRose]

I have a theory that plays into the popular one of Hylia being the Goddess of Time. It's one I've had since Skyward Sword, but I've had trouble wording it; basically, I noticed that whenever Hylia (or Zelda) is time travelling, it creates a closed loop (Zelda was always in the amber, the Light Dragon was always there, etc.) but when someone else does it, it causes changes (Link planting the Tree of Life, for example).

[@soapy247]

That’s a really good observation

[@Pentacus]

It would also explain why sending the Hero of Time back to his childhood fragmented time instead of rewriting history: as a manifestation of the goddess of time, Zelda caused a paradoxical situation where two conflicting things had to be true, there’s no way for Link to have been sent back without the events of the seven years to have happened. The only way to resolve that is for Adult Zelda to write herself out of history (which may not be possible for the Goddess Of Time to do if she’s immune to history being changed by herself), or for two timelines to exist, causing it to break like we see.

[@LAZERAK47V2]

This theory of yours actually supports my theory of when Tears and Breath take place in the Zelda timeline. We have the Adult, Child and Fallen Hero timeline and the Switch games don't really fit into any of them because of the coexistence of the Ritos/Zora. Some have explained that it's because the timelines converged, but things like Calamity Ganon don't exist in the main timelines. When theorizing, I remembered that there's one more point in the timeline where diverging path occur. And that is in the very first game, Skyward Sword. In SS, the modern day Demise is destroyed utterly but in the past, he gets revived and defeated by Link. So my theory is that every mainline game takes place in the past version of SS, where Ganondorf constantly reincarnates as an aspect of Demise's hate. It's also why we never hear Fi in those games, unlike in Breath/Tears, where Fi presumably speaks to Zelda. Meanwhile, the Switch games take place in the Present SS timeline, where Demise was annihilated. Because Demise was completely destroyed, Fi never had to enter her slumber, which is why she can speak to Zelda. Ganondorf is his own person, rather than Demise's avatar and Calamity Ganon is a concentration of Gloom (recall Calamity Ganon's final form) that embodies his evil. Unlike with Demise and Ganondorf (where Ganondorf seeks to finish what Demise started), Calamity Ganon seeks to destroy, rather than to rule, meaning that while sealed, Ganondorf doesn't actually have control over it. Rauru's arm eventually was overpowered by Ganondorf's power, so it stands to reason that Rauru couldn't seal him entirely, allowing Ganondorf's dark power to seep into the world, eventually forming Calamity Ganon. Finally, Calamity Ganon choosing to forgo reincarnation in Breath of the Wild is due to the fact that the seal containing Ganondorf was nearly depleted, meaning that Ganondorf would need all his power for his awakening, rather than wasting it reforming another Calamity Ganon (which would've taken many years). The manifestation of Phantom Ganon also lends credence to this, proving that Ganondorf is capable of creating proxies to act on his behalf.

[@brookejon3695]

​@@LAZERAK47V2What makes you think Calamity Ganon is out of control?

[@NytroDesigns]

My theory is that the ancient hero is a depths dweller, some species that lived in the depths and perhaps traded with the Zonai? So, Zonai vanishing and no longer appearing would be a problem for those trapped in the depths, and light roots failing after not being maintained by the Zonai would be an even bigger problem for them.

[@Shizn0id]

mogma existed at some point and are gone now and the shape of the un named statues are definitely based off them as well as the heroes aspect

[@keithlangevin6149]

That species would be the Subrosians found in Oracle of Seasons! You were never able to see what theyk like because they wore robes that only show their eyes, robes that look suspiciously like the gloom gear you get down there. They may have adapted them to resist the gloom as it started to take over their world...

[@Davidledonkayy]

i was thinking the same thing hmmmm i wonder what they looked like :o

[@yairiscapellan4874]

Wait... the Dondon giving you Zonaite is a rarity? That always happened to me. Every time I gave luminous stone, I wanted to get gems like diamonds and rubies.

[@NintendoBlackCrisis]

I must have only done it a few times. I remember getting some amber and rubies

[@yairiscapellan4874]

@@NintendoBlackCrisis So that means I've had better luck with the RNG here than in a certain game. 🤣

[@lozssaddict]

I… deadass didn’t know about this 😂🤦‍♂️

[@midnights2631]

Same, I get gems but I've been given Zonaite when I wanted diamonds

[@fartnloud7411]

450hrs and just found them, fed each one of them because they looked cool at night, but tried stealing the gems from the table 😂

[@boredgeneral770]

My theory is that the 5th statue species were the red-haired barbarians from the Faron region from the barbarian set. They were previously thought to be Zonai but it’s fairly obvious now that they weren’t. I think it’s possible that the ancient hero could hail from a thriving civilisation of these barbarians who were eventually killed off in the 10,000 years after one of their own saved Hyrule.

[@U-Bob77890]

I Think theyre names are Lomei because nobody is talking about the Name of the labyrinths

[@ericwindsor339]

@@U-Bob77890 thats actually a really good catch, that's probably what they are yeah. It also looks like the mining outfit represents chains on the miner, maybe the Lomei were slaves in Hyrule's past, maybe forced to dig for Zonaite, but then that Lomei hero represented in the aspect was the one who saved the world in the original calamity?

[@ScandociouslyHG]

I've always thought the Bokoblins were collecting the Zonaite, so Link can't have them. The way Ganondorf acknowledges Raurus arm on Link tells me he already knew earlier on, so he instructed the monsters to take them. Knowing how the Technology of the Zonai works, this will slow Link down from collecting them.

[@lomiification]

Ganondorf straight up doesn't care about link or consider him a threat though. Before regaining his vitality, he brushes link with the master sword away like nothing but disappointment. If anything, ganondorf wants link to get as strong as he can to have a fight ganondorf can feel good about winning Maybe the bokoblins are mining for link to have it?

[@animex75]

What I found interesting about that gloom tree was that, when you're diving down there and with how big that cavern is it almost looks like that tree is literally holding the continent up. I wonder if he corrupted a world tree?

[@javiervasquez625]

"World Tree"? Yggdrasil? Wouldn't surprise me if Aonuma and co. began delving in Norse mythology to build up the Zelda Lore considering the many parallel _realms_ which exist in the Zelda universe (Koholint Island, Termina, World of the Ocean King, Lorule) very much like the 9 realms found in the Norse myths.

[@Slate_Box]

The furthest point I went out I landed on a ledge that was almost in the very middle of Hyrule Field

[@mineralwassser]

​@@javiervasquez625 far fetched

[@Mari_Izu]

@@javiervasquez625 Yeah, Zelda gets bits of tons of different mythologies to create their own.

[@javiervasquez625]

@@Mari_Izu Here's to hoping the next Zelda game also involves travelling to other realms instead of it taking place in Hyrule all over again.

[@brettmorgan3538]

Don't forget the Dueling Peaks paradox! Although TotK confirmed that the two mountains used to be one, there is a wall in the Depths (mirroring the river on the surface) splitting the Dueling Canyons. Were the Dueling Canyons once together as one? Did this wall exist before the mountain was split? If not, how was it created, and why? There is a lot to consider when thinking about the Depths' relationship to the surface. Walls in the Depths are supposed to mirror water sources on the surface, yet we know that the water sources in Hyrule have changed significantly since ancient times thanks to the map in the Forgotten Temple. Perhaps the Depths are a more metaphysical plane than we realize, and the geography down there changes in real time to reflect the surface. Who knows!

