Roots II (Tin Foil Hat Theory follow-up)

[@dylanrapp7629]

I think this can graduate from tinfoil hat theory to actual theory

[@TheBreadPirate]

YO! This is my kind of theorizing. I love studying the environmental story telling.

[@NotVeryCreative1]

oh hey bread!

[@zombiegordonf9320]

can you make me a sandwich

[@MaxAutoAttack]

The first video is my favorite BotW fan theory because it gives a potential look into the mindset of the world designers when they were crafting these details. The fact that ToTK meaningfully adds to this theory with the gloom hands is extremely satisfying.

[@dna_and_dan_komasansy]

So basilcy Ganondorf is trying to spawn camp the great Deku Tree?

[@janeenschultz8502]

Confirmed Griefer. No wonder no one likes to play with him.

[@EKimatH]

Demise’s curse - the og washed up camper

[@cato3277]

The batrea lake - great sky island connection was insane. Awesome stuff man.

[@mxblueskies]

This is canon. To ME. Sad for story reasons, but really cool for lore reasons. I'd like to think the Koroks are scouting for possible future Deku tree locations (when they're not trolling Link with poos, that is.)

[@EKimatH]

I don’t think koroks intentionally scout anything, I think it’s more of a pollinator situation, they just go about bumbling around wherever for whatever reason, they don’t know they are carrying pollen/spores/deku essence/tree juice They don’t seem to have any big plans or intentions or understanding of anything… they just are

[@Beepogen]

In windwaker, they flew around the great sea to "pull the landmasses back together" by making new deku trees, maybe the habit just stuck around less than 30,000 years later when all the great trees zipped up the mountain tops together and then died out now that the job is done. Koroks going around playing games to pass the time

[@bloodalchemy]

Both part 1 and part 2 were well reasoned theories that are likely true, but I think you can add some extra testing that would be an interesting video by itself. Find all the Gloom Spawns in the world and figure out what each one is guarding. This will let us figure out if the devs just put them in random areas they think players would find interesting to investigate, or if there is a consistent theme of guarding areas Ganon is worried about. Thinking about this also gave me a seperate video idea that would take much longer to make, go though and check the totk location for every botw monster camp. See how many are still there versus replaced with new enemies or if the area is entirely empty now.

[@TheWigglergler]

Spoilers for the final area below: It is also interesting with regards to this theory that gloom itself also spreads through roots. Gloom roots can be seen all throughout the depths. Gloom's Origin appears as a tree-like structure, even larger than the Deku Tree. Ganondorf himself stays within a smaller tree-like structure on its inside. Based on its name and appearance, it would seem that Ganondorf is spreading gloom through this structure, which the gloom roots are likely connected to. If the non-gloom giant roots are from the Deku Tree, then maybe Ganondorf is directly competing for influence across Hyrule.

[@sulfuricacidenjoyer]

I love the nicknames you made for the gloom spawn

[@zb3268]

I suspect this theory has been “true” since Wind Waker. The great tree was killed by Ganondorf in OoT. Yet in Wind Waker we see a new tree who is dissimilar in personality to the previous one, yet “recognizes” link and speaks in an ancient language (which was also translated in ng+). The Kokiri never age, but uniquely we also don’t see them die or show any signs of death like a graveyard. Instead there are theories that in OoT they turned to skull kids. A species that has its color themes associated with “Fall” and conversely decay. I suspect the lifecycle of the Kokiri is one that mirrors the natural cycle of large forest undergrowths. I suspect that is why the Poes have a unique affinity with the forest temple. The forest is neither kind nor evil, it is just raw organic life. It isn’t until the future that we see it warped by Ganondorfs influence. At the end of OoT, the great tree has been reborn and the Kokiri were able to venture out of the forest. Uniquely, this is probably the progenitor to the Great Tree spreading its root system. In OoT the sproutling is directly under its original body. Yet the magic that allows Kokiri to stay young forever extends into Hyrule at least up to Lon Lon ranch by the end game cutscene. Fast forward to Windwaker and the Koroks (almost certainly an evolution of the Kokiri) take the saplings to all edges of Hyrule in a ritual that then stays in the series up to the latest games. This gets even more fascinating when you consider the Oracle games which have their own unique great trees and deep lore with direct ties to the other games. All of this is just to say that I think you are really on the right track for this. My theory is that after the near death experience, the great tree took it upon itself to spread around Hyrule/World so that if it was ever threatened again it would have better contingency plans than hoping the Child warrior can overcome the evil bad guy while the tree recovers in a very weakened state. Something that ends up mattering in later games where Link “losses” in some cases. It’s one of the most unique world building ideas in that it is never explicitly stated but instead reinforced with new entries into the series.

