The Architecture of the Legend of Zelda
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      • A Thematic Unmasking of Majora's Mask
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    • Twilight Princess >
      • Ordona Province and the Meaning of Twilight
      • Faron Woods and the Forest Temple
      • Cultures of Eldin Province
      • Lakebed Temple and the Lands of the Zora
      • The Arbiter's Grounds
      • Snowpeak Ruins
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    • Skyward Sword >
      • Skyloft and the Provenance of Legend
      • The Sealed Grounds and Intentions of the Goddess
      • Faron Woods and Skyview Temple
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      • On Stables
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    • Random Articles >
      • The Great Deku Tree: A Triumph of Aided Discovery
      • Are the Arbiter’s Grounds the Spirit Temple of Antiquity?
      • The King of Red Lions
      • A Bathhouse in Hyrule
      • The Mirror of Demise
      • To the Fishing Hole
      • The Fang & Bone — The Hunt Across Hyrule
    • Riddles >
      • A Rough Guide to Riddling
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Middling Riddles   ( ; ' - ')


​
1)  Soft-spoken friend, yet immortal foe;
      A helpful voice, or screeching howl.
      From a single flake a storm of snow,  
      A pet becomes a horde most foul.



2)  Forgotten are the children there;
      They fill with music all the air.
      A trysting place, a broken tree,
      Abandoned after Fate's decree.


3)  From leer of eye,
      And cloak of mustard,
      Stranger countenance unfound.
      In such presence
      Truth is uttered,
      And watchful orbs abound.


4)  Aesthetic phylactery,
      And mode of transmission 
— 
      Where art thou, faded sister?
      Safeguard thy flame, thy mission.


5)  Spectacle buried from sight,
      Far beneath on lofty height.
      Twins immersed in warming earth,
      A host to ancient monster’s birth.


6)  A hundred mountains, clouded sky.
      One path, no trace of man.
      Broken ice. Dark water.
      Girl standing. Ashen cloak of fur.


7)  Mistaken for a tasty treat 
— 
      Blood, guts, and infected meat;
      Abominations replete with
      Chaos that takes two to beat.


8)  Within the soul of the enlightened man,
      An arachnine titan keeps guard.
      Its aureate hide is befouled inside,
      And by its own strength is it marred.


9)  
A visage of joy, a hollowing stare,
     To which your seeming kin all shall bare.
     Their own ilk they see but they aren't aware;
     That behind the visage 
— it is you there!


10)  While in dungeons you fight,
        Your brains I devour;
        It’s your wisdom I seek 
— 
        I ignore your power.


11)  Fell power of wisdom inverse,
        Purest taint, and will perverse.
        Rent and hid by brilliance true,
        Its legacy now follows you.


12)  Followers of the Elder, 
        Hidden under plant 
— 
        Nomenclature: Camellia;
        Defend themselves they can't.


13)  A verdant eruption signals my cache,
        Surrounded by wealth that's gone in a flash.
        Enlightened in name and fleetest of foot,
        I'm yours for a time, but I won't stay put.

​
14)  Regardless of progress, begin at the start;
        Relying on skill, your knowledge, a part
—​ 
        Scavenge and acquire all that you must, 
        In the hands of a sage you need place your trust.

​
15)  Five arms of power,
        Waiting for the hour.
        Peopled within and peopled without, 
        A King fears their clout.
        Wave-etched stone, 
        Now cursed and alone.


16)  High in the air
        A red solitaire,
        Whose companion resides
        In a tearful band, 
        Where souls search
        In a silent land.


17)  With the strength of metal
        And resilience of flesh, 
        Exact divine judgment
        With a precision thresh. 


18)  Beware the land of celestial form, 
        Beneath the brightest syzygy;
        Apparition within the storm,
        Surrounded by blue flame and sea;
        Movement charted by dead man's will 
— 
          Shattered force shall break the spell.


19)  Kept from ascension, 
        Trapped beyond the grave;
        Savior gifted timely prize 
— 
          Lighthearted gift it gave.


20)  A haunted vessel caught between lands;
        Tarnished effect beneath sinking sands;
        Finder found by oasis tree;
        Chattering teeth reveal the key.


21)  Tripartite in parts, it plays with our hearts; 
        Short but complex, its aim to perplex? 
        Stories all told with stories untold;
        Pleasing to some, it leaves others glum:
        A blunder to wonder, at least!


22)  Blue and grey, with red and gold, 
        Together sing in moonlight cold.
        Hollow stones his past uphold, 

        And bring to light the sword foretold.


23)  Place of remaking caught between lands,
        A long-sealed quartet locked away;
        Small turns to large, and large turns to small.
        The Darkness a child shall allay.


24)  The scion of an ancient race, 
        I search the world to find my place.
        My power's not in strength, but mind;
        My people's gift I hope to find.


25)  A symbol of spanning stands in your way;
        At the brink of blazing barrens, flee the day;
        Vying with vigor and virtue, bear down,
        Toward triumph anointed by tears of the crown.


26)  Hermetic Hylian, heuristic of speed;

        Mercurial Mystic who mocks any lead.


27)  An isle not far
        from foggy veil;
        Atop lone tree
        a forceful gale;
        In dark of night
        deceased assail;
        Of helpful friend,  
        Memory prevail.



​28)  Fulfill your oaths, 
        Unite the Spheres — 
        ​Radiate crown,
        Guise of madness;
        A dyad merged

        To come forth one.


29)  His crown is ruddy, his boots are gold;
         Alone in the court a chieftain sings;
         Thanes are scattered, the soft-footed horde;
         ​Gray warrior at last grants him strong aid.