[@s0ph053]

I’d imagine such a catastrophic blast would cause rubble to fall, and the resulting river eventually formed a wall on top of it.

[@Miss_Trillium]

Because it's a mirrored version of the land, it does seem to hold a sort of similarity to a Dark World or other mirror realm--despite being physically accessible from the surface. Ultimately, in my eyes, TotK didn't give us enough information on the depths to make better determinations

[@mineralwassser]

Whatever caused the mountain to split must have had an inverse counterpart of that event happen in corresponding valley in the depths.

[@cingkrimson_requiem]

In BoTW, an NPC tells you that there's a legend that the peaks were split in two by a *Dragon God* who flew through them. Since the peaks were united during Zelda's memories during the founding of Hyrule, Zelda herself is a candidate, though that's unlikely as she retreated beyond the sky barrier after her transformation. That said, that means the only other suspects are the three dragons, and given how their ears (Dragonified individuals seem to retain their ear shape after transforming) imply that the three of them are Zonai, they have to have existed long before Zelda's own transformation.

[@Mari_Izu]

@@cingkrimson_requiem I still think it was Farosh who split the mountain.

[@Goremejy]

I think Ganondorf essentially made a Gloom Tree that was sapping all the energy and light from the land slowly, it’s why he’s sitting on a big tree stump. He’s using it to resore his power and its why all the light roots are drained when we find them

[@gmaster2647]

I like the idea that the Ancient Hero depicted with the Aspect is actually part of the mysterious 5th race, that also seems to be extinct. It makes more sense than it being a Zonai as well.

[@Shizn0id]

...you mean the mogma?

[@peskybird7627]

I think that light roots are naturally formed plants that contain a lot of sacred light, and the Zonai built the shrines of light over the light roots to power the shrines of light. Also, I'm pretty sure that I got Zonite from a DonDon once.

[@mineralwassser]

If you look closely, energy is flowing from the shrines down to the roots where it's emitted as light. The light roots are essentially lamps powered by the shrine's light which is purified from monsters.

[@a.jthomas6132]

I wish we have additional cutscenes where Link and Zelda journey through the underground caverns beneath Hyrule Castle while riding the Dondons.

[@rin_okami]

I think the stone tree roots are petrified roots from Deku Trees and the like. We know there are multiple toppled or cut down giant trees in BOTW's Hyrule alone and that there have been multiple Deku Trees throughout the series. Makes sense to me that the Depths would be riddled with old roots from these ancient giants.

[@Sarah_H]

Also there are signs that the koroks have been down in the Depths at some point. Under Korok Forest and where we fight the Phantom Ganon to free the Deku Tree, we see lanterns that are the same as the ones we see in Korok Forest

[@Hova1914]

@@Sarah_Halso pristine korok weapons are found there, which the game specifically says koroks made for hyrule inhabitants. Back in the days the depths were in use, the inhabitants included the Zonai.

[@hex676]

Small epiphany. I definitely think that the statues in the depths are depicting Zonai. Not only do they have the decorative necklace sculpted on but the skirt as well. My theory is that Rauru and Mineru are a higher class of Zonai. Their bodies are more human but they have feline-like ears and muzzles as well as a third eye. The Ancient Hero is more animal-like while missing the third eye and huge feline ears. Chances are that the majority of the Zonai maybe looked similar to the statues in the depths while the more stylized statues like the ones leading to Ganondorf's sealing chamber fall more in line with Rauru's appearance. Having a tail was probably a rare trait among the Zonai but not unusual. But since it wasn't common the statues are depicted without tails. Just a thought.

[@lasercraft32]

An interesting thing to note is that BEFORE Tarry Town was built in Botw, you can find a Goddess Statue in that location. I wonder if that has anything to do with it. It is rather odd that _every_ settlement has a Goddess Statue, and its existence implies that maybe they intentionally build their towns near them. Might be a similar reason as to why there would be mines underneath them. Maybe they had some unspoken reason for naming it "Tarry Town." Maybe there used to be a town or settlement there before with the same name, and Hudson was basically rebuilding it from scratch. (EDIT: Oh. This is why you watch through the video before commenting... He literally brought it up only a few minutes later)

[@lhylliannacrotford]

Also plausible that Hudson Construction made or commissioned the statue and placed it where they planned to build the town as a prepatory blessing of sorts?

[@chrispork1443]

Correction: First Zelda game set in the same world with the same Link. Zelda II had the first game’s map scaled down in size because of its massive overworld and more RPG like gameplay, and A Link Between Worlds takes place in the same Hyrule as A Link to the Past but with a new generation of Link and Zelda.

[@pancakes8670]

Thank you. People think that Totk reusing the same map is a new thing. It's not

[@cottrelle-oc9tl]

I think this guy admitted in another video to never having played the 2d games. So anything prior to oot just doesn't exist in his mind

[@lasercraft32]

I was under the impression that the Bargainer's Statues mistook the Yiga Clan as "lost souls" and sent them to rest in the afterlife. Maybe the evil in their hearts was misinterpreted as them being lost, or maybe Link is the only one pure enough to approach the statues (the same way he's able to see the dragons or koroks).

[@dirtywhitellama]

Seems to me like the reason the gloom protection set matches the dark clumps is that it's a material/ornamentation that is made to contain or repel the darkness - it's impermeable to gloom, so the clumps stay together, and the armor set (temporarily) prevents it from reaching Link's skin and causing the damaging effect.

[@Akwave_]

And it probably looks like a monster because the people who wore it needed to disguise themselves from monsters

[@jackalclone1]

RE: Aspect of the hero (and possible statue/race relation). Something that isn't mentioned often enough is the different tribes of Zonai that existed - Owl, Dragon, and Boar. Our only in-game Zonai characters both belong to the Owl tribe (Mineru and Rauru), and their appearance could very well be distinct for the Owl tribe Zonai. I've seen it theorized that the Aspect of the Hero, and by extension the old hero of legend, are actually Boar tribe Zonai, and the appearance is reflective of that. Worth reminding as well that the Aspect of the Hero armor's "loincloth" is actually made up of the symbols from all 3 tribes, possibly indicating an alliance of all Zonai tribes during the initial fight against the calamity.

[@javiervasquez625]

Wouldn't the Ancient Hero fit more as a member of the Dragon tribe given it's connection to the Triforce of _Courage?_ Aonuma and co. have stated in the book Creating a Champion that the 3 statues of an owl, boar and dragon are in reference to the 3 Golden Goddesses and the 3 pieces of the Triforce Nayru/Wisdom, Din/Power and Farore/Courage respectively. With that in mind it only makes sense that the Hero/Link from 10.000 years ago would belong to the Dragon tribe given it's connection to the Triforce of Courage which Link has all but represented across the entire series.

[@jackalclone1]

@@javiervasquez625 I actually agree with that, and my personal head canon is the hero belonging to the Dragon tribe for courage alignment. I was just going with what I've seen theorized before. Regardless, though, it seems completely feasible that the other 2 main tribes of Zonai had physical appearances different from the Owl we see, which could be what we see in the statues

[@catboymiles7224]

this makes a lot of sense actually

[@deebee5378]

Wasn’t Mineru’s spirit in the tablet, if I’m remembering right? That could be an explanation for why current day places are in the names of locations filled in on the map. It could be Mineru naming them based on locations Link is familiar with so he can keep better track of where these places are. That could explain why it both has information Link does and doesn’t have prior knowledge of. Both would be helpful for Link to have on a map

[@lhylliannacrotford]

I thought this as well when her spirit was revealed!