[@ChronoQuote]

"[...] because the Sky Islands weren't a thing yet in BotW." Plot-wise, they were still there, no? And the upheaval revealed them.

[@bobosaurus331]

Maybe the Batrea lake tree fell those millennia ago when the sky islands first rose, and has slowly been engulfed by nature. That explains the dark colour and why it was there in BotW

[@fallatiuso]

So i've heard a theory, in wind waker after the world was flooded by the divinities the koroks spread seeds all over hyrule, and the theory goes that the land of botw/totk are the result of that, with all the roots covering the depths being from the forest that grew from all those trees that were planted so many ages ago. Makes sorta sense why there are so many huge tree stumps around in that case, they must have grown for a long time for a forest to cover up the entire ocean, and deku trees grow especially large. Almost a shame we can't see them in their prime before they fell/were felled. On another more relevant note, it makes sorta sense the gloom spawn avoids water most of the time; Water is known to represent _purity,_ which would naturally oppose the Gloom's _corruption._

[@freybear8457]

Gloom spawn don’t touch water because the water washes the gloom away, probably why ganondorf infested the Zora water with sludge, a gloom infused mineral

[@Mcl_Blue]

This video sparked back the lore flame in me that TotK snuffed out.

[@EKimatH]

I have another need for a theory for you: So, zonai ruins, wtf are you doing on the very specific spots on the surface? For whatever reason, there are the zonai ruins that we could already see in BOTW which is strange - the shieka technology is all that remains of their existence, and it all disappeared after the calamity, so the shieka were specifically meaning to show themselves because of the calamity itself… But the zonai ruins aren’t technology and don’t serve any purpose, they are just there. The forest ones, I don’t understand why they survived and why they are only there But what’s worse is the sages’ room. It is almost perfectly intact, unaffected by anything, as if ten thousand years just didn’t happen there. Also, IT IS BEHIND A WALL IN THE FORGOTTEN SHRINE, which we already KNOW FOR A FACT that the shieka attended, as they had a shrine and a fuckton of decaying guardians there. What’s up with that? Why is it there? How is it preserved? And why are the forest ruins and the room the only places left on the surface? Mineru and the constructs lived in the sky and the depths which nobody but the zonai could reach, but the only place on the surface that was actively constantly maintained by zonai magic was Ganon’s…corpse room But other than the forest ruins and the room, there’s nothing on the surface that’s even remotely accessible. What’s that all about?

[@bobosaurus331]

7:43 I’m pretty sure one of the gloom hands is in the cave underneath, where “coincidentally” there happens to be one of the trees growing from the roof of the cave. Maybe the gloom spawn are camping the roots?

[@nikki607]

Hold on, the Roots Theory pt 1 was confirmed?!?

