Tetra's "Forgotten" Past

This is a thread that may explicate and clarify the many mysteries that surround the character Tetra. Here it is, it may explain a lot, see what you think of it, enjoy! If you have any questions feel free to ask me

Tetra’s Forgotten Past
One of the many enigmas of TWW insinuates towards Tetra, the young female Pirate Captain. For a while I have been attempting to solve the mystery of the hidden biography behind this young girl. Concealed behind this mean pirate mug, there is a distinct personality waiting to be liberated from this pirate bondage. A certain characteristic that has yet to be revealed, by observing her pirate semblance you can clearly sense a distinctive feature and mannerism. Tetra inherited her position as Pirate Leader at a young age from her mother. This explicates why she is so young yet has that possession of high authority over the rest of the crew. Her dictatorial acerbic manner is not to be taken seriously; really on the inside she is very affectionate and generous towards Link as the story progresses. As there friendship begins to develop, Tetra begins to feel empathy towards Link’s hard situation and so she gradually matures. An example of this feeling of empathy is the scene at the Bomb Shop where the pirates are plundering the shop’s supply of bombs. Once Link sneaks into the back entrance of the Bomb Shop the only pirate that spots him is Tetra. At this point she is aware that it’s Link and so she gives a significant wink and alters the plan completely so that Link can retrieve the pearl before them. So as you can see she is a different person and she never indicated to her pirate buddies that Link was there.

We can now begin to contemplate her mysterious identity concealed behind her pirate figure. Despite her mannerisms of a typical, authoritative pirate we already know she has other hidden feelings in which she clearly expresses later on. As we know she inherited her position at a young age from her mother, we can assume that her mother was the previous captain. The reason her mother might have assigned her young daughter as Pirate Leader could be that: She may have died tragically and so the crew had to bring up her daughter as one of them. This is very logical indeed, although she was the leader, she had to be taught and disciplined and gradually become quite a knowledge young girl of high status. When she finally grasped all the knowledge she needed, her chance to acquire full authority would begin. Nevertheless there is a question that is quite discombobulating, a more abstract piece of information. When you visit Hyrule Castle this is a painting that portrays a faithful young princess and her royal crew standing. In the painting it signifies that they are all wearing opulent, royal garments. Yet this painting dignifies a more significant, resourceful approach. When observing this painting you can clearly distinguish that this Princess’s royal crew has direct comparison to Tetra’s crew of disarrayed, scandalous pirates. If this is the same crew then why did they have to undergo the complete transformation from a royal, prestigious crew into a bunch of mean, ruthless grubby looking pirates?

With the transformation they completed changed there demeanour and above all there recognized appearance totally. The Princess in the picture is with no doubt Tetra, or is it? Was the sole purpose of the transformation to avoid being noticed or recognized? What did they have to hide? So many questions yet no logical evidence whatsoever to justify these complex questions. I can only assume that this Princess in the picture “is” Tetra and possibly this picture was taken at the time when she was a very young girl with extreme royal power. What doesn’t make sense is that this picture, when looking at it, it seems it must have been taken during the time when Hyrule Castle was prominent and not submerged beneath the Great Sea. Her crew all have unique, different personalities but are all equally loyal to there captain. These questions I may never be able to answer, but I can certainly clarify many other enigmas of Tetra with assumptions.

When Link first met Tetra she was being carried away in the beak of a monstrous bird, this bird was also known as the Helmaroc King. The bird is a fellow accomplice of the evil Ganon and it was specifically programmed to soar the skies and snatch young girls with pointy ears. The reason why Ganon gave it this specific order is that the girl he was looking for had this distinct feature. He was looking for Princess Zelda so that he could acquire the Triforce of Wisdom in which he desperately needed. Luckily the bird snatched Tetra who was as we know, the Princess Zelda but hidden in the disguise of a pirate. Link managed to save Tetra from the Forest and she greeted him in a non-royal manner (maybe to hide her inner identity). Tetra has possession of a sacred, magically stone she call’s the Pirate’s Charm; this enables her to communicate with Link telepathically.

