Examining Draconification - A Story Lost In Time

[@GossipGeist]

- IMPORTANT UPDATE - After receiving a lot of comments saying that the Goddess Statues in each Spring refers to these dragons as female, this is only true for the English translation of the game. I just got done playing through the game again, traveling to each Spring and progressing the Mother Goddess questline on my second switch account in the Japanese version of the game. The Japanese version never uses gendered pronouns when referring to any of the Dragons. I translated all of the text within their questline myself and they are only ever called, "Golden Spirit" "Red Spirit" and "Blue Spirit". Other times, they are called, "A [Insert Color Here] Spirit in the form of a long Dragon." The English localization of Tears of the Kingdom has taken creative liberties at the expense of Lore seekers once again. This isn't the first time they've outright changed something in the Zelda series that conflicts with the original version's intentions. I appreciate your comments, I truly do, don't let this discourage you from discussing the video, I just wanted to clear up some potential misinformation is all. Also, as an additional note, people have said that the comparison between Rauru and Mineru isn't a large enough pool to draw from to come to any conclusions on the differences between male and female Zonai, which is a fair argument. One important point of comparison that I forgot to mention is the gruff of hair on the sides and underside of Rauru's chin, or his "goatee" if you really want to go there. All three dragons have this gruff under their chin while Mineru has zero facial gruff. A recent (as of writing this edit on May 21st, 2024) discovery has been made about the Dragons that either further backs up this theory or takes it in another direction. A glowing outline of a Triangle, much like a piece of the Triforce, has been found on each of the Dragon's backs!

[@ScalerP]

I’m pretty sure Naydra is a female and the others (elements) are males. Same, but I don’t have the Japanese translation. Thanks for confirming…

[@c0baltl1ghtn1ng]

I mean They dragons clearly based off of the 3 *GODESSES* of the whole series, even their names.

[@TankWish-gx6xy]

They are the goddesses

[@KagomeYasha023]

What are they called in the Japanese compendium name wise? Is it the goddess like names like in English version?

[@veradistheeggcat229]

​@@TankWish-gx6xyNice theory. Evidence?

[@ZeroJump]

I dont think the master sword has anything to do with the Light Dragon helping us. The Dragons seem to cary out the wish of the person they used to be. Zeldas last Wish was to help Link meanwhile Ganondorfs last wish was to destroy the world. He doesnt just randomly fly no he tries to kill us like Ganondorf wanted.

[@wutmagna7222]

This could be further expanded to assume that the Servants of the Springs wished to serve and/or protect the sacred springs, explaining why their flight paths in both games tend to stick relatively close to them.

[@AAAAThatsThreeAs]

Also, she's elementally embodies light. Even if that dragon is instinctual, a Light dragon deity is gonna recognise that Evil dragon deity from half the world away

[@ZeroJump]

@@AAAAThatsThreeAs Light Dragon is never mentioned in the Japanese Version as far as I know all of the other dubs call her "White Dragon" and Ganondorf "Black Dragon"

[@Clever_Potato]

@@ZeroJump I can imagine why they changed that for the west

[@ZeroJump]

@@Clever_Potato Yeah....ik what you mean... Well it also White and Black Dragon in the German, Spanish, Italian, French Versions ftom what I know wich are all western languages

[@RSanchez111]

In BotW, Calamity Ganon tried to corrupt Naydra. I think he knew their role in protecting the springs and tried to take them out to secure his dominance. Maybe they were originally sages who gave power to the Master Sword, like the sages in Wind Waker, and they became dragons to ensure the Master Sword would never lose its power. They may have been ancient Zonai who might even have had contact with the goddess Hylia. In fact, in Skyward Sword the Master Sword needed power from the three elemental dragon spirits to become the Master Sword. Maybe the Zonai sages took over the role of the original ancient dragons to help the Zonai hero who needed to restore the Master Sword to banish Calamaty Ganon 10,100 years before BotW.

[@manuelgarciajr5308]

In SS, the Master Sword got its power from being tempered by the Goddesses via their Flames and blessed by Hylia. I think you confused it with the comic where the Dragons sing their song to power it up.

[@aspiringcaptain]

Maybe some Zonai were directed to those spirit stones and were asked by Hylia to eat them and turn into dragons to protect their power and the springs from Demise’s curse?

[@theorangeanglerfish]

i don’t think ganon corrupted naydra on purpose. it says in the game that naydra’s corruption was a side effect of ganon’s malice i think

[@3EyeStudios]

Personally, a more compelling idea I've seen regarding why the Light Dragon helps Link and why the Demon Dragon is still set on destruction and outright hostile, even if the process of draconification robs someone of their memory and self, is that the reason for why they underwent the ritual is somehow imprinted and preserved in the dragon's consciousness. Ganondorf was intent on destroying Link, Hyrule, and the world, so the Demon Dragon is hostile; Zelda wanted to help Link and protect Hyrule, so the Light Dragon comes to his aid and circumnavigates Hyrule

[@Velarieth]

I think there's more to it than just imprinting. Zelda straight up shows up at a couple places in the game. At the beginning when she gives Link recall. And her conscious mind seems to still exist when she's shown in the scene after Link pulls the Master Sword. I don't think she is conscious. But I think Mineru is wrong that draconification is destruction of the mind. Something else is happening.

[@LSSTyranus]

@@Velarieth yeah, I think it's less that the mind and self is destroyed, and more that it's just put into a very, very heavy sleep mode that can't be gotten out of without outside assistance.

[@MelissaBrownell-pz3fe]

Zelda did keep the calamity trapped in the castle for 100 years, and is represented by the triforce of wisdom. Wisdom is will power. So she kept Ganon trapped by light and sheer force of will. Her appearances and actions could be possible by her force of will as well.