[@WolfLink_justlookingfordragon]

* the entirety of the Kingdom of Hyrule is connected by a giant network of massive roots. In BotW, this was "just" part of the theory since there was no way of confirming it yet, but now that the Depths exist, it is canon. * Ganon is specifically targeting the Deku Tree and wants to kill/corrupt him. No way of verifying it in BotW since Ganon's minions weren't able to bypass the fog shielding the Lost Woods, so the Deku Tree was pretty much safe ... but in TotK there's a Gloom Spawn inside the Deku Tree and it almost managed to kill him. * the only thing that is not directly canonically confirmed is that the dead tree stumps on the surface were former Deku Trees, but now with those Gloom Spawns "guarding" them I'm pretty confident that the stumps hold some sort of significance for Ganon. ;)

[@OUCHquestionmark]

extremely interesting!!! (SPOILER ALERT FOR GRABBY MC EYEBALL HANDS, EVEN MORE SPOILER-Y THAN WHATS SHOWN IN THE VIDEO) this also caused my own little tin foil hat theory. we know that malice in botw was essentially gloom that absorbed water. all of the malice is gone in totk, and gloom has started to appear. we can see from the gloom spawn that gloom can basically freely move around along the ground. the phantom Ganon phase can also very quickly teleport around. teleportation is not new, as the blight Ganons (who were made of malice) could sort of teleport. but the main difference between the malice Ganons is that the malic bosses teleportation was a lot slower and more obvious, where as gloom Ganon can teleport very quickly. this, in combination with the fact that gloom spawn won't go into deep water led me to think that malice is sort of like a disadvantaged state of gloom, almost like a blood clot. if gloom is like normal blood and allows Ganon to reach his full capabilities, then malice is a blood clot that puts him in a weaker, more difficult (for Ganon) state. I'm not sure how deep this goes, or if this can be easily disproven, or if it even matters, but i still think it's interesting.

[@renoirrr]

oooh how does the community know that malice is water-infused gloom? i don’t keep up with the lore too much so i havent rlly heard of this but i’ve always wanted to know why malice was so different bc it’s clear it was a weaker version.

[@OUCHquestionmark]

@@renoirrr I think they said that in creating a champion

[@starkeeper_youtube]

​@@renoirrr Some of the loading screen tips in BotW explain that the Malice you see laying around Hyrule (near the Coliseum Ruins for example) was formed when Ganon's power made contact with water. It being Gloom isn't technically confirmed AFAIK but they look so damn similar and originate from the same guy so ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

[@renoirrr]

@@starkeeper_youtube ohh at some point i stopped reading those since they mainly give early game tips. thanks!

[@cato3277]

Malice and Gloom are very similar substances with very different effects. Gloom almost seems burning hot, using gaseous and fiery aesthetics. It doesn’t congeal into the almost crystal tower structures malice did in the last game. This makes me think that the malice we see in BoTW is either diluted by water, being far from its source, weak from Ganondorf’s catatonic state, or prolonged sun exposure on the surface dwindled its effects. Btw when the Bosses in the game die, the energy inside that expels looks like malice instead of gloom. It’s pink!

[@adamhall6914]

Very interesting! The placement of the hands intrigued me too, there’s one on the island just East of Hyrule Castle that I still can’t figure out. I love this idea for these ones though!

[@EKimatH]

The one in the little forest? Huh I’m curious now I’m going to have to go look there

[@WolfLink_justlookingfordragon]

You mean the one in Hyrule Forest Park, right? Hm... apart from a single chasm leading to an uninteresting dead end in the Depths, I can't immediatly remember anything significant on that island. But I know what's next on my ToDo-List now =P

[@adamhall6914]

Yep! That’s the one. My personal theory is that it came off Hyrule Castle and was too lazy to move, but that doesn’t really fit lol

[@EKimatH]

@@adamhall6914 why not? It can’t move from the island if it’s surrounded by a river. It could have also climbed up from the chasm. But we already established that they won’t swim

[@WolfLink_justlookingfordragon]

I like the idea with the river. That oversized slime mold might have crossed one of the bridges accidentally, ended up on the island, and now can't find its way out again. There are only two bridges on that island (Helmhead Bridge and Boneyard Bridge) and Gloomy is pretty far away from both of them.

[@Crust_Crease]

4:50 say hello to the hands that resulted in my most horrifying encounter i had with them I survived by hiding in a tree after i realized stick with rock wasnt gonna work. I had half a heart.

[@rimokali]

21 and a half minutes !?!?!? guh damn thank you wolf link 😌😌😌

[@bubbles9009]

i remember exploring crenel hills and also wondering why hands were there despite there being nothing, this makes a lot of sense!

