Skeldritch

Skeldritch is the Boss of the Sand Temple in Spirit Tracks.^[2]

Characteristics

Skeldritch's appearance is very similar to that of Stallord; it appears as a large skull with a spine that rises from the center of a large, ruined room filled with Sand, although it lacks arms and a ribcage, and it also sports a large, horned helmet. The skull is also more human-like than Stallord's beast-like skull.

Skeldritch attacks by firing Boulders from its spine at Link, who will need to use the Sand Wand to create walls of Sand that will deflect the attacks. He can then use the Sand Wand to push one of the Boulders into one of the four catapults surrounding Skeldritch, then strike a Shock Switch to fire it back and destroy one of Skeldritch's vertebrae. However, the last three vertebrae are protected by armor, meaning that Link must load a Boulder into a catapult, run around the room to make Skeldritch face a different direction, then fire an Arrow at the Switch to launch the Boulder at Skeldritch's exposed vertebrae. Skeldritch will also shoot a laser from its mouth to try and strike Link whenever possible. When merely the skull remains, it will float around the arena and try to ram into Link. If surrounded by a wall of Sand, Skeldritch will attempt to break out, allowing Link to attack the ruby-like weak point on the back of its skull. Alternately, Link can lift himself up using the Sand Wand any time he is behind Skeldritch to reach the Boss's weak point.

After Skeldritch is defeated, the Sand will drain from the room, revealing a Treasure Chest containing a Heart Container and a stairway to a lower room where Link obtains the Bow of Light.

Trivia

The "hopping head" phase of the battle strongly resembles the last phase of the fight against Eox in Phantom Hourglass, complete with a vulnerable gem-like object on top of the Boss's head.

Nomenclature

Skeldritch's name is derived from the words "skeleton" and "eldritch", meaning "unearthly", "alien", "supernatural", "weird", "spooky", or "eerie". Skeldritch's name in the PAL version, Capbone, most likely derives from the words cap and bone, as the Boss sports a helmet (cap) and is skeletal in appearance (bone).

Names in Other Regions
Language	Names
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland English^BRBritish	Capbone^[3] Capbone, Ancient Demon^[3]
Japan Japanese	ドスボーン (Dosubōn)^[4] 古代魔人族　ドスボーン (Kodai Makin-zoku Dosubōn)^[4]
Canada French^CACanadian	Sahrros^[5] Sahrros, maître des sables^[5]
The French Republic French^EUEuropean	Draugnir^[6] Draugnir, demon antique^[6]
The Federal Republic of Germany German	Dosubon^[7] Ewiger Geist Dosubon^[7]
Latin America Spanish^{LALatin American}	Cálaver^[8] Cálaver, demonio ancestral^[8]
The Kingdom of Spain Spanish^EUEuropean	Cálaver^[9] Cálaver, demonio ancestral^[9]
This table was generated from Zelda Wiki's translation data.

Gallery

Skeldritch in slumber
Skeldritch awakens
Skeldritch's introduction
Fighting Skeldritch
Skeldritch firing a laser at Link
Skeldritch's weak point is exposed
Skeldritch is trapped in Sand with the Sand Wand
Skeldritch's Critical Point
Skeldritch is defeated
The room where Skeldritch is fought, as it appears after the Boss is defeated

References

↑ Skeldritch, Ancient Demon — Main Screen (Spirit Tracks)
↑ Encyclopedia, Dark Horse Books, pg. 203
↑ ^3.0 ^3.1 Capbone, Ancient Demon — N/A (Spirit Tracks, British English version)
↑ ^4.0 ^4.1 古代魔人族　ドスボーン — N/A (Spirit Tracks, Japanese version)
↑ ^5.0 ^5.1 Sahrros, maître des sables — N/A (Spirit Tracks, Canadian French version)
↑ ^6.0 ^6.1 Draugnir, demon antique — N/A (Spirit Tracks, European French version)
↑ ^7.0 ^7.1 Ewiger Geist Dosubon — N/A (Spirit Tracks, German version)
↑ ^8.0 ^8.1 Cálaver, demonio ancestral — N/A (Spirit Tracks, Latin American Spanish version)
↑ ^9.0 ^9.1 Cálaver, demonio ancestral — N/A (Spirit Tracks, European Spanish version)