[@Borgdrohne13]

About the 5th mystery, I believe, it's a bootstrap paradoxon. Princess Zelda knews the settlement and was involved into the namimg of the mines. It would make sense and explain the naming.

[@BioAlpha5]

Shes also the Forutne Teller

[@javiervasquez625]

@@BioAlpha5 The "Fortune Teller" warned about the Great Calamity from 100 years ago so she can't be the _same_ Fortune Teller as she was already flying above the Cloud Barrier as the Light Dragon.

[@tumultuousv]

no @@BioAlpha5

[@Sarah_H]

Page 7 of Zelda's Diary in BotW: "I had a dream last night... In a place consumed by darkness, a lone woman gazed at me, haloed by blinding light. I sensed she was...not of this world. I don't know if she was a fairy or a goddess, but she was beautiful. Her lips spoke urgently, but her voice did not reach me. Would I have heard her if my power was awoken? Or was my dream simply a manifestation of my fears? I am sure I will know the answer soon, whether I wish to or not..." It's likely that this was Hylia BUT, wild speculation, Zelda/the Light Dragon was talking to herself via a dream, warning herself of the coming Calamity

[@randomrambutan3755]

Something I noticed that I haven’t seen anyone mention- when Ganondorf is on the platform when you first find him at the end of the game, there’s some glowing gloom spots on the bottom of the platform that look like a squashed boar face. It might be my imagination, or a thematic aspect, but it seriously gave me the creeps when I first noticed it

[@ericastein3926]

I figured that Rauru had longer discussions with Zelda that we just didn’t see and she told him more about finding Ganondorf in the underground of the castle and how Link’s arm gets damaged along with the sword. So after Sonya is killed Rauru created the shrines to help train Link and purify him and those shrines extended to the depths by the lightroots since Ganondorf is eventually going to be found underground so it was a way to limit Ganondorf’s reach to pull life force to help restore himself.

[@javiervasquez625]

Weren't the Shrines and Lightroots created by BOTH Rauru and Sonia prior to Ganondorf's betrayal? If i'm not mistaken one of the Stone Tablets addresses their existence by suggesting the kingdom was been ridden with monsters and "Darkness" (probably caused by Ganondorf's reincarnation) leading to Rauru to erect such buildings in order to counter all this Evil with Light that would protect the land from corruption. Alas Ganondorf came along and the Shrines and Lightroots would remain inactive for the next 10.000+ years until the new Hero would come along.

[@ericastein3926]

@@javiervasquez625 I definitely don’t remember everything that you find to read in the games. But I think you are correct about a stone tablet talking about that. Though it’s weird that the shrines should have awoken by the calamity as it’s sourced from Ganondorf himself. Maybe they only did awaken again because Zelda went back in time.

[@javiervasquez625]

@@ericastein3926 Zelda's travel to the past was part of a time *loop* meaning that everything that happens to her going to the past had _already_ been preordained to happen in a previous loop. Thus it is safe to assume that wathever caused the Shrines and Lightroots to resurface had already been planned from the get go before and after she was sent back to the past. As to _why_ they suddenly appeared by the events of Tears of the Kingdom my one explanation is that Mineru had them hidden away so that they may be of help to Link should Rauru's seal over Ganondorf wear off kickstarting a new battle against him.

[@the888gamemaster]

I still choose to believe the final statue is a mogma, since it's the depths and mogmas are moles, not to mention they have existed in more than just Skyward sword, though it may have only been in passing they exist through the mogma mits in other Zelda game which means they must have survived somewhere, where else could they have survived other than exclusively underground.

That would be logical. Burrowing underground would allow them to escape most threats altogether. That was how the ancestors of mammals lived through the Permian extinction.

[@the888gamemaster]

It would also explain some reason as to why they're never seen along with the digging mits we see in Minish Cap, I could have sworn it was in at least one other, but it would explain what happened to the species all together, like we've seen the outcome of Gorons, Hylians, Zora/Rito, and possibly Gerudo with Groose(?) But we never learned about the outcome of the Mogma except that they left gloves in caves and were never actually findable

[@Mari_Izu]

Maybe Mogmas are still around and we just don't see them.

[@the888gamemaster]

@@Mari_Izu totally plausible,

[@diehardzeldafaneditz]

I actually thought for a second on my first playthrough that Kohga was referring to the Demise's sword when he was talking about restoring an 'Unstoppable Weapon' and I thought we were going to have another Ghirahim fight. 🤣

[@InvaderGIR98]

Now im mad that isnt what we got lmao

[@diehardzeldafaneditz]

@@InvaderGIR98 ikr I had all these good ideas for TotK that I really thought we're gonna be there but didn't turn out being in game and it was disappointing 😭

[@Arxkhero]

i mean.... Completely unhinged and full power? that thing would annihallate SO many damned people

[@QueenofSilence101]

In the Depths, below Gatepost Town Ruins, sits a destroyed Yiga base. The notebook you find there is tattered and clearly implied to be barely legible - and the pages you can read simply say that that particular base is to be destroyed. What happened there? How long has that base been sitting in a destroyed state for? Personally, I think the destroyed base was the first one the Yiga built, before they had a grasp on just how dangerous the Depths actually are. Maybe the base was overwhelmed by monsters, and the Yiga were forced to destroy it and move elsewhere (and reinforce all subsequent bases they built).

[@thatradiogeek]

"First game of the series that takes players back to an already explored Hyrule" A Link Between Worlds would like a word.

[@Squimblink]

For the 5th one an easy explanation is that link names the places that he goes too and since it was under tarrey town, same with kakariko

[@FierceDeity35]

Unfortunately, the Constructs say their names

[@javiervasquez625]

​@@FierceDeity35 Wonder if the Constructs knew of their names from the Zonai doing archeological research of Ancient Hyrule leading to them learning of ancient locations across the timeline which they chose to use as basis for the names of locations in Rauru's Hyrule?

[@moonlitxangel5771]

@@FierceDeity35 Watch the video - he addresses this exact point. They same the name of the REGION mines like Hebra Mines, but they don't directly name all of them and they make no mention of the other mines like Tarrey Mine.

[@skyfiresage5980]

0:11 Link Between Worlds exists.

[@samprizeman4509]

Are they both the same worlds as are in A Link To The Past?

[@skyfiresage5980]

@@samprizeman4509 Yeah, Link Between Worlds takes place on the exact same map as Link To The Past.

[@guzkus1]

Thank you for making this vid NBC! Having large creators maintain interest in TotK theories, hopefully the community will continue to piece the lore together.

[@rgentum_201]

The Depths drive me crazy!!! There's SO many questions and virtually no answers! I think the statues leading up to the Central Mine represent a race that lived underground and either worked with or were servants of the Zonai (or slaves, but that seems kinda heavy for even this game). I think they died off, but the question is why. Maybe they became so dependent on the Zonai that when they left they could not survive. Maybe they were alive all the way up to the Upheaval and the Upheaval wiped them out. Maybe didn't die off but moved on beyond Hyrule by tunneling out of the Depths area below Hyrule. There's probably hundreds of possible explanations if my idea is the case.

