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"I was King Rhoam Bosphoramus Hyrule. I was... the last leader of Hyrule. A kingdom which no longer exists."
— King Rhoam

King Rhoam Bosphoramus Hyrule (ローム・ボスフォレームス・ハイラル?), or King Rhoam for short, is a character from The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. He is the the last King of Hyrule, the husband of the Queen of Hyrule, and the father of Princess Zelda.

He is voiced by Bill Rogers in the English version of the game. [1]

Biography[]

Spoiler warning: Plot or ending details follow.

Family[]

Seventeen years prior to the Great Calamity, King Rhoam and the Queen of Hyrule had a child, a daughter, who in the traditions of the Royal Family was named Zelda.

Ancient artifacts discovery[]

A century prior to the events of Breath of the Wild, the people of Hyrule discovered various ancient artifacts. Some of the excavated artifacts confirmed Calamity Ganon's existence, leading King Rhoam to insist that the relics be investigated as thoroughly as possible in order to prepare for his return. He acknowledged that the Guardians and the Divine Beasts would take longer to understand. King Rhoam later told his daughter about the relics, which she showed great interest in researching further.

Death of the Queen of Hyrule[]

When Princess Zelda was only six years old, the Queen of Hyrule died unexpectedly, putting the King and Zelda in great shock, leaving Rhoam a widower and single father forced to raise their daughter on his own. Rhoam himself was filled with grief to the point he would awake most nights unsure if she is really gone. A royal funeral was held, where King Rhoam noticed that his daughter never cried or faltered. Rhoam initially assumed that this was the result of him and his wife repeatedly informing her of her duty to be a valiant and steady princess. Amazed by her strength of character despite her young age, Rhoam believed she was a born leader which gave him hope.

Father and Daughter[]

In truth, Zelda was very devastated from losing her mother and struggled to appear emotionally firm. This is hinted to have been one of the main reasons why Zelda struggled to awaken her latent powers. The Queen of Hyrule`s death and Rhoam`s strict attitude towards Zelda from a sense of urgency (brought on by the knowledge of Ganon's return) also led to a strained relationship between father and daughter. Despite eventually understanding Zelda`s pain, Rhoam was too desperate with the situation to help heal her emotional wounds.

Though Rhoam initially permitted Zelda's research into ancient technology, he considered it little more than Zelda playing at being a scholar and as signs of Ganon's return grew he became more opposed to her research which he saw as a distraction from her duties and training, failing at the time to see she was trying to contribute in someway as she feared her powers would never awaken. King Rhoam eventually confronted Zelda on the bridge leading to her study and forbade her from further research in order to devote every waking moment to awakening her powers, leaving Zelda heartbroken and putting her under even more pressure.

Once it seemed as though Zelda`s powers would never awaken, Rhoam opted to be more encouraging towards her, hoping that she may find another method in awakening her powers regretting how he had chosen his duty as king over being a supportive father. Unfortunately, the Great Calamity was close at hand.

Appointment of Link[]

According to Daruk's Training Journal, Rhoam had been present when a Guardian being tested at Hyrule Castle had malfunctioned and started attacking with its beams. Both Rhoam and Daruk saw how Link armed with a Pot Lid defeated the Guardian by deflecting its beam back at it. Rhoam was so impressed by Link's quick thinking and skill that not soon after Link was appointed Captain of Zelda's Royal Guard detail and assigned as her personal bodyguard. However this only further strained his relationship with Zelda whom initially resented Link's talent which constantly reminded Zelda of her own failure. Zelda even attempted to order him back to Hyrule Castle though Link refused dedicated to his duty despite Zelda's poor treatment. However after foiling an assassination attempt by the Yiga Clan the two bonded with Zelda learning Link also shouldered a similar burden. Link was present when King Rhoam confronted Zelda on the bridge but remained silent as Rhoam spoke. Ultimately Zelda failed to awaken her powers at Mount Lanayru's Spring of Wisdom and was about to return home to her waiting father with the Champions when Calamity Ganon appeared over Hyrule Castle forcing Daruk, Mipha, Revali, and Urbosa to go to their Divine Beasts while Link and Zelda at her insistence travelled to Hyrule Castle to confront Ganon and rescue her father.

