Four Sword: Difference between revisions

|game = {{ALTTP}}<br>{{FS}}<br>'{{FSA}}<br>{{TMC}}

|other = [[The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap (Manga)|''The Minish Cap'' manga]]<br>[[The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords (Manga)|''Four Swords'' manga]]

 

The '''Four Sword''' is a legendary magical blade that has appeared in four games of [[The Legend of Zelda (Series)|''The Legend of Zelda'' series]] ({{ALTTP}}, {{FS}}, {{FSA}}, and {{TMC}}). Its blade sparkles with magical power, and it has a hilt of gold, usually encrusted with a jewel that varies in color. As its name implies, when wielded by one of pure heart, it has the power to split its holder into four near-identical copies of themselves.<ref>{{cite|It has mysterious powers... Legends say that when mighty Vaati attacked, a hero arose and saved the people from destruction. They go on to say that by using this sword, the one was as four, and the four combined their strength!|Prologue|Four Swords}}</ref> Not only this, but like its spiritual counterpart in the series, the [[Master Sword]], it possesses the power to repel evil, meaning that like the Master Sword, it cannot be touched by those of impure heart.<ref name="repelevil">{{cite|Your swords are filled with the power to repel evil!|N/A|FSA}}</ref> Like its counterpart, the only person shown to have wielded it in gameplay is the hero of [[Hyrule]], [[Link]]. Typically when it is in use by Link, it will split him into four copies of himself with differing colored tunics: green, red, blue and purple. It has often been used to seal evil entities away such as [[Vaati]] and later [[Ganon]].<ref>{{cite|That is the sacred blade I spoke of, the Four Sword. Sealed away in its forged steel is Vaati, the wind mage.|Prologue|Four Swords}}</ref>

Unlike the [[Master Sword]], the Four Sword was not originally of the world of [[Hyrule]], nor did it originally go by that name. As revealed in ''The Minish Cap'', the Four Sword began as a creation of a race of tiny, thumb-sized beings known as the [[Minish]] (known as the "Picori" by [[Hylian]]s) and was known as the [[Picori Blade]].<ref name="gifts">{{cite|The gifts the Picori gave the humans... What you call the Picori Blade was the first of those gifts. The second... Well, you call it light force, but it is a source of limitless magical power.|Ezlo|The Minish Cap}}</ref> Long in Hyrule's past, a [[War of the Bound Chest|war]] broke out across the land when an army of dark creatures descended upon it and wreaked havoc. Just as all seemed lost, a young man known as the [[Hero of Men]] rose up to defend Hyrule, and the tiny Minish descended from the sky bringing him a sword, the Picori Blade, and a golden light, the [[Light Force]].<ref>{{cite|The tiny Picori appeared from the sky, bringing the hero of men a sword and a golden light.|Prologue|The Minish Cap}}</ref><ref name="gifts"></ref> Using these two gifts, the hero drove back the creatures and locked them all away within the [[Bound Chest]], sealing it with the sword itself.<ref name="prologue">{{cite|With wisdom and courage, the hero drove out the darkness.|Prologue|The Minish Cap}}</ref><ref>{{cite|Do you know about that sword, Link? It is called the Picori Blade, and it locks much evil away in that chest.|Potho|The Minish Cap}}</ref> Following these events, the Picori Blade was carefully enshrined by the people of Hyrule<ref>{{cite|When peace had been restored, the people enshrined that blade with care.|Prologue|The Minish Cap}}</ref> while the Light Force was magically sealed inside Hyrule's [[Princess Zelda|princess]]. For many years afterward, the blade that would one day become the Four Sword was kept in the care of the [[Royal Family of Hyrule]]. It would be brought out of [[Hyrule Castle]] once a year for the annual [[Picori Festival]] held to honor the service the Minish rendered during the war against evil.<ref name="winner">{{cite|The legend has it that, long ago, the Picori gave us this blade. Whoever wins the competition earns the honor of touching the sacred blade.|Potho|The Minish Cap}}</ref>

