Four Sword Sanctuary

The Four Sword Sanctuary, also known as the Four Sword Shrine, is a recurring location in the Zelda series, and is the resting place of the Four Sword. Legend states that a hero (potentially an incarnation of Link) used this blade to vanquish Vaati, and sealed him inside the blade. He then placed the sword in a remote part of Hyrule to bind the Wind Sorcerer completely. Over time, the people built a shrine around the pedestal where the blade was placed, thus giving rise to the Four Sword Sanctuary. It can be seen housing the four Royal Jewels used to summon the Tower of Winds, an entrance to the Realm of the Heavens, and also contains a carved image of Vaati's sealing on its back wall.

The Four Sword Sanctuary is first visited in the game's opening cutscene, when Princess Zelda leads Link to it and explains the legend of Vaati. Soon after, Vaati is freed from the Four Sword, kidnapping the princess and knocking out Link. When Link awakens, three fairies prompt him to draw the Four Sword and seek out the Great Fairies to reach Vaati's palace.

The Sanctuary is not visited again until the end of the game, at which point the Four Sword is returned to its pedestal and the seal on Vaati reestablished.

As in its previous appearance, the Four Sword Sanctuary makes an appearance in the game's opening cinematic. Zelda and the six Shrine Maidens first open a portal to the Sanctuary from Hyrule Castle, before Shadow Link appears and kidnaps them. He and Link then enter the portal and reach the Sanctuary (which seems to be shrouded in some sort of dark mist). Shadow Link then forces Link to draw the blade, breaking the seal on Vaati before being blown away by his magic.

Later, after completing the Temple of Ice, the Links return to the Sanctuary (which is revealed to be in the approximate center of Frozen Hyrule, and thus Hyrule as a whole). The Shrine Maidens use the four Royal Jewels to restore the Tower of Winds here.

The Sanctuary is visited one more time at the end of the game, when Link returns the Four Sword to its pedestal and Zelda and the Shrine Maidens place a seal on it, to reaffirm the seal on Ganon.

Trivia

 * The Four Sword Sanctuary is similar, both in structure and purpose, to the Elemental Sanctuary seen in . However, while structurally similar, there are some architectural differences between the two. For example, the four pedestals on which the Elements are placed are arranged, respectively, near the Four Sword's pedestal in the Four Sword Sanctuary, and around it in the Elemental Sanctuary. In addition, the Elemental Sanctuary has three separate rooms and is fairly large in size, while the Four Sword Sanctuary is fairly small and seems to contain only one main area. Moreover, the Elemental Sanctuary is stated to exist outside of Hyrule, between it and the Minish homeland, and indeed was shown to have sealed at the end of The Minish Cap, while the Four Sword Sanctuary clearly exists within Hyrule.