Overview, creation story:
The most commonly worshiped of all deities in Hyrule, the three Golden Goddesses, Din, Nayru, and Farore, are credited with the creation of Hyrule itself.
Before the world began, before matter existed, before time was given meaning, the three Goddesses descended upon the chaotic miasma that made up all of existence. This period is beyond mortal comprehension, and involved powers and states of being that are indescribable, impossible to even imagine.
Out of this chaos, the world of Hyrule was forged, given existence and life. The concepts of time and space, of order and life, took on the meanings they have now. Din, the Goddess of Power and fire, first of the three, used her strong flaming arms to create the land itself, and matter as a whole. Soil, stone, fire, the concepts of matter all came into being. There was no order to this existence, yet.
Nayru, the Goddess of Wisdom, and water, second of the sisters, created order and brought structure to the world. From her infinite wisdom came the great, flowing river of time, always moving in one direction. Those with the proper tools could travel up and down this flow. Along with time, there came into being water, which shared many of it’s properties. Finally, laws with which to govern these things – time, space, water, fire, and everything else – were set in place, putting an end to the reign of chaos.
Farore, the Goddess of Courage, and air, last and boldest of the sisters, conceived the concept of life, and brought it into being. Endless fields of grasses, trees, and animals, the smallest insects to the largest monsters, and even the sentient lives of races such as Hylians, are all the result of Farore’s work and fertile imagination. To accompany these new lives, she created air, and wind.
The Goddesses then departed this world, to ensure that their immortal presence would not disrupt the delicate balances put in place. Before they left, however, they created a final token of their presence – The Triforce.
The Triforce:
The Triforce, the catalyst for many of Hyrule’s troubles, and regarded by many scholars as the one great mistake of the Golden Goddesses, was an immensely powerful artifact. It was formed of three pieces, three golden triangles, which met at the corners to form an even larger triangle. This shape symbolized the three since it’s creation, the three triangles set into one cohesive whole encompassing many meanings – the work needed to create the world, the three aspects of the goddesses, the goddesses themselves, balance, and many, many more.
The three triangles, which made up this Triforce are called the Triforce of Power, the Triforce of Wisdom, and the Triforce of Courage. Before they departed, each goddess infused these individual Triforces with a miniscule portion of their powers. Miniscule, but still far more then mortal minds can comprehend.
Scholars and clerics have never had the chance to carefully study the exact effects and abilities of the Triforce or it’s pieces, so the finer details of the possibilities opened to a holder of a piece is unclear.
Nevertheless, great things become possible, as evidenced by the actions of past Triforce holders.
According to ancient religious texts, possession of the Triforce gives the bearer three titles: the Forger of Strength, the Keeper of Knowledge, and the Juror of Courage. It was never made clear what these titles signify, or whether they had any significance in some long-lost civilization… But they are generally accepted as the terms used to refer to those who hold the respective Triforce pieces.
Of course, getting a hold of the Triforce or it’s pieces is no easy task. In the beginning, when the Triforce was first created, the land where it was left became sacred ground, and this sacred ground, the Golden Land, where skies shone gold, not blue, and many things were possible, became separate in some way. A new world was formed, a reflection of Hyrule. Things that occur in one will sometimes be shone reflected in the other, sometimes twisted in strange ways. Cut down a great tree in the Golden Land, and that great tree’s counterpart in Hyrule may sicken and die. But it is unpredictable, and strange. Maybe the tree’s Hyrulian counterpart would gain a new vitality… or maybe, because it’s Hyrulian counterpart still lived, the one recently destroyed in the Golden Land would spring from the ground anew. These effects rarely happen, however.
Even if one were to manage to get into the Sacred Realm, and find the Triforce, other complications would arise.
There was another protection placed on the Triforce. If one’s heart was in balance, the aspects of the Goddesses – Power, Wisdom, and Courage – working in unison within one’s life, that person could gain the full Triforce, and all the terrible power and responsibility that comes with it.
Upon gaining the Triforce, the person’s greatest wish, as interpreted by the Triforce, would come true. If someone with a pure heart, whose greatest wish was for the world’s troubles to end were to get the full Triforce, the world’s troubles would end. But there is a final complication. The Triforce’s expression of this heartfelt wish depends on how strongly the wielder’s heart wishes for this. Therefore, the world’s trouble would only end if that person wished for it in every fiber of their being, in every thought, every movement.
