The Ancient Power

It's finally finished after months and months! My entry for 's annual calendar contest. This year's theme is "History of Hyrule".

Edit: My artwork was one of the 12 winners and landed the October slot! Thank you so much to *Woodland-Mel for hosting the contest, and all of you who were so supportive of my artwork! I also added one more easter egg to my description below, so keep reading. .

“It is called Majora's Mask. It is an accursed item from legend that is said to have been used by an ancient tribe in its hexing rituals. It is said that an evil and wicked power is bestowed upon the one who wears that mask. According to legend... the troubles caused by Majora's Mask were so great... the ancient ones, fearing such catastrophe, sealed the mask in shadow forever, preventing it's misuse. But now, that tribe from the legend has vanished, so no one really knows the true nature of the mask's power...”

A theory I decided to put into motion. Impa enters the Lanaryu Mining Facility of the Past with a Timeshift Stone, in order to remove Majora's Mask and seal it away in shadow. After viewing the extinction of the Ancient Robots, it was clear Hyrule's safety was at stake. When I first played Skyward Sword, I was immediately struck by the similarity in the music between Lanaryu Mining Facility and Majora's Mask's theme. I found the vibrant colors reminiscent of the mask, and found it interesting that even if the Thunder Dragon was saved, the Ancient Robots still all died out. I theorized they could have discovered or created the Mask, seeking an alternate power source as the Thunder Dragon ailed. Electricity could easily be viewed as “a hexing ritual” by the rather medieval races that we've seen throughout Zelda games. Impa's time portal also very much reminded me of the portal through which Link enters Terminia, which is often referred to as “Hyrule's shadow”. There are so many more details I could share on similarities, but then this description would go on and on and on-- my original document going over similarities was well over 900 words. So, I will spare you reading it here and instead let my artwork tell the story.

Edit 2: Extra details! This only popped into my head just after I finished this artwork, but given I shared it with a couple people below, I decided to go ahead and add it up here, too. The Timeshift Stone that Impa is holding is actually quite special, as it's just the right size to be the stone that would later become the Ocarina of Time. I was tickled to learn that Hyrule Historia suggested that the Ocarina of Time was made from a Timeshift Stone, and I think it makes wonderful sense, being in Impa's care, taking care of the Royal Family's Treasure for generations. In addition, I think it'd be a delightful bit of irony if the very Timeshift Stone that was used to obtain and seal away Majora's Mask, ended up meeting the mask (and conquering it) yet again in another form. Perhaps this is why the Skull Kid was drawn to the Ocarina in the beginning of Majora's Mask, seeing as the mask recognized the presence. I always thought the mask looked surprisingly focused on the Ocarina when picked up for the first time, more so on that than any other object or time throughout the game.

I really tried to challenge myself in creating a scene, and an artwork that told a story, which was way out of my comfort zone. The original artwork size is 3300x2063 pixels.

Enjoy!

The Legend of Zelda © Nintendo.
This original concept was created by me.
Do not use or redistribute without permission!