Hero's Spirit

The Hero's Spirit in Twilight Princess.
Hero's Spirit
Species	Undead
Relatives	Link (implied descendant)
Debut	The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess

The Hero's Spirit (alternately referred to as the Hero's Shade in the Prima Player's Guide) is a mysterious undead figure who appears as Link's swordfighting mentor in The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess. It has been confirmed in the Hyrule Historia that it is actually the spirit of the Hero of Time.

Background

The Hero's Spirit is the ghost of the great Hero of Time. This was apparently caused by his regret that he was not remembered as a hero within this timeline and that he had not passed down what he knew to his descendants. He had two forms, with his initial form being that of a golden wolf. After leaping at Link, Link would be sent to some mysterious white plane in which the Hero's Spirit appeared as an armored skeletal figure. This is where the spirit taught Link special skills. He saw that Link had the potential to be a legendary hero and wanted to make sure that Link was more powerful so that he would not "disgrace the proud green of the hero's tunic". He believed that the sword's strength came from the holder's courage, and that courage must be used to seek power. The spirit first appeared to Link by the Forest Temple and taught him the ending blow. The Hero's Spirit offered to teach Link a total of seven hidden skills which were only for "one who carries "the blood of the hero" and "whose spirit is that of the sublime beast".

To meet him for the other six skills, Link had to find the Howling Stones hidden throughout Hyrule and howl the song that the wind was playing through them while in Wolf form. Wolf Link would then engage in a quick duet with the spirit's own wolf form before Link was teleported to the training session. As he taught link, the spirit also told Link about the general hardships of the hero's path, which he described as a long and lonely one. He acted cold and ruthless towards Link during the lessons, but this was primarily so that Link would not take his duties too lightly. As time went on, their lessons traveled into the realm of true secrecy, and the last few skills were described as forgotten ways that did not leave their bloodline, some of which could endanger Link. After Link learned the sixth skill, the Hero's Spirit commended him for his progress and told him that he had achieved the strength required of the hero. He encouraged Link to believe in his strength and not stray from his path. The last skill he passed on was the great spin, which he described his lost art and a skill that could only be earned by the one true hero. Once Link mastered the skill, the Hero's Spirit was impressed and became glad that he had finally eased his regrets by passing down his life's teachings. He was sure that Link could restore Hyrule to being a chosen land of the gods and bid him farewell while asking him not to falter.

Trivia

• His dialogue gives the impression that he is related to Link due to all of the mentioning of his bloodline. His references to his previous life as a hero, particularly in that he refers to himself as "the hero" after teaching Link a skill known to the "one true hero" (a term sometimes used to describe Link), also implies that he may be the spirit of a preceding Link such as the Hero of Time. Although there is no evidence in his physical appearance to support this, this was later confirmed by the Hyrule Historia.
• His appearance marks the only time that a different incarnation of Link has appeared as a separate character in a Zelda game and with full dialogue.