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"Have you heard the legend of the "Shadow Folk"? They are the Sheikah...the shadows of the Hylians. They say they swore allegiance to the King of Hyrule and guarded the Royal Family..."

- Shikashi

The Sheikah (シーカー Shīkā), also known as the Shadow Folk, are a secretive, magical race of humanoid beings devoted to the Golden Goddesses and the Royal Family of Hyrule. They are a group of ninja-like shadow warriors that swear loyalty to the Royal Family and serve as its primary protectors and guardians, even in death. As such, they came to gain the title of "Shadows of the Hylians" and are quite skilled in magic and combat. Much mystery surrounds this race, as only three of its known members are depicted in the games, leaving room for speculation regarding their race's history and subsequent disappearance. They are revealed in Ocarina of Time to have been the founders of Kakariko Village and are implied to have been the architects of the eerie Shadow Temple residing behind the village graveyard. Similarly, they are implied to have been the founders of the Hidden Village and to have once had a close relationship to the Oocca race in Twilight Princess. Their race's famed Eye Symbol has constantly reappeared throughout the series, even in games which do not feature the Sheikah themselves, only adding to the mystery surrounding their race.

Appearances
The Sheikah have appeared on more than one occasion throughout the series, and each subsequent appearance has reinforced the overall aspects of them depicted in previous appearances. They made their first official appearance in Ocarina of Time, but only two, Impa and Sheik, are depicted, though both share the typical characteristics of the Sheikah. Though the Sheikah do not appear themselves in Majora's Mask, certain artifacts said to have been created by them that previously appeared in Ocarina of Time do appear, with their name being mentioned in passing. In the Oracle series, a more robust incarnation of Impa appears, though she retains the primary characteristics of her Ocarina of Time counterpart. Similar to Majora's Mask, The Wind Waker does not feature any true members of the Sheikah tribe, though a stained glass window depicting Impa in her Ocarina of Time incarnation as well as the Sheikah symbol do make an appearance. Twilight Princess meanwhile depicts a lone member of the tribe implied to have been named for Impa, Impaz, the last known Sheikah at the time of that game. Phantom Hourglass meanwhile features a modified version of the Gossip Stones once used by the Sheikah.

Ocarina of Time
In their first official appearance, Ocarina of Time begins at a time when very few members of the Sheikah tribe remain, though it is implied that they were nearly wiped out defending the Hylian royalty during the prolonged Hyrulean Civil War that ravaged Hyrule a short time before the events of the game. The primary member of the tribe featured in the game is Impa, the tall, athletic female attendant and guardian of Princess Zelda. She sports the characteristic red eyes and pointed ears that are identifying features of the Sheikah tribe. She is also shown to exhibit the ability to vanish in a flash of light literally in the blink of an eye, hinting at the agility and combative prowess of her tribe. Likewise, a male Sheikah named Sheik is also featured, where the young shadow warrior boasts many of the same abilities and characteristics as Impa and assists the Hero of Time in locating each of the five temples located throughout Hyrule to awaken each of the Seven Sages.

Fans' first sighting of a Sheikah is during the courtyard scene in which Link meets Princess Zelda for the first time, after which he is introduced to Impa, who teaches Link Zelda's Lullaby and guides him out of Hyrule Castle. In Hyrule Field, she gives him further guidance on the next step in his quest. It is here that she reveals that Kakariko Village was where she was born and raised, and it is later revealed by the villagers that Impa was one of the founders and the former leader of the village, which was once a strictly Sheikah settlement before Impa opened the village to outsiders. Her house that still resides in the village is revered by the village's residents.

The Kakariko Graveyard serves as the resting place of both members of the Royal Family as well as deceased members of the Sheikah tribe, complete with monuments built in their honor and depicting their deeds. It is also behind this graveyard that the eerie Shadow Temple, a creation of the Sheikah tribe, resides and extends several stories beneath the surface. Link is also able to acquire from the Happy Mask Shop the Mask of Truth, another creation of the Sheikah tribe, that allows communication with the Gossip Stones left around Hyrule by the tribe. Each of these stones bears the Sheikah symbol and can whisper secrets to one possessing this mask. After he gathers all of the Spiritual Stones and returns to Hyrule Castle Town, Link witnesses the attack on Hyrule Castle orchestrated by Ganondorf and watches as Impa and Zelda flee past him on a white horse, with Ganondorf himself in pursuit. Though Link refused to tell Ganondorf the pair's whereabouts, this would mark the last time Link would see Impa before her true power would be realized.

In the second half of the game, Link is introduced to the mysterious male survivor of the Sheikah tribe, Sheik. Sheik gives Link hints about where to find the five temples located around Hyrule and later reveals to him a previously unknown legend of the Triforce passed down by the Sheikah, which states that only one pure of heart may claim the Triforce in its entirety and transform the Sacred Realm into a paradise; Otherwise, if that one's heart is not in balance, he or she will inherit the Triforce only in part (transforming the Sacred Realm into a world of evil in the process), while the other parts will go to two special people chosen by destiny, who will bear the Triforce mark on the backs of their hands. While on his quest to rescue and awaken the Seven Sages, Link goes in search of the Sage of Shadow after realizing that an evil shadow spirit named Bongo Bongo, who had previoiusly been sealed at the bottom of the Kakariko Well by Impa, has escaped and taken over the Shadow Temple.