[@TotallyACat]

17:36 - Now I’m not certain what this thought of mine could mean, if it means anything at all, but the first thought that immediately popped into my head when I saw the Gloom Armour for the first time was just how similar the set looks to what Zant wears in Twilight Princess. An inspiration perhaps?

[@StormsparkPegasus]

The text giving the lore of the shrines is actually completely grammatically correct Middle English. You're right in that most people will not be able to understand it, however accurate translations have been posted by people that do understand Middle English. There is no complete translation available in the game itself, on the TL;DR provided by the NPC.

[@BioAlpha5]

I have a crazy theory im working on, its taking some time but Zelda and Mineru are the Fortune Teller as told in the prophecy, and that The Depths is actually on the Purah Pad because The light roots and zonai shrines exist already. She tinkers and teleports and i wouldnt be surprised if she helped the ANicent Hero Aspect develop the Sheikah Tech. its a 2 part video im working on that also explains the life energy coursing through the planet that allows the shrines to be made (Zonaite Luminous stones along with other stuff) ill put a few parts from my script in the reply. Great video as always! Also sorry for the replys lmao just excited to see a lot of theories finally (and also worried someone will make a video before i finish mine to be honest) Editing is tough and takes a long time and when ya see a video that you think is gonna talk bout what your working on, ngl kinda demotivating but i been working on it for months, so why stop lol. better to add to the convo than just stop theory crafting lol Oh and theres an evil tree based on Shinto as well which is based on a yokai called a Jubokko. combined with a few other japanese things. Ngl this game is creepy and dark the deeper you look for details.

[@BioAlpha5]

"The Zonai Tech, it harness this life energy from nature. Thanks to Rauru creating Zonai Shrines in the past using the power of Light, We know hes drawing it out from the planet, and we can see this energy in Luminous stones, and Zonaite among many Zonai Tech as well. This Green Energy is also present in the Constructs on the Sky Islands, including the Islands themselves, and in Minerus construct, and even the old one that was taken over has a form of life energy, the one you have to fight in the Spirit Temple. All Life Energy. " By studying the Zonai Tech and with Minerus knowledge and some Help from a certain Ancient Hero, The Sheikah Tech was created to help stop the Calamity Ganon as fortold by Zelda in the past. The Sheikah by this time was looking to the stars as guidance like astrology was used in Alchemy. The Sheikah Tech also has a furnace in Hateno and Aklala and have a Blue flame. I Just mentioned how each champions based on an element and each one is a form of life energy, which one is also a flame.

[@BioAlpha5]

The Sheikah looked to the stars and heavens using their vast wisdom with minerus help to build all the Sheikah Tech. In Real Life Alchemy Core Concepts, the study of stars is used as a substitue of things they dont know yet, while using the classical elements of fire air water and earth or the planets, which there are 7 of by the way in alchemy. Which the people of Hyrule would view as the Heavens they did see the Zonai as Gods, which their entire culuture is inspired heavily by Shintoism. Which also uses this concept of "Life Energy" as told in the interview about Dragon viens.

[@BioAlpha5]

Point is in both Shinto and Alchemy the planets and elements both are a form of life energy. And in Zelda, The Zonai and Sheikah Tech both to utilize this Life Energy to teleport across vast distances, make a smart tablet, rockets, robots and many other things to do great feats like even blast a giant hole in a mountain or lift entire land masses into the sky like its nothing. And we already know from many different aspects that some of this life energy could be the souls of the dead. Which means Ganondorf and his Malice, Gloom or Miasma if you go with the Japanese Translation, is also a form of life energy but instead it sucks the life out of you, the planet, nature, everything and then is converted into gloom to spread or demons under the demon kings rule. Thats pretty dark to think bout, are the civilians killed of the years in each calamity become the next set of demons and miasma to rise? I mean we do see Naydra being taken over by Gloom and the Shiekah tech was taken over as well from guardians to divine beasts even.

[@GarfieldLasgnaMaster77]

What a thread! that's gonna be a interesting topic to watch. this makes sense so much.

[@BioAlpha5]

Ya ever watch Naruto or DBZ? Genki Dama? Or Full Metal Alchemist Brotherhood?

[@benjaminchi1989]

Anyone else think the depths armor set is vaguely similar to the appearance of the poe collectors from OoT and MM? They're both hooded, have one eye, and wear beads

[@javiervasquez625]

Most likely an intentional connection for the reference and deeper meaning of some kind (i myself haven't digged that much as to what that meaning is). To this day i still wonder if the Poe Collector from Ocarina of Time was an outright evil being serving Ganondorf or wether he was simply some kind of magical being similar to the Bargainer Statues who fulfilled an arbitrarial role which Ganondorf didn't see as a threat to his rule over the kingdom.

[@spacegoose8400]

Honestly the depths armor immediately reminded me of Xant

[@keithlangevin6149]

That and very similar to the robes the Subrosians wore in Oracle of Seasons that also lived in an underground world *cough, the depths, cough*. People that you only ever saw their eyes and would could have adapted their clothes to resist the gloom that was spreading down there....

[@larcek.giglamesh]

my biggest issue is still the lack about shiekah technology or even them being mentioned at all. we have the purah pad which is the shiekah slate 2.0 pretty much, and we can find at least one guardian decorating a roof so it's not like everything just up and vanished, yet suddenly we hear nothing about them any longer. i also wonder just how the Depths would have played out within the BotW age. for instance we have Goron Mountains being an active Vulcano spitting lava which seeps deep into the mountain. that would likely reach the Depths but since the Depths are an Open World, just how did all the Lava cycle back towards the Vulcano in the first place. the devine beast vah ruta also at one point delved into the lake to appear behind the dam, but now we know how exactly that area looks like, and while he might have broken the layer massively, it still broke my immersion in TotK based of my knowledge of BotW. maybe Zelda overwrote the history so the shiekah never existed, or rose, in the first place, but with some elements still existing, that would contradict itself. i also utterly hate how even though the whole world was accessable at any time, this one floating ruins in kakariko had scripted limits for plot reasons. :/

[@4wheal]

Biggest mystery is why did they go through the trouble of making an entire cipy of the map and dont put any real story or plot points in it

[@wert556]

Playground for Zonai Devices and Mines. Where there devices and functions originally came from. What kind of building they use to make with the energy they had

[@soundsofthebanana]

Lol. What?

[@chunkymonkey7983]

The final boss took place in the depths bro 😭

[@javiervasquez625]

I would argue they might have suffered time constraints during development which forced them to release the game before fully finishing the Depths and wathever more content they had planned for the final product. Might be why we have an Underworld so devoid of Lore and substance as we wished we had.

[@javiervasquez625]

​@@chunkymonkey7983 Only the first stage of the fight while the second one takes place in the skies above.

[@Chubby_Bub]

Aonuma also made a comment about the Lightroots after Fujibayashi explained the Shrines of Light: "There are also "Roots of Exorcism" [JP name for Lightroot] extending to the Depths. It's like there are air purifiers placed both above ground and underground. I suppose it's like a talisman to ward off evil, or perhaps a Jizo statue [guardian deity] that destroys evil spirits." Also, on the topic of Crafter Constructs, if Mineru is the only sage you have for the final battle, when the Seized Construct comes back for her to take care of, she says it's a "magical copy" of her construct this time. (This would probably have been a better explanation for the first time too, because Mineru's whole plan of guiding Link to a construct head on Dragonhead Island and then the construct factory doesn’t make sense if she had one already prepared… and even then it's not explained why she waited in the Purah Pad but didn’t do anything until Link got there. And she supposedly helped lift the Temple of Time and ancient tablets into the sky despite storing her soul right when Zelda swallowed her secret stone… This is more of a writing flaw though.)

