Spiritual Stones
The Spiritual Stones (individually known as the Kokiri's Emerald, Goron's Ruby and Zora's Sapphire) are three collectible items that Link must collect during the first part of his quest in The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. They act as some of the keys to the Sacred Realm. They also follow the precedent of the Pendants of Virtue from A Link to the Past in that they are three items associated with the Golden Goddesses that are collected in the first part of the quest and used to access the Master Sword.
Information
The only known purpose of the Spiritual Stones was to help open the hidden entrance of the Sacred Realm within the Temple of Time, leading to the area where the Triforce was kept. One would have to collect all three Spiritual Stones and present them at the Temple's Altar of Time while playing the Song of Time on the Ocarina of Time. This would cause the Door of Time to dissipate, revealing a chamber where the Master Sword rested within the Pedestal of Time. This was the true final key, as one had to draw the Master Sword in order to open the entrance to the Sacred Realm. These measures were all put into place for the sake of keeping the Triforce out of the reach of evil beings. The Hylian Royal Family held onto the Ocarina and the knowledge of the Song of Time, while the Spiritual Stones were split among the three other races of Hyrule, for whom each stone was named. The stones themselves resembled gems, and each of them had a unique shape.
During the events of Ocarina of Time, Ganondorf sought out the Spiritual Stones so that he could find the Triforce. He attempted to obtain them by force, by endangering and threatening the people who held onto the different stones. However, all of them refused to hand their respective stones over to Ganondorf. The Kokiri's Emerald was instead passed on to Link by the dying Deku Tree. After Link met with Zelda, they hatched a plan to gather the Spiritual Stones themselves and then access the Sacred Realm before Ganondorf could. Link helped to undo the problems that Ganondorf had caused for the other tribes and earned the other two Spiritual Stones in the process. Ganondorf ultimately attacked Hyrule Castle and forced Zelda into retreat, but she was still able to give Link the Ocarina. So Link went through all of the steps necessary to open the gate to the Sacred Realm, although he passed into a seven-year sleep upon drawing the Master Sword due to not being old enough to be considered a hero yet. As for the Spiritual Stones, they were placed within the Altar of Time as part of the process, and they remained there for the rest of the game. Their whereabouts outside of the game are unknown.
Kokiri's Emerald
The Kokiri's Emerald was the Spiritual Stone of Forest, which was entrusted to the Deku Tree, the guardian of the Kokiri tribe. When the Deku Tree refused to give the Emerald to Ganondorf, he placed a curse on the tree which infected him with an evil parasite known as Gohma. As his first adventure, Link was asked to enter the Deku Tree's cavernous insides and defeat the monsters within. Link succeeded, but he was too late to save the Deku Tree. In his dying moments, the Deku Tree passed the Kokiri's Emerald on to Link and asked him to seek out Princess Zelda.
Goron's Ruby
The Goron's Ruby was the Spiritual Stone of Fire, and it was entrusted to the Goron Tribe. It was under the supervision of the tribe's leader, Darunia. It was initially on public display in Goron City and helped to light the area, but Darunia later removed it and kept it to himself in order to keep it safe. Ganondorf attempted to force Darunia into handing over the Ruby by filling Dodongo's Cavern up with monsters and blocking its entrance with a giant boulder. This cut the Gorons off from their most reliable source of food and caused them to start starving. Darunia remained steadfast in resisting Ganondorf, and eventually Link came along. He destroyed the boulder and defeated the monsters within. Darunia thanked Link by appointing him as a Sworn Brother and giving him the Goron's Ruby.
Zora's Sapphire
The Zora's Sapphire was the Spiritual Stone of Water, and it was given to the Zora Tribe's royal family. Princess Ruto ended up receiving the Sapphire as a gift from her mother, who treated it as an item of betrothal. Ruto was told to only give it to someone she would marry, and she nicknamed it the Zora's Engagement Ring. Ganondorf attempted to obtain this stone by filling Jabu-Jabu's Belly with monsters and getting Ruto trapped within it. Ruto lost the Sapphire upon entering the belly and worked with Link to find it. When she retrieved it, she was captured until Link was able to destroy Barinade. With the monsters cleared from Jabu-Jabu's Belly, Ruto agreed to give the Zora's Sapphire to Link and implied that she wanted to marry him.
Symbols
Notably, there are symbols based on the appearances of the Sacred Stones that have shown up in Ocarina of Time and other games, usually associated with the respective tribe and/or goddess of the stone.
- A symbol resembling the shape of the Kokiri's Emerald has been used to represent items and placed associated with the Kokiri people. It was seen on the Deku Shield in Ocarina of Time, doors within the Forbidden Woods in The Wind Waker and the Forest Temple in Twilight Princess.
- A symbol based on the shape of the Goron's Ruby has acted as the symbol of the Goron people in all games from Ocarina of Time forward. Many Gorons have tattoos of the symbol, and it is printed on their items such as the Goron's Bracelet. The symbol could also be found on the Armos statues of Ocarina of Time, and Rosso sports the symbol on his belt buckle in A Link Between Worlds.
- A symbol based on the Zora's Sapphire has acted as the symbol for the Zora tribe in most appearances from Ocarina of Time onwards and has also become the official mark of Nayru, the Goddess of Wisdom, starting in The Wind Waker. It became the only symbol of the Spiritual Stones to be associated with a Golden Goddess. The symbol was also used in Oracle of Ages to represent the Tune of Ages.
Other Appearances
Video Games
- In Hyrule Warriors, the Kokiri's Emerald is incorporated into the Kokiri Spear, one of the weapons that can be used by Lana.
Trivia
- At one point in the development of Ocarina of Time, the Spiritual Stones were intended to be placed in openings on the Ocarina of Time.
- The Spiritual Stones and the Altar of Time have not been shown in other incarnations of the Temple of Time.
- In Twilight Princess, Rutela and Ralis each wear jewels that resemble the Zora's Sapphire.