[@thefiresworddragon927]

It explains why both of them state intentions we already knew before their transformation, if you think about it

[@zeppie_]

@@VelariethIn the ending cutscene, Zelda described her draconificaion as feeling like a long slumber. Her stone-giving cutscene also shows her spirit as unresponsive with her eyes closed. I believe that while the person themselves and their identity are gone, their spirit lives on with all of the hopes and ambitions they carry

[@42ndLife]

There is second reason why Zelda my have retained some of her memories. Once Zelda descends past the cloud barrier she encircles Hyrule, flying a path that takes her past all of the geoglyphs containing her memories. Perhaps this was the true purpose of the geoglyphs, to help Zelda's dragon form to remember who she once was and what her mission was.

[@photonbee1932]

this is backed up by the fact that zelda still has one of her memories as a dragon- the time when she performed dragonification, which she loses after link finds all the of other memories, possibly returning them to zelda.

[@troybeck5226]

Impa explains that the geoglyphs were created by people who were sensitive to the tears and could see the memories

[@penguin_master_]

I hope we get DLC for tears of the kingdom that explains the draconification of the servants of the springs. That would be the best DLC we could possibly get.

[@bobosaurus331]

Except the house upgrade dlc

[@brickmasterjay9052]

Lol same but do you think Nintendo will do that??

[@TIME-DEV]

nah imo that would be 2 new dungeons, new sky islands comparable to thunderhead isles but for EVERY region, a new ability or the botw runes brought back, or a post game

[@Velarieth]

@@TIME-DEV Man I hope it is a post game.

[@Abyrae]

I hope Kass returns if there's a DLC. 😢

[@viperleviathan9021]

I'm so happy the Dragons got more lore in this game, they were one of my favorite aspects of botw. My first memorable moment playing video games as a whole was when I first left the great plateau and crossed the bridge of Hylia on a newly caught horse when I heard sudden music. I turned the camera around only to see an absolutely MASSIVE dragon peacefully flying alongside me as we "raced" across the bridge. It truly took my breath away, and Farosh was always my favorite of the Dragons since then.

[@Simply_resharkable]

Farosh does have the coolest horn imo

[@crunchyfresco]

While playing aimlessly through botw I got scared and thought the divine dragons were going to kill me like everything in the game. I didn't know what to do until I had to research what was the purpose of the dragons.

[@dialgafan1063]

A dragon is still a beast even if it is mindless. It has instincts and the light dragon’s instincts were to help Link. That was her wish before she turned into a dragon.

[@39peevedturtles19]

The idea that Rauru didn't pay attention in history class is very funny to me. Meanwhile Ganondorf was probably digging through all of Rauru's old unread textbooks.

[@Ga-inBot]

The only way Ganondorf would know about draconification was already explained in game and I hadn't thought about it til now! So, if you translate all the old hyrulean texts, there is one that talks about "ghost stories". We know that Ganondorf created the puppet Zelda and he not only used it once in that one memory bc the translated text mentions the ghost that appeared by night was seen various times walking by but had no shine in her eyes, almost dead-like. He could've used the puppet not only to infiltrate but also to gain more info in libraries too.

[@lasercraft32]

The real question is... who was the first one to discover how to become a dragon? In other words... who was the first one to think "hey eating this stone might be interesting" and went through with it?

[@GossipGeist]

They probably tested it on some gorons since they eat gems and disposed of the evidence in the depths which is why we see three Dragon skeletons down there.

[@lasercraft32]

@@GossipGeist *O h*

[@GossipGeist]

@@lasercraft32 lol

[@chandlerreviews8804]

I will say for the zelda thing, i always believed that it was because she loved/cared for link so much even in her draconification she remebered him just like how ganondorf should have lost all his memories but was a dragon set on destruction

[@chandlerreviews8804]

@Luxembourgish i mean he clearly also was trying to murder link ya know?

[@scifisyko]

Maybe it has something to do with their motivation for undergoing draconification? Zelda did it in order to help Link defeat the Demon King, and Ganondorf did it in order to destroy Link - those are the only things those two did as dragons.

[@RuneofÓðinn]

wrong video sorry

[@chandlerreviews8804]

@user-sz3rs6hr1h well I don't think the personality stays I think it's simply just giving you what you want most at the cost of everything else and zelda clearly wanted to save link most of all wether she went into the form thinking it or not is the only debate, while Gannondorfs only goal is world domination so he tried to kill link in his dragon form because link is the only threat to him

[@12parakeetsinahumansuit]

I was thinking something along the lines of this as well. The mind forgets, but the heart remembers

[@Sarah_H]

And the Compendium entry for the Light Dragon describes it as "a spirit" in dragon form. We *know* it's not just "a spirit" and is in fact Zelda, but Farosh, Naydra, and Dinraal are *also* described as "spirits" that have taken the form of dragons. With the Zonai also being described as "godlike", my theory has been that the Hylians who saw the Zonai descend to Hyrule from the skies thought that these *were* the gods returning to Hyrule and worshipped them as such, and that Farosh, Naydra, and Dinraal are names that were *given to* the attendants of the springs who then underwent draconification, not those Zonai's actual names

[@cringe4173]

I always assumed they were just very loyal servants to din, nayru and farore respectively. In order to continue serving them of all time they became a dragon.

[@Enderia2]

what… what if they ARE din, nayru and farore?!

[@danielthecake8617]

yeah, it's pretty likely.

[@fizzlepop5318]

Before TOTK, I thought they WERE the sprits, just in dragon form. I was really hoping in TOTK we'd meet Hylia again.

