The Mirror in the Music

Monday, January 7, 2019

The Mirror in the Music

I logged onto DeviantArt for the first time in a while, and found in my notifications a relatively new journal entry from the group Hyrule-Legends. It was entitled: “Sound Director Hajime Wakai on Zelda BoTW Music”. Posted Saturday, January 5.

Well that was.... just gourmet serendipity. For I was still full of the sweeping, rushing, desperate music from Vah Medoh. Those strings....

User MajorasMasks posted in the entry:

I recently read an interview about an underrated aspect of Breath of the Wild: its music and sound direction. I know some people complained about them, but I think they are top notch just like the rest of the game.

Among other things, in the interview Hajime Wakai explains why BotW doesn't have the canonical overworld music:
"When a composer makes a piece of music he has a plan and idea of how he wants to player to feel, but if this insistence is too strong it can have an effect on the actual game. We would end up forcing a feeling of intensity onto players. The music would be all stirring and dramatic, but then the player would think: ‘hold on a minute, all I did was throw away a mushroom…’"

You can find the complete interview on Nintendo Everything.  

The link led to url: https://www.deviantart.com/users/outgoing?https://nintendoeverything.com/breath-of-the-wild-composers-on-changing-up-zeldas-music-formula-and-more/

And that was the entire entry.

An underrated aspect of Breath of the Wild? The music?

I have to admit, I just wouldn’t have known. I’ve refrained from searching out what the internet has had to say about it all this time.

But now.... with four Divine Beasts finally under my belt.... I felt no dread for many spoilers. Hence my sudden interest in trolling the art site for . . . . whatever I might find.

And lo! THIS JOURNAL.

. . . . . . .

I could contain myself no longer. I commented on MajorasMasks’ Hyrule-Legends journal entry:

I saw this journal in my inbox a few days ago. But now I'm coming back to comment on it because.... Well, I played a bit of Breath of the Wild last night. It is still my first playthrough. BECAUSE OF REASONS please no spoilers.

But last night I defeated my fourth and final Divine Beast, and.... Man, MAN, there has been something incredibly special about the music I hear in those Divine Beasts. And it has grown and shaped and arced over the course of all my adventures. The music I've heard in those places has been the telling of the entire tale; it's Good versus Evil; it's triumphing over the Darkness; it's the rising of the Light, and the striving after Hope.

Am I the only one who has heard this?

What was the music like inside your first Divine Beast? Did it start open, and neutral? But turn dark and affronted and malicious when you started activating pedestals?

Was your second Divine Beast the same?

And when you came to your third, was the Darkness waiting for you this time? Was the music already poisoned when you set foot in that place? And once you started going through the pedestals, did a spear of hope pierce through the sound, to turn the chords into something better? Something brighter? Did the influence of your Hero pull the soundtrack back from the abyss and make it shine?

And when you came to your fourth, and the heated, hot, angry poison met your incursion again, and you started activating the pedestals....

Did the Song turn to the most desperate struggle of goodness and hope that you had yet encountered?

Has this been the experience of ANY one else?
I must know.

Whoever was in charge of the sound, whoever engineered the music for those critical struggles....

That man is a Poet.

And then, some time later, my second comment:

Also I just read the article and ugh.... it's like FINDING YOUR PEOPLE.

MajorasMasks and I had a good following conversation, though he did—he?—*—she, it’s a she—

WE HAD A GOOD following conversation, though she did tell me, in response to my music-mapping, “I think that depends on which order you play the Divine Beasts...”

For with my own playthrough—Elephant, Lizard, Camel, Bird—I had been utterly convinced that there was more at play in generating those Divine Beast soundtracks. The arc was just too perfect, the progression too meaningful. The music had to have been designed to play in that order, regardless of which animal you chose first and which you chose last. It was the Legend’s Echo.

But then.... as of this writing (Evening of Tuesday, January 15, 2019).... I still have not delved too deeply into the Breath of the Wild circles of the internet. Maybe the music is set in that storytelling order I heard, and people have already talked about this. Or maybe each Divine Beast does indeed have its own set soundtrack, and other players have been taken through other musical journey arcs, stemming from all the permutations of play-order for which the game can allow.

I’ll go find out some day, but....

Not today.

I think for now.... I’d just as soon leave it a mystery. And keep riding those striving, striving strings in my heart.

“Hey Dad.”

“Yeah?”

“You saw me doing the Bird?” For he’d stopped to watch a bit here and there. “Do you remember the music?”

He had also.... doubtless.... observed me fangirling all about the music myself as I paraglided around solving the puzzles.

But his eyes lit up to remember. Had he been struck himself, or had it been a contagion from my own reaction? “Yeah,” he smiled.