The Great Calamity[]

When Calamity Ganon attacked, King Rhoam aided with the effort of pushing him back along with the aid of the four Champions and the Divine Beasts. However, Ganon was cunning and created the Scourges of the Divine Beasts to kill their Champion pilots, as well as imprisoning their spirits in order to corrupt the Divine Beasts and turn the Guardians against the King and his people. Those inside Hyrule castle, such as King Rhoam and his Royal Knights, all lost their lives. The only two Champions who survived Ganon`s attack were Link and Zelda, who fled to Fort Hateno, while the surviving Knights of Hyrule and Hyrulean Soldiers fell back to the Akkala Citadel in Akkala Highlands after the fall of Hyrule Castle. As they fled Hyrule Castle, on Hyrule Field in a forest, Zelda broke down openly grieving the deathes of her father and fellow Champions as well as her own inability to prevent it. Link was later injured while defending Zelda from the corrupted Guardians though Zelda begged him to flee. When Link was about to be killed, Zelda's selflessly tried to shield him awakening her sealing powers which freed the Guardian of Ganon's influence though Link collapsed from his injuries. The Spirit of the Master Sword informed Zelda he could be saved as two Sheikah warriors came to Zelda's aid with her ordering Link be taken to the Shrine of Resurrection. After being informed by the sword she still had a role to play Zelda would entrust the Master Sword to the Great Deku Tree and Link to the Sheikah lead by Impa. She left behind images meant to restore his memory before sealing herself and Ganon in Hyrule Castle bring an end to the Great Calamity allowing the rest of Hyrule to survive.

Though dead, Rhoam had since wandered the wild as a spirit, concealing himself in a brown cloak. He shares his name with Mount Rhoam, though it is unclear if the mountain was named after Rhoam himself or if he was named after the mountain. Taking advantage of his ghostly form, King Rhoam kept watch over the Shrine of Resurrection as Link slept, awaiting the day he would awaken to free both Hyrule and his daughter from the threat posed by Calamity Ganon, who despite being sealed continued to control the Guardians. Hyrule Castle became safe enough for skilled people to enter the ruins of Castle Town and Hyrule Castle for a time, though eventually Zelda's seal weakened and Ganon sent the Guardians to patrol the area around Hyrule Castle, turning it into a virtual no man's land. However, the Divine Beasts which were controlled by Ganon's phantom scourges became dormant for the next one hundred years as Link slept. During that time, Rhoam apparently discovered existence of the Sheikah Monks and Spirit Orbs they held which where meant to test and prepare the Hero to confront the Calamity. Apparently realizing his folly in not permitting Zelda to research as it was her and Purah's discovery that the Shrine of Resurrection was a medical facility that ultimately saved Link's life, King Rhoam stood watch over Link resolving to guide him to the Shrines so he could learn their purpose and prepare him to face Ganon as they were intended to.

Link's Awakening[]

Render of King Rhoam's Old Man form

A hundred years after the Great Calamity, Link awakens from his slumber. Unsure of how to approach the amnesiac Link, Rhoam opted to disguise himself as a mysterious old woodcutter living alone on the Great Plateau. Keeping his true identity a secret, he helps guide Link and teaches him how to survive on the Great Plateau, as well as providing him with information such as the history of the Temple of Time and Great Plateau.

Link is directed by the Sheikah Slate to a Guidance Stone which activates the Great Plateau Tower causing it and Sheikah Towers all over Hyrule to raise from the ground which restores power to Shrines across Hyrule as well. From there, Link witnesses Ganon's essence swirling around Hyrule Castle as he attempts to break free from his seal, though Zelda manages to pull him back and restore the seal before he can completely break free. Then he implores Link to remember after telling him he has been sleeping for one hundred years.

