Dragons have played an important role in the Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom, but in the latter we found out the forbidden secrets of becoming a Dragon from Mineru. Today I want to take a closer look at the Dragons, plus look at the identities of Naydra, Dinraal, Farosh and how Nintendo might expand on their story in the future of The Legend of Zelda.

Before we get into it, I’m going to cover topics that spoil the story in Tears of the Kingdom. So if you haven’t completed the Dragon Tears quest, or fought Ganondorf, the consdier this your spoiler warning, and bookmark this and come back later.

Dragons really come to the forefront in Tears of the Kingdom, although Dragons have played a major role in the series for a long time. The more recent Dragons are majestic, seemingly peaceful creatures, but way back in the first Legend of Zelda we fought against Gleeok, the 3 headed Dragon who was a boss in one of the first Dungeons. Gleeoks of course have returned in Tears of the Kingdom.

In Wind Waker, Valoo sits on top of Dragon Roost Island protecting the Rito. He also gives the Rito their wings when they come of age. In Skyward Sword we’re introduced to 3 dragons; Eldin, Faron, and Lanayru, named after the Golden Godesses Din, Farore, and Nayru. They are protectors of the surface world and give Link the Song of the Goddess to help him defeat Demise.

Dragons in Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom

In Breath of the Wild we have 3 Dragons flying around Hyrule. They are Dinraal, named after Din who flys around the Eldin region. Farosh, named after Farore who flies around the Faron region and finally Naydra, named after Nayru, who flies around the Lanayru region.

In Breath of the Wild we don’t really get much of an explanation, they are majestic creatures who fly around the sky, and we have limited contact with them. Nayru was corrupted by Malice and there’s a short quest where you have to save the Dragon.

In Tears of the Kingdom, Nintendo more things forward somewhat. While the Dragons still fly around the regions, Link can now land on their backs. The Dragon’s circle between the sky, through chasms, overseeing Hyrule as these gigantic beasts. Importantly, we have a new dragon, The Light Dragon interduced, and this Dragon is different, always flying high in the sky across Hyrule. While we see The Light Dragon early in the game, little do we know then we’re seeing one of the central figures in the story in Tears of the Kingdom, hidden in plain sight.

Who are the Dragons?

During the Dragon Tears questline introduced by Impa in the game, we find out more about The Light Dragon and their origins. Princess Zelda was transported back into the past by the power of the secret stone. She was transported back to a time long past, to when Rauru and Mineru, the last remaining Zonai fought side by side with the combined races and Ancient Sages of Hyrule against The Demon King Ganondorf. Princess Zelda wants to get back to her own time, but the path forward seems impossible.

Mineru tells Princess Zelda about the power of the secret stones. They are gifts from the Godess herself, and the stone grant huge power to those who hold them. There is also a forbidden power hidden within the stone. Consuming a secret stone will turn you into an immortal dragon. Unfortunately, if you consume a secret stone, then you will lose your essence; personality, memories, everthing. Upon receiving the broken Master Sword, Princess Zelda sees only one way to restore it and get it back to Link years in the future and that’s to consume her secret stone, restore the Master Sword over time, live for thousands of years, wait patiently until the time when Link can retrive the sword and draw it from the Light dragon. Princess Zelda then sacrifices herself, consumes the stone and seemingly condems herself to eternity as the Light Dragon.

Given Princess Zelda consumed the stone to become the Light Dragon, does that mean the other Dragons flying high in the sky were people before becoming Dragons? Were they Hylian, or were they Zonai? Back in the book Creating a Champion there are clues linking the Zonai and Dragons. We can see Zonai ruins all across Hyrule; Dragons represent Courage, Owls for Wisdom and Boars for Power. All together they make up the 3 pieces of the Triforce.

The secret stones were given as a gift to the Zonai, and given they were the only people in possession of the stones, could the Dragons we see flying around Hyrule today in fact be former Zonai tribe members. In Tears of the Kingdom we get to know Rauru and Mineru, although they are the only two members of the Zonai Tribe remaining. Perhaps other high-ranking members of the Zonai Tribe consumed they secret stones and became the Dragons?

All of the Dragons we see in Tears of the Kingdom appear to have similar features; long zonai-style ears as well as other similarities in design. We know that Princess Zelda and Ganondorf consumed their stones to become Dragons, and they ended up looking similar to these Dragons, so it’s not necessarily a Zonai design inheritted by the design of the original character.

It’s highly likely that Dinraal, Farosh, and Nayru are Immortal Dragons – but its not clear where they came from. They could be Zonai Sages of the distant past, or they could even be Dragons gifted to Hyrule by the Godess Hylia herself.

These Dragons could be Zonai, or perhaps they are linked to the disappearence of the Zonai race as a whole. We see Rauru and Mineru, and there’s something about the way Mineru describes the act of consuming a secret stone as ‘forbidden’, and she almost recoils in disgust at the Princess Zelda’s idea. That makes me think perhaps the original creation of these 3 immortal Dragons has something to do with the Zonai people as a whole.

The origin story of these Dragons feels like a great topic for DLC, or even their own game. I’d love to find out more about who they were, and how they became Dragons. I’d also like to know more about the forbidden act of consuming a secret stone, while the concequences are dire, why is this a forbidden act and what happened to make it so.

Let me know in the comments what you think.