[@epikitee2186]

@@Enderia2 i thought so in botw, and i'd still accept it if that was true, but now we have two more dragons, and with them, the beginnings of a proper naming convention. dragons seem to be named after their goals in draconification and the natures they have after the fact, not the names of their former selves. with that in mind, it seems much more likely to me that they became dragons to serve and help the deities, and maybe that their name is a portmanteau of the deity they serve and a word in an ancient language. maybe something tied to their respective element, or to the aspect of the triforce their spring is connected to. hard to say for sure at the moment, though.

[@Zac_Frost]

It'd make sense. Even after becoming a Dragon and "losing" themselves, Ganondorf and Zelda seemed to remember their purpose on an instinctive level. Zelda still knew who Link was, and remembered to help him, despite being effectively mindless. I think they may have been very powerful mages that specialized in Fire, Ice, and Lightning respectively, that dutifully looked after the 3 Sacred Springs, becoming Dragons to keep doing it.

[@GGBlaster]

I just now thought: the scale of the Demon Dragon’s death is likely evidence of the sheer power of the secret stones. Most notably because the explosion that destroyed the Demon Dragon wasn’t 100% made of gloom/malice. In fact, it kinda looked like a divine punishment, it was so massive. Edit: said “I’m fact”, meant “In fact”

[@fizzlepop5318]

lol, glad i'm not alone in recognizing the impact of destroying one of the Secret Stones. As far as I know, that was not discussed in game. Was a pretty big gamble honestly. For all they knew, it could have destroyed all of Hyrul.

[@dirtywhitellama]

Yeah, watching that I said out loud "well that doesn't look safe".😂

[@DemonicAdj]

Somebody pointed out (not in-game) that the stone got bigger before Ganondorf wore it, and that he enlarged it with dark power. I figured that he multiplied his multiplier, and that's partly why he had so many weaknesses in dragon form. He was unstable. Then went "boom" when you busted him up.

[@filpxv]

@@DemonicAdj all the stones changed sizes to fit their sage`s frame. In the memory where the old sages get their stones initially the stone are all the same size and quite big, but shrink as they go to their new holders. Ganondorf is a really big guy and his stone was Sonia's, who was shorter than him. I just think it grew to match his frame. I actually don't think he did anything to it and it just amplified Demise's power, the same way as we see that Zelda's aura is clearly larger than Sonia's when they both aid Rauru in stopping the Moldugas. Her stone is amplifying Hylia's power within her.

[@DemonicAdj]

@filpxv that works better. Hard to explain why he's got weak points in dragon form. Unless that's a reflection of his injuries from the fight.

[@bennusmagnus5277]

It really does seem like the elemental attack armors belonged to whoever the dragons used to be.

[@samthepancake69]

i'd love to see fanart of them!!! i was wondering how their horns manifested in the shapes that they did. but that said i do have to wonder how nintendo explains ALL of the armor in the game being able to fit link...

[@MelissaBrownell-pz3fe]

Farosh=lightning, so 1 horn like lightning rod. Naudra=ice, horns that look like ice shards Dinraal=fire, so curling horns to appear as dancing flames.

[@Samuel-iw8kj]

I believe the reason why Zelda and Ganondorf were able to keep sum semblance of self was that moments before they became a dragon they had very strong emotions/desires that impacted their dragons personality like helping link and destroying the world

[@AshePBlack]

Demise and hylia, so these 2 partially break dragon rules, I wonder if they keep spirits and draconification is just body and some memory because of what they are

[@Simply_resharkable]

The dragons are called spirits, so I believe the dragons are a sort of basic incarnation of a person's soul, taking a massive form due to the Secret Stone That said, Zelda's spirit, due to being descended from Hylia, has a nature of fighting evil, and Ganondorf's spirit has a nature of destruction, leading to the Light Dragon helping, maybe recognising Link from the Master Sword, and Demon Dragon just trying to destroy the closest thing

[@Tom-xs3ks]

I love your style, rooting for your channel to blow up

[@GossipGeist]

Thank you! You and me both, lol.

[@bouncybubble]

Here’s some explosives to help you blow up

[@GossipGeist]

@@bouncybubble ☠️

[@lasercraft32]

I love your profile pic lol XD

[@mayxdrew4lifefosho]

One minor correction: The goddess statues at the springs do directly use "she" pronouns when referring to their respective dragons, so they're all 100% confirmed female aside from the Demon Dragon. Everything else is sound though

[@astrasata]

thats what i was about say lol, glad i checked the comments first

[@brickmasterjay9052]

Yup you right but the only armor that can pass for male is the thunder one if you chack the armors again two of them have painted nails.. I wise we get more info as bout them let's hope Nintendo's give us more info..lol..

[@Shinntoku]

​@@brickmasterjay9052 uhh. men can have painted nails y'know.

[@Mahalo-loa]

@@brickmasterjay9052 Well, nail polish has only been gendered for the past, say, 60 years in occident. Before that and everywere else in the world, males and mens in general could have it. It was popular among chinese nobility for millenia. Also in mesopotamia and Egypt. To me these armors appear very genderless, nails and all. So it would probably depend more on the studio artistic intents than on any of our preconceived ideas about gender.

[@SnugNap]

They only use she her pronouns in English but not in Japanese

[@CBreezie]

Ganondorf may of known about Draconification because the stone themselves may possess the ability to "impart knowledge" on their users. Ganondorf makes mention in the castle that "there must be a limit to the knowledge the stones can give to the sages" because they don't know who he or The Demon King are, even though they too have stones and are using them. So it may be that these stones actually contain knowledge of the Zonai themselves and Ganondorf was able to access that history and knowledge after using the stone.