Upon opening the portal to the Four Sword Sanctuary, the entire party of the Shrine Maidens, Zelda and Link are surprised by the emergence of [[Dark Link|Shadow Link]], who kidnaps the Shrine Maidens and Zelda before luring Link through the portal to the Four Sword Sanctuary.<ref>{{cite|Ah! Wh...who are--? It can't be... You're... Link?!|Zelda|FSA}}</ref> Seeing he has no weapon to duel his dark doppelganger, Link draws the Four Sword from its pedestal, causing himself to split apart in the same manner the sword had worked previously, causing him to split into four different colored versions of himself.<ref>{{cite|If you draw the sword, you must know what will happen. Will you still draw forth the sword?|N/A|FSA}}</ref> Shadow Link laughs and makes a quick exit as Vaati escapes his prison once again and sends the four Links far away with a whirlwind. Upon awakening, the four meet [[Kaepora Gaebora]], who tells them that they must master the power of the Four Sword in order to defeat Vaati and rescue Zelda and the Shrine Maidens.<ref>{{cite|Hoot hoot! At last, you're awake, Link. I am Kaepora Gaebora. ... You sword is weak, but you can restore its power by infusing it with Force Gems.|Kaepora Gaebora|FSA}}</ref> To do this, they must gather a total of 2,000 [[Force Gem]]s in each area they visit to fully power up the Four Sword and give it the [[Power to Repel Evil]].<ref>{{cite|To return the sword to its full strength, find the source of that power: Force Gems. Gather Force Gems wherever they lie, and rescue the maidens and Princess Zelda.|N/A|FSA}}</ref><ref name="repelevil"></ref> In this manner, the four heroes work their way across Hyrule and gradually rescue all of the maidens with the power of the Four Sword.<ref>{{cite|...Ah! Link?! Is that you? And the shrine maidens! You're all safe... I'm so relieved.|Zelda|FSA}}</ref> They eventually reach the [[Palace of Winds]] and confront Vaati, ultimately destroying him for good using the blade's power.<ref>{{cite|Link! You've defeated the wind sorcerer Vaati. ...!|Zelda|FSA}}</ref> However, it turns out that the true evil behind Vaati's release and the evil plaguing Hyrule is [[Ganon]], who has stolen a [[Trident]] possessing the great magic of an evil spirit.<ref>{{cite|Ganon... This beast was once of the Gerudo... Once human. He was called Ganondorf! King of Darkness, ancient demon reborn. The wielder of the trident!!|Zelda|FSA}}</ref> Confronting Ganon alongside Princess Zelda, the four heroes succeed in subduing him while the Shrine Maidens magically seal him within the blade of the Four Sword.<ref>{{cite|Now, the Four Sword... Place the sword that sealed away the darkness on the pedestal.|Zelda|FSA}}</ref> The sword is returned to the Four Sword Sanctuary soon after, now serving as the prison of Ganon.

The origins of the Four Sword are revealed in ''The Minish Cap'', where it is revealed to have once been known as the [[Picori Blade]] and was used by the [[Hero of Men]] to lock away the beasts that plagued Hyrule during the [[War of the Bound Chest]].<ref name="prologue"></ref> By the start of the game, many long years have passed since the war. The annual [[Picori Festival]] is being put on while marking the hundredth year since the Minish last came to Hyrule (as the [[Minish Door]] opens only once a century). The festival's sword-fighting tournament winner gains the honor of approaching the [[Bound Chest]] and touching the Picori Blade itself.<ref name="winner"></ref> The winner this year is a new face in Hyrule, a dark stranger named [[Vaati]].<ref>{{cite|Let the award ceremony commence! Vaati, champion of the competition, you may approach the blade!|Potho|MC}}</ref> However, the stranger reveals he is a powerful sorcerer and uses his dark magic to blast open the Bound Chest thinking the [[Light Force]] is inside, shattering the Picori Blade in the process.<ref>{{cite|...?!? Empty? There was nothing in there but those monsters? What is the meaning of this? Well, I know the force I'm after is somewhere out there. I'm in no hurry. I can take my time searching for it. Heh heh heh...|Vaati|MC}}</ref> When the evil sorcerer turns [[Princess Zelda]] to stone, Hyrule's [[King Daltus]] sends [[Link]] (and consequently his companion, [[Ezlo]]) on a quest to restore the Picori Blade and use its power to break Vaati's curse on Princess Zelda.<ref>{{cite|If Link has recovered, then yes, I would like to ask this of him. Please, turn my precious Zelda back to normal. The Picori should know how to create a new sacred sword.|King Daltus|MC}}</ref>