[@Aqueous92]

Merry Christmas! I want to add that after watching the part of the Dondons I remembered I gave them Luminous Stone and then forgot about it lol. So as the video was playing I went back and found 4 Zonaite Ore Pieces. So yeah, they DO drop Zonaite. And apparently they drop it in bunches of 2 per Dondon

[@NintendoBlackCrisis]

I must have only tried it a few times then. Good to know :)

[@Aqueous92]

@@NintendoBlackCrisis np. It was like the 3rd time I fed them and I'm reaching 150 hrs of playtime, so don't worry

[@chrisdrown5866]

You know how the races are all of different evolutionary lines (i.e. Rito are birds, Zora are fish, Hylians and Gerudo are mammals, etc). The don dons could be an evolutionary ancestor of the Gorons and are related because they are both silicon based life forms which is theorized to possibly exist even in our own universe. It could also explain all the energy found in Zonaite and luminous stones. It would be cool to see you do a video diving into this.

[@eliarchon]

I'm sure someone already pointed it out but do you not remember the giant tree stump on the sky islands? How basically the sky islands were risen to the sky? I think there may be some connection between that tree and the giant stone roots perhaps.

[@a.jthomas6132]

Apart of how the Gloom that Ganondorf makes me wonder how did he mastered it before being amplified by the Sacred stone he had stolen from Queen Sonia. Perhaps it has something to do with the two Gerudo Masked figures- Kotake and Koume. It would’ve been nice to have Twinrova back for a boss battle in Tears of the Kingdom. But sadly, it became a wasted opportunity since there is no DLC.

[@javiervasquez625]

He didn't "master it" he probably already knew how to wield it from the start courtesy of his nature as an incarnation of the Demon Tribe's curse towards the Spirit of the Hero and Hylia's bloodline ensuring he would already be able to antagonize Link and Zelda from the start without the need of magical artifacts like the Triforce to do it this time around. By merely taking Sonia's secret stone he was already capable of overwhelming the kingdom with Gloom in order to cause Chaos and destruction in his path to plunge the world into everlasting Darkness.

[@blackreaper2247]

it's not hard to master, Zelda was the only one that seem to struggle but let's be honest, she's always struggled with her powers even in BotW due to own disbelief in her own strength. If you look at how quickly Sidon, Tulin, Riju and Yunobu learn to use their secret stones it becomes evident that they don't require much training as they are designed to empower existing powers to divine levels. Ganon could already create, control, and alter Gloom, the secret stone just gave him the power to do so on a divine scale.

[@不動-l1u]

I think there will be dlc in February next year

[@moonlitxangel5771]

@@不動-l1u We'd likely have heard about it by now, and the devs have stated they have no plans for DLC cuz they have nothing left that they want to explore with the story and don't have anything they want to add.

[@a.jthomas6132]

@@blackreaper2247 For Zelda’s case, I think unlocking her light powers requires a stronger motive. And that motive is to protect Link in Breath of the Wild. So a Princess’s love for her Knight is the key unlocking it since no one hadn’t offered that much support besides Urbosa. Generally I find it disgusting in the way King Rhoam treated his own daughter so cold and very strictly.

[@perrymoser3014]

IIRC In the very beginning while on the Sky Islands Rauru (or maybe a construct or researcher) mentions that he built the shrines on places that have a connection to a holy power, which means that the shrines are placed based on the location of the lightroots which were already pre-existing before the zonai. It's what actually made me think to check the world map and notice that the locations lined up with one another. Also the mystery race, like others in the comments thought it was a crossbreed between hylians and the zonai. What I don't get though is that when Zelda goes back the Zonai are only Mineru and Rauru, and the Hylians are the primary race on the surface, and the Zonai technology were already in a state of decline, only maintained by Mineru and her constructs. What happened to the others? Without a calamity or demon war, where did all the able bodied Zonai go? Did Rauru and Mineru only descend from the clouds because they needed to find others to continue their line? The question still remains from BoTW: Where are the Zonai, what happened to them?

[@javiervasquez625]

My one theory (which is more of a vague headcanon) is that the Zonai weren't a specific singular race of "goat people" but rather a set of racially diverse _breeds_ (similar to river and lake Zora) which existed all across the skies, surface and Depths of Hyrule yet had a violent relationship between each one of their breeds which eventually lead to a full scale war that exterminated most of them leaving only Rauru and Mineru's family as the last remaining Zonai. My basis for this conclusion stems from the Ancient Hero's appereance barely ressembling Rauru and Mineru's goat-like breed instead looking more like a *lion* fitting Link's nature as a brave Hero and fighter able to stand against any creature or monster that comes in front of him. Basically speaking i hold the headcanon that this "lion breed" was less technological in nature and more war-like which didn't "sit well" with the enlightened goat Zonai who only wished to extract Zonaite from the Depths and continue to prosper. This conflict of ideals would eventually usher a war between the different breeds of Zonai which would spread across both the surface and Depths of Hyrule explaining the many decayed ruins and settlements which litter both locations. As stated above the basis and evidence for this "theory" isn't very strong but ever since i noticed the many Colosseums spreads across the Depths plus the Ancient Hero's lion-like appereance i've come to the conclusion that a war between Zonai might have been the reason why all of them became near extinct by the times of the foundation of Rauru's Hyrule.

[@kamui1769]

I think you might be on to something here

[@mrtomachatz]

I like to think that some of the less recognizable statues in the depths actually depict the fokka which are those bird-type enemies that appear in the Great Palace in Zelda 2. TOTK gives me a lot of Zelda 2 vibes (though, it's hard to put my finger on it), which only seems natural since BOTW is essentially a re-imagining of Zelda 1. There's a lot of very interesting races that only appear once. So maybe some of them were still around and maybe died off in many millennia between Rauru's era and modern Hyrule.

[@mysryuza]

I couldn’t stop thinking of the Shrine of Revival, the mines, and Gorondia and just mentally scream, just wishing I knew more about society and cultures of millennia past. I wondered about the slips on the dark clumps and figured it could be used almost similarly to the slips on Death Sword, but in the sense of keeping someone from getting harmed from the clump’s effects. I thought the Tarrey Town mine was just location being relevant to where Tarrey Town was, but somehow I didn’t realize Tarrey Town may have been mentioned back in time. I love the Dondons and I would not be surprised if the Royal Family ended up cherishing them due to the rarity and they literally poop out gems that are decent or high in value. Those gentle giants would love the Lanayru provin- region ahem.

[@kipame]

"tears of the kingdom is the first game in the series which takes the player back to an already explored Hyrule" A Link Between Worlds ceasing from existence

[@merlumili]

Funnily enough, I put this video on as I complete the last quests and this bit 24:40 reminded me to check on the dondons, and one of them had pooped zonaite lol so they do indeed drop zonaite

[@Youraverageintrovert-hw3nw]

I have like, a mini theory, but I don’t have the time or resources to do anything about it. So basically my theory is that hyrule warriors(the calamity one) is links dream while he’s in his little coma. I only have two pieces of evidence, those being purah asking if link had any dreams and that something must have happened over all that time, and that when you want to exit a battle in hyrule warriors it says ‘exit scenario’ if anyone wants to do a deep dive into this theory, then that’s fine by me.