“What did you think of it?” I probed as excitedly as if it had been a blockbuster film.

“It sounded like....” he slowly maneuvered a hand palm-downward into the air, “kind of a flight-music kind of thing.”

Well that tickled my whimsy all right!

Heh, and was that likewise possibly influenced by the nature of the Beast?

Or was it the Pilot in him talking?

And the Women Better Singers

Waking of Sunday, January 6, 2019 ~ 8

And the Women Better Singers

I went talkin’ around, talkin’ around, and found the Rito Villagers to be happy again. :)

But it was most adorable when I caught one Rito woman, Bedoli, in mid-song. She was so happy that Vah Medoh had finally been appeased, she said, that she hadn’t even realized she’d been singing that old song....

It was an ancient Rito song.

“Teach it to me!” I said. :D

“Oh, well that’s embarrassing,” she answered, but she cleared her throat and sang:

The pride of the Rito, pillar in the sky,

its heart lights up when the sun is high.

And then, “...Uhhh. There’s more to the song, but I forget the rest of the words.”

XD I know that feeling, Bedoli.

She directed me, if I wanted to learn the rest of the song, to speak to her sister Laissa. And a Shrine Quest banner flashed across my screen: “The Ancient Rito Song”.

Well! :D

I ran back to the boardwalk, searching for this Laissa, and I found her in a house just lower down. She had the same plum-colored plumage as her sister....

Laissa said she would sing me the second half of the song, but only if I could recite the first half from memory.

And what followed was one of the most adorable tiny little dialogue guessing games I had ever played. X-)

I was given four response options, one of which was “The pride of the Rito”, and the rest of which were very similar. And in four consecutive parts of four choices each, I was made to reconstruct the verse that Bedoli had sung for me. And the rhyme fragments the localizers had invented were so lovely and clever! XD THIS. WAS ADORABLE.

Once I’d gotten the multiple-choice lyrics quiz right, Laissa sang me the second half of the ancient Rito song:

The heart shines upon a path not whole,

but a warming flame can stir its soul.

Hmmm.... but I thought I might know what that meant.... The “pillar” was surely the Neck of the Crane.... And I had seen a few pedestals around the edge of Lake Totori in the many times I’d taken in the view.... shadow games, perhaps?

This was further along that SHRINE QUEST anyway....

But.... first....

Kheel’s mom was looking for her.

In further meandering about the village, I had come across a light-green Rito lady named Amali. She was looking and calling for her daughter Kheel, but couldn’t find her. Did she go to the Warbler’s Nest? Amali wondered....

We were standing on the landing beside the shrine, and Amali pointed out the Warbler’s Nest to me—it was just across the lake, over on the shore: a group of tall, oddly-shaped stones encompassing a pedestal.

So that was the Warbler’s Nest. I’d seen it through my scope a few times.

Well, I’d be happy to go and take a look! I thought, :D and jumped off.

I paraglided over, and found the little Rito child straight away.

“Kheel what are you doing?” I said, “It’s late and your Mom is worried.”

“My sisters are big dumb dummies!” Kheel started. She lamented that they were all supposed to rehearse at the Warbler’s Nest, but nobody showed up. They were supposed to sing their song for the Elder here.

Then she looked at me more closely and said that I looked like somebody.... she could use....? What did she say? XD

“Thaaaaat is to say you look like a guy who likes to help people in need.”

That little snot! XD

Though now that I think about it, she did kinda have me there....

She told me to go get her sisters.

“They won’t listen to me, but they might listen to a scary-looking Hylian like you.”

Oh thanks, Kheel! XD

Heh, scary, huh? I guess it made sense.... What are Hylians to these bird-people? Weird little naked gremlin-things with squashed faces and stunted fingers? Our toes all facing in the same direction.... creepy!

And a new Shrine Quest was underway: Recital at Warbler’s Nest.

So many musical Shrine Quests! :D

Excellent! X-)

I let Amali know where Kheel had gone, but it was trickier than I thought chasing down all these little Rito sisters EVERYWHERE around the village, reminding them all of their promises to rehearse with Kheel. One was in the shop looking at ingredients, because another one, Genli (the youngest I assumed), was in the kitchen and wouldn’t rehearse until she’d had some Hearty Salmon Meuniére.... One was out actually catching the salmon from a pond on one of the rockspires leading out of the village how.... did a breed of salmon get up there?

And of course I was completely roped into helping make this dish—fortunately they provided the ingredients for me; all I had to do was cook it....

And the last sister.... was practicing on her own up on an obscure crag of the Neck. And she had the last ingredient, so I had to find her first before I could cook for Genli....

