There were two other shrines I flagged on Link’s river journey. First up, in Lake Hylia, there’s Ya Naga/Shatter the Heavens. The title is evocative, and this time looking at the ceiling is the way: there are a bunch of breakable blocks up there, bomb arrow, boom, done. (I love bomb arrows, but they’re so rare compared to the other kinds that I’m always hesitant to use them. This game has a lot of that. Stupid durability mechanic.) To get Link up, there’s a giant stone block that Link can roll a bomb under; blowing the bomb up sends the block skyward, and Link has a chance to paraglide to a chest before running over to the monk. Second, there’s a shrine hidden in the Crenel Hills, Namika Ozz/A Modest Test of Strength; smash the Guardian, claim the Spirit Orb.
With business in Lanayru mostly concluded, it’s time to look around for things of interest. There’s another Korok that requires shield surfing to reach the circle before the timer expires, and this time there are NPCs nearby who’ll explain it so I was just ahead of my time earlier. There are balloons and acorns that need to be shot for seeds, not located by pinwheels but just out in the world. Some rocks with Koroks are hidden under piles of leaves that need to be blown away or behind bombable rocks. There are about 60 in the area, all told. Also, Hinox have tougher variants, although really, they’re not any more of a threat, they just take more shots to kill. The blue Lynel is a bit harder, wielding more powerful weapons and using its flame breath attack from the beginning.
There are three more shrines in the area. First, Rucco Maag/Five Flames has a central block over a pool with five torches and a faucet that’s constantly running water. The challenge is to rotate the block so that all five torches are lit; the crystal switches Link uses to rotate the central block are on their own rotating block, and I never got a good grip on what I was doing. I mostly spun it willy-nilly until I got a lit torch on top, the faucet in the water, and was able to spin the remaining four faces until all were lit.
North of the east side of the region, there’s a chain of four islands named for Tingle and his… fellows. These islands are patrolled by flying Guardians. Avoiding the flying Guardians isn’t too hard; they have an illuminated area where they’re looking, so if you’re aware of them, you can stay out of it. Fighting them is annoying because the recoil from firing the laser knocks them out of position so the return volley hits their chassis instead of their eye, and it takes forever to make them die. On Tingel [sic] Island, there’s a slab covering a hole leading to the Kah Mael Shrine/Drop and Rise. The shrine is much easier than getting to and finding it, just a simple balance puzzle that sends Link flying to the end.
Kass brought his accordion and is hanging out in the southwest part of the area, a windy bay with lots of rocks. “He breaks the rocks that serve to bind, above the tempestuous bay. On wings of cloth and wood entwined, he lands on the altar to open the way.” Plain enough: blow up rocks to create a wind tunnel, then ride the wind on the paraglider to the altar. The only challenge is there are four sets of rocks that have to be blown up; without all four, the wind’s not strong enough to carry Link all the way to his destination. Shai Yota’s shrine is a simple blessing shrine.
And there was one final shrine I did during this part of the game. From the northern edges of Lanayru, Link can see the Dah Hesho Shrine and paraglide over to it. It’s another A Minor Test of Strength, a simple fight against a weak guardian. Completing that shrine marks 36 completed shrines for Link. Converting all those to hearts, plus the three starting hearts and one Link picked up in Vah Ruta, gives 13 hearts, which is just enough for Link to successfully claim the Master Sword. The music kicks in once Link has it free, and although the game hasn’t done the Item Get! thing, it’s too iconic to the Master Sword not to do it now, so he hold the sword over his head.
A cutscene plays of Zelda returning the battered and chipped Master Sword to the pedestal after Link’s fall. She speaks to the sword, and tells the Deku Tree she heard a voice speaking from it, probably stating and restating the obvious until Zelda couldn’t wait to be rid of the thing. Zelda also has a message she wants to tell Link, but the Deku Tree tells her to tell him herself. Zelda agrees and places the sword back, leaving it with the classic shot of the sword in the forest illuminated by a sunbeam. Back in the present, Link swings the sword a few times before placing it in a sheath he apparently summoned. The Deku Tree tells Link that Zelda is still fighting in Hyrule Castle and (implicitly) asks him to help her. (He also heals Link for the damage he took claiming the sword.)
The Master Sword has its own special durability mechanic. Rather than being fragile and breaking, it requires energy to use, and when depleted it takes ten minutes to recharge. (Fi and batteries…) Also, except in Divine Beasts and Hyrule Castle or fighting Guardians, it only works at half power.
Next: They call it the Trial of the Sword, but they actually take it away.
