At the beginning of Phantom Hourglass, our hero Link wakes up on Mercay Island in the World of the Ocean King, where he encounters an old man named Oshus. Acting as a kindly mentor to the confused boy navigating a strange new land, Oshus presents Link with a simple sword and provides some rudimentary lessons on the art of swordplay. The fairy Ciela lives with the elderly man, who she affectionately refers to as “Grandpa.” (He is the only family she currently knows, since she lost her memory and has no recollection of her true identity.)
Eventually, Link and Ciela leave to explore the seas, occasionally returning to Mercay to visit Oshus and plumb the depths of the Temple of the Ocean King. Little do they know that Oshus and the Temple of the Ocean King are more closely connected than they ever could have imagined.
Those who have made it to the halfway point of Phantom Hourglass know that the old man Oshus is, in fact, a mere shadow of the once-great Ocean King, a god of the sea capable of controlling the flow of time. While Oshus has attempted to restore his powers on his own, he ultimately decides to place his faith in Link after guiding the young hero under the guise of an old man. Eventually, Oshus reveals his true identity and tells the story of how his original power was sapped away by the malevolent Bellum, the mastermind behind the Ghost Ship and the one responsible for unleashing the monsters that swarm the seas. The beast now continues to consume Life Force from his lair deep within the corrupted Temple of the Ocean King. When Link confronts Bellum and destroys him after a long, grueling battle, the Ocean King finally gets to leave the name Oshus behind and return to his former glory.
Although we don’t get to interact with the Ocean King for very long before departing, we can safely conclude that he is incredibly powerful, able to grant wishes and travel between worlds. Bellum must have been quite a menace to square off against such a mighty deity and emerge victorious, and it makes Link seem all the more exceptional for besting him in the final battle.
The Ocean King bears some similarities to the Wind Fish from Link’s Awakening; both are mysterious, extraordinarily powerful entities that present themselves as massive sea mammals. But unlike the Wind Fish, who acts as the god of an illusory world, the Ocean King rules over a domain that actually exists beyond the Great Sea from The Wind Waker. In this sense, he shares more in common with Levias, the protector of the skies from Skyward Sword who also happens to resemble a whale. Perhaps they are all connected, and an unbroken line of whale gods has been watching over the land of Hyrule for millenia? If so, I definitely hope to meet some other members of this powerful whale family in future Zelda titles.
