Medli

Medli is a young Rito from. She is the apprentice attendant of Valoo, the patron deity of the Rito. She's close friends with Prince Komali and is always watching and worrying over him. Medli is known to be kind-hearted and responsible, and when it comes to helping others, she is not afraid to take on challenges and other obstacles that might get in her way despite not being able to fly too well. Medli accompanies Link into two dungeons in order to fulfill her job as attendant of Valoo and as the Sage of Earth, respectively.

Even during her free time, Medli can be seen and heard trying to improve her skills as Valoo's attendant by practicing her most valued possession: her harp. She's also notable as one of the few characters the player can control other than Link, and as such, plays a crucial role in The Wind Waker.

Valoo's Apprentice
Some time before The Wind Waker, Medli was chosen by Komali's Grandmother to become her apprentice and successor as Valoo's attendant. Komali's grandmother saw the harp that Medli was carrying and had sensed what destiny had in store for the young girl, but kept quiet about it, instead using her position to teach Medli all that she had to know until the day fate would call her.

Unfortunately, Komali's grandmother died and Medli became the new attendant of Valoo. However, unlike the former attendant of the Sky Spirit, Medli could not fully understand Valoo's language, and as such, she was not too confident in her abilities.

All was well until Gohma appeared in the Dragon Roost Cavern and started tormenting Valoo's tail, causing him to go into a fit of rage. Valoo's home became inaccessible and Medli could no longer fulfill her job as his attendant. Moreover, since Medli was not as knowledgeable with the Sky Spirit's language, she could not truly comprehend why Valoo had begun to go berserk. Due to this, Medli feels it's partly her fault that Prince Komali has shut himself in and has lost his confidence for wanting to go and ask Valoo for his pair of wings, for if Medli had possessed some of Komali's grandmother's strength, the prince of the Rito would have more faith in himself. Shortly after, Link arrives on Dragon Roost Island and is asked to meet with Medli so that the young hero can give Prince Komali a letter from his father. After handing over the letter, Medli in turn asks Link to meet her at the entrance of Dragon Roost Cavern once he has spoken with Prince Komali. Link complies with Medli's favor and goes to meet her at the entrance of Dragon Roost Cavern, where she expresses her blame about Prince Komali's behavior towards Link. Moreover, she asks that Link help her reach Valoo by giving her a lift to the entrance of the cavern. Medli successfully gets some wind under her wings and reaches the entrance, where she thanks Link and asks that Link looks out after Prince Komali if anything is to happen to her as she climbs Dragon Roost to meet with Valoo. Just before she departs, she gives the young hero an empty Bottle, and wishes good luck to the both of them.

Link promptly follows Medli into the cavern after he hears that several Rito saw her get kidnapped by monsters. After ascending Dragon Roost Cavern, Link finds her locked up in a cage high atop the mountain where she is being guarded by two Bokoblins. Link gets rid of them and frees Medli, who informs him that a creature is tormenting Lord Valoo's tail. She asks him save the Sky Spirit and gives him the Grappling Hook to help him reach Valoo, which is what she used to get to the top of Dragon Roost. After this, Medli takes off to get help from the other Rito.

After saving Valoo from Gohma, Link, Medli and Komali meet on the beach of Dragon Roost Island. Medli supports Komali in giving his most precious possession, Din's Pearl, to Link. As Link didn't understand ancient Hylian, Medli kindly translates Valoo's words of gratitude to Link. Coincidentally, she also gives Link her interpretation of Valoo's words, thus hinting where he should go next. They rather abruptly say goodbye to each other when Komali runs away to obtain his pair of wings from Valoo and Medli felt she needed to go with him.

Sage of Earth
Afterward, Medli goes back to studying for her job as Valoo's attendant, practicing her harp on one of the cliffs of Dragon Roost Island. Once Link meets Laruto, the former Sage of Earth before Ganondorf murdered her, she informs the young hero that he must look for the one carries the same sacred instrument as her, a harp, and play the Earth God's Lyric, the melody that will awaken the new Sage of Earth. Link returns to Dragon Roost Island where, upon finding Medli, she reveals that Prince Komali has been asking all about his adventures, expressing her pride in him yet also sadness that Komali is now doing things without her guidance. As instructed by Laruto, Link conducts the "Earth God's Lyric" as Medli plays along with her harp, which causes the young girl to faint. She meets Laruto in her dreams, where the two of them play the sacred song. Realizing her new duty, Medli wakes up as the new Sage of Earth, overwhelmed by the fact that she can actually do something to help the world. She asks that Link take her to the Earth Temple, quietly and quickly, for she wishes for Prince Komali to not take notice of her departure and to just remember her as a simple attendant.

Once at the Earth Temple, the King of Red Lions advises Link and Medli how to progress through the temple, resulting in one of the very rare times in a Zelda game that the player can control a character other than Link. The basic setup in the temple is that Medli closely follows Link unless she can't for whatever reason or because Link commands her to stay still. By pressing the R Button, Link can call Medli to him. By using the Command Melody, Link gains control over Medli and can use her ability of flight to reach places otherwise inaccessible. Also, Medli can use her harp to change the direction of rays of light, which often is part of a more complex "light puzzle." Medli can also be used by Link to reach certain areas. Though Medli is not yet proficient at flying, she can carry Link across gaps for a short amount of time.

Link temporarily leaves Medli to fight Jalhalla, but she joins him again after the defeat of the giant Poe to fulfill her duty as the Sage of Earth. Link conducts the Earth God's Lyric for Medli as she plays the song on her harp. As they play it, Laruto temporarily appears next to Medli to play along. This restores some of the power of the Master Sword, to which the young Rito takes notice and urges Link to go to the Wind Temple. Medli stays inside the Earth Temple continuing to pray so that the power to repel evil can stay intact the Master Sword. As Link departs back to the Great Sea, Medli asks of Link to watch over Prince Komali for her.

Medli appears for the final time during the ending scene. Together with Tetra's crew, Aryll, Prince Komali and Makar, she picks up Link and Tetra after their battle with Ganondorf.

Super Smash Bros. Brawl
Medli appears as a trophy and sticker in.

Trivia

 * The symbol shown on Medli's apron is similar to that of Nayru's Pearl and Zora's Sapphire. The connection between the design on her apron and these key objects aids in the fact that the Rito tribe actually evolved from the Zora.
 * Medli has difficulty flying, as she can only fly small distances in decent conditions and had to use the Grappling Hook to progress through Dragon Roost Cavern. This could be connected to the fact that she is the only Rito, besides the cheiftain, who does not appear to have wings hanging from her sleeves.
 * Medli acts in a similar way to Princess Ruto in Ocarina of Time, requiring Link to carry her when necessary (although Ruto needed to be carried constantly). Like Ruto, Medli doesn't open doors herself when Link escorts her. However, Link can "call" Medli to have her follow him, and also use the Command Melody to control her, if they are in the same room. These circumstances only occur in the Earth Temple.
 * When Link defeats Ganon, Prince Komali and Medli are both seen on Tetra's Ship. It can be assumed that they have reunited and that Komali has learned about her role as the Sage of Earth.

Etymology
Due to The Wind Waker being heavily associated with music, it is possible that Medli's name could be a pun on "Medley" or "Melody". Medli's name sounds like the Sanskrit name "Medini," which means "earth." Similarly, Makar's name sounds like the Hawaiian name "Makani," meaning "wind."