In the latest trailer for Tears of the Kingdom, we learned that Tulin would be our Rito companion, and it looks like Tulin holds the Rito Tear. The immediate question that springs to mind is ‘What happened to Teba?’, who appeared to be next in-line to be Champion of the Rito. Today I want to take a closer look at the Rito, why Teba might have taken up the role of Rito Warrior, what happened to Teba, plus what this could mean for the Rito in The Legend of Zelda Tears of the Kingdom.

One of the major surprises from the latest Tears of the Kingdom trailer, was Link fighting alongside the descendants of Champions. While we might have expected Riju and Sidon to return, it appears as if Tulin has taken up the role of Rito Champion, rather than Teba. Teba played an important part in Breath of the Wild, helping Link board the Divine Beast, plus offering advice while in Rito Village.

Hyrule appears to have dramatically changed in Tears of the Kingom. We have the sky islands, the underground, plus the surface of Hyrule has been affected by falling. It’s not entirely clear how much time has passed since Breath of the Wild, but looking at the descendants of champions, then it’s likely to be a few years at least; both Riju and Tulin look a little older, so perhaps 4-5 years has passed. If Tulin has taken up the mantle of Rito Warrior in Tears of the Kingdom, then I worry that something has happened to the Rito Tribe. Tulin would be the first to step up against Ganondorf’s evil forces, and given we can’t see him, then I think something has happened.

The Rito in Breath of the Wild

The Rito are one of the Hyrule’s main tribes, and played an important role in Breath of the Wild. Upon arriving in the Rito Village, Link talks to the village Elder, who directs Link to the flying range and Teba, who has taken up the role of protector of the Rito tribe, given the fall of Revali. Teba is the husband of Saki and father of Tulin. Sometime before Link visits the village, Teba and Harth tried their best to appease Vah Medoh but it resulted in the latter being wounded and they had to withdraw. He returns to the Flight Range where he prepared for another attack against the Divine Beast.

Link travels to the Flight Range where he meets Teba, who isn’t very sure about Link coming along due to his lack of wings and Vah Medoh being in the sky but was willing to test his skills in aerial archery anyway, where Link instead uses his paraglider to ride the drafts and shoot the targets. After he passes the test, Teba permits Link to assist him, but warns of the sub-zero conditions that he must brave and suggests wearing warmer clothing. When they take to the skies, Teba tells Link that he will keep Vah Medoh’s cannons pointed at him while the Hylian uses Bomb Arrows to destroy them. After an intense battle, Teba winces from the wound on his leg and so couldn’t join Link and wishes the warrior luck and gives him a thumbs up before returning to the Flight Range to rest while Link boards Divine Beast Vah Medoh. When Windblight Ganon is destroyed and Vah Medoh is freed, Revali takes back control of the Divine Beast and perches it high above Rito Village where he takes aim at Hyrule Castle. The Rito rejoice at being able to fly at greater heights without fear of being harmed anymore by the Divine Beast’s weapons. It was then that Teba subsequently takes his son to the Flight Range on a daily basis.

The Rito in Tears of the Kingdom

The Rito are likely to take up a major role in Tears of the Kingdom, given the nature of the game with the amount of time we’re going to spend in the sky. We’ve seen Link flying a winged machine of some kind, and this looks like it could be of Rito design, but we’ll have to wait and see when the game releases to find out.

Tulin taking up the role of Rito warrior in Tears of the Kingdom does beg the question, what happened to Teba? Tulin was very young in Breath of the Wild, barely able to even hold a bow, although now Tulin looks more than capable, although it still seems very early for them to be fighting with us. Sidon looks like a warrior ready for battle for Tulin, still looks fairly inexperienced.

Teba may have taken up the role of leader with the Rito. The Village elder was old, so perhaps he’s died and Teba has taken over and he’s in Rito Village, rather than with Link and the others. That would make sense, however, I worry something serious has happened to the Rito Tribe. Given Ganondorf’s return, I fear he plans to imprint his will on the whole of Hyrule, and that may mean some of the ally races get caught up in the battle. We’ve seen Death Mountain spewing Malice, which could have sinister implications for the Goron people.

I worry that either Ganondorf has attacked Rito Village, or debris has fallen from the sky onto Rito Village causing major damage and the death of the Teba. There’s no greater motivation for Tulin than revenge, and given he’s very young, he maybe taking up the bow and fighting with Link because his father Teba was killed in battle against Ganondorf. The obvious choice for the Rito champion elect would be Teba, and we see and hear his conviction in Breath of the Wild. If Hyrule and the Rito were under threat, then he would be the first to want to protect his people.

I certainly hope the Rito play a major role in Tears of the Kingdom, and this worry turns out to be nothing. Hopefully when the game releases we’ll be able to visit Rito Village once again, and Teba will be just fine. However, something doesn’t add up for me with Tulin being front and center. The Sky Islands and the nature of the game fits perfectly with the Rito, soaring high above the sky, in the clouds, with flying machines, rockets and wingsuits. I could see Link and the Rito working really well together. We’ve seen Link with Tulin fighting against what looks to be some kind of boss battle inside a tornado, so this is really just a taste of what we’re going to get with the Rito. However, I simply can’t ignore the absence of Teba, and just how young Tulin is, and this makes me think something terrible has happened to Teba and the Rito as a whole. The good news is we don’t have long to wait to find out, given the game is only a matter of days away.

Let me know in the comments what you think of Tulin, Teba and the Rito in Tears of the Kingdom, I’d love to hear what you think.