As Link descends the tower, the Old Man uses the Paraglider to fly down to meet him. As the Old Man, Rhoam reveals the dark mass swirling around Hyrule Castle to be Calamity Ganon, an ancient evil that was sealed in Hyrule Castle. Noticing Link wishes to leave the Plateau, the Old Man reveals that the Plateau is isolated from the rest of Hyrule and that only way to leave by flying or gliding using a Paraglider. When Link asks to use the Old Man's Paraglider he points him to the Oman Au Shrine and tells him that there is a treasure inside which he is willing to trade Link his Paraglider for.

Unbeknownst to Link, Rhoam is using the task as a way to introduce him to the Shrines and the trials they contain as a way to test and prepare Link for his future journey. Once Link completes his first trial and obtains a Spirit Orb, the Old Man glides over to him as he leaves the Shrine. He informs Link that he must obtain three more Spirit Orbs from the remaining three Shrines to trade for the Paraglider.

In his guise of the Old Man, Rhoam is able to interact with the physical world, though takes apparently takes advantage of his nature as a spirit to appear in various locations all over the Plateau, allowing him to guide and advise Link. As the Old Man, he has several campsites set up which he allows Link to use. He also leaves behind several weapons and items which he allows Link to "borrow" and use.

Under a cliff along the path that leads from the Shrine of Resurrection to the Temple of Time is the Old Man's first campsite where Link first encounters him. There the Old Man introduces himself to Link and provides him with items such as a Baked Apple, Torch, and Woodcutter's Axe. He also teaches Link how to use campfires to pass the time. If Link is not wearing any armor, he will tell him about the importance of wearing clothes to protect himself. At his campsite in the Forest of Spirits, the Old Man hunts animals for food as way to teach Link how to hunt animals for food using a Bow and Arrow. The Woodcutter's House acts as the Old Man's home which Rhoam in the guise of the Old Man sleeps at night to maintain his persona as an old woodcutter. There, the The Old Man's Diary is found.

The diary acts as a way to test Link's resourcefulness, by giving him clues to figure out the missing ingredient to the Old Man's recipe Spicy Meat and Seafood Fry, which the Old Man writes he would reward his Warm Doublet to anyone who could help him remake the recipe so he can record it in his diary. This serves to teach Link about food and armor that can protect him from cold temperatures, as well as a way to introduce him to cooking pots and cooking. During the day, the Old Man can be found cutting a tree near his cabin, which serves to teach Link how to cut down trees to use their logs to create makeshift bridges across a nearby chasm as well as how to cut down trees for Wood.

Though he sleeps in the bed inside his cabin at night, preventing Link from using it, he allows Link to use it whenever he is not sleeping in it. He also teaches Link how to use vantage points to locate things of interest and how to place stamps using the Sheikah Slate to mark them on his map, allowing him use his map to find his way to reach them.

Once Link completes the quest of entering the four Shrines on the Great Plateau, the Old Man tells him to go to the location where the Shrines intersect at the Temple of Time. There Rhoam reveals his identity to Link and proceeds to tell Link of the tragedy that had befallen Hyrule one hundred years ago. Rhoam then tells Link to make his way east toward Kakariko Village and seek out Impa, as heading off directly to Hyrule Castle right now in his current condition would be quite reckless. However he also tells Link that his main goal is to "Destroy Ganon" to free Hyrule and his daughter.

Succeeding in his mission, Rhoam disappears, while leaving one final entry in The Old Man's Diary in which Rhoam as himself explains the reasons behind his deception and his confidence that Link will defeat Ganon and save his precious daughter. Link would later remember Rhoam's confrontation with Zelda on the bridge and find King Rhoam's Journal in the King's Study of Hyrule Castle which survived the Great Calamity thanks to the study being concealed behind a metal bookcase in the castle Library.

"I wonder if this same rain is falling on Hyrule Castle... May the spirit of King Rhoam, Princess Zelda's noble father, be at peace..."
Celessa

Though he perished a century ago, he is apparently still respected by the Hyrulean people with Princess Zelda admirer Celessa expressing hope his noble spirit is at peace.

