Shrine (Breath of the Wild)

"The shrine only recently started glowing, but it's been there for something like 10,000 years. It sometimes feels like there's a shrine sleeping behind every hill, there's so many of them. Archaeologists get pretty fired up hunting down each one of them, but I haven't got time for mysteries... Still, looking at that glowing light... you do start to see something romantic about the whole endeavor."

— Sagessa

Shrines are locations from The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. The Shrines dwelt by a Sheikah Monk are also known as Shrines of Trials. They are found all over Hyrule, and require Link's Sheikah Slate to gain entry. The four ones from the Great Plateau upgrade the Sheikah Slate with a new Rune ability. There are 120 Shrines of Trials plus the initial Shrine of Resurrection. There are 17 additional Shrines upon installation of the DLC packs, the special Sword Monk's Shrine from the "The Master Trials" DLC and the sixteen new Sheikah Monk Shrines from the "Champions' Ballad" DLC, leading to a total of 136 Shrines of Trials plus two special Shrines. When Link completes a Shrine of Trials, a Sheikah Monk will usually give him a Spirit Orb, usually after completing a "Trial" involving a puzzle to be solved or an enemy defeated, except the sixteen "Champions' Ballad" ones which gift a medallion for the appropriate Divine Beast. The Sword Monk of the Trial of the Sword increases the attack strength of the Master Sword to 60, from the previous increment (of 10). Inactive Shrines glow orange, activated Shrines glow blue and orange, and Shrines completed by Link glows blue. The theme music that plays inside the Shrines is a slowed down variation of the Light World dungeon theme from The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past, with the bagpipe riff playing a prominent role in both versions of the music.

Background[]

Hero Trials[]

The Shrines are training facilities created by the ancient Sheikah with Sheikah technology some point around or after Calamity Ganon's defeat 10,000 years prior to Breath of the Wild. According to Zelda's Research Notes and statements made to herself in one of Link's Recovered Memories they where created by the Sheikah to test and train the hero to help prepare him for the challenges he would face combating Calamity Ganon. Within each Shrine a Sheikah Monk devoted followers of the Goddess Hylia who oversees the trial and it is implied that they were responsible for developing the nature of the shrine's trial. Each Monk holds a Spirit Orb which are symbols of courage featuring Hylia's Goddess Crest given to those who have overcome a Shrine's trial by the Sheikah Monk in each Shrine. By praying and offering four Spirit Orbs to Hylia at any one of her Goddess Statues in Hyrule, the hero is reward with his choice of either a Heart Container or Stamina Vessel thus the trials also serve to help the hero grow stronger much like Hylia's quests, Goddess Cubes, and Silent Realm trials in Skyward Sword were designed to aid her chosen hero.

Shrines contain a variety of trials that test the hero's abilities from puzzle solving, combat, and the ingenious use of Runes and other tools.

As a result, the Shrines are a micro-dungeon as they hold a single trial which involve either puzzle solving, combat, or puzzle trials that featuring Guardian Scouts as common enemies. With the exception of the Shrine of Resurrection, the 120 Shrines are connected to the Sheikah Towers and it is implied that the towers may provide power to the Shrines as the Shrines did not have enough power until Link activated the Great Plateau Tower which caused all the other towers to raise up from the ground presumably restoring power to the Shrines. This allows them to be opened by using the Sheikah Slate on their Guidance Stone terminal.

Shrine Research[]