According to the King the stone is an enhanced version of the Gossip Stones long spoken of in the legends of the Hyrulian Royal Family. He then states immediately after that he was the one who made it, if so then how did she acquire it? It’s not specifically stated in TWW Script but it’s possible she came into a possession of it at a young age, maybe from her mother. It’s not known at all who her mother actually was and what connection she had with the Royal Family. Many have claimed she had no connection with the Royal Family, but then how did she come across the Triforce of Wisdom? This is said by the King to Tetra:

The necklace you wear is part of a sacred treasure called the Triforce of Wisdom, which has been passed down for many ages within the royal family of Hyrule. Your mother passed this down to you and instructed you to treasure it and guard it with your life. Am I not correct? The Triforce of Wisdom is none other than the sacred power of the gods that we have kept from Ganon's clutches for so many long years. The gods placed upon your ancestors the task of protecting it from evil's grasp. You, too, must abide by the laws of the past... and so the time has come for me to teach you the fate into which you were born, the very reason that you live.

Through reading this I have picked many relevant bits of information, one of them was that according to the King she must abide by the laws of the past. This is no doubt referring to her past life as a Princess and then mysteriously becoming a pirate leader. It’s not known why she had to undergo the transformation from Princess to Pirate; this applies to the crew too. They all had to completely take a fashion alteration and a change of personality, but why? Did she herself want to go through with this? At the time she was a very young girl, a girl who wasn’t aware of the royal connection she had. But then maybe this is why she was so confused when Ganon confirmed her to be the Princess Zelda he was looking for. It makes sense to assume that at a young age she was brought up by her crew to be a pirate and to forget her role as a Princess. She might have been far too young to even begin to understand, so this was the perfect time to begin the complete change of person. Its all very mysterious don’t you think? What do you think on all this?

First off I'd like to say Good Job! Very Well written.

On topic:

I was always under the impression that at least a century had past since Hyrule was flooded. The story in the beginning of the game states that none of Hyrule remain or knowledge of that kingdom. So I infer from this that a large enough time span has occured to make it where no one that lives on the Great Sea has any knowledge of Hyrule.
That brings about why Tetra is a pirate. She had grown up with any knowledge of Hyrule or to who she was. IF you can recall, while you confront Ganondorf in the Forsaken Fortress, Ganondorf seizes Tetra and finds out that she has the Triforce of Wisdom. When Ganon questions her about it, she has no idea what he is talking about, even when King Hyrule completes the Triforce, Tetra's still dumbfounded about what's going on. She was rasied as a pirate and had no knowledge of a life as a princess. Why did she become Zelda when the triforce was complete? Maybe the Triforce was enfused with Zelda's Spirit so that when Triforce was passed on to the next person in the generation, Zelda's spirit went to that person, so if the Hero of Winds ever appeared, Zelda could be awakened.

This is just my thoughts. I'm not sure how well put together they are, but I hope you understand what I am getting at.

I've had this crazy crack-pot theory that Tetra's mother was wife to king nohanson. When Hyrule flooded, he was cursed to remain (in his human form) under the sea's, He let his wife a precious daughter leave, they too were cursed, the curse was never to have them age until the time was right, preserving their bodies until another hero came to set the world right.
That may explain why we have that picture in Hyrule castle of tetra with her pirates all dressed up.

I totaly agree with you Vacuum

Did it ever occur to you that the girl on the portrait might be Tetra's ancestor? I mean, think about it. Tetra was born only a few years before the events of The Windwaker, but the flooding happened hundreds of years before. How could they have hung up such a recent portrait in a kingdom frozen in time?

I can see where you and vacumgod are coming from here. But relating to what vacumgod said, when you say "the curse was never to have them age until the time was right, preserving their bodies until another hero came to set the world right." Are you reffering to that the King's spirit was also sealed within Hyrule? This could explain why he is still living yet the Great Flood took place over a hundred years back. Preserving their bodies until a Hero will awaken Hyrule, its all very confusing. YouAreAwesome I see you're point too in this matter, it couldn't have been possible an ancestor may well be the case here.

I don't believe Tetra is literally the Princess Zelda of long ago. The king never spoke of her as his daughter and she never acknowledge him father. They were distant in their conversation yet there was sentimentality in their speech. Especially in the final winding up moments.