[@reapdemption]

Great video...I don't think they fully lose themselves to me it felt like the dragons were still patrolling their areas as if it was their final order

[@HenningGu]

6:10 I now very much want Zelda and Fi talking over millenia and commenting on the happenings below as canon.

[@HappyGingerWolf]

I don't think either zelda or ganondorf maintained their minds in any way in dragon form Rather I think the dragons' actions are a manifestation of the nature of their power. Ganondorf is the demon king, with powers of evil and destruction, so his dragon acts destructively. Zelda has "a sacred power to dispel evil" so it is in her dragon's nature to fight evil, including the demon dragon, and the light dragon is smart enough to know helping link was the best way to achieve that

[@DistoryDan]

Your editing is delicious chaos. Thank you. I love all the green screen stuff.

[@johnathancactus]

On the note of the dragon's face shapes, I would like to point out the Demon Dragon! This wonderful guy has a face shape more remiscent of the other dragons, but not really that much. I opened his model up in Blender, and after removing his hair it became a lot easier to understand his facial structure. Ultimately, it seems to be shaped more like say... an elgonated t-rex, to get the image across. Beyond that, he also has a unqiuely pig-like nose, massive head of hair, unique horns, and is lacking ears of any kind, which iirc are said to improve one's connection to the gods (?), I thought he was pretty interesting. I'm more or less writing down my thoughts on the Demon Dragon before watching the video, but I thought I might share anyways :)

[@TheCreator1875]

The dragons are so interesting to me. They have been since I first saw them in breath of the wild, but now, even more so

[@samthepancake69]

yeah, right from the second i learned about the origin of the light dragon, i looked at the other dragons' ears and knew they were zonai

[@Churros_are_Overrated]

My guess for the reason the dragons act like they do in game, including the fight, is that they run like a simple program with one job. The three original dragons all guard areas around their respective springs, except for Farosh, who went westward in totk but I’m assuming they did that to spice up the area and it isn’t to far fetched to assume he does circle back to the spring. What if all these dragons were doing the same job when they were Zonai and for whatever reason they needed secret stones to more effectively guard the spring? If they were pushed to guard the springs as best they can eating the stones would give them more than enough power to protect the spring. So they ate the stones and the last thoughts they had as zonai included a mission to guard the spring. Zeldas dragon’s only objective was to guard and give power to the master sword. I doubt saying that the demon dragon would destroy the master sword is a reach of any kind, so maybe the light dragon decided that the demon dragon was a threat to the sword’s strength and decided to take it out with the hylian who owned it. If that doesn’t work for an explanation you could say that Zelda had destroying ganon on her mind during transformation, because her nerves would be telling her not to do it and she would have to think of a good reason to transform and that is simplified as destry ganon, which could be passed onto dragon form. The demon dragon’s explanation is the simplest with the theory that ganons final missions were passed to the dragon. He wanted to kill link first and then take hyrule (ganondorf also says he is gonna killlink before taking hyrule in the dialog) so when he was draconified the dragon immediately tried to kill Link and the light dragon protected him. This act would save link from death and the demon dragon, whose only objective here is to kill link, would attack the light dragon as well with its reasoning being, “if this one protects link I should kill it and then i can more effectively kill link” Sorry for my awful English Also I liked the idea of the dragons being the three goddesses that took the form of a dragon to spectate the world they created, but this game doesn’t squish all my hope as zonai are often depicted as gods in ancient hyrule.

[@TheTrueBrawler]

They seemed to take creative liberties with dragon pathing in BotW too. Dinraal's flight path has him first appear in the Eldin region, towards the Forgotten Temple, and through the Tanagar Canyon (which is on the complete opposite side of the map from the Spring of Power).

[@agent3689]

Demon Dragon was single-mindedly focused on killing Link. He only makes one attempt to attack the Light Dragon, before focusing all of his Gloom blasts at Link. Ganondorf was pissed enough about being defeated that even with his mind gone, the Demon Dragon's one mission is to kill Link.

[@TerranigmaQuintet]

@@agent3689 I do wonder what woudl have happened to Hyrule if he di dmanage to kill Link as Demon Dragon. Would he just end up wandering around doing nothing, and by extension end the curse, because with him being around no new Ganon incarnation could arise with him around, or he just goes into full attack mode and ruins Hyrule lands.

[@DeltaDonsan]

The three goddesses also could have pulled a Hylia and reincarnated as the people of the sky but in this case Zonai which eat the stones on their lifetime

[@pyroXblade]

I would love a scene depicting ganadorf in a library of the zonai reading and raruu coming in to make small talk with veiled threats.

[@strxwberrypuff]

I love how you managed to spell Rauru and ganondorf both wrong😭😭

[@dustinbragg1921]

Even if a dragon loses their memories and previous sense of self they don't lose their intrinsic nature. Zelda minus everything that makes her who she is doesn't change what she is, and what she is is the latest in a long line of reincarnations of the fallen goddess Hylia. Her intrinsic nature is to be the protector of Hyrule, benefactor and ally of her Hero, and indisputable enemy of Demise and his reincarnating grudge.

[@Thescrambledmann]

OK yeah this is a cool video and all but can we just talk about how absolutely amazing that editing is??? especially the intro, it’s pure gold!

[@Thescrambledmann]

Awww thanks for the ❤️!