Following Dark Beast Ganon's defeat, King Rhoam sees his daughter one final time before he and the Champions depart to pass on into the afterlife leaving Link, Zelda, and their remaining allies to rebuild the Kingdom of Hyrule.

Spoiler warning: Spoilers end here.

Personality[]

Rhoam has a similar personality as the other kings of the Royal Family of Hyrule. Being the ruler of Hyrule, Rhoam considers what is best for his land. He is also shown to be very patient, waiting 100 years for Link to awaken from the Shrine of Resurrection.

Though shown to be a patient figure, Rhoam`s wisdom is somewhat questionable, at least when compared to his daughter. Although he meant well, Rhoam`s attempts to help Zelda awaken her powers only served to cause her further grief, straining their relationship. Aside from constantly ordering Zelda to train, he would scold her whenever she studied ancient technology, even outright telling her to not do so.

This is however, largely due to a sense of urgency (brought on by the knowledge of Ganon's return), rather than a form of unfairness. In truth, Rhoam did feel a sense of regret for treating his daughter in such a manner, as well as misunderstanding her pain from losing her mother.

Nevertheless, Rhoam did nothing to help ease Zelda`s emotional pain, with it being revealed in Rhoam's diary that he considered his duties as a king more important than his responsibilities as a father towards Zelda. This is to the point of unwittingly making her shoulder a heavy burden on her own, despite her young age. During Link's Recovered Memory of King Rhoam before the Great Calamity, King Rhoam's interaction with Zelda comes off as cold and harsh as he criticizes her even noting the rumors people have been whispering about his daughter inheriting a kingdom of nothing and tells Zelda it is up to her to prove them wrong. He has dismissive attitude towards Zelda's attempts to contribute via her research and even forbid her from further research. This hurt Zelda as she had struggled and prayed alone to awaken her powers and had only revealed her frustrations to Urbosa and Link both of whom witnessed her training and futile dedication to prayer first hand yet had nothing to show for it. At the time Rhoam failed to see her research was an attempt to contribute something as she recognized that the Sheikah left it behind for a reason and hoped to discover what it was while Rhoam believed it was something that should be left to the Sheikah, ultimately choosing duty over his daughter.

When it seemed as though Zelda`s powers would never awaken, Rhoam began to contemplate on whether he should allow Zelda to carry on with her studies of ancient technology. This was in hopes that she would find a different method to awaken her powers, as well as possibly from feeling guilty for his previous actions. Unfortunately, Rhoam would never be able to carry this out, due to Calamity Ganon`s attack which resulted in his death and the Great Calamity.

It is possible that he felt immense regret in death, which would explain why he became a ghost. However despite his failures in dealing with the Calamity and as a father, he remains devoted to his kingdom and daughter even in death and takes it upon himself to watch over Link as he slept in order to aid him when he woke.

However he was unsure about how to approach the amnesiac Link and decided to take on the guise of an mysterious old woodcutter living alone on the Great Plateau. As the Old Man, Rhoam is shown to be a gifted actor and shares his knowledge of various survival skills from Campfires, Cooking, hunting, woodcutting, and how to deal with extremely cold conditions. It is implied that Rhoam may have realized his failure to support Zelda as a father contributed to the Great Calamity and Link being injured as his daughter and her research team had discovered the Shrine of Resurrection that saved Link's life and had discovered the Shrines of Trials were meant to prepare Link to combat Calamity Ganon and help him grow as a the Master Sword's chosen hero. Thus Rhoam likely fully recognized the merits of his daughter's research and deeply regretted not being more supportive, as while her sealing powers stopped the Great Calamity a century prior it alone could not stop Ganon without Link's assistance who unfortunately was injured defending Zelda while fulfilling his duty as her Royal Guard. Thus Rhoam's decision to watch over Link may have been Rhoam's way of protecting and guiding the one person capable of defeating Calamity Ganon and rescuing Zelda whom had been fighting alone for a century to keep Ganon contained within the Castle that was once her and Rhoam's home.