However I do believe that Tetra is a descendent of Hyrule. I really enjoyed your observation Kenshikata about the crew and the Zelda portrait in sunken Hyrule. I would also like to note that when you sneak aboard the pirate ship (during the bombs quest) you can go into Tetra's cabin. There's a picture there of Link as well as other Hyrulian stuff (I don't remember that well). So at least she was fascinated by the old legend.

When the Triforce is completed Tetra reveals her true descent and form: a Princess Zelda not the Princess Zelda.

-Anthony

Great stuff all of you, but as said and as always with each Zelda gem, it always follows down to the blood line and ancestery of each main character, There have been many Zeldas as each one is similer they may all very well be a different one goign down the royal bloodline, same with the King as such.

I beleive that Tetra had a normal child hood on the seas, her mother a pirate captain obviously with knowledge of her royal roots and to be guardian protectors of the tri-force of wisdom, prehaps only the tri-force of wisdom can be passed down by royal female blood? but thats opening a new can of worms so i'll stop now.

perhaps only the tri-force of wisdom can be passed down by royal female blood? but thats opening a new can of worms so i'll stop now.

Haha. And then the men are left with power and courage.. vua ha ha... well we may be dumb but at least we have courage... j/k

Well pulling it back.. Link has courage so it is natural for him to get the triforce of courage
Tetra has wisdom she's the brains of the operation and she is more mature than Link.
Ganon has power and he wants more. Does absolute power corrupt absolutely? Maybe if unchecked by Wisdom and the Courage to do good.

Tetra rocks. Best personality ever. Way better than ditzy's OoT's Zelda.

-Anthony

Ah, when you state she was "a" Princess Zelda and not "the" Princess Zelda it does make a lot of sense. I mean another thing I forgot to add was that... when Tetra and her two priates arrived unexpectedly at the scene where Link was saving his sister for the 2nd time, she reacted very strangely when she saw the Master Sword on Link's back. This must be her general knowledge of having been fascinated by the previous legend. She seemed quite shocked, but I also had suspicion of another theory but its too complicated and probably not at all logical.

I never believed she and the King had a close relationship, they seemed very distant as you put it. The King seemed to know about Tetra's mother, I am not sure if there is a connection there. Its all very interesting...yet complexing to say the least, but these new theories seem to make sense.

Gees that King sure knew alot, he probably knows how to set a VCR!

Originally Posted by YouAreAwesome

Did it ever occur to you that the girl on the portrait might be Tetra's ancestor? I mean, think about it. Tetra was born only a few years before the events of The Windwaker, but the flooding happened hundreds of years before. How could they have hung up such a recent portrait in a kingdom frozen in time?

That's what I was going to say, and that's what I think. Just Tetra's ancestors.

well the king prolly watched over the roly family until Link appeared, so he prolly does know tetras ancestors

Originally Posted by Ronnie

Gees that King sure knew alot, he probably knows how to set a VCR!

They didn't have VCRs that time and this is a video game

ON topic: Anyway, doesn't this spoil the game now that you have told us that?

The picture is of her mother, not Tetra. I remember someone saying in the game that the crew obeyed the mother's commands until she passed on, and, in respect, followed Ms. Tetra's orders.

Okay, first off - When you go into the pirate ship to get the bombs, you can go into Tetra's room. On the right when you enter, there is a picture of a woman in a captains uniform. This is obviously tetra's mother, the former captain. The portrait in Hyrule castle can't be tetra's mother because in the picture, her mother has brown hair.

Anyway, they say in the intro that the stories of old had become myth. Historical facts could not be forgotten in a single life time. So hyrule had to have been flooded at least like 5 to 6 hundred years before WW. I think that the princess or queen of hyrule was among the select few who came up to the mountaintops after the flood, and passed down the triforce of wisdom to her descendants. Maybe the Tp Princess Zelda is that princess.

Either way, the portrait in the castle is to foreshadow the fact that tetra is in the line of princess zelda by showing a princess zelda with a group that looks just like her crew.
Tetra had a normal childhood.