Before the Great Calamity, Princess Zelda lead the Sheikah research team in studying various types of Sheikah technology in preparation for Ganon's return. They made several discovers chief among them the Sheikah Slate which Zelda took possession of unaware it was intended for the chosen Hero whom Zelda knew was Link as he could already wield the Master Sword having been chosen by the blade to be the Hylian Champion destined to confront Calamity Ganon as his ancient predecessor and may other heroes had before him. Her team also had success in discovering the Shrine of Resurrection an ancient Sheikah medical facility with a advanced form of medical stasis called the Slumber of Restoration. Fearing what kind of demonic monster Ganon must be to warrant such a facility Zelda ensured it would be operational though hoped it would not be needed. Unfortunately Purah failed to properly test the Slumber of Restoration. Zelda's attempts to access the Shrines of Trials were unsuccessful though she was apparently aware they where intended to be accessed by the wielder of the Master Sword though hoped to work around this design as she resented Link's talent which was a constant living reminder of her failure to awaken her hereditary sealing power as the Goddess-Blood Princess of Hyrule. While trying to access the Tena Ko'sah Shrine at the Ancient Columns in Tabantha Frontier, Zelda tried to use the Sheikah Slate to activate its Guidance Stone but failed and Link's arrival interrupted her train of thought and she angrily tried to get her to return to the castle but Link dutifully followed Rhoam's order to protect Zelda as Captain of her Royal Guard. Finding his mere presence intolerable she ended her attempts to access the shrine and refused to ask for Link's assistance. However even if she had they would have failed as unbeknownst to her and Purah at the time the Shrines of Trials were apparently powered by the buried Sheikah Towers thus lacked power to activate even if she had Link wield the Sheikah Slate. Additionally her father viewed Zelda's research as an escape from her royal duties to play at being scholar and as signs of Ganon's return increased he confronted Zelda over her perceived negligence in training to awaken her power when in reality she was doing all she could and at the same time researched ancient technology to contribute to Hyrule's defense without her power that refused to awaken despite her devotion. Refusing to hear her out, Rhoam believing he knew better forbid her from any further research to force her to focus all her energy to awaken her power. However Zelda did one final survey of the Shrines in secret aided by her loyal Sheikah court poet who was secretly infatuated with the Princess thus more than willing to defy Rhoam's order Zelda have no further involvement in the Sheikah's research efforts. Zelda however had to end the survey a day before her seventeenth birthday during which she and Link prepared to journey to the Spring of Wisdom upon Mount Lanayru which by ancient decree required Zelda to wait until she was seventeen to train there. Meanwhile Rhoam had a change of heart and decided to let Zelda's research continue with his full support after she returned from Mount Lanayru. Unfortunately the Great Calamity occured the same day as Zelda's birthday and Rhoam was killed when Ganon attacked Hyrule Castle. After Link was near fatally injured fighting corrupted Guardians which awoke Zelda's sealing power a despondent Zelda was informed by the ancient voice of the Master Sword which only she could her due to her power to hear spirits like her grandmother that Link could still be saved reminding Zelda of the Shrine of Resurrection which would become Link and Hyrule's salvation. After being found by two Sheikah warriors Zelda entrusted Purah and Robbie with taking Link to the Great Plateau. Zelda also gave Purah the Sheikah Slate filled with photos of places she visited with Link to help him remember her in the event the untested Slumber of Restoration caused him to lose his memories.

In the century following the Great Calamity, Zelda's Court Poet survived and mentored the Rito minstrel Kass and upon his deathbed tasked him with a mission to track down the ancient songs of Hyrule that contained clues to the location of various hidden shrines. This was to ensure Kass might pass on this knowledge to Link. Other scholars would take up researching the Shrines and mysterious structures unknowingly related to them in the interest of understanding them. Purah's brilliant student Jerrin also studied Shrines as her primary field of interest though hoped her and Robbie's son Granté would eventually take it over. At one point an explorer visited Mount Granajh to research an ancient structure tied to a Shrine though the explorer was unprepared for the mountain conditions though left behind the Mountain Peak Log in the ruins of their cabin as the only evidence of their research efforts. The Gerudo archeologist Ramella also studied the statues of the Seven Heroines at the East Gerudo Ruins which unbeknownst to her were also tied to an ancient hidden shrine. Meanwhile the Hylian archeologist Calip researched An Ancient Text tied to a group of Guardian Deity statues located northeast of Fort Hateno which unbeknownst to him contained clues to revealing another hidden shrine. Even stable folk such as Geggle and Chork tried to understand the purpose of ancient structures unknowingly tied to hidden shrines. Others heard or passed down information concerning shrines or structures connected to them. However most efforts were hampered by the dangers of the field work necessary to understand them such as monsters, weather, and other obstacles.

However upon Link's awakening and activation of the Great Plateau Tower which caused all Sheikah Towers to raise up restoring power to the Shrines allowing Link to activate them with the Sheikah Slate. Purah took notice of the towers and combined with Link's appearance she expertly deduced Link's activation of the Great Plateau Tower which had been partially uncovered ironically in the wake of the Great Calamity. Purah realized the Sheikah Towers powered the Shrines and the Sheikah Slate was always intended for Link thus explaining why Zelda's efforts had failed as they barely understood the basics. Jerrin would also assist in directing Link to a Shrine at Skull Lake she had learned of through her research. Kass would also aid Link as his master intended and Link would rely on information from various researchers and individuals most whom where unaware it would led to shrines hidden throughout Hyrule thus some like Calip saw the sudden appearance of Shrines that Link discovered as a stroke of luck before continuing their research in earnest.