[@sergiobricenos]

"My body, my mind, everything. I'll sacrifice it all to destroy you and cast this world into eternal night." Those are the last words of Ganondorf before undergoing draconification. Now, I do not remember Zelda's last words, but I do remember her intention of holding onto the master sword for a couple dozen thousand years in order to aid Link in defeating Ganondorf. Even Mineru says that draconification is a means to attain even a greater increase in power than the secret stones normally are able to grant and then Rauru adds that they are a means to obtain immortality (kinda jokes about it, but still). The stones are a means to an end, just like the Triforce was in the other 3 and the original timeline. A means to get power in order to get your wish fulfilled, and not just a shortcut to said wish like the triforce was. I say this all, because I agree with just about everything in your video, except with the reason Zelda comes to Link's aid. Because of all stated, but also because the Demon Dragon was clearly antagonistic for being a semi divine being without a purpose. And Ganondorf didn't have a spirit sword with him. I think that's what Dragons in TotK are essentially, purpose. They forfeit their humanity and sense of self in order to pass their final wish into a new near omnipotent and immortal being, an intention that ends up molding that being's personality and becoming its main purpose for all eternity. I also think this is clear for anyone that has watched a fair amount of anime or played a lot of JRPGs. So no, I don't think it had anything to do with Fi. Zelda just needed to fulfill the second part of her mission, the first being complete by powering up the master sword. Maybe Fi, being sentient and connected to Link (and known for speaking to Zelda), just guided her to the final battle, but that would be it. Here is another theory for you. The Demon Dragon has weak points because it is not a real zonai born dragon. Zelda is a zonai descendant, so while she looks different to the 3 ancient dragons, she is still immortal in her dragon form like them. Ganondorf wasn't. And about the ancient 3 dragons, the theory I have (and I have no way of backing it up, I just think it's cool) is that the zonai used to worship the 3 creation goddesses at the same time before, but got split into tribes at one time. Then there was a war among the zonai and while very few escaped back into the sky, the vast majority annihilated each other in the ground, thus their mass extinction. The 3 dragons are the main leaders of their respective tribes that wanted to preserve their faith and customs above anything and everything else. Rauru and Mineru are the descendants (or probably even among the original group that fled) of the few surviving zonai. Being a superior, almost godlike race made the survivors want to only mate among themselves and this mindset weakened their blood (due to their few numbers and blood relation). They then scattered and died. There might be more zonai out there 20,000 years ago, but Rauru isn't sure, what he knows is that if he wants to see his kingdom born again, he must mate with the surface's current dominant tribe. He then spots a dark skinned elf milf and instantly knows what must be done. Also, who else wanted Mineru to appoint Purah as the next sage of spirit?

[@bubbleslovebird4974]

If you played the game and watched all the tear cutscenes you can tell her heart hasn't forgotten.💖 The heart never forgets the important things in your life.

[@sledgen.]

I was hoping someone would make a video like this, can't wait to see where you take this channel

[@bananadaily2317]

fact is these dragons can only be seen if one has a pure of heart so they are invisible to the bad guys

[@michaelgibson3479]

I think the three dragons are just spirits that represent the power of the goddeses, not the goddess themselves. Them being zonai could hint at the implications not only did they serve the goddesses but these three were directly in relation as in BOTW they return to the sky via portals. The mural with the ancient hero being a zonai and then woman could be hylia herself with her hero zones facing down demise. Skyward sword if I'm not mistaken talks about Julia having a champion and not just her fighting demise herself, I don't think that is just the comic.

[@AidenHuston]

I have never payed more attention to a video than this one! Great video with some very interesting theories.

[@Delt0IA]

I like the theory that stones were fragments of the triforce. There are 6 stones (since the one Zelda has is Rauru's) so if there are 3 more for each dragon that would make it 9. 3 fragments per triangle of the triforce.

[@lins_z2]

Zelda has Sonia’s stone, the stone of time, and she learned how to use it with her. What she shares with Rauru is the power of light that she has in her blood, probably by being a descendant of him and Sonia.

[@Delt0IA]

The stone changes symbols and powers based on the user. When Link and Zelda wake Ganondorf at the beginning the stone that Rauru has falls and Zelda is the new owner. Then Zelda goes to the past so the same stone coexist both in Rauru's arm and in Zelda's necklace.

[@lasercraft32]

3 fragments per triforce... 3 corners per triangle! -Illuminati confirmed.-

[@mitchellkinney9317]

10 stones 5 with the sage's 4 in the dragon's 1 with ganondorf

[@Delt0IA]

@@mitchellkinney9317 True, I was forgetting Mineru. Even though is not a exact number I still like this theory.

[@lilharm]

bonus fact: the Zora Armor claims to be made from dragon scales and considering it was made before Gleeloks were discovered, we can rule out the possibility it meant them

[@kartoffelhexe]

When the draconification thing was first mentioned by Mineru, my first thoughts were "WAIT. Does that mean Din, Nayru and Farore swallowed secret stones? But why? What happened for them to take such drastic measures?"

[@NiTeNull]

I really enjoy the fact that you base your theories and observations on available evidence or reasonable assumptions based on it, and not make up wacky theories that have no ground or way to demonstrate them, as I've seen with other content creators. Funny enough, many of these observations about the Spring Servants were also conclusions I came up with during my spare time and while exploring the depths. Keep it up!. This is the type of Zelda videos I've been wanting to watch all along!

[@GossipGeist]

It's difficult for me to justify presenting evidence that's based on things that can't be seen such as emotionally driven interactions. Some suggest that Zelda's love for her knight is what caused her to assist him in her Dragon form but how am I supposed to prove this? If it can't be realistically proven, then I put the evidence on the shelf and leave it out of the video. This lack of presenting transparent evidence has riled people up multiple times now in my videos but I still think keeping it all solid evidence only is the best way to go about it. Thank you for your comment!