[@themain7438]

I do like the idea that the sheika tech we see in breath is a more advanced and weaponised version of the zonai ones. the blue power being the "*more powerful*" energy of zonite, n that's why the energy wells turn blue . :D

[@NintendoBlackCrisis]

Forgot about that energy well turning blue thing

[@Zestytrashcan82]

a Christmas miracle! Great ot hear from you NBC. Merry Christmas!

[@OtakuUnitedStudio]

There's something I thought about regarding Zonai and Sheikah technology. I am firmly of the belief that TOTK and BOTW both take place, in their entirety, within a time separated from the rest of the Zelda timeline by a significant gap from the rest of the series. By which I mean, even Rauru founding Hyrule is long after the rest of the timeline has occurred. He didn't found Hyrule for the first time ever, just the most recent incarnation of it. Given that the events of the Era of the Wilds are supposed to take place in all three timelines, this makes more sense since the Adult Timeline had the "original" Hyrule destroyed and washed away in the Great Sea before a new Hyrule was founded by Tetra and Link. Plus, Ghirahim mentions that the lands below Skyloft were called Hyrule long ago when Hylia ruled them, meaning there's another lost Hyrule from before that Link and Zelda founded their kingdom together. I believe that Rauru predates the Sheikah technology seen in Breath of the Wild, and that the Sheikah technology was based on Zonai technology, possibly from reverse engineering it much the same way Purah and Robbie do in Tears of the Kingdom. Since the Guardians and Ancient Furnaces were built 10,000 years ago in response to the first Great Calamity, and Rauru sealed Ganondorf under Hyrule Castle before then, that means the Sheikah technology must have come later. My guess would be 100 to 1000 years after Rauru's Imprisoning War ended. Since the Great Calamity was stopped by a Zonai hero, that must also mean at least a few Zonai returned from the Depths to the surface world. And much like how the Chozo are revealed to still be alive in Metroid Dread, I'm guessing the Zonai still exist somewhere - possibly the Light Realm or another parallel dimension.

[@kevinbaumhoer7359]

Could maybe the old events of all three timelines still Happend but its said the zonai ruled for 10k years ago and the events from befor happend 50k years ago . Another Great point is a Zelda and link therent there during Ganandorfs Rebellion maybe they therent born yet if we look at every time a Ganadorf was born Link and Zelda there ether Children or Young Adults and in The era of the 4 rauru These two there just not there to stop him . Another great think i like to point out ist what the Depths could Ancient Hyrule from pre Windwaker and the Tree Ganondorfs resides is the old Deku tree and.the Old Hyrule Castle is still buries Along with the Real mastee sword and the triforce

[@DUC939]

7:04 acasion, vegatatation, location bars❤️‍🔥

[@SuperHexer123]

So my take on the final theory. A thing fantasy settings will sometimes do is have a sort of racial deviation based on status. So there could be a chance that they ARE zonai, but they come from a more commoner class of zonai. Currently we have one seen 2 confirmed zonai being Mineru and Rauru who as we know hold a high status especially being the only real surviving ones. We have yet to actually see the race in its entirety so it could be that those two were able to survive due to having higher status whereas the possible commoner types were all wiped out. It could also be the case when looking into the Hero's aspect armor set, as it could line up with link's story. Link has been a commoner in his iterations who ends up protecting zelda due to fate, but he's never really been tied to royal families. In most cases he's either just a dude who gets thrusted into everything, or your basic foot solider who "happens" to get appointed to watch over zelda, which could have been the case with the Hero's aspect mystery warrior. It could just be that zonai who had a variant of smaller ears were deemed "lesser" as a sort of status symbol and would be more appointed to working in mines. Whereas the more royal class would be depicted in extravagant statues used in more special places. Obviously only a theory and there could be a hidden long extinct other race, but that's just my take on things.

[@vladdy974]

Maybe the zonai had 3 tribes, as the labrinths each have a god of dragons/owls/boars that communicate with link. Given that the overwhelming majority of zonai structures include dragon imagery, with a bit of owl imagery, and i believe no depictions of boars on their structures, could this mean that they outcasted the boar tribe from royalty status and had them work in the mines and participate in coliseum entertainment? Maybe this classism lead to civil confrontation which lead to all out war and wiping out of nearly all Zonai? Could make sense with boars representing the triforce of power. Also even in the Faron region zonai ruins, there only maybe one or two depictions of boar statues. Also with the ancient hero, the white skirt worn was only given to high status members of the kingdom, just like the champions fabric in botw. We are told this about the white fabric from the construct on the zonai temple of time, and the fact that the ancient sages wore this fabric too.

[@TrueKoalaKnight]

11:00 Zonite deposits appear on several sky islands as well, not just in the depths. Arguably they could have been moved up there from the Depths, but I don't think it's mentioned anywhere either way.

[@slopernafti902]

8:06 how did you interpret it like that? They're clearly referring to different things like the Jp seems to be.

[@Palemagpie]

Ive got a theory. That the Link we play in Totk isnt the same link we played in Botw. Its the third timelines link. We all assumed that before botw, somehow the three timelines collapsed and thats why the hyrule of botw had things like references, locations and history from all three timelines. But what if we were wrong. What if the three timelines still existed but had just sort of synced over thousands of years? Age of calamity is a timeline where they defeated the calamity 100 years ago. Botw is the timeline where they didnt. And Totk is basically the Botw timeline with one significant difference. It wasn't the divine beasts that stopped the calamity 10,000 years ago. It was the sages with Rauro themselves and Zelda. If Zelda never went back in time. It would make sense that the reliance on Sheika tech and the building of the divine beasts was more of a last ditch effort because Rauro failed. So they never built the divine beasts, sheika tech never took off to the same degree. The Sheika Slate was renamed to the Purah pad. Because in this timeline, the Shieka slate never existed. Purah invented it herself. When you think about it logically, its possible to complete botw without any Divine beasts, or sheika tech. Players can essentially do that. The only piece of the tech that is required for the storyline is the shrine of resurrection. A place we know for a fact, doesnt exist in totk. So for this theory to make sense. The only difference would need to be that Link who failed 100 years ago, somehow made it 100 years forward some other way. The only piece of ancient tech we find in totk, isnt all that ancient. Its the ancient arrow. Which we know wasnt something from the distant past. It was something robbie developed. Conceptually it makes sense to me. But if anyone has an issues with this theory. Lemme know.

[@Arxkhero]

To answer... the timelines didnt merge, so much as CRASH. Cia being the damned megalithic power she is, broke them when she was doing her shit... the crashing and merging was out of time trying to save itself. Since we know both warriors games are in fact canon.... and the shrine of resurrection, is only not there because the yiga stole it... we KNOW that. im fairly certain Purah mentioned breaking down the shrines and such for other things, and the towers canonicly retracted... and are likely in between surface and depths.

[@Chara_Dreemurr1]

The thing that brings me comfort while I'm in the depths is collecting poes. Dunno why. Just makes me feel happy and comfortable despite being in a place of danger.