Shrine quests[]

Main article: Shrine quests

Some Shrines require Link to complete a Shrine quest, a special type of Quest designed to lead Link to, reveal, or access a specific Shrine by completing a quest. In some cases the Shrine Quest itself acts as a kind of overworld trial and by entering the Shrine Link is reward with that Shrine's Sheikah Monk's Blessing instead of another trial. The Monk's Blessing Shrines are smaller containing a elevator and steps lead to a Treasure Chest containing an item and then more steps leading to the Monk who rewards Link with a Spirit Orb simply for entering the Shrine itself, as the quest to access the inside of Shrine effectively acted as a trial in and of itself. Shrine quests sometimes require Link to obtain special orbs often referred to by the Adventure Log as Ancient Spheres which must be placed in special slots to make the Shrine. One of these Ancient Spheres is known as the Sheikah Heirloom an Ancient Sphere passed down through Impa's family. Others require him to do some sort of action on a special ancient dias platforms such as placing or using a specific item on it. Some require Link to do tasks for other characters who prevent Link from accessing a specific Shrine. Others involve Link using clues obtained from other characters like Kass to locate or reveal the Shrine. Sometimes books such as An Ancient Text and Mountain Peak Log contain cryptic clues on how to activate certain shrines. Through her Goddess Statues Hylia herself will communicate with Link giving him Shrine Quests that reveal hidden shrines at the three sacred springs where Zelda trained. Rarely a monk may comminute with Link directly and give him a Shrine Quest intended to lead Link in activating their Shrine usually in locations such as North Lomei Labyrinth, South Lomei Labyrinth, Lomei Labyrinth Island, and Eventide Island which act as dungeon-like environments Link must navigate or test him to find the shrine they conceal. Some of the *The Korok Trials" given by Link's allies the Koroks are Shrine Quests leading to Shrines in the fabled Lost Woods.

Travel Gates[]

Main article: Travel Gate

Once Link activates a Shrine, its Travel Gate unlocks allowing him to warp to it at any time (except during certain Shrine Quests such as "Stranded on Eventide") by accessing the Sheikah Slate's map. Most towns, Stables, and settlements have a Shrine in or around them, thus Link can activate these to use as fast travel points making traveling to these areas easier and less time consuming. Link only has to access the Shrine's Guidance Stone unlock its door and activate its Travel Gate and does not need to complete the Shrine's Trial to use it as a warp point.

Shrine of Resurrection[]

Main article: Shrine of Resurrection

The Shrine of Resurrection is a special shrine hidden underground in the Great Plateau where Link awakens from his Slumber of Restoration at the start of Breath of the Wild.

Sword Monk's Shrine[]

Main article: Sword Monk's Shrine

The Sword Monk's Shrine is a special DLC Shrine that appears during the "EX Trial of the Sword" quest which is unlocked after "The Master Trials" DLC installation. It can be accessed after speaking to the Great Deku Tree in Korok Forest who will tell Link of the glorious trial which will unlock the true splendor of the Master Sword.

Shrine (Breath of the Wild)

Background[]

Hero Trials[]

Shrine Research[]

Shrine quests[]

Travel Gates[]

Shrine of Resurrection[]

Sword Monk's Shrine[]

List of Shrines[]

Central Hyrule[]

Great Plateau[]

Hyrule Field[]

Hyrule Ridge[]

Necluda[]

West Necluda[]

East Necluda[]

Necluda Sea[]

Lanayru[]

Lanayru Wetlands[]

Mount Lanayru[]

Lanayru Great Spring[]

Faron[]

Faron Grasslands[]

Lake Hylia[]

Akkala[]

Akkala Highlands[]

Akkala Sea[]

Deep Akkala[]

Eldin[]

Great Hyrule Forest[]

Eldin Canyon[]

Eldin Mountains[]

Death Mountain[]

Gerudo[]

Gerudo Desert[]

Gerudo Highlands[]

Hebra[]

Hebra Mountains[]

Tabantha Frontier[]

Tabantha Tundra[]

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