Hero's Spirit


 * "White Wolf" redirects here. You may be looking for White Wolfos.

The Hero's Spirit, also known as the Hero's Shade, Ancient Hero, Golden Wolf, or White Wolf, is an undead specter who appears in  and teaches swordsmanship to Link. He is the Hero of Time from and, filled with regrets from being unable to pass on the "lessons of his life to those who came after him" after he was sent back in time to his childhood. He also lamented that fact that he was not remembered as a hero. In order to ease his regrets and finally pass on his knowledge, he teaches the seven Hidden Skills to his descendant, the Link of Twilight Princess.

The Golden Wolf
In Link's world, the Hero's Spirit takes the form of the Golden Wolf. The Golden Wolf is a ghostly-looking wolf, glowing a golden yellow color. Like the humanoid form of the Hero's Spirit, the Golden Wolf's left eye glows red while the right eye is missing. The wolf is summoned by finding a Howling Stone, with the exception of the first time, in which he confronts Link directly. Once a Howling Stone is found, the song has to be howled in tune with the Spirit. He then tells Link to take "sword in hand" and find him, implying that Link had to return to human form before searching for the Wolf and the Golden Wolf will appear as a symbol on Link's map. When Link confronts the Wolf, the Wolf will leap into Link, transporting him into an ancient arena near Hyrule Castle. The arena is described as being a different world and has an ethereal appearance. The wolf then finally transforms into ghostly humanoid form, the Hero's Spirit, who then teaches the young hero one of the seven Hidden Skills.

Appearance
In the other world, the Hero's Spirit's form has bluish skin and a pallid, decaying appearance, with a skeletal face and his left eye glows red while his right eye is missing. He carries a rusting sword and shield and wears ancient armor, which is covered with leaves in sections, and has details reminiscent of the Owl Statues. His sword's scabbard is belted to his waist. From the back, his armor appears to be filled with a ghostly mist, rather than flesh, and his torso is not connected to his legs. The humanoid form of the Hero's Spirit resembles the spirits in Hyrule Castle's graveyard.

Theories
While many facts about the Hero's Spirit have been put forward and confirmed, some popular ideas still persist. These include:
 * The Hero's Spirit regrets not finding Navi - While the Hero of Time is confirmed to have been searching for Navi before and after the events of, it is still unclear if he ever found her. As such, it is believed by some fans that he failed to find her, thus filling him with regret (in addition to his other sources of regret) and so prompting his transformation.
 * The Hero's Spirit is a Stalfos - Given that the Hero of Time (a Hylian) was last seen riding through the Lost Woods, some believe that he was affected by the curse of the woods and became a Stalfos. A counterargument to this idea is that the Hero's Spirit is shown to be rational, intelligent, and emotional, while Stalfos are generally mindless and violent. However, certain Stalfos, such as those in Ikana Canyon, have displayed higher thinking skills, so it isn't inconceivable. The fact that the Hero of Time carried the Triforce of Courage in the Child Timeline may also have played a role in maintaining his sanity.

Trivia

 * The first song that Link howls in order to begin the quest of easing the Hero's Spirit's regrets is the Song of Healing.
 * Link plays the Song of Healing, then takes over the Spirit's powers and eases his troubles, causing him to pass on. This is similar to how the Hero of Time used the Song of Healing in Majora's Mask.
 * Once Link learns the final Hidden Skill, the screen goes white and the Hero's Spirit speaks his final sentence, "Go, and do not falter, my child!". This is similar to how the Seven Sages from Ocarina of Time speak their final words to Link.
 * As the Hero's Spirit is an incarnation of Link, this marks the first time in a game where Link has major dialogue that is not a result of the player's choice. This also marks the first interaction between two different Links.
 * The symbols on the clothes he wears slightly resembles that of Renado's.