Legend of Zelda Twili and Ikana Parallel?

[Phantom7]

While playing TP I discovered some intriguing evidence regarding how the ancestors of the Twili tribe could be the Hylian counterpart of the ancient, deceased Terminian race, the Ikana.

Before I elaborate on this theory, I believe it is necessary to analyze the evidence and explore the background info.

First, let's talk about the newcomer who appeared in the SS trailer at GDC earlier this year.

And you can go back and view the trailer here.

It's clear that this new character is a new villain of sorts because near the end of the video, he is shown sitting atop the large yellow mechanical statue-thing, which attacks Link by throwing boomerang-like discs. What's fascinating to me is his outlandish resemblance to the Twili - not only in appearance but also in the way he vanishes near the end of the video. I believe it's logical that this new villain could be an ancestor of the Twili.

After the battle with Zant in TP, Midna speaks of a "king" who was lost because of the same greed possessed by Zant. Her exact words were "All saw it. A lust for power burning in your pupils... Did you think we'd forget our ancestors lost their king to such greed?"

A video featuring this cutscene can be found here. Skip to 11:12 to see the exact quote.

It's possible that this "king" - the king of the ancestors of the Twili - Midna is referring to could be this new villain from SS. The fact that he is a king brings me to my next point - that Hyrule was not yet Hyrule in SS because Hyrule was not unified as a country by Zelda's father until just before OoT. I know this from the Deku Sprout cutscene from OoT - you can view a video here (just ignore the silly voice-over). Skip to 1:32. The Deku Sprouts exact words are "Some time ago, before the king of Hyrule unified this country, there was a fierce war in our world. One day, to escape from the fires of the war, a Hylian mother and her baby boy entered this forbidden forest."

This conspicuously means that during OoT, Hyrule had only been a unified country for a few years.

Now, with these details in mind, let's compare the ancestors of the Twili (assuming the new villain is their king) with the Ikana.

First of all, Aonuma revealed that in SS, Link descends from the sky to find a kingdom below ruled by evil. If this new character is the main antagonist of the game, and he is a king, it is very probable that he is ruling this kingdom that later becomes Hyrule. In Ikana Canyon in MM, the player discovers that there was a royal family of a kingdom called Ikana, that is now eliminated, leaving only the undead remains.

Could it be true that the king of Ikana, Igos du Ikana, is parallel to the villain in SS, who could very well be the king of the kingdom that existed before Hyrule? As evidence suggests, Ikana existed before it was overthrown by Termina; it is also likely that the king of the ancestors of the Twili ruled a kingdom that existed before it was overthrown by the Hylians - which would make perfect sense considering that Link, a Hylian, descends from the heavens to bring justice to the evil-ruled kingdom below the clouds.

Any thoughts? I'm all ears, and I'm really interested in what everyone's opinions are.

 

[Spire]

I read up on some theories like this on Zelda Universe and Zelda Informer and it is very interesting. I'd like to note that Ikana Canyon is the Terminan counterpart to Hyrule's Kakariko region, which suggests that the Ikana and Sheikah are counterparts. With the Sheikah eye symbol on the throne of twilight and on the Fused Shadow, could this white-haired villain be one of the original Sheikah as well as the original King of Twilight? Allow me to quote Sheik from the moment s/he first met Link in the Temple of Time:

I've been waiting for you, Hero of Time... When evil rules all, an awakening voice from the Sacred Realm will call those destined to be Sages, who dwell in the five temples. One in a deep forest... One on a high mountain... One under a vast lake... One within the house of the dead... One inside a goddess of the sand... Together with the Hero of Time, the awakened ones will bind the evil and return the light of peace to the world... This is the legend of the temples passed down by my people, the Sheikah. I am Sheik. Survivor of the Sheikahs... As I see you standing there holding the mythical Master Sword, you really do look like the legendary Hero of Time... If you believe the legend, you have no choice. You must look for the five temples and awaken the five Sages... One Sage is waiting for the time of awakening in the Forest Temple. The Sage is a girl I am sure you know... Because of the evil power in the temple, she cannot hear the awakening call from the Sacred Realm... Unfortunately, equipped as you currently are, you cannot even enter the temple... But, if you believe what I'm saying, you should head to Kakariko Village... Do you understand, Link?

