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"This noble creature watches over all animals that make their homes in the forest. Legends say this holy creature is a reincarnation of a sage that died on the lands it now protects. It has an acute awareness of its surroundings, so it seldom appears before people. It's sometimes known by its other name, Satori."
Hyrule Compendium

The Lord of the Mountain, also known as Satori, is a creature from The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. It occasionally appears in the pool atop Satori Mountain at night, surrounded by Blupees, making the mountain glow with the same blue light. Its appearance upon the mountain coincides with a massive animal migration to Satori Mountain implied to be due to the Lord of the Mountain's presence which causes the Stalkoblin, Stalmoblin, Stalizalfos, and Stalnox upon the mountain to temporarily disappear from the mountain as long as the Lord of the Mountain is present demonstrating how powerful the Lord of the Mountain is.

"Looks like you've caught yourself a new steed! Do you want to register it? Understoo-- Uh... Wh-what is that? Can that...THING you're riding be the fabled Lord of the Mountain?! Why in Hylia's name would you bring something like that here? We'll all be cursed!"
— Stable manager

It can be mounted like a horse, but cannot be registered at a stable. Bringing it to a stable is a bad omen and stable mangers fear the people at the stable will "all be cursed", however it is unclear if this is simply superstition such as the unfounded belief that Stalhorse are cannibalistically eat their living counterparts or if it is actually true. Regardless it cannot be registered which is unfortunate given the Lord of the Mountain's superior stats as it has a maximum five Spurs though its stamina refills automatically as soon as one Spur is used thus it never actually runs out of stamina and it has maximum speed and strength making it the best mount in the game in terms of stats. However Link can tame it like a normal horse as it will become obedient as soon as Link tames it. Interestingly despite its odd otherworldly appearance NPCs do not act frightened of it like Bears or Stalhorse beyond the stable manager's fearful reaction if Link tries to register it. According to Hyrulean legends, the Lord of the Mountain is a holy creature and a reincarnation of a Sage that died on Satori Mountain. It is described as a noble creature that watches over all the animals that make their homes in the forest explaining the large animal migrations that coincide with its appearance upon the mountain.

The Lord of the Mountain resembles Blupees which flock around it and appear to be otherworldly spiritual creatures. However the exact relationship between the two is a mystery. It is possible the Blupees appear and animals appear upon the mountain to pay their respects to it when the spiritual protector of the animals makes an appearance thus its title Lord of the Mountain may be quite literal as even the animals recognize it as their lord and protector.

If the player loads a save file in which he is present on Satori Mountain, he will no longer be there. However, if the player loads a save file in which Link is riding him, Link will still be on his back.

The Hylian Retriever & The Hylian Hunter[]

At the Wetland Stable, Link encounters the Hylian Hunter Quince and his faithful Hylian Retriever Satty. Quince offers to tell Link about a harrowing account of how he and Satty met upon Satori Mountain. During one of the mass animal migrations, Quince a hunter by trade came to the mountain to hunt wild game. During his time there he encountered a hungry Hylian Retriever living in the wild an extremely rare sight as most live very close to people. Quince took pity on the dog and fed it some meat causing the dog to inexplicably run off. A tired Quince took a nap but later awoke to find the mysterious creature staring at him. Quince was paralyzed unable to draw his bow in self-defense. Just as it seemed the creature would attack, the Hylian Retriever he had fed jumped to Quince's defense barking at the creature startling it. The terrified Quince took the opportunity to pick up the dog and fled the mountain before the creature could potentially harm either of them. Grateful to the dog which he ironically named Satty after Satori Mountain that shares its name with the creature Quince encountered, Quince adopted the dog that saved his life with the two becoming inseparable companions. As Quince's story is told from his point of view it is impossible to tell if it truly meant Quince or Satty any harm as both Quince and Satty may have misunderstood the creature's intentions as Satori rarely appears before people though it is unclear if his appearance before Quince was an attempt to punish him for harming the animals or the reincarnated sage had appeared before Quince in an effort to try to get Quince to take Satty a domesticated animal with him back to civilization where it belonged as it clearly was having difficulty surviving in the wild something the Lord of the Mountain likely recognized as a protector of animals. Additionally its appearance may have been simply been a warning for Quince to leave the mountain.

Regardless of the mountain protector's intentions, Quince was traumatized by the incident having nightmares about it. Humorously Quince tells Link if he visits the mountain to tell the spirit off for its behavior towards him and Satty. Ironically Quince owes the Lord of the Mountain for bringing him and Satty together which may have been the reincarnated sage's intention all along.

Strangely enough, if Link speaks to Quince while riding the Lord of the Mountain, Quince will not even notice him and speak as if the Lord of the Mountain is not present.

Homage[]

The Satori Mountain is probably named after Satori, the other name of the Lord of the Mountain, and may be an homage to the late Nintendo President, Satoru Iwata. The mountain along with the Lord are first mentioned by Botrick.

In an interview[1], director Hidemaro Fujibayashi said: "When Iwata passed away, there moments we'd come with an idea which we'd be excited to talk to Iwata about. Then we'd remember he was no longer here... The sadness runs deep. This is approaching spiritual talk, but we had the sense he was watching over our work. That became a source of inspiration. A drive for us to improve, and be better."

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