To this end, Link has the blade's fragments re-forged into the [[White Sword]] by the master Minish smithy [[Melari]] and learns from the Minish that he needs the mystical [[Elements|Four Elements]] in order to transform it into a new sacred sword.<ref name="reforged">{{cite|Wow! That was fast work! But not so fast that I didn't finish your sword! Here, take a look! I call this blade the White Sword!|Melari|MC}}</ref><ref>{{cite|Once you infuse it with the power of the elements, it will become a sacred blade!|Melari|MC}}</ref> The Four Elements are the crystalline jewels infused with the powers of the four major elements of the world: earth, air, fire and water. They are scattered all across Hyrule in different locations, and Link must take them to the [[Elemental Sanctuary]] located in [[Hyrule Castle]]'s courtyard in order to infuse each into the blade of the re-forged sword.<ref>{{cite|If you want to infuse the sword, you must go to the elemental sanctuary. The sanctuary is a strange realm, trapped between two worlds. It is the bridge between the Minish world and the human world.|Melari|MC}}</ref> Meanwhile, Vaati, still searching for the Light Force,<ref>{{cite|You all know of the power the Picori gave to mankind, do you not? The golden light force of limitless magical power... I want it!!! It is somewhere here in Hyrule! Go now, and bring me this power!|King Daltus|MC}}</ref> learns that it rests in a sealed chamber within the Elemental Sanctuary, and that the sacred blade is necessary to gain access to it. The villain decides to wait for Link to restore the sacred blade and use him to gain entry to this chamber. This plan succeeds when Link successfully retrieves the final element, the [[Elements#Wind Element|Wind Element]], from the [[Palace of Winds]] and brings it to the Elemental Sanctuary, where infusing its power into the blade alongside the others fully regenerates the blade and transforms it into the Four Sword. This opens the chamber revealing the location of the Light Force, which turns out to be embodied within the body of Princess Zelda. Vaati learns this and takes Zelda to the roof of the now [[Dark Hyrule Castle]] to perform the ceremony necessary to extract the Light Force from her.<ref>{{cite|Well, you're too late. A mere three more chimes to the bell will bring the ceremony to its end! And with the third toll of the bell, I will become like a god! And your precious Princess Zelda will be nothing more than cold, dead stone.|Vaati|MC}}</ref> Link arrives in time to stop the ceremony and is forced to confront Vaati in several deadly forms (ending with him finally transforming into his Wind Mage form). By creating four copies of himself, Link finally manages to defeat him.

The sword is shown to not have always been of this design however. For instance, when it was known as the Picori Blade, it more closely resembled the Master Sword with its purplish-colored hilt. After it is shattered by Vaati and re-forged into the White Sword by Melari however, it begins to more resemble the shape of the sword it would become, albeit with a green-colored hilt.<ref name="reforged"/> It was not until the power of the Four Elements were infused into the sword that it finally transformed into its present incarnation, with its hilt changing first from red to blue and finally to the gold color that is seen in the chronologically later games.<ref>{{cite|With the power of the four elements, your blade has become the Four Sword!|N/A|MC}}</ref> The Four Elements, which would chronologically later become known as the four "Royal Jewels", also typically are kept near the Four Sword's resting place on special pedestals near the blade's holder.<ref>{{cite|However, you must first gather the royal jewels to reveal the path to the Tower of Winds.|Green Maiden|FSA}}</ref>

Unlike the game, the Four Sword is not originally called the Picori Blade, but rather the “Sacred Blade” in the [[The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap (Manga)|''The Minish Cap'' Manga]]. It still functions largely in the same manner it did in the game however, with Link seeking to re-forge it into a new sacred blade. The Sacred Blade eventually becomes the Four Sword, fulfilling the same role the Picori Blade did within the game. Unlike the game, Vaati eventually sees the error of his ways in the end however, accompanying Ezlo back to the [[Minish World]] in the end after apologizing to all whom he has wronged.

==See Also==

*[[Swords of The Minish Cap]]

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|es= Espada Cuádruple  

|esM= Quadruple Sword

|fr= Epée de Quatre  

|de= {{de|Schwert der Vier}}  

|it= Quadrispada

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