My goodness.

Once I seemed to have wrapped up all of their problems, I paraglided over to meet them at the Warbler’s Nest—I’m moving, I’m hustling, I get over there, I think I’ve got them ALL squared away, but—HOLD THAT THOUGHT—

The shadow of the Neck was about to pass over the other pedestal. That shadow-heart thing.... Gotta go do that....

I left the little sisters standing there and paraglided off the Warbler’s Nest ledge and down to the path that led around the lake, running as fast as I could to overtake the shadow....!

When I got to the pedestal, I hurriedly dumped flint and faggot onto its surface and lit it up with a strike of my metal sword—and it was burning. And the shadow was coming. It would cross the pedestal in just a few seconds.

And—wouldn’t you know it.... The shaft of sunlight spearing through the Hiker’s Hollow up in the Neck.... really did light up the ground in the shape of a heart! ^_^ How Friendly. ♡

When the Neck’s shadow completely encompassed the pedestal like the eye of a needle, the pedestal lit up blue beneath the little fire I’d made, and....

The Bareeda Naag Shrine rumbled up out of the earth just a half a stone’s cast inland!

Excellent! ^_^

Cannon was the name of the challenge inside. Just Cannon. Much fun with projectiles and a LOT of lucky shots.... Got through it in a breeze.

All the better. Once I was out, OKAY, I thought, now RUN BACK TO THE GIRLS! I even used Revali’s Gale to go faster and to get up onto the Warbler’s Nest ledge again. Handy! Thank you, Revali. ^_^

The five Rito girls were there. Kheel was so grateful for all my help getting her sisters to rehearsal that she gave me a Korok Leaf. I didn’t have room for it, but I just picked something to drop in the meanwhile so I could at least hold it. For Kheel said that if I were to use it to blow wind at the stones.... the stones would sing.

The girls meanwhile practiced their own song. They stood in a neat little line, but not in age-order—or at least, not in the order I’d seen them in when I’d passed their house at night and saw them in their little hammocks, which I assumed was age-order....

No, they stood in rainbow-order, making a lovely gradient between them all. ^_^

I spoke to Kheel again as they practiced, and she said that she didn’t understand all the words, but that there was one line that always caught her ear: “When the wind convinces the stones to sing, open the monk’s door will swing” or something like that.

Ah, I have to listen to them.

Out of their standing order in line, which seemed to be based on pitch, each one sang a single note in turn: 4____ 5____ 3____ 1____ 2____.

But.... the intervals were so constricted....

They repeated the pattern.

4—5—3—1—2....?

No, that last one wasn’t two, it was the tonic! It wasn’t 4—5—3—1—2.... It was 3—4—2—7—1!

Mi____ Fa____ Re____ Ti____ Do____.

Small steps. It was a cute little tune.

I stood on the pedestal between the stones. Each stone had a hole in the middle—reminiscent of those howling stones from Twilight Princess—as well as an identifying number of knobs on top. Useful....

Wielding the Korok Leaf, I swung it to send powerful air-thrusts at each of the stones in turn. Four knobs.... It resonated the first girl’s note an octave or two lower in an airy, bass-flute kind of tone. Quite a pleasant sound actually.

Five knobs.... Three.... One....

Two!

And on the final resonation is that even a word? No it’s not—And on the final resonance.... what should come up from a nearby spot of ground further inland but another shrine!

The girls all turned around at the commotion and reacted—“Whoa! Was that weird house always there?” “No!” “Who knew Warbler’s Nest was hiding such a secret?” And other such words.

They were adorable. ^_^ Not many people ever got to see me scare up hidden shrines. Much less children at that.

They all decided to fly back home to tell their mom all about it—“Last one back is an unhatched egg!” and such. XD And with a running start back toward the lake, they all fluttered into the sky, bright little rainbow in the sun....

Ah, those girls were sweet. ^_^

But I turned toward my LONG-CHASED PRIZE.

IT HAD BEEN SUCH A BIG DAY.

AND FOR SOME REASON I WAS STILL MOVING.

I AM GOING INTO THE SHRINE NOW.

THANK YOU GIRLS, BE GOOD, AND GOOD NIGHT.

I entered the shrine as the evening was turning the world to gold—the Voo Lota Shrine. The trial within was called The Winding Route.

I was just confronted with a ladder leading upwards out of a tight space.

Hm.

I followed it; the shaft was also very constricted, with no other opening but at the distant, distant top. And once I reached that.... there was only a narrow hallway going forward to a switch....

Not wanting to wear down my weapons any more than absolutely necessary, I simply laid a Bomb, backed up, and flicked my own switch, thank you, Ja Baij....

