Talon

Talon
Artwork of Talon from Ocarina of Time
First appearance	Ocarina of Time (1998)
Appears in	Ocarina of Time Oracle of Seasons Four Swords Adventures The Minish Cap
Gender	Male
Homeland	(Ocarina of Time) Hyrule (Oracle of Seasons) Holodrum (Four Swords Adventures) Hyrule (The Minish Cap) Hyrule
Hometown	Lon Lon Ranch
Kindred	Malon (daughter) Deceased Wife
Race	(Ocarina of Time) Hylian (Oracle of Seasons) Human (Four Swords Adventures) Hylian (The Minish Cap) Hylian

Talon is a recurring character in the Legend of Zelda series. He is the owner of Lon Lon Ranch, and the father of Malon. Talon frequently acts irresponsibly and carefree; he does little to no work at Lon Lon Ranch, leaving the hard work to Malon and Ingo, the ranch hand. More than once, he is found sleeping, completely ignorant of other people worrying about him.

Talon's appearance is similar to Mario, the protagonist of Nintendo's Mario series. He also wears a pendant that resembles Bowser, the primary antagonist in a majority of Mario games. An identical pendant is also worn by Malon.

Appearances

Spoiler warning: Plot or ending details follow.

The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time

Talon makes his first appearance. Here, Link first finds him sleeping outside Hyrule Castle. He had fallen asleep while waiting to deliver Lon Lon Milk to the Royal Family of Hyrule, and Link had been asked, by Malon, to find out where he was. He awakens Talon with a Cucco, and Talon hurries back to apologize to Malon.

When Link returns to Lon Lon Ranch, Talon holds a special mini-game known as the Super Cucco-findin' Game. In this game, Link must find his three special Super Cuccos before the time limit runs out. If he manages to accomplish this, Talon gives him a Bottle full of Milk. He also jokingly asks if Link wants to marry Malon.

After having been sealed inside the Sacred Realm for seven years, Link returns to find Lon Lon Ranch in disarray. Ganondorf, now the King of Evil, has given the ranch to Ingo, who subsequently kicked Talon out. Link finds Talon sleeping in a generous woman's house in Kakariko Village. He can be woken up with the Pocket Cucco. Eventually, Link can defeat Ingo in a horse race. Ingo's defeat is such that he pretends that he never took over the ranch, and Talon moves back in.

In the ending sequence, it appears that Ingo and Talon have buried the hatchet, as they are merrily dancing together with all the other races of Hyrule at the celebration at Lon Lon Ranch.

The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Seasons

Talon and Malon appear again. Here, the two breed Cuccos north of Horon Village. However, at one point, Talon falls asleep while hiking on Mt. Cucco, and Malon is left to tend to the Cuccos all by herself. Talon can eventually be awakened with the help of a Megaphone that Link can obtain as part of the trading quest for the Noble Sword. As thanks for waking him, Talon gives Link the Mushroom. This time, he even sports a Mario emblem on his hat.

The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords Adventures

Talon is seen only briefly. When Link rescues Malon, and takes her back to Lon Lon Ranch, Talon allows Link to use their horses by collecting Carrots.

The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap

Talon and Malon make their fourth appearance. Lon Lon Ranch is located to the east of Hyrule Town. At one point, Talon manages to lose the key to their house. Link, however, retrieves the Spare Key for them, allowing them to enter.

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.

The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time manga

Talon is the owner of Lon Lon Ranch and Link first meets him when Malon shows him around, he is taking a nap in the barn while Ingo works. Ingo complains about it, but Malon makes a joke of it and says they should call it "Ingo Ranch" instead. When Link returns in the adult saga Talon is fleeing from Lon Lon Ranch and finds Link in Hyrule Field. He tells Link that Ingo has taken over and is threatening the horses and his daughter awfully. When Link heads for the ranch there is a panel that shows Talon looking at Link charging, it is possible that he finds it very inspiring. When Link has secured Lon Lon Ranch the entire staff is re-united and Talon apologizes to Ingo and also says that he will work as well.

Non-canon warning: Non-canonical information ends here.

Theories

Theory warning: This section contains theoretical information based on the research of one or several other users. It has not been officially verified by Nintendo and its factual accuracy is disputed.

Inspiration

As Malon is confirmed to have been based on Marin, a character from The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening, it is assumed that Talon is based on Marin's father, Tarin, from the same game. Both are reminiscent in appearance to Mario, and their daughters share many similarities as well.

Gerudo Wife

In The Legend Of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, Talon gives an interesting reaction to the Gerudo Mask if Link approaches him as a child while wearing it, saying that it looks like his wife, but then decides against it. This reaction hints that Malon's mother has Gerudo ancestry. This could explain Malon's vibrant red hair, which appears to be a recessive trait among most Hylians.

Theory warning: Theories end here.

See also

• Mr. Barten
• Tarin