Sign Language of the Hyrulean Royal Guard

The Sign Language of the Hyrulean Royal Guard is a sign language featured in The Shadow Prince. It is first mentioned after Charles of Moria is discovered to be Ganon, who promptly grabs Princess Zelda and holds a dagger to her throat. Link quickly reaches for his sword, but the King of Hyrule yells out to him and sends him three quick gestures with his right hand by using the sign language of the Hyrulean Royal Guard.

According to the book, the gesture that the king sent means "attack." In the sign language of the Royal Guard, if the attack signal is given three times in a row, the command is to attack. However, if one signal is even slightly different from the other two, the message will mean, "Don't attack."

The signals that the king sends are not identical. If Link chooses to attack anyway, Link will be easily defeated at the hands of Charles, ending in a Game Over. On the other hand, if the young hero decides to listen to the king's signal, Link will have a chance to chase after Charles and defeat him, saving Hyrule from the hands of Ganon.