Fortune tellers are often used as a way to point the Link in the right direction, such as in A Link to the Past, where the fortune teller will give Link a hint for his next objective — for a price, of course. But while the fortune teller in Phantom Hourglass points Link in the right direction when needed, just as her predecessors did, she also plays a significant role in the story. Astrid, sole human resident of the Isle of Ember, is one of the initial guiding hands that leads Link and his fairy towards finding Tetra and the Ghost Ship. Though she is mostly relevant while Link is on the Isle of Ember, she has a surprising connection to other characters in the world of Phantom Hourglass.
When Link first arrives on the Isle of Ember, Astrid is trapped within the basement of her home by monsters. She asks for Link to find her assistant, who unfortunately has already bitten the dust from the monster attack. After being saved, she points the heroes towards the spirits of power, wisdom, and courage as the key to completing their quest. For many, this is the last they’ll ever see of Astrid, but she holds one other secret.
If Link returns to the Isle of Ember much further along his journey, Astrid will reveal that she is a descendant of the Cobble race, the residents of the Mutoh Kingdom which Link explores the ruins of in the later parts of Phantom Hourglass. The blacksmith Zauz, who helps Link by crafting the Phantom Sword, is also a descendant of the Cobble. It’s worth mentioning that Kayo, Astrid’s assistant who passed on earlier in the game, is also a Cobble descendent. Kayo, along with several other Cobble related characters, are only interacted with as ghosts. Interestingly, Astrid specifically mentions that the Cobble race is known for having powers of premonition which increase in power after death. Given the amount of Cobble characters that appear as ghosts, perhaps returning after death is just one of the powers that the Cobble people possess.
While the world of Phantom Hourglass is not as developed as Hyrule itself, it has its own history which stretches its influence to every corner of the ocean. When I first played Phantom Hourglass, I never revisited Astrid, so her relationship with Mutoh and the Cobble people was completely unknown to me. It makes me wonder if we’ll ever hear of the Cobble race again in the future. Even though they did not make an appearance in Spirit Tracks, the sequel to Phantom Hourglass, I would personally love to see a return of this tech-savvy and clairvoyant ghost race.
