Arbiter's Grounds (Dungeon)

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This article is about the Dungeon in Twilight Princess. For the location in Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom, see Arbiter's Grounds.

The Arbiter's Grounds are the fourth Dungeon in Twilight Princess.[name references needed]

Entrance to the Grounds

The Arbiter's Grounds are located at the far end of the Gerudo Desert in the Desert Province. Link reaches the Dungeon after infiltrating the Bulblin Encampment and defeating King Bulblin. The entrance to the Grounds themselves is uninhabited, except for an Imp Poe that appears at night on one side of it.

Themes and Navigation

The Arbiter's Grounds were a prison built to house Hyrule's most ruthless criminals while they awaited trial, execution, or exile to the Twilight Realm.[1] It has a connection to the Spirit Temple in Ocarina of Time,[2] with both containing a statue of a woman wrapped in a snake. The Mirror Chamber, home to an ancient relic known as the Mirror of Twilight, stands atop the ruins of the Arbiter's Grounds. This is where the sacred council of the Sages presides over the cursed Grounds, conducting trials and executions of convicted criminals.

The Dungeon contains four floors and two basements. The first section is very similar to the Forest Temple in Ocarina of Time, as it requires tracking down and defeating four unique Poes in order to light four Torches and proceed into the inner sanctums of the prison. Link must use his Wolf form to learn the Poe Scent and follow the Poes' essence, which helps him seek them out. After destroying each Poe, one of the four Torches in the main room becomes lit/ Once all four Torches are lit, a door leading deeper into the prison opens, and Link is able to advance to the second part of the Dungeon. Link faces new obstacles in this part of the Grounds. including metallic rails that he can ride along once he obtains the ancient device known as the Spinner.

The Arbiter's Grounds feature many undead Enemies, including Stalfos, Stalchildren, Gibdos, Bubbles, and Ghoul Rats. Link also encounters swarms of Poison Mites, which threaten to slow him down and pull him under pits of Quicksand. The Spinner is protected by the Dungeon's Middle Boss, Death Sword, a vengeful spirit that haunts the sword it once wielded in life. In addition to riding rails to access otherwise inaccessible areas, the Spinner is necessary for activating a Switch that allows Link to make his way to the Boss. There are two Pieces of Heart that Link can obtain in the Dungeon.

Deep within the Arbiter's Grounds lies the remains of a fierce beast, Stallord. Its skeleton is reanimated when Zant unexpectedly appears and stabs the Scimitar of Twilight through the creature's skull. Link can defeat it using a combination of the Spinner and the Master Sword. After clearing the Dungeon, Link can obtain a Heart Container and progress to the Mirror Chamber outside, where the Mirror of Twilight is found.

Areas

Enemies

Other Appearances

Link's Crossbow Training

The following section is not part of the Zelda canon and should not be taken as such.
Link attacking a group of Bulblins in the Ranger mode

In Link's Crossbow Training, the Arbiter's Grounds are the location of two stages. The first is Arbiter's Grounds: Ranger, which is played as a Ranger level. Link can freely roam the area to destroy the 25 Bulblins during the set time allotment. This task takes place outside of the Dungeon in a network of fences, towers, gates, and ruined stone walls. The Bulblins, wielding clubs, will rush towards Link, though they can be eliminated with one shot. Bulblin Archers can be found mostly in higher vantage points along walls and in towers.

The second occurrence is Underground Target Practice, which is set inside a hallway of the Dungeon. The Targets rotate in and out of range from the ceiling in the first scene. The second moves Targets along the Spinner rails towards Link. The final area normally encountered is set immediately before a doorway with Gibdos constantly rising from the Sand. An alternative end scene can be unlocked by shooting the Scarecrows eight times and bursting the head for 1000 points in the first two scenes. This ends the stage at the opposite end of the chamber's hall facing a wall. No Gibdos will appear, but several Targets and bonus gold colored Targets will fill the screen.

Hyrule Warriors

The following section is not part of the Zelda canon and should not be taken as such.

In Hyrule Warriors, the Arbiter's Grounds appear in the Gerudo Desert stage. They are much smaller, being reduced to three halls and two Keeps. They sometimes serve as the headquarters of Forces in various maps of Adventure Mode and Legend Mode.

Trivia

Nomenclature

The word "arbiter" is another word for a judge or a mediator, an authorized person who makes and passes judgment to settle conflicts.

Names in Other Regions
LanguageNames
This table was generated from Zelda Wiki's translation data.

Gallery

References

  1. The Gerudo Desert once held a prison built to hold the worst criminals this land has ever known... The criminals who were sentenced to death were sent directly to the underworld by a cursed mirror that was kept in the prison... Now that prison is condemned, and even the road leading to the desert is impassable. — Auru (Twilight Princess)
  2. Encyclopedia, Dark Horse Books, pg. 45
Dungeons in The Legend of Zelda Series
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Desert Province
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Gerudo Desert
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Ancient Shrines
Caves
Deserts
Gerudo Ruins
Keeps
Oases
Shrines of Light
Other
Prisons
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