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The is packed with plenty of fantastical monsters, many unique to th🌃e series and others more common beasts given a unique Zelda twist. Of these many creatures, dragons are some of the most majestic, appearing in many Zelda games as more than simple enemies.
In , dragons get given quite a significant highlight throughout the story. That said, it's never quite said exactly what they are. They are enthralling creatures, gliding through the sky, but are equally enshrouded in mystery.
Significance Of Dragons In The Legend Of Zelda
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Dragons have always played a major role throughout The Legend of Zelda. From🥀 the very beginning, the games have had Gleeok, a three-headed dragon that has returned in Tears of the Kingdom. Many other dragons appear across the series as well, though the first entry to give them more character was The Wind Waker.
Valoo, resting atop the aptly named Dragon Roost Island, is the protector of the Rito, granting them their wings when they come of age. He is a central character in Wind Waker, and helps Link throughout his Journey. Of note, the theme of Dragon Roost Island plays during the boss fight against Colgera alongside Tulin, hinting at th♒e heritage ꦿof the Rito and how the dragon Valoo gave them their wings.
In Skyward Sword, we are also introduced to the trio of dragons Eldin, Faron, and Lanayru. Though they bear the names of what would become the common regions of Hyrule, they themselves are named after the Golden Goddesses, Din, Farore, and Nayru respectively. They serv🍌e as the protectors o💖f the surface, granting Link the Song of the Goddess to help him defeat the ultimate evil, Demise.
In these two appearances, we can see the prominence and respect granted to dragons. Though they have appeared a💜s boss enemies,ꦗ they are more typically portrayed as beings of wisdom, in some way representing the Triforce. This theme is only solidified in Tears of the Kingdom.
Dragons Seen In Breath Of The Wild And Tears of The Kingdom
In Breath of the Wild, we can see three dragons flying across the world. These are Dinraal, named for Din, who flies around the Eldin region. Next is Farosh, named after Farore, who inhabits the Faron region. Finally is Naydra, taking their name 💫from Nayru, who soars the skies of Lanayru.
In Breath of the Wild, not much more is said of them, though they are seen circling the various Springs that represent the Triforce. Nayru has even been corrupted by Malice, and the very Spring asks for help saving them.
In Tears of the Kingdom, this is much the same. This time, however, the trio of Dragons allow Link to ride on their back as they fly between the sky, surface, and depths in addition to their typical route. However, a new dragon is also introduced - The Light Dragon. Unlike🤪 the other dragons, they follow no set routine, instead flying across the entirety of the sky and surface, though never touching 🍬the depths.
However, though the Light Dragon proves massively important to the story, the remaining trio are given no explicit expansion. The Zonai themselves, however, hint at their origins
The♍ Creating A Champion book theorises that the Zonai worshipped another dragon, the Water Dragon, though there is no further evidence to support this in Tears of the Kingdom
The Process Of Draconification
Though presumably not native to the Zonai themselves, they have powerful artefacts known as 'Secret Stones'. They claim them to be gifts from the Goddess, evidence of their close connection to Hylia, and their place in the clouds. These stones grant immense power to their wielder, altering to fit whoe💟ver they are used by, rather than granting a set power.
However, they also hold a more drastic power. Consuming the stone enacts a process of Draconification. As the name suggests, this causes the user to become an Immortal Dragon. This phase is one used by the Zonai to describe the dragons that they become. As stated by Mineru, becoming an Immortal Dragon makes one effectively eternal, though causes you to lose all your memories and purpose. You simply exist as a powerful force of nature.
This grants another view on the pre-existing dragons, Dinraal, Farosh, and Naydra. Are they also created by the consumption of a Secret Stone? Due to the extinction of the Zonai and the loss of self caused by Draconification, there is no🐓 one left in the world who could answer that question.
How Dragons Are Connected To The Goddess Hylia
A glaring fact in all this is that, despite Hylians viewing the Zonai as gods before Rauru and Mineru settled in Hyrule, the Zonai themselves praised Hylia, the same as those of most other Hyruleans.
However, there is a chance the Zonai brought the praise of Hylia to the land of Hyrule. In fact, the Creating A Champion book states that the Zonai used Dragons as a representation of Courage, Owls as Wisdom (which Rauru is depicted as in previous games), and Boars as power (a common form of Ganon, even at the end of Breath ❀of the Wild).
There are plenty of ruins showing how the people of Hyrule p𒈔raised the Zonai as gods, with the Barbarian armour set likely being from a tribe that revered them. 𝐆As such, this shows further that the Zonai brought the praise of Hylia to Hyrule.
In Tears of the Kingdom, we also see much more of the Zonai architecture, more clearly illustrating their devotion to Hylia. This ties clearly back to Skyward Sword, of people coming from the sky to spread the belief of Hylia to the land below. Here, we also see three Dragons acting as protectors of the surface while awaiting the defeat of Evil. In many ways, the Zonai showcase this same prophecy, with Immortal Dragons harnessing incredible power and being protectors of the more modern Hyrule and the various Springs.
As such, this lends further credence to the fact that the Dragons protecting the Springs in Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom are Zonai themselves having 🅘consumed Secret Stones, or eve🅰n Dragons sent directly by the Goddess Hylia herself.
Are All Dragons Zonai?
With the knowledge that Secret Stones were given only to the Zonai, per their own description, does th♒is then further imply that all Immortal Dragons we see are Zonai, or have consumed a Secret Stone? In many w🌟ays, yes. But there are also certain aspects that contradict this fact.
For one, we see that both the Light Dragon and Demon Dragon are not Zonai yet bear many of the same designs as the other trio of Dragons in the game. This does show that all these Dragons are likely Immortal Dragons, but not that they are Zonai. However, both of them acquired their Secret Stones in other ways, all of which still originated with the Zonai. All these Dragons also bear the same eyes, which we have seen is cauꦅsed by consuming a Secret S🥃tone.
Without a doubt, Dinraal, Farosh, and Nayru are Immortal Dragons, though there is no guarantee they are Zonai. They could be regular Hyruleans given Secret Ston🦩es to show their devotion to Hylia, they could be Dragons sent by Hylia herself, or they could indeed be Zonai. With all the Zonai having disappeared and us never seeing their original home, it is entirely possible many of them became Immortal Dragons, such as the trio in Hyrule.