Befitting a King of Hyrule, he is shown to be knowledgeable of Hyrulean history such as the Great Plateau, Temple of Time, and the Sheikah, as well as his first hand knowledge of the Great Calamity. He even admits he is proud of his acting skills in the final entry of The Old Man's Diary which appears after he reveals his true identity to Link, as its previous entries where written in a manner keeping with his Old Man persona.

However, he suspects that Link may have realized the truth, as the Old Man is mysteriously able to be in multiple locations across the Great Plateau, to the point that it is highly unlikely that an elderly woodcutter would be able to move that fast especially considering his old age. Presumably Rhoam may have assumed that Link would have picked up on this ability which is likely tied to Rhoam's status as a spirit, unhindered by a living body. Though he is proud of his acting, Rhoam apologizes for deceiving Link in The Old Man's Diary and wishes he had been able to be more upfront with him. He shows great faith in Link's abilities despite having fallen in battle one hundred years prior. However Rhoam apparently came to understand the true purpose of the Shrines and Sheikah Slate as he requires Link to collect the Spirit Orbs from Shrines located on the Plateau before he will give him the Paraglider indicating over the years he discovered or realized their purpose was to test and prepare Link for his role as the Hero chosen by the Master Sword. Thus he likely blamed himself for Link's current condition as had he allowed Zelda to continue her research then they might have discovered this information sooner and thus Link would have been better prepared to face the Great Calamity and may not have fallen had King Rhoam been more supportive of his daughter a fact he had apparently become all too aware of. He apparently sought to rectify his mistakes by forcing Link to complete each trial in order to leave the Great Plateau which would serve to help the amnesiac Link recover his strength and hone his skills after slumbering for century thus leaving him better prepared for the rest of his journey. Once Link had accomplished this task, King Rhoam was confident Link would defeat Calamity Ganon, rescue his daughter, and assist her in restoring Hyrule to its former glory. However he advised Link to seek out Impa instead of foolishly heading to Hyrule Castle knowing that Impa would provide valuable guidance and aid to Link on his quest showing he trusted the Sheikah Elder.

Despite their strained relationship, Rhoam is shown to care greatly for his daughter Zelda even after a century had passed, referring to her as his precious Zelda in The Old Man's Diary.

As part of "The Champions' Ballad" DLC, Daruk's Training Journal reveals that Daruk and King Rhoam had witnessed Link combat a Guardian that malfunctioned and went rogue during a test at Hyrule Castle. Using a simple Pot Lid, Link deflected a beam back at the Guardian hitting its weak point defeating it. Daruk notes the King had a keen eye cause not long afterwards Link was promoted to Royal Guard Captain and assigned as Zelda's personal bodyguard. Presumably Rhoam did so to ensure Zelda was protected should a similar incident occur as Zelda was involved in researching ancient technology. Additionally he also may have hoped that Link's talent and the ease at which he adapted to his role might inspire Zelda though unfortunately Zelda resented Link at first for that very reason as she was jealous of his talent. However his decision ultimately proved wise as Link foiled an assassination attempt on Zelda by the Yiga Clan and afterwards opened up to Zelda about how he was burdened by his destiny and silently bore the weight of being the chosen hero, causing Zelda to see Link as a kindred spirit and someone she could relate to. Ultimately it was her desire to protect the injured Link that awaken her powers, thus Rhoam's decision to assign him to protect Zelda ultimately lead to her powers awakening allowing Zelda to contain Ganon allowing the rest of Hyrule to survive and rebuild as Link recovered under Rhoam's watch. In watching over Link and guiding him in his amnesiac state, King Rhoam prepared Link for the trials ahead of him redeeming himself ultimately helping both Link and by extension his daughter fulfil their destiny and bring peace to Hyrule not unlike Daphnes Nohansen Hyrule from The Wind Waker.

References[]

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