[@kalebdewitt6779]

I remember getting introduce to the underground area by mistake because a star monument in the sky fell into one of the hole

[@lordnul1708]

I've seen the Depths outfit compared to the Garo from Majora's Mask, and now I can't unsee it.

[@espensele662]

18:36 Majora?? Probably not, but this video has just pumped up my excitement for the lore again. I love the idea of like a people down there, doing the bargainer's business... Until they are able to reach the surface? Maybe the Zonai's biggest 'lie' is that they are not from the heavens, but from the depths. Kinda rebranding themselves as a religious state. Unless this new civilisation that packed in the Dark Clumps were humans (hylians) and were born there, or made it down. I think an interesting qeustion is when did intelligent beings make it down. When were the long big connecting holes to the overworld made? What made them? Were people made there or were they born there? I think the bargainer statues are Hylia, but taking a different shape, for a different kind of (under)world. Maybe Hylia is more like the holy spirit of Christianity. Zonai might have made their way up through the heavens, harnessing Zonaite. from the rags to riches; bottom to top. Now they are perceived as aliens/Gods, but they are more like Dwarves? Rambling.

[@不動-l1u]

cool perspective

[@javiervasquez625]

Love the rambling yet i don't see why the Bargainer Statues would happen to just be Hylia given the blatant lack of evidence for such a conclusion ranging from the lack of the iconic "light from the sky" effect whenever Link talks to the statues not to mention the proven existence of _other_ deities aside from Hylia in the Zelda pantheon who could just as easily fulfill the role of the Bargainer Statues without her having to create "bunshins" in order to fulfill said purpose.

[@espensele662]

@@javiervasquez625 Thanks, and fair; I have no evidence, just a hypothesis to explore. There are many spirits indeed so no need to conflate them, but inversion of these statues with the statues above could imply a collaboration.

[@javiervasquez625]

@@espensele662 Agreed on the collaboration part but i don't see why it needs to be Hylia specifically when it could just as easily be a different deity entirely who may as well be Hylia's brother/sister like the many other deities in the Zelda pantheon such as the 4 Giants from Majora's Mask and Oshus the Ocean King from Phantom Hourglass. For all we know Hylia could be the guardian goddess of the _surface realm_ while whoever deity talks through the Bargainer Statues is the guardian god/goddess of the _underworld realm._ Rambling.

[@mazizathaaullah2258]

I found a thing for the fossilised roots, they mirror the tunnels on the surface. Probably a coding gimmick that just followed through but a cool thing to know

[@Thibaut_Guerquin]

Oh my... if this is true, it's insane ! The depth would really be a mirroring of the surface on a geological sense, even ignoring light roots, gloom, Zonais, Ganondorf etc... This world would definetely be a shadow version of the world of the surface

[@seelcudoom1]

looking at past games may give us the answer to what Ganondorf wanted with Zoenite, the activated Timeshift stones from Skyward sword share a similar blue coloration and also similarly power a race of robots with floaty limbs connected by energy(said robots coming from a society that worshipped dragons and lived on sky islands, sounds like they have some relation to the zonai), but one thing we see the timeshift stones be able to do is restore the remains of monsters to life, its possible ganondorf wanted it as a means to restore himself

[@yatanogarasu]

Maybe Abandoned Tarrey Mine was named as such when Link came across it, in which he named it on that moment, and it was unnamed prior. Or the Yiga that recently became active named it as such.

[@ZeldaLore]

Mineru states that the Construct we see in the depths before we fight Ganondorf is a "Magical Copy" of her construct, so perhaps the Zonaite being collected by the monsters is to help create that magical copy? "That's... That's a magical copy of my construct!" -Mineru

[@Luna-pm7ry]

I would like to think that the shrines in totk have light roots under them to purify the depths like you said. However, I feel like they’re specifically purifying the gloom roots. I have multiple reasons. in the cutscene where raru sealed ganon we saw that it created a spiral because, as you said, it is the purified energy that raru had purified. If Ganon extended his gloom through roots (which tree roots are notorious for being strong and fast growing) then rarus energy would travel through them too because they’re an extension of ganon. If this is the case then it’ll give an explanation as to why the shrines were built and why they are where they are. By building shrines near villages and important areas and stables, perhaps it’ll prevent the gloom roots from sprouting up from underneath and spread on the surface. We can see the green spiral at the top of the shrines like you said which means they have to be purifying SOMETHING. I feel like the reason they’re even able to purify the gloom roots under the surface is because of the orb of lights inside of each shrine that you get at the end. The orbs of light purify links arm and, since link takes each one at the end of the shrine, the spiral goes away because it is no longer purifying anything. It would also give context as to why light roots can create foliage around them when lit up - because the light emitted from them helps to restore the small area around them. That light might be stored in the bulb in case the shrines fail which might be why link has to use his arm from raru to activate them, because it has the power of light within it. Those are just some thoughts but I will revisit if I remember any other ideas to support this more 👍

[@drs8922]

i beat the game, did 98%, watched every easter egg, watched this. Still, this game is as much amazing as it is enchanting.

[@Defensive_Wounds]

11:00 - Zonaite is also on the first sky island.

[@user-if4nx2jn8r]

I don't know why everything has to be couched in "Some people didn't like the story of Tears of the Kingdom", especially when so many of the criticisms are stupid, but whatever. I think the gloom definitely predates Ganondorf. That might also be a hint at a timeline placement, as the Depths do look an awful lot like what a land that was covered in water and then restored by trees could look like, but it also might not be. It could also be connected to the fact that the demons led by Demise are said to have come out of the ground. I don't think ambiguity is the same as lack of care. Also, +1 on the idea that not every map location was necessarily named in the past. After all, the Zonai weren't calling those mines "abandoned" when they were using them. The Sheikah Slate and Purah Pad do seem to be an evolution of Gossip Stones so they probably do gather information in various ways to create the maps and other information they provide, but that doesn't mean the knowledge they can retrieve is perfect. If those mines did once have names, they may be lost to time.

[@JetstreamTheSexSam]

The story was bad

[@alt_.maezzmachine]

Nice video again! Merry Christmas NBC!! Have alot of fun!!!!

[@RyuuKageDesu]

Have you noticed the similarities between the Depths Outfit, and the Poe Collector in Ocarina of Time?

[@TrueKoalaKnight]

Hero's aspect still has the same problem compared to the central mine statues as it does with the Zonai; the tail isn't present in the statues either. I think we might get a better sense of what the race these statues represent actually looked like if we compare and contrast the other four types of statues with their existing races to get a better sense of the stylization that is being applied.

