- This article is about the Twilight Princess character. For the character from Spirit Tracks, see Russell.
- "Tell me something... Do you ever feel a strange sadness as night falls?"
- — Rusl
Rusl is a character from The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess. He is the master swordsman and protector of Ordon Village. Rusl's wife is Uli, and besides Colin, the couple are expecting the birth of another child: a baby girl seen during the game's end credits.
Biography[]
Spoiler warning: Plot or ending details follow.
Rusl is an inhabitant of Ordon Village, where Link grew up. He taught Link the basics of swordplay, and apparently gave him a Wooden Sword for the purposes of further practice. Rusl seems to regard Link as an older son, or a younger brother. He is first seen sitting near the Ordon Spring with Link in the game's opening sequence, telling him of the other world that intersects with Hyrule when twilight appears. The next day, Link retrieves the Wooden Sword which Rusl had been honing for him.
As part of Ordon's preparations for the upcoming Hyrule Festival, Rusl forged the Ordon Sword at as a tribute to the Royal Family of Hyrule, which he intends to have Link deliver. However, when King Bulblin invades Ordon and kidnaps the children of the town, among them his son Colin, Rusl sustains severe injuries, and Link is transformed into a wolf. Though Rusl survived, he blames himself for his failure. Despite his injuries, he still keeps watch over Ordon, attacking Link, whom he does not recognize in his beastly form, on sight when he attempts to sneak into Rusl's house to more or less steal the Ordon Sword he needs to combat Zant's forces of darkness. Once Link returns to normal, he can return to Ordon. If he goes to Rusl's house, he can see Uli sitting next to Rusl, who is laying down and bleeding.
Rusl is later revealed to have joined the Resistance, a group working towards defeating Zant and achieving peace in Hyrule; as a member, he wears a helmet to conceal his identity. To make amends for his previous failures, he aids Link again in the latter part of his quest by giving him the Golden Cucco that helps fly the hero over the Deep Gorge in the Faron Woods to the Sacred Grove. If Wolf Link approaches Rusl in Faron Woods, he will humorously try to shoe Wolf Link away as he does not have a Sword with him to attack Wolf Link as he did early in the game.
Later on, Rusl, along with the rest of the Resistance, comes to Link's aid when a large number of enemies attack him from the passage where the Boss Key lies in Hyrule Castle; he saves Link's life when a hawk he uses (presumably summoned using Hawk Grass) lifts away an arrow shot by a Bulblin that was aiming at Link.
Spoiler warning: Spoilers end here.
Non-canonical appearances[]
Non-canon warning: This article or section contains non-canonical information that is not considered to be an official part of the Legend of Zelda series and should not be considered part of the overall storyline.
Super Smash Bros. Brawl[]
Rusl is featured as a sticker. His sticker gives a +11 bonus to explosive attacks and can be applied to any character.
Non-canon warning: Non-canonical information ends here.
References[]
- ^ This age comes from Nintendo licensed products such as the trading cards and official player's guide. Please do not change it unless you have a more respected source (in-game quote, developer interview, etc.)