The glittering seas of Echoes of Wisdom are ruled over by the lilac scaled chief Kushara. Like many of her ancestors (or descendants), she is skilled with the gift of music, strumming the strings of her towering harp and creating delicate music for all. As a child, she practiced her harp as often as she could, usually with her friend, now assistant, Rogma. Unlike the kings and queens across other games in the series, Kushara has some competition when it comes to ruling over the element of water and this chief is not afraid to channel the predator within to claim the top spot across all Zoras; sea or river.
Kushara’s name is derived from the fish that also inspires her appearance: a shark. Furthermore, her Japanese name “Kusha” is an anagram of the Japanese word for shark, “Shaku”. At first glance, the shark motifs don’t come across as a good fit. Her soft design might not have the sharp glinting teeth of Sidon or the combatant abilities of the Zora soldiers in Twilight Princess, but there is still an apex predator inside of her ready to fight any battle that comes her way.
Princess Zelda meets Kushara in the sea village while investigating the rampage of Lord Jabu-Jabu. Kushara is shocked by the news, recognizing Lord Jabu-Jabu’s behavior as unusual. At the same time, rifts are appearing across the sea endangering her people. Not wasting a minute, Kushara takes action into her own hands and steps off towards danger to do what she can, not with her teeth but with the music of her people.
In a seeming fit of rage, Kushara declares that the music of her harp will be all it takes to subdue Lord Jabu-Jabu, though she uses the explanation of her plan to take a jab at her competition, the Chief of the River Zora, Dradd. Many of the Zora comment on the constant arguing between the two Zoras. They are supposedly good friends (though both are quick to deny such declarations) and yet spend the majority of the quest at each other’s gills. One Zora comments they’re like two guppies in a pond. Despite having spent much time together playing music in caves and even getting their positions among their clans around the same time, the two of them are like chalk and cheese. And their latest squabble is the last straw for Kushara. Dradd dared to insult her music and now she refuses to ever speak to him again.
Kushara is passionate about her music and has a strong motivation to prove her music is better than those of the River Zora. So when she arrives at the Crossflows Plaza and sees her rival ready to play his own instrument, her determination shines through and she is ready to strum up a storm. Blinded by her anger, she ignores the comments from Rogma telling her that her emotions will disturb her song, but the Zora’s know that when these two get together, there is nothing that can stop them until a victor is declared…or a giant fish swallows their people.
As Lord Jabu-Jabu interrupts the performance and swallows her friend Rogma, Kushara doesn’t hesitate to swim after them, but even in the face of danger, Kushara and Dradd’s squabble continues. It doesn’t matter how good Kushara’s intentions are, she continues to be blinded by her rage just like her assistant warned. It’s only when faced with the danger of the rifts, does Kushara start to show she can put her emotions aside to do what’s important: looking after the Zoras no matter what body of water they come from.
Further along the quest, Princess Zelda finds Kushara comforting a River Zora child whose father was taken by the rift. She speaks calm comforting words and even shows concern for Dradd. Furthermore, she plays her music to “unstick” the stilled River Zora though not without bragging about the calming quality of the Sea Zora music. It isn’t until Dradd returns the favor later in the quest and plays music to calm one of her own people does Kushara not only give a compliment to Dradd but also starts to see the unique qualities of Dradd’s music.
While their music was the source of their constant arguing, in the end, it was what brought the two chiefs together, and together their music is harmonizing. Kushara admits she still has a lot to learn, which is an admirable quality in a leader. But when it comes to Dradd, there may be a bit more to the story she’s not letting on. Her words sometimes stumble around him and she even tells Zelda that she has tried to have a good relationship with Dradd but always finds herself off-kilter when she’s around him. One day she might understand her feelings, whatever they may be, but until then, all the Zora hope this melody lasts.
