Wind Fish

The Wind Fish is a character featured in Link's Awakening. He is large, flying whale who makes his home atop Tamaranch Mountain on Koholint Island, inside of a giant egg. He serves as the main focus of the storyline in Link's Awakening.

The Wind Fish is a deity that is the creator of Koholint Island. During the course of Link's Awakening, it is revealed that Koholint Island is a dream of the Wind Fish. The Wind Fish can only be woken with the Eight Instruments of the Sirens. Should the Wind Fish wake, the island and all its inhabitants will vanish. This presents a moral dilemma for Link, as to finish the game, Koholint and all of the characters living on it must disappear. This is unavoidable upon beating the game, however, as Link only definitively learns the true nature of the Wind Fish until after the final Nightmare has been defeated.

Biography
The Wind Fish is the creator of Koholint Island, a manifestation of land and life seen in his dreams created through the Dreamer's sleep. As the island is just a figment in his dream, the island's inhabitants (with the exception of Marin) are dumbstruck at the idea of land outside of the island's shores. Though how he ended up in the dream is unknown, Link sets out on a mission to awaken the creator to return to his own world.

Throughout the game, many hints and references about the Wind Fish are told to Link through Koholint Islands native inhabitants. For instance, Marin's song is titled "Ballad of the Wind Fish". The story of the Wind Fish is conveyed most often by a sentient Owl that appears and reveals information about the Dreamer and Koholint Island. Ultimately, the truth of Koholint Island's eventual doom is revealed by an inscription in the Southern Face Shrine, however the Owl says that none know for sure whether it is true. The Nightmares, who serve as bosses guarding the eight instruments, know the truth about the island, and some try to tell Link about it upon their defeat. However, they also seem to think that Link himself is part of the dream. The owl himself is revealed to be part of the dream, as he is part of the Wind Fish's soul and Guardian of his dreams and the worlds within them.

Early on in the game, Link encounters the Wind Fish's Egg sitting on top of Mt. Tamaranch in the Tal Tal Heights region on the northern section of the Island. Link is to gather eight instruments found in each of the dungeons and play the Ballad of the Wind Fish in front of the egg. This egg also serves as the final dungeon, with Nightmare featured as the entity keeping the Wind Fish in its eternal slumber.

Upon completing the game, Link is sent upward into the heavens via a staircase created by the Wind Fish. The Dreamer, who has now awakened, reveals himself to be a giant whale lavishly endorned with cloth, metals, and precious stones, showing his god-like status. He explains the peril of the Island, but ultimately tells Link that all dreams must end. With this statement, the island begins to disappear and Link is seen floating on a piece of his wrecked ship. While contemplating if it was only a dream, he looks up to see the Wind Fish flying off into the distance with a flock of seagulls.

The Wind Fish speaks to Link in what appears to be Shakespearian English in the North American translation; however some of the verb conjugations are incorrect.

Theories
It is possible that the Windfish is actually Lord Jabu-Jabu. Both are said to have godlike powers, and they share visual similarities as well. In Ocarina of Time, Jabu-Jabu can be seen in Zora's Domain, but when Link returns seven years later, Zora's Domain has frozen over and Jabu-Jabu has disappeared. If Jabu-Jabu is actually the Windfish, he would have flown out of Zora's Domain before it was frozen over. However, Jabu-Jabu has never been shown to have the power of flight, and lacks the small wings protruding from the Wind Fish's back.

There is another theory that the Wind Fish is the Ocean King, as both Koholint and the Great Sea in the Phantom Hourglass were only a "dream" of Link's Awakening Link and The Wind Waker Link. Furthermore, the Ocean King was willing to grant a wish to Linebeck for his help while Marin had wished to the Wind Fish to be a seagull, and in both instances, the wishes are granted.