Spirit Tracks (Object): Difference between revisions

The {{Term/Store|Spirit Track|Spirit Tracks|Series, ST|plural}} are objects in {{ST}}.<ref>{{Cite Book|quote= |book= E |publisher= |page= 286}}</ref> They are a series of special train tracks that span in four directions across the land of [[Hyrule]] that also serve as the titular object featured in the game of the same name, {{ST}}.<ref name=disappear>{{Cite|I have to ask a favor of you, [Link]. As you know, the Tower of Spirits has protected our kingdom for ages. The tower connects all the Spirit Tracks that crisscross the land. However, for some reason, they seem to be vanishing from everywhere. Something must have happened at the tower to cause all this. I must go there to investigate.|Princess Zelda|ST}}</ref> Not only do the rails of the Spirit Tracks provide a means of transportation for Hyrule's people,<ref name=transport>{{Cite|So I hear your graduation is today. You know, I've always had a lot of respect for engineers. Thanks to them, we can go anywhere we want in the kingdom. Plus, they even transport our goods to different places for us.|Man in Castle Town|ST}}</ref> they also serve an even larger purpose as the chains that bind the evil Demon King, [[Malladus]], in his prison, as the [[Spirits of Good]] were not able to destroy him.<Ref name=shackles>{{Cite|With their remaining power, they buried the Demon King's spirit in the ground. They built shackles to imprison him, and a tower that acted as a lock. These shackles cover the land to this day.|N/A|ST}}</ref> They carry through their rails the energy that sustains their existence and powers the [[Tower of Spirits]] at the center of Hyrule that is generated from four special temples located all across the land.<ref name=energy>{{Cite|It's not chains or bars that keep him imprisoned, but an energy that flows between the tower and the four temples that surround it. Correct, my dear. The Spirit Tracks carry that energy. If the tracks are lost, the tower's energy will fade, and so will the Demon King's prison. And that's just what the evil ones are after! They aim to resurrect Malladus, the Demon King.  Right now, my strength maintains his shackles, but it's only a matter of time until they're broken.|Anjean|ST}}</ref> The Spirit Tracks go all over the land, across [[Forest Realm|fields]], [[Snow Realm|through snow]], [[Ocean Floor|under the ocean waves]], over mountains, and even into the [[Dark Realm]].

In {{ST|-}}, the titular Spirit Tracks are revealed in the introduction to have been a creation of the [[Spirits of Good]] to bind the Demon King [[Malladus]] in his prison deep beneath Hyrule.<ref name=shackles/> By the time of the main events of the game a century later, the tracks have taken on another purpose as the primary source of transportation for Hyrule's people, who have developed transportation by trains in the interim period.<ref name=transport/><ref>{{Cite|They say the Spirit Tracks have disappeared. We bring in food and other things by train, so now what are we going to do? I always get fresh fish delivered from the Ocean Realm.|Woman in Castle Town|ST}}</ref> A century after the land the Demon King once terrorized was re-branded as the re-established kingdom of Hyrule, the Spirit Tracks begin to mysteriously vanish, causing Hyrule's [[Princess Zelda]] to suspect one of her officials, [[Chancellor Cole]], of a plot to destroy the rail system to set Malladus free upon the land once again.<ref name=disappear/> These suspicions are confirmed when the Chancellor shatters the [[Tower of Spirits]] that serves as the central hub of the rail system.<ref>{{Cite|And the Tower of Spirits breaking apart... You saw it too, didn't you, [Link]?|Princess Zelda|ST}}</ref>

Though the tracks are restored and the tower rebuilt, Malladus escapes and once more is a large threat to the land. Link and Zelda eventually defeat the Demon King and, with this, the Lokomo depart for the heavens as they are no longer needed to guard the land, leaving Link and Zelda to protect it along with the tracks in their stead along with their descendants.<ref>{{Cite| But our protection is no longer needed. Even without the spirits' guidance, you will do well. So I think I will return to the heavens... In the company of my old friend Byrne. Please watch over this land, my dear. And, [Link]... You must help her. Good-bye... And thank you. Thank you both.|Anjean|ST}}</ref> It is presumed that the Spirit Tracks remained as a very important part of Hyrule thereafter, though now solely functioning in their role for transportation, as evidenced in one ending of the game showing Princess Zelda running to her window in Hyrule Castle at the sound of a train whistle, presumably to greet Link, who chooses to remain a Royal Engineer in this ending.