An example of this limitation would be when Ganon, the King of Evil, gained the full Triforce – the Power of Gold. His wish was to conquer the world, control it, remake it in his image, order everything to fit his wishes. His wish was not strong enough, and therefore the Triforce’s expression of his wish was not as strong as he expected. Rather then conquering all of creation, his wish was confined to the Golden Land. The Golden Land was still corrupted, made to fit his own vision of it, remade into the Dark World…. But his victory was not complete, as it would have been had his wish been strong enough.
Of course, if one does NOT have a balanced heart, which is far more likely, the Triforce will split into three. The one with an unbalanced heart will be left with whichever pieces suits him best. If he leans more towards power, and Din, then he will be left with the Triforce of Power.
The other two pieces will disappear, manifesting themselves within the bodies of chosen individuals. The only way for the one who originally tried, and failed, to invoke the Triforce’s power to gain the united Triforce is to reunite all three holders – himself, and the two who the other pieces chose to reside in.
The Three Goddesses:
Din, the Goddess of Power: The first of the three Golden Goddesses, Din represents many things. Power, the actual force necessary to act, to live, to exist, is under Din’s influence. The word “power” may not be the best one to describe it, unfortunately. Fire, in it’s many incarnations, is Din’s element, and anything involving it is deep under her influence. Though Din herself is not malevolent, many of the great evil leaders in history lean towards powers over the other two aspects, simply because it is a seductive, corrupting force, if not controlled. Lifeless matter, such as rock, is also her domain, though her sisters occasionally dabble in it as well. Her color is red. She is often portrayed as a strong woman, wreathed in flames and wearing red clothing, and with a fiery, outspoken personality to match… though there are almost as many different visions of her as there are worshipers.
Nayru, the Goddess of Wisdom: Second of the sisters, Nayru is often considered the calmest, a serene Goddess of the sea, or of water. There are fewer interpretations of her then of Din, but that does not necessarily say much. Nayru’s primary aspect is Wisdom. The exact nature of this “Wisdom” has been argued for ages, but it is generally accepted to encompass things such as logic, order, and the more common sort of wisdom, such as can be found in the hearts of old sages, wizened wise men. During the creation, she had two great accomplishments: Creating order out of chaos, and ordering the concept of time into it’s current form. Her influence reflects this, and anything involving time or the basic laws of existence, such as gravity, falls under her domain. Both of those types of magics are extraordinarily hard to control, of course, but there are other things which her followers have to work with. Water, for instance, is hers, as is anything involving it. Her color is blue.
Farore, the Goddess of Courage: The last of the three sisters, the green goddess of life tends to have the boldest, most active followers. Not because the Goddess is greater then her sisters, but because the very nature of Courage is to try to make changes, to be bold and audacious. Life, and all things concerning it, is her domain. Healing is hers; creatures and living things are hers. Life was her greatest accomplishment, she can create it, and her power can take it away. Her life requires Din’s power to live, Nayru’s wisdom to think, and her own courage in order to act. Nevertheless, she thought of the concept, she brought them into being, and life is undisputedly her domain, as is air, which is her element. Out of the three, she has by far the most interpretations among the world’s populace. She is portrayed as a wind goddess, with a suitably wispy form. She is portrayed as a beautiful goddess of life, wreathed in plant life, along with countless other variations and forms.
The Worshipers:
The Goddesses have been worshiped for as long as life has existed, but, throughout it all, only one organized religion has ever really been a success: The Church of the Triumvirate (See faction section).
Wielding powers granted by the Goddesses, the Archon and priests of the Triumvirate have, over the countless centuries, supplied the populace of the world with places and items of worship, shrines dedicated to the Goddesses, and have, as a whole, kept the religion alive and healthy. They never attempted to create standardized ways to worship, or strict rules regarding the Golden Goddesses. Instead, they have based everything around personal worship, allowing it to be done the way that is felt right.
There ARE priests of the Goddesses, with clerical powers, outside of the Triumvirate, but they are rare, and nearly unheard of within the last few centuries.
Worship of the three Goddesses is almost the only religion practiced in northern Hyrule, but in southern Hyrule, where the Shae’dal and Udein Empires rule the land, things are more varied. In fact, Goddess worshipers are the minority there, with deities such as Shugamri and Veritas receiving more attention.
Considering the world as a whole, worship of the Golden Goddesses is the most widely spread and used religion, but the only place where it is concentrated is in Northern Hyrule.
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