Throughout the many eras of The Legend of Zelda series, various guardians have protected the ancient Faron Woods, full of mystical creatures and fabled legends. In the Era of Twilight, the guardian of the land takes the form of a great light spirit mirroring the name of not only the woods themselves, but the great dragon that came before it in the Era of the Goddess, Hylia. Faron is one of four light spirits tasked by the gods to protect Hyrule from the darkness that threatens to consume and destroy.
In concept art, the Light Spirits had the head of a beast and the body of a humanoid. As the designs evolved, the human elements were scrapped leaving the animalistic features behind. Faron’s appearance takes the form of a giant woodland creature somewhere between a monkey and a squirrel. Their fur takes on a white-ish tone with swirling patterns emitting a golden glow, emphasizing the creature of light that it is. The spirit’s idle pose in some ways resembles the design of the Kokiri’s Emerald found in Ocarina of Time, further emphasizing its connection to the woods.
True to its guardian nature, Faron was one of the original spirits that sealed the magic of the dark interlopers away with their brilliant light. Usurper King Zant stole the light and fractured it into pieces, scattering the light across Faron and blanketing the world in Twilight darkness and setting up one of the mechanics of the game: collecting Light Tears. While Faron is the second Light Spirit Link meets, it is the first he comes across in this state, and as such, completion sets up his path to become the destined Hero of Hyrule.
At full power, Faron is not only able to seal the Twilight away, but also return Link to his human form, with a twist. Seeing the courage and hero potential in Link, Faron gifts Link with the iconic green tunic and hat of the legendary hero. The spirit speaks praise of Link, the hero he is destined to be as chosen by the gods, and with a final flare of light, tasks Link with freeing the remaining spirits trapped in Twilight.
Light now returned, Faron continues their duty as watching over Faron Woods and keeping dark magic sealed away. While not seen, their magic still lingers within the spring they were last seen. Standing in the spring water revives Link’s hearts much like Fairy Fountains in previous games. Even with the power they possess, the Light spirit was not chosen to be the hero, but they still offer what gifts they can to assist Link on his journey, and perhaps one of the best gifts of the whole game.
In the climax of the story, all four Light Spirits return to gift Princess Zelda with Light Arrows powerful enough to weaken Ganondorf for the final battle. Though that is not their final gift. After the enemy has been slain and the balance between light and dark has been restored, the Spirits of Light use their powers for one last gift. Maybe from them, maybe from the gods, we will never know. Their light gathers above a fallen friend. They say nothing, only look toward the hero as their light fades away. No words are spoken and yet hope pushes Link forward to a stranger, no, a friend. And while Faron was one of four, their will to help in every step of their journey shows how pure of heart, kind, and protective this Spirit of Light is to all who have Hyrule’s best interest in their hearts.