[@NiTeNull]

@@GossipGeist ppl tend to forget that when a relationship between characters is implied, it doesn’t necessarily becomes a fact immediately. Yes, I can also believe that there might be feelings between each other (which I do), but that alone is not solid enough to use it as an explanation for why certain events inside the game happen. That specific situation technically still remains a mystery and we can only speculate. I appreciate how thorough you are on your thinking! 👍🏻

[@williamwalkup988]

First time viewing one of your videos. The Gossip Stone opening "I overheard this..." was enough for me to subscribe. I look forward to viewing all your content. Thanks for your work.

[@GossipGeist]

Glad you like it! I had a lot of fun making my intro. I hope you enjoy my content just as much!

[@tvrex1729]

2:04 made me want crocodiles introduced in a DLC for ToTK!!

[@Zminator1986]

Maybe in the ancient past (Zonai wise) those three dragons were a priest or shaman and the draconification was an ascension ritual of sorts. For those wondering if that's the case, why aren't there more? Maybe a successor partakes in a ritualistic hunting of their predecessor.

[@elnic_kai]

as soon as mineru explained draconification i was like "oh so the dragons are the three godesses and they 'dissapeared' because of forbidden fruit gummies."

[@BrownMan-gg7dx]

@5:04 the same can be said about ganondorf when he dragonified himself. The way he corners link and zelda off in the sky as they try to fly from him in the beginning of the battle kinda hints that he still remembers who they are in a way.

[@samboi123]

The thing is, I don’t think the servants were necessarily male. While there is a noticeable difference in the ear positions of Rauru and Mineru, they’re the only Zonai we see. It’s entirely possible that Mineru’s ears were positioned higher because of the mask-like headwear she wore. We also find out during the quest to restore the Mother Goddess Statue that each dragon is (or is implied to be) female with how each of the statues at the springs themselves refer to their respective dragon spirits as such.

[@GossipGeist]

Well, if the dragons were female, then we'd have no choice but to assume that they were the Three Golden Goddesses, which brings up multiple issues. Judging from how much information in TotK already conflicts with the vast majority of the series and even to its own prequel, I wouldn't be surprised if this is just yet another retcon if it were indeed true.

[@benji-menji]

​​@@GossipGeistell what's to say the story is the same? I'd say that maybe the dragons were onces Zonai that decended and were immortalized as gods like the three gold goddesses. Whether this is because of a story retcon making them the new goddesses in this new time or a similarly is for us to our imaginations.

[@erik1978]

@@GossipGeistthey could’ve also been the three oracles

[@SillySpaceMonkey]

​@GossipGeist the shrine dragons are referenced as female in-game. Ganon is the only male dragon.

[@deztacular]

​@@GossipGeistthey don't have to be the golden goddesses, if we consider each dragon used to be a miko, or shrine maidens which were usually female , it's easier (and more plausible) to assume they were just shrine maidens who undertook the rite of draconification to forever tend the shrines they used to as zonai mortals.

[@thenightmarefox]

First thing I thought when I saw Rauru for the first time was wait a minute he looks alot similar to how the 3 dragons looked.

[@xebatansis]

Ocarina of Time said the 3 Goddesses "left" Hyrule. Becoming a dragon is like "losing" oneself, according to Mineru. To me this sounds like the same.

[@BASE_4]

Had to repeat that intro like 5 times. I'll hush up and listen now. Thank you! 😮👍

[@maskedwriter4088]

Now I want to see art of the dragons in their original forms and clothes.

[@KiffenBeats]

12:50 The destruction of Ganondorf resembles SO MUCH to Evangelion's Third Impact and I think that's beautiful

[@squimpy22]

I was shocked when I realized how many subscribers you had lmao, the quality and editing is so good

[@maxblack2347]

I think you may have missed the fact that in one of the quests in totk, the goddess statues at each of the springs asks for a dragon claw and they actually gender the dragons, I can't remember if it's the same for all the dragons but I'm pretty sure I remember one referring to Farosh as a 'she'

[@GossipGeist]

But are they really, though? Or is it terminology being used when describing something of significance as a "she"? People call boats, cars, buildings, nature, weather, even the planet a "she". I do find it hard to believe that the essence of Hylia within these statues would mislead us but I didn't have enough evidence to elaborate on this subject so I didn't include it. This could go either way, honestly, but the heavy evidence supporting them being male makes things difficult to deny.

[@maxblack2347]

@@GossipGeist Yeah I understand that, but for me it's like you said, of the goddess statues are supposed to be related to Hylia I struggle to assume anything other than just whatever they're saying being factual, but then again there's the instance of the bargainer statue being able to communicate to you through the Hylia statues so maybe it's not as cut and dry as Goddess Statues = Hylia

[@GossipGeist]

@maxblack2347 Also, the Horned Statue is hinted at once being an anti Hylia. Her polar opposite, if you will. Before being cursed into taking the form of a statue for unsavory deal making by Hylia, they were once on the same level as her. Suddenly we're supposed to believe that there existed a Goddess of Light, Hylia, and a God of Darkness, the Horned. If this were the case, then Demise got his Anti Master Sword from this God. There's just too much inserted information in TotK that really muddied the water on a lot of things.