And right where I had laid the Bomb, right where anyone would have been standing who decided to strike the shrine switch more directly.... a trap door opened up.

Oh my.

I stepped forward and looked down.

Oh.

Ugh.

Freakin’ lava pit. @_@

It was a dicey but fairly maneuverable paraglide between the sparse structures, mostly by power of fan-drafts. But I got the Spirit Orb all right.

Okay, I really needed to get to bed.

Ran back to Rito Village. ‘Cause I liked it here.

I had 27 Spirit Orbs to my name.

I thought of all the places I had been. Kakariko. Hateno. Zora’s Domain. Goron City. Gerudo Town. Lurelin Village. Rito Village.

Mmm Kakariko Village was nice.

But this place was just calming to my heart.

I would pray to the Goddess Statue here.

The one with a crown of flowers.

But....

If I had just one more Spirit Orb....

That would put me at seven sets....

Seven.... That’s a good number....

Hmmm....

Another day.

Good.

Night.

All.

I’m sleepin’ in a Rito Down Bed from noon-fifty until tomorrow morning.

Good night.

<3

Safe Roost

Waking of Sunday, January 6, 2019 ~ 7

Safe Roost

I’ve got to check on Teba, I thought. Had he been able to make it back to the village?

I dashed onto the twining boardwalk....

And I found—

Harth! He’s all right!

He was on his feet and well again!

And he said Teba was safe at home! Oh thank goodness! ^_^ :’D

I pelted higher up the boardwalk and round the Neck.... and there was that bright white plumage—

“Tebaaaaa!” :D

He stood whole and well in his house with his wife and son. “You... I really owe you for what you did,” he said.

“Are you hurt?” I say, though he didn’t look it.

“I’m fine. Thanks to my wife, I’ve recovered to the point where I can stand.”

I guessed I was on that Beast for a good long while....

“Actually, my wife told me something about you.”

Oh?

“She says you’re a descendant of the Champion.”

My only option was, “...”

“Hahah! Go on. There’s nothing to hide!” Teba laughed. “Your bowmanship...the way you move through the air. There’s no doubt about it, you have the blood of a Champion.”

Well, he wasn’t wrong.

“What? You look like you’ve got something else to say.”

And again, I was only give one response: “Actually...”

Teba stared at me. “Don’t tell me...” he started, “You’re the Hylian Champion?!”

I was then treated to two entire paragraphs of silence from the Rito warrior:

“...” Teba says.

“...” he says again.

And then....

“Hahaha! Good one, pal!” he burst out laughing.

Hahhhhhhh.

“Everyone knows that all of the Champions were wiped out by Calamity Ganon 100 years ago. And even if they survived that, they’d be old geezers with canes instead of swords!”

Heh.... it must have seemed pretty ridiculous after all....

“I let the elder know about what happened with Divine Beast Vah Medoh, but you should probably go talk to him,” Teba finished, and I left his house.

I regarded his family on my way out.

.

Snow-white Tulin really was his daddy’s boy.

....

Despite it all....

I love these people.

I talked with Kaneli.

“You have done it!” he hooted, “And you survived, at that! You conquered Divine Beast Vah Medoh!” His owl eyes really were huge.

“To think the beast has taken up roost at the top of the village! It looks simply...divine.”

Heh, fitting description.

“If the legends are true,” he mused, “‘the light from the Divine Beasts will ravage the Calamity.’ For now, Divine Beast Vah Medoh will become the protector of this village and live on in legend...alongside you. Hoo hoo hoo...” He gave a hearty laugh so low and rumbly for an owl! XD

And then, “...Oh, yes! Of course! I must reward you properly! Feel free to take what you find in that treasure chest. You will get more use out of it than I.”

There was a new chest in his little house. I could guess what was in there....

“Champion descendant... I have only just realized. That sword you have in your possession...”

His big, grandfatherly owl face—heh, eyebrows like Kaepora Gaebora come to think of it—and his half-closed, smiling bird eyes as he stroked his braided beard.

“Could it be the sword that seals the darkness?”

Think so, Elder Kaneli?

“The Hylian Champion who fought alongside Master Revali 100 years ago... Could...that be you?”

Divine Beast Vah Medoh – Complete

The banner flashed across my screen.

I checked the chest beside Kaneli’s chair. Inside was a Great Eagle Bow. 28x3 attack power. Nothing to sneeze at.

Its description read, “A bow without equal wielded by the Rito Champion, Revali. It’s said Revali could loose arrows with the speed of a gale, making him supreme in aerial combat.”

Cool.

....

My inventory was full.

....

Later, I guess.