Sheik reveals to the Hero of Time that Impa is one of the Sages and has gone to the Shadow Temple to try to re-cage the beast. After being implored to save Impa and being taught the Nocturne of Shadow by Sheik, the Hero of Time ventures into the so-called "House of the Dead" in search of Impa and the shadow beast, armed with the Lens of Truth, another Sheikah artifact that has the ability to see through illusions. When he succeeds in vanquishing Bongo Bongo, Link witnesses the awakening of Impa as the Sage of Shadow, who implores him to look after Princess Zelda in her stead thereafter due to her new duties as one of the Seven Sages. After the Hero of Time succeeds in rescuing all of the Seven Sages, Sheik reveals himself to in fact be Princess Zelda in disguise, having hidden behind the mask of Sheik to evade Ganondorf for seven years. After the King of Evil is defeated, Impa uses her power as the Sage of Shadow to help the other Sages seal Ganondorf in the void of the Evil Realm that was formerly the Sacred Realm. She is last seen overlooking a jubilant Hyrule from atop Death Mountain alongside most of the other Sages.

Oracle of Seasons and Oracle of Ages
The Oracle series seemingly depicts only one member of the Sheikah tribe, once again Princess Zelda's nursemaid, Impa, though she is depicted in a very different physical form and yet retains the classical red eyes and pointed ears in this incarnation. She also exhibits superhuman strength in this game, a difference from her Ocarina of Time depiction. This is likely made possible from her very different physique, which depicts her as being very robust and large-framed, in contrast with her more slender, athletic body-type depicted in Ocarina of Time. Apart from Impa's presence, no other indicators of the Sheikah appear to be present in either of the games apart from a similar eye symbol that appears on the gown of Veran, the Sorceress of Shadows and primary villain of Oracle of Ages.

In both games, Impa has been sent by Princess Zelda to retrieve Din, the Oracle of Seasons, and Nayru, the Oracle of Ages, from the lands of Holodrum and Labrynna respectively due to nightmares Zelda has been having about darkness drawing around the two Oracles. In Oracle of Seasons, Impa poses as the cook for the troupe of Din, hoping to smuggle her out of Holodrum to the safety of Hyrule, though this effort is thwarted by Onox, the General of Darkness, who captures Din and injures Impa amongst others in the process. She largely stays in her refuge north of Horon Village for the rest of the game.

Meanwhile, in Oracle of Ages, the lone Sheikah plays a slightly larger role in the opening events of the game, where she is possessed by Veran, the Sorceress of Shadows, and is used as a puppet to gain Link's trust and have him remove a barrier preventing her from reaching the Oralce of Ages. After she succeeds in this effort, the evil sorceress leaves Impa's body and jumps into Nayru's before traveling back in time. Veran's possession of Impa is revealed to have greatly weakened her, at least temporarily, and she remains at Nayru's House in the Forest of Time for much of the remainder of the game. In the Linked Ending of both games, Impa offers vocal and emotional support for Link as he faces the true villains behind the events of both games, Twinrova, and is there to celebrate at the defeat of the Gerudo witches and the thwarting of their attempt to resurrect Ganon.

Twilight Princess
Twilight Princess once again depicts a seemingly lone remaining member of the Sheikah tribe, Impaz, who resides in the lonely, forgotten Hidden Village and professes to be named after the founder of the village, heavily implied to be Impa. This village and other signs of Sheikah civilization also appear in the game, such as the presence of a statue bearing the Eye of the Sheikah that was given by Impaz to Ilia when she was imprisoned there by Bulblins. A sign over the entrance to the Hidden Village, when translated from Hylian, reads "Welcome to Old Kakariko", implying that the Hidden Village may have once been the Kakariko Village featured in Ocarina of Time. The Sheikah tribe is implied to have been well-known amongst the Gorons of Death Mountain, who state that the tribe dwindled in the prolonged wars (largely conforming to the aforementioned implication that they were nearly wiped out in the Hyrulean Civil War), as well as the Oocca of the City in the Sky, who left the Ancient Sky Book in the hands of the Sheikah some time before they lost touch with surface-dwellers.

After she is abducted from Ordon Village by the henchmen of King Bulblin, Ilia is brought to the Hidden Village, where she befriends fellow prisoner Impaz, an old woman heavily implied to be a Sheikah. Shortly before helping Ilia escape the village, Impaz gave her a parting gift, a Wooden Statue that was an heirloom of her clan, though Ilia accidentally left behind with Impaz a charm she had made for Link. When Ilia made her way to Hyrule Castle Town, she visited a doctor and forgot the statue in his office when she developed amnesia and forgot all about her past, before she was taken in by the kinda barmaid Telma. Meanwhile, Impaz remained captive in the Hidden Village, now overrun by Bulblins.