[@Meedup]

Wait, which previous theory turned out to be canon?

[@WolfLink_justlookingfordragon]

Master Kohga faked his death (kzbin.info/www/bejne/rqGUfaJnfLF_ntk) I had that headcanon from the first time I defeated him, made a video about it in '22 and well ... headcanon confirmed.

[@RikuMcduck]

Even though the video is only 21 minutes, I still watched the whole thing

[@thesoupisburning89]

i wonder if there are any other spots on the overworld that have large roots with no apparent trunk and if those spots are guarded. i forgot how detailed the roots are in deya village ruins bc it's been so long since i watched roots i. i love to see this sort of thought put into this game, it makes it feel so connected

[@frostycane5134]

You remind me another KZbinrs named nomad colossus. He also would scan the areas in the game shadow of the colossus and find cool Easter eggs and lore

[@freybear8457]

The tree on the sky island isn’t supposed to be in the sky in the past, but it’s the memory’s of REDACTED NAME TO PREVENT SPOILERS becoming a reality

[@Axecon1]

I wonder at what point does the Great Deku Tree become immobile. I assume as a sapling it could be replanted. It's also interesting to consider BOTW/TOTK are the only Zelda games to have the Great Deku Tree North of Hyrule Castle, whereas all other Zelda games that feature GDT or a major forest tend to be south of Hyrule

[@Florjb0rjTheFloorboard]

5:05 So, on the Gloom hands not liking water: Lore wise, the Bottomless muck is a mixture of Malice/Gloom with water, so if it entered the water, it would just die

[@pelican7235]

i loved loved loved the first theory, excited for this one!!

[@SilentVinyl]

From tin foil into canon

[@anotherhenry7895]

There is a gloom spawn in the Forest of Spirits about 350 units west of the giant stump. Edit: Sorry, I should have kept watching.

[@Joblerone]

As far as your claim that ALL gloomhands appear in important locations, there are two that disprove that claim that I can think of; one is a set of hands on a destroyed road in Eldin (near the big hotspring lake, the hands themselves appearing at the switchback point with the rare ore node and a few regular ores), and another in the Eldin region, near the crater southwestish of town. Neither of these locations are particularly important to Ganon's goals, unless he just REALLY hates gorons/holes near gorons and public infrastructure. There is another one in some ruins somewhere on the fringe of Hyrule fields, but I don't remember specifics

[@WolfLink_justlookingfordragon]

"Whenever I met them before". This doesn't mean literally all of them, but all of the ones I had personally encountered up until that point had been in important places. ;) Sorry if that was confusing.

[@volpilh]

I like the icons !

[@fatalwaffle1715]

Cool Video.

[@amateraceon5202]

Wait, they can just die from water/rain and leave behind clumps without starting Phantom Ganon? Or they just die/leave by themselves and drop clumps when they do?

[@nevermind3476]

if you stand out of their reach for long enough, they’ll just give up and die

[@gingersolacemusic7590]

​@@nevermind3476Just like me fr

[@Xcyiterr]

wait but how did the great deku tree get on the great sky island in the first place? it's an island in the *sky*, no?

[@WolfLink_justlookingfordragon]

The Great Sky Island was a place on the Surface once, and the Zonai made it float into the Sky eventually. There is in-game canon lore for that, in a quest no less: www.zeldadungeon.net/wiki/Legend_of_the_Great_Sky_Island "The Temple of Time and the land it sits upon were once found on the surface of the world. This has changed. Its land and the lands surrounding it now float in the sky. There is a reason for this. The hero who will defeat the Demon King will one day awaken at this very site. The site must be kept safe from the Demon King and his followers. It was therefore raised high into the skies. The tremendous power of the sages accomplished this feat long ago. That is the story of the Great Sky Island." Maybe I should have included that in the video right away ... my bad ^^°

[@Xcyiterr]

oh huh, I forgot about that actually, thank you o/

[@freybear8457]

Whack-a-deku