See that part? By this accord, it seems as if the Sheikah built the temples throughout Hyrule. This wayward figure may be a defect Sheikah who strives to obtain the Triforce by use of manipulative shadow powers (as seen in the GDC trailer; he uses dark purple smoke to control the golden goliath). As Luigitoilet pointed out ca. the GDC trailer's release, he strongly resembles the Gilded Sword, which could be a reference to how he is [at least] conceptually tied to Terminan lore. I'll set up some parallels:

Hyrule // Termina
Kakariko Gorge // Ikana Canyon
Kakariko Well // Ikana Well
Windmill Hut // Music Box House
Kakariko Graveyard // Ikana Graveyard
Sheikah // Ikana
Mysterious Skyward Sword villain // Igos du Ikana

At this point, I do not think this villain is Vaati. Remember, Vaati was actually a villainous Picori (Minish) who used his corrupt wind magic to take the form of a human. This same misconception is applied to both Veran and Onox, who many believe to be Twili and Iron Knuckle/Gerudo when in fact Veran is an evil fairy and Onox an evil dragon.

 

[Phantom7]

Wow, that's really interesting, especially the legends of the temples. The Sheikah seem to have kept records and legends of many aspects of the ancient Hyrule... I wonder how long the Sheikah have existed and how they formed those legends?

But I think there's one problem that stands in the way of the Sheikah theory: The Sheikah are known for their allegiance to protecting the Royal Family, not for being enemies to the Hylians. But perhaps, as much of a stretch as this may be, the Sheikah ruled the kingdom during the SS pre-Hyrule era, but they reached complications and split into civil war, much like the Ikana. Maybe when Link descended from Skyloft to end the rule of evil over pre-Hyrule, as a mediator between worlds, he brought justice and peace to the kingdom below, and the evil side was banished to the Twilight Realm. Because of this, could the Sheikah and Hylians have joined forces and established Hyrule in that kingdom?

 

[Spire]

Yeah that's exactly what I'm thinking actually. This guy may be king of the evil Sheikah, to which the good are trying to break away (actually this is contrary to me describing him as the defect, but anyways..) and establish dominion over. Link is sent down to end this conflict and through it, the Skyward Sword becomes the Master Sword as it brings peace and good dominion over the ruling evil. Seeing as how the Fairy Queen from WW may very well be the Skyward Sword and this guy may be the ancestory of the Twili, Skyward Sword is shaping up to be a perfect prequel to OoT. Its impressionistic art style lends itself as a perfect bridge between the art styles of WW and TP (despite being more than simply meshing the two together). It all seems to be coming together.

I really get the sense that this is going to be the most epic Zelda adventure ever.

 

[Phantom7]

And to add to what you said about the art style, don't you think the impressionism style really complements the "sky" theme? Honestly when I look at a screenshot and see how beautifully the clouds are drawn, I become more and more attached to the art style, and ultimately I've realized how flawlessly it enhances the setting.

Also, what about the Garo? Assuming the Sheikah civil war theory is true, could they be parallel to the traitors who attempted to establish dominion over the Sacred Realm?

And this is slightly off-topic, but what's your opinion on the idea of Skyloft and City in the Sky being the same location? Since the Oocas created the Hylians, and Link is a Hylian, it really would make sense.

 

[Spire]

From the Japanese version of TP, I will paraphrase what I can remember (it is different from the English translation). The Goddesses first created the Oocca to populate Hyrule. They then created the Hylians to co-populate the world, but at this time the Oocca decided to build the capital of Hyrule in the sky to escape the unavoidable dominion that the Hylians would establish. Multiple places inhabit the "Hyrulean Skylands": City in the Sky, Skyloft, Cloud Tops, Realm of the Heavens, Palace of Winds, etc, so I really don't know what it'll be.