Legend of legacies: The impact of Hyrule’s history in The Wind Waker — Part three: Tetra/Princess Zelda

Accepting an inevitable future can be difficult, but it’s not the only step in the process of moving forward in life. Predecessors may eventually become willing to step aside for those who follow behind them, but for that succession to be successful, for these new people to find their own way in life while also benefiting from the gifts of their forefathers, someone must accept the burden of remembering the past in order to govern the present. There needs to be a leader who knows where and how to build the strongest foundation of a new world. In The Wind Waker, that person was Princess Zelda.

(This is part three of my series about The Wind Waker and the effect history has on its story and characters. Click here to begin with part one.)

A royal rogue

Zelda’s connection to the history of Hyrule was complicated, to say the least. She was the last in the royal bloodline and destined to wield the Triforce of Wisdom and lead the people as the Princess of Hyrule, but she had no understanding of this fate. In fact, she had no understanding of her true identity. Until she met Link and the King of Red Lions and faced Ganondorf, Zelda had lived her life as the pirate captain Tetra. The only life she had known was out on the high seas, never staying in one place for too long or associating with people other than her fellow pirates. In terms of being connected to Hyrule’s history, she seemed as far removed from it as possible.

She did her best to appear ruthless, but Tetra was unable to ignore Link’s desire to save his sister.

Being disinterested in the past was the apparent observation about Tetra, but details eventually revealed themselves and showed how that wasn’t the truth. Tetra may have seemed like a person who lived only for herself, but she had a high level of concern for the state of the world. She often tried to hide her empathy behind snide remarks and redirection, but anyone who paid attention could tell that she was not truly self-centered. This attitude was derived from her actual nature, her royal nature, and it would not let her forget everyone’s well-being.

This desire to care had the side effect of making her aware of history through means of research, exploration, and personal possessions. Throughout The Wind Waker, Tetra reveals tidbits of information about the Great Sea and is shown to be intrigued by the legends of old. The past called to her and always influenced her. She tried to reject Link’s request to join her and her crew to search for his sister, but some chiding from the Rito postman Quill was enough to help her feel bad about the consequences of visiting Outset Island. Her “inner Zelda” shone through during that moment.

Link and Tetra parted ways for a while after their botched attempt to infiltrate the Forsaken Fortress, but a partial reunion occurred when Link returned to Windfall Island after seeing the aftermath of Ganondorf’s assault on Greatfish Isle. The pirates were aware that the water spirit Jabun was hiding near Outset Island, and Link needed to know what they had planned for his home as well as the spirit. When he found the pirates, and saw that they were in the process of pilfering the Bomb Shop’s supplies, Link knew the plan was nothing peaceful. The pirates were going to raid the island and steal the treasure they assumed Jabun had. At least, that’s what the pirate underlings intended to do.

As they made off with their newly acquired stow of bombs, Tetra chided the crew for their lack of hustle. “You saw that senseless destruction,” she said, clearly frustrated by what had happened to Greatfish Isle. One of the pirates questioned her about why she seemed more concerned about Outset’s fate than claiming their prize, but Tetra refused to be seen as tender and unconvincingly asserted that she was only in it for the treasure. She tried to act tough and hide her worry, but her attitude changed when she noticed that Link was spying on them. Tetra kept this discovery to herself though, and she joined her crew in their request to stay the night at Windfall. She also didn’t send anyone else to the ship to help the lone pirate on board, Niko, guard the bombs. She let Link go and watched him from her Gossip Stone. Link didn’t catch on to what she was doing, but he did accept her chance to find Jabun before them, which is what Tetra wanted. She knew she could count on Link to protect Outset Island and Jabun.

Similar to when she relented and let Link join her when they first met, the question arises: Why did she even care? It was because her true self was someone who cared deeply for innocent lives, and it did not want to see anyone be hurt. She resisted evil’s oppression because she subconsciously had an unwavering understanding of right and wrong. And, in some way, she knew what kind of monster Ganondorf was and how everyone needed to oppose him. Tetra had never met the evil king, but that didn’t matter. It is evident by her concern for the people of Outset Island, in addition to her great dislike for Ganondorf’s presence in the Forsaken Fortress, that she recognized the evil. It was familiar. It needed to be stopped. This is why the next time she helped Link, though it was a respectable show of altruism, was incredibly reckless.

Born to lead

Link thought he was on his own during his ambitious storming of the Forsaken Fortress. He proved that he didn’t need much help with the assault, but he would have appreciated having someone to rely on. And after he entered the same chamber where the monstrous Helmaroc King had dealt with him so harshly during their first encounter, and he saw his sister waiting for him, Link learned that help had arrived and had been aiding him the entire time.

Tetra was, despite her claims to the contrary, very familiar with the ancient legends.

Tetra, who appeared behind Link, scolded him for his behavior. The Helmaroc King would have swooped in again to stop Link had Tetra and her pirates not distracted the beast from the outside. She thought Link was being foolish. She knew his bravery and resourcefulness often helped Link compensate for his brash behavior, but Tetra didn’t realize how far his resolve could take him, not until she saw what was strapped to his back.

When Link turned to help his sister, Tetra was given a full view of the Master Sword. She was amazed by what she saw and shocked by who was wielding it. Her reaction meant two things. First, it meant that Tetra was aware of what the Master Sword was and knew the legends of the blade well enough to know what it looked like. Second, she understood that Link was the Legendary Hero, hence her surprise.

Helping Link was more important now than ever, and Tetra knew it. That’s why she made the daring attempt to rescue Link when he was at the mercy of Ganondorf. This did not play out the way she hoped, but at least Link and she were able to escape, thanks to the help of Quill, Prince Komali, and Valoo. The only problem was that Ganondorf now knew who Tetra truly was, even though she still did not. It was time for the King of Red Lions to reveal the truth.

In that fateful moment, when King Hyrule restored the Triforce of Wisdom and awakened Tetra as her true self, Princess Zelda, the now-princess understood and accepted what she had subconsciously known all along. She also felt grief, as if she was responsible for everything that had happened to Link and the world, and asked for his forgiveness and continued help. Link did not believe she had any reason to apologize, but that wasn’t going to change her opinion on the matter. As Tetra, she had always felt an attachment to the world, and now, as Zelda, she felt a responsibility to it.

Fate had finally caught up with Tetra, but what she did with that destiny was still up to her.

Balance maintained

This princess was like a girl of two eras in one body. Half of her was bound to the legends, laws, and duties of the past, while the other half was bound to the endless expanse of a vast, new, and unconquerable ocean. But there was no conflict. Zelda was a being of balance and represented the greatness of both the past and the present.

Tetra remained true to herself, but she was now more willing to let others influence and help her.

Once Ganondorf was defeated and Hyrule’s fate was at hand, Zelda still felt the need to carry on the legacy of the kingdom. She wanted to return to the ocean, which she had said to Link right before they defeated Ganondorf, but she also saw a chance to create a new Hyrule. She told King Hyrule as much, but he, now accepting of the future, did not want her to forge a path that was not her own. He gave her the chance to honor the past, but by creating her own future with her own kingdom. When Link and she returned to the world above, Zelda reverted back to being Tetra. She re-assumed command of her vessel and joined Link on a voyage to find their own destinies. She did this as Tetra, but as she ordered her crew to let the wind guide them — with control over the winds being a gift given to Link from the past — it was clear that she was letting Zelda’s wisdom guide them as well.

The next and last view on history I’ll discuss will be how certain people can have neutral feelings for what had come before them and how they instead put their focus on the present and the future. It can be a good goal to have, especially with the right attitude and right people and friends to help them along the way, and certain brave youth is a perfect example of this.