[@maxblack2347]

@@GossipGeist Haha yeah it is classic Zelda, gives you one piece of information that helps clarify something and then another 10 piece of information to make it more confusing

[@brickmasterjay9052]

​@@GossipGeistsorry dude but they are female the thunder could possibly be male because of the way the armor is but the other two are definitely female I suggest you relook at the armors and you will see that the fire and ice armor are shirts meant to cover whole upper body .so the only one that could possibly be male is the thunder one because it fully open compared the the other two also the other two has painted nail and look more feminine...lol get video tho I'm looking forward to seeing more ..lol

[@marcovillegas5461]

We can just hope to get more information about the zonai and the draconification in a DLC or future games :,v, great video btw

[@crystalstarspark]

Sir, you have an absolutely gorgeous narrative voice. This was my first video I've watched from you and I'm going to subscribe because of it. The backdrop scenery you set up from in game TOTK footage was delightful as well.

[@GossipGeist]

[@NagasakiiVR]

Im so fuckin hyped we are finally in the era of totk theroy's! Ive been waiting patiently since the game came out :D

[@azaram8133]

Now that we have this info, I wonder what a zora, Goron, rito, and non-ganondorf Gerudo dragon would look like. Hell, I wonder if a sheikah dragon would be different from a hylian dragon in some way

[@jeanmerguz2792]

About the Zelda keeping her mind thing I think it's partially because she has two powers within her (light and time) thus when she eats a sacred stone tied to one of these powers, the other stays intact (or like is not consumed for the ritual if that makes sense) and carries her mind with it to the present. I believe they say something like that in the last cinematic as well but I might be wrong

[@DAViD_YAY]

damn what a video! your editing is AMAZING you made me lean forward.

[@GossipGeist]

Aww man, you know when you start leaning forward, it just got real, lol. A compliment in the highest degree!

[@maddinzf7967]

Oh man I hope they'll explore this in a future DLC. If it works like in BotW then we could very much see more past memories letting us learn to know what people the dragons were. Seeing how dragons are a somewhat huge part of TotK I can see that happening

[@nobleskywalker4639]

5:32 I really just think being the human descendant of the goddess Hylia Rauru and Sonia has it's benefits to keeping your state of mind as a dragon compared to others no other mortal being wields divine power

[@mubsi.y]

you're production and video quality in general is amazing, such an underrated channel

[@arabidllama]

Fantastic editing and research, alike!

[@DrAqua2Fresh]

Really great video! I like the presentation and edits you put in, it gives you a more unique flair that lets you stick out, it's a very charming style. Subbed with notifications on, can't wait to watch your next vid!

[@xXKaijiyouXx]

That was a really cool video ^^ It sure would make sense what you described, that the dragons might have been Zonai before.

[@kleia27]

thank you for the fun watch! please keep up the cool content man

[@gamergirlblu5278]

I kinda feel like the dragons losing their sense of self is less actually losing it and more being dimmed down, as if they still have their old characteristics but they don’t know why, they just do the things they do. Not only do Naydra and Dinrall like going down their respective mountains, with Naydra following a path up to the mountain and Dinrall going down through the canyon for seemingly funsies, Farosh has two locations, that being jumping through waterfalls and circling the great bridge. I can’t remember who was up in the gerudo tundra, but there’s a point to it. My point is, they seem to retain some of their character, possibly who they were in their past life with their actions possibly hinting at their backstory. It just doesn’t make sense that they would just aimlessly wander these specific locations in the manner they do. With Zelda, she seems to roam the entirety of hyrule, which is her kingdom, possibly out of some sense to protect it or out of familiarity. Her sense of protecting link could probably come from Fi straight up telling her to, but I feel like it’s more of some strange sense, like when you forget something important. She’s forgotten link, but she knows he’s the most important thing to protect, whether out of affection or due to his importance as the strongest warrior in hyrule. Not sure about any other strong capable warriors from hyrule warriors since I haven’t played it and most of those heroes are long gone, but that’s just my thoughts on the dragons. I just really like dragons, I thought that was a pretty cool idea. Also did everyone just forget Naydra can talk? I feel like that could have been used to some extent but nah, mindless sky gummy worms.

[@bingegamer]

"... ended up being his complete & utter DEMISE." If you know, you know. Love it GG, 😂

[@AbeM.]

I feel it’s also interesting how similar the dragon armor sets are to Rauru’s own clothes. So that would be another point in favor of your male Zonai theory: the only human-like representations we have of them follow the fashion customs of Zonai males.

[@4zureSapphire]

Begs the question if there were originally 10 in total and through a probable test, there would be an 11th that created the first immortal dragon that was a test subject for doing the ritual. Also to add in for the zonai relation, the eye lashes are spiked and pointed like the third eye that mineru and rauru have.

[@croissant2434]

aren't zelda's and ganondorf's facial structured is difference compared to the others two be because they are hylians/gerudo? which make sense that those 3 springs dragon where zonai's with goat like face, and hylian/gerudo's being more... fox-likes. which, with the goddess statues refering them as female, kinda comfirm their gender, and could make the difference between dragon's form be more race-based than gender-based. that my interpretation of it, anyway.

[@tillllttt372]

Whoa the intro is incedible

[@jasonmoore289]

I've been waiting for someone to talk about the dragons

[@scoobert4500]

Something I noticed is that the manes of the original 3 dragons all resemble Rauru’s hair, which probably means that all Zonai have white hair

[@doorbox788]

leave this life behind to become an immortal floaty dragon chillaxin all my days and vibin in the sky??? count me in 😂

[@jfxme-f]

Tbh I was shocked when i saw that you only have 1800 subs. Youre videos seem really professional

[@bl0ccr4fter24]

The dragons kinda look like Zonai the more you look at them

[@papercranepiper]

Whatever the answer is I wanna draw the dragons as Zonai now

[@Wralis]

dude. your editing is so good. Great video

[@LokkerG]

I'm convinced they'll do DLC that shows who they were and the events leading to their transformation.