[@utsuroid]

I highly believe that the dephts are the old hyrule, the one that we explored and played on the past games, At some point of that distant past, hyrule was destroyed and buried underground, and the remaining races including hylians, lived there waiting for they final hours, until the zonai descended "from the skies"; that's why there used to be goron civilization underground, and the gerudo have a mausoleum in the depths. The zonai past happening after every single game except for obviously botw and totk, gives sense to Gerudo havin long ears, zora coexisting with rito at the same time of the founding of hyrule and also the gerudo being closer to the hyrule kingdom, because the kingdom needs the four races to command the divine beasts and most important, to wake up the sages in the future, as the ancient sages promised to Zelda. It wouldnt make sense to the royal family, who knowns about the necesity of the races to have their champions, to let gerudo live in misery, to rito to "fly away" of hyrule and zoras becoming baddies, like we see in so many old games. That's why the races are always loyal to the hyrule royal family, and the zonai paist happens after everything, and going back to the depths, the remaining of a lost hyrule in time, a place the zonai also minned, encountering the clothes of the ancient heroes

[@rockomundo]

Man, if they ever make a third game in this series it would be super cool to see some sort of "evil" shrine system to differentiate from the Ancient Shrines /Shrines of Light / Lightroots

[@quintonhoffert6526]

While I don't know that I completely believe it, it's possible that the drained, petrified roots are the roots of the Great Deku Tree. We know that Phantom Ganon is directly draining the life from the Great Deku Tree and when we get to it, the Tree is nearly dead and only recovers when we destroy the source of the Gloom. These roots are everywhere throughout the Depths, rather than just below the Great Hyrule Forest, but the Great Deku Tree is also massive and ancient and trees roots tend to spread significantly far away from the observable source above-ground. Thus, it's possible that the Great Deku Tree's roots spread all throughout Hyrule, and Phantom Ganon's Gloom has sucked the life out of them and led them to become petrified.

[@javiervasquez625]

That... is actually quite plausible considering Ocarina of Time's Deku Tree stating himself to be the "source of _all Life"_ in Hyrule implying him to be a source for all the plant life which grows across the kingdom. With Ocarina of Time still been very much canon to the Era of the Wild i'm fully on board with believing the tree has a magical connection to the rest of the realm as seen in previous games.

[@kaiseayaandruis1597]

and with previous games we know that there were multiple Great Deku Trees, so the roots spanning all across the land might also be remnants of multiple past trees

[@Chrisbun1]

I hope there'll be a third entry in this series of games tbh. Its fun

[@zachrion]

For the last one, best i can say is they had a class system of Zonai and the ones that were sent to the depths had different features to the sky island zonais

[@lukedavies3654]

Yesss! Can’t wait to watch this later. Happy Holidays William

[@ZeldaLore]

20:05 That's a mistranslation. The Japanese text says that the Lanayru Region became a town "More than 10,000 years ago": 水を求めたゾーラ族が この地に集い 暮らし The Zora people, in search of water, gathered here to live. それが街になったのは1万年以上前と伝えられる It is reported that it became a town more than 10,000 years ago.

[@StiffAftermath]

The Depths is an upside-down reflection of the entire land of Hyrule. Every Hyrulian mountain is a chasm. Every sun-touched body of water is a shadowy, towering mound. Mind blown.

[@Anele8888]

I don’t think that the fact that the talisman shows similar symbols to the fabric of the armor means that they’re made of dark clumps. It means that some tribe/entity/civilization defeated the gloom with these symbols. Since the statues show the same symbols these gods might have been a protective presence for them.

[@a.jthomas6132]

Merry Christmas to you all!🎁🎄❄️⛄️

[@kerstin1719]

Intersting theories, especially that one about the gloom roots leading straight to Ganon, that makes a lot of sense. He's gotta take power from somewhere to restore himself. I do disagree with you about Rauru and Mineru not having similar designs, though. I think his earrings just make his ears droop. They have very similar features.

[@CQCOfficial]

25:46 could the dondons possibly have relation to how we find floating luminous stone deposits in the sky?

[@pkscarr]

when it comes to the gloom roots, I always assumed when we first encounter them, gloom is flowing out as Ganon is spreading his influence across both the depths and the surface. When we see them appearing to be pulling gloom back in at the end, it's Ganon knowing Link is on the way and preparing, gathering that power back into himself to become the Demon King during the fight.

[@rayzu4380]

The depths seem to be some kind of "hell" or "Limbo", because of how they are a complete opposite of Hyrule, and because of things like how the heart pond in the surface has 2 souls (probably, 2 lovers that died) in the depths. Knowing this, they probably just change when something changes in the surface. When a mountain starts forming, a great "descent" or "valley" happens in the depths. A new lake appears in the surface, so a big stone pillar appears in the depths. So, when a new town is formed, like Tarry Town, a new mine appears. This would mean that the Zonai explored a completely different depths in the past, compared to the ones we explore in-game, and could explain why are they named like that.

[@BioAlpha5]

Yeah and the best part? The game is steeped in Shintoism, from The Depths to Ganondorf and the 2 mirroring Ni no kuni and the story of Susanoo no MIkoto going to the underworld which is described to be "subterranean" and that evil tree? Jubokku a kind of yokai.

[@javiervasquez625]

Add the Poes roaming around aimlessly and Link himself acting as a sort of "Grim Reaper"/Anubis figure and it becomes a straightforward allegory to an Underworld realm.

[@angzarrpsyco]

Imagine a Prequel game where you play as "Ancient Hero Link"

[@vladdy974]

Could be like a teaser comsidering shrine completion usually takes place late in the game, also the fact that the majority of botw and totk story is from the past could make actually being in the ancient times a great concept for a game

[@kevinbaumhoer7359]

So all games wants came befor Tears.of a Kingdom . Ancient Hero link could be just one of the Older incarnations of Link

[@Mooseofmooseington]

I think that the shrines got the light power from the lightroots, and that is why they were built on top of the lightroots.

[@pwnage402]

20:43 you're misunderstanding the game and what raru is saying. he is talking about the beginning of the time loop, as it must have started at some point; it didnt just happen spontaneously. we are playing the first loop.

[@Maroz4106]

what if the stone roots are from the old deku tree? not the current one but the OLD one giving life to above and below before.

[@GetGotGETGOT]

My Theron is that the 5th statue is a race specifically for the depths which explains why we dont see the ancient hero’s race anywhere. Though we dont know when the depths were closed off. I do think more of them existed on the surface but eventually died out. Their remains look a lot like the barbarian armor found in botw

[@Garrus86]

I love this. Merry Christmas!

[@ReelBigC]

Everyone seems to forget that theres a separate ancient race from the Zonai. Lomei still havent been elaborated on for some reason. Regarding the mystery statue, I wonder if it depicts a Lomei hero. I also wonder if Lomei tribe is a separate race entirely or if they're kind of a bridge between Ancient Hylians and the Zonai. The Ancient Hero in my opinion fits the profile of whatever species the mystery statue depicts, theres also the distinct red hair and blue skin/fur he had vs. zonai which seem to have predominantly white hair and grey skin/fur. To me this insinuates the Anient Hero was of a similar but separate race we havent seen yet (i.e Lomei, not Zonai). Also the description of the Ancient Hero makes me think he originated from a warrior race more so than a techno-magical race like the Zonai who you mentioned have many things in common with the Sheikah. In closing, keeping with the rule of 3 that exists in Zelda games: Zonai= Wisdom (an ancient race with highly advanced technology) Lomei= Courage ("From high above, to far below... Prove your courage by diving into the depths of the earth... -Labrynth Island Prophecy) Hylians= Power (Admittedly I can see people wanting to switch power over to Lomei, but based on the fall of Hyrule due to the King both coveting/fearing power I wonder if this imbalance is what sort of facilitates and catalyzes the destruction of the kingdom. We know the triforce pieces can be corrupted and brings misfortune when used irresponsibly. anyway thata my theory lol

[@omegafalconoriginal]

The Dondons look like mega evolved Donphan Pokemon just like the keaton mask looks like pikachu. Makes me wonder how one of the pokemon regions might have been ancient hyrule?