​30)  My father’s only son, I have ten thousand brothers.
        I eat my mother’s flesh. I fashion sturdy arms
        From the life-blood of my children’s mother.

        Kinswoman I knew never. Who am I?


31)  In shadowed land
        Where darkness falls,
        A dragon lives
        And owl calls.
 
        A land of dead
        Where keys are found —  
        One in the sky,
        One underground.

        By candlelight
        The path you'll see;
        Where spirit rests
        You’ll find the key.


32)  Everpresent, ever-seeing, 

        Open, shut, transcends all being;
        Neverpresent, never-seeing,
        Closed or wide, perception freeing.


33)  
A figure carved of stone — 
        unfinished and alone;
        This creature’s kept at bay
        with object sealed away;
        Join counterpart’s own hide
        and sealing stone will slide


​
34)  Blue will turn to leaden grey, 
        Clear to leaded glass;
        Youth and age have taught you change:
        Teardrops on the grass.



35)  Oldest of old, 
        The first story told;
        A land just created, 
        With a history fated;
        The cradle of feature —  
        Place, thing, and creature.


36)  
*scritch, scratch*
        What a catch!
        *scritch, scratch*
        You can't use that!
        *scritch, scratch*
        Hey! give that back!


37)  
After you’re done and have beaten my game, 
        Harder it grows when you mention my name.


​
​38)  Fiercely-guarded,
        Palace-sheltered,
        Shade-unmasking,
        Hallowed symbol.


​
39)  Southern watercourse, high-bounded walls, open sky;
        People, creatures, spirits gather — bench, bridge, bell;
        Place of lost love, curiosity, and thievery;
        Relinquish guilt, familiar melody on unfamiliar air.


40)  Staring at you from the seam of the sky,
        My right eye’s the traitor — its pupil your door;
        So enter my head at the risk of your own:
        Arteries watched by old rivals in war — 
        Treasure you seek found in innermost eye.


41)  
Great diaspora to a “homeland” returned,
         But only by niter and threat!
       You pluck us out of our various homes,
       Exchanging your sword for a net!


​
42)  O vainglorious son by power tempted,

         By power also spurned:
         You threw yourself between the gods,
         And by a god were slain.
         Was it vengeance or rekindled good
         For which you died?
         Though you will once again return,
         We are nevermore to meet.


43)  
We are a pair — like peas in a pod;
        By location and use are we tied.
        Secrets we show 
— both the good and the bad;
        Within tainted walls we reside.



44)  Upon scattered isles’ sacred plaque,
        Look thee eastward to admire:
        When fire’s chariot begins ascent, 
        And slowly rising, reaches higher,
        To mirror sister’s flowing swell,
        Study well Din’s holy fire.
        Loosing fast a skyward arc,
        Softly lands what you require.


45)  
Captive as my captive,
         I prey on those naive. 
         Within the dark do I reside;
         My name and form deceive.

​
46)  Life and death,
        Side by side:
        Mirrored homes,
        But one will hide.

       Drain the life,
       Concealing death,
       With calming notes
       From thy own breath.


47) 
Around the table, we gathered here,
        Leave-taking, against gathering fear;
        True comrades in arms, ever pursued
        Across Hyrule, seeking in solitude.
        Restless, alone, we keep watch on the land,
        Seldom to meet in our underground band.


48)  
Nothing special, though in past lives a specialist

         In locks, I now unlock the mind.
         You break my silence, and I purchase yours.

​
49)  Raindrop rising, 
         Inverted tear — 
         Feathers falling,
         Become a seer.


50)  
Cut my bonds to free me;
         Free me to weaken me;
         Use my chains to free yourself.


51)  
now                              ago
            blighted          ravaged 
            healed      mended
                equal     parts
                    mirrored

                        twin


52)  
“Go ‘head and leave me here — 
         Oh, wait! Please do come back!
         Rolling around’s no fun anymore . . . 
         And why this endless attack?”

​
53)  I have raised thee, though how well?
         ​I stay your hand, offering my own:
         ​A promise to return.
         ​In disobeying me, you might just save the world.


54)  
Chaplet of the forest-king;
        Carcass of the foulest weed;
        Cudgel of the bumbling oaf:
        Upright, it gives light;
        Breaks despite great might;
        Helps dormant sprites take wing.


55)  
Blank as a bare hill,

         Inter yourself at will:
         Plain as loose gravel, 
         Unseen may you travel.

​
56)  My flesh reeks of rot, 
         My blood helps you die;
         Stronger when I’m hot,
         ​Lord of thorns am I!

​
57)  As with moon and sun a mystery,
         ​Deep origins in history:
         ​Celestial forms that streak the sky — 
 
         ​  shifting, gliding,
  
         ​ showing, hiding; 
         ​Like flowing streams, they sail on by.


58)  
My voice is a duality,

         ​Both royal and divine.
         ​My powers are a mystery,
         ​Both mighty yet benign.

         ​​Advance — I grant you passage:
         ​To cross the world’s seam,
         ​To tame the waters posing you,
         ​To enter death’s regime.

         ​Retreat — I grant you wisdom:
         ​To locate those you seek,
         ​To solve a clue once left for you,
         ​​To guide you through the bleak.


59)  
Uniting child, mother, crone,
        Monster, shaman, hero, beast,
        ​For friendship lost and Hyrule’s throne,
        ​In gloaming ever umbering.
        ​The past through relic finds release,
        ​​By secret sign is shelter shown — 
        ​The land’s forgetfulness a piece
        ​Of evil never slumbering.