[@myleswelnetz6700]

The fire, ice, and lightning dragons were Zonai, but the light dragon was a human, and the demon dragon was a Gerudo.

[@DavidStowers-o7k]

Ganondorf/Ganon is one of those villains in popular fiction who manages to come back from defeat. Like Christopher Lee's version of Dracula, Ganondorf is defeated time and time again but somehow he's resurrected and if you've seen Lee's last film in the Hammer Studio's Dracula series, 1973's The Satanic Rites Of Dracula, it was hypothesised that by wiping out all of life via a virulent plague, Dracula himself would eventually die. With Ganondorf's destruction at the end of Tears Of The Kingdom, Nintendo would either have to create an entirely new villain for any future game or make Tears Of The Kingdom the final original game and thus Like Game Freak, make updated re-issues of previous games when improved hardware is finally introduced.

[@gamezx]

I dont think there's anything about the master sword that gave zelda back her memories, thats honestly a bit of a stretch, infact i dont think she remembered anything at all. When she transformed she only had 1 thought going through her mind and that was to finish the plan with the sword and link. I think as the dragon she really was gone but she was still acting on some subconscious instinct that ganon needed to be stopped at all costs, there wasnt any intricate thought being put into it. Same could be said for ganons transformation too, he transformed while focusing on eliminating link and hyrule so his dragon form had the instinct to carry that on As others have pointed out, the springs actually refer to the 3 dragons as females, and given their names are based on the 3 goddesses it does raise questions on could they have been the goddesses, though thats a hot debate to have I will say though on the idea of them once being zonai, you're focusing on the ears and whatnot but i cant help but think, if they were once zonai wouldnt they also have a 3rd eye since that was one of the zonai's biggest physical traits? Also while i'm at it i think it would be good to add there are more instances of draconification than just those 5. Infact there's 3 more dragons in totk you've overlooked, the 3 gigantic dark skeletons in the depths are all dragon skeletons. Actually they're all dragons on the same scale as the one ganon turned into, so there's possibly some more interesting story behind them

[@TheCBoysDotCom]

If we look at the Ancient Hero set, we have ourselves a creature that looks fairly Zonai yet has jewelry where the eye would be - perhaps because it can’t be replicated in the outfit, or perhaps because Zonai descendents didn’t have it anymore. We really need to know if the Spring Dragons existed in Rauru and Sonia’s time

[@TheTurnipKing]

As far as I can tell, there here are two important points: One, the Dragons are named for the three goddesses. and the Zonai know that Draconification is possible 5:26 Because Link gathers her Tears in the quest, and they're in Raurus arm. They're her memories, they're represent everything she lost in becoming a Dragon.

[@cmuyo01]

Love that Zora hot tub shot, haha. Great stuff as always.

[@RylixBlizzai]

i haven't been able to stop thinking about the 3 dragons ever since completing the geoglyphs i'm desperate to know what they were like as people before taking those funky pills imagining it has got me a light push away from creating so many headcanons about what they were like that you could make entirely original characters by wringing out my brain onto a character sheet

[@lasercraft32]

Everybody cash money till ganondorf eats a funky pill! XD

[@PorkShark]

It's an incorrect assumption to think that losing memory and sense of self = you can't help or love others you used to know. A few of my family members have Alzheimer's-- they have forgotten who they were and who I was. But they're still able to love due to some kind of base instinct that's completely separate from personality or memory, and it's hard to communicate such a feeling w/o experiencing it yourself

[@PorkShark]

I realize this is a videogame, but I don't think it's a stretch to say the same thing is happening to Zelda. Humans are complicated, and I don't think we can boil everyone down to just personality and memory.

[@HeatherSulu]

love your channel man we got another zeldatuber in out midst

[@GossipGeist]

👀!!!

[@a.jthomas6132]

While you may be right that fi help Draconified Zelda to preserved her mind throughout the ages, I honestly believed it was her love for Link is another way to preserved her mind as well. That is the only way I can think of when it comes to the final boss against the Demon Dragon Ganondorf.

[@ZeroJump]

Yeah. Thier deepest feelings are caried on to the dragon just like with Ganondorf

[@PMacMoraes]

Agreed here. Her love for Link is always what moves her in the end.

[@captainsmackyou302]

First time seeing your content... thoroughly enjoyed it though! Smashed that like button, murdered subscribe in its sleep.

[@HavingFunTimes]

love your editing style

[@Lupinemancer87]

When I first played BotW and was crossing the brige over Hylia Lake, I saw Farosh fly over me and damn thing scared my half to death :D

[@nomejaexiste9109]

10:31 "male warrior to wear" Frostbite armor: 👁️👄👁️💅

[@rosieleaverton]

I love the shots where you edit yourself into the world of Hyrule, especially the cooking pot, lol

[@GossipGeist]

🧑🏻‍🍳

[@AAAAThatsThreeAs]

I buy it that the elemental attack armours were owned by the original mortals that became the dragons. Dope headcanon now

[@themar.i.per3374]

i think the dragons are this game's version of the 3 goddesses. the secret stones are shattered bits from the triforce and by swallowing them, you'll become a dragon in the image of the goddesses. i also think the zonai are the main race they've created, they look like dragon moths.

[@themar.i.per3374]

i also think they maybe 3 factions in the zonai tribe. rauru is in the faction of farosh because he is wearing the farosh armor that you can get in dracozu river.

[@themar.i.per3374]

the dark skeletons could actually be draconified people

[@marielagreen4542]

In BOTW and TOKT, Zelda is actually seen talking to Fi 6:07

[@Ryuxpale]

Excellent vid! Subbed.

[@Jai_dinn]

The more questions answered, the more questions asked