#depths set

[masked-phantom-47]

Ralsei - Prince from the depths

[aufi-creative-mind]

For prompts: favourite botw/totk outfits?

For BotW, it will definitely the Royal Guard sets.

For TotK, it is actually the Depths set (without the hood) as it is my default outfit whenever I'm exploring through the Depths.

[telekineticmaniac]

My life has been whack lately and I really need to get back to the cosplay part of it — especially with how quickly Anime Boston is approaching. I think I’m gonna try to post some Link every WIP Wednesday (sorry I'm a day late over here on Tumblr) from now until then — wish me luck! 

I’ve barely started the “of the depths” set because I’ve been so busy, but I have been making some slow progress on embroidering all the fabric strips meant to wrap around his arms and legs. The markings on these wraps look curiously different in color depending on the lighting in the game (sometimes green sometimes gold), so to get that effect I’ve been combined threads of two different types of embroidery floss, and I’m satin stitching with that across an original Zonai rune pattern that I came up with based on all the symbols shown throughout the game. In these images the embroidery looks more gold than green but I hope to capture how green the threads can look in other lighting soon too! 

And side note, I’ve already gone through kinda an obscene amount of embroidery floss and bought a ton more and gave up on fitting all my new floss in one box. So I thought I’d take a picture of my little supply boxes whenever I do an embroidery update to show how much I go through and also see how many more times I need to add to my stash. Could just be a dumb idea, but could also be cool to see over time!

[aikoiya]

LoZ: The Sheikah's Ancient Task

I've talked quite a bit about who I think the Fierce Deity is as well as what I think his role was when he was at his peak.

In a lot of ways, I see him as the Soul of the Hero. The central identity at the core of every Link.

As well as the figure that the Bargainer Statues were based on. (Meaning he has 4 eyes.) Him having been the Hyrule Death God among other things. And creator of the Sheikah.

Now, I want to talk about the Sheikah & what their task was after the Fierce Deity became mortal.

I think that the Sheikah were tasked with more than just serving the Royal Family. Rather, to protect Hyruleans in-general. The Hylians especially as they were the Sheikah's sister people. They were also tasked with not only bringing spirits (non-combative poes) to the Bargainer Statues, but also with fighting the Poe enemies on the Surface.

My theory is that the symbols on the Depths Set & the Dark Clumps are ancient Sheikah script, which the Fierce Deity taught them & the strips of paper wrapped around the Dark Clumps are talismans meant to keep malicious intent or On'nenryoku (怨念魔力, magic fueled by malicious intent) simply from leaking out or reforming. Created using Sheishin Fūinjutsu, which is a type of forgotten, sacred runic magic that the Sheikah practiced long ago.

In a lot of ways, I believe that the Dark Clumps are parts from an enemy Poe, which are in many ways like Japanese Yūrei (幽霊, Ghost, Phantom, Specter, or Apparition; from the Kanji Kasoke for Ghost & Rei for Spirit, Soul, Ghost, or Departed Soul). Poe Souls become enemy Poes when their negative emotions build up too much, at which point, they rise to the Surface & create pseudo-flesh bodies to inhabit. The Dark Clumps being pieces of that pseudo-flesh created via hatred, resentment, vengeance, jealousy, & pure will.

One of the Sheikah's roles was to go out & either soothe those Poes (whether via music or reasoning) or, failing that, "kill" them, as well as other undead monsters, & return the spirit to the Bargainers, who would then send the spirits on to the afterlife. In this way, they were quite similar to Miko & Kanuushi in Japanese Shintoism.

They are able to "kill" these entities by using either Light, Twilight, or Spirit Magic & fighting them with weapons forged using ancient weaponsmithing techniques taught by Sheikaku (the Fierce Deity). Part of that process involved engraving Sheishin Fūinjutsu into the metal. Once that's done, the Sheikah is to preform a sacred ritual on the night of either the New Moon, the Full Moon, or the Waning Crescent Moon or Waxing Gibbous Moon, that should bestow Sheikaku's blessing upon it. Sheishin Fūinjutsu, the sacred forging techniques, & even the ritual have all been forgotten to time.

These weapons were also fairly strong against Akuma. Or evil beings possessed by On'nen.

This is why the Sheikah were always so heavily associated with death, spirits, & graveyards.

The Sheikah are simply naturally intune with the world of the spirits, but in order to fully unlock it, they are traditionally taught to open their Mind's Eye (originally passed down to them by the Fierce Deity & the mastery of which turns one's eyes ruby red), which allows them to actually see spirits.

The reason that some Yiga can hear the voice of the Bargainers is because those specific Yiga are of Sheikah descent. They are likely being called to complete the task that their ancestors were assigned.

The Sheikah who were tasked with gathering non-combative spirits wore robes very similar to the Depths Set & carried shepherd crooks made of dark wood. From a hook on those crooks hung black steel lanterns with green flame candles & from the bottom of those lanterns hung a flower-shaped silver bell. These lanterns were known as Lanterns of the Lost & the sound of the bell would draw spirits to it. The spirits would then gather inside the flame.

Sheikah who were tasked with the Surface also carried these Lanterns, but instead of crooks, they were simply carried in their hand. Ringing the bell would still draw out Poes, only then the Sheikah expected to either negotiate with the Poe & find a way to sooth them enough that their darkened flesh dissipated or sever the spirit's connection to the darkened flesh via their own hand using specialized weapons made to banish cursed flesh or the use of light, twilight, or spirit magic.

LoZ Cultural Masterlist 2